Race to Deep Abignon — Steven Lyle Jordan

Carolyn Kestral's encounter with the hostile, spider-like Raians, and their attack virus -- code-named Venom -- didn't kill her as expected, but all the same destroyed her career in the Orion Guard. Now the proud owner of a Quicksilver-class freighter, she gathers a small crew and goes into business on her own. But when a clandestine first run attracts the attention of the Spiders, Kestral's crew worries that the stress could trigger the virus within her, turning Kestral at the worst possible moment into a lethal human weapon…