just thought of something.
“You know, Chuck Merriman and I did a piece a few weeks ago on a military family. I think the daughter was fast-attack—what was her name? Katja Emmes. Do you know her?”
Breeze’s face hardened behind a smile that momentarily turned to ice.
Interesting
, he thought.
“Yes,” she said. “As a matter of fact I do. She’s very brave, but a little crazy I think, too.”
“So you worked together?”
“On occasion.” She took another, longer sip of wine. “The State doesn’t always pick the most deserving veterans for media attention. I think your assignment would have been more for her father’s sake than hers.”
The naked animosity burning through her carefully controlled features wasn’t what Kete had expected. Yet another strand of the story he needed to incorporate into his plan.
“So you don’t think she deserves to be singled out?”
“Oh she was singled out all right. Singled right out of her regiment and buried in a dead-end job.” Her expression turned dangerous for just a moment. “I have connections.”
He backed off. “You don’t have to say anything more to impress me, Breeze. I don’t even compare my time in the field to what soldiers like you went through. I really mean it—from a grateful citizen, thanks.”
With effort she relaxed in her seat and glanced casually around the restaurant.
“There are some things I can’t talk about,” she said, striving to regain her composure, “but you know what was really interesting about my time in the colonies?”
“What?”
Her seductive smile returned. “I’m sure you’ve heard about how invasion forces always send in a reconnaissance team beforehand, to scope out the enemy defenses?”
“Sure. I understand it’s one of the most elite roles in the Corps.”
“Is it?” She gave him a studiously casual expression. “Hmm.”
He doubted very much that she was being completely accurate with him, but the mission required him to see the war on her terms. So he sat back in impressed silence. Breeze delicately dabbed her lips with her napkin, eyes on him the entire time. Suddenly she was enjoying the conversation again, now that it was all about her, but she offered no further embellishment, and he didn’t probe further.
Still, he’d scored another success. She’d revealed details about her recent past, and the door was now open for him to explore further. If things continued this well, it was only a matter of time before she became an active asset.
8
The hot, bitter liquid was a welcome antidote to the heavy fatigue Thomas felt as he settled into his favorite chair, holding a cup of coffee. There was a lot of vacation time to use up after a deployment, but some mornings he honestly wished he was in space so that he could have a break.
He took another long sip and rested his head against the high, cushioned chair back. Enjoying the warm, filtered sunlight streaming over him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he stretched and felt his muscles protest at even so slight a movement.
Soma was still asleep, of course. He wished he could stay in bed as long as his younger wife, but two decades of military life had trained his mind to reach full alertness after a maximum of eight hours down, no matter what his body said. He’d left her in their imperial-sized bed, sprawled among the scattered sheets as she’d been some time before dawn.
Judging from the angle of the sun, Thomas guessed it was almost noon.
Another sip of the coffee and he activated his Baryon. Soma usually preferred the passive input of the video wall this early in the morning, but he preferred the control—and, most of all, the silence—of his personal device. It was the latest gadget, he knew, and a must-have for anyone who wanted to stay connected.
He scanned his messages, noting with satisfaction that his efforts to get into Soma’s elite circle were paying off. There was a funny photo from Tiffany, a golf invitation from
“You know, Chuck Merriman and I did a piece a few weeks ago on a military family. I think the daughter was fast-attack—what was her name? Katja Emmes. Do you know her?”
Breeze’s face hardened behind a smile that momentarily turned to ice.
Interesting
, he thought.
“Yes,” she said. “As a matter of fact I do. She’s very brave, but a little crazy I think, too.”
“So you worked together?”
“On occasion.” She took another, longer sip of wine. “The State doesn’t always pick the most deserving veterans for media attention. I think your assignment would have been more for her father’s sake than hers.”
The naked animosity burning through her carefully controlled features wasn’t what Kete had expected. Yet another strand of the story he needed to incorporate into his plan.
“So you don’t think she deserves to be singled out?”
“Oh she was singled out all right. Singled right out of her regiment and buried in a dead-end job.” Her expression turned dangerous for just a moment. “I have connections.”
He backed off. “You don’t have to say anything more to impress me, Breeze. I don’t even compare my time in the field to what soldiers like you went through. I really mean it—from a grateful citizen, thanks.”
With effort she relaxed in her seat and glanced casually around the restaurant.
“There are some things I can’t talk about,” she said, striving to regain her composure, “but you know what was really interesting about my time in the colonies?”
“What?”
Her seductive smile returned. “I’m sure you’ve heard about how invasion forces always send in a reconnaissance team beforehand, to scope out the enemy defenses?”
“Sure. I understand it’s one of the most elite roles in the Corps.”
“Is it?” She gave him a studiously casual expression. “Hmm.”
He doubted very much that she was being completely accurate with him, but the mission required him to see the war on her terms. So he sat back in impressed silence. Breeze delicately dabbed her lips with her napkin, eyes on him the entire time. Suddenly she was enjoying the conversation again, now that it was all about her, but she offered no further embellishment, and he didn’t probe further.
Still, he’d scored another success. She’d revealed details about her recent past, and the door was now open for him to explore further. If things continued this well, it was only a matter of time before she became an active asset.
8
The hot, bitter liquid was a welcome antidote to the heavy fatigue Thomas felt as he settled into his favorite chair, holding a cup of coffee. There was a lot of vacation time to use up after a deployment, but some mornings he honestly wished he was in space so that he could have a break.
He took another long sip and rested his head against the high, cushioned chair back. Enjoying the warm, filtered sunlight streaming over him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he stretched and felt his muscles protest at even so slight a movement.
Soma was still asleep, of course. He wished he could stay in bed as long as his younger wife, but two decades of military life had trained his mind to reach full alertness after a maximum of eight hours down, no matter what his body said. He’d left her in their imperial-sized bed, sprawled among the scattered sheets as she’d been some time before dawn.
Judging from the angle of the sun, Thomas guessed it was almost noon.
Another sip of the coffee and he activated his Baryon. Soma usually preferred the passive input of the video wall this early in the morning, but he preferred the control—and, most of all, the silence—of his personal device. It was the latest gadget, he knew, and a must-have for anyone who wanted to stay connected.
He scanned his messages, noting with satisfaction that his efforts to get into Soma’s elite circle were paying off. There was a funny photo from Tiffany, a golf invitation from
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