Virtues of War by Bennett R. Coles Page B

seemed to think that the incident in building seven was anything noteworthy, and while they all agreed with Katja that a continuation of the search would have been best, no one questioned the outcome of the mission.
    “Sounds like the Cerberans were on to you,” Gopal concluded. “Not much you can do at that point but bug out.”
    Katja sighed, feeling better for having discussed the mission with her colleagues.
    “It’s frustrating, though,” she said. “And it means we have to go back again when there’s new intelligence.”
    “I’d rather that, than for us have to mount a rescue mission to bust your ass out of there.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “Yeah, forget about it.” Lahko stepped into the middle of the circle. “Everybody made it back, and we’ll sort it out later. Tonight we drink, because it’s jihad.” He hefted his beer and shouted in his full combat voice. “Jihad!”
    Echoes of “jihad” were cried out from the Corps crowd across the star lounge, as well as the inevitable ululations. Katja always wondered if any Muslims in the regiment were offended by this, and she cast her eye over the crowd to watch for reactions. She saw a mix of disinterest and disbelief, but no apparent outrage.
    She also saw the familiar form of Charity Brisebois, all smiles as she sat down at a table with that young pilot of hers. Katja took another gulp of beer and wondered when Breeze had found the time to troll the Astral College for a boyfriend. Katja was almost thirty, and Breeze was at least a few years older—what in the world was she doing with that kid?
    And then she saw Thomas wandering in from the passageway. Without thinking she waved her arm. He spotted the motion and smiled as he waved back. She weaved her way through the tables to greet him.
    They met about halfway. He looked fresher, and more relaxed. The deep fatigue was still haunting his eyes, but he was doing his best to hide it behind a friendly smile.
    “Hi, Katja.”
    “Hi, Thomas.”
    He looked at her for a moment, then cast his gaze around the room.
    “Pretty good crowd tonight. Troopers were always better at partying, as I recall.”
    “And getting into trouble,” she replied, “if my sources are correct.”
    “Oh, really? What do you hear?” He cocked an eyebrow.
    Katja felt herself going red, and quickly relayed the tale Scott had been telling earlier. At first Thomas looked puzzled, and Katja wondered if Scott hadn’t invented the whole thing. But then the slow dawn of realization broke across his features.
    “Ahh,
that
time.” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I thought he was going to get busted down to trooper again. Lucky for him, Headquarters was hit by a suicide bomber that same morning and we had to scramble. Lahko earned a medal of bravery that day, so his little indiscretion was forgotten.” Thomas smiled and shook his head. “Quite a guy.” He looked around. “Where is he, anyway?”
    Katja quickly looked over her shoulder to where the Saracen officers were still standing by the windows, all watching her with interest. Again she felt her cheeks burning, but she ignored the feeling and motioned for Scott to join her. He made some parting comment to the other officers and worked his way over, grinning broadly.
    “Lieutenant Kane,” he said enthusiastically. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you here.”
    Thomas stepped beside Katja, his arm brushing against hers.
    “Lieutenant Lahko, I can’t believe you’re still alive.”
    Scott bellowed his laughter and shook Thomas’s hand. “Me, too—and still so pretty!”
    “That was going to be the next thing out of my mouth.”
    “Never out of mine,” Katja interjected.
    “Yeah, yeah, you’re just jealous,” Scott said without missing a beat. “Hey, you guys grab a table. Thomas, you eaten?”
    He shook his head. “I’m starving.”
    “Great, I’ll get drinks. You guys look at menus.”
    Scott pushed away between the seated patrons, leaving Katja and Thomas alone