Daniandan-TehWolfyBlake – you'll soon find out!
Takapuna1 – YES! For this, no M/K. Well, really, it's M/K, but just not the K you're after. And I'm glad – Kate could have found herself someone so much better than Mike to settle with.
Latias1999 – Soon to find out. Keep reading!
WickedUk – um, of course it's action packed! You've read my other work; you should know that by now!
Glad to see some of you are still here and still reading – I'm not going anywhere yet, but please keep up the reviews and the reading! Keeps a writer happy, and keeps me writing for all of you to enjoy!
Chapter Six-
Eight hours:
HMAS Victory:-
"I want a report on what's going on. NAVCOM needs to know," said Kate, barging into the room.
"Dodger's been bitten by a snake; not poisonous as such, but enough to cause him discomfort. Lieutenant Caetano has a contusion on her head, and I wouldn't mind betting a concussion or swelling on the brain. She hasn't woken up yet, so I'm not about to discredit that idea. Fleet Medical are talking me through the care of Dodger; there's not a lot I can do for X," replied Gordon.
"Well, Commander White is organising ambulances to meet us when we dock. Make sure you fill in your report appropriately," reminded Kate before leaving. Dutchy was close behind her.
"This is a mess. How do you explain to NAVCOM that in the course of an educational SAREx it actually turned into a real SAREx?" Asked Kate.
"And how do you explain that their EPIRB was tampered with?" Asked Dutchy. Kate glanced up at him.
"What do you mean 'tampered with'?" She asked.
"2Dads found it on the beach with Team Bravo. There's evidence of it having been tampered with," replied Dutchy.
"Before or after they went out?" Asked Kate.
"2Dads and Buffer think before it went out," replied Dutchy.
"Fabulous. So NAVCOM just hands my team faulty equipment, sends them into a looming storm and nearly kills them? I'm going to wring Knocker's neck for this," growled Kate.
"Well, she wasn't the one who organised it. Commander Marshall was, and I'm surprised he didn't put Ryan on the team," replied Dutchy. Kate stopped off in the galley, grabbing a glass of water, then changing her mind, pouring both Dutchy and herself a cup of coffee.
"He's with Kelly you know," she said quietly.
"Who, Ryan?" Asked Dutchy, confused.
"No you dolt. Mike is. They actually look happy together too," said Kate quietly.
"And how does that make you feel?" Asked Dutchy carefully. Kate took a sip of her coffee.
"Oddly enough, it makes me feel… free. I'm not bound to Mike anymore, hoping he'll come back. And I've gotten past waiting for him. To be honest, I wish he'd found someone sooner. He deserves to be happy, and clearly I wasn't the one for him. Kelly pulls him into line, makes sure he actually does his duties, and doesn't let their relationship cloud her judgement in meetings. They might actually pull it off Dutchy. They've got a fighting chance at least," she replied.
"Are you sure you're okay though? I mean, it's a big step," said Dutchy. He followed her as she left the galley, heading for the bridge.
"You know what though? I'm ready for this step."
HMAS Hammersley:-
"Romano, I'm so sorry, but this is going to hurt like hell for a few moments, and morphine is not going to do anything to help," apologised Bird. Romano shook her head.
"I don't care, just pop it back in already," she said through gritted teeth.
"Right. Chefo, can you hold her still for a moment? She might pass out, and I'm not going to be able to catch her," apologised Bird. Chefo left RO for a moment, supporting Romano carefully.
"You ready for this?" Asked Bird. Both Romano and Chefo nodded. Bird gave a sharp tug on Romano's left arm, feeling the socket slide neatly back into place. Romano didn't even scream; her eyes just rolled back into her head and she collapsed. Chefo caught her easily, and between himself and Bird, they got her onto the bed carefully.
"Do you want to finish patching her up?" Asked Bird. Chefo nodded, pulling the medi-kit closer. Bird moved to sit next to RO, and used a cool damp washcloth to wipe his face down. He was sweating profusely, a symptom of the virus his body was desperately trying to fight.
"Oh RO, what did you do?" Asked Bird softly. He was shivering, and as Bird checked his fever, she realised it was still through the roof. She couldn't do a lot for him on a patrol boat except try and keep him comfortable. Mike appeared in the doorway.
"How's he doing Bird?" Asked Mike. She shrugged.
"He'll be okay. Better even once we get to port and get him checked over and onto some antibiotics. Right now though, he's just uncomfortable," replied Bird.
"What about Romano?" Asked Mike.
"Dislocated shoulder, several lacerations that may need suturing, broken nose, possible broken ribs. I'm pretty sure she took the brunt of the force when they were hit or sunk." Romano groaned as she came to.
"Hey, take it easy," said Chefo gently, supporting her as she sat up. Mike crouched down in front of her.
"What happened out there Romano?" He asked quietly.
"Where would you like me to begin?" She countered.
"After you left us on the dock yesterday," said Mike.
"We were issued with our dinghy, and were taken out towards open ocean. They were giving you really basic co-ordinates, and allowing you all to do the exercise. We were doing fine until we noticed the storm clouds gathering, and then we knew we were toast. NAVCOM said they were leaving us with life-jackets and a food supply in case of emergencies, but it wasn't in our dinghy. We didn't have life-jackets, and when we activated the EPIRB, it was defective. The storm hit, and it was… it was crazy out there. We couldn't stay in the boat; we all ended up in the drink. We were swimming for the last seen land when I was hit by the boat." Romano stopped to take a breath, and to shift to a slightly more comfortable position. By now, Kelly was standing in the doorway, Buffer was leaning on the counter, Mike was sitting next to Romano, and Bird and Chefo were still seated where they had been earlier, mouths hanging open in shock at the story.
"RO and Dodger were trying to keep me afloat when the next wave hit. It took down Lieutenant Caetano. We thought we were going to lose her out there. We made it to an island, and we were all cold, miserable, and hoping that somehow that you would all find us. We moved closer inland to get away from the open beach, and to find some shelter. That was when RO started getting sick, and Dodger and the Lieutenant eventually collapsed as well. If you didn't find us, we would probably have died," she said quietly.
"You did the right thing staying together," said Buffer.
"did we? If we'd split up, maybe you would have found us quicker." Kelly shook her head.
"Not the way we had the teams structured; there are four islands near Samaru, other than Samaru. We knew you couldn't have been there, because they would have complained to us about it, and we would have found you. That left Juanga, Huanto, Rua and Zinto Islands. We created four teams, a medic to each team, and sent each team to a different island. That was how we found you. Once we were positive that an island was clear, we moved the team onto one of the bigger islands. Rua was the biggest," commented Kelly. Romano leant her head back.
"Well, it's nice to be dry and warm again," she said, managing half a smile. The morphine started to take effect on her, and she closed her eyes. Bird noticed.
"Okay, questions can wait til later. Let Romano and RO get some rest."
Home Port:
Hammersley and Victory docked at the same time, and Maxine was waiting on the dock for them, her arms folded, clearly unhappy.
"Lieutenant-Commander McGregor, Commander Flynn, Lieutenant Martin, Petty Officer Mulholland. What happened out there today?" She asked, sounding incredibly grumpy.
"Commander White, I believe that I can relay the story to you back at NAVCOM. If you'll give us a moment to organise our crews, let Commander Flynn and Lieutenant Martin finish their duty rosters, and let Dutchy rest, I would be more than happy to fill you in on the current situation and the events that have occurred recently," said Kate formally. Maxine was disarmed by Kate's attitude, and dazedly agreed, leaving the four senior officers to snicker as she left.
"You're really going to fill her in on this?" Asked Mike, trying to be discreet as he wrapped his arm around Kelly. Kate nodded.
"I am. And you two are going home to talk, about a lot of things. A lack of communication is what ended our relationship Mike, and you know it. You and Kelly are perfect for each other, and I don't want to be around if the relationship hits the rocks. So, I'm going to avert that possibility as much as I can." Mike and Kelly nodded at Kate, smiling, and returned to Hammersley to pack their bags. Kate watched as both medic teams took the four injured sailors off Hammersley and Victory, loading them into awaiting ambulances.
"What about me?" Asked Dylan.
"You need to go home and get some rest, or go to the hospital and make sure Nikki is okay. Either way, I'm fine." He hesitated.
"Go Dylan!" She laughed as he sprinted off, clearly desperate for a rest. Kate shook her head as she hailed a taxi, heading straight to NAVCOM. Maxine was in her office, a hot cup of tea in front of her, a mug of coffee waiting for Kate. Kate knocked on the door, and Maxine glanced up.
"Lieutenant-Commander McGregor. Please, come in," invited Maxine. Kate sat down, and took a sip of the hot brew, cherishing the warmth. Maxine put down her tea, and faced Kate straight on.
"What happened out there?" She asked.
"It's a long story."
Another episode over! Good grief! We're over the halfway point now as well, and getting closer to the big revealing moment, the one thing that will change every crewmember…
And some won't survive it.
Are you ready?
Stay tuned for the next episode – it will be up sometime in the next week or so (depending on my work schedule).
I will leave you with a little(BIG) teaser:
Someone will leave Hammersley forever…
Someone's past will come back to haunt them…
Someone's love life will come to light…
Someone is holding a grudge against the Hammersley and Victory…
Someone's life is in danger…
Someone will get married…
Someone will end up on Samaru in the middle of raging gunfire…
Someone will be put in a difficult situation…
Someone will find out the meaning of family…
And someone will decide they're not ready for commitment…
Are you ready for revenge?
MissShawnaAlice xx