The Anomalous Mercenary

Alexei Ivanov died on Earth and woke up coughing up acid rain in the body of a scavenger on a scrapyard planet at the edge of the galaxy. In a universe dominated by ruthless megacorporations, elven biotechnology, and dwarven stellar forges, magic has long been forgotten, dismissed as an inefficient myth. But Alexei discovers that with a blowtorch, duct tape, dubious vodka, and a few ancient runes, the strict laws of corporate thermodynamics are merely suggestions. Tuning into an "Arcane Core" from an extinct precursor race, he transforms a discarded interceptor wreck into the Aurora—a ship that physically shouldn't even be able to take off. To stay alive, buy parts, and pay for fuel, he takes on mercenary contracts and assembles the most dysfunctional crew in neutral space: a cynical and depressive AI made of scrap, an elite sniper rabbit paralyzed by panic, a dwarven engineer on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a germaphobic elven medic, and a noble fae specializing in stealth and electronic warfare. Crossing the No Man's Sea, they will smuggle absurd cargo, blow up pirates, and deeply offend the cultures of all five major galactic factions. After all, why follow the rules of the universe when you can jump-start reality?