A Promise Kept Ch. 02

~~~~~~

When we got back to the rally point, Dave got on the MX/2020 and called for a chopper to come in and extract us. And once we were loaded onto the chopper, enough time had passed so that we were afforded a view of the communications building as it was blown to pieces by the charge Dave had placed there....

~~~~~~

Once we'd done our jobs and were extracted, we were taken aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, which was on station in the Mediterranean Sea. Johnny had been wounded so; the moment the chopper was on deck he was immediately taken to sick bay in order to let the flight surgeon go to work on him.

We, on the other hand, went to the ready room beside the Admiral's office, where the people from the C.I.A. were waiting to debrief us. I had never been through a briefing until we did this first job. So, little did I realize that debriefing would be more like an interrogation than anything else?

~~~~~~

"Why did you not get into the chopper and extract with the hostage?" Mr. Gaines hatefully demanded, pounding his fist on the table in front of me, "That's what you were ordered to do, Walker."

"Because my men were in trouble, Roger Ramjet," I heatedly growled, "And don't you ever slam your fist down in front of me again. Do you understand me, asshole?"

"Mike," Dave suddenly interrupted, "Take it easy, bro. It's alright, man."

"Take it easy, my ass," I snapped, glaring at the C.I.A. piece of shit that thought he was going to get away with treating us like dogs, "Who the hell does this clown think he is, talking to me that way."

"I'll tell you exactly who I am, sport," he angrily snapped again, "I'm the guy who pays your check so; I'd curb that smart assed tongue of yours if I were you."

"Well, you're not me, and you sure as hell don't pay my check, asshole, the Navy does," I angrily replied, "All you are is a fucking C.I.A. agent, and everyone knows what lying pieces of shit that you all are."

"That's enough, gentlemen," Admiral Brice Thompson, Commander of the Seventh Fleet, ordered, "Why don't you CIA idiots take a hike so that I can debrief my men without you two shit heads pissing them off any further than you already have?"

"But Admiral Thompson, sir," McCauley said, "Our orders are to get..."

"I don't give a damn what your orders are," he bellowed, "I've never liked any of you assholes to start with, and I still don't. Besides, my orders supersede yours so; get the fuck outta my ready room...NOW!"

~~~~~~

Once the two idiots from the CIA were gone, Admiral Thompson looked at me smiling, and said, "I believe your friends call you, Mike. Is that correct Chief Petty Officer?"

"Yes, sir," I respectfully replied, But I'm not a Chief Petty Officer, Admiral, I'm only a second class petty officer, sir."

"Not anymore, Chief," he grinned, "And let me be the first to congratulate you on your new rank. Furthermore, I really admired the way you stood up to those Company pricks, and if there's ever anything that I can do for you, just let me know, son."

"Thank you, Admiral," I gratefully replied, "I'll do that, sir."

Then he looked at Dave, and with a wide grin on his face, he stood and shook Dave's hand and said, "You've got a good man there, Lieutenant Commander. If I were you, I'd talk to him about perhaps attending Officer's Candidate School. I think he'd make a great leader."

"Thank you, sir," Dave chuckled, "I'll talk to him about it as soon as possible."

"Consider yourselves debriefed from a job well done, gentlemen," Admiral Thompson grinned, "Get some rest. I just received orders from fleet to keep you guys here with us for at least another six weeks so; welcome aboard, guys.""

~~~~~~

"Holy shit," Danny grinned, "Being aboard a carrier during a Mediterranean cruise means that we're going to be visiting some very nice ports of call, boys. I hope you all know that."

"No shit," I said, "This is my very first trip overseas."

"Is that right?" Dave knowingly asked, "Well then, it looks like we're going to have to initiate you into the team properly when we get to Greece..."

~~~~~~

I slept rather well once I got into my rack. Something that a lot of people don't know is that every American Nuclear powered Aircraft carrier is made with a compartment especially designed to compliment and equip a SEAL team of at least twenty-five men minimum so; we had all kinds of room when we finally reached our compartment.

~~~~~~

The first thing I wanted when I woke up, almost twenty-four hours later, was something to eat, and because there is always something going on aboard a carrier, it means that at least two chow halls are almost always open. And now that Admiral Thompson had promoted me to Chief Petty Officer, E-7, my new uniforms were ready for me to wear, and were hanging on my rack, with insignias, rank, and everything sewed on, for me to see the minute I woke up.

"Good morning, Chief;" Danny grinned, the moment I appeared in the ward room (the officer's chow hall) with a cup of coffee in my hand, "How did you sleep?"

"Who the hell are you?" some Ensign who'd just walked through the door of the wardroom, suddenly demanded of me, "And what in the hell are you doing in Officer's Country?"

"What did you just say to me?" I asked, standing so that he could see the insignia on my uniform that gave me allowance into the ward room.

"I'm sorry, Chief;" he suddenly apologized, "I didn't realize that you were with the SEAL Team."

"It's okay, Ensign," I grinned, "You didn't know."

"Look, Chief;" he replied, "Just because you're allowed into Officer's country doesn't mean that you don't have to render military salutations."

"I called you Ensign, didn't I?" I asked, as he nodded his head in agreement, "Because of the way I feel about some Officers, you're lucky that I didn't call you something worse," and the moment I said that, he angrily rose from the table we were all sitting at.

"We'll see about that, asshole," he spouted, "I'll go talk to the Admiral about this shit, sailor."

"No, you won't, Ensign," Dave said, walking through the door after having heard the whole conversation, "And because I out rank you, asshole, that's a fucking order. You're to leave these men alone, and don't say a damn word to them. Are we clear on this issue?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, anger in his eyes, "Crystal clear, sir," and then he left the wardroom, letting the door slam closed behind him.

"Shit, Mike," Dave laughed, "What is it with you and authority figures?"

"Come on, Skipper, I don't have trouble with authority," I knowingly chuckled, "It's just that certain people have the tendency to thoroughly piss me off sometimes, that's all."

"Fuck," he laughed, "I'd hate to hear what you say about me behind my back."

"That's where you're wrong, skipper," I grinned, "I wouldn't say anything behind your back that I'm not willing to say to your face, Dave, old boy..."

~~~~~~

At that particular time, women had just been placed aboard aircraft carriers, and Nimitz was no exception. A group of female air personnel had gathered on the aft hangar deck to do their morning calisthenics. And because I wanted to go to the far aft of the ship, I had to walk by them to get there.

"Good morning, Chief;" a pretty female first class petty officer greeted me, "How do you like being aboard the Nimitz?"

"It's not too bad," I politely replied, "I'd much rather be back in Coronado though."

"I can understand that," she smiled, her eyes flashing a pretty shade of blue, "How long are you going to be with us? Do you know?"

"At least six weeks," I smiled, "Or at least that's what they tell me anyway."

"Good," she smiled back, "The Nimitz isn't that big of a place so; I'm pretty sure that we'll run into one another again."

"That would be nice," I grinned, "In the mean time, as you were, Petty Officer."

"Yes, Chief;" she smiled turning back to her group, "And the name is Jill...just in case you were wondering...Jill Samuels."

"Thank you, Petty Officer Samuels," I knowingly grinned, "My name is Mike Walker."

"Good," she grinned, openly and shamelessly flirting "It's nice to meet you, Chief Walker; and like I said, I know we'll see each other again."

"Maybe so," I smiled, "You ladies have a nice day," and then I walked away, hearing several quiet female giggles behind me...

~~~~~~

After Id eaten some breakfast and had taken a walk to clear my brain, and because of the security clearance I had, I decided to go up into the OPS (Operations) area of the ship's superstructure, which is commonly referred to as the Combat Information Center, or CIC. That was where all of the Radar, Sonar, and Weapons Guidance Systems were located, and with the clearance I had, I couldn't wait, and was anxious to see it all...

~~~~~~

"Good morning, Chief Walker," Operations Officer Pete Flagston said, warmly greeting me; "Welcome to CIC. What brings you up here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Curiosity mostly," I grinned, "I hope it's alright for me to be in here, Mister Flagston."

"Of course it is," he chuckled, "It's not like you don't have the clearance to be here, Chief. And my name is Gary."

"But you're an Officer," I respectfully replied, "I'm not real sure that the old man would be too happy about me calling you by your first name, Mister Flagston."

"Bullshit," he laughed, "You've more than earned the right, Mike, is it?"

"Thank you, Gary, and yes, my name is Mike," I appreciatively chuckled, "You wouldn't mind giving me a tour, would you?"

"Not at all," he chuckled, "Come with me," and then we went further into the compartment, which was slightly darkened in order to better see the scopes and displays that were up and running...

~~~~~~

"This is our Radar array," Gary told me, as we stood in front of the air search radar, which was a rather larger screen that had a bright, wavelike, oscillating light which illuminated everything in its path, as it continually swept around the screen in a clockwise direction. "If there's anything on the surface out there, we can see it coming from well over twenty miles away."

"Holy cow," I gasped, "That's incredible."

"It is," he agreed, "It really is."

"What's next?" I anxiously asked, "I like this place."

"Glad to hear it," he proudly smiled, "Come with me, Chief;" as he led us down a darkened ladder, (Stairway) to another room...

~~~~~~

Once we reached the bottom of the ladder, Flagston opened a door, and I immediately heard someone loudly yell, "ATTENTION ON DECK," causing everyone in the room to stand at attention.

"As you were, people," Gary grinned, "As you were."

Then he escorted me over to the Sonar screen, and because I wasn't very familiar with what it looked like, munch less how it worked, he explained it to me in a way that was very easily understood.

"You'd be very surprised at how sensitive this thing is," he smiled, "The other day I heard a radio playing that was on the deck of a fishing ship, located all the way over at the Gibraltar Straights."

"No kidding," I gasped, "And we're not too far from Greece right now, are we?"

"Very good, Chief," he grinned, "I always enjoy it when I see examples of how educated our senior enlisted people are. You guys are the backbone of the Navy; you know that don't you?"

"Yes, sir," I grinned, "Hoo-Yah."

"So, tell me, Mike," he asked, as we made our way back to CIC, "How do you like being in the teams?"

"Are you kidding me?" I proudly smiled, "I absolutely love it. Not only do I have the privilege of working with some very smart people, but I get to do things that most people will never do, and that's what makes it all worthwhile."

"I went to BUD/S," he told me, "But during dive phase I found out that my Eustachian tubes are too small to allow me to go any deeper than ten feet, before my head feels like it's in a vise grip."

"Damn, Gary, I really hate to hear that," I regretfully told him, "I think you'd make a good Frog. There are surgeries that can relieve that problem you know."

"Yeah, but I'm married now;" he chuckled, "And my wife would skin my ass if I came home and told her that I was going to go back to BUD/S."

"I guess I can understand that," I chuckled, "Do you two have children?"

"Yes," he proudly grinned, "I have a little girl who's five years old and thinks she's grown."

"What about you, Mike," Gary asked, "Is there anyone special in your life?"

"Not yet," I said, "I want to wait until I'm out of the Navy before I go looking for a permanent relationship."

"Oh, really," he asked, suddenly very interested in what I had to say, "Do you mind if I asked why?"

"I don't think it would be very fair to a woman to be involved with me," I told him, "At least not right now, anyway."

"And why wouldn't it be fair?" he asked, "You've got a right to be happy just as much as the next person, Mike."

"Think about it, Gary," I explained, "I'm subject to be called to do my job at any given time. I wouldn't be able to tell her where I was going, what I was going to do, who I was with, and last, but certainly not least; I wouldn't be able to guarantee her that I was going to come back at all, whether it be in a boy-bag, or otherwise."

"You got a point there," he quietly replied, "I guess I understand now...I still don't think it's very fair to you guys though."

"I know it's not," I said, "But it's the nature of the beast, and it's not like I didn't already know this coming in."

"Well, we can still party once we're on the beach," he raucously laughed, "Whadaya think?"

"As soon as we dock, the Team is going ashore," I told him, "And you are officially invited to come along."

"You're on," he laughed, "Come on, brother; I'll get CAG (Commander of the Air Group) to take you to the hangar bay and let you take a look at some of the aircraft we have aboard Nimitz."

~~~~~~

"Hey, Mike," Dave said, as he encountered Gary and I in the passageway, "Where you going?"

"Gary's taking me to meet CAG," I said, as I introduced them to one another, "He's going to show me some of the aircraft."

"Hey, Gary," Dave grinned, "Is old Tom Barrett still the CAG here?"

"As a matter of fact he is," Gary grinned, "Why, do you know him?"

"Yeah," Dave chuckled, "He's my Mom's oldest brother."

"Cool," I grinned, "So, he's your Uncle then."

"Yeah," Dave cryptically replied, "Would you guys be willing to do me a favor?"

"Of course," I blindly replied, when I should've known better, "What can we do?"

~~~~~~

Chapter Seven

"Captain Barrett," Gary said, making the distinguished looking guy who was sitting behind his desk look up at us, "Can I introduce you to..."

"You've got a lot of balls coming here," the man said, angrily glaring at Dave, and standing up behind his desk, "What's the matter, are you in trouble again?"

"No trouble, and I didn't ask you to bail me out this last time either so; don't even go there with me...sir," Dave quietly growled, like a young tiger defending itself against the older tiger, "I got assigned for TDY (Temporary Duty) here for the next six weeks, and I thought that you might like to meet someone who's not only a very brave guy, but the best Frog, that it's ever been my privilege to serve with."

"Oh, really," he suddenly grinned while looking at me, "Would he be talking about you, son?"

"Uh...I...uh," I stuttered, "I don't...I don't think so."

"Bullshit Tommy," Dave laughed, "Don't let him fool you. He's a bad ass," and then he proceeded to tell his Uncle the things he wasn't, for reasons of security, able to talk about, and when he was done, what happened next ended up becoming one of the best memories of my life.

~~~~~~

"So, you two weren't pissed off at each other after all," I asked Dave, making him grin, as he and I walked back to our compartment, "It was all bullshit wasn't it?"

"Yeah," he laughed, "We've been pulling that act for years now."

"I think he's a great guy," I said, "But I can tell he's probably seen a lot of shit, huh?"

"And he handles it better than great," Dave pointedly replied, "So; what does that tell you?"

"A lot of things," I said, "But the first thing that comes to mind has to do with the mind...a positive mind can accomplish anything."

"Way to go, Mike," Dave proudly told me, "Man...tomorrow is going to be great."

"Yeah," I uneasily replied, "Great..."

~~~~~~

That night I couldn't sleep for some reason so; as opposed to disturbing the rest of the guys, I decided to put on my utility greens and go for a walk. Because Nimitz is over a thousand feet long, that means that there is more than enough room to walk, that's for damn sure.

Deciding to start from the forward part of the hangar bay, I began a slow starboard side stroll aft. As I was walking toward the stern of ship, who should I run into, but first class petty officer Jill Samuels.

Let me take a moment to describe her. She stood somewhere in the neighborhood of five feet, nine inches tall, and weighed roughly a hundred and twenty-five pounds, she had her dark brown hair tied up on her head so that she would be able to put her utility hat on and still be in uniform. Her measurements fit her height with the exception of her grapefruit sized breast, but her most distinguishing feature was her piercing blue eyes. It seemed like she was looking into my soul with a mere glance. There was indeed something special about this woman, and I didn't know it at the moment, but she was going to be the woman that made a very deep impression on me...The type of impression that would profoundly affect me for the rest of my life.

"Hello, Mike is it?" she gently asked, "How're you this evening," then looked her watch, and grinned, "Or should I say this morning?"

"Mike it is," I smiled, "And I can't seem to sleep."

"First time on a carrier, huh?" she asked, as I nodded my head, "Relax, sweetie, you'll get used to it."

"I didn't have any problem sleeping when I first got here," I said, "I think maybe I slept too much."

"Maybe your internal clock is a little messed up," she sweetly replied, "I see it happen all the time to people when they first get here, especially if they get flown in."

"What're you doing up this late," I teased, "Most decent folks are in bed this time of the night."

"I just finished pulling watch, thank you," she sarcastically giggled, "I was going to the aft mess deck to get something to drink. Would you care to join me?"

"Sounds great," I grinned, "Thank you, I'd be delighted..."

~~~~~~

"And I thought that I was the only one who made coffee this good," I chuckled as we sipped our coffee, "I gotta say that the food is pretty good, too."

"Can I ask you something, Mike," she asked, "If it's not too personal that is?"

"Sure," I smiled, "You can ask me anything you want."

"Okay," she softly replied, "Are you married, and can I call you Michael?"

"No, I'm not married," I grinned, "And yes, you can Michael. It is my name."

"Okay then Michael," she impishly smiled, "How old are you?"

"I just turned eighteen four months ago," I told her, "I guess I'm too young for you now, huh?"

"That's up to you," she sweetly, but pointedly replied, "I just turned twenty-two three days ago."

"Up to me, huh?" I knowingly grinned, "Well then, I just made my decision."

"Oh, really," she excitedly smiled, "And what decision would you be talking about?"

"Asking you out on a date," I smiled, "Would you like to go out on a date with me once we're back in port?"

"Are you kidding me?" she grinned, gently taking my hand, "I'd love to go out with you; when?"

"As soon as we get back in port," I told her, "From what I understand, my team is going to be aboard Nimitz until you guys go back to San Diego so; how about then?"

"How about we don't wait that long," she gently grinned, "We're going to be in Greece in forty-eight hours, we can go out then. What do you say about that, Chief?"