The fire and flame of war

Homefront

The North Korean attack on stokes wharf was planned as a demonstration to the Australian people. The Koreans were hoping that by attacking like they did they would scare the Australians out of the war. The only thing they achieved was angering the Australians even more. Jade had recovered in hospital for a few days and was now back to full health. She'd been knocked unconscious in the first explosion. Amelia had over stretched a ligament in her ankle and was now on crutches. Daniel came away without a scratch.

Luckily, there were no fatalities in the attack. However, the Australian navy recalled all its operational warships, and the bay was full of these vessels. Leaving jade with Amelia in the hospital, daniel went for a walk. The streets were full of men and women wearing white, having been given leave from their ships. Daniel got talking to a Commander Williams, who was in command of patrol boat HMAS Hammersley. Daniel talked for most of the afternoon.

Days later, Daniel received orders. He was back on active service. He was going to board HMAS Hammersley and travel across to Papua New Guinea in an attempt to sneak past Korean forces with the SAS to eliminate a high ranking officer who is in charge of the campaign south, towards Australia. They had to get in, do the job, and get out without being seen. Tough gig.

He said his goodbyes to jade and Amelia. They were standing dockside on the naval base as Daniel walked down the gangway onto the Hammersley. The ship set sail soon after, heading out towards the open ocean. Jade and Amelia watch the ship until they can't see it anymore.

Days later, jade and Amelia were still on base in Darwin. Defence had taken over Amelia's education and she was completing an accelerated course at the base school. Jade had resumed work on base as well. She was crossing an open field when the raid sirens went off. Jade ran, towards the nearest building, which happened to be the armoury. Amelia was ushered away into a safe zone within the school. And then the bombs fell.

Out on the patrol boat, Daniel was sitting in his cabin, drinking a coffee and reading a book. He was still two days away from his insertion point. Later that night, the ship changed course, returning to Australia to help with the cleanup of the bombs. And the bodies.

Once the all clear had sounded, jade ran to the school. When she arrived, part of the building was smoking and had collapsed. That was the part of the building Amelia was in. Jade furiously started lifting up and tossing aside bits of brick and corrugated iron. She could hear some survivors calling for help underneath the mess. Soon enough, there was a team of soldiers working to find them. The first two survivors they found were children. They were, miraculously, uninjured. The next person the found had perished, pierced by a crossmember in the roof. He was only 10 years old. Suddenly, on the other side of the collapsed building, someone called out,
"Stretcher bearer!" Jade looked across, and saw it was a girl. With Amelia's hair colour. From this distance jade could see the blood. Without a second thought, she ran across to the medics who were lifting the girl onto the stretcher. Her chest was covered in blood, and her hands were covered in her own blood and dust. She was shaking, from shock. Amelia looked at her mum, and grabbed for her hand. Very shakily and weakly, Amelia said to her mum before she was rushed to surgery,
"Love you mum"

Shortly after Amelia was rushed away, jade blacked out and was carried away to her room. Daniel was still two days away at full speed. Amelia was being operated on. Amelia had been crushed under the weight of the crossmember, which had cut into her chest. During her efforts to escape, she cut her arms and hands, and the crossmember dug deeper into her chest. If she hadn't been found when she had, she would have bleed to death.

Hours later, jade was pacing up and down the hallway outside the operating theatre. She was still covered in other people's blood and dust after the rescue effort, her hair frazzled. Suddenly in front of her appeared Tanya.
"Jade. Let's take a seat hey?" She says comfortingly.
"I've been fully briefed on the situation. So let's talk." Tanya says, settling back in her chair. They talk for a long while, until eventually Amelia is rolled out of surgery on a bed, uncovered from the waist up. Across Amelia's chest were all different kinds of bandages and stitches. Jade stands and walks beside the bed calmly. Once they put Amelia in her room, jade sits beside her daughter and waits, stroking her hand, waiting for her to come out of the anaesthetic.

By the time the Hammersley had docked, Daniel had heard the news. What he didn't know was that his daughter was in hospital. It was a full two days after the attack, and North Korea threatened more if Australia didn't withdraw its forces.
"Good luck, my friend." The Commander said as daniel left the ship.
At the base, Daniel arrived at jades room. He knocked on the door. Again. And again. Getting worried, he went across to base medical, but she wasn't there. The duty nurse, an army lieutenant, told him she was in the hospital. Taking off at a sprint, daniel ran across to the base hospital. After finding what room had 'barrington' next to it, he bolted up the corridor, and ran up the stairs four at a time. He burst through the door to find jade sitting beside Amelia on the bed. Daniel just freezes at the doorway, his eyes seeing what had happened. Tears sprung up in his eyes as jade embraced him. Amelia lay on the bed, asleep after all the painkillers she was on.