And boy does the crew of the newly christened, Another Road, have baggage. One such problem is Leonard Wickmore, an executive in one of the major galaxy-running corporations. Famed body modder, Nika Rik Terri, developed some interesting new technology that Wickmore wants to get his hands on, and while she faked her death by destroying her studio, Wickmore knows Nika is hiding among the crew of the Another Road.
Another threat trailing them is some former associates of Nika's new apprentice, Snow. Snow escaped from a mercenary ship in order to get his body modding license, and it seems Captain Norris isn't too keen on anyone breaking the contract all of his crew were forced to sign when they got onto his ship. What's worse, Wickmore has hired Norris to help him track down Nika. It's never good when your enemies team up.
While Nika and Snow can keep their heads down, they find that the captain of Another Road, Hammond Roystan, is having some particularly unique health problems. Nika was able to use her skills, along with the outdated tools on the ship, in order to resolve Roystan's more immediate sickness, but it's clear to her that in order to fully heal her new friend, as well as possibly help him regain lost memories, she is going to need a top-of-the-line genemodding machine, and ordering one of the famed units will send out a massive number of red flags that all of their enemies can use to track down Nika and Snow.
Meanwhile, Nika has a new person pursuing her. Former Justice Department agent, Alistair Laughton, and his friend, Cam, have recently left a small mining community looking for Nika. Both Alistair and Cam believe the famed modder is the only one who can solve their own peculiar problem, and they are on a bit of a time crunch to find her and convince her to help. Unfortunately, they find Nika's studio a husk of its former self and they have no idea where to turn in order to continue their search. Thankfully, an unexpected opportunity arises when Alistair's former boss, Paola, contacts him and invites him to rejoin the ranks of the Justice Department in order to help with an investigation.
Footage of an executive's murder raises many questions as the mannerisms and behavior of the killer clearly label the attacker as an assassin Alistair tracked for many years while he was still an agent. What's unusual though is that, by all appearances, the killer is none other than Nika Rik Terri. With the resources of the Justice Department behind him, it looks like Alistair might just be able to find the body modder and enlist her help. He will just have to fight the suspicious nature of the crew of the Another Road, as well as stay ahead of both Wickmore and Captain Norris in order to do so.
When I finished Stars Uncharted, I remember thinking that, if the book was a one-off, then it was a nice, solid, complete story, but I had hoped there was more exploring to be done. Stars Beyond: Stars Uncharted - Book 2 shows that there were still plenty of loose ends and the journey started by Nika, Snow, Roystan, Josune, Carlos and Jacques in the earlier book still had a lot of road to cover. Once again, I find a good, enjoyable ending at the end of Stars Beyond, and once again, while I hope for more adventures, if this is where their story ends, then it is a good one. I strongly recommend both of these books.
