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glanced around. Soma was nowhere to be seen, and there was no one nearby worth speaking to.
    Unconsciously at first—or so he convinced himself—he moved toward Katja. Sidling up to a respectful distance, he watched as a reporter asked her father what appeared to be a concluding question. All eyes were on the patriarch, except for Katja’s sister who gave Thomas another, longer glance. She was pretty, he had to admit, and more high-fashion than Katja’s blunt, no-nonsense style.
    He broke her gaze, reminding himself that he was a married man, and focused instead on the reporter, Chuck Merriman, one of the major war correspondents for ANL. He was impressed that the Emmes family rated so significant a media resource—just a further reminder of the efforts the military was undertaking to bolster its image.
    The interview concluded, and Merriman’s cameraman gave the all-clear. As one, the members of the Emmes family relaxed and shifted apart, shattering the cozy family image. Katja muttered something to her sister and craned her neck to look through the crowd. Her eyes froze when they reached Thomas.
    He smiled and gave her a little wave. Despite his desire to speak to her, he felt his confidence suddenly waver.
    She hesitated, eyes locked on him. Her face was stoic, and he felt himself growing tense. Their farewell had been friendly and professional, but that didn’t mean everything had been resolved.
    Finally she stalked over and reached out.
    “Lieutenant Commander Kane—good evening.”
    “Hi, Katja,” he said as he took her tiny hand in his, trying to put as much affection into the shake as he could. “It’s nice to see you.” She held his grip for a long time, the depths of her dark eyes unreadable. Her lips were pursed tight.
    As the silence became awkward, Chuck Merriman approached. Thomas released her hand and smiled automatically for the newsman. Merriman’s attention, however, was on Katja.
    “Lieutenant Emmes, a moment?” A wry grin lit up his features. “Or, if you prefer,
Miss
Katja? I don’t often get surprises like that.” It seemed a very strange thing to say, but she relaxed visibly, and looked up at the reporter with the best coy expression Thomas had ever seen from her.
    “A woman needs to be able to surprise, Mr. Merriman,” she responded. “How else can the news be interesting?”
    Merriman’s casual amusement expertly covered his searching gaze, Thomas noticed. He doubted anything was ever truly “off the record” with this reporter.
    “It’s kind of fun to be surprised, actually,” Merriman said, and he shrugged. “I thought there was something different about you that day, but I didn’t make the connection. I guess your beautiful hair led me astray.”
    Katja brushed her hair out of her face, the awkward motion revealing how unused she was to doing so. Thomas had only ever known her with a cropped halo, and this new look was fascinating.
    “If that’s all it takes, Mr. Merriman, you must get distracted often.”
    The reporter laughed again. “If it’s all right, I’d like to do some follow-up interviews with you. The public love human interest stories, and I think a series of pieces following the lives of three serving family members would really be inspiring.”
    She hesitated, but only for a moment.
    “All right,” she said, “but I’m not sure where I’m posted next.”
    “That’s fine. My network will liaise with the Astral Force, and I’ll find you.”
    “Well, if I stumble across you again, then I’ll know that it’s permissible to speak to you—and I’ll even use my full name.”
    He thanked her with a winning smile then nodded to Thomas. “Sorry for interrupting, Lieutenant Commander.”
    Thomas watched Merriman retreat and turned back to Katja.
    “He’s right. You do look beautiful.”
    Her expression immediately hardened.
    “Don’t start with me, Kane.”
    He paused. “Sorry,” he responded. “I just meant that I like your new hairstyle.