CASTLE'S COMMAND

CHAPTER THREE

Author's Note: Due to some corrections of my knowledge of British society I am editing Kate's history a little. Rather, her father's. I it's important to you reread that part of chapter one.

The British squadron left first, ten minutes ahead of the American squadron. As soon as they faded into the light fog, castle gave the order to cast off His four boats moving ahead at ten knots until all boats had formed up.

"Command to all boats, heading SSE at 164 degrees. Set speed at thirty knots. Command out. The radios were FM set on low power. The Germans had no possibility of intercepting. They were about three hours out, when the radar operator said;

"Sir, I have multiple contacts bearing 145 degrees at twenty-six thousand yards."

"Command to all boats, come left nineteen degrees, increase speed to forty knots.

Enemy should be in range in fifteen minutes. go to battle stations in ten, I say again ten minutes."

The range closed rapidly until the radar operator could get a clear count.

"I count fifteen boats sir. They are continuing on course, going after the brits. I can' believe they haven't spotted us."

"It's called tunnel vision, but I don't think it will last much longer." It didn't

Eight of the E-Boats turned to engage the PT's, seven headed for the British.

The allies had a nasty surprise for the Germans. The PT's and MTBs were only part of the plan. Coastal command had dispatched three flights of Bristol Beaufighters night fighters. The twin-engine heavy fighters were impressively armed with four 20mm canon, six .303 machine guns, eight 3- inch rockets and could carry a torpedo or bombs. Two flights, armed with bombs and rockets went after the barges the other went after the E-boats. The combined roar of the E-boats engines and those of the PT boats muffled the sound of aircraft engines.

A rarity, the sea was calm, The E-boats, intent on closing with the PT's weren't even zig-zagging That cost them. Two of the aircraft were carrying torpedoes and rockets. The lead Had a perfect shot, the lead E-boat took a torpedo amidships, detonating her magazine. The resulting combined explosions broke the boat in half.

The second torpedo missed, but the aircraft continued to attack with cannon, machine guns and rockets. A second boat was disabled with rockets. (It would be captured and towed to Gosport) You had to give the Germans credit. They continued to press the attack. The aircraft strafing decimated the gun crews of two more boats before they were out of ammunition. The Germans managed to re-man the guns but for a few precious seconds were vulnerable. The PT's took advantage of that. Morgan's and Ryan's boats attacking. Ryan got in close and launched torpedoes at point blank range. Another E-Boat sent to the bottom Castle got his second boat all with gunfire although it cost him. Damage to 513 and castle going down with shrapnel wounds from the E-boats 37mm. Hit in the side and a grazing head wound from a flying chunk of wood. They didn't have a pharmacist's mate on board. The radio operator did the best he could with the boat's first aid kit. Simply dousing the wounds with alcohol and sulfa powder and bandaging them as best he could. With Castle unconscious and in one of the bunks, Lieutenant Stewart continued to fight the boat until ordered to disengage.

The rest of his squadron didn't get away unscathed. 517 took heavy damage, with her skipper and three crewmen killed, four more wounded. Ryan ordered the boat to disengage and return to port. There weren't enough men to man all the guns.

Three other boats had some damage and several men with minor wounds. 'The remaining four E-boats turned tail. Not that they were cowards, but ten to four odds are not at all favorable. Even if they joined their other seven boats, the PT's were sure to join the British and for all they knew, more aircraft might be on the way. (One more flight was.) The Flotilla commander was with the boats headed to defend the barges. His executive officer, with the Boats sent against the PT's. He was lucky that the Commander would be killed, leaving no one to dispute his decision. It did result in his being relieved of sea duty and assigned to a desk job.

Things went a lot harder with Armstrong's squadron. Three of the barges mounted 88mm canons. One solid hit from one of those was enough to do for a wooden boat. The 41 boat and the 45 boat both were sunk by the 88's

That didn't stop the determined British. One of the Beaufighters took out the leading barge, one of the 88 platforms. The other two fell to torpedoes. Normally, torpedoes weren't used against a barge. But in this case, it was necessary. The seven E-Boats arrived and all hell broke loose. The MTB' abandoning the attack on the barges to defend themselves. Another MTB was lost, in exchange for an E-boat. The fight went on, more boats on both sides taking damage but no more were outright sunk, until the PT's arrived and joined in. That cost the Germans another boat. At that point, the Germans broke off a hopeless engagement. The barges were all sunk or blown up. The mission accomplished; rescue operations began.

It was first light as the two squadrons arrived in Gosport. Mission accomplished, but at a terrible price. Three MTB's sunk, all of them had sustained battle damage, too a greater or lesser degree. Numerous casualties. About half of the sunken boat's crews rescued and survived. For the Germans, they had lost three E boats sunk, one captured. five heavily damaged and four more light to medium damage. Seventeen barges sunk or blown up.

Castle woke up in the hospital with Lieutenant Ryan sitting by his bedside.

"Good to see you back with us, skipper. You had us worried for a while."

"How bad?"

"You were out of it for three days."

"Not me, Ryan, the crews."

Ryan sighed. 517 got hit pretty bad. Lieutenant Preston, Chief Kettle, Seller and White all dead. Tuttle, Mason, Grover and Morrison wounded. Six others lightly wounded. Lots of minor repairs to the boats, but 517 is going to take a lot of work.

513 is just going to take a little wood work and paint and a new radio receiver."

"Tell the men I'll visit them. And I've got those damn letters to write."

A British doctor walked in.

"Please give us a moment, Leftenant, I need to speak with the Commander."

"I'll be right outside, sir." Ryan left.

"I'm Commander Greaves, Medical Officer. Doctor Greaves if you prefer. You'll not be going anywhere for a week. You had a grazing head wound with a concussion. I removed four pieces of shrapnel from your body. And you had a dislocated shoulder. And you are not going to sea for another week after that.

"Two weeks doctor? I can't stay out of action that long!"

"You can and you will. I've made that a written medical order."

"You're RN you can't order me to stand down."

"Reread the allied forces agreement, Commander. There is no American naval doctor present. I do have the authority. Good day, Commander."

Ryan came back in.

"You'll have the squadron for two weeks, Kevin. That damned chancre mechanic has me in the damn hospital for a week and on the beach for another week."

"Only at sea, sir, you're still in command. I don't want the big hat."

Rick had a lap desk on his and was writing the last kind of letter any commander wants to write. Dear Mrs. Preston. It is with great sorrow that I must inform you the death of your husband. Oliver Was a fine officer and I was proud to be his commanding officer. Of all the hardships of war, the cruelest are the losses of men such as your husband. I will always honor his memory with profound respect. He was liked and admired by the whole squadron. I offer my deepest condolences on his loss.

Richard A. Castle, Lieutenant Commander, USNR.

That was just the first and the other four got no easier. He was wrung out when he completed writing them. He desperately wanted a cup of coffee. He actually wanted a tall scotch but he knew that he couldn't mix alcohol with pain medication.

He had just finished his supper, (If you could call this bland mess food) when there was a soft knock on the door. As a senior officer he had a private room, small as it was.

"Come in."

Kate Beckett-Trent stood in the doorway.

"Good evening Commander. May I come in?"

"Please do, First Officer."

"I thought it proper to pay you a visit. The hospital food is terrible, so I thought I'd bring some biscuits and ask one of the porters to bring tea. Do you take it with sugar?"

"That's quite thoughtful. Thank you. I'm not sure. I don't usually drink tea, so I guess that with sugar would be best."

"It's my pleasure. The least I could do for a wounded comrade." She set the biscuits on the bedside able and went to find a porter. She came back.

"It will be a few minutes. They always keep a kettle on but the tea should be brewed fresh." She smiled, a little shyly.

"I'm off duty now, would you please call me Katherine?"

Rick smiled back.

"I would like that. It appears that I'm going to be off duty for a couple of weeks. I'm Richard. Same rules as the club."

Kate said;

"Some of the enlisted Wrens have volunteered to visit your wounded men, as well as our own."

"That will be great for morale. Thank them for me, please."

"I will be pleased to. You and your men are fighting alongside ours. That means a great deal to us of the Royal Navy, even if the civilians never see it. Please, can we talk about something besides the war. What was your life like in America, before the war?"

The tea came and Kate fixed it for both of them, then opened the packet of biscuits. They ate and sipped as they talked.

"I'm a New Yorker. My mother was a stage actress and we led a rather vagabond life until she met Danial Harris. He's a wealthy banker They were married when I was thirteen. He got me into a good private school. He's also on the board of regents at Cornell University. He helped me get into Cornell. I wanted to be a writer. My first book was published in my senior year of high school and my second in my sophomore year of college. I thought that my surname, Rodgers, was rather common. I wanted to change it. I've always been fascinated by chess, so I chose the name Castle and had it legally changed. My step-father saw the war coming, so he convinced me to take naval ROTC in collage. I was commissioned in the reserve in June of '41 and here I am."

"You are leaving a great deal out, Richard."

"Well, we agreed not to talk about the war. My life before the war was ordinary."

"You just said that you and your mother led a vagabond life when you were a lad."

"True, but that's ordinary for theater people before you make it big."

"Publishing two novels before you ere twenty-one is not ordinary."

"But neither is it exceptional. Lots of writers have done it."

Castle then went on to keep Kate laughing with some the pranks and hi-jinks he and his friends had pulled and some the funny situations he gotten himself into. As he talked Kate watched some of the stress bleed off of him and see something of the cheerful, somewhat cheeky young man he'd been before the war.

Finally, he said;

"That's enough, probably too much about me. Fair is fair. What about your life, before the war?" She blushed.

"Very well, but it's not all that interesting. I'm Lady Katherine because my father is a marquess. It's a lofty title, but my great grandfather was a little too fond of cards and horses so we have only a small estate in Berkshire and a townhouse in Mayfair. I was born in London, but spent most of my time in Berkshire. It was an easy, country life. My father was a naval officer in the first war. He was wounded and medically retired. He recovered sufficiently to enter Parliament. My late husband was a childhood friend. Everybody assumed that we would end up together and we did. It was such a good life." She smiled, remembering a nearly idyllic childhood."

"The war won't last forever, Katherine. Life will be good again. Not the same, too much has changed, but it will be good."

To her surprise, Kate found some of her own stress decreasing. Enjoying herself starting to relax around a handsome man for the first time since that two-timing Davidson. She'd only known Rick a short time but she felt comfortable around him. He was warm and funny when off duty a charming man, but not pushy. Maybe, if she played it very carefully, in time, something might come of it.

Kate spent the rest of the week visiting Rick in the hospital in the evenings, always bringing something to offset the hospital's bland food. They determinedly refused to talk about the war, instead learning more about each other, discussing music, the theater and literature. Surprising her with his love of poetry. He just did not fit the image she'd had of the hard-charging fighting officer that he obviously was.

The week ended and he was released from the hospital but on limited duty, unable to go to sea for another ten days. After three days of shuffling paper, he was as grumpy as a bear with a thorn in its' butt. Except for breakfast, he took to eating meals at his desk then retiring to his quarters. He didn't want to inflict his bad mood on anyone else He cut back the pain meds during the day and self-medicated with scotch at night. He didn't overdo it, just two stiff drinks but it was still dangerous. He spent much of his free time in physical exercise. In consequence, he lost weight.

He had to check in with the doctor at the end of the week. Commander Greaves was not happy with him.

"Just what are you doing, Leftenant Commander? Your weight is down six pounds. That is not acceptable. Your body needs proper food, rest and yes, relaxation, to heal. Do you want me to extend your limited duty? I am perfectly willing to do that. I want to see you in the officer's mess at all meals. And in the club too. You are limited to one drink. Per day. Tonight, there is a small party in the club. Commander Armstrong is promoted captain. Be there. That is a medical order.

I want to see you on Tuesday. If you have gained two pounds, I will release you to full duty."

Kate was out of sorts and didn't like it. How could she be missing the visits with Richard? All they did was talk. It bothered her when she felt her spirits lift as he walked into the club in his immaculately tailored blue uniform. She couldn't help the smile that graced her face.

She watched as he walked up to Captain Armstrong and congratulated him, giving him a strong handshake. He then turned to the newly promoted Commander Bailey the new flotilla commander. Captain Armstrong now moving to Coastal command headquarters. He escorted the two British officers to the bar and bought them drinks. He called for three shots of whisky.

"To continued good fortune, gentlemen and confusion to the enemy."

The three men downed their shots. Then Castle ordered a tall scotch and soda and went to find an unoccupied table. There was only one left in the senior officer's section and that because it was in a corner, a little shadowed. Kate had followed him with her eyes and when he seated himself, she came to his table.

"May I join you Richard?" Rick stood and smiled.

"I'd be delighted. He pulled out her chair and seated her. She smiled.

"Thank you, Richard. I have missed our chats. It was a nice way to relax. Why were you being reclusive?"

"I was in a bad mood and didn't want to inflict that on anyone. I cannot stand being cooped up."

"Cooped up?"

"Yes, out of action."

"You were wounded."

"Not that badly."

"Doctor Greaves was of a different opinion. You need to heal!"

"I'm okay." Kate sighed. There was no use arguing with a stubborn man.

"Let's drop this discussion Remember, no talking about war related things"

"Agreed, let me buy you a drink. What would you like?"

"Scotch and soda, please."

He ordered her drink, then said, with a smile;

"Won't your fellow officers be scandalized, talking with an uncouth colonial?"

She smiled. "Let them be scandalized You've been more couth, than many of them." Her drink came and Rick kept Kate amused by stories of his mother's antics on Broadway. The evening passed all too quickly and Kate was somewhat disappointed. to see it end with just a polite goodnight.

Tuesday morning Rick met with Doctor Greaves and secured his reluctant agreement to restore him to sea duty. Thirty minutes later, he walked into squadron headquarters, ready for action.

"Any new op-orders Kevin?"

"Yes sir, there's a special op scheduled for tonight. But it's a two -boat op. One of the brit's and one of ours. Orders are on your desk."

Rick read the orders The British boat was going to insert two Jedburgh teams into France and bring out a senior member of the French resistance. The American's mission was to cover the operation. Rick said;

"I'm taking the op, in 513."

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