Sequel

Thanks to the fine folks at Ray Gun Revival, Captain Bartholomew Quasar, Hank the very hairy biped, and the intrepid crew of the Effervescent Magnitude are back to fight another day. "Captain Quasar and the So-Called Emperor of the Universe" is the second tale I've had published with RGR, and it picks up not long after "The Insurmountable Barrier of Space Junk," published last September.

Here's how it starts out:

Captain Bartholomew Quasar was not impressed. Nor was he intimidated. And if this fellow on the viewscreen believed a hideous scowl and incredible amounts of facial hair would do the trick, he was sadly mistaken.

"Emperor Zhan, I presume." Quasar rocked back on his heels, muscled arms folded as he surveyed the floor-to-ceiling screen on the bridge's fore wall. "We meet at last."

"Who are you?" Zhan spoke in a throaty sort of whine, his black eyes twitching under formidable brows. "How did you access this channel?"

"Is this a bad time? Should we call back later?" Quasar set his jaw.

Zhan's eyes narrowed to slits. "You are human," he spat. "What are you doing out in this quadrant? Playing hero?"

"Yes." Quasar and the Effervescent Magnitude had recently saved the earth from imminent demise, but the captain was not here to toot his own horn. He was here to face down the devil responsible for the atrocity in the first place.

This is the sixth Quasar story I've written and the fourth one to be published so far, but it took a couple rewrites before the RGR editors were happy with it. (They demanded more cowbell! No, not really.) Adding more action, as they requested, made for a much stronger story, and I also included a couple characters who will be appearing in the novel.