High Seas Series
Book One
The Stowaway
Chapter 06
Charles W Bird
[email protected]
This story is a fictional account of a period that begins immediately after the Second World War and chronicles what happens to a young teen boy who has escaped from a fiend who was sexually brutalizing him. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
***************************************************************
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER FIVE
Both ships had embarked a few Australian Rangers. Unknown to anyone but his Captain, Jeremy had smuggled aboard two squads of Croc Patrol boys to augment the Australian Rangers. Sergeant Cameron Doyle was in charge of the Rangers and he was a little nervous about have child soldiers among them. That is, until he saw those child soldiers. As they came on board, he turned to his Corporal and whispered, “God, don’t make them angry, they could pluck us as easy as cooked hens!” None of the boy soldiers were under six feet tall and the deck “thudded” as they walked across it! The two men made it a point to walk among the youngsters and get to know them. They were pleasantly surprised that all the boys were well educated and could speak intelligently about what they did and how they did it. The men shuddered when they learned that these “children” routinely killed twenty and thirty foot salt water crocs! Their skills would mean the difference between life and death for those on board the Carson Haven in just a few days.
***************************************************************
WARRIORS AND TRADERS
The Boy Warriors mustered each morning with the Australian Rangers and the two groups slowly became one.
The Rangers soon realized that these youngsters were as tough as they were and were highly motivated. They had been abused as small children and they were not going to let it happen to them or anyone they cared for, again, EVER!
The Australian Sergeant, Cameron Doyle wondered how the boys were going to hold up when faced with the pirates who were proliferating the South China Sea. Almost as soon as the major powers of America and Europe had disappeared, the pirates began operating in the power vacuum.
It was not long before the man found out just how tough those boys were. As they passed through the narrow Sunda Straits on their way to Brunei, a dozen small sailing ships raced to intercept them. The small ships were armed with .50 caliber machine guns and heavy caliber long guns.
Before the Rangers could even react, the Boy Warriors laid down a barrage of rifle fire that cleared the decks of their attackers. It was obvious that there was no one at the helm of any of the attacking vessels as they began to crash into each other.
The Rangers manned the heavy machine guns and in less than a half hour, there was no attacking ship in sight, they had all been sunk.
In those few minutes, the Australian Rangers realized that they could depend upon those “boys”, who were as big and fully grown men and acted that way, too! That was the beginning of the close relationship between the Australian Rangers and the Boy Warriors, who were beginning to call themselves the CROCKYDALE WARRIORS!
The CROCKIES, as the Australians called them, accompanied the traders in their expeditions ashore to obtain cargoes. The boys were more aggressive than the adult Traders and many times all it took was a glare from an armed and very aggressive boy warrior to encourage a native trader into an honest trade agreement.
It didn’t hurt that the boys were chosen for their size and the tall, heavily muscled young men carrying enough firearms to start a war by themselves, they had only to glare at a small statured Asian Trader to make him or her correct their prices. By the same token, if one of their own traders thought to take advantage of the situation, he or she changed their minds at the first, ‘UUuH…..?”
THE TANKERS FINALLY COME HOME
Almost a year after they had settled in Darwin, the three missing Carson Tankers were seen coming through the breakwater and entering the harbor. They were blowing their air horns continuously and word spread through the entire community instantaneously.
Joel and Angus came running down to the waterfront to greet their long thought lost friends. The new arrivals told a story of having been interned by renegade Americans at Guam, where they had called to refuel.
The crews had disabled the ships’ engines and convinced the renegades that the huge diesel engines were damaged. After they had convinced the renegade leaders that they would work with them to repair the “damaged” engines and join the renegades, they were allowed back on the ship.
The crews worked in secret and all the ships escaped during a typhoon that was passing through the area.
Joel contacted the Australian Authorities and within days General, Sir Adrian Connelly was bringing papers making the tankers part of the Australian Merchant Fleet.
They hardly had time to renew their ties with their families when they sailed to Brunei for desperately needed crude oil for the refinery. With four tankers on the run, finally the critical fuel shortage that the entire nation was suffering began to ease.
The Carsons had built their reputation on honest dealings and they had never raised the price of crude when they had but one tanker in service. Now that there were four additional tankers, the refinery’s holding tanks were not adequate and they had to go on a crash building campaign to increase the number of tanks.
They reassigned one of the tankers to carry refined petroleum products to Perth and around to the populated east coast, where the majority of Australians lived. They did have a pipeline of limited capacity to transport petroleum products to the East Coast of Australia, but the tanker could deliver more oil products faster.
Rationing of fuels and electricity ended soon after the tankers were making regular deliveries, the new steel smelter and foundry at Perth was able to start up, making steel plate again available.
The only fly in the ointment was keeping the tankers and all the other ships running. Their store of spare parts was rapidly diminishing and it was imperative that they locate a new source of parts, soon!
The majority of their ships now were diesel engine powered and, while those engines were very reliable, they required a more sophisticated maintenance and upkeep routine than did their few steam powered ships.
Jeremy and Tommy were asked to begin a search for ship parts. The most urgent need was injectors for the diesel engines on the tankers. They had raided the spare parts boxes for injectors and parts, but they were running dangerously low on spares.
They reluctantly turned their commands over to standby Captains and Tommy and Jeremy began their search. They feared their days as Ship Masters were coming to an end as Joel and Angus were aging rapidly. The events of the last few years had taken their toll.
A NEW GENERATION TAKES COMMAND
Before they could begin their search, they had to attend the funeral of Captain Joel Carson, Sr. Tommy had come to love his Grandfather deeply and Jeremy was a pillar of strength for his beloved partner during the funeral. Their sons, TJ and JJ had their hands full caring for their own two Grandfathers, Joel and Angus, during the ordeal.
When the funeral was finally over and everyone had a chance to regain their equilibrium, Tommy and Jeremy set out to visit Singapore, Bangkok, Old Saigon, Taipei and Manila in hopes of locating sources for parts for their ships.
They hitched a ride on the Mattie II to Singapore. Cal Johnston, the Mattie’s Captain was reluctant to leave the two men off in Singapore, but they both insisted. Captain Johnston worried about the two men until he heard through “the grapevine” how they had “charmed” the entire Singapore Business Community.
Tommy and Jeremy headed for the industrial section of the bustling city to begin talks with Gaiun Steel and Machinery Corporation. Carson Shipping had done business with them before and they had a good reputation for precision machinery and parts. They felt that Gaiun might be willing to manufacture diesel engine parts specifically for them.
They had a list of part numbers and engine models on all their ships and, what amounted to a blank checkbook. They met with the Managing Director, Albert Pei and he called in one of his design engineers, JinLi Tan.
The two spent a week with Mr. JinLi going over design drawings and both Jeremy and Tommy were impressed that Gaiun Steel and Machinery had all the drawings and specifications for every model engine in their fleet. JinLi Tan was anxious for the work, business was not good and the company was facing layoffs.
Jeremy placed an order for two complete suits of injectors for each of their diesel powered ships and, when he began asking about bearings, pistons and rings the man nearly fainted in excitement. He placed a call to his superior, Mr. Pei, and, suddenly Tommy and Jeremy were met with a complete design staff dedicated to Carson Shipping.
They added boiler burners, pump parts, generator carbons, custom bearings and parts for the hydraulics that operated the steering systems on all their ships. Mr. Pei sat in on the discussions and mentioned that they had access to a dry dock, where their ships could be inspected and repaired.
The long distance telephone system had failed once again, so Tommy took a chance and signed the contract with Gaiun Steel and Machinery without consulting with Joel and Angus. They later discovered that their Fathers had complete faith in them and expected them to take charge and sign the contracts!
Both Jeremy and Tommy had signature authority to issue checks and they signed over checks for already pending purchase orders totaling three million Australian dollars (AUS Dollars). The Jeremy Carson was in port, headed for Bangkok, so they hooked a ride and they arrived in Bangkok four days later.
They were disappointed in Bangkok, they felt the services there would not meet their needs, but they did locate a source for pallets and dunnage. They were both impressed with the quality of the pallets, a seemingly simple product, but a terrible problem should they come apart in the holds.
Their next stop was Taipei in Taiwan. There they discovered a source for electrical parts and motors. When they asked about generator rewinding and motor repair, the sales engineer, Gee Lam became excited and called in his boss, the Managing Director, who happened to be Gee Lam’s father, Gee Sung.
Gee Sung explained that the Australian Government was unlikely to allow their employees to enter Australia to work on any of the Carson Ships, but, if the machinery could be delivered to their plant in Taipei, they could turn around a complete rewind in less than 48 hours on any motor less than five hundred horsepower or any generator less than three hundred kilowatts.
Jeremy asked, “How about direct current motors and generators?” The man replied, “Ahh yes, those would take a little longer, but we could still turn them out in 56 hours or less.”
The two men executed a “sole source” contract agreement with Gee Electrics for new motors and all repair work and that Gee Electrics was to arrange air cargo in both directions for any motor or generator within the lift capabilities of the aircraft. Larger motors and equipment was to be sent “PRIORITY FREIGHT” aboard any Carson Ship.
Feeling pleased, they headed for their last stop, Hong Kong. There, they had meetings with Lee Electronics, who, reportedly, had all the plans and specifications for the old American Company of Sperry-Rand Gyroscope. That was the original manufacturer of all their compasses and navigation equipment.
There, they made arrangements for the regular maintenance and adjustment of all the Sperry-Rand equipment on all their ships. They signed a separate contract for critical spare parts and a certain amount of new equipment as Carson Shipping built or acquired additional ships.
The two men, who considered themselves brothers as well as life partners, were getting tired. They had been living out of their suitcases for three months and they had a haunting need to see their children.
The MS Joel Carson was in port and they made arrangements with Captain Ed McDevitt to ride with him back to Darwin. The Joel Carson was to sail in two days, so Tommy and Jeremy decided to do a little sightseeing in the colorful city.
HITCHHIKERS AND STOWAWAYS
The Joel was docked at Kowloon and Tommy and Jeremy had spent the day sightseeing in The New Territories. They had just finished a midday meal at a small restaurant that had been recommended to them by Ashton Lee of Lee Electronics. They were pleasantly stuffed as they walked out of the restaurant and headed down the street to do a little sightseeing before they boarded the Joel.
As they walked by an old warehouse, they heard a small voice say, “Hey, meester, yous wanna good feels?” It was a child’s voice and both their “antenna” began to rotate!
They stopped and turned toward the sound, the spotted a small Caucasian boy holding the hand of an even smaller Chinese/Caucasian boy. Neither looked older than about nine or ten years old and they were so skinny it was a wonder their pipe stem legs would even hold them up.
Tommy knelt down and looked the boys face to face as he asked, “Why are you not in school?” The larger boy said, “Cause usins not real people, sar.”
Jeremy almost screamed, “Good God, not again!” and he grabbed up the older boy, smell and all and hugged him. Tommy grabbed the smaller boy and pressed him to his chest, mud, dirt and stink included!
They hailed a cab and almost threw a handful of large silver coins at the driver and shouted, “Take us to the waterfront, the M/S Joel Carson, quickly!”
The cab driver was completely disinterested, it was as if he did not even see the children the two men were holding, and, if he did, he would only believe the two men had found some sex playthings. He did not consider the children to be even human beings!
The Deck Watch on the Joel spotted Jeremy and Tommy, recognizing them both. A young seaman ran down the gangway to meet them and took both children, before running back up to the top of the gangway.
The Joel Carson, like all Carson ships, was flying the Australian flag, making the ship Australian Territory. There were no police anyway, but the young seaman was taking no chances. He had been a Carson Boy himself, not long before and he knew exactly what Captain Tommy and Captain. Jeremy were doing.
As soon as Tommy and Jeremy got up the gangway, the seaman opened the hatch and helped them into the interior of the ship. He then slammed the hatch closed and resumed his watch as if nothing noteworthy had taken place.
It didn’t matter, the authorities had no interest in two street boys, especially as one of them who was white and the other was part white.
Ed McDevitt had already been notified and he hurried down to greet his two guests. Having two street kids on boards was nothing new and certainly not a problem, especially as the Owners’ sons had brought them on board.
That those two sons were also the Senior Captains of the Carson Fleet really did not influence the man, like the deck watch, Ed McDevitt was also a Carson Boy and had been rescued by Captain Tommy’s own Father, Captain Joel Carson.
Ed McDevitt escorted his guests to the Corporate Cabin and notified the Chief Steward to bring extra sheets and towels to the stateroom. The steward, Jimmie Kai grinned, he also was a Carson Boy and he knew exactly what those two new children needed, BOY FOOD and lots of it!
Jimmie Kai had known both Tommie and Jeremy when they had been young cadets on board the old Mattie Carson and he knew what they were capable of!
He grabbed a tray and piled finger foods on it and balanced a load of towels, soap bars and wash clothes in his other hand. He tapped on the door to the Company Stateroom and, when Jeremy opened the door, Jimmie grinned and handed everything to him, saying, “Captain Jeremy, hand me the boys’ clothing and I will find some new stuff for them the same size. Their old stuff won’t be worth saving.”
Tommy had both boys in the shower, scrubbing the dirt and filth off them. Both children showed signs of sexual assault, as well as physical abuse. He gently washed the accumulated dirt and crud off them in the warm water. He washed each boys’ anus carefully, noting any torn flesh or other injuries. He told Jeremy about the boys’ injuries so that Jeremy could apply medicines and salves to the boy’s injured parts.
As each boy was washed, Jeremy was there with a clean towel to dry them off and wrap around them until Jimmie Kai returned with some clothing for them.
Both boys expected to have to “perform” after they had been cleaned and were a little bewildered when these two strange men began helping them get dressed. The older boy asked, “Yous us not like, Master?” Tommy answered through gritted teeth, “Yes, we like you, but NOT for sex, only as boys and maybe as our sons!”
It would turn out that JJ and TJ would have a LOT to say about that and the two boys would become Tommy’s and Jeremy’s GRANDSONS!
They applied soothing creams and antibiotics to both boys’ torn rectums and then let them eat the food that Jimmie Kai had brought.
As the little boys’ heads were beginning to swoop and droop, Tommy and Jeremy eased both of them under the covers of the bed. They were both fast asleep before Tommy and Jeremy had tucked them in.
Captain McDevitt tapped lightly on the stateroom door and then let himself in. He told Jeremy and Tommy that he had already sent a radio message to Captain Joel and that the boys’ Australian papers would be waiting for them in Darwin. He gave them the document numbers, just in case someone stopped them and asked.
The two men sat on the setee, watching their two boys sleep and holding hands in solid contentment. Tommie said, “Jer, aren’t we getting a little too old for all this excitement?” Jeremy laughed and replied, “When we get too old to save children, we might as well be dead!”
Jeremy leaned his head on Tommy’s shoulder and the sat there in contentment until they heard a little voice say, “Mes gots hungie!” They looked at the clock and were shocked that four hours had elapsed and they could hear the Joel getting ready to leave port.
The Joel was headed for Darwin and Tommie and Jeremy had a suitcase full of signed contracts for Joel and Angus. The funny thing was, when they got home and both Joel and Angus rushed on board the ship, they were not interested in paper contracts; all they wanted was to hold the two little boys. JJ and TJ were on Joel’s and Angus’ heels, they intended to make their Daddies into Granddaddies! Again!
Captain McDevitt was laughing as he walked into the stateroom where Joel and his Family were meeting each other. He said, “Don’t fight over em’ guys, I got two more of em in my stateroom. We found em’ hiding in the forward hold last night, damned near starved to death.”
Tommy spoke up, “We Want’em, CAP!”
Captain McDevitt laughed, “Better’n me guys, if I bring home one more kid, Sally swears she’s gonna throw me out!” Jeremy asked, “How many ya’ got now?” The Captain groaned and replied, “One of our own and six more!”
The Australian authorities did not even bother to count noses as the crew and passengers came down the gangway. They were so used to the Carson folks collecting children, they just took it as a given that there would be undocumented kids on board any of their ships. They did not realize that most of the officers and crew had, at one time, been “undocumented rescues”!
SHIP REPAIR SUPERINTENDENTS
TJ and JJ were triumphant, they got to the two little waifs before anyone else and had them gathered up in their arms. Both of them had put some sweets in their pocket and two little boys, who had no names, were happily munching on cinnamon treats.
That their sons had the boys made Tommy and Jeremy happy, they knew their sons would treat them right. TJ had the oldest boy up on his shoulders, while JR had the other boy curled up in his arms, happily sucking on his candy.
The two brothers came marching down the gangway with their new sons. They had not known about the other two boys parked in the Captain’s stateroom. When Tommy and Jeremy came down the gangway with smiles on their faces and a boy each in their arms, all their sons could do is gawk. TJ whispered to his brother, “Damn, they outfoxed us AGAIN!”
TJ and JJ named their sons Billy and David and hired a tutor to get them started on school learning. The children that Tommy and Jeremy had “snatched” were both too young for school. They named them Andrew and Phillip and they were obviously mixed race children, mostly likely either English or American and local Chinese.
The boys were just old enough to begin talking and the pediatrician was sure they were twins. They would never know for sure, but they treated them as twins and both boys were happy-go-lucky little boys. Their first English words were Da Da and Poppa and their Daddies were just fine with that.
It was time to go back to work, it was decided that Tommy and Jeremy would stay ashore and manage the repair and maintenance of all the Carson ships. The small shipyard had recently completed a graving dock, where a ship could be worked on while it was out of the water. The dock was not big enough to handle the tankers, so those would need to be farmed out to Gaiun Steel.
On a couple of the ships, they did not have a blocking plan, showing where to place the blocks to keep the ship raised off the dock floor when the water was pumped out, so they had to send divers down to map the hull and then they had make an educated guess where to place the blocks.
The first ships to be dry-docked were the four large freighters. Three of them had been had been in service continuously since before they fled North America and had little maintenance ever since the Carsons had purchased them seven years earlier. The Casey Carson (nicknamed the Greasy Carson) was first to go into dock, the divers had reported serious underwater damage to the vessel.
When the water was pumped out, both brothers were horrified, the trash screens on the main induction intakes (main engine cooling water) were completely missing and the anti-vortex plates were missing (usually referred to as “swirl plates). Had the ship ever needed maximum power, the main engines would have overheated in minutes!
They received their first shipment of engine injectors from Gaiun Steel and Machinery in Singapore. It was a complete set, plus spares, for the main engine and the two generators.
The Greasy Carson spent three weeks in dock, having her hull completely sandblasted and painted, new anti-vortex plates fabricated and installed and new trash screens installed. The zinc anodes were replaced as a routine matter and the rudder pintle bearings were adjusted. Everything else could be done alongside the pier.
It would be close to a year before all the ships has passed through the drydock and, by that time, Jeremy had decided that the main engine injectors should be changed again, starting with the Greasy Carson.
Both Jeremy and Tommy had reconciled themselves that they were not likely to ever go back to sea on a regular basis, the Carson fleet had grown too large and was too vital to themselves and to their new nation.
They were able to slip a few Australian Navy Ships into the schedule. Those were the war ships that the Australian Navy had assigned to the Darwin Coast to protect the Carson Fleet and the numerous people who were now living in the area.
They were also asked on occasion to help out the Darwin Refinery, only the Carson Shipyard had the local equipment large enough to work on the large cooling water pumps needed for the refinery.
The Australian Navy was grossly underfunded, like the rest of the country. They had been left high and dry by their political and trading partners when Europe collapsed, so Jeremy and Tommy did much of the work “on the cuff”.
The Central Australian Government had rescued them all and had given them a home and they figured “turn about” was only fair. The result was a close working relationship with the Central Government, The Australian Navy and the Carsons.
THE CROCKYDALE SHARPSHOOTERS
There were two Destroyers assigned to the Darwin Coast along with about twenty patrol boats. The Patrol Boats were hauled out and placed on blocks so they could be worked on.
As soon as the “Crockydale” boys working in the Croc Farm spotted the Patrol boats, they began hanging out near the piers with their tongues hanging out about as far as their beltlines!
Captain Johnny Welch, the Australian Navy Commander for the Darwin Coast was in the office speaking with Tommy and Jeremy. He laughed and said, “If my sharpshooters were as deadly as those Croc Hunters of yours, I could clean out those damned pirates hanging out between here and Brunei in less than a month!”
Tommy replied, “Well, why not ask them?” Captain Welch stared at Tommy and said “Ya mean they WOULD help us out? It’s not their job!” Jeremy laughed and said, “Yeah, in a skinny minute, just step out the door and wave at them, then ya’ had best step back ‘cause they will stampede through that door, hopefully it will still be open!”
The Commander stepped out the door and let out a piercing whistle and waved at the boys, it was indeed fortunate that he stepped out of the way, otherwise he would have been a grease spot on the floor!
He had forty volunteers from among the “Crockydale Boys” and he assigned two of them per patrol boat. Within a month, the incidents of piracy had begun to drop.
The local newspaper, oddly referred to as the “Darwin Rag”, began reporting the numbers of pirates killed, the number captured and the number of pirate boats that were sunk.
The boys posted their own score on a sign they placed on the yard fence. At the end of two months, the score read PIRATES “0” CROCKYDALE SHOOTERS “43”.
By that time, the higher ups at Navy Headquarters realized what was going on and the Crockydale Boys had become a recognized unit of the Australian Navy! They were required to wear a uniform, but they were allowed to design their own shoulder patch. It showed a rampaging saltwater croc with a man riding standing up on its back with a lasso noose round its neck and the other end held in the man’s hand, the other hand was waving a rifle.
The CROCKYDALE Sharpshooters became a famous unit in the Australian Navy and one of the few units that accepted Aborigines as full members. Those boys would not accept that their Abo Brothers were second class citizens!
GROWING PAINS
The Carson Shipping business was growing very fast, they were the only privately held, full service shipping business in all of Southeast Asia.
They had collected a few more ships that had been abandoned in various ports. They were mostly small coastal freighters, although there were two ocean class freighters and a couple of smaller passenger ships in the lot.
A couple of their ships had a limited number of staterooms that could be used by passengers and they were always booked far in advance. They had no plans, however, to enter the passenger ship business, EVER!
Jeremy and Tommy insisted on a regular rotation of the ships through the shipyard for maintenance and repair and they had assembled a nearly complete list of suppliers for all the materials and parts they needed as well as a short biography of each supplier and the industrial capabilities.
As a gift to their adopted country, they regularly maintained the Naval vessels assigned to the Darwin Coast as well as all the patrol boats.
The Crockydale Boys had pretty much wiped out piracy in their local area and a few of the older boys were on the payroll to protect the freighters and the tankers. There were almost no pirates remaining and pier side looting of Carson ships in foreign ports had been totally eliminated. Not even a Malay Cutthroat wanted to tangle with those damned Crockydale Boys!
Their biggest problem was manpower. There just were not enough trained seamen in all of Australia to satisfy the growing manpower needs of Carson Shipping. Joel and Angus came over to the shipyard to discuss the problem with their sons, Tommy and Jeremy.
They were “batting” the problem around when TJ spoke up, “Why not start a Maritime School and develop our own sailors?” JJ added, “Sure, we can train both licensed and certificated sailors in the same place, it’s mostly is the same training, just the length of the courses are the significant difference.”
Joel said, “Yeah that sounds great, who wants to get it started?” He was looking straight at JJ and TJ! Both men said, “OH, CRAP!” at the same time.
So it was that JJ became the head of the School of Nautical Engineering and TJ became the head of the School of Navigation and Seamanship! They both swore that they should have seen that coming and they walked right into Grand Dad’s trap! Angus just sat there, laughing his head off!
Like everything they did, the two boys dove in head first and three months later, there were notices in all the Australian Newspapers advising that there was a new upper division school being opened in Darwin that would train a sailor for either the Engine Room or the Deck Department and that deserving students could continue and work towards their Maritime Licenses.
The first set of classes would be 18 months of schooling and six months practical training on Carson Shipping ships. To go on for a license would be another 18 months of schooling before they could sit for a Third Assistant Engineer or Third Mate License. The ink was hardly dry on the newsprint when boys and a few girls started arriving by train!
The nails were not even set on the classroom walls when the first classes were begun and there was a waiting list two years into the future for entrance. It was a start, but it would be at least two years out before it would even begin to help them out. In the meantime, they still needed sailors to man their ships. It would cause hardships, but they did survive and, at last, the first sailors began to trickle out of the Nautical School.
Joel and Angus were popular instructors, not only did they know their fields, they also knew each other’s’ field as they both held dual licenses. The first set of students went about half and half, half went on for their licenses and the other half went aboard ship as soon as they graduated from the practical training.
The Carsons refused to exclude the Aborigines from the training and that caused a few problems at first, but, it was not long until all the students were so damned busy, they just did not have the time or the energy to worry about the color of someone’s skin. They were amazed that their Aborigine Classmates were not only keeping up, they were excelling in their classes!
ATTACK!
All the while the Carsons were getting their school system up and running, the local pirates were plotting and planning They had been in the thieving business for many generations and these damned newcomers were NOT gonna make them stop. They had laid low for a couple of years, hoping to lull the “Round Eyes” into a sense of peace.
They waited until a typhoon was being predicted, planning on snatching a whole ship and disappear with it into the myriad of small islands that made up the Malay Archipelago.
They snatched one of the smaller ships, The Sadie Carson, and hurried to their base on Palau Ranggai Island. There were fifty pirates on board The Sadie, they held the crew at gunpoint, after they had shot and killed Captain Johnnie Borden.
What the pirates did not know was that Crockydale Sergeant Andrew Throwing Rock and two Privates were also on board. The first thing the three men did was to change out of their uniforms and blend in with the crew.
Andrew was the very first Aborigine to make Sergeant in the Crockydale Warriors and he was as tough as they came! He instructed his two Privates to just “lay low” and wait for a chance to even up the odds.
The Pirates took over the bridge of The Sadie and ran the ship into a shallow bay on the north end of the island. It was mostly swamp and small hummocks of mangrove, the ship dragged bottom as they brought her to a stop behind a barrier of mangrove. The Sadie was practically invisible from the surface of the sea.
Once in hiding, the pirates began to celebrate their victory over those damned Americans and their fancy ways. They were no better than those damned Abos they were so peculiar about!
They had not bothered to lock up the ship’s crew, they were in the middle of the jungle and there was nowhere they could go. They did put one of their own to stand guard over the Radio Room, but Andrew noticed that the man carried a large bottle of what looked like rum, under his shirt.
As the night wore on, the guard at the Radio Room hatch kept “nipping” on his bottle of Rum. By about 2 am, the guard slumped down to the deck, fast asleep.
They could hear all the pirates celebrating down in the Mess Compartment, so Andrew left his Privates to watch the sleeping guard and to “bop” him on the head if he started to wake up.
Andrew had only a vague idea how to operate the radio, but there was a list of frequencies posted on the bulkhead and one of them said, “DARWIN EMERGENCY”! He located the “ON” switch for the radio and turned it on, turning the frequency dial until it read the correct frequency. He had overheard the Pirates talking and they had named the island they were headed to, so he had a pretty good idea just where they were.
He roused a sleepy radio operator back in Darwin, who came instantly awake when Andrew mentioned the word, “PIRATES” Before Andrew had completed his report, the Emergency Siren on top of the building where the Carson Radio Room was located back in Darwin, was sounding loud enough to wake even the dead.
TJ had the duty that evening and he came flying into the Radio Room. The operator filled him in of what was taking place and he grabbed the mic and spoke directly to Andrew. Twenty minutes later, two Australian Destroyers were slipping their mooring lines and were headed out to sea with a passenger, Tommy Carson, Junior!
Both Destroyers had a squad of Crockydale Warriors as part of their crew and they all knew Sergeant Andrew Throwing Rock. TJ had told Sergeant Andrew that it would take them about eight hours to get to him, so he was to lay low until he heard them arrive and then, if he could safely cause confusion among the pirates, it would help them get the ship AND he and his men back.
Andrew poured the rum all over the Pirate guard and he returned to where he had left his two Privates.
Together, the three of them planned on how to cause confusion among the pirates. They were going to dress up like Ghost Spirits. The Pirates, they knew, were very superstitious.
The three Warriors stripped off their clothing and gathered some paint from the tool room. They painted themselves in bright red, blue, green and yellow paint and tied floppy rags to their heads, dipped in red paint.
They all waited patiently, although hunger was setting in. Andrew was watching his watch and, sure enough, eight and a half hours later, they heard screaming ships horns.
Having stayed below decks, they did not realize that dawn had come and gone and it was broad daylight outside. The pirates were shooting from the main deck when three bright colored banshees from hell descended upon them, swinging clubs made from lengths of two inch iron pipe!
In less time than the telling, the pirates were laid out on the deck out cold. The pirate leader was found hiding in the galley and, when Andrew jumped through the hatch, the pirate promptly soiled himself in fright!
The predicted typhoon struck and they had to wait the storm out before they could complete their voyage.
After it was all over, Andrew and his Banshees discovered that they had painted themselves with oil based marine paint and no amount of scrubbing would take it off. They were still all painted up when they returned to Darwin three weeks later! Despite being heroes, they were called the Pretty Painted Pirate Killers for the rest of their lives.
All the pirates were hanged and, while piracy was not completely wiped out, no ship carrying the dreaded CROCKYDALE WARRIORS was ever attacked again. A new legend arose among the Aborigine people about Painted Warrior Ghosts!
Andrew rose to Captain of CROCKYDALE Warriors and his children and grandchildren never tired of hearing about his exploits. He was also the first of a new breed of Aborigine Command Level Officers in the CROCKYDALE WARRIORS!
GROWING PAINS
Twenty cargo ships belonging to the Carsons, as well as six Australian Destroyers and a whole fleet of Patrol Craft now called Darwin Home Port. Housing was becoming critical and, despite the Carson Maritime Schools turning out sailors, mates and engineers, manpower was always short.
Recruiters had scoured all of Australia in hopes of recruiting sailors for the ships and the “well” was running dry. There was just one group left that had not been tapped, The Aborigines. A few had joined the Crockydale Warriors, but none had entered the Maritime Schools to become sailors or licensed Mariners.
Tommy and Jeremy were getting worried, they had located a couple more ships, but had nobody to crew them. They were walking around the Shipyard, deep in thought as they watched a couple of Patrol Boats head out to sea.
Jeremy said, almost to himself, “I wonder if we could recruit some of the Aborigines for our crews?” Tommy replied, “Why don’t we find out, let’s get Andy Throwing Rock to go with us and we take a tour through the Tribal Lands.”
The Australian Government was not keen on the idea, but they did not forbid the Carsons from making the attempt. The Carsons had a habit of ignoring “no” to their ideas.
They convinced Andrew, who was now Lieutenant Andrew Throwing Rock of the Great Stone Band, to accompany them. They held off until the last minute before they asked him if he would dress up again as The Pirate Killer”! He groaned, but finally agreed ONLY if the paint was water based colors.
They decided to take The Ghan to Alice Springs and begin recruiting in the Tribal Lands. Everywhere they went with Andrew, they drew a crowd and Aborigine Teens are no different from any other teen boys, the smell of adventure drew them like flies.
The Carson Family had a good reputation, especially among the Aborigines, so it was only a short time that they had sixty boys signed up. Before they could change their minds, they had the boys on the train headed to Darwin!
After that, there was a steady stream of boys and some girls from all over Australia making application to attend the Carson Nautical Schools. In later years, the ANDREW THROWING ROCK scholarship fund would put hundreds of Aborigine youngsters through the school and Andy’s nephew, Paul Jumps High, would become the first Aborigine to become a Carson Ship Captain.
***************************************************************
TBC
Coming in Chapter Seven: They decided to take The Ghan to Alice Springs and begin recruiting in the Tribal Lands. Everywhere they went with Andrew, they drew a crowd and Aborigine Teens are no different from any other teen boys, the smell of adventure drew them like flies. The Carson Family had a good reputation, even among the Aborigines, so it was only a short time that they had sixty boys signed up. Before they could change their minds, they had the boys on the train headed to Darwin!
[email protected]
This story is a fictional account of a period that begins immediately after the Second World War and chronicles what happens to a young teen boy who has escaped from a fiend who was sexually brutalizing him. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
***************************************************************
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER FIVE
Both ships had embarked a few Australian Rangers. Unknown to anyone but his Captain, Jeremy had smuggled aboard two squads of Croc Patrol boys to augment the Australian Rangers. Sergeant Cameron Doyle was in charge of the Rangers and he was a little nervous about have child soldiers among them. That is, until he saw those child soldiers. As they came on board, he turned to his Corporal and whispered, “God, don’t make them angry, they could pluck us as easy as cooked hens!” None of the boy soldiers were under six feet tall and the deck “thudded” as they walked across it! The two men made it a point to walk among the youngsters and get to know them. They were pleasantly surprised that all the boys were well educated and could speak intelligently about what they did and how they did it. The men shuddered when they learned that these “children” routinely killed twenty and thirty foot salt water crocs! Their skills would mean the difference between life and death for those on board the Carson Haven in just a few days.
***************************************************************
WARRIORS AND TRADERS
The Boy Warriors mustered each morning with the Australian Rangers and the two groups slowly became one.
The Rangers soon realized that these youngsters were as tough as they were and were highly motivated. They had been abused as small children and they were not going to let it happen to them or anyone they cared for, again, EVER!
The Australian Sergeant, Cameron Doyle wondered how the boys were going to hold up when faced with the pirates who were proliferating the South China Sea. Almost as soon as the major powers of America and Europe had disappeared, the pirates began operating in the power vacuum.
It was not long before the man found out just how tough those boys were. As they passed through the narrow Sunda Straits on their way to Brunei, a dozen small sailing ships raced to intercept them. The small ships were armed with .50 caliber machine guns and heavy caliber long guns.
Before the Rangers could even react, the Boy Warriors laid down a barrage of rifle fire that cleared the decks of their attackers. It was obvious that there was no one at the helm of any of the attacking vessels as they began to crash into each other.
The Rangers manned the heavy machine guns and in less than a half hour, there was no attacking ship in sight, they had all been sunk.
In those few minutes, the Australian Rangers realized that they could depend upon those “boys”, who were as big and fully grown men and acted that way, too! That was the beginning of the close relationship between the Australian Rangers and the Boy Warriors, who were beginning to call themselves the CROCKYDALE WARRIORS!
The CROCKIES, as the Australians called them, accompanied the traders in their expeditions ashore to obtain cargoes. The boys were more aggressive than the adult Traders and many times all it took was a glare from an armed and very aggressive boy warrior to encourage a native trader into an honest trade agreement.
It didn’t hurt that the boys were chosen for their size and the tall, heavily muscled young men carrying enough firearms to start a war by themselves, they had only to glare at a small statured Asian Trader to make him or her correct their prices. By the same token, if one of their own traders thought to take advantage of the situation, he or she changed their minds at the first, ‘UUuH…..?”
THE TANKERS FINALLY COME HOME
Almost a year after they had settled in Darwin, the three missing Carson Tankers were seen coming through the breakwater and entering the harbor. They were blowing their air horns continuously and word spread through the entire community instantaneously.
Joel and Angus came running down to the waterfront to greet their long thought lost friends. The new arrivals told a story of having been interned by renegade Americans at Guam, where they had called to refuel.
The crews had disabled the ships’ engines and convinced the renegades that the huge diesel engines were damaged. After they had convinced the renegade leaders that they would work with them to repair the “damaged” engines and join the renegades, they were allowed back on the ship.
The crews worked in secret and all the ships escaped during a typhoon that was passing through the area.
Joel contacted the Australian Authorities and within days General, Sir Adrian Connelly was bringing papers making the tankers part of the Australian Merchant Fleet.
They hardly had time to renew their ties with their families when they sailed to Brunei for desperately needed crude oil for the refinery. With four tankers on the run, finally the critical fuel shortage that the entire nation was suffering began to ease.
The Carsons had built their reputation on honest dealings and they had never raised the price of crude when they had but one tanker in service. Now that there were four additional tankers, the refinery’s holding tanks were not adequate and they had to go on a crash building campaign to increase the number of tanks.
They reassigned one of the tankers to carry refined petroleum products to Perth and around to the populated east coast, where the majority of Australians lived. They did have a pipeline of limited capacity to transport petroleum products to the East Coast of Australia, but the tanker could deliver more oil products faster.
Rationing of fuels and electricity ended soon after the tankers were making regular deliveries, the new steel smelter and foundry at Perth was able to start up, making steel plate again available.
The only fly in the ointment was keeping the tankers and all the other ships running. Their store of spare parts was rapidly diminishing and it was imperative that they locate a new source of parts, soon!
The majority of their ships now were diesel engine powered and, while those engines were very reliable, they required a more sophisticated maintenance and upkeep routine than did their few steam powered ships.
Jeremy and Tommy were asked to begin a search for ship parts. The most urgent need was injectors for the diesel engines on the tankers. They had raided the spare parts boxes for injectors and parts, but they were running dangerously low on spares.
They reluctantly turned their commands over to standby Captains and Tommy and Jeremy began their search. They feared their days as Ship Masters were coming to an end as Joel and Angus were aging rapidly. The events of the last few years had taken their toll.
A NEW GENERATION TAKES COMMAND
Before they could begin their search, they had to attend the funeral of Captain Joel Carson, Sr. Tommy had come to love his Grandfather deeply and Jeremy was a pillar of strength for his beloved partner during the funeral. Their sons, TJ and JJ had their hands full caring for their own two Grandfathers, Joel and Angus, during the ordeal.
When the funeral was finally over and everyone had a chance to regain their equilibrium, Tommy and Jeremy set out to visit Singapore, Bangkok, Old Saigon, Taipei and Manila in hopes of locating sources for parts for their ships.
They hitched a ride on the Mattie II to Singapore. Cal Johnston, the Mattie’s Captain was reluctant to leave the two men off in Singapore, but they both insisted. Captain Johnston worried about the two men until he heard through “the grapevine” how they had “charmed” the entire Singapore Business Community.
Tommy and Jeremy headed for the industrial section of the bustling city to begin talks with Gaiun Steel and Machinery Corporation. Carson Shipping had done business with them before and they had a good reputation for precision machinery and parts. They felt that Gaiun might be willing to manufacture diesel engine parts specifically for them.
They had a list of part numbers and engine models on all their ships and, what amounted to a blank checkbook. They met with the Managing Director, Albert Pei and he called in one of his design engineers, JinLi Tan.
The two spent a week with Mr. JinLi going over design drawings and both Jeremy and Tommy were impressed that Gaiun Steel and Machinery had all the drawings and specifications for every model engine in their fleet. JinLi Tan was anxious for the work, business was not good and the company was facing layoffs.
Jeremy placed an order for two complete suits of injectors for each of their diesel powered ships and, when he began asking about bearings, pistons and rings the man nearly fainted in excitement. He placed a call to his superior, Mr. Pei, and, suddenly Tommy and Jeremy were met with a complete design staff dedicated to Carson Shipping.
They added boiler burners, pump parts, generator carbons, custom bearings and parts for the hydraulics that operated the steering systems on all their ships. Mr. Pei sat in on the discussions and mentioned that they had access to a dry dock, where their ships could be inspected and repaired.
The long distance telephone system had failed once again, so Tommy took a chance and signed the contract with Gaiun Steel and Machinery without consulting with Joel and Angus. They later discovered that their Fathers had complete faith in them and expected them to take charge and sign the contracts!
Both Jeremy and Tommy had signature authority to issue checks and they signed over checks for already pending purchase orders totaling three million Australian dollars (AUS Dollars). The Jeremy Carson was in port, headed for Bangkok, so they hooked a ride and they arrived in Bangkok four days later.
They were disappointed in Bangkok, they felt the services there would not meet their needs, but they did locate a source for pallets and dunnage. They were both impressed with the quality of the pallets, a seemingly simple product, but a terrible problem should they come apart in the holds.
Their next stop was Taipei in Taiwan. There they discovered a source for electrical parts and motors. When they asked about generator rewinding and motor repair, the sales engineer, Gee Lam became excited and called in his boss, the Managing Director, who happened to be Gee Lam’s father, Gee Sung.
Gee Sung explained that the Australian Government was unlikely to allow their employees to enter Australia to work on any of the Carson Ships, but, if the machinery could be delivered to their plant in Taipei, they could turn around a complete rewind in less than 48 hours on any motor less than five hundred horsepower or any generator less than three hundred kilowatts.
Jeremy asked, “How about direct current motors and generators?” The man replied, “Ahh yes, those would take a little longer, but we could still turn them out in 56 hours or less.”
The two men executed a “sole source” contract agreement with Gee Electrics for new motors and all repair work and that Gee Electrics was to arrange air cargo in both directions for any motor or generator within the lift capabilities of the aircraft. Larger motors and equipment was to be sent “PRIORITY FREIGHT” aboard any Carson Ship.
Feeling pleased, they headed for their last stop, Hong Kong. There, they had meetings with Lee Electronics, who, reportedly, had all the plans and specifications for the old American Company of Sperry-Rand Gyroscope. That was the original manufacturer of all their compasses and navigation equipment.
There, they made arrangements for the regular maintenance and adjustment of all the Sperry-Rand equipment on all their ships. They signed a separate contract for critical spare parts and a certain amount of new equipment as Carson Shipping built or acquired additional ships.
The two men, who considered themselves brothers as well as life partners, were getting tired. They had been living out of their suitcases for three months and they had a haunting need to see their children.
The MS Joel Carson was in port and they made arrangements with Captain Ed McDevitt to ride with him back to Darwin. The Joel Carson was to sail in two days, so Tommy and Jeremy decided to do a little sightseeing in the colorful city.
HITCHHIKERS AND STOWAWAYS
The Joel was docked at Kowloon and Tommy and Jeremy had spent the day sightseeing in The New Territories. They had just finished a midday meal at a small restaurant that had been recommended to them by Ashton Lee of Lee Electronics. They were pleasantly stuffed as they walked out of the restaurant and headed down the street to do a little sightseeing before they boarded the Joel.
As they walked by an old warehouse, they heard a small voice say, “Hey, meester, yous wanna good feels?” It was a child’s voice and both their “antenna” began to rotate!
They stopped and turned toward the sound, the spotted a small Caucasian boy holding the hand of an even smaller Chinese/Caucasian boy. Neither looked older than about nine or ten years old and they were so skinny it was a wonder their pipe stem legs would even hold them up.
Tommy knelt down and looked the boys face to face as he asked, “Why are you not in school?” The larger boy said, “Cause usins not real people, sar.”
Jeremy almost screamed, “Good God, not again!” and he grabbed up the older boy, smell and all and hugged him. Tommy grabbed the smaller boy and pressed him to his chest, mud, dirt and stink included!
They hailed a cab and almost threw a handful of large silver coins at the driver and shouted, “Take us to the waterfront, the M/S Joel Carson, quickly!”
The cab driver was completely disinterested, it was as if he did not even see the children the two men were holding, and, if he did, he would only believe the two men had found some sex playthings. He did not consider the children to be even human beings!
The Deck Watch on the Joel spotted Jeremy and Tommy, recognizing them both. A young seaman ran down the gangway to meet them and took both children, before running back up to the top of the gangway.
The Joel Carson, like all Carson ships, was flying the Australian flag, making the ship Australian Territory. There were no police anyway, but the young seaman was taking no chances. He had been a Carson Boy himself, not long before and he knew exactly what Captain Tommy and Captain. Jeremy were doing.
As soon as Tommy and Jeremy got up the gangway, the seaman opened the hatch and helped them into the interior of the ship. He then slammed the hatch closed and resumed his watch as if nothing noteworthy had taken place.
It didn’t matter, the authorities had no interest in two street boys, especially as one of them who was white and the other was part white.
Ed McDevitt had already been notified and he hurried down to greet his two guests. Having two street kids on boards was nothing new and certainly not a problem, especially as the Owners’ sons had brought them on board.
That those two sons were also the Senior Captains of the Carson Fleet really did not influence the man, like the deck watch, Ed McDevitt was also a Carson Boy and had been rescued by Captain Tommy’s own Father, Captain Joel Carson.
Ed McDevitt escorted his guests to the Corporate Cabin and notified the Chief Steward to bring extra sheets and towels to the stateroom. The steward, Jimmie Kai grinned, he also was a Carson Boy and he knew exactly what those two new children needed, BOY FOOD and lots of it!
Jimmie Kai had known both Tommie and Jeremy when they had been young cadets on board the old Mattie Carson and he knew what they were capable of!
He grabbed a tray and piled finger foods on it and balanced a load of towels, soap bars and wash clothes in his other hand. He tapped on the door to the Company Stateroom and, when Jeremy opened the door, Jimmie grinned and handed everything to him, saying, “Captain Jeremy, hand me the boys’ clothing and I will find some new stuff for them the same size. Their old stuff won’t be worth saving.”
Tommy had both boys in the shower, scrubbing the dirt and filth off them. Both children showed signs of sexual assault, as well as physical abuse. He gently washed the accumulated dirt and crud off them in the warm water. He washed each boys’ anus carefully, noting any torn flesh or other injuries. He told Jeremy about the boys’ injuries so that Jeremy could apply medicines and salves to the boy’s injured parts.
As each boy was washed, Jeremy was there with a clean towel to dry them off and wrap around them until Jimmie Kai returned with some clothing for them.
Both boys expected to have to “perform” after they had been cleaned and were a little bewildered when these two strange men began helping them get dressed. The older boy asked, “Yous us not like, Master?” Tommy answered through gritted teeth, “Yes, we like you, but NOT for sex, only as boys and maybe as our sons!”
It would turn out that JJ and TJ would have a LOT to say about that and the two boys would become Tommy’s and Jeremy’s GRANDSONS!
They applied soothing creams and antibiotics to both boys’ torn rectums and then let them eat the food that Jimmie Kai had brought.
As the little boys’ heads were beginning to swoop and droop, Tommy and Jeremy eased both of them under the covers of the bed. They were both fast asleep before Tommy and Jeremy had tucked them in.
Captain McDevitt tapped lightly on the stateroom door and then let himself in. He told Jeremy and Tommy that he had already sent a radio message to Captain Joel and that the boys’ Australian papers would be waiting for them in Darwin. He gave them the document numbers, just in case someone stopped them and asked.
The two men sat on the setee, watching their two boys sleep and holding hands in solid contentment. Tommie said, “Jer, aren’t we getting a little too old for all this excitement?” Jeremy laughed and replied, “When we get too old to save children, we might as well be dead!”
Jeremy leaned his head on Tommy’s shoulder and the sat there in contentment until they heard a little voice say, “Mes gots hungie!” They looked at the clock and were shocked that four hours had elapsed and they could hear the Joel getting ready to leave port.
The Joel was headed for Darwin and Tommie and Jeremy had a suitcase full of signed contracts for Joel and Angus. The funny thing was, when they got home and both Joel and Angus rushed on board the ship, they were not interested in paper contracts; all they wanted was to hold the two little boys. JJ and TJ were on Joel’s and Angus’ heels, they intended to make their Daddies into Granddaddies! Again!
Captain McDevitt was laughing as he walked into the stateroom where Joel and his Family were meeting each other. He said, “Don’t fight over em’ guys, I got two more of em in my stateroom. We found em’ hiding in the forward hold last night, damned near starved to death.”
Tommy spoke up, “We Want’em, CAP!”
Captain McDevitt laughed, “Better’n me guys, if I bring home one more kid, Sally swears she’s gonna throw me out!” Jeremy asked, “How many ya’ got now?” The Captain groaned and replied, “One of our own and six more!”
The Australian authorities did not even bother to count noses as the crew and passengers came down the gangway. They were so used to the Carson folks collecting children, they just took it as a given that there would be undocumented kids on board any of their ships. They did not realize that most of the officers and crew had, at one time, been “undocumented rescues”!
SHIP REPAIR SUPERINTENDENTS
TJ and JJ were triumphant, they got to the two little waifs before anyone else and had them gathered up in their arms. Both of them had put some sweets in their pocket and two little boys, who had no names, were happily munching on cinnamon treats.
That their sons had the boys made Tommy and Jeremy happy, they knew their sons would treat them right. TJ had the oldest boy up on his shoulders, while JR had the other boy curled up in his arms, happily sucking on his candy.
The two brothers came marching down the gangway with their new sons. They had not known about the other two boys parked in the Captain’s stateroom. When Tommy and Jeremy came down the gangway with smiles on their faces and a boy each in their arms, all their sons could do is gawk. TJ whispered to his brother, “Damn, they outfoxed us AGAIN!”
TJ and JJ named their sons Billy and David and hired a tutor to get them started on school learning. The children that Tommy and Jeremy had “snatched” were both too young for school. They named them Andrew and Phillip and they were obviously mixed race children, mostly likely either English or American and local Chinese.
The boys were just old enough to begin talking and the pediatrician was sure they were twins. They would never know for sure, but they treated them as twins and both boys were happy-go-lucky little boys. Their first English words were Da Da and Poppa and their Daddies were just fine with that.
It was time to go back to work, it was decided that Tommy and Jeremy would stay ashore and manage the repair and maintenance of all the Carson ships. The small shipyard had recently completed a graving dock, where a ship could be worked on while it was out of the water. The dock was not big enough to handle the tankers, so those would need to be farmed out to Gaiun Steel.
On a couple of the ships, they did not have a blocking plan, showing where to place the blocks to keep the ship raised off the dock floor when the water was pumped out, so they had to send divers down to map the hull and then they had make an educated guess where to place the blocks.
The first ships to be dry-docked were the four large freighters. Three of them had been had been in service continuously since before they fled North America and had little maintenance ever since the Carsons had purchased them seven years earlier. The Casey Carson (nicknamed the Greasy Carson) was first to go into dock, the divers had reported serious underwater damage to the vessel.
When the water was pumped out, both brothers were horrified, the trash screens on the main induction intakes (main engine cooling water) were completely missing and the anti-vortex plates were missing (usually referred to as “swirl plates). Had the ship ever needed maximum power, the main engines would have overheated in minutes!
They received their first shipment of engine injectors from Gaiun Steel and Machinery in Singapore. It was a complete set, plus spares, for the main engine and the two generators.
The Greasy Carson spent three weeks in dock, having her hull completely sandblasted and painted, new anti-vortex plates fabricated and installed and new trash screens installed. The zinc anodes were replaced as a routine matter and the rudder pintle bearings were adjusted. Everything else could be done alongside the pier.
It would be close to a year before all the ships has passed through the drydock and, by that time, Jeremy had decided that the main engine injectors should be changed again, starting with the Greasy Carson.
Both Jeremy and Tommy had reconciled themselves that they were not likely to ever go back to sea on a regular basis, the Carson fleet had grown too large and was too vital to themselves and to their new nation.
They were able to slip a few Australian Navy Ships into the schedule. Those were the war ships that the Australian Navy had assigned to the Darwin Coast to protect the Carson Fleet and the numerous people who were now living in the area.
They were also asked on occasion to help out the Darwin Refinery, only the Carson Shipyard had the local equipment large enough to work on the large cooling water pumps needed for the refinery.
The Australian Navy was grossly underfunded, like the rest of the country. They had been left high and dry by their political and trading partners when Europe collapsed, so Jeremy and Tommy did much of the work “on the cuff”.
The Central Australian Government had rescued them all and had given them a home and they figured “turn about” was only fair. The result was a close working relationship with the Central Government, The Australian Navy and the Carsons.
THE CROCKYDALE SHARPSHOOTERS
There were two Destroyers assigned to the Darwin Coast along with about twenty patrol boats. The Patrol Boats were hauled out and placed on blocks so they could be worked on.
As soon as the “Crockydale” boys working in the Croc Farm spotted the Patrol boats, they began hanging out near the piers with their tongues hanging out about as far as their beltlines!
Captain Johnny Welch, the Australian Navy Commander for the Darwin Coast was in the office speaking with Tommy and Jeremy. He laughed and said, “If my sharpshooters were as deadly as those Croc Hunters of yours, I could clean out those damned pirates hanging out between here and Brunei in less than a month!”
Tommy replied, “Well, why not ask them?” Captain Welch stared at Tommy and said “Ya mean they WOULD help us out? It’s not their job!” Jeremy laughed and said, “Yeah, in a skinny minute, just step out the door and wave at them, then ya’ had best step back ‘cause they will stampede through that door, hopefully it will still be open!”
The Commander stepped out the door and let out a piercing whistle and waved at the boys, it was indeed fortunate that he stepped out of the way, otherwise he would have been a grease spot on the floor!
He had forty volunteers from among the “Crockydale Boys” and he assigned two of them per patrol boat. Within a month, the incidents of piracy had begun to drop.
The local newspaper, oddly referred to as the “Darwin Rag”, began reporting the numbers of pirates killed, the number captured and the number of pirate boats that were sunk.
The boys posted their own score on a sign they placed on the yard fence. At the end of two months, the score read PIRATES “0” CROCKYDALE SHOOTERS “43”.
By that time, the higher ups at Navy Headquarters realized what was going on and the Crockydale Boys had become a recognized unit of the Australian Navy! They were required to wear a uniform, but they were allowed to design their own shoulder patch. It showed a rampaging saltwater croc with a man riding standing up on its back with a lasso noose round its neck and the other end held in the man’s hand, the other hand was waving a rifle.
The CROCKYDALE Sharpshooters became a famous unit in the Australian Navy and one of the few units that accepted Aborigines as full members. Those boys would not accept that their Abo Brothers were second class citizens!
GROWING PAINS
The Carson Shipping business was growing very fast, they were the only privately held, full service shipping business in all of Southeast Asia.
They had collected a few more ships that had been abandoned in various ports. They were mostly small coastal freighters, although there were two ocean class freighters and a couple of smaller passenger ships in the lot.
A couple of their ships had a limited number of staterooms that could be used by passengers and they were always booked far in advance. They had no plans, however, to enter the passenger ship business, EVER!
Jeremy and Tommy insisted on a regular rotation of the ships through the shipyard for maintenance and repair and they had assembled a nearly complete list of suppliers for all the materials and parts they needed as well as a short biography of each supplier and the industrial capabilities.
As a gift to their adopted country, they regularly maintained the Naval vessels assigned to the Darwin Coast as well as all the patrol boats.
The Crockydale Boys had pretty much wiped out piracy in their local area and a few of the older boys were on the payroll to protect the freighters and the tankers. There were almost no pirates remaining and pier side looting of Carson ships in foreign ports had been totally eliminated. Not even a Malay Cutthroat wanted to tangle with those damned Crockydale Boys!
Their biggest problem was manpower. There just were not enough trained seamen in all of Australia to satisfy the growing manpower needs of Carson Shipping. Joel and Angus came over to the shipyard to discuss the problem with their sons, Tommy and Jeremy.
They were “batting” the problem around when TJ spoke up, “Why not start a Maritime School and develop our own sailors?” JJ added, “Sure, we can train both licensed and certificated sailors in the same place, it’s mostly is the same training, just the length of the courses are the significant difference.”
Joel said, “Yeah that sounds great, who wants to get it started?” He was looking straight at JJ and TJ! Both men said, “OH, CRAP!” at the same time.
So it was that JJ became the head of the School of Nautical Engineering and TJ became the head of the School of Navigation and Seamanship! They both swore that they should have seen that coming and they walked right into Grand Dad’s trap! Angus just sat there, laughing his head off!
Like everything they did, the two boys dove in head first and three months later, there were notices in all the Australian Newspapers advising that there was a new upper division school being opened in Darwin that would train a sailor for either the Engine Room or the Deck Department and that deserving students could continue and work towards their Maritime Licenses.
The first set of classes would be 18 months of schooling and six months practical training on Carson Shipping ships. To go on for a license would be another 18 months of schooling before they could sit for a Third Assistant Engineer or Third Mate License. The ink was hardly dry on the newsprint when boys and a few girls started arriving by train!
The nails were not even set on the classroom walls when the first classes were begun and there was a waiting list two years into the future for entrance. It was a start, but it would be at least two years out before it would even begin to help them out. In the meantime, they still needed sailors to man their ships. It would cause hardships, but they did survive and, at last, the first sailors began to trickle out of the Nautical School.
Joel and Angus were popular instructors, not only did they know their fields, they also knew each other’s’ field as they both held dual licenses. The first set of students went about half and half, half went on for their licenses and the other half went aboard ship as soon as they graduated from the practical training.
The Carsons refused to exclude the Aborigines from the training and that caused a few problems at first, but, it was not long until all the students were so damned busy, they just did not have the time or the energy to worry about the color of someone’s skin. They were amazed that their Aborigine Classmates were not only keeping up, they were excelling in their classes!
ATTACK!
All the while the Carsons were getting their school system up and running, the local pirates were plotting and planning They had been in the thieving business for many generations and these damned newcomers were NOT gonna make them stop. They had laid low for a couple of years, hoping to lull the “Round Eyes” into a sense of peace.
They waited until a typhoon was being predicted, planning on snatching a whole ship and disappear with it into the myriad of small islands that made up the Malay Archipelago.
They snatched one of the smaller ships, The Sadie Carson, and hurried to their base on Palau Ranggai Island. There were fifty pirates on board The Sadie, they held the crew at gunpoint, after they had shot and killed Captain Johnnie Borden.
What the pirates did not know was that Crockydale Sergeant Andrew Throwing Rock and two Privates were also on board. The first thing the three men did was to change out of their uniforms and blend in with the crew.
Andrew was the very first Aborigine to make Sergeant in the Crockydale Warriors and he was as tough as they came! He instructed his two Privates to just “lay low” and wait for a chance to even up the odds.
The Pirates took over the bridge of The Sadie and ran the ship into a shallow bay on the north end of the island. It was mostly swamp and small hummocks of mangrove, the ship dragged bottom as they brought her to a stop behind a barrier of mangrove. The Sadie was practically invisible from the surface of the sea.
Once in hiding, the pirates began to celebrate their victory over those damned Americans and their fancy ways. They were no better than those damned Abos they were so peculiar about!
They had not bothered to lock up the ship’s crew, they were in the middle of the jungle and there was nowhere they could go. They did put one of their own to stand guard over the Radio Room, but Andrew noticed that the man carried a large bottle of what looked like rum, under his shirt.
As the night wore on, the guard at the Radio Room hatch kept “nipping” on his bottle of Rum. By about 2 am, the guard slumped down to the deck, fast asleep.
They could hear all the pirates celebrating down in the Mess Compartment, so Andrew left his Privates to watch the sleeping guard and to “bop” him on the head if he started to wake up.
Andrew had only a vague idea how to operate the radio, but there was a list of frequencies posted on the bulkhead and one of them said, “DARWIN EMERGENCY”! He located the “ON” switch for the radio and turned it on, turning the frequency dial until it read the correct frequency. He had overheard the Pirates talking and they had named the island they were headed to, so he had a pretty good idea just where they were.
He roused a sleepy radio operator back in Darwin, who came instantly awake when Andrew mentioned the word, “PIRATES” Before Andrew had completed his report, the Emergency Siren on top of the building where the Carson Radio Room was located back in Darwin, was sounding loud enough to wake even the dead.
TJ had the duty that evening and he came flying into the Radio Room. The operator filled him in of what was taking place and he grabbed the mic and spoke directly to Andrew. Twenty minutes later, two Australian Destroyers were slipping their mooring lines and were headed out to sea with a passenger, Tommy Carson, Junior!
Both Destroyers had a squad of Crockydale Warriors as part of their crew and they all knew Sergeant Andrew Throwing Rock. TJ had told Sergeant Andrew that it would take them about eight hours to get to him, so he was to lay low until he heard them arrive and then, if he could safely cause confusion among the pirates, it would help them get the ship AND he and his men back.
Andrew poured the rum all over the Pirate guard and he returned to where he had left his two Privates.
Together, the three of them planned on how to cause confusion among the pirates. They were going to dress up like Ghost Spirits. The Pirates, they knew, were very superstitious.
The three Warriors stripped off their clothing and gathered some paint from the tool room. They painted themselves in bright red, blue, green and yellow paint and tied floppy rags to their heads, dipped in red paint.
They all waited patiently, although hunger was setting in. Andrew was watching his watch and, sure enough, eight and a half hours later, they heard screaming ships horns.
Having stayed below decks, they did not realize that dawn had come and gone and it was broad daylight outside. The pirates were shooting from the main deck when three bright colored banshees from hell descended upon them, swinging clubs made from lengths of two inch iron pipe!
In less time than the telling, the pirates were laid out on the deck out cold. The pirate leader was found hiding in the galley and, when Andrew jumped through the hatch, the pirate promptly soiled himself in fright!
The predicted typhoon struck and they had to wait the storm out before they could complete their voyage.
After it was all over, Andrew and his Banshees discovered that they had painted themselves with oil based marine paint and no amount of scrubbing would take it off. They were still all painted up when they returned to Darwin three weeks later! Despite being heroes, they were called the Pretty Painted Pirate Killers for the rest of their lives.
All the pirates were hanged and, while piracy was not completely wiped out, no ship carrying the dreaded CROCKYDALE WARRIORS was ever attacked again. A new legend arose among the Aborigine people about Painted Warrior Ghosts!
Andrew rose to Captain of CROCKYDALE Warriors and his children and grandchildren never tired of hearing about his exploits. He was also the first of a new breed of Aborigine Command Level Officers in the CROCKYDALE WARRIORS!
GROWING PAINS
Twenty cargo ships belonging to the Carsons, as well as six Australian Destroyers and a whole fleet of Patrol Craft now called Darwin Home Port. Housing was becoming critical and, despite the Carson Maritime Schools turning out sailors, mates and engineers, manpower was always short.
Recruiters had scoured all of Australia in hopes of recruiting sailors for the ships and the “well” was running dry. There was just one group left that had not been tapped, The Aborigines. A few had joined the Crockydale Warriors, but none had entered the Maritime Schools to become sailors or licensed Mariners.
Tommy and Jeremy were getting worried, they had located a couple more ships, but had nobody to crew them. They were walking around the Shipyard, deep in thought as they watched a couple of Patrol Boats head out to sea.
Jeremy said, almost to himself, “I wonder if we could recruit some of the Aborigines for our crews?” Tommy replied, “Why don’t we find out, let’s get Andy Throwing Rock to go with us and we take a tour through the Tribal Lands.”
The Australian Government was not keen on the idea, but they did not forbid the Carsons from making the attempt. The Carsons had a habit of ignoring “no” to their ideas.
They convinced Andrew, who was now Lieutenant Andrew Throwing Rock of the Great Stone Band, to accompany them. They held off until the last minute before they asked him if he would dress up again as The Pirate Killer”! He groaned, but finally agreed ONLY if the paint was water based colors.
They decided to take The Ghan to Alice Springs and begin recruiting in the Tribal Lands. Everywhere they went with Andrew, they drew a crowd and Aborigine Teens are no different from any other teen boys, the smell of adventure drew them like flies.
The Carson Family had a good reputation, especially among the Aborigines, so it was only a short time that they had sixty boys signed up. Before they could change their minds, they had the boys on the train headed to Darwin!
After that, there was a steady stream of boys and some girls from all over Australia making application to attend the Carson Nautical Schools. In later years, the ANDREW THROWING ROCK scholarship fund would put hundreds of Aborigine youngsters through the school and Andy’s nephew, Paul Jumps High, would become the first Aborigine to become a Carson Ship Captain.
***************************************************************
TBC
Coming in Chapter Seven: They decided to take The Ghan to Alice Springs and begin recruiting in the Tribal Lands. Everywhere they went with Andrew, they drew a crowd and Aborigine Teens are no different from any other teen boys, the smell of adventure drew them like flies. The Carson Family had a good reputation, even among the Aborigines, so it was only a short time that they had sixty boys signed up. Before they could change their minds, they had the boys on the train headed to Darwin!