Monthly Archives: January 2023

“My train of thought is highly inferential,” Chelan said, “like one of these chess positions with ‘where were the pieces nine moves ago?’   I am afraid I missed something important, and want someone else to look at the same problem, … Continue reading →

$$$$$ Victor Chelan sat at the corner table of his office facing Elaine Bell.  The windows had autopolarized to screen him from the direct light of the lowering sun.  Along the horizon, towering spires of cloud glowed orange and yellow.  … Continue reading →

Practical Exercise will soon be out as a trade paperback. Later that day, Chelan faced an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee. “…in the end,” he said, “the local power company had cut us off some time ago because bills … Continue reading →

“We aren’t paying for power,” Chelan said.  “I just checked.  Someplace, unpaid bills are piling up. In fact, until a year ago, we seem to have been selling electric power to Crescent Nova, the municipal electrical system.  OK, we don’t … Continue reading →

“Legal thinks that the Space Piracy charges will probably be beaten, but the grand larceny charges will not,” Victor said. “They are being tried in Oregon, which has a firm judicial system. However, based on the condition of the ships, … Continue reading →

“In all fairness,” Broadhurst continued, “whoever was doing this was presumably hiding behind an extended series of cutouts, which as we both know under modern conditions can be extremely challenging to penetrate. We expect that your Fleet will investigate diligently, … Continue reading →

“We have detailed financial records,” Broadhurst answered. “They are backed by secure bank records. If someone in the Stellar Republic thinks they own the ore, they seem to have forgotten to pay us.  We know how absent-minded some people are.  … Continue reading →

“Let’s see.”  Elaine took a deep breath. “Illness.  Death in the family.  Wife about to give birth.  Vacation time.  Then you want to rotate, six week trip, three weeks on the ground for training and recovery.  Locking folks in a … Continue reading →

A Need for Maintenance The freighter Space Pirate Harrington perched in an unloading bay, receiving Victor Chelan’s baleful glare.  He’d researched the name; it referred to a late-twenty-first century video whose heroine had slept and fought her way into becoming … Continue reading →

[My current published novel is Practical Exercise, available as an ebook on Smashwords.com and Amazon.com.] The delegates looked at each other.  Chelan was sure that remarks were passing back and forth, but how?  “You will not give us all 60,000 … Continue reading →