Slip Runner Series by J.N. Chaney, M.F. Lerma

Cole Riker is a Slip Runner.A contractor tasked with finding alien salvage in exchange for credits. For an ex-smuggler like Cole, there’s a catch: don’t break the terms of parole. That means doing things by the book.Find salvage, turn it in, get paid.But everything changes when a retrieval mission lands him in a previously unknown sector. There, he finds the material he’s been sent to recover, along with something more...A brand new form of ancient alien life... moreCole Riker is a Slip Runner.A contractor tasked with finding alien salvage in exchange for credits. For an ex-smuggler like Cole, there’s a catch: don’t break the terms of parole. That means doing things by the book.Find salvage, turn it in, get paid.But everything changes when a retrieval mission lands him in a previously unknown sector. There, he finds the material he’s been sent to recover, along with something more...A brand new form of ancient alien life.Such a thing could change the entire Alliance, the Galaxy, and everything between, but most of all, it could change Cole's life for the better.A shift in humanity’s future is at hand and Cole is the one holding the key. He just has to survive long enough to use it. less

Cole Riker is a free man.Or close enough. He no longer has the weight of his past hanging over him, threatening to put him away for the rest of his days. All it took was finding an unknown alien lifeform and agreeing to escort it back to its homeworld.Except his newfound luck doesn’t want to last. Gray doesn’t remember how to get home and all the evidence says his people abandoned him after an unknown threat came calling.And that’s only the beginning... moreCole Riker is a free man.Or close enough. He no longer has the weight of his past hanging over him, threatening to put him away for the rest of his days. All it took was finding an unknown alien lifeform and agreeing to escort it back to its homeworld.Except his newfound luck doesn’t want to last. Gray doesn’t remember how to get home and all the evidence says his people abandoned him after an unknown threat came calling.And that’s only the beginning.After Cole and his misfit crew are forcibly ejected from a collapsing slip tunnel, they find themselves in a different galaxy with no hope of getting back. That is, until they find something unexpected.One of Earth’s lost seed ships adrift in a sector that’s never been mapped.There, they discover something even more impossible: survivors.Getting back on track should be as easy as convincing the 2,000 year old passengers to fire up the engines and set a course for the nearest star system, but there’s something insidious about the long lost seed ship.It’s a little too perfect, and Cole will have to unearth more secrets before his chance to escape disappears completely. less

Cole and his crew are lost in space and stranded with no way home.After escaping from the colony ship in a faraway system Cole has uncovered sinister evidence of August Walton's oppression: A castoff civilization living in the past and forced to comply with the Eternal leader's unjust edicts.It doesn't take long for Cole to realize that the planet has its own secrets. Navigating lies and half-truths leads to a brewing rebellion led by the one person who might hold all the answers he seeks... moreCole and his crew are lost in space and stranded with no way home.After escaping from the colony ship in a faraway system Cole has uncovered sinister evidence of August Walton's oppression: A castoff civilization living in the past and forced to comply with the Eternal leader's unjust edicts.It doesn't take long for Cole to realize that the planet has its own secrets. Navigating lies and half-truths leads to a brewing rebellion led by the one person who might hold all the answers he seeks. But, as any good Renegade knows, nothing's ever easy.Time is running short.The enemy is always one step ahead, no one is who they appear to be, and Cole doesn't have the firepower or personnel to go up against the might of a seed ship. That isn't going to stop him from doing what he always does.Survive and overcome.Failure isn't an option. The stakes are higher than ever and freedom comes at a heavy cost. To get his crew back home before they're all too old to care, Cole must push himself to the limit and decide how much he's willing to sacrifice. less

With new systems come new problems.Now that August Walton is dead and new information has come to light, Cole Riker and his team of misfits are finally back on the cosmic highway to another unknown location.This time they might actually have a shot at completing the mission and getting back home in one piece. Victory isn’t all it seems, however.Finding a graveyard of ships belonging to Gray's people is just the first sign that things are about to go downhill... moreWith new systems come new problems.Now that August Walton is dead and new information has come to light, Cole Riker and his team of misfits are finally back on the cosmic highway to another unknown location.This time they might actually have a shot at completing the mission and getting back home in one piece. Victory isn’t all it seems, however.Finding a graveyard of ships belonging to Gray's people is just the first sign that things are about to go downhill. What Cole discovers inside is more bad news. Dead Anypsians, locked down systems—and the fun doesn't end there.A new threat looms on the horizon.With the Sol System several galaxies away, Cole knows it's not really his problem. Humanity is safe for now and he has a mission to complete. The last thing he needs is to get involved in another dispute that has nothing to do with him.But sometimes doing nothing is worse than doing the wrong thing.Warning: This book contains action, cussing, and general badassery. Read at your own risk. less

Gray has been taken captive and become the host of a Controller.But not for long, not if Cole has anything to say about it. Determined to recover his hijacked crew member, he sets out to do what he does best: raise hell and kick ass.With his co-captain still recovering from her injuries and the Star Treader in need of a commander in his absence, Cole breaches the occupied Anypsian warship alone. Getting Gray back won't be easy and neither will what comes after... moreGray has been taken captive and become the host of a Controller.But not for long, not if Cole has anything to say about it. Determined to recover his hijacked crew member, he sets out to do what he does best: raise hell and kick ass.With his co-captain still recovering from her injuries and the Star Treader in need of a commander in his absence, Cole breaches the occupied Anypsian warship alone. Getting Gray back won't be easy and neither will what comes after.Cosmic scales are close to imbalance.When bureaucracy rears its ugly head, only a Renegade and his steadfast crew stand between the enemy and a catastrophe that could echo across the universe. less