Gentlemen's Accord

By Richard Alan Dickson

When George Adams bumps into a planetary blockade, he knows he should turn around and scamper back the other way. When he recognizes the blockading buccaneer, however, he accepts an offer of safe passage. It's not foolish. George has pressing business to attend. Besides, nobody honors a promise quite like a pirate.

Richard Alan Dickson, author of "G-Blade" and "Gateway: Left Behind," presents a short adventure into the "G-Blade" universe. With a gritty cast and clever action, "Gentlemen's Accord," is sure to keep readers turning pages to the very end.

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This electronic version of the story, "Gentlemen's Accord," also includes the complete first chapter of the novel, "G-Blade."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grey Cat Press
• Release date: Jun 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465794338

Richard Alan Dickson

Richard Alan Dickson's writings range from the traditional science fiction, like "G-Blade" and "Gateway: Left Behind," to the more whimsical "Love, Venusian Style" and the Cat Patrol Delta series.He also writes stories for young adults, with titles like "Mister Majestor's Magnificent Menagerie" and "Diver Down!"The kids and the young-at-heart are represented, too, with stories such as "The Last Great Case of the Sunny Hills Detective Agency" and the short, "Hank the Happy Snowman."Before becoming a full-time fiction writer, Richard spent twenty years in the business world. After a hungry stint as a fresh-faced stockbroker, he set aside the glamour of Wall Street—along with the thousands of friends he’d made during dinner-hour cold calls—to work as an accounting assistant in the Seattle office of a reinsurance company (yeah, he had to look that word up in the dictionary, too).Once on the corporate ladder, Richard proved that his years spent climbing trees hadn’t been a complete waste of time by quickly climbing to department manager. But corporate winds are no less predictable than any other wind, and climbing in the wind is seldom a good idea. He suddenly found himself on the wrong side of the country when his company was forced to relocate ten years later.They regrouped in New England.He remained in the Northwest.Waving good-bye to the moving vans as they motored down the road, Richard carefully considered his next career. He became a corporate consultant and ran himself happily ragged for the next nine years, traveling the country and racking up more frequent flyer miles than even a CPA could conveniently count.Richard’s final years in Corporate America were spent in a Fortune 500 insurance group. As a VP, Controller, and then an acting CFO, he traveled from one coast to the other putting the lessons he’d learned as a consultant to good use.His current career as a fiction writer takes him much further than any jetliner ever could, and he seldom needs to leave his writing loft to get there.Visit Richard online at www.RichardAlanDickson.com.

Book preview

Gentlemen's Accord

by

Richard Alan Dickson

Published by Grey Cat Press

Copyright 2011 Richard Alan Dickson

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. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Gentlemen's Accord

About the Author

License Notes

Other Titles by Richard Alan Dickson

Bonus: Chapter One of the Novel, G-Blade

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Gentlemen's Accord

by

Richard Alan Dickson

That's far enough. All ships wishing to land on the planet must pay the atmospheric transit toll. Cut power and prepare to be boarded.

You've got to be kidding me, George Adams muttered at hearing the voice that suddenly filled the cockpit of his small space freighter. Leaning forward, he reached up to click three switches in an overhead console jutting down from above the forward view screen, then sat back in the deep cushion of his command chair to examine the display panel in the main dash.

Trouble? John Horn asked from the co-pilot's seat on the other side of a low instrument console to his right.

Maybe, the former pirate admitted, pointing to a red blip that materialized at the edge of the screen near the planet Everest. The blip was fast moving their way. I was part of a blockade that Captain Blackthorn set up out here before everything went to hell back at Freedom Base. That transit-toll speech is the same one we used to get ships to stop, or near enough.

You think this guy's one of our old associates, Captain?

I don't know, Mister Horn. I didn't think anyone else would be out here, George said, flicking his eyes briefly to the old man before looking back to the screen.

John Horn had once been the personal assistant to the legendary Captain Blackthorn of Freedom Base—the largest pirate ring in the known galaxy. He was a balding man with a touch of distinguished gray in what was left of his hair, and now often wore tan trousers and loose brown shirts, rather than the suits that Blackthorn had once required.

George had been happy to invite the man with the account codes to Blackthorn's purse strings into his crew when Horn suddenly found himself needing a ride off the base. Trouble was, sometimes George had a nagging suspicion that the old pirate had a hidden agenda, and hidden agendas were bad for business aboard independent trading ships.

I'll run back and get Sean,