Trading in Danger — Elizabeth Moon

Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, a young woman who has chosen a military career instead of joining the family's shipping business. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. But after a single error in judgment, she is expelled from the Academy in disgrace. The chance to captain a Vatta Transport ship gives her a face-saving shot at redemption.

It's a simple assignment: escort one of the Vatta fleet's oldest ships on its final voyage to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky's style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to babysit the fledgling captain, they can't stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture. Business soon takes a backseat to bravery, when Ky's change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the. middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it's her military training and born-soldier's instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny....