Carpathians

An epic first-contact story on a galactic scale.
Humans have reached the stars. There is no evidence any other species survived its own sentience long enough to do the same. Until now, when the Magellanix deep-space scout Accipiter discovers the Artifact, a million-year-old alien construct resting in a dormant volcano on a faraway world.
Now, TransGalactic has sent the Carpathia to steal it. Two ships, two rival corporations, and a race only one of them can win.