Virtues of War Read Online Free PDF

features. No matter what else had happened during the troubles, his final mission had at least earned him some fame.
    The air was cool and fragrant inside the ballroom, despite the hundreds of people and several teams of newsmen circulating, capturing the moment. Soma pointed at one media team that was focused on a particular Astral Force officer.
    “Oh look! There’s Uncle Eric.”
    There indeed was Soma’s godfather, Captain—no,
Admiral
—Eric Chandler. Resplendent in the gold-trimmed, high-collar blacks of a flag officer, he had his listeners enthralled. Above-average height, sharp featured with just enough gray to add distinction, Chandler was exactly the sort of hero the Astral Force needed right now.
    An inspiration to Thomas since the days when they’d both been junior officers in the old destroyer
Victoria
, Chandler had kept a subtle eye on his young colleague for years—even arranging for Thomas to meet the lovely daughter of the richest man on Ganymede. Yet Chandler had sent his regrets to Thomas and Soma’s wedding. That spoke volumes of how much the relationship between mentor and protégé had deteriorated.
    Thomas’s
Rapier
had been under the overall command of Chandler’s expeditionary force, providing an ideal opportunity for an ambitious junior officer to shine. In the long months of combat, however, there had been both good and bad times, and even now Thomas wasn’t sure where the balance lay.
    Nevertheless, for better or worse, Chandler still provided his best hope for continued success in the Astral Force. Now that Chandler was an admiral, Thomas had dug around to discover the responsibilities of his mentor’s new position as an admiral. This was his chance to make the pitch. He followed in Soma’s wake as she glided across the floor.
    Chandler noticed them and broke off his discussion with the reporters. He met Soma, kissing her on both cheeks, asking about the wedding and apologizing profusely for not attending. Soma laughed off his efforts and congratulated him on his recent successes. The entire exchange was captured by the hovering reporters. Finally, Chandler turned his gaze to Thomas.
    His bright eyes were inscrutable.
    “Good to see you again, Thomas,” he said warmly. “Congratulations on your marriage to this lovely girl.”
    “I’m a very lucky man, sir.” Thomas shook his hand. “Congratulations to you as well, Admiral.”
    Chandler nodded slightly and returned his attention to the reporters. Cameras clicked when he introduced Soma as the heiress of the Mehta family of Ganymede, and Thomas felt himself melt into the background. Hardly surprising, really, when he was up against a newly minted war hero and a Jovian heiress.
    Looking around the room, he noticed another media grouping of sudden, intense interest to him. An entire family was being interviewed—two men in Army uniforms, one man in the dress suit of a retired Army veteran, two civilian women, and one woman from the Astral Force.
    Katja.
    His heart leapt. Her high-collar blacks sparkled with badges and medals, including the Astral Star for valor in combat, but her face was carefully neutral as she listened to another family member speaking to the reporter. Her small body was firm and smooth under that uniform, he knew, but he immediately shook off those memories. It was just good to see her.
    Keeping half an ear on Chandler and his wife, he watched the Emmes family interview. It was fascinating to see the interaction, matching faces to the rare but colorful comments Katja had made about her family. And there was no mistaking the powerful Army man with the Cross of Valor on a ribbon around his neck. That was Katja’s father. Whoever happened to be speaking fell silent if Papa Emmes opened his mouth, and all eyes darted toward the patriarch at regular intervals.
    All except Katja’s sister, he noted curiously, who instead seemed rather bored by the entire affair. She listened politely when Katja or their mother