"I am doing everything I can sir. The problem is he is losing too much blood. Even with the transfusions. Unless we get him on a medivac helicopter there is no way that he is going to make it," I announce. I currently have my hands in a guy's chest. Why? I am a doctor for the Royal Australian Navy and I am doing the best that I can to save this man's life. Why? The man that I am trying to save is the chief engineer. The reason why we are in this mess is because we found a boat dead in the water. It happened to belong to one of the worst human trafficking rings in the world.
"try harder," My Captain snaps.
"With all due respect Captain when I say I am doing everything I can I mean I am doing everything I can," I snap as I check his pulse.
"Damn it. Cap there is nothing that I can do. He's gone. He lost too much blood," I announce as I pull my hands out of his chest. My name is Eden Hopper and I think I am going to lose my career.
It has been an hour since then and I am getting some fresh air on the helicopter deck. I am trying to forget the fact that there will be consequences for my actions. I am soon joined by the executive officer.
"I came to warn you that there will be an investigation. It is just a formality at this point," He remarks.
"Try telling that to Captain Jones. He's been looking for an excuse to get me off his ship," I respond. It is due to the fact that he believes that I am here as a favour to my dad who happens to be the head of the surface force.
It has been six months since then and luckily for me, my dad was able to pull some strings to get me assigned to the most famous patrol boat in the fleet. Yep, I have been assigned to the Hammersley. Right now I am looking for Commander Mike Flynn. He is proving to be a little elusive. I put it down to the fact that he is a busy man.
"Excuse me you must be Doctor Eden Hopper," I am pulled out of my thoughts by a woman.
"Yes, and you must be?" I respond as a blond-haired woman joins me.
"Lieutenant Kate McGregor. I am the XO of the Hammersley. Can I help you at all?" The blond woman introduces herself.
"Could you help me locate Commander Mike Flynn? Admiral Hopper told me to report to him as soon as I came aboard," I fill Kate in. To be honest I think my dad wants me to check in with him to make sure I am comfortable with the new arrangement.
"Of course," Kate replies. After a few minutes of looking, we find him on the bridge. He is watching the action from the Captain's chair.
"Mike, Doctor Hopper has arrived," Kate announces.
"Please feel free to call me Hoppo. Everyone on the ANZAC did," I let them know of my nickname. That is the only downside of being Australian. You always get stuck with a nickname. At least I didn't get mine for a stupid reason.
"Anyway Commander I need to talk to you somewhere private, please. I would like to discuss the circumstances of my being aboard the Hammersley,"
"Your father made it clear that it didn't matter," Mike counters.
"It shouldn't but I would like to make you aware as there is a chance that it might affect my ability to do my duty at some point," I respond. With that Mike gestures for me to follow him to his office. It doesn't take us long to reach his office.
"What brings you to the Hammersley then?" Mike says as he sits down.
"Well...um...I was transferred off the ANZAC. I was trying to save the chief engineer after he sustained a GSW. I did everything in my power but nothing worked. That gave Captain Jones the ammunition he needed to get rid of me. we were assisting a vessel that belonged to the IPSR. I thought it would be better if you heard it from me," I explain the situation. Of course, the IPSR is just a nickname. The thing is we haven't gotten close enough to get their actual name.
"Thank you for letting me know," Mike replies.
It has been a few hours since then and I am heading to the galley. The good thing is since nothing of note is going on I have been able to help the radio officer. He seems nice if not a little weird but there is nothing that I can do about that. The first thing I noticed was a look on one of the crew member's face
"There she is. You must be Hoppo-,"
"Yes, but the answer is no, Kosov-Meyer" I cut him off as I glance at his nametag. He seems like trouble and not the good kind. Thankfully the food is soon in my hands. With that, I head to the ward room which also doubles as the sickbay. As soon as my fork stabs the food a chime rings through the boat.
"All hands to boarding stations," Kate's voice announces through the ship's PA system. It shouldn't concern me at the moment. It doesn't take long for disaster to strike.
"Doc you're needed. It's a medical emergency," the Boatswain says as he sticks his head in through the door.
"Thank you, Swain," I say as I place my fork down. So much for having a good meal before anything happened. I shrug the thought off as I now have a job to do. It doesn't take long for Swain and me to reach the others in the armoury. I can feel Kate's curious look as I prepare a gun.
"I will only use it if my life depended on it," I explain. Before you can ask I know it is weird for a doctor to be carrying a weapon but I have been in a couple of situations that called for it. After a couple of minutes, we pull alongside the boat. The first thing that I notice is the fact that the crew are a little too cooperative. With a few swift movements, we managed to board the vessel.
"Which one of you is the doctor?" A person who I assume to be the boat's master intercepts us.
"That would be me," I respond as I join him. As the others clear the boat I am dragged down below.
"He fell and hit his head," The boat's master fills me in as we find the man. With that, I get to work on making sure he is ok. The first thing I do is check his pulse. It's steady. The next thing I check is his pupils' response to light. It is a little sluggish but nothing to be concerned about. The next thing I check is his breathing. It is laboured which could suggest a few broken ribs. As I check him over I begin to notice wounds that are not consistent with someone simply falling over.
"How's your patient going?" Kate asks.
"Well, we need to get him on board the Hammersley. There is one problem but I will have to tell you once we are back aboard the Hammersley," I respond. I don't want the crew of the boat to realise that someone knows that something is going on. they might run if they do.
It has been a few minutes since we returned to the Hammersley and I am making sure my patient is comfortable while I catalogue all of his wounds. The more I find the more I grow suspicious.
"Hey Eden when you said you had something you wanted to tell me when we got back," Kate remarks as she joins me.
"Yes ma'am. I looked over his injuries. The only one consistent with a fall was the blow to his head. Based on the evidence I would suggest that he was beaten before the medical emergency was called," I explain my hunch as I pass my catalogue of injuries to Kate.
"We don't need a medivac flight but it might be a little harder to transport him," I add. The only downside to being on a patrol boat is the lack of space.
"Ok. I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed," Kate responds before leaving. It has been a few more hours since then and I am about to join the others in the galley when I am stopped.
"I am telling you. Hoppo is a nepotism kid. Her dad is Admiral Jackson Hopper," Kosov-Meyer says. He may be right but he knows nothing about the effort that I have had to put into being in the Navy. My blood soon begins to boil.
"Say that again and this time say it to my face," I demand.
"You're a nepotism kid," Kosov-Meyer spits. The next thing I know is the fact that he is pinned to the wall. My forearm is across his chest.
"Look Kosov-Meyer I had to work twice as hard to be here. If you ever say anything like that again I will write you up. Is that clear?" I ask.
"Yes," Kosov-Meyer responds meekly.
"Yes, what?" I snap. I normally don't pull rank but he needs to learn his lesson.
"Yes, Ma'am," His response is firm this time. Now that I am happy I let him go.
"Sorry about that everyone," I find myself apologising. I put my temper down to the fact that I've had a lot going on and people like Kosov-Meyer don't help. With a few swift movements, I grab my food and go. I rejoin my patient in the wardroom. After taking a few mouthfuls I notice my patient beginning to stir.
"Where am I?" The man asks as he comes around.
"My name is Doctor Eden Hopper and you are aboard the warship Hammersley. We are getting you back to port for treatment," I explain before taking another mouthful of food. After shaking the groggyness from his body the man sits up.
"I need to talk to your commanding officer," The man responds.
"I need a name first," I counter.
"Ian Edwards," the man replies. After making sure Ian has some water I leave. I soon find myself on the bridge.
"Commander my patient is awake. He wants to talk to you," I announce.
"Ok. X you have the ship. Hoppo I want you in the wardroom with us" Mike orders. After acknowledging Mike's orders I follow him into the wardroom.
"This is Commander Mike Flynn. He is in charge of the Hammersley. Commander this is Ian Edwards," I make the introductions.
"You can go doc," Ian responds.
"Whatever you have to say to me you can say it to her," Mike retorts.
"I was on board that vessel as part of an undercover operation. The AFP believed the boat was used in drug trafficking. It was lucky that the ship's master took a liking to me because one of the other crew members found out that I was undercover," Ian fills us in. I quickly excuse myself. It doesn't take long for me to reach the radio station on the bridge.
"Ro, can you do me a favour?" I ask.
"Sure what is it?" The radio operator responds.
"Can you contact the feds and ask them if they have an Ian Edwards on their payroll?" I ask.
"Of course," Robert responded. He doesn't seem too happy about it but it is something I need to check. After ten minutes of waiting, Robert finally speaks up.
"Yes he is a member of the AFP but his mission was supposed to be land-based so they are not quite sure how he ended up on the boat," Robert confirms. At least we have one part of the mystery solved. Now for the conundrum. What are we going to do next? The annoying thing is that Swain and Kosov-Meyer found no evidence of illegal activities. Mike soon joined us.
"Hoppo already had me look into Ian Edwards, sir. He is who he says he is. There is a catch. He was supposed to be on land," Robert is quick to tell Mike what he told me. A scowl crosses Mike's face.
"Well all we can do is get Mr Edwards back to Cairns," Mike declares.
It has been a few hours since then and the ship is back in port. Mike has given us a few hours off however I volunteered to take the watch as there is not much for me to do. I could have visited NAVCOM however that would have led to some awkward conversations with my dad. Right now I have my head buried in a book. To be honest, not much is going to happen in the next three hours unless we get crash-sailed. I am soon distracted by the sounds of footsteps.
"You should be paying attention," The ship's buffer remarks.
"There is not much in the way of action, Dutchy. Besides so long as I make my hourly reports we should be fine. What are you doing back early anyway?" I ask even though it is none of my business.
"I got a feeling that we were going to be crash-sailed," Dutchy responds. As if on cue our phones buzz. Of course, Dutchy's hunch was correct. With Dutchy's help, we get to work on bringing the ship online while we wait for the rest of the crew. Thankfully the others soon trickle in.
"Boss, what's the reason we were crash-sailed?" I ask as I swap places with Mike.
"The feds believe the boat that we boarded a few hours ago was making a run to a mother ship. Now they want us to intercept the vessel before it reaches the mainland," Mike fills us in as he turns his attention to Kate who is double-checking the charts. After rattling off the last known coordinates Mike gives the order to set sail. I feel the engines surge to full revolutions. After an hour of sailing, I notice something on the RADAR.
"Captain, I have a contact. Heading 157," I announce.
"Copy that. Charge can you get it on the EOD?" Mike acknowledges.
"Yes sir and it matches the description of the vessel that the feds gave us," Charge confirms.
"Hands to boarding stations. Hands to boarding stations," Kate announces. Luckily for me, since it is not a medical emergency I am not needed. Because of that, I find myself watching through the EOD system. Luckily for us, it looks like a simple job. After a tense ten minutes, the boarding is complete and the boat is ready to head back to Cairns. After an hour of sailing, we finally arrived back at port. Luckily for us, the handover is relatively quick.
"OK everyone NAVCOM has authorised a night off for you all," Mike announces. After a few minutes, I am finally ready to leave. As I leave I am intercepted by Kosov-Meyer, Dutchy, Charge, Bird and Swain.
"We're going out to celebrate a good catch. Wanna join us, Hoppo?" Charge asks as we head down the pier.
"Umm...so long as there are non-alcoholic options available," I respond. Kosov-Meyer lets a giggle loose. I can't blame him as it is rare to find a Navy officer who doesn't drink.
"How on earth does a sailor not drink?" Kosov-Meyer asks.
"There is a reason I say that but I am not going to tell you," I counter. Let's just say the last time I drank alcohol it did not end well. At least I have the chance to celebrate a job well done. Maybe things are starting to look up for me.