So concludes “Smuggler’s Blues”. Whereas the first story, here in our archives called “Book One: ‘Trekker'” had originally been serialized as three 8-page chapters in Dark Horse Presents, Smuggler’s Blues had been designed from the start as a single full-length tale. The extended format was a new challenge for me as a budding writer, and I was happy to have brought the story to a round finish. While still feeling my way along, I was growing in confidence and anxious to start expanding and developing Mercy’s world.

That all begins tomorrow with “The Trail to Scarmen’s Burn” where Mercy journey’s beyond the streets of New Gelaph into the rough outlands of 2226 on the heels of a desperate mass-murderer. It becomes the biggest test yet in her young career yet, and turns into one of the Trekker stories I remain most proud of. Get ready for a rough ride.