1632 Snippets

The Macedonian Hazard – Snippet 10

The Macedonian Hazard - Snippet 10 Eumenes' smile died as his mind turned to Cassander. Cassander was no general, but he was smart and had a flexible mind, and that might well be more important in this new sort of warfare than personal courage. Finally the unloading was finished, and another ship's boat pulled in and started unloading supplies and equipment. The Queen would be heading for Alexandria as soon as the boats were back aboard. Queen of the Sea, Alexandria Harbor November 10, 320 BCE Ptolemy sat in the Royal Lounge, reading the...

Two Cases For The Czar – Snippet 06

Two Cases For The Czar - Snippet 06 "I'd like to," Bernie assured the lad, "but where did Pavel go?" "He went to tell Colonel Aslonav that you are here." "Dumnye D'iaki Zeppi." Colonel Aslonav bowed and Bernie sighed. Mikhail had bumped Bernie to the status of "duma clerk," basically the highest rank a person without family rank could get. It made him almost a suitable match for Natasha, which Bernie approved of. It also made him the target of fawning attention and knives in the back, which Bernie approved of rather less. But Mikhail didn't...

Two Cases For The Czar – Snippet 05

Two Cases For The Czar - Snippet 05 "Huh?" Aside from the whole lady of the evening bit, which Miroslava had had read to her from one of my mysteries and just loved for some reason, none of it made any sense to me. I'd spent the day reading gauges in the shop and finding that not enough steam was turning back into water. So for the next hour or so, Miroslava told me of her day. How the state of the room told her that Vetrov was trying to have sex with some one shortly before he died, and that something had gone wrong, leading to violence and...

The Macedonian Hazard – Snippet 09

The Macedonian Hazard - Snippet 09 Roxane's Suite One Hour Later Roxane sat on the couch and said, "That was a mistake." "It doesn't matter." Eurydice shrugged. "You know what happened in that other history and you know how Olympias felt about Philip's mother. There is nothing I can do to keep safe from her, not as long as we are both on this ship." She glanced at Philip.  Philip and Alexander were across the room. Philip was writing out equations in a combination of Greek and ship people English notation, while little Alexander sat...

Two Cases For The Czar – Snippet 04

Two Cases For The Czar - Snippet 04 There was something off in that, but--even for Miroslava--identifying the precise meaning of facial expressions or nonverbal communications in general was a hit or miss proposition, affected by circumstance and the abilities of the person being observed. Tatiana was highly skilled and Miroslava wasn't at all sure what if any her connection to the murder was. "Then why did you say he wasn't one of your favorite patrons?" "Because he wasn't. I don't understand your question." "Why 'wasn't' rather than...

The Macedonian Hazard – Snippet 08

The Macedonian Hazard - Snippet 08 "I'm sorry, General Eumenes, but the Queen of the Sea can't involve itself in the internal politics of the United Satrapies and States of the Empire. Quite aside from logistical concerns, which are real and serious, we have to maintain our neutrality . . . at least officially." "Officially?" Roxane asked, lifting a sculpted eyebrow. She very much reminded Marie of Sophia Loren. Since the arrival of the Queen, she had added golden highlights to her black hair and now wore artfully applied makeup. Roxane's...

The Macedonian Hazard – Snippet 07

The Macedonian Hazard - Snippet 07 Chapter 1: A War to Fight Queen of the Sea, Forward Radio Room November 2, 320 BCE The radio printer clacked and Joshua Varner jerked in his office chair. He couldn't get used to it. The Queen had arrived in this time equipped with top of the line laser printers, and they still had them. But to keep that happy state as long as possible, they had, over the past year, built printers, using chips from anything they could scavenge. Dot matrix printers, which were slow and noisy. The radios sent digitally. That...

Two Cases For The Czar – Snippet 03

Two Cases For The Czar - Snippet 03 Once in the office, with the door closed and Miroslava seated in the guest chair, Madam Drozdov gave Miroslava a bitter smile. "I hope you're not going to bring more royal attention my way, Miroslava. The last time almost ruined me." Miroslava didn't like Madam Drozdov, but neither did she dislike her. A more accurate description of their relationship was one of guarded respect. Each knew the other, at least somewhat. And Madam wasn't intentionally cruel or vicious. She just had a "business is business"...