Free Virtues of War by Bennett R. Coles

in the diplomatic corps, Breeze had met a fair number of Centauris, and despite their government’s strange obstinacy against Terran diplomatic initiatives she had considered most of them quite impressive as individuals. Of all the colonies, Centauria was the only one truly competent to sit at a table with Terra as a respected partner—it was their insistence on being treated as a sovereign equal that caused the problems.
    Breeze tried to zoom the camera in further, but the magnification was maxed. It was frustrating to be so close to an actual Centauri warship and not be able to get a better look. She recorded a few images, but knew even as she did that they would be practically worthless to Intelligence.
    Relaxed in her seat, floating loosely against the straps, she ran her hands down her long braid and glanced idly at the various readouts on her console. There were no evolutions scheduled for her watch, nothing to keep her busy for the next four hours. She thought about reviewing the boarding, as Katja had suggested, but she couldn’t muster the enthusiasm.
    Her thoughts clouded over with the fact that she had just spent the better part of a week on this crappy little ship, enduring the way-too-intense Katja and condescending Thomas. Risking her life to make the intelligence find of the year, and they were coming home with nothing.
    She stared at the fuzzy picture of the Centauri frigate again. It looked like one of the brand-new class, first spotted by Terra only this year. A good close-up look would definitely be of value.
    That, at least, would help redeem a crappy week.
    She studied
Rapier
’s intended flight path, and realized that if she altered course to port she could significantly reduce the closest point of approach. Maybe bring them close enough to get some good images and an EM signature recording.
    The captain’s standing orders gave her, as OOW, the freedom to adjust course by fifteen degrees either side of the intended flight path, generally for contact avoidance. She did a quick projection.
    That would be enough.
    So she took the ship out of autopilot and slipped her hand over the control stick. Ever so gently, so as not to create an obvious acceleration, she turned
Rapier
’s nose to port. The starscape beyond the windows drifted right and the single bright star moved toward the center of her view. Her fifteen-degree limit prevented her from pointing right at it, but it became clearly visible up ahead.
    Locking the camera onto the frigate, she began digging through her control screens to figure out how to start recording on
Rapier
’s limited EM sensors. By the time she’d figured out how to capture and record emissions from the frigate, the image in the camera had grown considerably.
    She puzzled over the EM sensors for a few minutes, trying to make sense of the readings. At first there were only a few standard emissions—a beacon, an anti-collision radar, a coded transmission. The transmission was a lucky catch—the super-computers in
Normandy
might be able to break it down.
    Breeze smiled. This was gold.
    Then another emission lit up her sensors. It was strong, and focused in a tight beam. She glanced at the monitor, and was surprised to see the Centauri ship filling the screen. She zoomed out further. Its aspect had shifted again as it got closer.
    Flashing on the 3-D display caught her eye. A glance revealed that the Centauri frigate was now on an intercept course with
Rapier
. Peering through the bridge windows, she could clearly see the tiny, bright object shining in the blackness. She looked back at the monitor in time to see a pair of shining orbs separate from the frigate and disappear from the camera’s view.
    Her stomach knotted in sudden fear. Had that ship just launched something?
    Two new objects lit up on the 3-D display, the computer taking several seconds to assess them as suspect.
    They were closing on
Rapier
fast.
    “Oh, shit.”

9
    S he fumbled for her warbags, tearing open