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 stops by to lend a hand—and a little bit of magic.

Time and Punishment

Time and Punishment, narrated by Mikael Naramore

A friend in greed is a friend indeed.

Comedy doesn't pay. Some might claim that's the wrong cliché, but Chuck Ramsey knows the truth of it all too well. That's why he resorts to crime to pay the bills. His latest scheme isn't to pick up odd, questionably legal jobs near his gigs; this time he's found the perfect opportunity, and he's willing to buy a gig to be in the right place at the right time. All he has to do is get a certain wizard to play his part without knowing it.

Meanwhile, the colony Chuck chose is a real dump, an old asteroid mine turned barely-viable colony. And there's not much for kids to do there. At least, nothing that ticks all the boxes of safe, legal, and interesting enough to keep their attention. We already knew the Ramsey scheming gene had passed to the next generation, but the oldest isn't the only kid getting ideas outside the law.

Live and Let Kill is the ninth 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 earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series.

Live and Let Kill, narrated by Mikael Naramore

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.

50 Ways to Leave a Planet is the tenth 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 earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series.

50 Ways to Leave a Planet, narrated by Mikael Naramore

A comedian takes his final bow, and a wizard knows when it's time to disappear.

They had an unlikely friendship from the start. One was a mighty wizard, fallen from grace. The other, a never-was comedian who made his living through cons and scams.

What held them together was a bond of trust; a drive to roam the stars; and the curious ties of found family.

We all knew it wouldn't last, but we never knew why.

Brad's enlistment in Earth Navy removed the nail holding the rickety Ramsey clan and their adopted wizard together.

This is how it all falls apart.

And Drift Away, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Once you've made lemonade, do you even want the lemons back?

Brad went on the run with his sister Michelle. He got away. They're safe. With new identities and a clean start, all Brad has to do is fake being a responsible, law-abiding adult until Michelle turns eighteen...in nine years. But how long can an incorrigible delinquent keep that up?

Meanwhile, Chuck goes out of his mind trying to find his missing kids. With Mort along to help, they crisscross the galaxy, searching for a trail. Family friends haven't seen or heard anything, leaving the pair to confront a hard truth.

Chuck's only going to find his kids if he learns enough about them to think like they would.

Blowin' in the Wind, narrated by Mikael Naramore

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, narrated by Mikael Naramore

They're going to make you a counteroffer you can't refuse.

When a cooperating witness seems beyond reach, Don Rucker needs a killer capable of getting to anyone. The problem: Mort's a cantankerous wizard who doesn't care about the money. Enter Chuck Ramsey, who has one skill that the Rucker Syndicate desperately needs: he's friends with the most dangerous wizard in the galaxy. When Mort demands an outrageous sum for his services, the Ruckers' desperation forces them to meet his price.

Meanwhile, Brad, who inadvertently got those two involved, works his way up the lower ranks of the Rucker organization. Head down, nose clean, he finds that he likes this lifestyle. Young Jimmy Rucker, only a few years older and a member of the family, takes Brad under his wing. But how long can Brad survive when the crime bosses' daughters start taking an interest?

Life is a Crime Wave, narrated by Mikael Naramore

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 together, hoping to evade Rucker minions on all sides of the family until they're sure she's safe.

Same as the Old Boss, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Better a lifetime on the edge of disaster than an honest day's work.

Chuck Ramsey is a traveling con man fronting as a comedian. After a gig on Earth, he picks Mordecai The Brown, a hitchhiking wizard on the run from his own kind. Chuck's ship, the Radio City, is a Winnebego of the stars, serving as both home and transport as he schemes and scams across the galaxy with his family. The pair form an unlikely bond, and "Mort" becomes a part of that family. The Ramseys, wizard in tow, embark on a journey of criminal hijinks, magical mayhem, and evasion of consequences for both.

They cross paths with wizard-hunters and smuggling kingpins, sheriffs from backwater border planets and underworld syndicates. Between Chuck's silver tongue and Mort's mystical mastery, they manage to get in and out of trouble on planets large and small. Money comes and goes, with the biggest score always the one yet to come. Danger sniffs at their trail wherever they go, but somehow, they find a way to keep going.

Chuck and Mort make many friends in their travels.

They make even more enemies.

And along the way, the two of them inadvertently help raise a boy to become one of the galaxy's unsung heroes.

Mirth & Mayhem Complete Collection, narrated by Mikael Naramore

He ain't no millionaire's son.

The Eyndar War is heating up, and Earth has implemented a draft. With one child already lost to the fighting, there's no way notorious swindler Chuck Ramsey is letting Earth Navy get a hold of his son. He'll do everything in his power to prevent another tragedy.

Meanwhile, with the clock counting down to his eighteenth birthday, Brad Ramsey has a different plan in mind. His version focuses on preparation, responsibility... and vengeance.

Because regardless of his father's plans for him, Brad Ramsey has no intention of avoiding this war.

And Drift Away, narrated by Mikael Naramore

J.S. Morin

Related tracks