The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff (Confederation of Valor #2)

When Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr is assigned to escort a top-secret mission investigating an abandoned alien ship, she knows it won’t be simple. But nothing prepares her for the chaos that follows when politics, aliens, and bureaucracy collide on the battlefield. Smart, sarcastic, and never backing down, Torin navigates both war and diplomacy in this gripping military sci-fi adventure.

Paperback, 2002

Goodreads: 4.07