Jeffers cupped his hands and shouted, “No compass and no coms. Need to have zero relative wind. I need to guide on you to maintain course,” he yelled down.
Jeffers saw the other man nod. “Will move ahead of you,” came the reply. Within minutes the frigate was ahead of the America and on course. Jeffers simply kept a relative position with the frigate. It made the job much easier.
On the bridge wing of the frigate, Captain Hufnagel turned to his navigation team. “Take the ship ahead of the America and steer a course with zero relative wind,” he said. “Secure the firefighting parties on the deck but have them ready if needed.” His crew jumped to the task and the frigate maneuvered to a position 500 yards ahead of the America and adjusted their course and speed so that there was almost no wind across the deck. He turned to his deck officer. “I am going aft. I’ll relay any commands through the after lookout watch,” he said.
Making his way to the stern of his ship, Hufnagel watched as the huge American turned to follow him. Looking through his binoculars he could see fires all around the bridge structure, but there was only one man moving on the bridge itself. With the entire front of the bridge structure torn away, he watched him both steer the ship and tend to two other crewmen lying nearby. My God, he’s all alone, he thought to himself.
It took forty five minutes before the men heard water and voices along the rear bulkhead by the door. When the door was finally pried open, the men saw Jeffers standing beside the ship’s wheel, covered in his own blood. A seaman was tending the XO, lying to one side of the steering console. Rushing in, they brought in stretchers to get the men out. Jeffers waved them away, but the XO stopped them. “No, take this man first. He has done more than his share this morning.”
“Tell the helmsman to take station on that frigate. She is keeping us going with the wind,” Jeffers said. One of the officers nodded and called for a sailor to take the helm.
Refusing the stretcher, the men walked Jeffers down the hot, smelling, burned out shell of what once was the ship’s island. They were passed by more men who gathered the XO and the seaman. After descending several ladders and moving down some now clear corridors, they entered lighted spaces. He was reassured that sickbay was not far. Somewhere along the way, Jeffers passed out.
He woke to find his forehead bandaged. His uniform had been removed and he was in a bed wrapped in clean sheets and a blanket. He lifted his head and looked around. The space was full of people in various states. Some were walking around with simple bandages while others were getting IV fluids. Despite all the people, it was quiet in the space. Everything was in order and people were working with a purpose. A figure came up next to his bed.
“I see you’re finally back with us,” said a friendly female voice.
Jeffers looked up to see the smile of Petty Officer Carter from the bluegrass band. “Nice to see a familiar face,” croaked Jeffers.
She reached in and felt his pulse. “Yea, I get around. You’ll be leaving soon. The Doc sewed up your wounds while you were out of it. Told me there won’t be any scars. Too bad. Most gals like a guy with war wounds,” she joked.
Jeffers chuckled and felt some of the stitches on his face tighten. He still smiled. “You did that on purpose.”
Carter laughed. “Not really, but we are going to move you. We really need the bed. You feel like getting up?”
“I’ll try,” he said. Jeffers rolled his legs out of the bed and slowly pulled himself up as Carter helped him along. He had on one of the hospital gowns. Carter gave him a bathrobe.
“Try and bring the robe back when you can,” she said. “Come on.”
She led Jeffers to a seat outside an office. In a few minutes the doctor came out and ushered him inside. “Have a seat,” he said.
The doctor looked over a few things, then turned to face Jeffers. “Commander, you seem to be the hero of the day. I must have pulled a pound of sheet metal out of you. Most of it was pretty small. The worst was in your left leg. Don’t worry, I got it all out. You lost some blood, but I just don’t have any to spare for you, so take it easy for a few days. Drink a lot of water. Don’t shower until I take out the stitches. I am giving you some pain medication, but don’t take it unless you really need it. You might want to just take it at bedtime to help you sleep. I have also given you some antibiotics just in case. I don’t know where those Russian missiles had been,” he joked. “Really and truly, Commander, take it easy a few days and you’ll be fine. Come in next Tuesday and I’ll take the stitches out,” he instructed. “Any questions?”
Jeffers smiled and shook his head. “To tell you the truth, Doc, I’m too dazed to ask. Just get me to my stateroom and I’ll be okay,” Jeffers said.
The doctor grinned. “Good enough. If these wounds bother you, come back down and I’ll take another look, otherwise just get well.”
Jeffers nodded, the turned again. “By the way, how are the XO and that seaman? I hope I didn’t kill them.”
The doctor sat back and smiled. “Don’t worry about them, they’re fine. The XO won’t be walking for a while, but he’ll make it. Same for Seaman Kern. They had a lot of good things to say about you,” he said. “Now get out of my office,” he chuckled.
Jeffers shook his hand and left. Petty Officer Carter led him back through the maze of passageways to his stateroom. Fortunately, it was nowhere near the fires and his belongings were intact. He lay in his bed for a few minutes before getting back up and putting on another uniform. He was getting ready to try and get something to eat when the phone rang.
“Commander, the Admiral would like to see you in his quarters if you feel up to it,” said the person on the other end of the line.
“I’ll be right there,” Jeffers said. He grabbed his cover and left his stateroom. The admiral’s quarters were not far up the passageway. He knocked on the door and was beckoned in.
Hustvedt looked at the tired and mangled body of the man in front of him. He walked up and placed his hands on Jeffers’ shoulders. “I thought we had lost you, Rod. I am so glad we didn’t,” he said as he ushered the man to a chair. He noticed that Jeffers sat down gingerly. “The doctor told me how you were wounded. The XO told me what you did. Rod, I am at a loss. You single handedly saved this ship and prevented a collision with the Enterprise. Then you maintained your post until relieved, saving the lives of two members of the crew including the ship’s executive officer. That’s a fair day’s work for any man,” he said. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Just tired, sir. I was going to get something to eat and get back to bed like the doc said. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this tired,” Jeffers said.
Hustvedt called his orderly and ordered food brought in as they talked. Hustved wanted to know everything that happened from the time he left Flag Plot until that moment. He took notes.
After the meal, Jeffers looked more refreshed. He turned to the Admiral, “Sir, how are the landings going?”
Hustvedt grinned. “Far better than we could have expected. Our troops are far inland and the Turks are pushing hard up through Georgia. I just heard from our friend that he ordered the Italians and Spanish not to stop at the Slovak border. As Richardson swings back west, she will continue to the Crimea while the Turks continue north. We have taken out all the military bases within five hundred miles. The idea is to continue your plan and add more to it as long as we can. But as of now, the landings are complete. The secondary supply units are here and they are preparing to take in supplies and disembark more troops. From here on, everything will come in through Turkey. Your plan, was a tactical and strategic success in all areas. Good job,” he said. Hustvedt started to slap him on the arm but remember his wounds in time.