Chapter 12. The first patrol
The next day they arrived at Pavuvu island.
Mike stood at the outside of the bridge and was looking dreamy at the shore line.
"Sir, do we enter the harbour? I checked the depth there, we can easily enter", Susan asked him but there came no response.
"Sir?"
Damn, I was already afraid of that.
She tapped slightly his shoulder.
"Sir, do we enter?"
Mike woke up. "Uh? Yes. Yes, ok, go for it", he hurried to say.
"Thank you sir", she said and went inside.
"Swain, slow ahead, direction harbour."
"Ay ma'am, slow ahead, direction harbour", Swain replied.
She took the microphone.
"Mooring team, prepare tows."
For one reason or another she went out to look downstairs and saw 2Dads and Harpie chatting.
"Hey, are you deaf or what? Move!", she yelled to them.
They were visibly startled and hurried to their job.
Susan went back inside and looked a bit surprised to see all of them looking at her, including Mike.
"They have to listen, don't you think?", she said dryly.
Mike rubbed his cheek while looking at her.
Hmm, quite a different style than Kate, but it works. A bosun couldn't do better.
The Hammerslay was safely moored and they started discharging crates with reconstruction material to rebuild the village. Charge was handling the crane, Dutchy stood at the gangway and the X was supervising the action. All of a sudden one of the cables broke and a crate slipped down, pulling some other boxes with it so that everything got stuck firmly.
Luckily everyone stood at a safe distance so that nobody got hurt.
"Come on, 2Dads, Harpie, Wellington, pull away these boxes", Dutchy ordered.
After some efforts 2Dads shook his head. "Nope, impossible."
"I beg your pardon?", replied Susan who came nearer.
"Ma'am, impossible, these boxes are stuck."
"2Dads, impossible is not English, come on man", she said frowning.
"Ma'am, it doesn't work", he tried to get away.
Susan got clearly irritated. "Listen mate, we will make a deal. If a faint woman like me can move this box, then I'll make you a nice chores list. If not, then I will agree with you."
"Faint woman?", Swain mumbled to RO with a grin who was overlooking the scene as well from the outer bridge.
Susan pulled out her camo jacket, pulled on some gloves and put her hands under the box. With a groan she put all her forces against it. Everyone looked amused at her efforts. How could a woman move a box that could not be done by a man?
But the box trembled a bit and it shoved and finally it moved. All of them were startled.
"Here you go. Anyone who can do better?", she said provocative.
"I do", said Dutchy, stepping forward, feeling embarrassed that she did it instead of him.
"Me too", Harpie followed.
"Uh, me also", admitted 2Dads.
Mike who had observed the whole scene made a thoughtful face and scratched in his hair. He looked at Swain and RO. "Hmm, you do know it now huh?"
Afterwards when the crates and boxes were unloaded Susan went to 2Dads.
"2Dads."
"Ma'am?", he replied turning towards her.
"This afternoon in my cabin. I'll have a nice to do list for you. You lost the game mate", she said with a grin.
"Yes ma'am", he said sheepish.
He looked at her when she walked away.
Pfft, man, a female bosun in an officer's skin, Gosh! Why me?
A few days later they finished the welfare job and were patrolling in the Coral Sea. During the afternoon an echo of a FFV appeared on the radar.
"Sir, we have an FFV spot on the radar at position 2-5-7", Susan announced.
"Right, let's have a look", Mike answered.
Susan took the microphone and announced : "Hands to the boarding stations. Hands to the boarding stations."
She and Dutchy left the bridge and went to the armoury for their guns. There they were joined by Harpie, 2Dads and Bomber.
The FFV was a rusty craft that smelled from miles away. The boat didn't stop and the RHIB moved quickly along side.
"Gosh, what's that for a smell?", Susan asked, making a face.
"Snails. These are the worst", Bomber answered showing one of her painful faces.
"Is it?"
"Sorry X, your first FFV is just such a one."
Harpie manoeuvred just next to the boat and they prepared to jump on board. Susan grabbed the side and jumped on board leaving Dutchy startled behind. The others followed her immediately.
She pulled her gun and swayed in the direction of the laconic Asian crew .
"This is an Australian warship! Everybody on the ground! Who's the master of this vessel?", she yelled with one breath. Dutchy worked himself forward, but Susan stepped closer to the cabin, but then a sturdier man with rough wild black hair came form behind the corner and swung a baseball bat in the direction of Susan's head.
"Susan! Watch!", Duchy yelled.
She noticed the swing from the side and turned her body a quarter and the stick missed her but just grazed her left upper arm. She groaned and due to the smash she had her gun dropped. But the man had put all his force in the swing so that he lost time to make a new swing. She pulled her right arm back and swung it forward and hit the man straight on his lower jaw, knocking him out. He felt like a bag potatoes on deck and didn't move anymore.
Susan took a few deep breaths and comforted her right hand, but she couched due to the smell.
"X, you're ok?", asked Dutchy surprised. He still couldn't believe his eyes what he just saw. She knocked a big man down just like he would have done.
Jesus, you'd better don't have a quarrel with her!
"Yeah… Yeah", she made a face when she started feeling her left upper arm. "Stop this damn boat! 2Dads, Bomber, check downstairs, but careful!", she snapped.
"Right! Again. Who's the master of this boat?", she asked again the sailors firmly.
One of them pointed to the man on the ground. Meanwhile Dutchy stopped the boat and she heard that 2Dads was calling her.
"X, Bingo! Full load. Come and have a look."
"Coming!", she yelled back.
She went down but regretted that immediately. The smell of the rotten snails was awful. She gasped for air.
"X-Ray to Charlie A1. What's the situation?" The voice of Mike sounded in their headphones.
She took that opportunity to get out quickly.
"Charlie A1. Plenty with snails. Illegally fished", she replied huskily.
"All right, I'll send a crew to bring that vessel to the nearest port."
"X, I want to look at your arm", Bomber said who had followed her.
"It's ok, it will be a big bruise, but that will pass, thank you."
"Gosh, Mike send that crew quickly, I want to be of this boat." She mumbled.
A few minutes later they were back at the Hammersley at the armoury. When she gave her gun back to Dutchy who put it back in the rack she said. "Dutchy, I almost forget, thank you for saving my life."
"No problem X, but can I say something?" He motioned with his eyes to indicate her that the others must have left before saying something.
"Yeah, sure", she replied with a short nod.
"X, normally with a boarding it's me who jumps first. You come in second line."
"Yeah, but an officer has to give the example."
"I know, but here it's different. You are more valuable in second line. Your place is there for commanding."
Sweat pearls appeared on her forehead. Dutchy noticed it too and noticed she got ash grey. "X, you ok?", he asked concerned.
"Yeah, you're ri.. Fmmbl…" She put a hand to her mouth, pushed him aside and rushed outside to throw her lunch back in the sea.
He went after her and comforted her by putting his hand on her back.
Afterwards she gasped for air.
"You're ok?"
"Gosh, that bloody smell had made me as sick as possible. I hope they are all not like that?"
"Snails are the worst. Sharks are also bad, but it's another smell."
"Great, that's promising. I think I will become best friends with the railing here."
Espiritu Santo
Kate sat apathetic on the bed and stared blankly to the wall. Tears were running down her cheeks.
"Mike, I miss you. Where are you staying? Dutchy, 2Dads, Bomber, guys, get me out of here, Please!", she cried faint.
…
Everything hurts, I feel wretched.
I vomit almost every day and my head bursts.
I feel so dirty, so humiliated.
…
How long is this going to take?
I'm already addicted to that stuff. I feel it. By evening I would do everything to get an injection. Awful!
What the hell am I doing?
I never thought that my career would run like this.
…
I wished so much to marry Mike and to start a family.
When I'm coming home I can't look him anymore in the eyes. I became a junk and a hooker.
…
If I ever come home?
…
I wished I was dead…