Nanomachine War - Book 1, First Starship Encounter

A large alien starship emerges from hyperspace in our solar system and goes into orbit around Mars. The starship is damaged on the outside and the reasons for its appearance are a mystery.

There is no communication after repeated attempts to contact the alien starship by local Mars colonists. A United Nations Peace Keeping team from Mars led by UN Security Director Douglas Martin and Marine Colonel Hayward Jackson is sent to the starship to investigate. At first, there are no signs of life. Then they find ten dead alien crewmembers on the Command Center Bridge. They find twenty more alien crewmembers sleeping in cryostasis.

An Artificial Intelligence entity named Shonya presents itself. It explains that the damage was caused by an unknown Intruder—who is still onboard. Shonya asks for help. The UN team learns the rest of the alien passengers have no bodies. They are composed of one billion Passenger Minds stored in quantum computer bays waiting to be downloaded into new bodies.

The AI says they are a peaceful race called Qumru and were on their way to a second home world to live when the starship was sabotaged. They're fleeing an enemy called the Yoyka who subjugate all alien races they encounter. The Qumru have immense knowledge and are willing to share it with humans if they help them repair their starship. What Shonya and the newly awakened crewmembers keep secret threaten the very existence of the human race.

This work has received the BooksGoSocial Gold Quality Mark evaluation.