IN THE STORMY RED SKY – snippet 16:
Daniel settled himself into the command console of the RCS Milton for his first liftoff as her captain. He listened for a moment to the sounds which filled the cruiser.
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STORM FROM THE SHADOWS – snippet 84:
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aldona Anisimovna had never expected to be back in the Talbott Cluster this quickly, and for more than one reason.
The mere thought of how disastrously the Monica operation had failed was enough to send cold chills down anyone’s spine — even that of a Mesan alpha line. She’d been more than a little astonished that she and Isabel Bardasano had survived the catastrophic unraveling of the Strategy Council’s carefully crafted plans.
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STORM FROM THE SHADOWS – snippet 83:
Hongbo’s expression was a curious mixture of anticipation and unhappiness. Although his disposition was far less naturally choleric than Verrochio’s, he clearly hadn’t enjoyed his own humiliation after Monica. And Ottweiler’s point about the damage to Frontier Security’s reputation had also been well taken. OFS had worked hard to make sure no Verge system wanted to risk pissing Frontier Security off at it, and letting Manticore get away with what it had pulled off at Monica wasn’t the best way to shore up that perception. So, for a lot reasons, Hongbo obviously wanted some of his own back. But, equally obviously, he hadn’t forgotten how foolproof the Monica operation had been supposed to be, and he was leery of sticking his foot back into the bear trap. And he was also smart enough to realize — just as Ottweiler himself had — that Byng and Crandall’s involvement suggested that the interests in play were both much more powerful and even more ruthless than he’d first thought.
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IN THE STORMY RED SKY – snippet 15:
There were stories about children being brought to Beckford’s mansion and never being seen again. That might not be true, but it was quite certain that an investigation would uncover matters which would be extremely embarrassing to those who’d shared the entertainment. Some of those participants were rumored to be highly placed in the Senate.
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IN THE STORMY RED SKY – snippet 14:
CHAPTER 5: Bergen and Associates Shipyard, Cinnabar
Adele’s kit was already aboard the Milton, but she carried what looked like a small toolbox as she arrived for liftoff. It contained specialist equipment and software from Mistress Sand.
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STORM FROM THE SHADOWS – snippet 82:
Ottweiler cocked his head to one side, his expression thoughtful as he presented the appearance of a man carefully considering what Hongbo had just said. From the Solarian’s position, it made perfectly good sense, of course. When he spoke of “the Ministry’s control,” he wasn’t talking about anything as unimportant or ephemeral as the current Solarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, whoever that might happen to be at the moment. What he was really talking about was the deeply entrenched bureaucracy which truly ran the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just as similar bureaucracies ran every other aspect of the League’s government and military. And although the bureaucrats in question were effectively free of any interference by their nominal political masters, the Solarian public’s occasional outbursts of indignation over government corruption could be unpleasant for all concerned. That was the real reason Governor Barregos — who had somehow acquired a towering reputation for efficiency and honesty — hadn’t been recalled from the Maya Sector long since. So it was hardly surprising that Hongbo’s superiors and Verrochio’s fellow commissioners and sector governors wanted this whole business to go away as quickly as possible so they could all climb back under their rocks and get on with business as usual.
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IN THE STORMY RED SKY – snippet 13:
“Don’t mistake what I’m saying,” Miranda resumed. “Daniel only refers to you as a friend and a trusted colleague. But other people are much more forthcoming about your work or what they imagine your work to be, Adele.”
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STORM FROM THE SHADOWS – snippet 81:
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Junyan,” Valery Ottweiler said as he stepped into the sun filled office and the door closed silently behind him.
“Your message indicated that it was rather urgent,” Vice Commissioner Hongbo Junyan of the Office of Frontier Security replied, coming to his feet to shake Ottweiler’s hand. “And on a personal level, it’s always good to see you, Valery.”
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STORM FROM THE SHADOWS – snippet 80:
“Um.” O’Shaughnessy frowned. He’d treasured a few reservations about the commander’s imagination over the many months he and Chandler had worked together. There was nothing wrong with his imagination where that particular bit of analysis was concerned, however.
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IN THE STORMY RED SKY – snippet 12:
Adele started, realizing that the tapping was a footman trying to get her attention. Her study door stood open, but the fellow quite properly had knocked on the frame instead of entering.
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