SATCHWELL RESIDENCE, CAIRNS

Jennifer Satchwell had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room waiting for her husband to come home. She had awoken several times during the night and had considered going up to bed but it didn't feel right not having him there even though this was something she was used to being a Navy wife. She had woken up once more for what seemed like the fifth time that night and looked over at the clock on top of the television. It was now fast approaching 6am and a blue early morning light was creeping through the break in the curtains.

She sat upright and leaned forward to rub her tired eyes. They stung bitterly at the contact her fingers were making against them and her whole body ached from a cocktail of exhaustion and the awkward position she had got herself into on the sofa. Holding her face in her hands she felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. She had spent three hours of the previous evening phoning friends and family who might have seen Matt since he had left after his outburst but unfortunately it amounted to nothing. Out of desperation she contacted the Police who proved less than helpful demanding that he be missing for over twenty four hours before they would do anything. It felt hopeless and all she was left to do was to wait for him to come home.

She shuddered suddenly as a cold prickly feeling danced on the back of her neck. A gentle yet cold breeze had grazed her skin and she turned to look for the source. It was coming from out in the hallway and she felt compelled to investigate its source. Lifting her aching body to its feet she seemed to walk awkwardly for several paces as her legs readjusted themselves to carrying out their basic function. Every step seemed forced as the breeze continued to taunt her as it now landed on her face in gentle and inconsistent gusts.

Stepping into the hallway she looked to the right and to her amazement the front door was wide open. A million possibilities ran through her mind. They ranged from the benign; she had somehow forgotten to lock it, to the frightening possibility that there was an intruder in the house. The hairs on the back of her neck rose in a burst of paranoia. Unsure whether or not she was alone she walked almost sideways to the door to keep her back to the wall and thus allow her to watch for anyone who might try and sneak up on her. As she reached the door she peered out hoping to find the car parked outside meaning Matt had come home and left the door open. It wasn't there.

Jennifer's breathing quickened. Adrenalin filled her veins giving her a surge of energy but she didn't seem to have any real outlet for it. A part of her wanted to run next door and call for help but she knew that she would look quite foolish if it turned out to be nothing. As silly as it sounded she feared looking foolish more than she did the possibility of an intruder.

There was only one thing for it. She was going to have to search the house herself. She began looking around for a possible weapon she could use. She had no intention of attacking anyone but just the possibility was enough to give her the courage to begin moving around her own home. She considered using an umbrella that sat perched up against the wall near the door but its bright yellow and red colouring was hardly intimidating. With that in mind she began to make her way slowly towards the kitchen keeping her back firmly up against the wall as she tried to keep her eyes on the door and the stairs at the same time.

She stepped into the kitchen and rushed to the drawer next to the sink. Opening it, she quickly removed a long bread knife and held it out defensively as she began to make her way back into the hall. Even in her heightened state she knew that the bread knife was hardly a dangerous weapon but she could at least threaten someone with it.

Keeping the door open to allow an intruder easy escape she slowly began to climb the stairs. Every step was controlled and slow so as not to make a noise that might alert anyone to her presence before she was ready. As her head reached the level of the next floor she peered through the gaps in the banister to see if anyone was there.

"What are you doing?"

With her senses sharper than the edge of her bread knife the voice startled her to the point where she recoiled back and landed quite hard against the wall. Trying desperately to catch her breath she looked over towards the bedroom and found Matt standing in the doorway. She gripped her chest as her heart fought for control of its beats and it took her a few seconds to compose herself properly.

Matt on the other hand was quite calm. He stood in the doorway to their bedroom staring at her with an expressionless face and eyes that seemed somehow misplaced from the rest of his body although Jennifer couldn't quite understand it.

"I thought you were a burglar or something," she explained half breathlessly.

Matt didn't seem to flinch. It was as if he didn't care. He merely continued to stand there staring down at her on the stairs.

"I'm sorry," he said monotonously.

"Where's the car?" she asked.

"At the harbour."

"Well…Why is it there?" she asked as the emotion of fear subsided to be replaced by a rising feeling of anger towards him for scaring her like this. He didn't answer. The two of them continued to stare at each other for several moments. He seemed to adamantly refuse to engage in conversation and Jennifer put this down to a result of their last encounter in the kitchen. Maybe he was ashamed? Looking at him it didn't feel like that was it. She couldn't place it exactly. In fact she didn't seem to recognize her husband at all. It certainly was him physically but her instincts were setting off alarm bells telling her to be on her guard.

Finally she could take the silence no longer and so she asked in her loving way, "Where have you been all night long?"

"Walking."

"Where?" she asked.

"Just…Walking."

She was about to ask him again when he turned and walked coldly back into the bedroom leaving his wife standing still on the stairs. She was about to follow him up when she remembered the door was still open so she quickly ran back downstairs to lock it before going back up. She placed the bread knife on the window sill at the top of the stairs before following him into the bedroom.

Strewn out across the bed was Matt's white Royal Australian Navy uniform. Matt sat on the edge of the bed with the hat in his hand. His eyes looked down at the crown and feathers that were emblazoned across the front as though it were somehow unfamiliar to him. Reinforcing what his eyes could see he ran his fingers across the front to feel its rough texture. The edges of his lips suddenly curled upward as though he were telling himself some private joke.

"Is everything alright?" she asked him. "Are…Are we ok?"

Her question interrupted his train of thought and he put the hat down on the bedside table. He then turned to face her and replied unemotionally, "Of course." He stood up in a brisk movement that seemed to make Jennifer jump with unease before he began to put the uniform onto the small chair adjacent to their bed. Once he was done he turned to her and said, "I have a long day today. I need to get some sleep."

As he looked at Jennifer he indicated for her to join him. A few minutes later she lay in bed with him, her head resting on his shoulder. He held her as he always had done ever since they had begun dating almost seven years ago and yet it felt different this time. The whole act seemed uncomfortable as if there was some force trying to push her away from him.

Although it wasn't the ideal situation Jennifer was, at least, thankful that her husband was home and was safe. She chalked the whole thing up to stress at work and tried to leave it at that.

NAVCOM, CAIRNS

0915hrs

Kate's tired face seemed to droop of its own accord as she walked the steps upto the NAVCOM building. She had been at the hospital with Mike and Nikki until Spider's adoptive parents showed up at about midnight. Kate noted the fear in their eyes that transcended the fact that he was not their biological son. Even if he had been she doubted that his mother could have cried any harder than she did. Kate had managed to get an hour or so of sleep before she had to report to NAVCOM. She had tried to cover the bags that had formed under her eyes with make up but they stubbornly refused to magically disappear as the commercials had always promised.

It was not long before she made her way to Commander Marshall who was busy in the Operations Room with yet another FFV intercept in the Arafura Sea. As his eyes passed over her he suddenly stopped talking to the Captain of HMAS Advance and took off his wireless headset before rushing towards her.

"Kate!" he said acknowledging her before she had time to say anything. "Come with me!" There seemed an inherent urgency in his voice and she followed him into his office so they could talk privately. Kate feared that he had been informed that Spider had taken a turn for the worse while she had been asleep and so she braced herself for the news.

"Kate, have you been informed of what happened last night with regards to Able Seaman Andrews?"

Kate's eyebrows narrowed as she stood stunned at the fact that after Spider being glassed in a bar he wanted to talk about Scooter? Then she remembered that there was suspicion being cast on him for what happened.

"No sir," she replied allowing him to explain rather than come up with her own theories.

Marshall inhaled a rather hefty amount of air before explaining, "His body was pulled out of the sea this morning by a fisherman. At first they thought he had fallen off the pier but when the cops got there they found that he had received a blow to the back of the head before he went in."

Kate felt the ground tremble beneath her. She knew exactly what Marshall was getting at. It appeared that someone had killed Scooter and as the thought tore a hole in her mind she drew only one possible conclusion; it was Buffer who had done it. It made sense. He had the motive for doing it and the Police were looking for him because he disappeared before he could be asked any questions. Even if he didn't have anything to do with it his actions outside the club had at least put him in the light as the prime suspect.

"Kate, I have to ask this," explained Marshall carefully. "While onboard the Amberley did anyone seem to have any grudge against Andrews?"

"No sir," she explained truthfully. "He had his moments but nothing to that extent."

"Ok," he said before asking what she was thinking. "With regards to what happened to Able Seaman Webb last night at the club; I know that there was a belief that Andrews was somehow involved. With that in mind do you know anyone who might have decided to get some sort of pay back?"

"We are concerned that Mr. Tomaszewski may do something silly like try to take the law into his own hands."

The Police constable's words from the hospital echoed in her mind. Marshall had noticed that her eyes had broken away from his as she turned in thought. Realizing she was taking too long to answer she turned back and seemed to blurt out the word, "No!"

"Right," said Marshall hinting that he knew it was a lie. "Well the cops are going to want to have a word with everyone at the club and everyone who was on Amberley including yourself."

"Understood sir," she said.

"Very well Lieutenant Commander, dismissed!" Kate turned to leave the room but before she could open the door Marshall called out, "Oh and uh, Kate!" She turned to look at him. "If you do have any revelations about who might be involved, you won't be doing them any favours by covering for them."

Kate didn't know what to say. She simply nodded and stepped out of his office with Marshall's accusing eyes boring into the back of her neck. After getting back outside the NAVCOM building she walked off to the side and took her phone out of her pocket. She accessed her phonebook and selected 'BUFFER'.

Holding the phone up to her head she heard the dial tone before Pete's rather awkward voice saying, "Hi it's Pete, I'm not able to…Oh you know what to do." There was a sudden beeping sound for her to begin recording her message.

"Pete, it's Kate!" She seemed to stop as she noticed the desperation in her voice. She tried to tell herself that she was acting as his CO and she knew she had to maintain her professionalism. "Buffer, when you get this, call me. It's urgent!"

She ended the call and put her phone back into her pocket. The exhaustion in her body had gone, replaced by an overwhelming restlessness. She knew she had duties to perform today, Amberley having been considered repaired and training was supposed to resume, and yet they seemed unimportant to her now. In all likelihood the training would be cancelled anyway after what had happened but still the fact remained that her judgement was being clouded by her emotional involvement in this whole affair.

THE SAMARU ISLANDS

The capital city was rocked by the blast that rang out into the early morning air. It was followed by a series of loud popping sounds that sounded like someone walking on bubblewrap packaging. Children being readied for school were suddenly dragged indoors by terrified parents who had become all too familiar with the sounds of gunfire that were enveloping the city.

Before long, Toyota pick up trucks were screeching through the streets with armed men and even young boys riding in them shooting at Police officers and the United Nations aid workers unlucky enough to have been out of the main compound that morning.

At approximately O835hrs local time (0935hrs in Cairns) a pair of Australian Army Black Hawk helicopters escorted by French Tiger attack helicopters swooped in over the city in an attempt to rescue the besieged Samaruan President. Heavy gunfire forced them to abandon their effort.

At 0950hrs local time the announcement was broadcast across all the world's major news networks. The Samaruan President was dead! The Country had once again descended into civil war.