Virtues of War by Bennett R. Coles Read Free Book Online

on,” she replied. “That’s how everyone’s doing it these days.”
    Merriman’s eyes focused on Thomas, and shifted momentarily toward Katja’s departing form before returning. He extended his hand.
    “We haven’t formally met… Chuck Merriman.”
    “Thomas Kane. I didn’t know my wife was so newsworthy.” He gave her a playful squeeze. “Do you have a past I should know about, dear?”
    She laughed. “Chuck and I go way back. Where did we first meet—Mars, somewhere?”
    He shrugged. “Who knows? I’d say it was a long time ago, but that’s impossible because you’re so young.” She laughed again, then toasted him with her champagne flute before downing it.
    “Chuck, you should do a piece on Thomas,” she said. “He’s a hero from the war.”
    “I’d be happy to.” He gave Thomas an appraising look. “What was your role?” The suddenness of it took him off-guard, but Thomas easily summoned his best look of heroic humility.
    “I commanded one of our fast-attack craft. It—” Suddenly Soma interrupted him.
    “I think we should make our way toward the displays,” she said. “Most of the VIPs are trying for the dramatic backdrop.”
    Chuck smiled at Thomas as she pushed off into the crowd, headed for the dark, looming shape of the black fast-attack craft.
    “Looks like you have your hands full, Thomas,” he commented. They started after her through the clumps of chatting people, his cameraman following obediently behind. Thomas tried to keep sight of his tiny wife, ignoring the urge to look out for a tiny blonde in an Astral uniform.
    “You have no idea, Chuck.”

4
    It was late when his rented apartment finally came into sight, and Kete Obadele rubbed his hands across his eyes. The movement didn’t go unnoticed.
    “The camera implant must really take its toll, Kit,” Chuck Merriman said from the driver’s seat. “Is your head ready to explode?”
    Kete didn’t feel the slightest discomfort from the “camera implant”—as a minor subroutine in his overall sensor suite, the visual recorder was almost an afterthought.
    The bulk of his mental energy was currently devoted to sorting for later analysis the terabytes of data he’d recorded throughout the gala, accessed via the Terran security sensors. The sheer numbers were giving him ample opportunity to start building a framework theory on how they interacted with one another. It was a tiny first step.
    “You get used to it,” he replied with a tired smile, “but sometimes I’m so beat I forget to shut it down. That can make for some embarrassing footage.”
    Chuck laughed and shook his head. “You’ll never see me putting computers inside my brain. That’s what I have a network for.”
    The car drifted silently to a stop outside Kete’s building. Shops at ground level supported two stories of apartments above. Glass and plastic, the exterior was modern but unremarkable. Little traffic disturbed the quiet street at this hour, and the only thing Kete heard as he stepped out into the warm, dry air was the distant pulse of a sky shuttle. He looked around casually, scanning for anything unusual, then tucked his head back down through the open car door.
    “Thanks for the ride, Chuck,” he said. “I’ll get the visuals uploaded before morning.”
    “No worries. I’m just glad the network actually assigned me a dedicated cameraman. I really appreciate you helping me out with this project. I figure it’s pretty dull compared to your usual assignments.”
    Kete gave a friendly laugh. “Sometimes dull is good, my friend—and how can I say no to your boss?”
    “If you ever figure it out, let me know.” The reporter grinned and gently closed the door. Kete waved and turned toward his building as the silent car moved off down the street.
    The paved street. He took a moment to stare at such a Terran artifact. These people had given up wheels on private vehicles more than a hundred years ago. Why they insisted on still