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    To Be First and Wheels of Heaven
    To Be First and Wheels of Heaven
    To Be First and Wheels of Heaven
    Ebook45 pages38 minutes

    To Be First and Wheels of Heaven

    By Steven R. Southard

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    About this ebook

    Two intriguing historical tales packaged together! “To Be First” follows two space voyagers from an alternate universe as they return from the moon, in 1933. In their timeline, manned rocketry began in the Ottoman Empire, which advanced and spread. When these Ottoman lunanauts end up orbiting our comparatively backward world, they have a choice to make, one that will forever change their future and ours. In “Wheels of Heaven,” an arrogant Roman astrologer finds a geared Grecian machine for predicting the positions of celestial bodies. On the voyage back to Rome, he meets a sailor who dismisses astrology, an astonishing notion in 86 B.C. But when the sailor's prediction is right, and every one of the astrologers is wrong, he must question his most basic beliefs.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC
    Release dateJul 1, 2014
    ISBN9781619502291
    To Be First and Wheels of Heaven
    Author

    Steven R. Southard

    Growing up in the Midwest, Steven R. Southard always found the distant oceans exotic and tantalizing. He served aboard submarines and now works as a civilian naval engineer. In his stories, he takes readers on journeys of discovery in many seas and various vessels. Steve has written in the historical, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and steampunk genres. Come aboard at http://sites.google.com/site/stevenrsouthard/ and voyage with his intriguing characters in tales of aquatic adventure.

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      Book preview

      To Be First and Wheels of Heaven - Steven R. Southard

      Contents

      Copyright Page

      Dedication

      To Be First

      Wheels of Heaven

      About the Author

      To Be First Copyright

      and

      Wheels of Heaven

      by

      Steven R. Southard

      All rights reserved

      Copyright © April 23, 2014, Steven R. Southard

      Cover Art Copyright © 2014, Charlotte Holley

      Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC.

      Lockhart, TX

      www.gypsyshadow.com

      Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ISBN: 978-1-61950-229-1

      Published in the United States of America

      First eBook Edition: July 1, 2014

      Dedication

      To the brave men and women who lost their lives in the tragic shooting event at the Naval Sea Systems Command on September 16, 2013 at the Washington Navy Yard, in solemn and eternal remembrance of your patriotism and dedication.

      To Be First

      Yazid bin Bekir watched his mission commander’s face, as the older man peered ahead out the viewport. Colonel Kemal bin Ozgur’s lips always curved up at the corners, giving him a natural smile. Only a glint in his eyes or the crinkling of crow’s feet wrinkles signaled whether he really smiled or not. Now, he didn’t.

      What is that, sir? Yazid didn’t have to specify further. Ahead of their two-man capsule, tiny bright arcs of light winked and died at random, like the swarm of sparks above an oasis campfire at night.

      I don’t know. Kemal’s voice betrayed no concern as he stroked his close-trimmed beard. Some sort of electromagnetic phenomenon or ionic storm? Yet another mystery of Allah’s vast universe.

      Shall I fire maneuvering rockets so we may avoid it, sir? Yazid asked. I can calculate the precise burn to correct our course afterward.

      Kemal squinted, and then his face relaxed into a smile. That will burn extra fuel, and we have but little to spare. There is a scheduled course correction coming up soon, is there not?

      Yes, sir. Yazid consulted the chronometer. An eighteen second ahead firing coming up in… thirty seven seconds. But that will just send us into that… phenomenon all the sooner. There is still time to avoid it if we act now, Colonel. Yazid kept his tone respectful.

      Kemal faced him with that expression of excited anticipation Yazid knew all

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