Gold Standard

By Ben Patterson

Captain Terran Ray can catch anyone-except the spy already infiltrating her ship.

Terry knows how to hunt people. She's built a career tracking down the galaxy's most elusive targets, bringing them in, and collecting the credits. She's independent, stubborn, and perfectly comfortable working in the lawless shadows of the sector.

Then Delilah "Dee" Gold joins the crew of the Triton.

Dee claims she's just a repairman, a fixer. But nobody believes her for long. Repairmen don't handle military-grade plasma rifles with terrifying precision. They don't remain disturbingly calm when a job goes sideways. And they generally aren't recognized by hardened criminals who suddenly become very interested in being somewhere else.

Then something even stranger happens: the Triton starts winning. Bigger bounties. Harder jobs. Better results.

Terry knows Dee is pulling the strings, but she can't figure out who the mystery mechanic is actually working for-or what she's really extracting from the ship.

Their sudden success soon attracts the attention of the Black Silk Cartel, a criminal empire that controls the money, moves the cargo, and eliminates anyone foolish enough to interfere.

Terry wants to hit the syndicate head-on. Dee has a better idea: Don't attack the monsters at the top. Tear down the pillars holding them up.

Now, a stubborn bounty hunter who solves problems with raw determination and an undercover operative who might be the most dangerous woman in the sector must somehow trust each other long enough to make an empire turn on itself.

Because in the deepest corners of space, the deadliest weapon isn't a starship. It's the spy you let behind your back.

It's the fixer's rep. I call it, my Gold Standard.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HNG6KBTT
• ISBN13: 9798163282715
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 536 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"