Nathan Lowell - Half Share: A Traders Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper

This book and parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

Ridan and its logo are copyrighted and trademarked by Ridan Publishing. Al rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

A Ridan Publication

www.ridanpublishing.com

www.solarclipper.com

Copyright 2007 by Nathan Lowel

Cover Art by Michael J. Sul ivan

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES

First Printing: December 2010

For Donal Little

Who convinced me that everybody really is an artist and that Im a story teller.

READERS PRAISE SOLAR CLIPPER SERIES

This is a thoroughly enjoyable coming of age story that had me deciding, three-quarters of the way through, to buy the second book in theseries, as I wished to follow Ishmaels journey to becoming a full share (and beyond) crew member aboard a space trader.

This story has no major conflict, no villain, no drama, no surprises...I couldnt put it down. Story of life on a deep space freighter with goodcharacters.

For me this book brought up shades of Robert Heinlein to me. The scrappy characters fighting to get ahead make you want to root for them.

This is not your typical space aliens conquer the universe book. Nathan Lowell takes a seemingly mundane thing (trade and business) andmakes it into something you want to learn about.

Im not the first to say theres a connection here to the works of Robert Heinlein, but the shoe fits. Lowells writing is crisp and his future is vivid;its a place youd like to live.

The story just flows well...I couldnt put the book down until I finished. And then right when I finished (at 1 AM in the morning) I was back onAmazons site looking for the next book in the series.

I just want to add to all the praise for Lowell, this book was an excellent read, and if you are a fan of SciFi, definitely recommended.

BOOKS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPER

Trader Tales

Quarter Share

Half Share

Ful Share

Double Share

Captain's Share

Owner's Share*

Shaman Tales

South Coast

Cape Grace*

Fantasy Books by Nathan Lowell

Ravenwood

*Forthcoming

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

2352-FEBRUARY-19

It was the best of times. It was the worst of timesthe classic good news/bad news scenario if ever there was one. At least that is how I felt as I hurried along to Captain Giggones office. The McKendrick Mercantile Cooperative had gotten off to a tremendous start on the St. Cloud Orbital.

That was the good news. The bad news was that one of the members had gotten into a fight and the local authorities had been cal ed in. As one of the ringleaders of the co-op, I knew my butt was on the line for either circumstance, so when the request to report bipped on my tablet, I was not the least bit surprised. My parents had named me Ishmael Horatio Wang, but I was pretty sure that when the captain got done with me, my name would be Mudd.

As I rounded a corner, I tried to figure out what she was going to say so I could prepare myself. I should have known better. There was no way I could have anticipated what was about to occur, and this was not the first time I found myself in such a situation. The captain had a way of doing that to me.

Pip, my friend and co-conspirator in starting the co-op, caught up with me just as I was about to knock on the captains door.

You got summoned, too? he whispered.

You know what she wants?

I can make a pretty good guess, he said rueful y.

We both pul ed back our shoulders to straighten our postures, took deep breaths, and then I knocked.

We heard the captains firm voice from behind the closed door. Come.

Pip opened it and we marched in. I tried not to look guilty, though I felt I did a poor job of it. We stopped just inside the door and braced to what passes for attention on a merchant freighter. Pip did the honors. Attendants Wang and Carstairs, reporting as ordered, sar!

The captain was not alone and that did not bode wel . Al the senior staff sat around the deck-mounted tableCaptain Giggone, of course, and Mr.

Maxwel , the First Mate. Those two I had expected but Mr. Kel ey, the Chief Engineer, and Mr. Cotton, the Cargo Master, surprised me. Al the Division Heads were present except CookieSpecialist First (Chef) Ralf al-Mlikiwhom everybody just cal ed Cookie. These august personages regarded Pip and me in a manner I could not quite put my finger onsomething between fresh meat and dead meat.

The captain broke the silence. Thank you for coming, gentlemen. We have a situation that we need your help in resolving.

Pip and I glanced at each other quickly. I had no idea which we the captain might be referring to, or for that matter, what resolving either Pip or I was capable of doing. From the expression reflected in Pips eyes I was pretty sure he felt the same way.

Yes, Captain. Were glad to help, I said, though I had no idea what I had just committed us to. Stil , it was not like wethat would be the Pip-and-me wehad a lot of choice in the matter, seeing as how we were junior members of the crew.

The captain turned her gaze on Pip. Mr. Carstairs, Ive had reports from Mr. Maxwel and Mr. Cotton that youve been using the gal ey storage accounts to engage in trading at the last two ports.

Yes, Captain. Cookie and I have been working on reducing the overhead of mess operations on the ships overal operating budget.

And how has that worked out, Mr. Carstairs?

Im not sure, Captain. I havent seen the final accounting for St. Cloud. At Margary, I think we broke even.