Notes of explanation:
Hue - pronounced WAY
Hui - pronounced Hughy
Hua - pronounced Huwa
Dati - IndoDutch term for Papa
Baki - IndoDutch term for Brother
Onkla - IndoDutch term for Uncle
Chapter 1 - TONGA CALLS
Hue had spent the weekend helping Ian move into their house in Puna, his arms hurt from carrying boxes and belongings from the rented truck to the house. It was a welcome rest to come to work that morning.
Son James buzzed Hue that he had an international call from Tonga. Hue's eyes lit up, he had many fond memories of their stay in Nuku'Alofa in the years of his youth.
He picked up the telephone, the Crown Prince, titular ruler of the island nation, Prince George Topu, was on the line.
The two men were good friends and, after a few moments of friendly conversation, the Prince got down to business, "Hue, we have had a tragic accident in the sugar mill, a large stone somehow got through the screens and caught between the roll and the crusher drum. The drum lifted up on its shaft and broke the bearing caps and the entire drum flipped over, killing three workers before it rolled across the line, smashing two of our three evaporator pans and a flash pan. Along its way, the main electric switchboard was destroyed and both settling tanks are probably not repairable."
Hue was staggered at the amount of damage and the deaths that the Prince related, and he replied, "I can send our Electrical Engineer and a Mechanical Engineer out to you to survey the damage."
He was frantically writing a note to Son to locate Phillip and Hui right away.
Prince George said, "That would be just what we need, we will pay their expenses and time, just so long as you agree to accept a contract from us for the repairs."
Hue laughed, "You are sure we will do the work?"
Prince George replied, "As far as my people are concerned, it is Best & Sons or nobody!"
Hue reminded him that they are now Best Sons' Engineering and told him that as soon as they made arrangements, he would call and let them know of arrivals.
Son had located Hui and Phillip up at the Instrumentation Center on the volcano and they were headed to the office.
Hui and Phillip arrived at the office and Hue briefed them on what had happened, Hui asked, "It is Spring Break, would it be possible for Hua to accompany us?"
Hue replied, "Well, he IS a student engineer, I guess we can spring for that."
Hua was taking his studies at The University of Hawaii and he was in his Junior Year, so it was not like he had no training at all. He had worked each summer understudying at various work projects throughout the Pacific Basin. He would soon be a Mechanical Engineer himself, so Hue felt it was an investment in training.
Two days later, Son was calling Prince George's office with names and itineraries for three Best Sons Engineers to fly to Nuku'Alofa.
The secretary told Son that they would send the Visas directly to New Zealand Airlines and that suitable living arrangements would be waiting for them on arrival.
Hui flew over to Honolulu to tell his Brother Hua that he was headed for Tonga! Hua was working in the American Boiler and Piping shops, learning about their proprietary Hot Gas Boilers. The Boiler Company and Best Sons' jointly held the patent for the boilers being installed on thermal wells both in the "basin" and also in North America.
The Brothers were delighted and excited to be able to return to the land of their birth for the first time since they had been rescued there. They set about making their arrangements to spend a week or ten days in Tonga. They both would be expected to participate in the survey, but they were sure they could "squeeze" some time to visit the places of their youth. The Brothers headed for Hilo to confer with Phillip and begin packing.
Son got them all tickets on the biweekly flight to Nuku'Alofa on Tuesday of the next week.
He contacted Prince George's office with the information and collected the visa numbers for the three travelers.
Their flight was scheduled for 10 am and the three men were at the airport by 8 am to collect their visas and get checked in for the long flight.
Men with the name "Best" flying out of Hilo was now so common, the security officers hardly blinked when they walked through.
Hua was 19 years old and he had not been back to his land of birth since he left it at the age of 3 years, he was trying his best to act as an adult, but, from his grin, the other two knew that excitement was leaking through.
The plane came in from Los Angeles on schedule and, as soon as the disembarking passengers had cleared the Jetway, Boarding of First Class and Business Class passengers was announced.
It was a full flight and there were few empty seats. They enjoyed a calm fight, a meal was served about 4 hours after departure from Hilo and then weariness claimed them and the three men slept until the stewardess announced their arrival in Nuku'Alofa.
Chapter 2 - MEMORIES
A portable staircase was rolled up to the plane and the few passengers for Tonga climbed down the steep incline to the ground level and entered the airport to pass through immigration.
Mr. Joseph T'alu, Principal Secretary to Crown Prince Topu was waiting for the men. He had never met anyone from Best Sons' Engineering, but he had been told to look for two young Polynesian men and an American man traveling together.
He introduced himself and helped them gather their luggage. He then took them directly to the Government Guest House and told them that Prince George would meet with them first thing in the morning and that they would be joining the Prince for breakfast.
As they walked from the car to the Guest House, the smells of the land assaulted their senses, the memories that Hui and Hua had carried with them for the last 16 years came flooding back and tears began to leak from their eyes.
As soon as they were in their room, the brothers clasped each other and tears flooded their faces. What they had endured as small children crashed into their minds, the terrible hunger, the fear and the loss of their parents in an awful storm.
They sat on the couch, each holding the other, until they had cried themselves out.
They spoke of happier times, of the big boy who had held them when he caught them stealing food from his picnic.
The wonderful man who took them in, had doctors cure them of the diseases they had picked up and finally, the two men who had adopted them, raised them and made them their own sons.
They were still on the couch when Phillip knocked on the door, he had been downstairs making arrangements for their supper.
He had purposely waited, knowing that they were on emotional overload, "Hey guys, there is an outdoor supper and entertainment at the Cultural Center this evening, you want to go?"
The two Brothers thought that a grand idea and they went to wash their faces of tear stains and they all walked together across the street to the Cultural Center.
They met the Crown Prince the next morning for breakfast and he related to them what had happened at the sugar mill.
It was fortunate that it occurred just as the cane season was ending, so they had several months in which to repair the damage. They looked over the wreckage and made lists of what could be repaired and what required replacement.
Hua asked, "How did the stone get through the screens?"
Nobody had an answer to that, so he climbed up into the cane chute and began pulling on the screen bars. The whole assembly came down on top of him. They looked closely, there were no nuts on the bolts holding the bar screen in place.
Hui pointed out that the bolts showed where the nuts had been tack welded in place so they could not vibrate loose. The only way the nuts could have come off was for something or someone breaking the welds and backing the nuts out!
Prince George was in a rage, which meant that it was not an accident, it was murder! Three workers had been killed when the crusher drum broke loose!
He asked the men if they could stay and coordinate the repairs, and he was willing to sign a contract with Best Sons' Engineering that day for them to manage the repairs.
Hui said, "We must clear this with Hue Best back in Hilo, but I don't see any reason why we cannot do as you ask,"
They returned to the Guest House and put in a telephone call to Hue. It was decided to offer the Prince a Time and Materials expense contract and send Gil Dorman out to foreman the work.
They went over to the Palace and spoke with a still angry Prince, he accepted their proposal and authorized them to begin work immediately.
Chapter 3- TROUBLE IN PARADISE
They were issued two Ford Explorers and a Ford Pickup truck for Gil when he arrived.
Hui and Hua crawled all over the machinery and found several places that had been tampered with.
Phillip decided that he should look at the electric systems, he was horrified when he found circuit breakers jammed with pieces of wood so they could not trip off in an emergency! Worse, the system mains and been jammed, so if there were a catastrophic fault, the switches would not open, separating the facility from the utility mains!
The three men discussed the problems, they were worried they were getting in over their heads, so they placed a conference call to Hue and explained what they were discovering.
Hue advised them to tell Prince George what they had found and suggested that security officers be placed in the plant while repair work was being done.
The three of them went straight to see the Prince with their findings and what Hue had suggested.
Prince George said, "I think I know who is behind this, leave it in my hands and tell nobody what you have discovered. There will be security agents near your men at all times, although it is unlikely you will see them."
The Prince was calling on the telephone as they left his office, he was not being polite!
Gil Dorman arrived on the next scheduled flight two days later. They filled him in on the situation and he was not pleased either.
They began repairs the next morning, Hui kept Hua with him as much for learning as for safety.
Phillip pulled out the "as built" drawings of the factory wiring and began tracing out systems, whoever was responsible for the sabotage, was very familiar with electrical systems, and the damage was subtle and difficult to detect.
It finally became necessary to open the main breakers and kill all the circuits in the plant.
The plant electricians were tearing their hair out and their foreman was stomping his feet in anger at what he saw. The damage was so extensive that whole systems had to be replaced and two of the three main breakers were so badly damaged, they could not be repaired.
As Hui and Hua dismantled the crusher, with the assistance of plant mechanics, it became evident the damage was greater than they had first estimated.
Both bearing housings were beyond salvage and the crusher drum shaft was bent so badly, a new one was required.
The crusher drive motor had been twisted and had to be rewound.
The crusher bedplate was cracked, but they found that the crack could be ground out and welded.
The stone had scored the crusher drum and it took nearly a week to build up the damaged surface and regrind it.
Every day, Prince George came to view the progress, his scowl deeper each day.
Hui thought he had spotted at least one security man, but he was not sure and certainly was not going to ask.
The work progressed slowly, tools disappeared and coils of electric wire mysteriously went missing. They took to bringing their tools back to the Guest House with them each night and specialty items they left in the Customs Warehouse until they were needed.
Phillip was scratching his head, "something" didn't look right on the electric controls to the cane conveyor. He took his working drawing home with him to the Guest House one evening and compared them to the "as-builts". It jumped out at him, someone had doctored the working drawings! Had the system been rewired according to the working drawings, the likelihood of someone being killed would have been a certainty!
Gil decided he had enough danger and sabotage; he called back to Hue and asked that a dozen men, electricians and mechanics, be flown out from Hawaii before one of them fell victim to the sabotage.
Hue became alarmed for the safety of his Family members and Gil, so he called Prince George himself, together, they came up with a plan of attack, the mechanics and electricians would be as much a security force as they were workers.
Hue was so concerned; he and Ian decided to come for a visit.
Before he left Hilo, Hue called the Dean of the School of Engineering at the University and talked to Dr. Lake, telling him that Hui was involved in an engineering project in Tonga.
Dr. Lake told Hue that Hui would get credits for a work/study project and that his grades were such that he would still graduate on time.
Hue and Ian arrived in Nuku'Alofa with a crew of electricians and mechanics and went straight to the sugar mill. Gill warmly greeted his men and briefed them on what they had discovered so far.
With the additional help, the work progressed rapidly and Hue began to formulate a plan to trap the saboteurs.
After conferring with his friend, Prince George, he made plans that Gil and six of their biggest mechanics and electricians would hide in the toilets after the day's work was completed.
Prince George added three men from his security force and they all waited in hiding.
The remainder of the crew milled around and got into a little "horseplay" as they left the mill for the day, making it nearly impossible for someone not familiar with the men to detect that they were not all there.
They made a big "show" of a group supper at the Guest House and after it was over, everyone went to their rooms and after an appropriate length of time had passed, they turned out their lights as if they were going to bed.
After waiting for a couple of hours, Hue led his men down the back stairs and they crept over to the sugar mill.
Those hiding in the toilets crept out and blockaded the door at the rear of the building that led to the outside.
The other group then blocked the remaining doors and Phillip threw the breakers on the lighting circuits, flooding the building with light.
They caught six men in the act of sabotage; one of them was Prince George's younger brother, Thomas!
After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the younger Prince intended to overthrow his older brother, Crown Prince George Topu and take over control of the government himself.
The saboteurs were arraigned in court the next day and remanded to the prison island of L'Pou to await trial.
Prince George apologized to Hue and all his folk for the danger they had been exposed to and warmly thanked them for their assistance in apprehending the criminals.
The repairs took another two weeks to complete and Hue granted everyone a three-day holiday, all expenses paid to enjoy the country's many world-famous beaches.
He grinned at Hui and Hua, "Ya wanna go out to the National Park for a couple of days?"
Chapter 4 - BIRTHRIGHT
They borrowed sleeping bags from the Guest House and the next day they headed out to the National Park.
The trip was loaded with heavy memories for Hui and Hua, it was there that Hue had grabbed them, thus saving them from certain starvation and they found their Daddies, Sing 'Tal and Jason.
Hui remembered more than Hua as he was older at the time. They passed the boundary of the park and Hui screamed, "STOP!"
He led Hua into some bushes near the road, "This is where we hid". He ran his fingers through the loose sand and found shells of the sealife he had been able to collect for himself and his baby brother. They discovered a small silver chain buried in the sand, with a locket, the picture in it was ruined, but there was engraving on the back "HUA". Hui handed it to his brother and they sat in the sand, holding each other as they shed their tears. That locket was all that remained of their former life and held no clue as to who they had been sixteen years earlier.
Hue had parked the SUV and was setting up the camp. He began to fix lunch, "This is what I was fixing when you, Hui, tried to snatch the fruit I was going to use to make lunch."
He hugged both boys and said, "You may have a past here, but you are new people now, with a bright future before you. To remember is fine, but do not live in the past, strive for the future."
They spent the next several days, walking the beach and swimming in the gentle surf.
Ian had borrowed some fishing gear and kept them supplied with fresh fish.
Gil Dorman had not known the particulars of how Hui and Hua had been rescued before this, he had renewed respect for Hue and his Family.
They returned from their short holiday and proceeded to tidy up their affairs. Hui, Hua and Phillip were asked to give depositions for the court.
Prince George hosted them all at a Polynesian Luau, Hui made sure he did not even get near any of the native alcoholic beverages, his one experiment in that was enough for a lifetime. He was seated next to Prince George's grandson, Prince Darren O'folu. He couldn't help but notice the handsome young man, just his own age. They began talking and the young man asked Hui if he wanted to walk along the beach.
It was love at first sight, both men were head over heels for each other. Prince George pointed out the budding relationship to Hue and they both smiled.
The next morning, Hui came to Hue, "eer, e,eerrr Onkla Hue, er.."
Hue stopped what he was doing and held Hui's hands, "You really like Darren, don't you?"
Hui's face turned beet red and he stammered, "Ye, yeeeeah, I do."
Hue replied, "Well, if you like him that much, maybe you had best go talk with his Grandfather. His parents have disowned him, so he is Prince George's ward now"
Hui screeched, "DISOWNED HIM!"
Hue just smiled and told him to go see Prince George.
Hui raced across the street to the Palace and asked the Principal Secretary if he could speak to the Prince. Prince George was in his office, waiting for the somewhat flustered young engineer.
Hue had telephoned him to let him know what was taking place.
He smiled as Hui entered the office and told him to sit down. The Prince then picked up the telephone and spoke to someone in their native language, Hui could remember only a few words of the language he had been born to, he heard Darren's name and the words to come immediately.
He blushed and said, "You know, sir, don't you?"
The Prince laughed, "How could I not know, Darren's every other word was Hui this morning"!
When both young men were seated, he discussed with them their options, Darren had one more semester to complete his degree in Mechanical Engineering and, if they wished, he could do his final work at the University of Hawaii on the Hilo Campus.
Hui replied, "I will have to ask my Uncle...."
Prince George said, "I already have and he agrees." The Prince asked both men, "Is this what you really want?"
Darren replied, "Yes, Grandpapa, I really want to be with Hui for the rest of my life, he IS my life."
Hui said, "Sir, I will guard Darren with my very own life, I do not wish to live another day without him."
Prince George then said, "Marriage is possible between you here in Tonga, do you wish to be married? It will be legal in the United States by treaty, they must recognize it."
So it was that the Palace announced the forthcoming wedding of Prince Darren O'folu and Mr. Hui 'Tal Best.
Chapter 5 - THE WEDDING
Preparations began immediately for a Royal Wedding.
Prince George's Daughter and her husband refused to have anything to do with the wedding or even attend, so the Prince himself stood beside his Grandson, while Hue stood beside Hui as Sing 'Tal and Jason were unable to get there in time.
A Tonga Shaman and the local Methodist Minister presided, the moment both had said, "I DO", the Conch Horns began announcing the wedding vows.
Twenty Conch Blowers celebrated the pair and a National Holiday was declared.
The pair went back to the National Park to spend their first night together and Hua and Hue stood guard at the entrance so that none should disturb the newlyweds on their first night.
Darren took the name Best and had all his documents changed before it was time to return to Hilo.
Tonga citizens, by treaty, are also American citizens, so Darren did not need a visa to enter the United States.
Upon their return to Hilo, a large crowd of Family and well-wishers met the flight and Darren was welcomed into the Family Best.
He completed his degree and immediately went to work for Best Sons' Engineering.
The two purchased a home in Puna, near where Hue and Ian lived.
Hua also finished his degree and moved in with his older brother and his partner, the three mechanical engineers made a formidable team and became an important asset to Best Sons' Engineering.
TBC
Watch for further adventures of this talented family as they become legendary throughout the Pacific Basin and beyond.
Author's Note; Prince George recently died, the Author expresses his sympathy to the people of Tonga, he met King George (the Monarch finally did accept the title) many years ago and has fond memories of the land and its Monarch.
CB 3-30-12