CASTLE'S COMMAND

CHAPTER TEN

Norfolk Virginia, 08:00 hours, 04 February 1946

"Attention on deck, Admiral Warner." A tall. Slender gray-haired man strode onto the stage. "Seats, gentlemen. I am Rear Admiral Thomas Warner. I want to welcome you all to DDCI training. For some of you, this will be completely new, for others a matter of retraining. All of you are surface warfare officers so nothing will be foreign to you. For those of you coming from the PT squadrons it will mean a refresher course in ship handling. As nimble as destroyers are they certainly are not nearly so as your old boats.

All of you will have to learn how to handle your ships in such a way as to maximize the capabilities of your radars and radios. There is another factor that is important to the navy as a whole. It's a test. The crews of these four ships will be a mixture of regular navy personnel and reserve personnel on extended active duty. The first under peacetime conditions. If it works well the implications are huge for maintaining a cadre of well-trained, experienced personnel ready for any eventuality.

Now to your ships. They are all new Gearing class destroyers that have had the aft torpedo tubes removed to make way for the electronics. Main armament remains the same. Secondary armament has one twin forty mount and three single twenty-millimeters added. You have fact sheets on your ships in your packets.

Take the rest of the morning to study your packets. Be at the docks at 14:00 to meet your crews and tour your ships. That is all, gentlemen. Dismissed."

After lunch, castle proceeded to the docks to tour his new ship. The U.S.S. Chevalier she was 390 feet long and forty feet wide, mounting six five-inch guns in three turrets, fourteen forty-millimeter in twin mounts, fourteen twenty-millimeter guns, one five tube torpedo mount, amidships and a hedgehog projector forward. Even sitting at the pier, she projected an air of lethal grace.

She had a top speed of thirty-seven knots a range of four thousand-five hundred miles and a crew of twenty- four officers and three hundred twelve enlisted. An escort officer met Rick on the pier.

"Commander Castle, I'm Lieutenant Bruce Whaley. I'm here to give you a quick tour of the ship. You and your crew will begin training on ship handling on one of the older ships. It will most likely be six months before you transition into the Chevalier, take command of her and continue training in your actual ship. We expect at least another six months after that before deployment. In that initial training cycle, you and Commander Ryan will be alternating days as Captain Dennison's executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Glennon.

Castle wasn't surprised. Even during the war destroyer commanding officers had at least five years of service in destroyers. He would have to be ready to go in just a year.

Training was grueling, as the Navy wanted the new ships in service as quickly as possible. The navy needed them quickly, but couldn't afford to burn the crews out. Over training could sometimes be worse than undertraining.

Kate was worried about the pressure on her husband, having to learn so much, so quickly. Fortunately, it wasn't wartime any longer so the hazards were not as great. Still, even peacetime service at sea had its' dangers.

She was always ready to comfort Rick and didn't let his mood get to her when he was grumpy or short tempered. Of course, they had their quarrels, every couple does, still they never let any of them fester overnight.

Kate was settling in to the Norfolk navy wives' social circles, enjoying the formality of the evening social events, particularly the many dances, but those she only attended when Rick was in port. There were a number of lunches and afternoon events for the wives only. Jenny and Kate were among the newest members of the Norfolk Navy Wives association and always attended the events together. Both were considered a little exotic, because of their English aristocratic background but neither made any effort to trade on it.

One evening when Rick was at sea and Kate didn't feel like cooking for herself, she went for dinner at the nicer restaurants in Norfolk. She was having a cocktail before dinner when she sensed a presence near her table. She looked up. A rather handsome man was standing there.

"Good evening. Are you new in town? I come here often and I've never seen you before. I'm Tom Demming. May I join you?"

"I think not, Mister Demming. I am here for a quiet dinner and do not want any company."

"Oh, come now, a lady as beautiful as you should never dine alone.

"I am a married woman who takes her vows seriously, which if you were not a cad you would have respected, since my rings are in plain view. I am deeply insulted that you would approach me. I have already said that I do not want any company. If you annoy me any further, I shall call the manager and have you ejected."

Demming glared at her, but stalked off, seeking easier prey.

Kate told Rick about the incident as soon as he got home and, predictably, Rick got angry. Not at Kate for wanting a nice dinner off base but at Demming's gall in not immediately backing off.

"I could see that he was carrying a gun in a shoulder holster, so he's either a policeman or a gangster." Kate said.

"I'll talk to the base provost marshal in the morning Rick said. The provost marshal's office has good relations with the Norfolk police. If Demming's a cop, I'll file a formal complaint. Norfolk practically lives off what the navy spends. Annoying an officer's wife won't sit well with the chief."

Rick did as he said. Three days later, Demming was standing in his captain's office, getting his ass chewed."

"Detective Demming, you dumb Mick, your tomcat ways are catching up with you. I've had several complaints about you approaching women, even married ones and we've let it slide. But this time you approached the wife of a naval officer with enough rank to get the navy to file a formal complaint. Fortunately, you didn't touch her so, this is only going to cost you a week's suspension without pay. Next complaint it'll be a month or maybe we'll fire your ass. Shape up or else."

Fuming, Demming left his captain's office but he was smart enough not to try any form of retribution.

Rick often came home, not in a bad mood, but very tired and tense from a particularly trying day. One particular day he was angry.

"What's the matter, Darling?"

"It's that son of a bitch Dennison. Kevin made a minor mistake in ship handling and Dennison bawled him out like a rookie, right there on the bridge. He's not supposed to do that. The regs say he supposed to issue a correction on the bridge, then if a dressing down is needed it's done in private. He hasn't tried it with me, although he's the captain/training officer we are the same rank. I even rank him by date of rank as commander."

"Well Darling, let it go, there's a nice roast in the oven with the browned potatoes that you like. I baked a small cake, then you'll have a warm bath and a warm me!"

Rick laughed, his wife's perky attitude immediately lifting his spirits. He changed into a soft wool sweater and well -worn jeans since it was just the two of them Kate dressed much the same.

Kate fixed them both a tall scotch and soda, handed him his and they settle on the sofa, snuggled together as they sipped their drinks. They stayed there for half an hour then Kate said;

"Supper will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Will you please make a salad while I set the table and get the roast out of the oven."

Rick made a simple lettuce and tomato salad. The table set Kate put the roast and potatoes on a covered platter to keep warm. Rick served the salad. Finished with their salads Kate said;

"Will you carve the roast, Darling?" Rick carved two generous slices and plated them. Kate served the potatoes, which were browned to perfection in the juices of the roast. Dessert was the small chocolate cake, just big enough for the two of them and coffee."

Kate went to the kitchen and got a bottle of wine, opened it and poured two glasses of wine and took them to the bathroom.

'It's nine o'clock, my Darling, time for that bath. I'll run it; you get undressed." Kate quickly ran the bath, something she'd been anticipating all day. When the tub was full, Kate went into the bedroom, undressed then led Rick, by the hand into the bathroom. Rick climbed into the tub and sat, Kate climbed in, holding the glasses of wine. She handed them to Rick and settled in the vee of his legs. She t6ook her glass of wine, sipping it as she leaned back against her husband's chest. She sighed in pleasure.

"I've been daydreaming of this, all day."

The wine, the warmth and especially the woman eased the tension and soothed Rick's nerves. They lay in the tub until the water started to cool. Getting out, they dried each other, part of their foreplay. Naked, they walked to the bed, turned back the covers and got into bed. Unusual for them, it had been several days since they'd made love.

There was a deep hunger when they kissed, each eagerly seeking the other's mouth, mouths open, tongues explored and twined. After a few minutes of almost frantic kissing, Rick slowed down and began placing soft open-mouthed kisses on Kate's neck and the sensitive place behind her ear, which made her shiver and gasp. He sucked, gently at her pulse point, causing her to moan, then across her clavicle, finally taking one already stiff nipple into his mouth swirling his tongue around it, causing more moans, then treating the other breast in the same manner.

At the same time, he sloid a hand to her folds. She was already wet and ready. She gasped;

"I'm ready Darling, I want you inside of me now."

He entered her slowly, allowing her to adjust before starting to move, their well- established rhythms matched, and speeded up. Kate felt her first orgasm run through her body. Her internal muscles clenched hard, and she momentarily whited out on her third orgasm, feeling Rick spill into her.

Still inside her, Rick rolled them over, her laying on top of him as he stroked her back, calming her. She looked into his eyes and grinned.

'It's early yet. We have time for another round.

The six months of training passed rapidly until the morning of August ninth.

Norfolk naval Station. Norfolk Virginia, 10:00 hours 09, August 1946.

The crew of the U.S.S. Chevalier stood. Assembled on the foredeck as Rick read his orders then said to the interim commander;

"I assume command, I relieve you, sir."

"I stand relieved, sir." They exchanged salutes and shook hands.

Kate and Jenny had been allowed on board to witness the change of command. Rick said;

Kevin and I have got some paperwork to do. We'll meet you at the officer's club at 12:00 for lunch. Tonight, we'll have a celebratory dinner, again at the club. Tomorrow, night, we'll take you ladies for dinner and dancing."

"I approve of all those plans, Kate said."

Jenny smiled. "Me too."

Both men made sure that they were prompt for lunch, never wasting any opportunity to show off their ladies. In that time and place dress for any meal outside the home was fairly formal, especially for naval personnel and their wives. Rick and Kevin wore the summer tan uniforms with black shoes and ties. Both women wore very similar light summer frocks, high heels, white hats and gloves. Kate's dress a light green, Jenny's yellow. As almost always happened the two striking couples drew every eye in the dining room.

As both couples were Catholic, they abided by the rules, the ladies ordering salads, Rick crab cakes and Keven dover sole. Dinner was similar, and an early evening as the men had duty until noon.

Saturday night, however was wholly different. They went to dinner at an upscale restaurant off base, the men in dark suits the women in cocktail dresses. They all ordered, salad, followed by prime rib with baked potato and chocolate mousse for dessert. Dinner was followed by dancing in a night club. A memorable evening for both couples.

While the destroyers were being modified and the crews trained the navy had contracted with two of the ship builders that had built Liberty ships during the war. They wanted three ships built for use as intelligence ships. Basically, scaled down liberty ships. Smaller hulls with the same power plants. Giving them greater speed, increasing from 15.5 knots to 20 knots with a maximum speed of 23.5 knots, sustainable for a short time. The ships were 250 feet long, 35 feet wide with a draft of 12.5 feet.

They were armed with six twin 20mm canon in concealed mounts. Cargo booms were used as a disguise. They were the M.S. Athena, the M.S. Minerva and the M.S. Freya.

Their disguise when operating would be as merchant ships contracted by the navy as supply ships. The ships were packed with electronic and photographic equipment, the extra radio antennas concealed in the dummy cargo booms.

Their crews were entirely naval personnel wearing Merchant Marine uniforms for the officer's ad ordinary seamen's clothing for the crew.

Norfolk Naval Station, Norfolk Virginia, 10, March 1947.

The long training cycle was finally over. Six months had been spent in various exercises both with ordinary fleet units and with the intelligence ships. At the end of the training cycle the British contingent had hit unforeseen delays and was not quite ready. So, Rick had applied for and been granted a month's leave.

They had spent a week with Rick's parents, in New York, then three days in Washington DC, seeing the capitol building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian. Then they flew to California for a week. They went to the San Diego Zoo, and to Hollywood. Took the Daylight Special train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, saw Chinatown, ate seafood at the wharf and then took an excursion bus to Yosemite to see the giant redwoods. England had nothing like them, despite the fabled Sherwood Forest. From Swan Francisco they Flew to New Orleans and spent a few hours touring the French quarter and listening to jazz. Returning to Norfolk, they spent the remaining days just relaxing at home.

The initial cruise to England was scheduled to sail in a week. It was envisioned as a six- week deployment. Kate accepted it, but was still a little upset. It would be the longest time she and Rick would be apart since their wedding. If things went as planned the Ships would return home for any repairs or modifications. They would have a month to make the arrangements for the wives to join their husbands at their base at Southampton. Two ships, the Chevalier and the McCaffery of the would be permanently based in England the other two would rotate on a three-month deployment basis. The intelligence ship MS Athena would be permanently based in Southampton the other two rotate on the same basis as the destroyers.

The Four destroyers, two intelligence ships and an oiler sailed on schedule and rendezvoused at sea with the Canadian, sailing in convoy to Southampton. The intelligence ships practiced on the way over testing how far out they could identify a "target", not only by radar but by listening to radio traffic. When a ship passed close enough, the cameras were used and the photographs compared to known ship classes often even picking up the name and under which flag she was sailing.

Docking in Southampton the ships found their assigned moorings and the crews assigned quarters. The six weeks were filled with joint exercises, testing how well the three country's force could cooperate.

There were some tensions and rivalries at first, but they smoothed out over the first two weeks and by the time for the American and Canadian forces sailed for home to carry out the repairs and modifications need and make the final arrangements for the families to travel to England.

Southampton England, 01, June 1947.

The move back to England had been accomplished. Rick and Kate were settled in married senior officer's quarters. A nice red brick house on the naval base. Kate's attorneys had convinced her father to cede the Mayfair townhouse to her, as he had retired to the Berkshire estate. They were no negotiating to sell the townhouse and buy a house in Southampton. That, in turn would be sold when they returned to America.

Southampton Naval Base 09, June 1947.

The MS Athena with the Chevalier and the McCafferty as escorts and the British MS Cassandra with HMS Caesar and HMS Undaunted asescorts. sailedon the first active intelligence mission, headed for the Baltic. There had been complaints of Soviet harassment of Swedish and Danish merchant ships nothing so overt as stopping or boarding them yet, but hard evidence of Soviet intentions was needed.

The Soviets didn't know that their primary naval codes had been broken. Two spies had been caught by MI6 before they could repot it. Russian speaking naval intelligence officers were aboard the Athena and the Cassandra.

As the allied squadron ailed north, a small Soviet task force consisting of the Russian destroyer SNS Ognevoy and twocorvettes. Their mission to attempt to disrupt a Danish navy training mission. A confrontation was certain.

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