Empire of the Ring

“How are you doing with them?”

“They’re much better. Three or four have a problem, but the rest is holding up well.”

“Let them come out and train their bodies a little. It’s not going to help them if they just lie on their beds all day long.”

“It’ll take them some time until they will be able to recover their physical fitness.”

“How many years have they been drenched in alcohol?”

“Mostly for five to ten years.”

“Can they live normally after the treatment is done?”

“I’m not sure. All I can tell you is that they’re trying their best to change.”

“Don’t be too hasty and keep an eye on time.”

“I’ll make sure that they will be like new people when they’re done.”

“Don’t pressure yourself too much. We’ll find ways to start our aviation industry even if they fail. We’ll receive help from Turkey and Denmark.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. I should make this a success.”

Hong Sung-ki was trying to keep cool as he was in charge of treating the alcoholic aviation engineers from Russia, but he seemed to be stressed by the job.

“The alcohol treatment is not easy, but if we can have a success with one or two people, that’s enough for us.”

“Well, because of their strong will to be healed, the situation is quite hopeful. Many of them suffered from depression, but now some of them have been walking outside and greeting people passing by with a smile. That’s a huge change.”

“If so, good for them!”

Alcoholism was not easy to deal with since it could mentally devastate people. Also, three or four out of ten people often went back to the path of alcoholism even after they were over it momentarily.

Since Hong Sung-ki had been trying hard, Youngho decided to support him fully. Besides, if this would be a success, the autonomous state will take a great first step into the aviation industry.

***

Kaya, the chairman of the Koç Holding Group, contacted Youngho.

He wanted Youngho to visit Istanbul to see a helicopter that he had prepared. Youngho was not sure if he was going to give the helicopter to Youngho or if he just wanted him to look at it, but he was able to make a rough guess about Kaya’s action.

He must have calculated that Youngho would tell President Nazarbayev about it. Showing a visible product to Youngho would appeal to the president that Kaya was a great business partner. Even though he had a verbal agreement with the president, it was not like they exchanged a contract yet. There were many companies that made tactical armored vehicles other than the Turkish company, so things could change until the contract was signed.

Since Kaya was dying to secure uranium mining in Kazakhstan, he wanted to buy Youngho’s heart because Youngho was close to the Kazakh president.

Thinking that it was a great opportunity to secure a force that could cover the sky of the autonomous state, Youngho hurriedly flew to Istanbul. This time, Youngho took Suh Min-seok instead of Hong Sung-ki who was busy dealing with alcoholic engineers.

“Duke, I’m sorry to bother a busy person like you.”

“I’ll come here every day if you called me with this sort of news.”

“Great expectations can lead to great disappointments. I’m a little nervous since you’re so excited.”

Kaya was acting modest but he looked confident.

“Did you have some progress with the Kazakh government?”

“Well, we’ve been contacting the Kazakh officials, but still little progress has been made.”

“Are they not cooperating with you well?”

“They’re not as enthusiastic as I am. I think they’re rather annoyed.”

One of the ills of socialism that was often frowned upon was the working style of government officials. If there was no bribe in the process, they were not willing to actively move to accomplish their duties. Even though this was a project that the president was excited about, they were too slow to carry it forward.

“I must talk to the president about that.”

“I’m sorry to get you involved in this.”

“Don’t mention it. The countries around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea often have this kind of problem. It’s a disease of old socialism.”

“I admire you for settling down in a place like this.”

“It was only possible because this is such a place with so many loopholes. I wouldn’t have made this far if I started in an advanced country.”

“I heard that you attracted a lot of foreign investors to Kazakhstan.”

“Yes, I did that for the well-being of the autonomous state.”

“President told me so many good things about you. I assume you’d get involved in politics sooner or later?”

“Oh no, I’m not interested in politics. I just wanted to live quietly.”

“The President seemed to have a different idea.”

“Well, he made me several proposals, but I declined.”

“Maybe you’ll change your mind in the future.”

There was a strange afterthought in Kaya’s words. Youngho wondered exactly what he heard from President Nazarbayev. However, it did not matter since Youngho never wanted to be involved in politics since he did not want to be caught up in something complicated.

***

A small attack helicopter developed by Agusta in Italy was floating in front of Youngho.

After creating a strong wind and eating away his ears with the sound of its huge engine, it landed on the ground. Kaya just showed a helicopter demonstration of taking off and landing.

“It’s a Mangusta helicopter developed by Agusta, and it’s been modified by our company and was named T129. It is equipped with a tow missile and a machine gun and boasts a range of about 1,000 kilometers.”

“That’s amazing.”

“On the Great Plains of Central Asia, it’s a great anti-tank attack aircraft. And most of all, it’s cheap.”

“How much is it?”

“It’s 30 million dollars per unit.”

The Apache helicopters usually cost 50 million dollars per unit, so the helicopter that Kaya just showed Youngho was indeed cheap.

The helicopter did not have the best performance for something that was developed in the ’80s, but it was armed like a formidable weapon for such a small helicopter.

It was able to mount eight tow anti-tank missiles, four Hellfire missiles, four Stinger air-to-air missiles, and a 20-millimeter machine gun.

Youngho, who cared the most about firepower, could not close his mouth in utter admiration.

“Can I buy that helicopter?”

“It’s hard to get many of them because we’re going to supply them to the Turkish Army, but we can certainly sneak one or two of them out.”

“I hear you’ve had a bad relationship with the Turkish government these days, and you’ve been excluded from the army’s armored vehicle supply line.”

“The aircraft business is not under the name of the Koç Holding Group, so it’s fine because we`ve established a separate aviation company called Asselsan.”

“Is it possible to take two or more units to the state, on a trial basis?”

“It’s possible. And please show it to the President.”

“What? That helicopter?”

“That’s the helicopter of which technology we’re trying to transfer.”

“…”

“We’ve got a separate license for T129. The only thing that’s produced in Italy is the fuselage. The engine is made by Rolls-Royce, and the navigation system and titanium gloves were developed by us. A number of other major devices were also made by foreign companies. So, now you can’t claim who has developed it. That’s why it’s much cheaper than a helicopter made in Italy.”

“I’m really impressed to hear that. I’d like to show it to the President right away, but that’s a little difficult, right?”

“The reason I asked you to come was to give this to you. The other one will need some time.”

“The President will be so pleased to hear that.”

“Well, it’s my pleasure.”

On the way back to the autonomous state, Youngho asked Suh Min-seok the same question several times in excitement.

“Suh Min-seok, did you get good pictures of it?”

“Prince consort, this is the third time you’re asking that question.”

“I’m asking if you got a good look inside as well.”

“I just took a quick look at it. I couldn’t be so obvious.”

“Why couldn’t you? It’s our helicopter anyway.”

“You haven’t paid him yet, have you?”

“Didn’t you hear him? He nagged that the uranium mine development project is slow. He asked me to report this to the President so that he will scold the officials.”

“What does that have to do with the helicopter?”

“You still don’t know what this means? He wanted my help. Showing off a helicopter is a sign of his own sincerity.”

“A kind of bribe?”

“It’s not a bribe if I pay.”

“He didn’t look like he was going to make you pay for it.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s important that he impressed me.”

With a helicopter with great firepower, Kaya successfully impressed Youngho and bought his heart.

Based on the photos taken by Suh Min-seok, Youngho and his friends were making a fuss in Youngho’s office. Since they were all obsessed with weapons even though they were now getting old, they could not help but be excited.

“The performance really doesn’t matter when it’s equipped with all kinds of weapons.”

“But you still should have checked its average speed. You’re making us more curious with these pictures only.”

“Look it up on the Internet. It’s a helicopter that the whole world knows about.”

“Jeez, only if I was with you on the trip, I would’ve figured out every detail about it.”

“Even if you were there, you wouldn’t have thought of anything the moment you looked at the chopper. It was stunning.”

“I heard you asked to send some people to learn helicopter control and maintenance skills?”

“Find a few good guys for the job. The chopper will arrive soon.”

“Wouldn’t the Koç Holding Group postpone technology transfer after handing over the helicopter?”

“The company’s in a position where it has set up overseas plants because of the discord with the Turkish government. He’s immensely thankful that I showed up and connected him to the Kazakh president. Trust me, he’ll be the one eager to transfer the technology. The company has no choice but to be our helper for the next few years. We need to increase the production capacity of helicopters by any means now.”

“What are you going to do with a bunch of alcoholics?”

“If necessary, I’m going to kidnap a good engineer from somewhere. Or I will make the engineers dispatched in our state settle down here.”

“Are you trying to bring up another ridiculous marriage tradition like last time?”

“If it’s urgent, I’ll have to use a method like that.”