Chapter Three: Back To Work So Soon?

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Captain Amelia Smollet kept her brisk pace as she walked down the halls of the Central Naval Office building on Crescentia. It was only yesterday that the blasted Admiral Carson had come to her, in all his smugness, and told her of the Gantarin threat to the Empire. She had not even a full day to spend with her beloved before being called to arms once more. And for such reasons, it wasn't any wonder that junior officers in the halls steered clear of Amelia and her bad mood that seemed to radiate around her. The only outlet of today that seemed to be getting her through is that she would be meeting Delbert for lunch in hour's time.

Amelia gave a quiet sigh as she placed a hand on the large oak doors that led to the conference room she and the other fleet captain's would receiving their brief in. Pushing one open she walked in to find it completely empty. She was early; no surprise to her.

She stood at the large window that fit the entire length of the room opposite the door, stretching from wall to wall, looking out at view of Crescentia Spaceport. She made no movement when she heard a separate door into the conference room open and close, only kept her gaze out in the spaceport.

"Well, I – um – I didn't expect anyone to be in here yet." Said the person who had entered through the side door. "The meeting doesn't seem the start for another fifteen minutes."

"I am aware of that." Amelia said turning her head towards the other to join her early entrance into the conference room, then returning her gaze to it's previous spot.

"Kathryn?" The Felid male asked as he set down the case he was carrying onto the table and leaning over to try to glance a better look at Amelia. "Amelia Kathryn Smollet? Is that really you?"

Amelia turned around and looked to the man at the end of the table.

"Kylan Granger?" Amelia said taken aback.

"Well, Captain Kylan Granger now. I must admit, it is fantastic to see you again Kathryn." He said shaking Amelia's hand, greeting an old friend.

"Still the only person who ever calls me by my middle name, you must remember I detest being called that." Amelia said offering a small smile to the man, shaking his hand in return. "It is good to see you again Kylan. I only wish it were under better circumstances."

"Well, the only person you let call you that, eh Kathy?" At this he received a glare from Amelia; as much as she hated being called Kathryn under any circumstances, she absolutely detested being called Kathy, even if she did let Kylan Granger call her by her middle name. "Ahem, well yes. Wish it were under better standing that we were meeting here, instead of all this Cyran-Gantarin business we've been called for."

"Hmm… Yes… So? Captain? That's fairly recent, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Granger said bashfully. "Finally given my own command and ship, the Titan. Beautiful ship really, not at all in comparison to the Legacy, but I guess the fight for her was won long ago."

Amelia only smiled at that. The Legacy was the most sought after ship of its class for command in the fleet, and as stated, Amelia had won that battle with flying colors.

"So Kathryn, seeing anyone lately? Because I was thinking you an I could catch a bite to eat this evening; Do some catching up?" The question had caught Amelia off guard. When they knew each other in the academy, she and Kylan Granger had never been friends of a romantic sort. She had had and excruciating low number of those in her academy days.

"I appreciate the offer but I do have plans this evening and they do involve planning for this dreaded mission."

"Not married yet then I see." Granger said taking a step closer flashing a striking smile across his handsome features. Amelia stood her ground staring at the felid male before her. In the past he was never like this. This was new.

"No… I'm not as of yet." After she had said that she was thankful that she didn't have to say anymore on the subject, for the main doors to the room had opened and other naval officers began to file into the room. Amelia moved away from Granger and took a seat at the conference table, far from her advancer. Delbert was of her private life and that was something that they both greatly valued. She wasn't quite ready to splurge all the intimate details of their relationship to someone she knew from years past.

The briefing seemed to take much longer than it actually did and was only halfway through when lunch came around. The majority of the officers stayed in for lunch in the conference room but Amelia left for her lunch she had promised Delbert, who when she had arrived, was waiting diligently for her at a small café only three blocks from the naval offices.

"How're the meetings?" Delbert asked pulling out a chair for Amelia to sit.

"Tedious, for lack of a better word." Amelia said after ordering from the waiter who had come by as she took her seat. "The Gantarin's have become increasingly restless and dangerous. It seems that their spies in the empire have been discovered and moved back to join whatever allies they have in the Cyran system. Intelligence states they're planning the make a possible move on the empire so a fleet is being sent to head them off."

"It sounds like it's gotten pretty serious." Delbert said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Afraid so, Darling. On a less serious side, I ran into an old friend I knew from the academy." Amelia said and told Delbert about the officer's romantic advances towards her. Amelia looked at Delbert with interest. "Delbert normally when you find some male makes some sort of advance towards me you become, well, a tad anxious."

"I still do…" Delbert said timidly. "But I just see it that I love you, and if you'd really wanted to leave you would have done so long ago."

"Delbert Doppler, how could someone with so many slips of the tongue speak as adoringly as you do?" Amelia replied to him with a loving smile she reserved only for him.

"I'll see you this evening love." Delbert said as they both readied to leave the café and part their separate ways.

"Yes." She said. "And darling, I would go ahead and start packing for a long voyage when you get home. It doesn't look like I would have ever had the slightest chance of getting out of this Cyran-Gantarin business."

Delbert nodded his agreement and bid Amelia one last goodbye, passing a swift kiss to the other before they parted their separate ways.

"So we're in agreement then." Admiral Carson said. "Captain Smollet will take the Legacy and head the fleet to Cyran, in direct chain of command will follow with Captains Granger and Togashi. I will have all of your crew rosters by tomorrow morning, and the fleet will be ready to set sail one week from today.

The various captains nodded their agreement of their assignments and then began to leave the conference room.

"I'll have my rosters to you first thing tomorrow morning." The human female Captain Togashi said to Amelia gathering her things together.

"I appreciate however fast you can get them to me Akira." Amelia replied.

"And congratulations to yourself, a fleet command. Haven't had one of those since the first battle after those Procyan dealing a few years back."

"Believe it or not, I don't think appointing me this command was entirely Admiral Carson's idea. Can't really complain though." Amelia said with a sly smile to her comrade.

"Aye. Haven't seen him this uptight in years. Well, I do believe we've all got a long line of work to do in said short amount of time. I'll see you bright and early Commodore Smollet." Captain Togashi said as she left the room.

'Commodore… I do like the sound of that.' Amelia thought to herself. She had been named Commodore of the fleet, which could very well possibly lead to an actual promotion to Commodore.

Over the next week Amelia and Delbert had seen very little of one another, both going over preparations for the coming voyage. The evening before they set sail came all too soon for them both. Wile preparations came with priority; the two lovers were lucky if they could get a word in edgewise to one another, their last night together before the voyage was, much anticipated, to say the least.

They enjoyed a lovely dinner followed by what began as snuggled close together by a roaring fire in his study.

"I am going to miss this." Amelia said enjoying just laying in Delbert's loving embrace.

"Me too." Delbert said kissing her softly on her forehead. "This mission should go by quickly, or it seems that it should."

"I do love your optimism darling, but this is a highly sensitive case. Whatever accord the empire had in Cyran are gone. Those treaties that were forged with them were nothing more than mirages. To think that they even fooled our blasted ambassadors for an instant is an insult."

"Complete marriage – I ah – mirage. You – you're absolutely right." Delbert said flustered. Another obstacle put in his way of asking Amelia what he had been dying to had put him in a more apprehensive state.

"Thinking about those random slips of the tongue lately darling?" Amelia said with a furtive glance back to Delbert.

Delbert straightened up in his seat, making Amelia do so as well. She turned around, staring at him.

"I uh – I have been thinking a lot about that subject lately Amelia. I um – I had been planning to ask you this later, and had actually hoped that you hadn't really been called out on this voyage but I – " he paused.

"Delbert?" Amelia said quietly trying to discern the man before her.

"Amelia, I love you more than anything, and in the time that I've known you, I've done things that I never dreamed I could do. You've brought out a better side in me; One that doesn't spend days in his study pouring over countless star charts."

"Darling, you still do that." Amelia said letting out a soft laugh.

"But I do so with you by my side." He replied staring into her lovely turquoise eyes taking one of her hands into his own. "I would never want that to change."

"Nor would I love."

"Amelia, make me the happiest man I could possibly imagine? Marry me?" Delbert said and as he did he pulled a beautiful diamond ring out of his pocket and offered it to Amelia.

"Yes." Amelia said accepting the ring as Delbert slid it on her left ring finger. "But, why now?"

"You said yourself, this is supposed to be a dangerous mission. I guess I couldn't wait. Besides, I think you'd more than raze me if I asked you at some outrageous time and place like before boarding ship in front of your entire crew."

"You know me too well Doctor." Amelia said as she leaned in and kissed Delbert deeply, which led to a somewhat restless night for them both.