Inquest. AFV Defender, #4

These are the adventures of  the E&D ship, AFV Defender. While they aren't quite as death-defying as a certain other notorious ship in the Fleet, they're developing a legend of their own. Some good. Some bad. But most important, they're a family, with all the benefits and drawbacks. Every day is a new adventure. If their misfit luck doesn't finally run out on them. INQUEST: AFV Defender Book 4 Signals are coming from beyond the edges of charted space.
All indications are that they are being generated by the broken pieces of a Gate, used by the ancient Gatekeepers to scatter all the Human races across the universe. Except that as far as anyone knew, nothing could dent a Gate, forget break it. Yet the legendary warrior, Etrusca, scattered pieces of broken Gate across known and unknown space. Now, a response is coming in. As one of the top E&D (Exploration and Diplomacy) ships in the Alliance Fleet, the Defender heads across the galaxy to find out just who or what is sending the signal. Except this time, they've been partnered with the Inquest.
The only ship in the Fleet with a stranger reputation and record than the Defender. The notorious Captain Illean Shryne and her crew of rule-breakers and miracle-workers always manage to escape from the jaws of death and return covered in glory. Unfortunately, the ships sent on missions with them don't fare so well ...