The Boy and the Battleship

by Christopher Cummings

  At last two cars pulled up out front. That in itself was an unpleasant surprise. Two? Graham thought. He saw that the first was driven by Lt Cdr Hazard, wearing his business clothes, but was worried to note the two men in suits who climbed out of the second car. Both had a distinctly police-type look about them. Then he stared at the solid, middle-aged one in the suit.

  He looks like the spook who was there when I was interviewed on the HMAS Hobart, he thought.

  He wasn’t wrong. Exactly what government department the men worked for he never did learn but they introduced themselves to his mother by showing badges in leather wallets, the sight of which instantly put creases in her forehead.

  The solid one said, “I am Mr Cartwright. We met a few weeks ago after the flag incident on the HMAS Hobart.”

  Mrs Kirk nodded and said, “Yes, I remember.”

  The other man was then introduced as Mr Baxter. He was a thin, hard-faced man in a suit of lighter grey and of better cut.

  Mr Cartwright indicated Graham. “We need to question your son over something he says he has heard,” he explained. Then he glanced at Alex and Kylie who both come out to see who was visiting. “Without anyone else listening in please.”

  “Yes, but I will stay,” Mrs Kirk said firmly.

  “Oh yes, certainly. I meant the other children.”

  Alex and Kylie were told to go away and not to interrupt. Mrs Kirk led the three men into the lounge room. They all seated themselves and the policemen, or security men, or whatever they were, took out notebooks and a recorder. Lt Cdr Hazard seated himself to one side.

  Cartwright did most of the questioning, but Graham sensed that Baxter was the real boss. Graham did not like either man. There was something about them that made him feel scared. By then his regrets were even stronger and he felt trapped.

  Cartwright met his eyes. “OK son, tell us the story. Start at the beginning, and leave nothing out,” he said. Graham licked his lips, ordered his thoughts and began. He described how he had gone to Janet’s and who he had seen there. At that point Cartwright interrupted.

  “Hang on. How did you know who these people were? Go back a bit and explain how you got to know they were demonstrators.”

  That stopped Graham for a minute. Then he resumed, explaining how he been on the HMAS Hobart with the girls, including Thelma and Janet. Several more questions settled minor points. Graham then returned to the night at Janet’s. He glossed over the fact that Janet’s parents had not been there. Feeling very uncomfortable with his mother present he said, “I went outside with Thelma and we sat down in the garden… and…”

  The men all smiled and Cartwright said, “We can imagine why you were in the garden with a girl. Go on.”

  Graham blushed furiously and tried to avoid meeting his mother’s eyes. He went on to describe how the three men had come out and how he had overheard their plans.

  Cartwright made some notes and then looked at him. “Did these men know you were there?” he asked.

  Graham remembered the scene vividly and blushed. Then he shook his head. “No. I’m sure they did not. We were sitting behind a big bush.”

  “And they wanted to keep their plans secret even from their own people?”

  “That’s what they said sir,” Graham replied. He was perspiring now and feeling very anxious, not least over what his mother might have to say afterwards.

  Cartwright looked thoughtful. “I see. So what was this secret plan again?”

  “They have told their people there will only be one thing happening but there will be three. There is to be a march from the Council Chambers to the wharf led by the bearded man, Sean.”

  “Sean O’Malley?” Baxter queried.

  Graham nodded and went on: “And they are going to have a couple of those fast inflatable runabouts, Zodiacs they called them. You know, the inflatable boats with outboard motors on them. They are to hide behind the boats on the other side of the Inlet but they are only a decoy to draw the police boats away. That is when the group of canoeists led by this Frank fellow are going to head out from the Yacht Club.”

  Graham also mentioned the story Peter had told him of overhearing Danelle Ozgood talking about the busloads of demonstrators coming from Townsville. The two men looked at each other and Cartwright nodded. “Yes. We know about that thank you. Can you tell us more about Danelle Ozgood? Who does she associate with?”

  Graham told them about Jerry Denham, Edmonson and Peabrain Pondorsky, then remembered Sonja Metcalf and her group. By then he felt awful as he had to mention when he had seen them. He carefully made no mention of the actual scene on the yacht.

  The two men asked several more questions. Cartwright then said, “It is most important that nobody knows you have told this to us. The USA is in the process of reviewing all of its alliances and trade deals at the moment and it is most important we do not annoy them at this moment. Since the ‘War on Terror’ they are very nervous about the security of their ships. With this information we should be able to nip any trouble in the bud. So, not a word to anyone, particularly to this little girlfriend of yours. We can’t afford any leaks.”

  Graham nodded and swallowed. “Yes sir,” he replied in a tiny voice. The two men then thanked Graham’s mother and took their leave. Lt Cdr Hazard also stood up. “Thank you for your time Mrs Kirk. Thank you Graham for that. It could be very important. Will I see you down at the wharf tomorrow afternoon when the ships come in?”

  Graham glanced at his mother who nodded. “Yes sir,” he said.

  “Good. See you then.”

  After Lt Cdr Hazard had gone Graham felt very mixed emotions: relief; and regret. To his great relief his mother said nothing about Thelma. Sadly he went to have his bath while tea was cooked. Later he saw mention of the two American ships on the TV news. That prompted him to dig out his father’s Jane’s Fighting Ships to look them up. The USS Samuel P. McGillicuddy was just an old FFG 7 similar to the ones in the Australian Navy. But the USS Ticonderoga was a major warship by any standards. She was a guided missile cruiser of about 10,000 tons; one of a class designated as AEGIS, which were specially designed for the air defence of naval Task Forces.

  As he read the details Graham became very keen to see the cruiser. She was 171 metres long, which was 40 metres longer than a frigate and three times the weight. He noted that she was armed with surface-to-surface missiles: sixteen harpoons as well as SAMs and ASMs. She had 2 x 5” automatic guns and two of the multi-barrelled 20mm Gatling guns called Phalanx, plus AS torpedo tubes. She also carried two heavily armed helicopters.

  The next paragraph made Graham stop and think. He then re-read it. This concerned the ship’s propulsion plant. It was provided by four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines.

  “She’s not nuclear powered at all!” he muttered, trying to remember who had said she was. He read it a third time to check. Definitely conventional propulsion: 80,000 horse power; 30 knots; complement 316 (27 officers and 289 enlisted men).

  He noted the information about the ship’s sophisticated electronics and fire control systems. She certainly sounds like a very capable and powerful ship, he decided.

  For a minute or so he studied the photos of the ship. She isn’t a battleship but she is nearly as big. She will be really something to visit, he thought.

  He took himself to bed feeling quite excited. Friday promised to be a very interesting day.

  Chapter 33

  THE BIG DEMO

  Friday. At school. Janet in full flight. “We must all make a statement for peace! We must show the warmongers that they cannot just walk on people. They should take their horrible weapons of destruction away and scrap them. We don’t need them here; and we don’t want them.”

  The class listened with interest. Old Wily raised his eyebrows and waited. Janet was really angry and seemed to be very worked up. She glared at Graham. “You should not support such evil by offering your bodies as a sacrifice. There will only be peace when the ordinary people all ref
use to serve. If there were no armies there would be no wars.”

  Graham went red but held his tongue. He glanced at Thelma but she seemed withdrawn. Stephen was grinning. He nudged Graham and whispered: “She might make a sacrifice of her body—for me!”

  Janet did not hear what he said but saw his smirk and turned on him. “You can laugh Stephen Bell! But if you really care you will come to the wharf this afternoon and help demonstrate against this invasion of filthy evil!”

  “I’ll be there,” Stephen replied cheerfully. “I wouldn’t miss it for quids.”

  Janet waved her arms. “It will be the biggest peace demonstration this city has ever seen,” she continued. “I call on all of you to come and support the anti-war cause. We must let the government know they cannot just trample on our rights. They cannot just sail their disgusting nuclear battleships into our harbour.”

  Graham shook his head and finally spoke. “It is not a battleship. The Ticonderoga is an air defence cruiser; and she isn’t nuclear. She runs on gas turbines.”

  Janet turned and spat savagely: “Lies! That is just what they want you to believe. It is a nuclear ship.”

  Graham shrugged and blushed. He could not prove it. Michael put more heat on him by adding, “The ship may not be nuclear powered but it probably carries nuclear weapons.”

  “Possibly,” Graham conceded. He wished the subject had never come up. Janet started again but now Old Wily cut in.

  “Thank you Janet. You have had your say. Now let us get on with the lesson. You can get on your soap box again at lunch time.”

  Janet started to argue but Old Wily firmly told her to be quiet and resumed the interrupted lesson. Graham sat back and breathed more easily. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Thelma, wondering exactly where he now stood with her. She did not look happy; and he certainly did not feel that way.

  At lunch time when Graham plucked up the courage to approach Thelma she immediately asked, “Have you changed your mind about joining us Graham?”

  Graham shook his head. “Sorry. No. I will be with the navy cadets and I will welcome the Americans.” He said it with a feeling of sinking desperation but could not bring himself to pretend. In his heart he felt it was bad enough having to keep a guard on his tongue over the fact that he had betrayed the secrets of Thelma’s friends.

  Janet joined Thelma and that put an end to any personal conversation. Graham gave up trying and took the first opportunity to drift away. After that he sat on his own down at the oval till Peter saw him and came to sit with him.

  “Woman trouble mate?” Peter asked.

  “Yeah,” Graham replied. He did not want to talk about it. Sensing this Peter tried to change the subject but immediately struck right onto Graham’s sore spot. “You going down the wharf this arvo? They reckon it is going to be the biggest anti-American demo ever. It should be really something.”

  “Who told you that?” Graham asked.

  “Oh I dunno. That’s what everyone is saying. I reckon the whole town will be down there. Are you coming?”

  Graham nodded. “Yes. Stephen and I are going straight after school. The navy cadets are part of the welcoming committee.”

  Peter also nodded. “Aah! And the girl of your dreams is on the opposing team. I see the problem,” he said.

  Graham grunted and didn’t want to talk about it. He was just glad when the bell sent them back into classes. Only an hour and a half to go, he thought, anxiety about the event now gripping him.

  That time was one of slowly building tension for Graham. He glanced frequently at Thelma but she appeared to concentrate on her work. Try as he might he could not think of any plan to coax her into a possible change of mind. When the bell went she met his eyes just once, blushed and turned away. To Graham she appeared to be quite unhappy. He had no chance to talk to her as Janet almost dragged her off.

  Feeling baffled and upset Graham went downstairs with Stephen. They met up with Peter and Roger and went over to Roger’s to dump their school bags and bikes before heading downtown. At Graham’s suggestion they detoured to walk along the Esplanade. As soon as the sea came into view Graham’s eyes scanned the horizon.

  Two distant grey shapes, unmistakably warships, were at the far end of the channel. Graham felt his pulse quicken. He cried out “There they are!” and increased his pace. Their route led them a block clear of the City Library but as they crossed the intersection with Aplin Street Graham looked earnestly in that direction. He was hoping to see Thelma but all he saw was a throng of what appeared to be hundreds of people. There were police and placards very much in evidence. The big demo had begun.

  The boys hurried on at Graham’s urging. “We want to be on the wharf well before the ships got in close, just in case the police close it off or something,” he explained. There were certainly plenty of police, some on point duty in the intersections, which was most unusual. There also seemed to be more traffic than usual and a steadily thickening stream of pedestrians all flowing towards the wharves.

  As they reached the Yacht Club Graham excused himself for a minute and detoured into the driveway of the Green Island Terminal. As he walked quickly along he glanced left and was gratified to see two trucks in the Yacht Club driveway with several canoes on them. A number of people were busy unloading these. Two kayaks already floated in the Yacht Club Basin. Re-assured that what he had overheard was actually happening Graham hurried back to join the others.

  The boys walked on, along with what Graham guessed were hundreds of other people. Graham saw Andrew, Carmen and Blake up ahead and wanted to catch them up but by the time they did they were in the gate at the wharves.

  Getting in was more difficult. There were security guards and police and no-one was allowed to take any sort of bag. Everyone was scanned by metal detectors and only then allowed through the gates. Inside there were more police, in pairs and threes with radios. A TV camera team was setting up on a van in the car park. Interested tourists gawked at the growing crowd.

  Graham led the way out onto the wharf. At least a dozen police stood there and they had set up barricades to keep people well clear of the area where the two ships were to berth. Graham squeezed through the throng over to the seaward edge of the wharf. From there he could see right down the shipping channel. From where he stood the long lines of pilings and lights marking the shipping channel were even more obvious. The two ships were now half way in, details becoming visible to the naked eye. The second ship appeared to be much larger than the leading one so he surmised she was the cruiser.

  From the edge of the wharf Graham was able to scan the Inlet. He noted the police launches keeping all small boats well away and knew from the TV news that people had been warned to stay out of the 500m exclusion zone or risk prosecution. There had even been a warning that the Americans might fire at any boat that came too close to their ships. Even though that would be self-defence there was the possibility of innocent people being killed and that had made many people angry.

  “What right have these Yanks got to come into our harbour with loaded guns?” muttered one middle-aged man.

  A band started playing in the open area beyond the barricades and Graham saw a gathering of officials, police, media and naval personnel. He looked anxiously around and saw several other navy cadets in the crowd but no sign of their officers. To make matters worse the crowd was growing by the minute. Then Graham saw Lt Cdr Hazard and Lt Ryan, both in uniform, walk out to join the officials.

  A police launch surged past only 20 metres from the wharf. Graham scanned the waters of the Inlet for the inflatable boats of the demonstrators. There were none to be seen. He began to worry that what he had been told was not going to happen. A helicopter clattered overhead: TV news. A second circled higher up: Police.

  Another fast boat surged past: navy this time in a Rigid Raider-type inflatable runabout. In it were four divers in wetsuits plus a crew of two. Again Graham anxiously scanned the inlet. No sign of anything, just a few small boa
ts well away from the channel and several launches leading the two warships in. As these got closer he saw they were the pilot launch and another police launch, a large, sea-going Shark Cat type. The crowd grew larger.

  Someone had a pocket radio and Graham started to hear snippets of a live broadcast about the demonstration, which was now moving through the city. The tension mounted. It seemed everyone expected something to happen.

  Ah! Two fast boats had appeared from behind the rows of moored yachts across the Inlet. Graham felt his chest tighten then relax. The demonstrators had started their decoy act. The boats were inflatable types with powerful outboard motors. They carried four people in each and bright coloured anti-nuclear flags waved from them. The two craft came zipping across the channel towards the wharf. In response the two police launches increased speed and turned to intercept them.

  For a moment it looked as though one of the demonstrator’s boats might collide with the police Rigid Raider but at the last instant it sheered away. Both inflatables then tore off up the Inlet with the police in pursuit, keeping between them and the wharf. Cries of surprise attracted Graham’s attention. Two more inflatables had appeared from behind the moored yachts across the channel and were scudding towards the first of the warships, now only half a kilometre away.

  Two more? That makes four, Graham thought. A niggling worm of doubt crept into his brain.

  The big police Shark Cat spun round and headed to cut them off. The two police launches further up the inlet gave up their chase and turned back. The first two inflatables followed suit and came powering back. Fierce excitement gripped Graham as he watched. The police managed to head off the demonstrator’s inflatables, but only by some dramatic and risky manoeuvres. The four inflatables suddenly swung round and headed back across the Inlet.

  The three police boats swung round to follow. “Don’t follow them!” Graham muttered. He began to sweat. Had the police forgotten the canoes at the Yacht Club? At that moment there was a burst of noise and hundreds of demonstrators began surging onto the wharf into an area blocked off by police barricades. Graham turned to scan the crowd anxiously, hoping to see Thelma.