Chapter 9

When Carter entered the compartment, Traeger knew something was wrong. The sub was yelling at everyone to get in line as usual but it ended there. Her voice sounded strangely high pitched. The way she moved was unlike anything Traeger had seen from a sub before. The water slapped her flanks gently. There was no wake at her stern. Then Traeger realized, Carter's propeller wasn't spinning at all. She moved solely by her fins and her bow thrusters. She came to this conclusion with no small amounts of alarm. She took her place next to Ford, it was fortunate the two were berthmates. "Ford..." She whispered. "I know." Ford rasped, eyes fixed on Carter. She watched her RDC carefully as Carter halted in the middle of the room. Eyes locked on Traeger she said "Courage chamber tomorrow. If any of you act like goofs I will hear about it." Then she limped into her office. Traeger didn't even wait for her to shout "yeoman" this time. In fact she ended up racing Ford to the door. Carter had her stern to them. "Traeger, I need you to escort me to medical. Ford, take charge in my absence." "Aye senior chief." The carrier dipped her bow gracefully and left without another word. Traeger knew Carter must've been in agony to do this. But she admired her courage. "I'm proud of you, senior chief." She said carefully. Carter regarded her out of the corner of her eye for a second before she gave her yeoman the barest of smiles.

RDCs did not need an escort to travel anywhere so Traeger was wondering why Carter needed her. She found out soon enough. The submarine was in far worse shape than she thought. Carter limped constantly, favoring her port side so much she actually fell onto Traeger a couple of times. Each time the destroyer would gently nudge her straight again. They had to stop twice when Carter got so winded she could no longer move. When that happened, Traeger would circle around and nudge Carter over to the side of the channel, hiding her in her lee. There the sub rested while Traeger pretended to be a tired recruit taking a moment to catch her breath. When she was ready to continue Carter gave Traeger a nod and they'd set out again. Arriving at medical, Traeger stayed as close as she could to Carter without risking too much suspicion. In a soft voice the RDC asked her to standby in the waiting area. The destroyer did. It was to be a long six hours before she returned.

When Carter did finally emerge from one of the many backrooms Traeger instantly recognized the influence of drugs in her. Her slow, painful sail had relaxed some and she held her head straighter if not higher. Her eyes were slightly glazed and she struggled to focus on Traeger. "What's the word?" The destroyer asked. In reply, Carter handed her a folded chit. "Log this, then ask me questions." She growled in a slightly slurred tone. She moved off to stand by the exit, waiting for her. Traeger took out yeoman's pouch and quickly copied down the particulars of the chit. She winced as she read. 5 days SIQ with another 27 days LLD following. Carter would be FFD (fit for full duty) only a day before battlestations. Traeger couldn't help but wonder if the sub had negotiated this. But as she read further she realized it was likely more of a harsh compromise. Carter could continue to train the division but with harsh restrictions. She could not accompany them on any outings whatsoever unless her presence was strictly mandatory. Even then she was limited to traveling no more than 5 miles in a day. This posed a problem that Traeger was certain Carter would wish to speak to her about. The submarine lived in Mare Island. Even without this chit Traeger felt leery about Carter traveling up the coast at night. In fact she suspected the sub was using the guest docks here on base to rest at night. If she rested at all. When one had pain this bad, sleep was nearly impossible. Traeger joined Carter at the door and the two set out for home. Ford was waiting for them and as soon as Carter had dismissed the watch stander's greeting with a nonchalant wave of her fin and retreated into her office with Traeger, the big carrier sprung into action. Her bulk blocked the doorway and ensured a private conversation. "5 days SIQ with a 5 mile sailing limit once LLD kicks in." Traeger told her RPOC. If Ford was surprised, she didn't show it. "The chit only states the 5 mile limit effective when I become LLD." Carter said. Traeger rounded on her. "Don't you dare! SIQ means Sick in Quarters. You don't leave your bed! You're in no shape to sail to Mare Island right now. I could call medical and I know they'd agree with me." She growled. Carter hissed slowly through her teeth. "What about the guest berths?" Ford suggested. Traeger opened her mouth to reply but surprisingly Carter beat her to it. "I'd considered it but I barely made it from there this morning." She said. "So you have been using those berths." Traeger noted, she'd been wondering. "I didn't want to worry you." Carter did sound apologetic to her credit. Not that that stopped Traeger from launching a tirade at her in any case. "Carter, you need to tell me these things!" "No I do not. You are not my mother or my sisters!" "In their absence someone has to be!" "I am not some 2 year old pup! I can take care of myself!" "And you've done a great job of it thus far." Wow, sarcasm much? Ford did not look overly concerned by the argument. Actually, she was amused by it. Traeger had reamed their RDC out before but she had never used her name until now. It was a slip of the tongue that hinted at the true cause of her frustration and probably Carter's as well. Neither party recognized what they were actually doing to each other but Ford knew and she quietly backed out, predicting that sparks would be flying between these two and soon. She had no way of knowing that those sparks would start a short lived fire that would be drenched by tragedy.