Furthur work by Allen Steele, set in the Coyote Universe...
The Realisation of Humanity's Greatest Hope - And Fear
Earth and its young colony COYOTE have a difficult relationship, yet together they must face the astonishing truth that mankind is no longer alone.
The starship ROBERT E. LEE is bearing a controversial cargo on its return to Earth; the only surviving crew of the EASS GALILEO. The ship and all aboard it vanished decades previously, while examining an apparently alien artefact.
Two-Time Hugo Award Winning Author of the Coyote Trilogy and Spinfrift
Expelled from the Union Astronautica space fleet, Jules Truffaut faces a future on the ground instead of the stars. Desperate to put his disgrace behind him, he stows away on board a Coyote Federation flagship in order to start his life over on the colony world.
But after a misunderstanding involving a stolen lifeboat and a crash landing, Jules begins his new life on Coyote in prison. Before he can be deported back to Earth for a lengthy incarceration, Jules receives an unexpected visitor.
