23, July:
Josh pulled into the garage, got out of the car, and went to grab Nikki's seabag from the back.
"Leave it, I'll get it later," she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him to her. She kissed him softly at first, but it didn't take long before things became heated.
"You look hot in your DPNUs, Petty Officer," she drawls.
He begins kissing her behind her ear and down and along her neck, sending delicious shivers through her. "Well, my sexy Lieutenant, let me show you just how hot…" They barely made it into the house before falling onto each other.
Later, after diner, they were relaxing outside on the balcony. "Nik, there was a notice in the post a couple of days ago. Pearson Marine is having a memorial service for the divers next Saturday."
"You're going, I presume. Of course, you are. Seeing as we're for maintenance, I can go with you if you like."
"I would love it if you would."
"Of course. What time is the service?"
"Pearson has chartered a cruiser. He's taking the families out to Red Reef to lay wreaths in the water."
"That sounds nice. Where are they leaving from?"
"The Muni pier. We need to be there for 8:45 for a 9:30 departure."
"I'll call Kate tomorrow to make sure I won't have watch that day."
"Thanks, Babe. I'm glad that you're going to be there."
The next morning Josh was trying to sneak out without waking Nikki. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? The last time you left without waking me, I lost you for two weeks. Come here."
Smiling, he went to her and sat on the side of the bed. " Nikki, be good, or I'll be late."
"I've been gone for two weeks, I want a proper kiss goodbye."
Josh ended up missing breakfast and just barely making it to the shed on time.
"Glad you could make it," Lieutenant Greenwell said.
Josh just smirked. " Alright, ET, Hammersley as a few issues that their tech couldn't sort out. Here's the list. Also, she's due for electrical inspections. Take King and Watson with you."
"Yes, Sir." He signals to the two sailors assigned to him. "Get your gear, meet me out front."
"Yes, ET," they both acknowledge the order.
Josh leads them onto Hammersley and is immediately greeted by Charge. "ET! Good to see ya. I wasn't sure who they would be sending us. I'm glad to see you, mate."
"The LT knows I hail from Hammersley. He's a good guy. Charge, this is Seaman John King and Seaman Jammie Watson. John has been out of tech school for a year, Jammie just six months. They'll be working with me."
Charge addresses the two seamen, " You can't find a better teacher or bloke for that matter."
"Gee Charge, you're making me blush."
"What's this I see on your shoulders. You've made PO congratulations."
" Thanks, Charge. Well, lead on and show us what you've got going on." Charge led them off to the engine room.
Turning to King and Watson as they made their way through the passageways, " have either of you had experience on patrol boats?" Josh asks.
"No, ET, worked on a couple of frigates," John answered.
"I've only done bench work," Jammie answered.
"Alright, when we finish here, I'll take you on a tour. You should learn your way around. You'll most likely be seeing the inside of a patrol boat on a routine basis."
They were almost to the engine compartment when Mike happened through the passageway from the opposite direction. ET stopped and saluted, "Captain," the young seamen saluted as well.
"ET! It's good to see you on Hammersley. On your way to the engine room, I take it."
"Yes, Sir. I understand that Two Dads is having some trouble chasing down a problem with one of the panels."
"I have no doubt that you'll get it squared away. We miss you on the boat. How do you like your posting so far."
"Very much, Sir. The best part is being around when Nikki is in port."
"I get that. Well, carry on."
Entering the engine compartment, Charge tells ET about the problem that they have been having with the power to one of the compressors cutting out intermittently.
"Alright, let's have a look," Josh instructs John to remove the panel covers, then he goes about explaining how to chase down the problem.
"Do you have the gyro panel on the bridge on your list?"
"Yeah, we'll, tackle this, then take a look."
Josh had told Nikki that he would most likely be home around 4:00, but as things went, he had to text her that he would be later than he thought, probably closer to 6:00.
"Well, Charge, looks like we've got this little issue taken care of. We'll back in the morning to do the electrical safety checks. Will you be here?"
"Nah, I start my shore leave tomorrow. Hey, we'll be hitting the pub tomorrow night. You and Nav should join us. Be like old times."
"That sounds like a plan. I'll talk to her."
Josh and his crew returned to the maintenance shed, he filled out his report, signed out, and headed for home. Walking in and climbing the stairs, he could smell something wonderful coming from the direction of the kitchen.
"Nikki?"
Nikki appeared at the top of the stairs to greet him with a kiss. "How did it go on Hammersley?"
"It was good. We got everything sorted out. Tomorrow we start the electrical safety tests. That'll probably take all day," his arms still wrapped around her. " How was your day?"
"It was quiet. I went to the grocery, that was big," she chuckled. " Do you want to shower? Dinner will be ready in twenty."
Giving her a peck, "that sounds good. What's on the stove that smells so awesome?"
"Baked pasta and meatballs." Josh's stomach rumbled.
Showered and changed, Josh sat down at the table. " This is nice, coming home to a beautiful woman and dinner on the table."
Nikki gave him a friendly swat on the shoulder, " don't go all caveman on me," making Josh laugh.
7 May, One month before the dive boat incident :
Marc Mathews knew Campbell Fulton from his days at Fisheries and he also knew of his dodgy reputation. Mathews and his associates were looking to expand their drug-running operation into Cairns. Fulton might just be the right bloke for the job. He remembered that Fulton had some troubles with the Feds, and he hoped to exploit that. He put a man on him to ferret out what he had been up to. He wanted to see if he might be someone that they could bring into the business. His man's report told him that Fulton was living modestly in Cairns and worked for Pearson Marine as a diving consultant.
The investigator was then ordered to check into Pearson Marine. As it turned out, Pearson was having some financial problems and might be ripe for the picking.
Mathews had Fulton followed, and when Fulton went into the Seaside Pub, Fulton's tail called in and reported where he could be found.
Campbell Fulton was having a burger and a beer when he noticed an old mate, Jerry Mathews, from the Fisheries and gave a wave.
"Hey, Fulton," Marc said as he approached Fulton's table. " A surprise meeting you here."
"Marc," Fulton said, standing and shaking his hand. " Are you alone?"
"I am, just stopped off for a bite."
"Why not join me, then? We can catch up, mate. I just ordered. Let me buy you a beer."
Marc took a seat, and Fulton signalled for the waiter to come over. " My mate is going to join me. Could you bring a menu?"
"So, Fulton, how the hell have you been. You just seemed to disappear from the Fisheries, what happened? I heard a rumour that there was some nasty business, and you got the boot."
Fulton scowled, "Freak'n Navy. I had an assignment chasing down trochus poachers. The Navy was assisting by getting me in there. Well, you know how I am with the ladies," he said with a sly smile. "There was this hot lieutenant that I tried to pick up, and things didn't go like I planned. Then I got into it with this bloke, one of the sailors that had the hots for her. Long story short, I was charged with sexually assaulting the lieutenant and attempted murder of the asshole."
"Jeez, mate. What in the bloody hell did you do, and how in the hell did you get out of that?"
"All charges were dropped. No witnesses, my word against his. The lieutenant dropped her charges when I explained to her how I would ruin her career and that of her lover boy by reporting that they were having a shipboard relationship against Navy regulations. Even though the charges were dropped, Fisheries gave me the boot. Said I didn't hold up to their standard of conduct, that I wasn't the kind of person that they wanted representing the department."
"Shit, sorry to hear that, mate. What are you doing now?"
"I got this job with a company that supplies aquariums with fish and the like, Pearson Marine Supply out to Cairns. Okay, now how about you. What have you been getting into?"
" I left Fisheries to get into charter fishing. My pops died and left me a bit of scratch, so I bought a boat. I got me a nice Huckins 45 sportfishing cruiser. You should come with me, fish, have some beers…"
"Yeah, you know, I would like that."
"How about tomorrow? Going to be around? I don't have anything scheduled; we'll have the boat to ourselves."
"I can be."
"Good, 6:00 at the Main Street Marina. I'm second pier, all the way down on the right."
They finished their meal, shook hands, and went their separate ways for the night.
The next morning, Fulton arrived a the Marina and found Jerry's boat. He let loose a whistle. " Marc! This is a beauty! Must have been quite the inheritance."
"Well, I've done a few side jobs here and there, and business has been good, so I was able to upgrade my boat. Come aboard, I show you around, and then we'll get going."
Later, as they fished, Marc confided in Fulton about his side business of ferrying drugs for a consortium out of Timor. If Fulton didn't go along and looked like he would be a problem, he would be joining the fishes.
"We're looking to get into Cairns. Are you interested? You can make a lot of scratch, I mean, a lot." Marc said.
"I might be. What did you have in mind?"
" My partners and I have had our eye on Pearson Marine, out of Cairns. Heard of them? "
Fulton gives a chuckle, "You might say that. I work for them, 'consulting' on certain ahh, things that come up. Pearson is into some dodgy stuff."
"Do you think he would be interested in making a boatload of cash? And I do mean cash. This is a cash business."
"You know, business has been down lately, and he's talked about cutting down on the dives. What have you got in mind?"
"We need a boat to do runs into Cairns. We need to work out a way to transfer the product from the carrier coming from Timor to a boat from Cairns. The boat comes in from Timor and drops the merchandise on an island. We need a boat out of Cairns to pick it up and ferry the merchandise in."
" Sounds simple enough. Want me to set up a meeting with Pearson? I think that he might be game."
"Only if you think he'll go for it. Can't have a lot of people knowing about it."
"No worries. I'll feel him out tomorrow and get back to you."
They fished for a few more hours, and Fulton landed a 45kg black marlin to show for their trip out.
The next morning Fulton arranged to meet Gerry Pearson in the listened to what Fulton had to say, told him he was interested in the scheme, and Fulton set up the meeting. Two days later, they all got together in Pearson's office.
" Marc, this is Gerry Pearson, owner of Pearson Marine. Gerry, this is my mate, Marc Mathews." Fulton introduced.
" I take it Campbell has filled you in on what we need. How do you think this could work?" Mathews asked. "Do you have something in mind?"
"I've been thinking about that. We often dive the Red Reef area to harvest fish and coral. There is a group of small islands. One in particular that I'm familiar with is Penfold Island. I've camped there. There's an old WWII bunker on the Island that would be perfect for holding the shipment until it could be picked up, you know, maybe a day or two between the drop-off and pickup? That would keep suspicion down over increased activity in the area. I think we make some special containers with false bottoms—little fishies on the top, merchandise on the bottom. We bring the containers onto the dive boat and transfer the fish per usual. Handoff the goods when we return to the warehouse…say a supply van picking up the fish and coral for shipping."
"Sounds simple enough. When do you think you could take your first delivery?"
"I'll need to change dive teams to one that is amenable to this sort of thing. Let me work on how I can replace them. The dive team right now would never go for this. I don't think running two teams would be a good idea. One might run into the other. In fact, one of the divers is a moonlighting Navy diver who will be joining the team full time in a couple of weeks."
"Don't take too long. The supplier wants to move on this. Don't try and double-cross us either. Wouldn't be good for your health."
"No worries. Fulton will let you know by the end of the week where we stand." They shook hands, and Marc left to pass on that he had made an arrangement to take in Cairns.
" Gerry, you have a Navy Sailor on the dive boat?" Fulton asked. " I know a few of them, who?"
"I believe his name is Josh Holiday. He's actually leaving the Navy and was signing on full-time."
"Son of a bitch."
" Why, you know him?"
"Yeah, I know him. Had a run-in with him earlier in the year."
"Let's work on how we're going to get rid of that crew so we can get a new crew in place that will be in on what we're going to be doing. Fulton, that's on you. I don't want to know anything; it'll make it easier when I have to talk with the Feds. If there is an accident, and I am assuming that there will, you know that something that big will bring the Feds around. Maybe Marc can point you in the direction of some players."
"The boats insured, right?"
"Yeah,"
"Maybe it has an accident...just disappears?"
"Fulton, that's pretty harsh."
" Yeah, well, how do you can a whole crew without good cause and then hire another one? Jerry, we stand to make millions. Set up a fund for the families if it helps you sleep at night. Holiday being on board... well, that's a nice bonus."
"Let me think about it."
"Like Marc said, don't think too long."
"Alright, I'm in."
"Good. I'll let Marc know, and I'll be in touch."
Saturday 26 July: Six weeks after the incident
It was a pleasant winter day, sunny with the temperature in the mid-20s and a cloudless sky. They would have perfect weather for the memorial service.
Josh and Nikki arrived at the Muni docks at 8:30. Taking Nikki's hand, they walked to the dock where several of the families were chatting while waiting to board the cruiser. They joined the group and introduced quickly became apparent that Josh was the lone survivor, making Josh uncomfortable. They were talking with Marco and Nicks parents with Jenny's brother standing nearby, when Kai Chen, Mai's father, approached the group and walked up to Josh. " You are Mr Holiday?"
"I am, It's Josh, please."
"I'm Kai Chen, Mai's father."
"It's nice to meet you, Sir. Mai was a great girl."
"Humm, yes, yes, she was special. So, tell me, Josh, how is it that you lived when they all died?"
Josh felt Nikki stiffen next to him, she wasn't happy with the direction of this conversation. Josh took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze silently telling her that it's alright. He had been expecting some anger towards him, it's normal.
"Mr Chen, may I call you Kai?"
"Mr Chen is fine."
"Alright, Mr Chen, I can't tell you why I survived, and the others didn't. I almost didn't. If HMAS Hammersley hadn't been close by searching for the dive boat…well I wouldn't be here either."
Nikki bristled and jumped into the conversation. Extending her hand, " I'm Nikki Caetano, I'm a lieutenant on the Hammersley. We were sent from Cairns urgently to search for a missing dive boat. We arrived in the area of Red Reef and our lookout spotted the divers washed onto the beach. A boat was sent immediately to assess the situation."
Turning to Josh again, " You are Navy, right?"
"Yes, Sir. I was working casually for Pearson Marine."
"And you were washed ashore as well? So, lieutenant, you took care of your own first?" The other guests slowly moved closer to listen to what was happening.
"Is that why you survived, and my Mai did not?"
Nikki continues, " Mr Chen, the shore party, hit the beach running. There were four of us, and we ran to each diver looking and hoping for signs of life. Josh was one of the last to be checked. When I found him, he was barely breathing, his pulse was faint. Then he stopped breathing. Our medic and another sailor performed CPR and got him back. He was still unconscious when he was brought onto the ship. He remained unconscious, in a coma, for almost two weeks. All of the other divers were already gone when we got there.
I'm so very sorry for your loss, Mr Chen, but this hasn't been easy for him either, there's been nightmares and guilt because he lived."
Letting go of her hand, Josh slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. "Shhh," he whispered. " It's okay, Nik."
"I get that he's angry, but…" Nikki says.
"Mr Chen, I am so sorry about Mai and the others, devastated really. They were all my mates but I can't be sorry that I lived."
Mr Chen was calmer. " You must remember something, how this happened?"
"I'm sorry, I don't. The last thing that I remember was gearing up and asking John how long we would be. Mai was a great mate, fun, always laughing. None of them deserved to have their lives taken like that."
Kai Chen bowed his head, then extended his hand to Josh. "I apologise, Mr Holiday."
Josh took his hand, " it's okay, you're angry, and it's okay."
The others moved away and slipped back into quiet conversations. Fifteen minutes later they all boarded the boat, and the vessel pulled away from the dock for the hour and a half cruise to Red Reef.
Josh had his arm around Nikki as they stood near the side-rail enjoying the breeze. "Josh, look!" she said, pointing to a pod of dolphins chasing along the side of the boat.
Pulling her closer, he places a kiss on her temple. "They're supposed to bring good luck for sailors when they swim with a ship."
"They're beautiful."
"Yeah, like you."
"Corney Holiday, but I love it. Are you going to be okay?"
"I think so. I'm so glad that you're here."
"I am too. Hammersley had some good timing for once."
The cruiser's captain brought the boat to a stop just off the island where the divers were found. Chairs had been assembled on the aft deck along with a small lectern.
The Chaplin said a prayer gave a brief homily then family members of the fallen divers' took turns saying a few words about their lost loved ones.
After all had spoken, Josh stepped forward. "I'm sure that everyone here is now aware that I am the tenth crew member, the survivor. If you don't know me, my name is Josh Holiday. I realise how difficult it must be for you to see me standing here when those you loved are not. Sometimes it's difficult for me too. During those times, I remind myself of the gift that I have been given.
Nick, Stan, Mai, Pete, Jenny and Kevin, Marco, Dave and John had this gift of life ripped from them. These beautiful souls didn't deserve this hand that had been dealt. I sincerely hope that the mongrels responsible will be found and prosecuted.
But today, we should celebrate their lives.
Mai, always a smile and a kind word. She was always a ray of sunshine.
Stan, Stan was always ready with a joke. Some were even pretty good." There were a few chuckles. " Some, not so much, but we would laugh anyway just because of the enthusiasm that he had telling them.
Jenny, how she loved the dolphins and the turtles. She took countless photos, and they were good. She had an eye, a talent for photographing nature.
Marco, always there with a helping hand wherever it was needed. Not just on the boat either. You needed furniture moved, he'd be there.
Nick loved to entertain us with stories of his kiddos, Sharon and Michael, I believe their names are. They were his shining light.
Pete, a large man, a gentle man, who loved to cook. He would bring food for us all the time. And his brownies, God they were good.
Kevin, he could talk." Again there was some light laughter. " Kevin would have something to say about any subject; sports, politics, the weather. It didn't matter, he could chatter about it.
Davo, he loved music. The soundbox was always playing. Occasionally he would bring his guitar along and play while we motored to our destination for the day.
And John, our dive captain. John's Dad couldn't be here today, he's recovering from surgery. John lost his mother and sister to a tragic car accident one year ago. Now, John has joined them. He was a great dive captain, always safety first, always looking out for us.
These nine men and women were good mates, and beautiful people and I feel privileged and honoured to have known them. You will always be remembered, and you will continue to live on in all of our memories.
May you rest in eternal peace."
Josh bowed his head, his cheeks wet with tears as he stepped away from the lectern. Nikki stepped over to him, hugged him and then they returned to their place among the others.
It was time for the wreath-laying ceremony. Pearson had hired a piper to play as a member from each family dropped a wreath into the water, Josh dropping watched solemnly as the waves carried the wreaths to shore.
Back in Cairns, they all gathered on the dock and said goodbye. There had been some bonding between them during the events of the day and some vowed to keep in touch.
Josh and Nikki said their goodbyes. Josh was told over and over how much his words meant to them. Then they made their way to their car. Before opening Nikki's door, Josh pulled Nikki to him and looking into her beautiful green eyes, he tells her thank you for the day.
"Josh, I was where I needed to be."
That evening they were snuggling on the couch. " I'm so ready to put this whole dive boat incident to rest," Josh says then kisses her. " Let's talk wedding."