Aphelion

I like this story quite a bit. It's got all the working parts, and kept throwing obstacles in the main character's path. The only thing I balked at was the tiny flake of deus ex machina when they managed to find the explosive charges in the otherwise-emptied-out storeroom. Only somewhat improbable, not glaringly so.

The story arc was quite good; the MC defeated the baddies with mental resourcefulness, eliminated a long-time threat to his life and livelihood, and ended up with a new working partner, though I thought that the "insectoid" should have gotten a name out of it.

Backstory was filled in as unobtrusively as possible under the circumstances, with flashback and dialog. I saw those devices in use, but the action dominated, so I didn't have time to be bothered about it.

Setting details were very good; I had no trouble visualizing the scenery.

I liked the cast of characters; with the exception of the straight-up-evil Bad Guy, everyone was complex and had dodgy history, so I was always a little on edge about who could be trusted.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ray and his new sidekick tackle some other dicey situations.

Seems I had overlooked your other stories here. I just read them both. Good stuff.