Blanchland Blues - Tom Dell'Aringa

He's a disgraced Star Corps pilot with a robot partner fresh off the junk heap. She's a runaway with no future. And they're the good guys.

Since being dishonorably discharged from the Star Corps, pilot John MacAlister has struggled to make ends meet with less-than-legal cargo runs across the cosmos. He's desperate to get his life back, but every time John thinks he's found that "one last job," some new disaster lands him back at square one.

After an ill-fated smuggling run ends with a disastrous crash landing on the moon (and an even more disastrous landing in the local lunar lockup), John is offered a choice: rot in a Galactic Union prison forever or locate a teenage runaway named Ril and bring her back to the authorities.

It seems like an easy decision-until John actually meets Ril, and discovers the scrappy teen isn't just a runaway; she's the only witness to a murder. And the killer? Why, none other than the very 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.

For the first time since his dishonorable discharge, John has a purpose. 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.

Pick up BLANCHLAND BLUES because you love upbeat, character-driven SF with humor and drama. Suggested for fans of Firefly, Douglas Adams, or the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers.