"Let's just say I have pressing business anywhere but Earth." Chuck Ramsey is a traveling comedian trying to turn a planetside gig on Earth into a cash cow. Of course, the cost of living on Earth is astronomical. He needs to get rich quick—or at least come out ahead—and head for cheaper pastures. Enter Mordecai The Brown. Once the golden boy of the Convocation, Guardian of the Plundered Tomes and the Convocation's number one hunter of dark wizards, "Mort" has found himself on the wrong end of an internal investigation. You see, he was supposed to be killing mad wizard, then confiscating and locking up dangerous books—not reading them. Certainly not stealing them and destroying them. When Mort needs quick passage off world and off the books, he remembers a backstage meet-and-greet with funny-man who lived a nomadic existence with his family. Chuck agrees to take a passenger on his family ship, the Radio City, and...

Sometimes you want to go where NOBODY knows your name. Space station Echo Niner remained neutral in the Earth/Mars civil war. For a pair of fugitives on the run from both sides, it sounded like the perfect place to regroup.But Eric and Jessie Ramsey barely set foot aboard Echo Niner before getting embroiled in local disputes. Rival warlords divide the station into four zones, each under its own version of martial law. Separated by the teeming masses who call the station home, the siblings need to navigate the treacherous social landscape, discover allies, and reunite. It doesn't help that their cover gets blown. Or that Earth Navy blockaded the station. Or that Eric appears to be the backup plan. The galaxy has it in for the Ramseys, and even neutral territory offers no solace. With factions clawing and scratching just for the privilege of turning them over for a reward, there's only one way Eric and...

Beer: the cause of, and solution to, all the galaxy's problems. Mordecai The Brown has killed more than his fair share of his fellow humans. Once a mighty hunter of wizards, life has reduced him to chasing down mundane miscreants in a complex scheme orchestrated by a friend. One day, he simply realizes that he's being used, and he puts his foot down. This next murder, he will not do. Thinking he's washed his hands of the matter, Mort informs Chuck of his retirement. But when Chuck discovers that the intended target was the man responsible for his favorite adult beverage, Earth's Preferred, he insists that they have to protect him from whoever the job will fall to next. Hijinks ensue as both Mort and Chuck take day jobs at the Earth's Preferred home brewery, working their way up the corporate ladder to get close enough to protect the man behind the brew. We Drink Alone is the twelfth mission of Black Ocean: Mirth &...

Stealing from pirates: victimless crime, or moral imperative? Captain Jessie Ramsey has a problem. Her giant ship, the newly renamed Arete, needs more crew to keep up and running than she can currently muster. Also, she can barely feed the ones she's got, since hunting pirates hasn't turned out to be the bonanza of repatriated stolen goods she'd imagined. Fine. That's two problems. But she also takes prisoners when pirates surrender, and the destination she negotiated isn't the direction that'll get them resupplied. Oh, and several of her crew are disgruntled, overworked, and burnt out. Plus, there's the matter of the kidnapping victim they rescued one of those pirate raids who is getting suspiciously friendly with the ship's wizard. Jessie wanted to be captain, and to succeed, she's going to need to learn what it takes to delegate authority, trust in her people, and most importantly... start hiring.A little...

The next generation is here, and trouble is in their DNA. Jessie and Eric Ramsey have a family history of crime. Fighting back against heredity, each tried to make their way in the galaxy by respectable means. Jessie joined Earth Navy; Eric went to college for magic. But fate wasn't having it. Eric was expelled. Jessie went AWOL. Now, due to a magical mishap that wasn't entirely anyone's fault (we swear!), they're stranded 5 years in the future on a Mars that's no longer friendly territory. Caught behind enemy lines in a galactic civil war they didn't know about, the pair need every trick in their respective books to survive on Mars long enough to escape. Along the way, they'll meet old friends and make new foes, and if they're very lucky, manage to figure out where they belong in this new galactic order.And Mars is only the beginning. Time travel is a one-way trip, and the only way to stop is death. And Ramseys don't die easy....

It's all fun and games until someone loses a captain. Desperate for allies, captain Jessie Ramsey enters negotiations with an independent border colony. The planet has food and basic essentials aplenty; the Arete can offer protection in return. However, talks take a turn for the worse when half the ship's delegation is kidnapped—and the other half doesn't notice. Who leaked their itinerary to the kidnappers? What will become of the negotiations? Who is even qualified to take over command when all the top officers are either captured or actively involved in the rescue? Chaos and confusion reign. Except for our victims, who have their kidnappers right where they want them.

He knows the three laws, but they're really more what you'd call "guidelines." Two and a half million terras worth of contraband won't do Carl Ramsey any good unless he can find a buyer. But when dealing with that kind of money, any deal is liable to turn sour when it's time to make the exchange. So when things go smoothly, Carl knows his luck can't be that good. When the double-cross is revealed, the Mobius crew sets out on a chase to track down their stolen merchandise. But once they find out who took them for fools, everything turns on its head. Instead of a foe, they might have stumbled onto a powerful new ally: a robot who hates the Harmony Bay corporation even more than they do. Now they just need to find a way to stop Mort from killing it as an abomination. You, Robot is the 11th mission of Black Ocean: Galaxy Outlaws, a science fantasy series set in the 26th century. Do you wish there had been a second season of Firefly? Do you...

No need for a ploy, boy. Just set yourself free. On the heels of a crazy, dangerous scheme that he barely got away with, Chuck Ramsey presses his luck and keeps trying. But on Ganymede, in the heart of Sol's wine country, in the territory of a small but ruthless local criminal syndicate, his luck runs out. Chuck sends off quick comms to the rest of the family to get them back to the ship on the double. Two problems: Becky doesn't believe he's really in danger on a core world, and Brad receives the wrong message entirely. For Becky, it's simple. She'd rather stay with Rhiannon as she tries to launch her daughter's acting career. As for Brad, he was out with his sister Michelle, and the message he got was a code word that his father was compromised, the ship wasn't safe to return to, and to get off the planet ASAP. By the time Chuck figures out his mistake, Brad has a huge head start, and has gone off the grid....

He's the elephant in the room that everyone is talking about. Jessie and Eric Ramsey finally catch a break. The League of Independent Planets has granted them asylum and allowed them to live on the techno-paradise world of Phabian. Jessie gets a clerical job. Eric ends up working at a factory making magical construction materials. He might even have a girlfriend. Of course, trouble always finds a Ramsey. Eric's inquisitor parole officers locate him despite having no official jurisdiction. Jessie gets recruited into Phabian's ultra-secret counterintelligence agency, Section 74. Yet somehow, everything revolves around a newcomer to this part of the galaxy. He's three meters tall with a personality sized to match. His species evolved from elephants, and lives on the other side of the galaxy. Ambassador of his species, this mighty explorer holds court on Phabian, the toast of the planet, and his even mightier ship waits in...

When the stakes are life and death, always bet on Brown. Chuck's fortunes are shifting, and he lands a long-term gig performing at a casino on a core world. They're planetside long enough that Brad gets stuck attending school. Meanwhile, Mort wanders off on his own errands. But nothing is quite what it seems. Brad's new school friends turn out to be rich kids, and become suckers in his plot to make cash he can conceal from his parents. Chuck's casino gig was a setup. And Mort's errands are actually a series of contract killings. He's made a deal to keep the family safe, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep up his end. Viva Las Vega IX is the fifth mission of Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem. It follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an...

The rules to Hide & Seek just got a whole lot deadlier. The astral drop took out all the tech on the ship—maybe for good. They're so far down that rescue seems unlikely. If they had it to do over again, maybe Eric and Jessie would have found some other way to escape their pursuers. But unless Eric figures out reverse time travel, they're going to have to live with the decision. Or die with it. With a gaggle of refugees and a strange, alien vessel, the options for survival seem grim. Jessie assigns search parties to scavenge the vessel for essential supplies. Teams of refugees fan out in pairs. Eric, who both saved and possibly doomed them all, sulks and refrains from using magic and making things even worse. Things get worse without his help. Inquisitors from the Convocation manage to get aboard, and none of the crew are ready to defend themselves against magic. All be lost, except an old friend...

Stuck around New Singapore when I saw it was time for a change. Don Rucker has seen what Mordecai The Brown is capable of. Now the second in command of his father's syndicate wants Mort's help with an even bigger job: killing Theo Rucker. Initially roped in simply as Mort's handler, Chuck's people skills become invaluable in rooting out loyalists to the old regime when even Don's trusted lieutenants are too close to be objective. Mort trims the ranks quietly, become a boogeyman to any syndicate guys not in on the plot. When the coup takes place, they hope for a quick decisive action that swiftly puts Don on the throne. Of course, none of it goes according to plan, not even the part where Don's only daughter, Tania, is holed up with bodyguards in an undisclosed safehouse. Lucky for her, a young up-and-comer in the organization was also part of her protection detail: Brad Ramsey. When a mole blows their cover, the pair head on the run...