The Adventures of Winner Shipping Co.

Prologue:

Quatre Raberba Winner had never seen anything so big in his entire life. He stood on the dock in Al Qatif Sihat, Saudi Arabia, staring up at the largest ship he had ever seen. 'The Quatarina' was the largest ship in all of his late father's fleet and had named it after Quatre's own mother. The ship was long and sat high up above the water, and was deep blue in colour. Quatre knew from his business ventures that some of the smaller container ships had their own cranes but the bigger ones, such as The Quatarina, were engineered so that no space was wasted. The forty foot long containers could fit precisely onto the ship and loading and unloading procedures could only be done at the ports. This particular ship could carry up to 14, 000 containers in a single trip.

The Winner Shipping Company was the largest shipping company in the world. Mr. Winner's business had gone from just a few modest ships to the largest dry goods transport group in the world during the last war. When the war ended the company remained on the top of the markets, most producers choosing to go with the Winner Shipping Co. for their reputation. They had switched from transporting armaments to shipping goods to and from all areas of the world. The company also had a reputation that each ship had the best crew aboard to ensure that deadlines and schedules are made.

The Winner fleet of transport ships was among the best grade and the majority of producers used the service to move their products without the chance of losing cargo. This reputation helped the business soar until the Winner family controlled the high seas. The Winner logo could be found in every port from North America to Asia.

When Mr. Winner had passed away he left behind a booming business to his only son, Quatre Winner, and had left nothing to his many daughters. When Quatre legally took over the business his first order of business was to set aside a very substantial sum for his sisters to live comfortably off of, regardless of their age. Mr. Winner had assumed each daughter would find a man and settle into a financially stable marriage so they would not require his help. Quatre's eldest sister Iria had been furious and told Quatre what had to be done-and Quatre complied, taking the money from the business and setting it aside.

Quatre's second order of business was to instate the company's first female to his board of directors. Iria had inherited their father's business ethics and expertise but due to Mr. Winner's highly old fashioned ways had been unable to show it. Quatre was convinced that she would make a much better owner and head of the company as he was only twenty years old and had absolutely no experience.

Having been born into this life Quatre was used to money but had been sent off to a private boarding school until his graduation of senior year. His father had spent the last year of his life trying to teach his only son the tools of the trade while he had a highly efficient heir, Iria, all along. The boarding school had given Quatre an advantage in the academic sense but he had been sheltered from the normal working world. This disadvantage was so big that Quatre had a very difficult time trying to make certain decisions regarding the company.

When he originally took over the company just three months ago, Quatre had thought that he could handle it with the help of Iria. Now, after a few months of board meetings and one ship and crew lost to the seas, Quatre entrusted the entirety of Winner Shipping Co. to Iria. He had been exasperated at certain antics members of the board used to try and create new surplus under illegal circumstances. With all of the politics happening inside the company headquarters, Quatre had an insatiable urge to adventure out and see exactly what his company was about. Ultimately he wanted to see this from an entirely different perspective than from his headquarters' vid phone. When he returned he would resume his place as head of the company.

These are the events that led Quatre Winner's feet to be planted on the dock, looking up at the largest ship in his fleet. In his left hand he held a large duffle bag packed neatly with all the essentials that a man would need on a journey that would last several months. His small frame was wrapped up in a light blue sweater because even though they were in a hot climate, Quatre was not used to the cold coming in on the sea breeze. Behind him stood a man whose saddened facial expression contradicted his large frame.

"Rashid, you need to stop worrying." Quatre finally stopped eyeing the ship and turned to his lifelong bodyguard. The man had been his personal bodyguard since birth and had even followed him to his boarding school. He would not be accompanying Quatre on this trip, however, since it was time for Quatre to prove that he was a man. He could take care of himself while alone aboard The Quatarina.

"Master Quatre, are you sure you want to do this?"

"The captain said I would be completely safe on this voyage and they would have crew members around to teach me the trade, so stop worrying." It was no use. Rashid would worry over him until he finally came home.

Quatre's voice grew softer. "Besides, if I really hate it I'll contact you at the next port and arrange to get picked up immediately."

Rashid visibly perked up at that, knowing that Quatre wouldn't lie. This was the first time Quatre had gone anywhere without him as a bodyguard.

Quatre turned and gave the man a tight hug and Rashid took the moment to shove a toque onto his head, and then hugged him back. He watched as the young man walked towards the security gate by himself. They grew up so fast these days.

Quatre approached the security guards and handed over his papers. His passport was valid and ready to go and the boarding authority and crew status made it easy for him to gain access to the ship. He slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and carried on up the gangway as he was cleared to go. The water was deep and murky underneath and it was chilling to think that there was only a small piece of metal under his feet saving him from falling. Halfway up Quatre turned and waved excitedly to Rashid who returned the wave with fervor.

Quatre took a deep breath as he walked up the last bit and stepped over the small opening on the side of the ship named in honour of his mother. There were containers already loaded on deck so Quatre took that to mean they were almost ready to go. He scanned the deck, seeing a handful of crew members doing various duties and took another step towards them. His foot caught on metal and he cried out as he stumbled and fell, knees banging hard into the unyielding steel of the ship. The throbbing pain was nothing compared to the embarrassment he felt when he glanced up and saw that most of the crewmen had stopped working and were laughing at him in humor.

Quatre sighed. What a hell of a way to start an adventure.