Chapter 6.

Dylan "Dutchy" Mulholland picked up his towel and left Maroubra Beach. After his second stint in Afghanistan with HMAS Sydney he had posted off the ship, and was now on leave, awaiting his next post. He headed for his motorcycle, intending to ride to the RAN Diving School, at HMAS Penguin, where a mate of his was a Clearance Diver Instructor. Dutchy wanted a chat, about the possibility of a transfer to Clearance Diver. He was already a qualified Ship's Diver, and he felt a change of category might be good for him.

Fishing his mobile out of one of the bike's panniers, he dialled Tristan "Twisty" Johnston's number.

"Dutch mate! Heard you were in home port. How ya goin'?"

"Good Twist. Wondering if I could come see you. I want to have a chat. You still at Penguin?"

"Yeah, mate I am. But not at the moment. I'm just heading into Garden Island, Arunta's alongside, and I need to drop a few tanks off. Couple of CDs going onboard."

"Sounds interesting. I'm just leaving Maroubra now. I'll go by Watson to get changed and meet you at Garden Island."

"Righto Dutch. Catch ya then. Bye"

Dutchy climbed onto his bike, keyed the ignition and the machine roared into life. Arriving at HMAS Watson, he ran up the stairs of the accommodation block, quickly showered and changed, then headed back for the bike. Walking in front of him toward the medical block was a familiar figure. Dutchy caught up.

"Hey there, Chicken Legs."

LSMED Jessica Bird turned and looked up at Dutchy. Smiling, she said, "That's Leading Seaman Chicken Legs to you, Chief."

Dutchy laughed. Wow, he thought, she's come a long way from the Gap Girl I knew on Hammersley. All grown up, and a Leader as well. He remembered the self-conscious bubbly teenager on the Hammersley, and what a looker she was in her bridesmaid's dress at Mike and Kate's wedding.

Aloud he said, "Well Leader. When did this happen? When did you get your hooks?"

Bird grinned. "Three months ago. When did you get back? I haven't seen you since the wedding, before you went to Afghanistan."

"A fortnight ago. I'm on leave while I wait for my next post. I'm just off to see a friend of mine who's a Clearance Diver. Thinking of transferring across. What's new with you?" asked Dutchy.

"Oh, not much. I've been here for six months. I really want a sea posting. It's boring ashore," said Bird. She scowled. Then brightening she said, "You don't know about Mike and Kate. They're parents now. They have a daughter, and she's named for Bomber and me. That is so cool"

Dutchy smiled, touched at her obvious delight. He said, "How's Ryan?"

Bird said, "OK I guess, we're still going out. He works at Port Botany now. He really wants to marry me, but I'm not real sure I'm ready for that. Besides, he has a scary mum, remember?"

Dutchy nodded. "Anyway, good to see you. I'd better get going. Take care of yourself, I'll see you later."

Getting on his bike, he again started it, and the machine roared off. As he rode along, he reflected on the conversation he'd just had with Bird. He hadn't really kept in touch with his former Hammersley crewmates, with the exception of attending Mike and Kate's wedding. Most of those he'd served with were there, with the exception of Two-Dads who was AWOL. Wonder where he is, thought Dutchy, as he waited for the traffic lights to turn green. Did he take Swain's death to heart too? Man, Charge hardly spoke to anyone either.

The traffic lights changed and he roared away, setting course for Garden Island. As he slowed to show his ID to the security officer on the gates, he took note of the ships in port. HMAS Choules, Arunta and Canberra were alongside. Sydney was in dry dock for maintenance. Just then he caught sight of Tristan Johnston, unloading dive gear from a van parked nearby. Dutchy pulled in alongside, turned off the engine, and removed his helmet.

"Hey Twistie!"

"Dutch!"

Dutchy shook hands, then grabbed some of the diving gear. "I'll give you a hand mate. Where are you stowing them?"

"Just alongside Arunta." Twist indicated a couple of Clearance Divers standing on the dock, busily inspecting the diving gear before embarking.

Dutchy said, "CDs boarding Arunta? Something going down in the Gulf?"

"They're going as far as HMAS Cairns. Word is that there is concern for terrorist activity. Dropping sea mines to try to interfere with northern shipping to the off-shore platforms. Not sure if the platforms or shipping is the target. Sending these blokes just in case," Tristan answered.

Dutchy stopped. Not again. Not the same lot that tried to blow up Cairns Harbour. He saw again the explosion that killed Swain and Jim in his mind's eye. He said, "NAVCOM in Cairns know about it?"

"They should by now," said Tristan. He put the last of the gear down besides the Clearance Dive Team, clapped them on the back and moved off, Dutchy following. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked Dutchy.

"Twist, how do I go about transferring to Clearance Diver?"

"You'll need to talk to your Divisional Officer, and fill in a request for Transfer of Category. You'll also need to undergo a medical. You're already a qualified Ship's Diver anyway, aren't you? Why the change?"

"Ah, just want to do something different. Change is as good as a holiday," Dutchy replied.

"Ok mate. Well, keep in touch. Better get myself back over to Penguin. Another class is starting in 30 minutes. See ya." Twist swung himself into the driver's seat of the van and drove off.