Resurrecting My Fan Fiction

Earlier this year, I took the time to transfer my old fan fiction stories (aka “fan fic”) to Google Drive and, as expected, nostalgia inspired me to reread many of them and reminisce about what I consider my “training ground” as a writer. Are these stories perfect? Of course not. I was still getting my storytelling legs under me, but I recall how much fun and enthusiasm went into penning every one of them.

Beginning in the late 1980s and running through 2002, I wrote about 25 short stories set in the universes of Star Trek, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and others. Unfortunately, I only managed to save about 16 of those stories digitally. First on floppy disks, then a Zip disk, then a CD, and now on my laptop and Google Drive.

Inspired by writer pal and publisher, Steven H. Wilson—who recently began Fan Fiction Fridays on his blog—I thought I’d take this summer to share at least some of my fan fic, beginning with a contest entry I wrote in July 1995 called “Star Trek: A Passion For Peace.”

I hope to post a new story each week to be found under the Free Fiction! menu above. I hope you enjoy these stories.

 

Book Review: Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein

Citizen of the GalaxyFor as long as he could remember, young Thorby had been a slave—until he lands on Jubbal, one of the Nine Worlds of the Sargon Empire, and is purchased by a beggar named Baslim. It is not long before Thorby realizes that Baslim is no simple mendicant, but a spy and one who despises the slave trade. Once Baslim educates Thorby in reading, writing, mathematics, and even a bit of espionage, he frees Thorby from slavery and adopts him as his son.

In the event of his death, Baslim commands Thorby to carry a special message to the captain of the first Free Trader vessel that landed on Jubbal. Baslim uses hypnosis to allow Thorby to memorize the message in an unfamiliar language.

After Baslim is finally arrested and executed by Sargon police, Thorby makes his way to the spaceport where he approaches Captain Krausa of the Sisu and delivers the message. As it turns out, the Free Traders owe a special debt to Baslim and as such, Krausa follows the old man’s instructions and adopts Thorby into his family. Thorby becomes a crewman aboard the Sisu—but only temporarily, for Baslim also wished to have the Free Trader captain turn over Thorby to a Hegemonic military vessel where he would have the opportunity to discover his true lineage. Baslim suspected that Thorby had been abducted from a Terran family.

When Thorby is finally reunited with his family on Earth, he learns that he is heir to a fortune… but not everyone has his best interests at heart. Worse, the company once owned by his parents might now be indirectly involved in the same detestable institution from which Baslim had liberated him.

Citizen of the Galaxy is one of Heinlein’s juvenile SF adventure novels, what we would today categorize as young adult. It is a delightful “rags to riches” tale that allows the reader to experience a wide range of lifestyles and family structures through Thorby’s eyes as he evolves from slave to adopted family member of Free Traders to an enlisted man aboard a military vessel and finally, the head of one of the wealthiest corporations on Earth.