Blanchland Blues by Tom Dell’Aringa

Desperate to get his life back, ex-Star Corps pilot John MacAlister is struggling to make ends meet with less-than-legal cargo runs across the cosmos. But every time John thinks he’s found that “one last job,” some new disaster lands him back at square one.
After a disastrous crash on the moon that lands him in the local lunar lockup, John is offered a choice: rot in prison or locate a teenage runaway named Ril and bring her back to the authorities.

When John actually meets Ril, he discovers the scrappy teen is the only witness to a murder, and the killer is the man who got John kicked out of the Star Corps: Captain James Kedron, a ruthless, power-hungry officer who will stop at nothing to silence Ril forever.

Despite facing impossible odds, he vows to protect Ril and expose his former commander’s corruption no matter the cost.

The only challenge? Living long enough to actually do it.

Category: Science Fiction – Adventure