The Way of the Empty Gripper    by Jon Stonger
Price: $1.99 USD. 103650 words. Published on August 9, 2011. .
Semi-competent Captain Dave and the crew of the Delineator race to decipher an ancient artifact said to contain a map to a lost civilization. They are pursued across the galaxy by a mysterious organization which wants the artifact for its own ends. They must avoid nefarious ninjas, tentacled assassins, and sentient trunk Egbert's mortal enemy: a malevolent briefcase with a glowing red eye.