Chapter One.
The summer sun baked the Western Australian red earth. To Andy "Charge" Thorpe, the sun always seemed to make the landscape redder than usual in the afternoon. Stepping out of his office, he looked across to the massive workshops, noting the three mining trucks in for maintenance.
Andy had been working as the Chief Maintenance Engineer in the North Western Mining Company, since his discharge from the Royal Australian Navy, for three years now. He loved the job and all it entailed, even to the occasional underground visits to the mine. He had a good crew working for him, he thought; decent hard-working men and women, most of them on rotation fly in- fly out (FIFO) from Perth. Andy himself lived in the nearby local town a few kilometres out from the mine, a town specifically built to accommodate the workers and their families who preferred living in the little isolated community to the fly-in, fly out routine.
Standing in the doorway of his office, he looked up at the jewel blue sky. Unusual he thought, not to see any clouds. After all it was the beginning of the Wet Season up here, with its accompanying rain and occasional cyclone to liven things up. A big man in his early forties now, he had put on weight since his Navy days. He smiled to himself at that as he thought of the fitness regime demanded by military service.
Quietly, he began to reminisce about his twenty-something years in the Navy, the ships he had served on, the mates he had served alongside, the places he had been… It's odd, thought Andy, that I should be living so close to the Hammersley Ranges.
Hammersley. The name of his last ship. Shit. Memories of Hammersley tried to awaken in his mind. Angrily he shut them down.
I never want to think of that boat again. Ever.
Turning abruptly, he slammed and locked the office door, then looked up to see his second-in-charge, Amy Fennell, walking toward him with a surprised look on her face.
"G'day, Amy. How's it going?"
"All good, Andy. You ok?"
"Sure mate. Any news for me on the maintenance side of things?"
Amy consulted the iPad she was carrying. "Good news, the first truck that came in last week in on schedule. The blokes have put in a lot of work on her, and she'll be good to go next Monday."
"Great." That truck had been a cause of concern since it had come in. He was aware of the tight turnaround schedule for maintenance on the fleet of mining trucks, and it was good that, finally, this one could be signed off and returned to work.
"I'm going to the pub. I'm dry. Coming?"
Amy considered. She was a small slim woman, who had three children. Charge knew how much she loved and doted on those kids, even more so after their father was killed in a mining accident in the Mt. Moura mine in central Queensland. A brilliant and conscientious mining engineer, she had not gotten over her husband's death. An explosive charge had prematurely detonated, killing him and two others immediately. Andy knew of the load of guilt she carried as well as the grief, for she had loved Greg Fennell deeply. She still felt responsible for his death, in spite of the fact that the coronial inquest and investigation by the authorities had cleared her of any wrong.
He had a good working relationship with Amy, even to the point of friendship, but she had closed herself off to any others, excepting her family and her work.
Amy said, "Sure. The kids aren't due back for a few days."
Andy knew they were presently holidaying with her parents in Perth, where they lived. He also knew how much she missed them when they were away.
"Righto mate. I'll buy the first round." He smiled down at her, and she returned the smile, tentatively. They walked on, and pretty soon the little town came into view, with its one and only pub. Entering the pub, the temperature cooled as the air-conditioned bar made its presence welcome.
They took their beers and sat at a table near the back, where it was the coolest. After the usual shouts of greeting from the other patrons, they settled down for a quiet drink. They talked amiably about the day's work, some of the antics of their workmates and then Amy talked of her children; ten-year-old Emmett, eight-year-old Kristy and five-year-old Darcie. She spoke of their progress in school, the friends they had in the town's little school, the sports they wanted to try. Emmett showed interest in the local football club, and could prove a good player. Kristy was already showing considerable swimming talent, and Darcie had recently started school. Andy listened over his beer as she spoke of them with loving pride in her voice. He knew never to speak of Greg or Mt. Moura, while Amy knew never to speak of HMAS Hammersley.
She remembered when Andy went back to Cairns to attend the wedding of his former CO, Mike Flynn, and Kate McGregor, former XO on board the Hammersley. She remembered how he talked briefly of the wedding, but said no more on the subject.
Andy was talking about the mine's maintenance schedule. Guiltily, she returned to the present and gave him her attention. While they were talking, neither of them saw the truck-driver come into the pub and head for the bar.
Amy smiled. "My turn", she said and got up and walked over to the bar to buy two more beers. So intent was she on her task at hand she did not see the driver pick up his beer and walk toward the table where Andy was sitting.
"G'day Charge. Long time, no see", said a familiar voice. Andy looked up to see who it was.
"Buffer? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Buffer no more, mate. I got out last year. I'm driving in the mine here." Buffer answered.
"Well, mate sit down! Can't believe I'd see you of all people here. How have you been?"
"Good mate. I was posted to HMAS Canberra. Then they wanted me to take a shore posting, so I got out. So what are you doing here mate?", he asked, studying Charge's face as he spoke.
Something has him bugged, thought Buffer. He's hiding something still, and he's changed since his Hammersley's days.
Charge said, "I'm the Chief Maintenance Engineer for the mine. That young lady bringing us the beer is my second-in-charge, Amy Fennell. Sure knows her stuff. One of the best engineers up here."
Amy saw the two men chatting. She didn't recognise the second man, although his clothes told her he was a driver. Sitting down, she took him in in a glance from head to toe and summed him up. Bet he's ex-Navy, she thought. He has that look, same as Andy.
Andy smiled. "Amy, I'd like you to meet a mate of mine. This is Buff- um – Peter Tomaszewski. Pete, meet Amy Fennell."
"Hi Peter. Pleased to meet you. What are you doing here? And how did you know Andy?"
"Andy? Oh right. We used to call him Charge when we were in the Navy. I served with him on board HMAS Hammersley. Those were the days, eh mate?"
Both Amy and Buffer saw the look of thunder pass across Andy's face. Abruptly, he stood up, downed his beer in one go, then stormed out of the pub.
Amy, bewildered, said, "What was all that about? As soon as you said Hammersley, his face changed."
Buffer quietly said, "He hasn't told you?" When she shook her head, he picked up his beer, took a drink, sighed and said, "It was like this. Hammersley's coxswain, and chief medic, Chris Blake was a really close mate of Charge. Swain, as we called him, was assisting the SAS Captain, Jim Roth in defusing a 'dirty' bomb on board a private boat just off Cairns. They disconnected the nuclear side of it, but before they could defuse the other side, the bomb exploded, killing them both right in front of Hammersley and her crew. Charge has never spoken of it, and I think he has it in for the Boss – our CO at the time, for not doing more to get them off the boat. He had ordered them off twice, but they did not obey. But he still feels the Boss could have done more. I was posted off Hammersley before this happened. I had a phone call from Swain's wife, Sally and she told me all that happened."
Amy said, "He did go back to Cairns for a wedding, didn't he?"
"Yeah, our CO was posted off the boat and he married the XO, Kate McGregor" Pete smiled. "Those two had it bad for years. Anyway, the Boss Mike Flynn, asked Charge to be his best man. Charge refused point blank. I think he came to the wedding more for Kate than Mike. He had a really soft spot for Kate. We couldn't talk to him about Swain, much less the Hammersley. Funny how I get a job out here, and find him working here. Guess I'd better go and try to make up with the big feller."
Buffer finished his beer and stood up. "Can you tell me where he lives?" he asked Amy, who had also stood up preparing to leave. "Yeah, sure," she said, and gave him directions to Andy's place.