Two Bottles of Wine with a War God

By Blaze Ward

A nav anomaly on RAN Mendocino's journey home turns into the greatest archaeological find of the modern age. Or their worst nightmare cast in steel and anger.

Worse, the ancient warship awakens and invites them aboard.

Can Yan Bedrov outwit one of the ancient Skymasters that nearly destroyed the galaxy?

Part of the Alexandria Station universe, this haunting tale follows "St. Legier" (The Jessica Keller Chronicles, volume 7) and takes you places you never imagined possible.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Knotted Road Press
• Release date: Jan 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386372141

Blaze Ward

Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe (Jessica Keller, The Science Officer,  The Story Road, etc.) as well as several other science fiction universes, such as Star Dragon, the Dominion, and more. He also writes odd bits of high fantasy with swords and orcs. In addition, he is the Editor and Publisher of Boundary Shock Quarterly Magazine. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Facebook, Goodreads, and other places. Blaze's works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors. His newsletter comes out regularly, and you can also follow his blog on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books!

Book preview

Two Bottles of Wine with a War God

Two Bottles of Wine with a War God

Blaze Ward

Knotted Road Press

Contents

Bedrov

EASC Carthage

Bedrov

EASC Carthage

Bedrov

EASC Carthage

Bedrov

Also by Blaze Ward

About Knotted Road Press

Bedrov

Looking around the ship’s dining room, Yan Bedrov suppressed a sigh of contentment.

He hadn’t redesigned any of the Aquitaine Fleet Replenishment Freighters, mostly because the original design had been so good to begin with. Not fast enough to keep up with strike squadrons barreling through JumpSpace, but fast enough to be there when they needed fresh cream and socks after the battle.

Plus, Nils Kasum, then First Lord of Aquitaine’s Navy, had already done most of the work for him. The space forward had already been rebuilt for the Expeditionary fleet. On older versions that was where a matched pair of massive Standard Weapons Packs would slide in on side rails. In their place, a replenishment freighter like RAN Mendocino carried six Expeditionary Packs Yan had designed. These were smaller, since they didn’t need to carry pallets and pallets of missiles and Primary reloads for the fleet. Just food and stuff.

Mostly these days Mendocino carried consumables and electronics parts, plus a shit-ton of metal in various sizes, shapes, and hardness ratings, for whatever an engineering crew might need to suddenly fix in the middle of nowhere.

But this crew also ate better than anybody in any fleet Yan had served with. Not that he would begrudge them that, having to run constantly between bases and fleets, with all the risks of modern warfare and pirates, and rarely even so much as a destroyer handy to hide behind. But he could see where they might sneak in and swap out their own food supplies, whenever something really good happened along.

What are you laughing at? Ainsley asked pointedly, bringing him back to the present.

Yan supposed he did get a little lost, from time to time, in naval architecture and the associated socializations therein. Like now, when he was at dinner with Ainsley and should be paying attention to the beautiful woman across the table from him.

Nothing, he replied, looking around the dining hall anyway.

Unlike bigger ships, where officers might mess separate, everyone ate from the same, single kitchen here. Having a nominal crew of only twenty-seven helped. The kitchen staff set the times to eat, rather than having something going constantly for a stream of hungry bodies.

You’re lost in thought again, Ainsley verbally poked him.

They were seated across from each other, enjoying something of a date, if you could call it that. Empty dessert plates were all that was left, plus strong coffee in sippy cups.

Occupational hazard, he replied. Trying to figure out how to make this ship better with the next class.

Stretch the hull enough to add another pair of packs up front? she offered. Back home, you could always haul a pair of fighters stowed in a pack. Out here, more food for longer missions, deeper into Buran space.

Kinda my thought, too, Yan said. Plus bump up the flight deck just enough to include a Fast Strike Bomber on standby, to surprise pirates, and then increase the engines and JumpDrives a little more than enough to compensate. Get you there faster.

What about maybe building a smaller version of the standard outpost unit? she asked. Like those ones we’ve been blowing up or stealing around Buran’s planets. You could drop those as way-stations, fill them with food, and let Jessica run wild.

That’s a really mean idea, love, he smiled. We’ll have to give it some thought later.

And the day-dreaming now? she asked with a twinkle in her eyes. Eye candy across the table not enough to hold your attention?

Yan laughed. Ainsley Barrett was as tall as he was standing. Long and lanky and curvy in all the right ways, with a sarcastic tongue and a dirty mind that just pushed all his buttons.

How had me managed to find a woman like this? Or better, how had an old, skinny pirate like him managed to turn her head?

Just wondering why we’re here, he said.

"You wanted to head back to St. Legier, bubbles, she noted with a grin. Catching a ride with Mendocino was the only way, and that only gets us to Osynth B'Udan. Still gotta hitchhike home from there. Bringing me to show off a little leg on the way? Throw some T&A at an admiral to convince him?"

Gods, that woman was something else.

Brought you to keep you out of trouble back with Jessica, he snarked back. And save me from ex-wives. Because yeah, I don’t suppose the old man’s going to come back to the frontier in this decade, and I need to talk to Emmerich. Might have had a breakthrough.

The butterfly? she asked, suddenly deadly serious.

Yeah, Yan nodded.

He started to explain the idea when Val stuck his head in the opening hatch and whistled to get his attention.

Bedrov. Ainsley. You bored? he yelled with a grin on his face.

Command Centurion Waldemar Ihejirika, Republic of Aquitaine Navy. Val.

The man was an Anglo so pale Yan mistook him for snow, occasionally.