Skeen's Search — Jo Clayton

A space outlaw must rescue the remnants of an ancient alien race -- before her galaxy explodes -- in the conclusion to an action-packed science fiction trilogy.
 
An unrepentant scoundrel and collector of priceless alien artifacts and treasures -- like a tomb raider Lara Croft with issues and a spaceship, or a female Indiana Jones with a looser moral code -- the inimitable Skeen makes her final appearance in a thrilling galaxy-hopping adventure that blends science fiction and quest fantasy in the finest Andre Norton tradition, inserting a healthy dose of Terry Pratchett Discworld wackiness for good measure.
 
After stumbling through a one-way dimensional gate constructed eons earlier by the enigmatic and nearly extinct Ykx, Skeen has finally found her way off Mistommerk. Despite numerous trials and great turmoil, Skeen is at long last free, with a ship and crew that includes her new friends, shapeshifter Timka and Ykx keyholder Lipitero..
 
But freedom always has a price, and Skeen must pay for her deliverance. She'll have to make her way through a treacherous galaxy to locate the planet Rallen -- which may or may not actually exist -- gather up any remaining Ykx she happens to find there, and bring them back to Mistommerk before the gate closes permanently.
 
Their journey is about to take Skeen and her crewmates through some of the nastiest corners of a particularly nasty galaxy and towards an inevitable confrontation with the war vessels of a powerful and distinctly unfriendly Empire. But the biggest threat of all is the solar system itself: Its sun is about to go supernova, which could result in a very explosive finale indeed for Skeen and her space-going misadventures.
 
With her exciting, ingenious, and wildly entertaining Skeen's Search, author Jo Clayton offers a fitting and supremely satisfying climax to her thrilling outer space saga, as one of the most uniquely endearing rogues in the history of speculative fiction takes her final bow with a grand flourish.