Mrs. Craddock led Kelly into the rest of the house. The other rooms were just as tastefully decorated as the parlor. Admiral Craddock was in the back tending bar. He had a number of Scout Force and Base officers and their escorts bellied up to the bar. He was regaling them with a story about his last tour in Fleet HQ on Earth.
“So there I was, the newest officer in the office and my boss, Admiral Gutierrez, had just chosen me to brief a Galactic Republic Senator on something I knew nothing about. I had five minutes to prepare. I asked Admiral Gutierrez if he had any advice for me. The admiral looked over at me and said, 'Yes, when there is nothing else you can do, polish your shoes.'”
The group broke into laughter. Admiral Craddock looked up and saw Kelly.
“Kelly, come in let me introduce you to everyone. All, this is Kelly Blake. He is the Exec of the Vigilant. He works for Ed Timmons.”
He pointed at a Fleet Commander wearing Base Ops insignia and said, “This is CMDR Okanma. He runs the base infrastructure maintenance activity. If I hadn’t stolen you away, you would have been working for him.”
CMDR Okanma shook Kelly’s hand and said, “Miyushi, meet Ensign Blake. Ensign, this is my wife, Miyushi.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you both,” said Kelly as he shook their hands.
The admiral introduced Kelly to a well-dressed female civilian. “This is my daughter, Candy. Candy has just graduated from the Winston Churchill School of Law, passed the GR bar exam, and is taking a few weeks off before she reports into the Baines, Baines, and Enfield law firm here on Armstrong. We are very proud of her. Of course, the first thing she will probably do as a lawyer is sue the base for something we did wrong. Her specialty is contract law.”
Candy Craddock was stunning. She was about 5’ 8” and had long red hair. Her fair skin was almost transparent and lacked the freckles one normally associated with redheads. Her ringless fingers were long and graceful, with moderately long painted nails. The dress, of a green iridescent material, looked like it had been custom tailored to fit her every curve. The effect was breathtaking. A slit up each side showed most of two very shapely legs. A look in her eyes told Kelly that she was more than a little interested in him. Kelly would have to play this situation very carefully.
She extended her hand to Kelly, gave him a firm handshake, and said, “So very glad to meet you, Ensign Blake.”
“I’m very glad to meet you also, Miss Craddock.”
“Please call me Candy.”
“In that case, please call me Kelly.”
The admiral stepped in to continue the introductions. “Kelly, meet LCDR Davis and LT Bell, the CO and Exec of the Vehement. It’s the Scout ship in the dock next to the Vigilant. They should be through refit in three months or so.”
LCDR Davis asked Kelly to talk with him later about how the refit of the Vigilant was going. LT Bell asked to be in on that conversation, too.
Admiral Craddock then introduced Kelly to two Fleet Lieutenants. “Kelly, these two fellows are Kim Dae Wo and Al Bentine. They are being assigned here to work on my staff. Kim will be in operations and Bentine will handle officer personnel assignments. Ah, I see my wife motioning me into the kitchen. Why don’t you all get acquainted, while I go help Amy.”
Kelly said to both lieutenants, “Very nice to meet you. Have you just arrived on Antares Base also?”
LT Bentine said, “We got in this Wednesday. We just found out our assignments today. Neither of us came in specifically assigned to Scout Force, but we are glad to be here. I, for one, prefer working for the operational forces over support functions.”
LT Bentine saw CMDR Okanma look up at his comment. He quickly said, “Sir, not that there is anything wrong with working for the support services, but I want to get back out in space on a ship and hope to maybe command a Scout ship some day.”
CMDR Okanma just chuckled.
Candy Craddock looked over at him. “Dad left before fixing you a drink. What would you like?”
“I haven’t had time for a drink since I got here and I was on a dry Fleet carrier for six months before that. Are there any local specialties I should try?”
With a beguiling smile, she said, “Local specialties…let me see.” She bent down, giving Kelly a wonderful view of her cleavage. “How about a local wine? They make a marvelous Vidal Blanc to the southwest of here, and Dad has one in here chilled. I’ll have a glass with you.”
She opened the bottle, poured two glasses of a lovely amber liquid, and handed one to Kelly. She put a stopper on the bottle and replaced it in the fridge beneath the bar. This gave Kelly that lovely view of her cleavage again. He averted his eyes just before she straightened back up.
She reached over and clinked glasses with him. “Here’s to a safe patrol.”
Her comment caught Kelly a little unawares. It must have shown on his face.
“Don’t worry, Kelly. I don’t know Scout Force’s patrol schedule, but if you are about to come out of refit, you are obviously about to go out on patrol. It’s just how things are done.”
Kelly relaxed. The other guests had moved over to the den and were looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at a storm coming over the mountains to the east, leaving Kelly alone with Candy.
“We seem to have been abandoned.”
She leaned over the bar, holding her glass in both hands, and asked, “Do you mind?” Her eyes locked with his.
“Of course not. How could I mind them leaving me alone with such pleasant company?”
Candy gave him a blinding smile in response.
“Tell me, Candy, who does the gardening for your folks? I was awestruck by the way the grounds look.”
“We don’t have a gardener. Mom keeps up the grounds. She has a real green thumb. She could plant a burnt stick and get it to flower.”
“Well, I’m impressed. Are they local plants or were they brought in?”
“Come on. I’ll walk you around and give you the tour.”
The two walked out the front door and over to a large planting bed. The flowers were arrayed with short ones in front and larger plants in the center. The effect was like a layer cake. Reds and crimsons were on top, blues through the center, and whites along the base. A sweet scent filled the air, mixed with the smell of the approaching rainstorm.
“These white plants are alabaster stars. They come from the southern hemisphere here on Armstrong. The blues are Antarean asters. They grow on Plymouth Island to the southeast of here, near where this wine comes from. The red and crimson flowers come from a Blood Bush native to the polar region and a parasitic plant called the Strangler Vine, native to this region. It grows on low-lying bushes and sucks them dry of nutrients. It eventually kills its host plant, thereby causing its own death, but not before it releases its spores. It’s beautiful, but so tragic.”
“Wow, that is tragic, but you're right, they are beautiful.”
They walked along together, enjoying the garden and each other’s company until the rumble of distant thunder caused them to look up at the approaching clouds. They walked back to the front door, where Candy put her hand on the handle and stopped. She looked at Kelly and said, “I wonder.”
Kelly looked at her and asked, “What do you wonder?”
“I wonder if you might be brave enough to date the admiral’s daughter?”
Kelly paused for a moment and said, “I’m brave enough, but I’m not looking for anything serious at this time. My present is too uncertain. As you said earlier, it is only a matter of time before I go out on patrol or a deployment. I could be gone a few weeks or a few months. I have no way of knowing. I’m afraid we couldn’t be much more than friends. There is one other thing. Although I’m no lady’s man, there are at least two other young women interested in me.”