The Engineer

An ancient escape pod is pulled from deep space, and inside it lies a Jain, a member of an extinct, terrifyingly advanced alien race everyone assumed was long gone. When a Polity science vessel revives the creature, the discovery draws in military dreadnoughts, anti-alien terrorists, and mercenaries alike, each convinced they know what should be done with it. Neal Asher's debut Polity novella, later expanded with additional stories as The Engineer ReConditioned.