story identification - Can't remember sci-fi novel with loner female cargo pilot carrying contraband technology

Sorry to be so vague; The book I'm trying to find was from the POV of a female cargo pilot transporting some sort of technology that is banned from humans by the other races of which one race are fish (aquatic at least) that floated around in balls full of water. She has a semi AI (I think) computer in her spaceship. There was a scene where she had to activate an alien spacesuit technology that was black and spread over her body like liquid. I think it was published around 2006.

Answer

This is Stealing Light by Gary Gibson, first published 2007.

The liquid suit:

Convinced the life support was about to collapse, she activated her filmsuit. It spilled out of her skin from dozens of artificial pores, a flood of black ink that cocooned and protected her inside her own liquid spacesuit, growing transparent over her eyes so as to display the darkened space around her in infrared.

The fish race is known as the Shoal, and they are the only ones to have faster-than-light technology.

Dakota's spaceship Piri Reis is sufficiently intelligent that she has normal conversations with it.

Comments

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