“Nothing. Somebody might have mentioned a research vessel that suffered a catastrophic hull breach in the outer belts. Tragic loss of all hands. Nothing about an armed picket.” He pointed to a small white dot arching a condensation trail out over the ocean. “That looks like it.”
I nodded. “She’ll be here soon.”
“You gonna be all right meeting her husband?”
“Why wouldn’t I be all right?”
“You had a thing for her,” he said.
“I changed. I suspect she did, too.”
The screaming shuttle dopplered onto the tarmac, slapping down a bit rougher than might have been advisable.
“That’ll leave a demerit,” Pip said.
“Better than I was ever able to do.”
“You never got your shuttle certification?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Couldn’t master the three-dimensional hand-eye coordination, apparently.”
“Huh.”
The shuttle pulled up to the gate and we went down to watch Brill and her husband debark with another crowd of expatriates from Telluride. In the morning I’d meet Mal Gains again, and by the end of the week we’d be sailing out into the Deep Dark.
I wondered what stupid question he’d bedevil me with this time.
About The Author
Nathan Lowell has been a writer for more than forty years, and first entered the literary world by podcasting his novels. His science-fiction series, Trader’s Tales From The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, grew from his long time fascination with space opera and his own experiences shipboard in the United States Coast Guard. Unlike most works which focus on a larger-than-life hero (prophesied savior, charismatic captain, or exiled prince), Nathan centers on the people behind the scenes—ordinary men and women trying to make a living in the depths of space. In his novels, there are no bug-eyed monsters, or galactic space battles, instead he paints a richly vivid and realistic world where the “hero” uses hard work and his own innate talents to improve his station and the lives of those of his community.
Dr. Nathan Lowell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology with specializations in Distance Education and Instructional Design. He also holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and a BS in Business Administration with a minor in marketing. He grew up on the south coast of Maine and is strongly rooted in the maritime heritage of the sea-farer. He served in the USCG from 1970 to 1975, seeing duty aboard a cutter on hurricane patrol in the North Atlantic and at a communications station in Kodiak, Alaska.
He currently lives in the plains east of the Rocky Mountains with his wife and two daughters.
Awards for Nathan’s Books
2011 Parsec Award Winner for Best Speculative Fiction (long form) for Owner’s Share
2011 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction (short form) for The Astonishing Amulet of Amenartas
2010 Parsec Award Winner for Best Speculative Fiction (long form) for Captain’s Share
2009 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Captain’s Share
2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction (long form) for Double Share
2008 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Double Share
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction (long form) for Full Share
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction (long form) for South Coast
Learn More At:
The Solar Clipper Diary
NathanLowell.com
Twitter: @nlowell
To Fire Called (A Seeker's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 2) Page 34
