Chapter Five-

Greer was halfway through now, and was now partly convinced that the group of sailors she was meeting weren't totally inept at their jobs. She'd worked other jobs with Internal Affairs before that had been worse; crews threatening to revolt against their captain, blatant disregard for rules. The Hammersley crew did disregard rules, but they were firm about trying to follow them as best they could. The ones they had broken whilst on patrol or a boarding party were generally broken in the interest of saving a life, and preservation of life was something she could agree with. As for the matter of Lieutenant Martin and Commander Flynn; that was something for their superior officer to sort out, not her. She consulted her list again. With very few crew left to interview, she was down to the last couple of sailors. Granted, she'd still have to come back later and finish interviewing the three injured sailors, but for now, she only had one sailor left to interview.

Leading Seaman Leo Kosov-Meyer.


Interview Room One- Internal Affairs Officer Laura Greer

"Leo? Please, join me in here," said Laura after she opened the door. 2Dads was nervous; being the last one interview either meant you were going to be in trouble, or your interview was going to be a sufferance because they'd be tired. Either way, he didn't see a win. He took the offered seat in the interview room across from Laura. She hefted out his file from the stack sitting beside her.

"2Dads. You've got quite a history going here," she commented.

"Oh?" Replied 2Dads.

"Stole a monkey, managed to get two other crew members in trouble with the man you stole the monkey from, gambles, was impressively involved in a bomb explosion at a bar. Not many sailors can lay a claim to fame like you can Leo. Now, I've heard from some crew members that you're in a stable relationship with Rebecca Brown, formerly Petty Officer Brown?" Leo nodded; no use denying it.

"I have also heard from reliable sources that you were involved in a relationship whilst you were both serving on HMAS Hammersley?" Leo chose not to confirm her suspicions.

"Because if you were, and you didn't declare it to your superior officers, you could find yourself in serious…"

"We were found out, and Bec decided she needed to leave. She took nearly two years off from the Navy before returning to active duty, and we starte…" Leo trailed off as he realised his mistake.

"You didn't tell Commander White the second time around, did you?" Asked Laura. Leo looked down at his hands. Laura made a note on the pad next to her.

"Right sailor. Time to spill about this relationship."


Kate tied back her hair neatly. Her interview with IA had been ridiculously long and tedious. Questions about Mike, about Dutchy, about Pete; about her attempted suicide. Her officer even questioned as to whether she was really ready to return to active duty or not. Kate ended up leaving, slamming the door on Fletcher's face. She regretted it now, and wondered what he was going to write about her. She finished in the bathroom and headed back to Maxine's office; she'd been called up with Mike and Kelly to meet the new candidate for Hammersley's buffer. When she arrived at Maxine's office, she noticed Kelly's tearstained face and her bruised appearance.

"How did things go with IA?" Asked Kate.

"Not too well. I think Maxine is going to separate us," replied Kelly, another tear streaking down her face.

"Wait and see. Max thinks both of you are excellent officers, and to be truly honest Kel, he's worked the best with you out of any XO he's had. Consider yourselves really lucky that Maxine understands. That, and she really doesn't want to ruin the role model Ryan has in Mike," Kate responded. Before Mike could say anything, Maxine opened her door.

"Kate, Mike, Kelly, come in." The odd trio entered her office and each took a seat.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Alex Taylor. Taylor, this is Commander Flynn, Lieutenant Commander Kate McGregor and Lieutenant Kelly Martin." Alex smiled at all of them, and then did a double take when he saw Kate.

"Princess? Princess Perfect, right?" He asked. Kate blushed.

"Yes, that was me," she replied, slightly embarrassed.

"I was a year above you in the Academy. Your reputation is rather well-known, even to those of us who were granted the experience of being in your class," said Alex.

"Wait. You're not Alexander are you? Refused to let anyone call you Alex?" Now it was Taylor's turn to look slightly embarrassed.

"How do you know that one?" He asked, face reddening.

"It's Katie! We were dating for six months before you graduated and were then posted to HMAS Kuttabul Base in Sydney." The embarrassing moment between them turned into one of reunion. Mike and Kelly just look confused. Alex and Kate embraced for a brief moment before returning to their professional faces.

"So before me was him?" Asked Mike.

"There was always someone before you Mike. You just never asked."

"This is touching that you were once friends Lieutenant Commander McGregor, but this is an official meeting," reminded Maxine.

"Of course. My apologies ma'am."

"Mike, Kelly, I'd like you to meet Alex. He's going to serve as your Buffer on Hammersley whilst Tomaszewski is on medical leave pending clearance. He's been very highly recommended by Jumper as a very competent sailor, and I believe he's going to be a very valuable addition to the Hammersley crew," said Maxine.

"But isn't Buffer coming back?" Asked Kelly.

"Until the surgeon's clear him, no. His shoulder needs time to heal, and he's due for some long service leave as well. Until further notice, Taylor will be taking over position as Petty Officer Bosun on Hammersely. Kate, if you could take Taylor outside, I need a moment with Kelly and Mike." Kate nodded and she and Alex exited the room. Kelly and Mike sat nervously in front of Maxine.

"Now, I know you two were trying to work things out so you could be together, and because of Pete's accident, unfortunately I can't reassign Mike to desk duty. I have gathered many of the NAVCOM heads, to try and work out what we can do for you. We have agreed, given the circumstances, that you and Kelly will be given special permissions to continue on Hammersley together even though you're in a relationship. Any sign of it interfering with your duties, and you will find yourselves both off Hammerlsley and reassigned to opposite ends of Australia. Got it?" Kelly and Mike breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Commander White. You have no idea what this means to me. To us," said Kelly gratefully.

"Oh. I know what it means. Just don't screw it up."


Interview Room Two- Internal Affairs Officer Michael Fletcher

Michael sifted through the papers on his desk, and picked up the file Laura had given him. Seaman Alexei Hunt had been referred to him after an interview with Laura, and she found her to be slightly suspicious. Michael opened the door to the interview room, and allowed Lex inside.

"Alexei. It's nice to meet you today," said Michael conversationally.

"Is it? It's the second time you've had me in these damn interview rooms. Why the hell am I back here?" Demanded Lex.

"IA Officer Greer felt that she didn't connect with you well, and wanted me to do a follow up interview with you. It's just procedure. I'm sorry if we've upset you," apologised Michael.

"It's just frustrating. It's the third time I've been here in the past two days. Once to be interviewed by a Naval officer about possible deceiving my crew and putting them in danger, and now twice to be interviewed by you! It just seems ridiculous that you can't decide whether I'm an issue or not." Michael took notes on her outburst, and once finished, sat there calmly.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" Replied Michael.

"Am I an issue?"