The final Thursday training session started as they always had, with warm up exercises, stretching and then practising with Chen. The only difference was that Patrick arrived when they were about half way through carrying a sports bag.
“These are for you Jay..” Patrick handed the bag to Jay “..You can try them out but you can’t keep them just yet.. You’ll get them back when you get on the plane”
“Ok” replied Jay dabbing sweat off his forehead with a towel and peered into the bag. He pulled parts of a quadcopter out together with a pad computer. Within seconds the quadcopter had been clicked together and was flying around the training room. Chen had to dodge out of the way several times to avoid being hit.
“Wow.. the camera’s good!..” Jay focussed on the pad computer’s screen as he sent the quadcopter flying in all directions “..and it’s actually quite easy to fly”
“Yes.. but you’ll have to check the area for fences and cables before you fly it.. and you’re right.. it is quite impressive I have to admit..“ Patrick pointed at the pad computer’s screen “..The camera has night vision too.. and the network repeater is already mounted.. you just need to land the quadcopter and press the release button”
Jay was one step ahead. He had already pressed the release button which caused the repeater to fall heavily onto one of the training mats. Patrick looked a little annoyed. Chen picked up the repeater and handed it back to Patrick who then duly inspected it for damage.
“As I said Jay.. you need to land the quadcopter first”
“Sorry Patrick..” Jay tried to divert Patrick’s attention “.. It is very user friendly!”
“Yes.. we’ve made it that way so you don’t have to think about things when you’re..” Patrick stopped himself, remembering Chen was still in the room “..err ..performing your duties” Chen took the hint and walked back down to the end of the training room.
“You’ll also need to remember to switch the repeater on before you deploy it.. but I suppose that goes without saying” added Patrick, flicking the repeater’s switch.
“Yes..” replied Jay, looking at the repeater “..It’s surprisingly small.. Is it going to be powerful enough?”
“Yes.. yes!.. It’s very powerful.. but the downside of that is that it only works for a short period of time.. You’ve basically got eighteen minutes from the time you switch it on until the battery dies”
“Oh good!.. No pressure then!” exclaimed Jay sarcastically.
“Now Jay.. this satellite locator should only be used in emergencies..” Patrick pulled a small memory-card sized device out of his pocket “..You need to use it so that we can find you should anything go wrong.. You just flick the switch here..” Patrick looked up at Jay “..Let’s hope you won’t be needing that.. eh?”
“Hopefully not” replied Jay, noticing the locator also had a small solar panel.
“So Jay.. how’s the training coming along?”
“Ok I think.. thanks.. But you should ask Chen.. He even seems convinced that I have some sort of natural talent”
“That’s good!.. And how about the plan?.. Are you ‘au fait’ with that?.. Did you see the timings I added last week by the way.. on the Intranet?”
“Yes.. yes.. I saw those.. I’ve memorised as much as possible”
“Good.. very good.. Just be aware that some things may change along the way.. you know.. if interruptions occur?.. But if you adhere to the time intervals you should be alright”
“Yes.. that makes sense..” Jay grabbed Patrick gently by the shoulder and shook him assuredly “..Don’t worry Patrick.. I’m not stupid!”
“I know that Jay but our number one priority is your safety.. We don’t want you getting into any uncontrolled situations.. ok?”
“Ok”
“Now.. I need those things back please” Patrick nodded towards the quadcopter and pad computer which Jay duly switched off and placed in the bag.
“They will be expecting you at Brize Norton at six o’clock sharp on the tenth.. Security has been advised..” Patrick shook Jay firmly by the hand “..All the best Jay” Patrick walked to the door, turned and smiled “..And good luck!”