It has been a couple of days since then and we are heading back from Port Moresby. The reason why we were there was to drop off a diplomat as a part of a goodwill visit. Luckily for us, the only drama we had was finding a good bar to relax at for shore leave. Right now I am listening to the radio chatter. To my annoyance, most of the chatter has to do with a storm that is developing.
"Hey Hoppo it's my turn now," Robert pulls me out of my thoughts.
"Thank you," I respond as I get up. The chatter about the weather is enough to bore anyone. I scan the bridge one last time before leaving. As I head to the galley I notice some ever-so-slight pitching. It seems like the weather has picked up already. Once I arrive at the Galley I notice Bird who seems to be juggling too many things at once.
"Hey Bird can I help you?" I ask as I carefully make my way through the galley.
"Sure. Can you watch the grill for me?" Bird responds.
"Of course," I responded before grabbing a snack. As I nibble on my snack I watch the food on the grill. It has been a few hours since then and I am making my way up to the bridge for my next watch. It is proving to be a lot more difficult now that the swell has picked in earnest. Luckily for me, I have my sea legs. As soon as the thought crosses my mind I feel myself being thrown into someone.
"I am so sorry Robert," I find myself flustered as I try to pull myself up.
"Don't worry about it," Robert responds as he helps me up. Well as upright as one can be in a storm. After some careful navigation, I finally made it to the communication station on the bridge. As soon as I get my headset on I notice that there is a bit of static. I put it down to the fact that the weather will interfere with the radio systems. Something soon cuts through the static.
"May…Mad Jack…assistannce. I…Mad Jac-," The radio message is garbled but the voice sounds vaguely familiar.
"Boss there is a Mayday. Unfortunately, the message was garbled so I couldn't get any information but I will try," I announce.
"Be mindful that there is nothing that we can do until the weather blows over," Mike confirms. To be honest I need the location of the vessel before we even consider doing anything.
"Mad Jack this is warship Hammersley can you give us your last known location?" I radio in my response. After a tense few seconds the radio crackles to life.
"13 degrees…148 degrees…east. P…hurry…cap…," Like the last message it is garbled but at least the woman was able to give us enough data to form a search area. The thing is it is still a relatively large area to search. After passing on the information Mike forms a plan. The only downside to the plan is the fact that it is hindered by the weather. The good thing is we are still going to search for the boat. After a couple of hours, the weather finally blows over. We have also reached the search area. I begin scanning the area with a pair of binoculars.
"Boss there is wreckage dead ahead. It looks like someone is trying to flag us down," I announced as I spotted the outline of a person on the overturned hull of what I assumed to be the Mad Jack. Mike is quick to react.
"All hands to boarding stations. All hands to boarding stations," With that I get out of my seat. After a few minutes, we made it to the wreckage of the Mad Jack. Standing there is one of my former crew mates from the ANZAC.
"Hey, Hoppo, thank you for the rescue. I wasn't sure how long I had before the boat sank," The woman remarks as Swain and I help her into the boat.
"Don't worry about Ally," I reply. It was lucky that we heard the Mayday.
"Wait you two know each other?" Swain is confused about the situation.
"Yeah. We served together on the ANZAC. I left soon after she did. I didn't agree with how Captain Jones treated Hoppo after the incident," Ally explains as we head back to the Hammersley. It has been a few minutes since we arrived back on the Hammersley and I am making sure that Ally is fine. To my surprise, the only thing wrong with her is mild dehydration.
"So…you finally did it," I remark.
"Did what?" Ally responds before taking a swig of water.
"Got a boat to circumnavigate Australia," I reply. For some reason, one of Ally's goals was to sail around Australia once she left the navy.
"Yeah, and I would have done it if it weren't for the storm. According to my charts, I was three hours away from Cairns where I started from," Ally confirms. After a few minutes of chatting, Commander Flynn finally joins us.
"Boss this is Ally Daiz. Ally this is Commander Mike Flynn. Anyway I am going to grab something to eat," I excuse myself as I know Mike likes to go over some things with civilians. After grabbing something to eat I join the others in the junior officer's mess.
"So how do you and the guest know each other?" Charge asks as I sit down.
"She was one of the ETs aboard the ANZAC. She was one of a small handful of crew members that didn't see me as a nepotism kid," I explain. In fact Ally was the one who taught me that being serious all the time was not a good idea. A part of me is hoping that Ally decides not to gossip. Knowing her that will be impossible.
"And for good reasons. You are one of the best shipboard medics I have ever seen. Anyway, can any of you point me to the galley?" Ally remarks as she pops her head in.
"It's just down the hall to the left," Robert remarks. After thanking him Ally leaves. After fishing my food I excuse myself. I head to the radio room so I can use the laptop to write and submit some reports. As soon as I get to work on the reports I find myself thinking about the events that led me to being on the Hammersley instead of the ANZAC. For some reason, a feeling of guilt sneaks up on me. The thing I know is that there was nothing I could have done to change the outcome of what happened.
I am watching on as Captain Jones tries to argue with my Dad as to whether or not I should be honourably discharged.
"I am telling you, sir. Your daughter did not do everything for Alex," He responds.
"Are you a doctor or a ship's medic?" My Dad counters. Captain Jones seems to consider my Dad's question before answering.
"No-,"
"Then why are you pushing the matter before the investigation is finished?" My Dad asks. I can see that Captain Jones is starting to get more annoyed.
"Sir, do I have permission to speak freely?" Captain Jones asks.
"Sure but I would still be careful," My Dad warns.
"Hoppo may be a good medic but she has never dealt with an emergency like the one we faced a week ago," Captain Jones responds.
"Look Captain I know you have hated me from the day I stepped foot on the ANZAC but I have proved to the others that I am more than a famous last name and if you can't see that I will ask for a transfer. However, I will be leaving the Navy on my own terms," I speak up to Captain Jones' horror. I'm lucky that my Dad is happy for me to speak my mind in his office. After some remarks from Captain Jones he leaves. I sigh as I know my dad is between a rock and a hard place at the moment. On the one hand, he can be lenient but on the other hand, he needs to treat me like any other RAN officer otherwise he will accused of favouritism.
"I'm sorry Dad but Captain Jones cannot see past my last name," I explain.
"It's not your fault. I knew something like this could happen when you told me you had joined the Academy. The reason why I chose not to do anything is because I knew you would prove yourself one way or another. Captain Jones is blind to that fact," My Dad counters. At least my Dad sees that I have nothing to prove now.
"Earth to Hoppo. Are you alright?" Robert snaps me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Ally's presence on the ship is making me reflect on the circumstances of my being on board the Hammersley," I respond as I stretch. There is something about filling out paperwork that makes me want to fall asleep.
"Mind if I use the laptop when you are done?" Robert asks.
"Of course not. Umm…while I write do you mind me asking given my last name do you think I'm stupid for joining the Navy?" I decided that an unbiased opinion would be a good idea. Besides Robert seems like a good person to ask for the simple reason that he is too honest which means he will give me the answer that I am looking for.
"Well…that depends. Were you forced into being in the Navy or did you join on merit?" Robert begins the process of nitpicking my brain.
"I joined on merit. I joined ADFA because it was the best way to get my medical degree. I then chose to continue in the Navy because I was considered one of the best recruits in a long time," I explain as my typing speeds up.
"Then you are not stupid for joining the Navy. The Stupid thing would be if you were doing it to make your Dad proud," Robert responds. At least I got the answer that I wanted. The thing is I know my Dad would be proud of me regardless of where I was just so long as I am practising medicine. After a couple of minutes, I have completed my reports. I quickly excuse myself.
It has been a couple of hours since then and we are finally back in Cairns. I am currently debating whether or not I should go out with the others or go home.
"Are you coming with us tonight?" It's Robert asking this time.
"No thank you. I need some time to myself," I reply. As nice as it would be to let loose I still have a lot on my mind and I know that I am not fun when I have things on my mind.
"Ok. Well, you know where to find us," Robert confirms. Even if I didn't I would be able to tell. After making sure my paperwork is in order I finally leave. After what feels like an eternity of driving I finally made back to my apartment. After dumping my stuff and changing into something more comfortable I settle down to read a good book. I am soon however distracted by my thoughts.
It has been a couple of days since the investigation wrapped up and I have been cleared of any wrongdoing however Captain Jones thinks that they got it wrong. Right now I am on my way to NAVCOM headquarters. I am about to do something that I thought I was never going to do. I am going to ask my Dad for a favour. I take a deep breath as I knock
"What can I do for you, Eden?" My dad asks as I join him in his office.
"I know I shouldn't be asking but I need your help getting me transferred to a patrol boat," I answer. The reason why I want to join the crew of a patrol boat is because the only one there who will actually know my father is whoever the CO is.
"I've already found an opening. I was waiting for you to reach out. Anyway, have you talked to anyone else about the issue at hand?" My Dad responds in an attempt to check on me.
"Honestly I've been too busy. Since Captain Jones didn't get the answers that he wanted he's made sure my life is busy," I reply. That is the only downside of being the Captain's least-favourite person. After some back and forth I excuse myself.
My attention is soon grabbed by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I ask.
"It's Ro and Swain. We thought you could do with some company," Robert responds as I let them in.\
"You seemed upset at something as you left the Hammersley," Swain adds.
"Yeah. Ally's presence reminded me of the events leading up to my arrival at the Hammersley. Specifically, the fact that I had to do. Can I offer you two something to drink while you're here?" I know they are checking on me but I can still be a good host. To my surprise, they both ask for a glass of water. After fulfilling their request I rejoin them.
"So the one thing you didn't want to do?" Swain turns the conversation back to me.
"I had to ask my Dad for a favour. My previous Captain was doing everything in his power to get me honourably discharged," I explain.
"Let me guess he couldn't see that you joined the Navy on merit," Robert
"Exactly. So that is why I decided to start fresh on a patrol boat," I confirm. It is kind of refreshing to have this conversation with people who are impartial to the situation. After what feels like ages the others are finally done socialising.
"Look I'm glad you two came around but please tell me before the next time," I half joke as I show the pair out.
"We'll try our best," Robert replies. In their defence, it was probably a spur-of-the-moment decision anyway. I find myself giggling at the fact. At least they gave me a chance to open up about the events of the past six months. It has been rather refreshing. I can relax now that the thoughts have left my mind