30 April
It's Nikki's first day at NAVCOM. Josh gets up and gets the coffee ready, going back upstairs; Nikki is just getting out of bed.
"Morn'n Luv."
"Hey, Babe."
"I'll have breakfast for you when you come down."
"Josh, you don't have to wait on me."
" Don't take away my simple pleasures," said with a grin and then a kiss.
When he left their bedroom, Gale started to wake. He went to her, got her changed, and brought her downstairs with him. Sitting her in her highchair, he gave her some fruit and milk while he got Nikki's eggs ready.
Nikki walked into the kitchen, already dressed in her whites. " You look so sexy in your whites, Babe," kissing her cheek.
"I don't get it, but thank you."
"Let's just say it's the lowly Petty Officer with the officer thing."
She laughed, then sat at the table and said good morning to Gale.
Josh placed a coffee and her eggs in front of her. "Thanks, honey."
"My pleasure," sitting down next to her and then adding some eggs to Gales tray.
"Do you know what will be happening today?"
"Well, I meet with Mike first thing. I promise to call at lunch and fill you in."
Nikki arrived at NAVCOM at 0745. Mike had been watching for her and called her over when he spotted her walking off the lift. " Nikki!" he waved her over.
Nikki approached him, stopped and saluted. "Commander."
Mike returned her salute, then " At ease, Lieutenant. Nikki, this is LT Commander Jules Barry; he's my second in command."
Nikki acknowledged him, " Sir."
"LT Smith is being assigned as his assistant. You will be with me. Let me show you to your office, and I'll explain your duties."
(I get an office?!) she thinks.
The office was small, not much bigger than a cubicle, really, but it was hers. It was located adjacent to Mike's.
"This space is yours, Nikki. Feel free to bring pictures or whatever."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Okay, the first order of the day, there's no need to 'Sir' me in private."
Nikki smiled and held back the 'Sir'.
Mike showed her where she could find what she needed. " Now, whenever I'm at the action board, you'll be with me."
"Okay."
"I will occasionally bring you into meetings. If you are asked your opinion or a direct question, answer honestly even if you think it's something that no one wants to hear."
"Yes...Ss...okay."
Mike took her back out to the central area, " LT Smith, this is LT Nicole Holiday. Would you give her the tour, please?"
"Of course, Sir. Right this way, LT. I believe we've met."
"Nikki is fine. Yes, I believe so, briefly."
Daryl put out his hand, "pleased, call me Daryl."
After being shown around, Daryl brought Nikki back to Mike's office.
"Alright, Lieutenant. Ready to get started?" Mike asked Nikki.
"Yes, Sir."
"Good," he handed her a stack of reports. "These are yesterday's operational reports. Please go through them and highlight the important bits, then return them to me."
"Yes, Sir," taking the impressive stack and returning to her office.
It was a little after noon when Nikki went to the cafeteria for a sandwich and took it outside to call Josh.
"Hey, Luv, how's it going?"
"It's going well, at least so far."
"What do they have you doing?"
"I'm Mike's assistant and even have my own little office. Not much bigger than a closet, but it's mine. Right now, I'm going through yesterday's operational reports and meting out the pertinent stuff."
"Anything interesting?"
"Some, and some quite amusing."
"I bet."
"How's Poppet? I got so used to being with her every day."
"Poppet is awesome as usual. What would you like for dinner?"
"Surprise me. Gotta get back to it. I'll see you a little after 4:00. I love you."
"I love you too."
1 June
Nikki has been at her new posting for just a month, and she's enjoying it more than she thought that she would, especially with how much she likes being at sea. Doing the daily reports is one of her responsibilities. She has attended several meetings with Mike and helps with planning asset positions.
She and Josh have settled into a nice routine with her being home every night by 4:30 except when something is happening that requires Mike to be at NAVCOM.
It was a little after 10:00, and she was halfway through the reports when Mike walked into her office. She stood, "Commander." she said, standing.
"Nikki, sit."
"Thank you, Sir."
Mike huffed at the 'Sir'. Sometimes he hated the formality, especially among friends, but Navy protocol had to be followed.
He takes a deep breath, " Nikki, I hate that I have to do this, but I have to crash sail Bendigo, and their Nav is sick with a stomach thing. I don't have anyone else on this short notice. It will be an overnight. We've been tasked with picking up a marine biologist studying some crazy species of crab on Bright Island. There's a cyclone brewing, and we need to get her out of there before it hits."
Conflicted, "Well, I guess this being the Navy, I go where I'm told."
"I'm sorry, Nikki, really I am. There'll be some extra leave for you when you get back."
"Thank you, Sir."
"And Nikki, I will make it clear, no boardings."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Nikki, ease up on the 'Sirs'."
"Alright s…, ah, when do we leave?"
" In an hour."
"I'll call Josh and ask him to bring my seabag."
"Thanks, Nikki."
Josh was putting away the groceries when his phone rang with Nikki's special ring, "Hey Luv, what's up?"
"You're not going to believe this; Bendigo has been crashed sailed and me along with them."
"Huh? You're sailing with Bendigo? What happened?"
"There's a cyclone brewing and heading towards the islands, Bright Island in particular. A marine biologist is camping there studying some funky crabs. She needs to be picked up before the storm hits."
"And where do you come in?"
"Their Nav has some kind of stomach thing."
"Honey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Forgive me, but I'm a little excited to be getting out there, even if it's just for a quick run."
"Hey, I don't blame you, and I know how much you love the boats."
"Mike has ordered no boardings for me."
"That makes me feel better," still feeling slightly annoyed but mostly worried.
"If you remember Bright Island, it will be a day there and a day back, so one overnight anyway. Can you bring my seabag?"
"Of course, Babe. So...you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. How about you?"
"Just concerned for you, Luv. When do you leave?"
"In about 45 minutes."
"Well, I best get a hustle on then. What do you need?"
" 2 DBNU, 2 sets of underwear and socks, my boots, something to sleep in, bathroom stuff. That should do it. Wait, my cap and please don't forget my tablet."
"Alright, give me 20 minutes, and I'll meet you in front of NAVCOM."
"Thanks, Josh, love you."
"No worries, love you too."
Hanging up, Nikki went to find Mike. " I'm all set, Sir. Josh is bringing my seabag. He'll be here in 20 minutes."
Josh packed everything she asked for, plus a package of TimTams and " Joshua Bear".
Twenty minutes later, he's pulling up in front of NAVCOM. Nikki comes down the stairs and gets into the passenger side. Leaning over, she kisses him. " Thank you."
"Anything for you, Babe," picking up her hand and kissing her knuckles.
Josh parked in the officer's car park, got out and grabbed the seabag while Nikki freed Gale from her car seat. They walked down to Bendigo. Stopping a short distance from the gangway, they turned to each other to say goodbye. Hugging her tight, he whispers, "Fairwinds, my love," then kisses her.
"I'll see you in a couple of days."
Then a hug and a kiss for Gale, and she walks up the gangway, saluting the ensign as she went. The ship's XO, Remy Dogmire, 'Bowzer'; a man of about 40, average height and trim build, sandy blond hair and contrasting brown eyes, greeted her as she walked onto the deck.
"You must be our Nav for this trip. Welcome aboard. I'm XO, LT Remy Dogmire, 'Bowzer'."
Nikki smiled at his Navy name. " Pleased," she said, shaking his hand. " LT Nikki Holiday, 'Nav'."
"I'll show you to your cabin, and you can get changed, then I'll meet you on the bridge and introduce you to the rest of the crew and the captain. I take it you don't need a tour."
"No, I'm good. I've spent most of my career on patrol boats. In fact, I just came off of Hammersley."
"Good, Okay, here you are. See you on the bridge."
"Thank you." Nikki entered her cabin and plopped her seabag on her rack, and started to unpack. Opening the bag, she had to laugh as Joshua Bear just about popped out. Of course, there was a note…*think of me when you hug Josh Bear, love you.*
Nikki changed into her DBNUs and went to the bridge where Bowzer greeted her.
"Captain, this is LT Nikki Holiday, our Nav for this trip."
"Welcome aboard LT., and thank you. I understand that you were pulled from shore duty to help us out." greeted LT Commander Lucinda " Lucy" Gonzalves, captain of Bendigo. "We need a course to Bright Island that will get us there ASAP, as I'm sure you know, we all want to get back to our shore leave," she said with a wink. "Truthfully though, the storm looks like it's picked up speed and is still on a direct course."
"Very good, Ma'am. Hammersley got a lot of calls to Bright Island, so I am very familiar with it. I can get you there in 20 hrs, 18 if you really push it."
"Okay, when you're ready, give the headings to 'OZ '.
Bowzer introduced her to the helmsman, Jackson Osborne, 'OZ'.
"Pleased."
He continued the introductions of the bridge crew. " This is our Chief Engineer, Chief Petty Officer Charley Williams, 'Poppa Smurf'."
"Nice to meet you, 'Poppa Smurf'?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "I had a blue dye pack pop in my face."
Nikki chuckled, "okay."
"Communications, Leader Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly"
She acknowledged him.
"Our Buffer, Petty Officer Chief Boatswain Mate, John Little, ' Little John'.
"Nice to meet you."
At that moment, 2 Dads appeared on the bridge. " 2 Dads! I didn't expect to see you here!"
" I see you are familiar with 2 Dads," Bowzer says to her.
"We served onHammersley. So 2 Dads, how did you end up on Bendigo? Did Captain Flynn finally have enough of your antics?" Nikki chuckled.
"I got transferred after our last rotation, Ma'am."
"Behaving?"
Answering with his patented cheeky grin, " I try my best, Ma'am."
"Alright, intros are done. We sail in 30." Captain Gonzalves announced.
Nikki went over to the navigator's workstation to plot the course that the captain had requested, a course which she had plotted many times.
In exactly 30 minutes, " Lucy" ordered their departure horn, and Bendigo slid away from the pier with Bowzer at the controls.
Josh was on the balcony as usual with his glasses trained on Bendigo. Nikki had made her way to the aft railing and looked towards home, knowing that he would be watching. Waving, she blew him a kiss. Having just finished with the closeup crew, Little John happened to be standing nearby and approached her.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?"
"Little John, right?"
" Yeah... I couldn't help but notice...is that a good luck thing? Kissing Cairns goodbye," said with respect and genuine curiosity.
Nikki laughed, "Nope, our townhouse is straight across the harbour. You can look out over the base and the harbour from our upstairs balcony. My husband will be watching us depart through his binoculars."
"Oh, sorry, Ma'am, I hope I wasn't impertinent."
"You're fine, Buffer."
"What does he do, if I may ask?"
"Well, he left the Navy around two years ago and now he takes care of our daughter and is going to school for his teaching certificate."
"He's a busy guy. What did he do in the Navy? Was he on ships?"
"He was on Hammersley, Electronics Tech, Petty Officer Josh 'ET' Holiday."
"You're married to ET?"
"You sound shocked."
"Sorry, excuse me, Ma'am, it's just that he was well known for, um, his way with the ladies. No one expected him ever to settle down. The consummate bachelor."
"I can assure you that he has, completely. He's a dedicated husband and father. The best."
"Guess it just took the right woman, Ma'am."
"It's been nice chatting with you, but I have to get back to the bridge before I'm missed. It's time to give the course order to the helmsman. OZ, is it?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."
Bridge:
"OZ come starboard 20°, steer 220, Revolutions 880."
OZ repeats the order.
" Very good," Nikki responds.
"LT, why not grab a brew," Lucy offered.
"Thank you, Ma'am." Nikki left for her cabin to grab her special cup. She would get her brew and return to her cabin to get a quick message to Josh.
Nikki grabbed her cup and went on to the galley for her brew. Walking in, the Chefo was prepping for lunch.
"Ma'am, you must be our Nav for this foray. I'm Peter LaFlamme ' Frenchy'."
"Pleased to meet you, Frenchy, Nikki Holiday. Call me 'Nav', my Navy name from Hammersley."
" I see you brought your own cup. Shall I fill it for you?"
"Thanks, Frenchy, that would be great. White, please."
Looking at her cup, "Ma'am, is that ET?"
Nikki laughed. She couldn't wait to tell Josh about running full force into his notorious reputation. "Yes, that's ET, my husband and our little girl, Gale."
"Beautiful picture, Ma'am, tell him 'Hey' from Frenchy," handing her her brew.
"Thank you, see you for SCRAN."
"Ma'am."
Back in her cabin, she set her coffee on the desk, picked up her tablet, and opened 'messenger'.
* Hey Babe, are you around? We're steaming at 880 and hope to reach B.I. mid-morning tomorrow. Tomorrow. The storm has picked up in speed and intensity. I really hope that we can avoid it or just skirt it. Just not into any rock'n roll.*
Nikki sat back, hoping that Josh got her message… a moment later…
*Hi! Wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. I was just getting in from grabbing a few groceries. How is Bendigo?*
* LT Comm Gonsalves is pleasant. She's well respected by the crew, always a good sign. It's a good crew. Hey, guess who is here...2 Dads! *
* How did that happen?*
* Transferred after his last rotation; maybe Kate had had enough, lol. It appears that your reputation has remained intact… the man who charmed the women and would never settle down with just one. ?*
* Uhhh, what can I say… you captured my heart. After meeting you, there couldn't be anyone else...❤️❤️❤️
*Nice cover!*
*I hope you avoid that storm. It's shaping up to be a monster.*
* Yeah, me too. I've got about five more minutes before I need to return to the bridge. Thanks for the Tim Tams, having one now with my brew and for 'Joshua Bear'. I love you and miss you already. Hugs and kisses for Poppet. I'll try to message this evening.*
* Bye Luv, I love you more, miss you more…*
*Not possible...❤️❤️❤️*
Bendigo 1800 hrs
Seven hours into their run to Bright Island, not quite the halfway mark, they get a mayday call, and they are the only asset in the area.
"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is sailing vessel Wind Dancer."
"This is Australian warshipBendigo. What's the nature of your mayday? Over."
"We lost our autopilot and drifted into a large coral field, ripped a hole in the hull. Taking on water, over."
"Radar," Lucy calls out, "what is the nature of the mayday?"
Radar reports to her.
"Coordinates?"
"Getting them now, Ma'am." Nikki is standing by to take them.
Captain Gonzalves takes the radio, "This is LT Commander Gonzalves, Captain, to whom am I speaking?"
"Paul Stanworth, owner."
"How many persons on board?"
"Three, myself, wife and teenage daughter."
"How bad is the hull breach?"
" We're taking on water. So far, the pumps are holding, but we're stuck. If we try to move, we'll rip the hull wide."
"Sailing Vessel Wind Dancer, do you have a life raft?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Nav, are you set with the coordinates?"
" Yes, we should rendezvous in three hours, Ma'am."
"Mr Stanworth, hold tight; we're on our way at best speed. Approximately three hours. Can you hold out?"
"I think so, Ma'am, as long as the pumps hold steady."
"Good, if necessary, take to the life raft. Do you have an EPRIB?"
"I do."
" If you need the raft, deploy it and bring whatever lights you have. It will be getting dark when we reach you. Over."
"Will do, Ma'am."
"Alright, steady on, call with updates. Bendigo, out."
"Nav, this coral field, how bad is it?"
"There is a narrow passage through it. I've had to navigate it on Hammersley.
"Alright, thank you."
"Radar, try to raise Dr Fitzgerald on Bright Island and tell her we have been delayed. Get NAVCOM for me."
"Yes, Ma'am."
No one was happy about the detour, and at NAVCOM, Mike took it in stride. That was of the nature of their mandate, lending assistance.
After evening SCRAN, Nikki returned to her cabin to message Josh.
*Hi Babe, what's for supper? ? As is all things Navy, we picked up a distress call that will set us back several hours. I'm probably going to be on the bridge until 2400 at least and most likely have to navigate the Bosworth Passage again.*
Josh is never far from his laptop or tablet and immediately hears the alert that message has come in.
*Hey Luv, Spaghetti. ? That's the Navy for ya, never a dull moment. Honestly, that's one of the things I liked best. *
*Me too, when I don't have somewhere else to be… like with you and Gale.*
*What happened?*
*Sailing vessel lost autopilot while they were sleeping, and they ran into a coral field...breached their hull.*
*Have they sunk?*
*Not yet. Bilge pump is keeping up for now.*
*That's lucky them.*
*Indeed. I just wanted to say hello, and I love you and miss you. I'm going to try and sleep. It's going to be a long night.*
* Okay, Babe, love you, stay safe*
*Love you too, bye*
Nikki closed out 'messenger' and plugged in her tablet. She got out of her uniform and slipped on Josh's tee shirt that he had packed for her; she loved how it smelled of him. Then climbing into her rack and before settling in, she set her alarm for 2200. Then she grabbed Joshua Bear and used him for a pillow.
At the sound of her alarm, she got up, dressed and grabbed her cup so she could bring a brew with her to the bridge.
"Nav," Lucy addressed her.
"Ma'am."
"They've had to abandon ship. We picked up their EPRIB about twenty minutes ago."
Thirty minutes later, "OZ, all stop!" Lucy ordered.
"All stop, Ma'am."
"Very good, we are very close to the EPIRB signal. Lookouts on the rails. Poppa Smurf, give a blast of the horn," she ordered.
"That should wake them, Ma'am," he said, chuckling.
Hearing the horn, the family from Wind Dancer lit up all of the torches they had and waved them back and forth.
2 Dads spots them, "There! Green 45 near!" he calls out.
"Poppa, another two blasts!"
"Aye, Ma'am."
In the life raft... "They've seen us!"
"Bowzer, prepare to recover by seaboat," Lucy orders.
Bowzer calls the recovery team, "2 Dads, Frenchy with me to the port RHIB."
Within five minutes, the RHIB is launched and headed into the coral field. 2 Dads is shining a large light to the front, watching for any coral formations near the surface as they slowly moved forward.
"Bowzer, you should be just about on top of them," Radar called.
"Roger, that. Got um! I see their torches. Using the hailer, "Wind Dancer! This is the Royal Australian Navy. We see your lights and are approaching slowly. Keep them shining."
"Momma Bear, we have them insight."
"Roger."
Bowzer called out, "Wind Dancer, Bendigo approaching."
"Are we glad to see you!" Paul Stanworth called out. "That was a long hour since she went down."
" I bet it was, Sir. Let's get you into the RHIB and back to Bendigo."
Once they were all in the RHIB, Bowzer ordered the raft to be towed. Captain Gonzalves was on the deck waiting to greet her refugees with a crew member standing by with blankets.
"Welcome to Bendigo. I'm Lucy Gonzalves, Captain. We have some dry clothes for you, some hot soup and sandwiches and a place for you to rest. I'm sorry about the loss of your boat."
"Thank you, Captain. We're all ok; that's most important." Paul said.
"No worries, it's what we do. Frenchy, would you show them to austere and have some jumpsuits brought to them. Then show them to the galley. After they've had something to eat, a quick tour of the ship."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Mr Stanworth, I wish that I could tell you that we were returning directly to Cairns, but we were on a mission when we heard your mayday, and now we need to get back to it. Where did you sail from?"
"Port Douglas, Ma'am."
"Okay, make yourselves comfortable. You are free to wander the ship except for restricted areas, of course. Feel free to ask for assistance from any crew member."
"Thank you, Captain."
Lucy then returned to the bridge. "Nav, what's our quickest route to Bright Island?"
"The Bosworth Passage. It's tricky, but I've done it before. If we go around 10 hours to Bright Island, through the passage 8 ½."
Lucy thought for a moment. " Radar, the current position of the cyclone."
"Winds have increased to 193 kmh moving at 48 kmh, moving South East. Due to hit the islands at 0900."
"Damn, it's going to be close, just before the storm. Seas are going to be a problem… Okay, Nav looks like we're going through the passage."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Nikki accessed the charts on her computer and started giving maneuvering orders to OZ on the helm.
"Radar, make contact with Dr Fitzgerald, give her an updated ETA of 0730."
"Aye, Ma'am."
Nikki got them through the passage without incident, and they then increased their speed toward Bright Island.
The weather had started to deteriorate as they approached the island, winds were gusting, and the seas were rough. At 0730, the RHIB was launched and bounced and cut its way through the high surf and wind gusts, then landing on the beach. Dr Fitzgerald was waiting for them, and the crew loaded her equipment into the RHIB.
Back onBendigo, Lucy greeted her newest passenger and gave instructions for her to be shown to the guest cabin and to help her to get settled.
Nikki had already been plotting their route back to Cairns, around the storm, skirting it, or going through it.
Lucy slid into the Captain's chair, " Nav, calculate how long to go around the storm."
"Already done. Twenty-four hours to go around, twenty-two maybe, depending on the weather, to skirt it, and longer to go through because of conditions even though that is the most direct route."
"Okay, we go around. Nav…"
Nikki gave her instructions to the helmsman.
"It's been a long night, Nav. Get some sleep, and I don't want to see you before 1400."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
"Bowzer, you have morning watch. I'll be in my cabin."
It was 0845; Nikki undressed, put on her tee-shirt, picked up her tablet and climbed into her rack.
*Hey Luv, we've picked up Dr Fitzgerald and are finally headed back to Cairns. Seas are a bit rough right now, but we are steaming away from and around the storm, so no worries. We should be in around 0900 tomorrow. You're probably out with Poppet for your run. Stay away from the "Cat Ladies". Love you, miss having you near me when I sleep, which is now. It's been a very long night. I'll message around 1330. ❤️*
Josh came in from his run and immediately checked his tablet, fou and read Nikki's message. He smiled,(she'll be home tomorrow, then four days leave with the weekend.)
Cairns 25 hours later:
Josh and Gale were waiting on the wharf while Bendigo slipped into her berth. He watched intently as the close-up crew finished and set out the gangway. Then there she was, radiant as always, causing a rush of emotion as always. Saluting the ensign, Nikki quickly trotted down the gangway and into his arms. After a long kiss accompanied by wolf-whistles from the crew, he pulled away, " Welcome home, Baby, missed you."
"Missed you more."
.