Scout Force (42 page)

      
“We’ll have beef stroganoff here in a few minutes.
 
Go gather some firewood.”

      
Kelly went to the edge of the clearing and brought back an armful of deadfall.
 
He had arranged rocks into a fire circle before Candy called out that supper was ready.
 
She asked him to open the wine and join her at the shelter.
 
He popped the cork and went over to where she was by the tent.
 
She had managed to pull two small camping stools and a small table from somewhere.
 
Knives, forks, two plates of beef stroganoff, and two empty glasses were sitting on the table.
 
Kelly poured a nice red wine into the two glasses.
 
Kelly and Candy dove into their food and wine as the sun started to set in the west.

      
When they finished, Candy told Kelly to get the fire going while she cleaned up.

      
Kelly stacked wood like a teepee and used a fire starter brick to get the fire going.
 
Candy brought the stools, while Kelly brought the table and wine.
 
While there was still light, he brought back another armful of wood, then sat down next to Candy and sipped his wine.

      
The fire had a mesmerizing effect on both of them.
 
They sat, not saying a word, and watched the sun set.
 
It was a spectacular sunset, sending crimson rays into the sky off the far clouds.

      
Candy drained her glass as the sun sank below the horizon.
 
She held her glass out for a refill and said, “I love it here.
 
I am going to really enjoy living here.
 
I expect you to check out a flitter and come visit me whenever you can.
 
Otherwise, it will get pretty lonely here.”

      
Kelly threw some more wood on the fire and said, “Don’t worry, when I get time off this will definitely be one of my destinations of choice.”

      
Candy picked up on that and asked, “What do you mean one of your destinations of choice?
 
Oh yeah, you did mention that there were two other girls interested in you.
 
Can you tell me about them or is that none of my business?”

      
“There are two.
 
One is a pilot on the planetary shuttle.
 
The other is my former lead pilot on the Bolivar.
 
Tammy, the shuttle pilot, is on her way back from transitioning to a new type shuttle.
 
She should be here in a few days.
 
Angie is my former lead pilot.
 
She is here on Armstrong for a new equipment test.”

      
Candy had a mischievous look on her face and said, “My, it’s a wonder you had time to fit me in your busy schedule.”

      
“I swear this has never happened to me before.
 
I must be emitting pheromones for all three of you to be interested in me.
 
I had girlfriends in college and interest by classmates in the academy, but I’ve never considered myself a ladies’ man.”

      
“Relax, tiger, I’m just kidding.
 
I’d love to meet your other girlfriends.
 
I’m not concerned about sharing you with them.
 
I like what we have so far.
 
You are fun to be with and you fit my needs at the moment.
 
I like the fact that you weren’t afraid of my dad.
 
I like it that even though you had all the credentials, you didn’t come on with any typical fighter pilot lines.
 
Your sincere interest in my mom’s landscape really sold me on you.
 
I don’t normally kiss guys on first meeting.
 
Your visit to my house in the south really convinced me that I wanted you around.”

      
Kelly filled up their glasses.
 
He looked out into the valley.
 
“Do you have any idea how close your nearest neighbor is?
 
I mean, I can see probably 60 or 80 kilometers east and west and I don’t see any lights.”

      
Candy looked out at the view.
 
“I guess you’re right, I don’t see any lights either.
 
We are only 30 minutes from the base by air car.
 
I thought there might be someone out here.
 
It doesn’t bother me.
 
I can handle solitude very well.
 
Of course, this will make my clothes last forever.”

      
Kelly arched his eyebrows and asked, “Why?”

      
“Because I won’t be wearing any here.”
 
Candy dissolved into laughter.

      
 
Kelly and Candy continued talking until the fire went out.
 
They stared at the dying embers for a bit longer.
 
Candy got up went into the tent and came out dragging both sleeping bags.

      
Candy said, “Come over here,” as she spread the two bags on the ground outside the tent.

      
Kelly went over to where she was kneeling, smoothing out the sleeping bags.

      
“Sit, Kelly, I want to look at the stars with you.”

      
Kelly sat down beside her.
 
She snuggled into his arms.

      
“What stars are those?” she asked, as she pointed off to the south.

      
Kelly looked where she was pointing and said, “I’m not sure.
 
I’m not completely familiar with the constellations from this part of space.
 
I think that is the back side of Taurus.”

      
Candy snuggled closer and leaned back to kiss Kelly.
 
The two spent the night outside the tent watching the stars, until they both dropped off to sleep.

      
Kelly woke up when the sun rose above the ledge and hit him in the eyes.
 
He sat up, looked around, and didn’t see Candy.
 
He got up and saw her shorts and halter top laying on one of the camp stools.
 
He walked around and found her over by the spring washing up.
 
The sun lit up her auburn hair.
 
The water glistened off of her skin.
 
She was a vision of beauty.

      
She looked up as he walked over and said, “Go back, get a towel, and shuck out of those clothes.
 
I’ll wash your back.”

      
Kelly, recognizing a good idea when he heard one, did what she said.
 
The water was cold, bordering on icy, but it felt good anyway.
 
After cleaning up, they helped each other to apply sunscreen on areas that are easiest reached by another.
 
It also included some areas that just felt better when reached by another.
 
They put on their hiking shoes and explored more of Candy's 100 hectares.

      
They found the source of the spring.
 
It came out of the mountainside about 50 meters above the clearing.
 
They walked into the woods until they reached the cliff edge to the east and to the west.
 
They found a pathway up the mountain side and walked up until they came up onto a large granite outcropping.
 
The outcropping formed a shelf about 12 meters by 20 meters on the top of the mountain.
 

      
They stood on the crest of the mountain and stared at the panorama before them.
 
They could see 40 to 80 kilometers in all directions.
 
They just stood there for the longest time staring at the beauty of the forests and meadows and lakes all around them.
 
It was an awe inspiring view.

      
Candy hugged Kelly around the waist, stretched up, and kissed him.

      
“As much as I’d like to throw you down and have my way with you in my mountain aerie, I have to get back for an appointment with the builder.
 
Come on.
 
Let’s get the area secured.
 
We can leave everything here.
 
I’m coming back after the appointment.
 
I want to fly around the area some and see what might be around.”

      
Kelly followed Candy back down to the clearing.
 
They secured the camp and then both dressed in casual clothes appropriate for a meeting with the builder.
 
They hopped in the air car and headed back to base.
 
In a short 30 minutes, they were slowing down to transition from flight to road operations.
 
The wheels touched down and Candy directed the vehicle into a parking space outside a large industrial building.

      
They walked into the building and were met by Klaus M. Krallen, the general manager of Antares PreFab, Inc.
 
He sat down with Candy and Kelly and pulled up a hologram of Candy’s design.

      
“Ms. Craddock, I’ve taken your ideas and worked them through our designers, and this is what we’ve come up.
 
We have taken your design and broken it into these five transportable segments.
 
We have hover ships that can carry these segments to your property.
 
Our crew assembles the segments and bonds them together.
 
When we're done, you won’t be able to pick out the seams.
 
The house will be guaranteed to withstand winds of 250 kph.
 
The building will be earthquake resistant. It will be heavily insulated and will be equipped with all the latest and most sought after features.”

      
Kelly and Candy watched as the five segments were moved about in the air above the table, pushed together, and finished inside and out.
 
The hologram continued to show a walkthrough from the outdoor room and front door to the rear, up the stairs to the second floor, and out through the master bedroom onto the balcony.
 
It was very impressive.

      
“I’d like to take you back into the shop and show you some of the projects we have in process.
 
It will give you some idea of what we can do for you.”

      
They both followed Mr. Krallen out onto the shop floor.
 
There were about three or four houses in various stages of construction in the shop.
 
Because they were modular, it was hard to pin down exactly how many.

      
He walked them through one house that was being built in two sections.
 
It was almost completed.
 
The fit and finish was quite good.
 
Kelly could see the workmanship in the joinery.
 
All appliances were installed and the bath fixtures were in place.
 
They walked over to one project that was just getting started.
 
Kelly could see the plasteel framing and extra bracing used to keep the section in one piece for transport.
 
He could see how it would be able to withstand such high force winds.

      
They walked around for a bit more until Candy announced she had seen enough to decide to have her house prefabbed.
 
Candy and Mr. Krallen went back to his office to discuss details and financing.
 
Kelly tagged along.
 
At the end of an hour, a contract had been drafted, checked, and authenticated and thumbed.
 
In three months time, Candy would be the proud owner of a mountainside home.

      
Kelly and Candy thanked Mr. Krallen and headed back to the mountains.
 
Thirty minutes later they were back on the hill.
 
Candy stripped out of her clothes and climbed back into her air car, carrying a couple of towels.

      
Kelly asked, “What are you doing?”

      
“I’m going to check out those lakes we saw from up top.
 
I might want to go for a swim.
 
Want to join me?”

      
Never one to turn down a good offer, Kelly stripped and joined her.
 
When he got into the air car, Candy had already lowered the top.

      
“Hang on lover, here we go.”

      
They lifted off the mountain and dropped down into the valley.
 
They flew the north side of the valley from east to west and the south side from west to east.
 
They saw no sign of habitation or evidence of human presence.
 
The scenery was breathtaking, both inside and outside the air car.

      
Candy gained altitude and turned the air car northwest to the larger of the two lakes they had seen.
 
She flew up to the lake and then made a pass down the center of the lake.
 
The trees were so thick that there were no beaches or shoreline wide enough to set the air car down.