“Why, Miss Shappelle, you are gorgeous.”
“Thank you, sir. I felt like being a woman tonight, not just an officer.”
“Woman is a good look for you. It looks really nice on you, much nicer than it would on me.”
“I should hope so,” she said laughing, twisting out of his arms, “Hand me that apron over there.”
She tied a chef’s apron around her neck and waist and tended to the stove.
‘What type of wine did you bring?”
“I brought three local wines. I brought a Vidal Blanc, a Cabernet Franc, and a Rose.”
“Yummy, open up the Cab Franc and let it breathe. Put the other two in the cooler.”
Kelly popped the cork on the red and put the other two away. He searched the cabinets for wine glasses and found two mismatched cocktail glasses. They would do. Angie handed him plates and silverware and told him to set the table. He cleared off the small table and set it up for dinner.
Angie looked at the table, looked at the stove, and said, “I’ve changed my mind. That table is too small for all the dishes. Bring the plates over here and we’ll eat buffet style.”
Kelly picked up the plates and set one on the countertop and one on the empty burner on the stove. Angie pulled the rolls out of the oven, put one each on the plates, and then handed a plate to Kelly.
She picked up a steak from the pan and put it on Kelly’s plate, put another on her plate, then ladled out sauce onto each steak. Next came a serving of green beans and sauce. Finally, she put half the potatoes on each plate. Kelly put both plates on the table and poured two glasses of wine. Kelly then helped Angie off with her apron and they sat down.
The meal was even better than his earlier recon had suggested. The steak was tender, the herbal mushroom sauce expertly setting off the flavor. The green beans and potatoes were equally delicious.
Kelly smacked his lips and said, “Angie, I never had any idea you were such a good cook. This is magnificent.”
“Thank you. I never had the opportunity to cook on the Bolivar. This is the first time since flight school that I’ve been able to really cook. I love to cook.”
“Good looks, great cook, what more could a person hope for? And a fighter pilot, too.”
Angie gave him a mock irritated look and said, “Kelly, shut up and eat.”
Kelly replied, “Yes, ma'am,” and finished his meal.
After dinner, Kelly helped Angie with the dishes. She washed. He dried. They put the dishes away and retired with the wine to the couch.
Kelly looked in Angie's eyes, smiled, and said, “Angie, that is the best meal I have had in a long time. My folks have a gourmet chef and he doesn’t cook this well.”
“Thank you, sir. I’d love to meet your folks’ chef and trade recipes.”
“I can arrange for you to meet Arnold one of these days. I’ll call my folks and get us invited for dinner.”
“That would be nice. How about some more wine here?”
Kelly looked at the bottle and there wasn’t much left. “How about we switch to the Rose. This one is about done. Give me your glass and I’ll rinse it out while I get the other bottle.”
Angie handed him her glass and Kelly got up to open the Rose. He rinsed the glasses, dried them, and brought them back. He poured her glass and handed it to her. Then he filled his own and set the bottle aside.
He raised his glass and said, “To a wonderful meal and wonderful companionship.” He clinked her glass and took a sip.
Angie smiled, took another sip, set her glass down, and leaned forward to kiss him. Kelly put his glass down and received her into his arms. Kelly had seen Angie working out in the gym on the Bolivar. He knew her body was toned and hard, but she felt mighty soft in his arms. He kissed her again.
The next morning, Kelly woke up on his back with Angie’s right leg over his left leg. Her right hand held his left. When he stirred, she rolled over into him with her left leg over his right. Her head lay on his chest and her arm across his waist. It felt so good, he decided to lay there for a while before getting up. He had nowhere to go today and no schedule to meet. He dropped back off to sleep.
Angie got up first. Kelly woke up a little later, noticed she wasn’t there, and got up. He looked out of the bedroom and saw Angie wearing a short silk robe, gathering items from the refrigerator. He noted, from his angle, how short the robe was. He especially appreciated the view.
“What’s for breakfast?”
Angie looked around at him without straightening up. “How does eggs and sausage sound?”
“It sounds pretty good. Do you mind if I distract the cook first?”
Angie put the food over on the counter and came over into Kelly’s arms, “Oh, I wish you would.”
Kelly and Angie retreated into the bedroom and breakfast was delayed.
Later, Angie accompanied Kelly to the Vigilant for a change of clothes. Then they wandered around base, shopping, and sampling the offerings at the entertainment center. Kelly called his folks and asked Angie and him over for dinner. His parents were very gracious and looked forward to dining with Angie.
Dinner was preceded by several bottles of wine. The Blakes had acquired quite a cellar of local Armstrong wines. Arnold was outdoing himself by preparing vegetable soup, beef bourguignon, fresh asparagus, and a local green called moisache, similar to spinach in consistency, but tasting more like turnip greens. Angie helped him with the meal and the two chatted incessantly about recipes and cooking techniques. Kelly retired to the patio with his parents.
Andrew refilled his glass and said, “She’s nice. Arnold is having the time of his life. Your mother and I are hopeless in the kitchen. When we are working, we hardly ever think of food. Most of the time he has to chase us down to get us to eat something. It’s good for him to have someone to cook with.”
“Angie can hold her own in the kitchen. She had me over for dinner last night and she is a wizard with sauces. She could probably teach Arnold a thing or two.”
His dad took a sip of wine and said, “Tell me, son, how is your crew reacting to the upcoming test?”
“They are taking it well. There are a few that are a little worried. Most are looking forward to it. They see the potential for really expanding travel and commerce in GR space. We’ve got people from all over GR space in the Scout Force and they don’t get to see their families very often, if at all. Travel to even the closest planets can take more than a week. Some people haven’t seen their families since they joined the Fleet.”
Andrew beamed, “Well, that’s what we’ve been working for. We see the trade and travel potential, as well as the defensive advantage.”
“Dad, speaking of defensive potential, have you considered making mobile transporter rings?”
“What do you mean, son?”
“In your demonstration the other day, it dawned on me that if you could construct a ship that was, essentially, a flying transporter ring, we could significantly reduce our fleet patrol requirements. Imagine a patrol craft that could open up to be a full-sized transporter ring. It would give us mobile rings that could serve as the entry point for battle groups into trouble spots. We could use smaller patrol groups to watch the frontier and only bring the capital ships in when really needed.”
“I think I see what you mean. You mean a patrol-size ship that could open up into a full-size transporter ring if it needed reinforcement. Something the size of the Vigilant would be too small. We might could do it with something the size of a frigate. I’ll look into that. How do you think the Fleet will react to the idea?”
Kelly put his wine glass down and said, “It costs a fortune to keep battle groups out on the frontier. Something like this would allow them to maintain a presence for a fraction of the cost. Besides, once the K’Rang catch onto the fact that we can be strong almost anywhere along the frontier, it should calm them down a bit. It will give us an operational and strategic advantage they can’t overcome.”