The Cordova Vector — C. Steven Manley

After five years in a military prison, all he wants is to catch the first starship home. The galaxy has other plans. Former UDC pilot Brace Cordova gets released with two things in mind; a strong desire to go back to Earth and the certainty that no good deed goes unpunished. His plans unravel when a notorious crime boss comes looking for revenge for something Brace didn't do. At least not on purpose, anyway. Things escalate when the crew of a starship operating on the razor's edge of the law comes to his aid and sweeps him up in the search for an ancient relic. Pursued by gangsters as well as a ship of the Commonwealth Fleet, Brace has to figure out how to deal with his new crewmates while not doing anything that could land him back in prison. As secrets are revealed and events come to a climax in the dark reaches of unexplored space, Brace might not just lose his shot at a quiet life, but everything he loves as well. The Cordova Vector is the first book in The Brace Cordova Trilogy, a thrilling space opera complete with diverse alien races, ruthless criminals, dedicated soldiers, and millennia-old mysteries. If you like your science fiction full of action and adventure, then you'll love C.Steven Manley's The Cordova Vector.