Caretakers. Prehistory of the League of Planetary Systems, #1

In the early part of the 21st century, Area 51 had an alien problem. Over the years, numerous alien animals were left on Earth's doorstep when they were lost or abandoned by their alien owners. Area 26 was created to give these creatures a home where they could live quietly out of sight of the planet's human population. After being exposed to an experimental substance during a lab accident, maintenance worker Lee Carstares and his partner, a gray alien from the Zeta Reticuli star system named Clare, are transferred from Area 51 to Area 26 where they find themselves caught between a Storen freighter and a Goranthi warship bent on the freighter's destruction.
Lee and Clare must now help the Storens get off the planet before the Goranthi find them. 15, 000 words.