This is a fun series if not a little frightening for the main character, Ben. If you’ll remember, Ben and Matt were both young guys just getting ready to start living their lives when Ben was diagnosed with cancer. He had a brain tumor that Earth doctors didn’t know how to remove without permanent damage.
They were just killing time and had gone to a new video arcade in town and played one of those simulated starfighter games. Ben was the computer nerd of the group and he did exceptionally well in the game. They left the arcade and stopped to get a bite to eat when this guy, Avelus Keep shows up and offers to sell them a fully functional starship. Of course Ben didn’t have any where near the kind of money Keep was asking for the starship, but Matt revealed had just inherited a large sum of money. To seal the deal, Keep mentioned that there were doctors out in space who could, for a fee, operate on Ben and rid him of the tumor. So, Ben and Matt agreed to buy the starship and go get Ben fixed. Except it didn’t turn out so easy to do.
This starship they had bought was the real deal, only it was shaped like the head of a mecha or something from an autobot. That’s why it was named “Head Case”. Ben was the Captain since he knew how to fly the ship based on his experiences with video games. Fortunately for him and Matt, the ship did come with a passenger who was also a skilled pilot among other things. Turns out Alter is an alien who has been using the ship as her home. Normally, it takes the form of a human female and it took quite a while for Ben and Matt to find out what she really was. The soon came to accept her as their do-it-all crew-member while promising not to reveal her true identity to anyone else.
So, Ben and Matt find themselves very, very far away from Earth and the Solar System. Some how Keep was able to transport the two from the Solar System to another galaxy while they were making the deal on the starship. Once the deal was made, Keep left and Ben and Matt found themselves in a strange galaxy with something that a very powerful Baron wanted. The Star of Caprum was a tiny star that was powering their Head Case and Duke Sedaya wanted it badly. Their other problem was they now had no money for the surgery even though Alter knew of a surgeon that could do the job.
Of course Ben and Matt had no credentials and no work history in this galaxy. They couldn’t just go apply for any kind of job without getting a lot of questions they couldn’t answer. So, they did the next best or worst thing and picked up a smuggling job! All it involved was meeting with some low-life scum, getting a slab (tablet) from him/it, and returning the slab to whomever hired them. Once paid, they would have plenty of money to pay for Ben’s operation. Only that guy Keep killed the guy they were supposed to meet! Next thing Ben knew he and Matt were arrested for murder (framed) and smuggling and quickly thrown in jail.
This is where the story starts. There’s a lot, lot more coming. Ben and Matt have no idea what they have gotten themselves into. They are certainly amateurs acting without any kind of skill sets in a galaxy far, far away. Still, they have one sliver of hope, their contract was paid in full when Ben got close to the now dead courier that Keep killed. But then, money doesn’t do either of them any good when they’re in prison, probably for life.
I’m so looking forward to the next book titled, “Keep Away” already available on Amazon.