Ships of My Fathers — Dan Thompson

Another tale from Beneath the Sky's vast Hudson Confederacy universe... Michael was orphaned at seventeen, light-years from home. His inheritance: a starship, distant relatives he never knew existed, and inescapable questions that challenge everything he thought was true. Michael's quest for answers takes him halfway across the Confederacy, from the gleaming corridors of the wealthy super-freighters to the dark holds of Father Chessman's pirate ships. The truth is waiting for him, but he'll have to survive to find it.