Richard Crowley

The Bandit and His King Richard Crowley

In the science fiction adventure The Bandit and His King, Oteph Black and a family of sentient telepaths are on a peaceful mission to slowly conquer the galaxy.

Oteph becomes the legitimate ruler of a quasi-civilized race of mongrel space travelers after encountering a group of bruised, bloodied, and humiliated creatures with green hides and wart patterns who have made themselves at home on his ship, the Mon Ami. The group takes Oteph prisoner and, after a great bit of persuading, Thaulab, the group's current leader, convinces Oteph to join their operation to overtake the Igoilenat Space Navigating Society. As new creatures hatch every day in the ship's galley, Oteph must learn the lifestyle of these repulsive beings and begins to consider a life that he never dreamed possible before.

Oteph shows over and over he is not to be trusted on any account, but it is through the forgiveness of a future that his life changes and his status is reestablished in his home environment.