Old Man's Vines (The Garden at the End of the Galaxy Book 2)

Ezra Kowalski has settled into a quiet life on Halcyon with his hens and thirty-six varieties of cucumbers. His peace is disrupted when Nora Velasquez arrives at his homestead to inspect the wreck of her crashed starship, the Silver Beetle, still half-buried in his field months after the accident. Nora claims she only wants to check on her ship, but when Sprocket, her socially oblivious droid, accidentally activates a forgotten memory log, Ezra learns the truth: Nora was not joyriding when she crashed. She was pursuing a clue about her missing father. Ezra finds himself drawn into an investigation alongside the impulsive teenager, the meddling droid, and Mrs. Wong's persistent advice. Their search leads them to an abandoned outpost and uncovers old Fleet secrets, bringing far more trouble into Ezra's retirement than he ever anticipated.