Engage at Dawn by Edward Hochsmann

Updated 20 April 2021 with color illustrations and a new prologue!

The discovery of a drug-runner's derelict boat, with extensive and inexplicable damage, leads young Coast Guard Officer Ben Wyporek and his crew on a dangerous mission to locate a crashed alien vessel before a transnational criminal organization, known as the 252 Syndicate, can find it. Driven by a mysterious government agent obsessed with secrecy, the crew of the aging Coast Guard Cutter Kauai is ill-prepared to handle the mission. The operation quickly turns into a life-and-death race with the technologically-advanced and murderous syndicate to find and contact the first known extraterrestrial visitors to Earth. Exploring the friendship and teamwork of a typical ship's crew, in the face of unexpected and hazardous challenges, Engage at Dawn: First Contact provides a fast-paced, taut story - excellent fare for both action/adventure and soft sci-fi fans.