The Commodore
Chapter 1 : The Commodore
Sydney, March 2026
Thursday
The naval base HMAS Kuttabul in Sydney
Petty Officer Mark Longhurst came back from the office of the CO, sat down and let out a deep sigh.
"Mark, how was the mood?", Linda asked, a colleague of the administrative staff of the Commodore.
"I survived. I handed over the file and I left. The next one is for you again", he answered.
"Awful, isn't it, that icy look. I've got every time the impression that I've done something wrong."
Mark nodded and both looked suspicious at the brown door of the Commodore.
The Commodore stood at the window with the hands on the back, looking over the bay. The sun stood low because the day was almost at its end. A few helicopter frigates were anchored and another frigate was entering the base.
The Commodore looked at the latter.
There it was, the Ballarat, on return from its test voyage. Big maintenance done. Electronic equipment renewed. Upgrade of the radar and armament software. All done, tested and fine. I've seen the report today. Good! And a good ship needs a good captain too. And he's good, but…
This frigate was up to lead a flotilla, commanded by a man who's file was on her desk.
She looked quickly over her shoulder to the file and looked then again to the ship.
She had appointed so many officers and placed on ships, but this one had made her a bit upset. She frowned irritated. This could not, but it happened.
It was not that he was not capable. On the contrary he had a wonderful service record and he had commanded a base for years.
She turned and opened the file she had received that morning and looked at the photo. After a few seconds she closed the file and looked again to the frigate that was preparing the mooring manoeuvre and her thoughts were strayed.
Everyone watched out for her. Not that she was a hard task master, but nobody could approach her. She was a private woman. Nobody risked to say something to her that was not business related and nobody had ever seen her laughing. Moreover nobody could betray her on a mistake. That's why she had the nick name of Ice Queen. She knew it but she didn't care a damn about it.
Only two persons had access to her. If you saw her in the mess or in the break room, there was at least one of them with her. These were her adjutant, a Lieutenant-Commander and the officer of the cartographic department, a Commander. They arrived together with her at the base three years ago. Rumours went around that the Commodore knew the officers from the past. Her adjutant had been with her for a much longer time. He was also the most decorated of the whole base with the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Gallantry. Moreover the Commodore and her adjutant were always together. But nobody got something out of these two officers about her.
At the desk outside the office Leading Seaman Linda looked at her colleague. "Mark, do you perhaps know why she's called the Ice Queen?"
He looked at her. "Pfft, by her icy look? Don't know. Wait, let's ask Christopher."
An older Chief Petty Officer passed at that moment.
"Uh, Christopher, you're already quite some time with this staff, do you know how the Commodore got her nickname of Ice Queen?"
"Ah! Quite easy. First what she does is good, almost without emotions, ice cold in fact. And the Queen thing, well, I've a mate in Cairns, Robert Dixon who knew her from the past. He served under her and he told me that her nickname in a previous life was Princess Perfect because everything what she did was perfect, however. And when a princess takes the lead, she becomes a queen, not?"
Linda was all of a sudden intrigued. "Wait a sec, just a minute ago you said 'perfect however', why 'however'?"
Christopher lowered his voice. "What she does is simply good, except for one thing. The rumours go round that she has made a mess of her love life."
"Hey, don't you have anything better to do?", a big blond Lieutenant-Commander with a impressive ribbon bar asked.
"Uh, yes of course. I'm sorry sir!", they hurried to say.
"Hmm", he grumbled and continued his way to the door of the commodore's office.
"Her body guard", Mark whispered to Linda.
He knocked the door and waited.
"Yes, come in" she said icily .
Her adjutant entered.
"The day is over. When you are ready to leave?", he asked her walking through her office to her desk.
Her voice got softer as she relaxed a little. "Yeah, I'll get my stuff."
She looked at the frigate again and noticed a bit surprised that it slightly became dusk. She must have stood there much longer than she thought.
She laid a few files in the drawer of her desk and wanted to put the famous file in her brief-case, but she hesitated. She sighed and laid it also in the drawer because she knew it by heart.
It was the file of Captain Mike Flynn.
She put her hat on and limped to the door making a face caused by the pain of her knee.
"Rain is coming", she said, "that stupid leg strikes up again."
"That's right, the barometer is falling. You're sure you don't need your cane?", the Lieutenant-Commander asked tenderly when he kept the door open for her.
She glared at him and hissed between her teeth. "Don't you dare!"
He shook slowly his head when he closed the door behind her.
She's still so stubborn that she prefers to contort with pain instead of using her cane to have a bit of comfort. She'll never change.
"Did you forget how much efforts I had to do to keep employed? They wanted to discharge me for medical reasons! Look, I can still execute my function perfectly and I don't want to give some people ammunition to say that I'm not suitable for duty anymore!", she said irritated over her shoulder to him.
"Calm down! Within a sec you're sticking to the ceiling. It's not worth it", he said softly to comfort her.
"But, what's going on? You became so quickly irritated this afternoon?", he continued on a different tone.
She grumbled something as an answer and he shrugged.
She stepped in the car at the back seat to leave the base, but they stopped at the cartographic service to pick up the Commander who took a seat next to the adjutant.
"Dylan" she asked from the back seat, "Why am I still upset after 15 years when I'm holding that file? It should be the past. I have already passed so many files of officers through my hands, but this one does something to me."
"Kate, the pin has been pulled out very bizarrely 15 years ago, isn't it? You must admit that", Dylan replied.
"Did you see him already?", Nikki asked .
"No tomorrow morning. I don't know what I have to think of it. It's bizarre", Kate answered.
"That's not difficult huh", Nikki said. "You broke of the relation and you've sent him with a lump in the reeds. Then you started a relation with Jim Roth under his nose and finally you disappeared."
"Yeah, go on! Twist the knife once more!", Kate said with a raw voice so Dylan and Nikki looked over their shoulder at her. Tears were running down her cheeks.
"Well, the base should need to know this", Dylan said. "The Ice Queen can cry."
"Yeah, pearls of ice instead of tears", Nikki added with a smile.
"Go to the hell you two!", Kate answered softly while she was looking through the window and sweeping the tears .
Dylan stopped at Nikki's house after ten minutes.
"Till tomorrow. Same time?"
"Yep, as usual. And Kate, relax this evening, go and soak in your new Spa Bath. The past has been. Don't make it too difficult for you", she said while she was getting out.
"Yeah, I'll work on it and till tomorrow", Kate answered with a smile.
While they continued Dylan asked, "To my place or yours?"
"Darling, I want to be alone this evening. I want to have a quiet think about everything."
He stopped at her house.
"Till tomorrow, same time huh", she said.
"Yep, and do what Nikki said", Dylan answered.
"Yes, boss", Kate answered and they gave each other a kiss. She got out and went to the front door while he drove to his apartment.
To be continued
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