Ch 77

"Nav, use this," Swain said giving her a mini tape recorder

"Thanks, Swain"

"She will come to you, so that's your best chance to prove your innocence."

"Thanks, I'll better get on the bridge. We should reach Port Moresby in four hours, sir."

"Thanks, Nav. The tape recorder was a good idea, Swain. Thanks for being here, you can go now."

"Thank you, sir." Nav walked on the bridge, ET was at the helm, and Bullier was over the maps. She looked at ET, giving him a head and eye signals. He nodded once understanding what Nav was trying to him.

"Ma'am," he said loudly getting Bullier attention. She turned looking at him.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I need to use the head"

"Alright! But be back as quickly as you can." She said loudly.

"Thank you, ma'am," he turned the autopilot on, before getting up from his seat and walking off the bridge.

"Now that we are alone," Bullier started, Nikki turned on the recorder she had on her pocket before she turned towards her.

"Yes?"

"Tell me, why did you have to go and tell Mike what I said? Why are you trying to kick me off the ship?"

"I just told him the truth, and you know nothing about Lieutenant Commander Flynn." Bullier walked close to Nav, entering her personal space trying to intimidate her.

"You are in love with him," Bullier accused her in a whisper.

"Who?"

"Mike Flynn."

"What? You are crazy; I'm not in love with the captain."

"Ah," she said smirking. "It's Buffer then. You are sleeping with him."

"I'm not in love with Buffer. Or any of the crew on here. It against the rules you should know that" Bullier snorted as Nav turned to look out at the sea again

"You know, Nav? This boat is only big enough for one woman."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it." Nav looked at her. "Let me get this straight. With those comments, you made last night? You were trying to set me up?"

"Maybe," Amy smirked. "It was a shame that Swain was in his cabin. Who knows what I might do when I get him all by myself. He looks so damn sexy with the overall. And his chest hair, yum! I could run my fingers through them."

"You are sick, you know?" Bullier laughed

"What are you going to do? Run and tell him what I've just said?"

"I am! The moment ET gets back I will. And you know, Lieutenant, you can kiss your navy career goodbye."

"That's where you are wrong, Nav."

"Sorry," ET said returning to his spot. He could feel the tension as Nav walked down to the door.

"One more thing, lieutenant. Do you know Lieutenant Kate McGregor?" Bullier snorted

"Princess perfect, who doesn't?"

"What do you think about her?" Nav asked

"How do you know her?"

"She was my instructor at Watson bay before I was posted on here." Nav shrugged.

"Then you'll know she's a know-it-all. I heard she was a whore when she was a teenager and used her skills to sleep with her teachers and instructors to get high marks. She found some stupid Lieutenant Commander that believed she was a saint and got knocked up to keep him by her side and has now a couple of brats. Why?" Nav saw ET clenching her jaw.

"You are very lucky she isn't here," Nav said. "You wouldn't stand a chance against her or the crew of the Hammersley after this." Bullier laughed

"What? Don't tell that she managed to sleep with all of them?"

"As far as I know, from the Hammersley, she's only has been with Lieutenant Commander Flynn," ET commented.

"So that's how she climbed the ranks!" Bullier said with a smirk

"No, you are wrong. She is her wife!" Nav said yelling before walking off the bridge slamming the door behind her.

"Ma'am," ET added turning towards Bullier. "You've just pissed off the wrong people. When word gets around, you won't stand a chance."

"You are saying I don't stand a chance against Princess Perfect?"

"Ma'am. The captain chose her, and they have three great kids together who happen to have not only the captain but the whole crew wrapped on their fingers."

Nikki walked down to find Mike; he wasn't in his cabin, so she went looking for him. She found him at the dining room having breakfast, Swain and Buffer were seating with him. She lowered the tape recorder loudly on the table.

"Nav, what's wrong?" Buffer asked noticing how angry she was.

"Just play it and hear it yourself."

They listened to the exchange, and when the recording ended, Mike stood up walking out of the dining room.

"Guys, you got to stop him!" Nav added worriedly. Buffer and Swain rushed after Mike. As the guys went to stop Mike, Nav went to the RO with the recorder.

"RO," she called finding him at his position.

"Hey, Nav! What can I do for you, ma'am?"

"Can you make a copy of this and send it to Commander Marshal at NAVCOM."

"Can I ask why or what am I about to send?"

"Evidence against Bullier. She just pissed the captain, badly. Swain and Buffer went behind him to prevent him doing something he might regret."

"That bad huh?" he said turning around to do what she asked.

"Yeah."

"What did she do?" Nav sighed.

"Summing it up, she called Kate a whore, that sleep her way up the ladder and called the kids brats."

"Oh God, that's not good."

"No, it's not. Can you let me know when it's done?"

"Sure, give me ten minutes."

"Thanks."

Mike stormed on to the bridge with Buffer and Swain close behind him.

"Lieutenant Bullier!" He growled.

"Sir?"

"Nav told me, us, what you've said. And I remember clearly telling you that I don't like liars. And you are not only a liar, but you have gone too far, insulting not only my crew but my family. The moment we are back at Cairns you are off my boat. In the meanwhile, you are relieved of your duties and held on tight confinement. Swain, Buffer take her down and make sure there's someone on guard."

"Lieutenant," Swain said giving her space to walk in front of him

"She's the liar, sir."

"Don't even bother, we trusted in Nav's words before. But now, we've listened to the recording evidence. You should be ashamed of yourself," Buffer said

"Get her off my bridge!" The Lieutenant walked off the bridge with Swain and Buffer behind her.

"Sir?" ET said a few minutes later as he saw Mike pacing around almost fuming.

"What?" Mike turned around to him.

"Sir, with all due respect, can I suggest something?"

"Not now! I still need to calm down."

"Yes, sir. That why I would suggest you call your wife? Sir," Mike smiled

"That's a good idea, ET and I'm sorry I've yelled at you."

"It's ok, sir. We all understand it," Buffer chose that moment to enter the room.

"I'll be in my cabin, Buffer."

"Yes, sir," Mike walked off the bridge.

"I've never seen him that mad at a sailor before," ET whispered

"Yeah, mate! And we got to put up with her for two weeks! Added to the captain bad mood that's just bloody bad."

"I've suggested to him to call his wife," ET grinned conspiratorially making Buffer grin.

"Well, I hope she can calm him down."

"You and me, both, mate."

"It's done," RO said to Nav when he turned around and found her waiting. He smiled passing her two tapes.

"Thank you. And the copy to…"

"That's done too."

"Can you get a hold of him then?"

"I need the boss permission to call the Commander, Nav."

"He's in his cabin talking to Kate."

"Ok, but…"

"Don't worry; I'll take full responsibility." RO shrugged and picked the phone, he dialed up and then passed it to Nikki.

"Sir," Steve assistant said on the line. "I got Lieutenant Caetano from the Hammersley on a sat call waiting on line three, sir. She said it was important."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll take it." Steve grabbed the call after letting out a sigh. "Lieutenant Caetano, what is that important that you couldn't solve it with your Captain?"

"Sir, it is about my Captain." Steve sat up in his chair rubbing his face

"What happened, Lieutenant?"

"Lieutenant Bullier, sir." Steve groaned.

"How bad is it, Lieutenant?"

"In a scale of ten, that would be twenty plus, sir."

"I had my doubts of the Lieutenant lasting longer than this trip, but this is way sooner than I've expected. What happened?"

"Well, we share bunk beds, sir. And the first night, she was asking questions about the Captain. Personal questions, sir and that set my alarms off. I commented it to ET and Buffer, but I didn't notice that the captain was around the corner. He informed us he was going to talk with Bullier this morning; Swain was present when he did. They paged me to the meeting, where the Lieutenant said I was lying and he ordered her to leave I thought I was in trouble."

"You thought? Are you in trouble, Lieutenant?"

"No, sir. The captain and Swain trusted in Swain and me got me a recorder in case I was in front of her again. I … recorded what she said, sir. Swain and Buffer were there when the boss listened to it, and they followed when the Captain left the room angrier than I've never seen him. He didn't do anything bad, sir. He only relieved the Lieutenant out of her duties and placed her on hold with a guard." Steve let out a breath he didn't know was holding.

"Alright, Lieutenant. Leave it with me, once you drop the supplies return to port. I'll fax your new orders to the RO."

"Copy that, sir. The RO sent you a copy of the recording, sir. Once you listen to it, I'm sure you will be as pleased as we are that Kate isn't around. Not that Lieutenant Bullier could stand a chance against her."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. How long before you reach Port Moresby?"

"Two hours, sir."

"Very well, I'll guess I'll need to find a new XO."

"Yes, sir. We are sorry, sir. Having to find us an XO constantly must be painful." Steve chuckled

"Your right, Lieutenant. I'm not the only one having headaches about these changes."

"The fleet command, sir?"

"Yes, but don't tell anyone about it. Especially Mike"

"Don't worry, sir."

"Very well. Your orders will be there soon, fair winds." Steve hung the phone and looked up when there was a knock. "Enter." His assistant opened the door, "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Is everything alright on the Hammersley, sir?"

"I guess it's just the regular occurrence, nothing to worry about too much by now."

"You mean we need another XO, sir?"

"I'm afraid so," Steve typed on his computer.

"The recording they've to send, sir."

"Play it." Once they finished listening to it, they both looked shocked.

"No wonder, the Lieutenant Commander wants a new XO, sir."

"Well, I'm not impressed either," he sighed. "I'll better let the fleet command know that we need a new XO in three days."

"What about the list, sir?"

"I've already gone through them, and none are available. I'm going to leave it up to the fleet command this time."

"Sounds like they are going to need all the luck they can get"

"Sounds about right," Steve picked up the phone to make the call, and his assistant walked out of the room.