Full Share

Chapter 37

Prev List Next

"You got it, Mom. See ya in the galley."

I looked over my shoulder and out the aft port where the planet was almost visibly falling astern. I turned back to the woman I loved and who seemed to love me in return. I smiled. I knew it could not last. Demands of school and, later, career would drag us apart. We would grow along our separate paths and maybe come to need things we could not give each other. But still, I remembered the way P"s hand had rested on Q"s thigh. The loving familiarity of long a.s.sociation in the touch and the thought gave me hope for some day, perhaps in a ship like this. I dreamed that it might be with this wonderful woman, but I also knew that not all dreams come true. Most evaporate in the light of waking, disappearing-never to be seen again.

Of course, when you are really fortunate, others come to take their places.

Aunt P ran the engines down and secured them before glancing at Bev. "I"m bringing up the sails. You ready?"

"Yes," Bev said, "I think so."

Aunt P grinned and keyed up the field generators that unfurled sails to the solar winds.

I could see Bev"s hands on the controls actually loosen and relax as the sails filled and the Penny began clawing up out of the gravity well. "Oh, my, you can almost feel them."

"Yup," Aunt P said.

After just a few ticks running out like that Aunt P stood up and stretched. "Well, I want some lunch. You guys coming?"

Pip was on his feet instantly and heading for the door. "Last one to the galley does the dishes."

Uncle Q was right behind him.

Aunt P stepped over and gave Bev a pat on the back, "You don"t need to sit here," she said. "The autopilot works perfectly well."

"Is it okay if I stay for a while?" Bev asked.

Aunt P leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek, "Of course, dear. I sail her myself sometimes. The autopilot has the course. Anytime you"re ready, just engage it with that control." She pointed to a broad b.u.t.ton at the upper edge of the console.

As Aunt P stepped off the bridge, she paused at the door and looked out of the forward port with a happy little smile. "First star on the right, Ms. Arith. Straight on til morning."

Bev grinned at that and answered, "Aye, aye, Captain, straight on til morning."

Books in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper Series.

Trader Tales.

Quarter Share.

Half Share.

Full Share.

Double Share*

Captain"s Share*

Owner"s Share*

Shaman Tales.

South Coast.

Cape Grace**

Fantasy Books by Nathan Lowell.

Ravenwood.

* Available in audio (itunes and podiobooks.com), print and ebooks coming soon.

**Forthcoming.

The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper.

If you enjoyed this novel, you will be happy to learn that...

Full Share is the third in the six book Trader series from The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper. Nathan"s series tells the tales of everyday men and women, real people doing ordinary things and forging bonds of friendship while traveling the stars in the Deep Dark. It is a coming of age story of Ishmael Horatio w.a.n.g-a broke, uneducated, orphan from a backwater planet at the edge of no where. He"s not a "hidden prince" and he wasn"t adopted. He"s just an average Joe trying to make a living.

This series was originally released as Podcasts, an audio format distributed for free (donations accepted and appreciated) where fss are released serially. The next four podiobooks in the series are available now and can be listened to at www.podiobooks.com. Ridan Publishing plans to publish each book in the Trader series in both printed and ebooks formats and editing is underway. If you wish to be notified as the books are released please send an email to: and we"ll let you know when they become available.

Nathan"s stories are some of the most popular out of the hundreds of offerings from www.podiobooks.com, and as of May 2011 he held 6 out of 10 Top Overall Rated (#3 Ravenwood, #4 Quarter Share, #5 Double Share, #6 Captain"s Share, #7 Full Share, #10 South Coast) and 5 out of 10 Top Overall Ratings by Votes (#2 Double Share, #3 Quarter Share, #4 Full Share, #7 Half Share, #10 Captain"s Share).

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 sci-fi series, The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper grew from his long time fascination with s.p.a.ce opera and his own experiences shipboard in the United States Coast Guard. Unlike most works which focus on a larger-than-life hero (prophesized 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 s.p.a.ce. In his novels, there are no bug-eyed monsters, or galactic s.p.a.ce 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. 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.