Shakedowners Series by Justin Woolley

Some starship captains explore strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations. Some lead missions of discovery through wormholes to the other side of the galaxy. Then there's Captain Iridius B. Franklin, someone who spent too long seeking out strange new bars and new alien cocktails... moreSome starship captains explore strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations. Some lead missions of discovery through wormholes to the other side of the galaxy. Then there's Captain Iridius B. Franklin, someone who spent too long seeking out strange new bars and new alien cocktails.After graduating bottom of his class at Space Command Academy Iridius Franklin hasn't had the glamorous career he envisioned, instead he hauls cargo ships full of mining waste, alien land whale dung, and artificially intelligent toy dogs across the stars.Iridius does have talent though - he is exceptionally good at breaking starships. So, when not hauling freight, he is captain of a shakedown crew, a skeleton crew used to test newly constructed ships for faults before the real crew takes over.While on a routine shakedown mission aboard the FSC Gallaway, soon to be pride of the Federation Fleet, Earth is attacked by an unknown alien life-form. With the galaxy in chaos, Captain Iridius B. Franklin finds himself, unqualified, understaffed and completely unprepared, in command of the most advanced starship in the galaxy.Now, he just needs to not break it. less

Through the skilful application of being barely competent, Captain Iridius B. Franklin and the crew of the FSC Deus Ex have managed to triumph in not just one adventure but two.Unfortunately, despite being assured this sort of thing doesn't happen to space adventurers nearly as often as is assumed, Iridius and his crew have been flung almost a year back in time... moreThrough the skilful application of being barely competent, Captain Iridius B. Franklin and the crew of the FSC Deus Ex have managed to triumph in not just one adventure but two.Unfortunately, despite being assured this sort of thing doesn't happen to space adventurers nearly as often as is assumed, Iridius and his crew have been flung almost a year back in time.Now, in order to stop an existential threat to the galaxy and ensure they don't cause irreparable damage to the space-time continuum, the crew of the Deus Ex must set out to find their way back to the future.Things go about as well as expected and Iridius Franklin finds himself encountering Nazis, cyberpunks, the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Department of Historical Timeline Preservation and yet more time-travel paradoxes including finally coming face to face with the biggest mystery of his life. less