Kelly Blake 3: Where the Stars Are Few and Far Between by Rodney Smith

to shut down the engines. He also ordered a full diagnostic run on the engines, to see if the extended high-speed run had affected them. The report came back negative and Kelly left to meet with Admiral Minacci.
    The admiral was in his outer office, saw Kelly, and waved him into his office.
    “Well, how is she?”
    “She’s fast, sir, and she’s big. I served on the Carrier Bolivar and it didn’t feel as big as the Orion. Of course, some of that may go away when a full crew is aboard. I tried not to strip all of Admiral Hasselrode’s people. Only took 75 from him. Have you received any word on my volunteers, sir?”
    “John told me you were gentle, but he’s upset you didn’t kiss him before you left,” Admiral Minacci laughed.
    He picked up a data device on his desk and tossed it into Kelly’s hands.
    “I think those might be your volunteers. Those just came in. Please tell me I can have the ones you don’t use.”
    Kelly flipped through the data on his pocket terminal and said, “These are Scout Force veterans, sir. They’d be insulted if you didn’t take the ones I can’t use. I promised them Scout Force, not just my ship. On another matter, I don’t have an XO. The officers on Leonov were Fleet officers, not Scout Force. I need a second in command that thinks like I do. Are there any lieutenant commanders running around loose? It was the same thing with my Master Chief Petty Officer. Any loose master chiefs needing a job?”
    Admiral Minacci fumbled with his terminal, compiled a document, and flashed it to Kelly’s pocket terminal. It was a list of all lieutenant commanders and MCPOs on Armstrong.
    “Look at the list and your volunteers. Let me know what you decide. I’ll ask the Command Master Chief to get you his recommendations.”
    “Thank you, sir. I’ll run down these lists and see who I can use.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Kelly took off long enough to take Candy out to dinner. They had a wonderful meal together and a great bottle of wine. Candy noticed Kelly acting strangely, uncharacteristically nervous and wondered what was up. When they were through eating, Kelly ordered a bottle of dessert wine. When it was served, they clinked glasses and sipped the sweet wine.
    Kelly, a trifle nervous, pulled out a small box, and promptly fumbled it, sending it skittering across the dining room floor. It ended up directly under the chair of a matronly looking woman sitting with a younger couple. He slunk over to the table, apologized, and asked the older woman if he could retrieve the box under her chair.
    There was momentary confusion, but eventually the woman understood and stood up, moving aside so he could retrieve the box. The old woman saw the box, recognized it for what it was, and wished him luck. Candy was laughing as he walked back to their table – until he opened the box for her. A shocked look crossed her face as Kelly asked her to be his wife.
    Tears of joy spontaneously flowed from her eyes as she said yes. Other diners noticed the proposal and applauded them. Candy leaned over and kissed him and more applause burst out. They finished their wine and Kelly settled the account.
    They walked out to Candy’s air car and she asked, “Can you get away to come to my house?”
    “I’m sorry, no. I realize my timing sucks, but I want to marry you before I have to deploy. I’m scared some other guy might steal you away from me.”
    She laughed and said, “Fat chance, mister. I was going to propose to you myself if you hadn’t. Come here.”
    She molded into him and kissed him like she couldn’t inside the restaurant. As they broke the kiss, she shouted, “Oh, my God! I better call Mom, before one of those diners calls her.”
    She pulled out her communicator and dialed. Kelly could hear the squeals without the speaker function being activated. Candy talked to her mom for a while, describing the proposal, and then passed the phone to Kelly.
    In rapid-fire mode, he heard, “Kelly, you can call