Navy Whore

Thank you Tigerssan for all your help and with some of the technical terms in this story.

*****

Kathy felt uneasy about being the captain of 'The Phoenix'. She came over with Lee when 'The Firebrand' had to go into dry dock after the surprise attack. The Captain made sure Kathy stayed well away from the bridge.

Now because of a freak accident, she has replaced her as Captain. Then there was Lee; she had been grooming her ever since that first selfie at the graduation week events. The grooming had been so gradual Kathy didn't even see it until now. Kathy was one of the five people Lee picked.

After the helicopter landed carrying Lee and the newly minted 'XO', Kathy took a deep breath. When they made it to the bridge, the 'XO' announced, "Fleet Admiral on deck!" All persons on deck came to attention.

Kathy turned on her heel and gave Lee a crisp military salute. "Welcome, Fleet Admiral to 'The Phoenix'." Lee expected a warm welcome, not a sterile one with salutes and ranks mentioned, both things Lee didn't like. Lee then realized neither officer had not received their stamp of authority by the crew yet.

Kathy looked around to see what other officers were on the bridge; ironically there was only an Ensign. "Ensign take over for me, the Fleet Admiral is here to have a meeting with me and my 'XO'."

"Yes, Captain!"

Kathy and her 'XO,' whose name was Jim, were shocked about the state of the war. Lee viewed this as just a lull, borders can change overnight. Kathy placed the papers she had received from Lee in a safe in her cabin at the end of the meeting.

The meeting cemented the authority of the two officers; Lee validated it by having both in the briefing meeting.

Kathy went to the bridge. "Steady as she goes Ensign. I am going to get something to eat, I am going to the mess to get some food. It better be tasty, or I might have to give the cook my Mom's cookbook. Moms are the best cooks, except for grandmas of course."

The Ensign smiled, "I beg your pardon Captain. I don't think my Mom even knows where the stove is in our house."

While Kathy was catching up with Lee while eating, she had to ask Lee a question, "Lee, I have noticed everything you say to the crew seems to be in short, curt sentences. How do you do it, and keep your authority when needed?"

"Be yourself, be genuine, and you will gain their respect. The crew will see the inner you, your character that you have already displayed in the Navy. You didn't get those bars by your looks; you worked your ass off to get to where you are, even in combat you kept your head level."

"Your looks may have let you be a supermodel, but being a supermodel gave you your self-confidence, built up your character to make those decisions you will need to make as a Captain of the US Navy. You know me, if it were your beauty, I would not put you in charge of a zodiac, even if you were the only one on board."

"Let them know that you are Kathy as well as the Captain, join with them in some things; they will see it is Kathy who wants to have fun with them, and not a Captain who looks down on them. Your job as Captain is not only having command of a vessel, but also all those aboard her. Some Commanders don't understand the people part of it. You do, or you wouldn't have asked me the question."

"Kathy, you will have 6,000 souls on board, less than 100 of them will be officers. If the enlisted crew are upset, the whole ship is angry. Eat at least three meals per week with them, assign a liaison officer to hear their complaints.

The radio crackled to life. "MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"

"This is 'The Phoenix', what is your situation?"

"They came at us out of nowhere ma'am, losing fuel fast, we are pretty shot up, still over enemy waters."

"Squadron leader, we got sick birds in the air, still over enemy waters. I don't care if you must push them, I don't care if you go BINGO! You will get those birds over friendly waters. IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Within minutes the planes were airborne.

"'Halo', 'Guardian', break formation and intercept full speed."

"Ma'am, I am losing fuel too fast, I am going down."

"Bullshit, not on my watch, help is coming. You are going to get a ride. You are going to lower your aircraft on the refueling booms of our fighters."

Kathy looked over at Lee. "Ma'am. Is Global Hawk in range? I would like to get some eyes on the situation."

Lee commanded, "Radio Man, get in touch with Norma Rae on 'The Firebrand', she has that information."

Soon 'Global Hawk's' imagery appeared on the bridge. Kathy was biting her lip; it will be close.

"Here they come boys, do whatever you need to do to keep your bird in the air."

Lee was busy on the map trying to find the shortest distance to safety.

"Adjust to 137 degrees."

"Rodger 'Phoenix', 137 mark."

"Taxi service is here, keep her level, Ma'am I have heard of 'Lyft,' but this takes it to new heights. Sorry guys, I couldn't help it. Fifteen minutes to friendly waters."

"'Halo' here, projected time is twelve minutes, try to push them as close to us as possible."

"'Guardian', has a visual lock on four chutes, still waiting for more to deploy.,"

"'Phoenix', canopy not deploying. David, release your side, DAVID, oh no, WHY DID YOU GO GET YOURSELF KILLED, MAN! What about your bride and baby?"

Lee took over, "Leader focus; this is Lee, take that strap off him so you can get that canopy open."

"'Phoenix', pilot ejected with co-pilot, rest in peace, my brother."

"Kathy where'd did you learn a maneuver like that?"

"On a rerun of 'Jag'. Apparently, it happened in Viet Nam, over a greater distance; we had nothing to lose."

It was clear Kathy didn't have the same temperament to the job that Captain Lesly and Lee had. She would go weeks at a time with very little sleep. One day Kathy fainted on the bridge.

She said, "Doc, you would tell me if I was unfit for duty, wouldn't you? The thing is, I have six months left on my tour, and I am far from decided if I want to add more years. I can't sleep. I faint on the bridge, and I am not a people person at all. I have heard everything the crew has said about me."

"I can give you something for sleeping. I don't know why you fainted; you are one of the fittest people on board."

"No, I never know when I am going to the bridge; I can't be doped up."

"If I am so fit, why was I getting eight hours of sleep on 'The Firebrand'? Now I am lucky if I get two. I am exhausted, and I faint on the bridge. Itis making me curt and short with the entire crew."

"If you can't figure out what is the matter with me in the next week, I will request for medical liberty. I don't want something nasty sneaking up on me."

"Would you consent to a sleep study captain? You may have sleep apnea; we will measure your brain waves. In some people, their bodies continue to wake them up even during sleep. In some extreme cases, it wakes them up every few seconds. We can do an overnight, and work from there."

The Doc said, "If I can't figure it out soon, I will request a leave from Lee; I would have hated to have missed something and have it grow in you."

"OK Doc, I am in for the study. I need to find out what is going with me. I can't do my job if I am lying on the floor, and I can't have the entire crew pissed at me."

"We can do the study tomorrow, tell your 'XO' to get extra sleep; it may be an extended shift."

As the night progressed, Doc was growing increasingly concerned; there were too many abnormalities; what was going on with Kathy. Her job could not tell the doctors what was going on. He gathered all of Kathy's medical records and filled out the leave form; he just needed Lee's signature.

"Radioman send this message, to Lee, it is urgent."

The radioman said, "I hope she gets better Doc. She is a good captain, but somewhat stand-offish."

"That will change radioman. I thank you for your concern."

At 08:00 hours, the chopper with the Doc and Captain Kathy on it landed on 'The Firebrand'. Once all the paperwork was signed, the chopper took off for the hospital. Lee and another officer took off for 'The Phoenix' to spell off Jim.

"All hands, this is Lee. I know all of you know that Captain Kathy is on medical liberty. One of the things she confided in me was that she knows she has been a poor Captain to you. Let's hope we can help her. Her tour is ending, and I have not seen a request either way."

"Doctor, I don't see her list of medications or allergies. Did you bring them with you?"

"Medications are aspirin as needed, no allergies. Kathy should be the most energetic person in the fleet. I have noticed her diet. It is a very healthy one, yet she is always exhausted and fainted on the bridge for no apparent reason. She refused sleeping medication. I am her medical advocate."

"I understand Doctor; we will keep you informed."

That Sunday, on 'The Phoenix' the chapel was packed; normally there was just a handful. They were an hour early; they must have just gotten off shift. The priest just took a stack of index cards and looked at his concordance in the back of bible under 'Healing'.

Then a seaman from the back said, "Father, we are all here to pray for Captain Kathy. I guess whatever she has is difficult to figure out. Can we have a prayer vigil, and let anyone speak? We need some Divine Intervention."

"Very well."

For fifteen minutes it was an awkward silence. Then a few of the quietist crewmen spoke out, then some more. The feeling in the room was different than the Father had felt it for months.

Kathy felt all the prayers said for her; she drifted off to sleep.

The nurse saw food service about to go into her room, "DON'T YOU DARE WAKE HER UP! I am her nurse. This is the first time in five days she got some sleep, she can eat later."

When the Doc got to Kathy's floor, there was no noise, just tapping on the keyboards. The nurse pointed to a sign, 'Silence all'.

The Doc was pleased when he saw Kathy was finally asleep. They were no closer to finding out a cause.

The Doc went to the nurse's station, took a post-it-note and wrote, 'We need Devine Intervention'. The prayer group started with just the nurse and the Doc, and grew as other patients, nurses and doctors walked around the area. One of the patients proclaimed, "It has to do with the right side of her body."

While eating dinner, a thought struck doc; the doctors came in with haste, "Nurse why did we not find this before."

"We weren't looking for it before."

"All hands, this is Lee, we have found out what is the matter with Captain Kathy. The surgery was a success. She will need to gain twenty to thirty pounds, but she was on an excellent diet."

The Doc visited Kathy after surgery. "You had a lot of parasites in you, some quite large. They were stealing all your nutrition to feed themselves. You will have to gain twenty to thirty pounds."

"Doc what am I going to do about my tour? The crew's comments are quite hurtful."

"You know they had a prayer vigil for you right?"

"That was after they knew I was in the hospital. People do that don't they?"

"You see Doc I believe if you have an eight-ounce glass half full, it is time to get a sixty-four-ounce glass, knowing you may spill some of the four ounces and some may stay in the original glass."

Lee had lunch with the Doc. "How is she Doc?"

"She is in a dark space right now Lee; she has heard everything the crew has said, apologies are meaningless to her right now. I am convinced she has cried herself to sleep so much that she can't cry anymore. She has a picture of her silver star on a dartboard. Kathy didn't throw the darts; they were pounded in with her hands. It is a good thing the door is metal."

"I think the gossip will get much worse; she may have been right about the prayer vigil, just a blip on a screen. She is too much of a professional to confront anyone, even though she knows who said what."

"So, Doc, you are telling me she is a ticking time bomb, but we can't do anything until she explodes."

"In a nutshell, that is correct."

Lee said, "Doc, do you have any idea how useless that makes me feel?

"I take it talking to a superior officer would not help, even as a friend."

"Lee, in her mind, she has no friends. Lee, she feels cornered by a superior force, she can't fly or fight. I think she will let the clock run down and avoid facing her demons."

"All hands, I am going to make this short. With every passing day the probability that you will lose your Captain increases. That is all."

The crew never gave Kathy a chance; they loved their past captain, and she hated Kathy. The gossip grew vocal, starting with just a few and spreading to all the crew. No one could look another in the eye; Lee dismissed the entire bridge crew, Jim came up to the bridge to help her.

The crew could do nothing; their childish behavior could cost a superior officer her career that she worked years to get.

Kathy called 'Jag', "So what are all my options? Can I get all the paperwork for all my options? The deadline will be as soon as I get out of the hospital unless I have a setback."

Seaman Recruit Hope was given three-day liberty when she got out of boot camp; she had orders to report to 'The Phoenix' when it is over. She went straight to the hospital where Captain Kathy was.

"Ma'am, would it be OK if I sat down for a visit?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Seaman Recruit Hope, straight from boot camp. I just got orders to report to 'The Phoenix'. When I was stowing my gear away I heard lots of stories."

"Ma'am I have a feeling that something I may say might offend you, if so tell me to get the hell out, and I will leave."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I think Fleet Admiral Lee got it wrong with you. She put you in an impossible situation. The previous captain didn't like you, so people being people, you had a bad start with the crew. Then you had to figure out how to be a Captain and how to fulfill your duties as a Captain. Next came your medical issues; it all snowballed."

"Ma'am, you could have punished the troublemakers, but you stayed a professional and didn't do that. I know your tour of duty is ending. I will be honored to be part of your crew until you leave."

"I do have one question, Ma'am. Would anything has changed if you didn't have an angry crew, and just worked on being Captain?"

Kathy said, "So, Hope, what do you want to do in the Navy? You must have some idea."

"Nursing Ma'am. My Granddad was sick for ever so long. I would make sure I was there for rounds every day. I told my boss I would work late to make up the time. I had to be there for him. They got tired of me asking so many questions, but I was family, and I had the right to know what was going on with my Granddad. I feel so at home in a hospital.To help people get better when they are sick, or just comforting them."

Kathy said, "Doc, can you come here, please?"

"Doc, this Seaman Recruit Hope. She wants to go into nursing and feels at home in a hospital and asks a lot of questions."

"Ma'am, permission to show her your chart?"

"Granted."

"Well, that isn't good." Flashlight doctor. "Good."

Hope grabbed the sphygmomanometer. "Can I borrow your stethoscope doctor?" He handed it to her. "Good."

"Open wide and lean forward. Deep breaths, again, again, cough for me."

Kathy said, "How is she doing so far doc?"

"Hush you."

"Cough."

"OK breathe normally."

"Doctor, her pupils are reactive, blood pressure 115/80, she should start walking the hallways a few times a day, reflexes normal, lungs clear, and she could gain about fifteen pounds. She has a pulse of 80 which is a little high for laying around. I didn't have anything to measure her saturation, but if her chart is right, I would like it to be ten points higher."

"Nurse why is Captain Kathy's saturation level so low?"

"I have not gotten around to giving Captain Kathy's meds to her yet."

The Doctor said, "Did I hear you right? You have not gotten around to caring for the health of a Captain of the US Navy?"

"What do you suggest Seaman Recruit Hope?"

"I can't comment on that Sir, those are drugs. I might harm the Captain, not to mention it might be illegal for me to give such a comment."

"I do suggest putting her on an Asian diet; it has vegetable proteins and more starch that could have her gain weight."

From the next bed, you heard a man yell, "Holy shit doc, six busloads of kids got in an accident, and they are coming here."

"Right." He pointed at Kathy, "You, eat!" He pointed at Hope, "You, follow me!" He pointed at the nurse, "Get the hell out of our way!"

A senior nurse watched Hope as she deliberately went through all her checks and then reported to the junior nurse her findings. The junior nurse started to scream at Hope.

"Yes Ma'am, thank you, Ma'am." And Hope walked over to the curb and sat down.

"What are you doing here Hope? "

"Well the junior nurse told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to see any more patients and to sit over here, so here I sit."

"Ma'am, it must be 100 degrees out here, and 120 on the blacktop. We need to get these kids inside and give them icy water and lemon ice to make them stable. If not, everyone will get heat stroke."

The senior nurse walked over to the junior nurse and told her to get people organized to get everyone inside and get them cold bottles of water and ice cream; you will check up on them every fifteen minutes.

"Hope put your gown on and two pairs of gloves."

"Ma'am?"

"You want to be a nurse, show me."

The senior nurse told another senior nurse, "Have her do everything, but blood and drugs for you." The second nurse nodded.

Most of the kids were dehydrated, as they were coming from a sporting event. The second senior nurse had Hope insert hep locks for the saline bags.

In twenty minutes, there were ten kids with hep locks in place, and they were holding the saline bags above their heads. The first senior nurse looked shocked at the speed the hep locks were put in.

"How did you do these so fast Hope?"

"That's easy. Sports always made my kid brother dehydrated. I just made a deal with him that I would buy the bags if he let me practice on him. I gave him a drip every night when he was watching television."

The second senior nurse said, "Tell doc to get her certified for blood labs; she found the vein on the first try, every time. They didn't even wince. No one on my staff can do that."

Lee entered the room carrying several packages.

"Hope can you come here, please?

"Hope, doc has told me you need some practice with your sewing skills. Start with this, hospital man Hope."

"It will take Captain Kathy more time to recover. You are going to stay on base and go with her to her physical therapy. We are going to blitz you with certification classes like CPR, and other school work. Hope, you are going to work your ass off before you get to board 'The Phoenix'. When you finish you Class 'A' studies you will receive your 'caduceus'."

"I suggest you find out where to get your smocks. I know doc has his own when he goes to surgery. Put your flair to it."

"OK time for the boxes; here is the first box."

Hope said, "A Drug book?"

"Soon you will have a bookcase full of reference books."

"Now on a personal note, I have a couple of presents for you, as you know my grandmother was in the ambulance services. If Grandma would be here now, I think she would give these to you herself; someone like you that would use a few of her things."

Hope marveled at what was in the box. "You Grandma's stethoscope, I couldn't."

"Doc is she going to need one?"

"How is she going to take vitals for me without one? We can get better earpieces, for the stethoscope so they fit your ears better."

Hope opened the next box. "This one is from the doc."