Is this Resurrection (2001) by Arwen Elys Dayton...?
The Goodreads blurb notes that a group of scientists belonging to a species called the Kinley travelled to Earth in a faster-than-light ship five thousand years ago, but their ship was destroyed, so they sent a message to their homeworld, buried the remnants of their technology, and were left stranded in ancient Egypt. Five thousand years later, their homeworld is under attack by another hostile species and a lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent to Earth to recover the faster-than-light technology from the previous ship, which might enable them to outrun their enemies and find another safe planet to settle on.
Five thousand years ago, the Kinley built a ship capable of traveling faster than light. It carried a group of scientists to a small, distant planet - a primitive place called Earth. Its mission was peaceful observation. But when the ship was destroyed, the Kinley crew found themselves stranded in ancient Egypt, participants in the pageant of life in the time of the Pharaohs. They buried remnants of their technology deep beneath the desert and sent a last desperate message home….
Five thousand years later, the Kinley homeworld hovers on the brink of extinction. An enemy that nearly obliterated their race has risen again - now with the ability to destroy them for good. A lone Kinley soldier named Pruit is sent on a desperate mission: to follow the ancient beacon back to Earth and recover the secrets to faster-than-light travel. It is their last hope. Technology that once allowed them to cross vast reaches of space might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a safe world to call their own.
The blurb on the back cover of the book adds the following details:
- The first Kinley ship that came to Earth was called the Champion and it was their first faster-than-light ship, utilising technology which enabled it to cross galaxies in the blink of an eye.
- The Kinley homeworld of Herrod was initially attacked by a warlike race called the Lucien almost 5000 years ago, and it took them all that time to rebuild their civilisation, only for the Lucien to return with the goal of finishing them off.
- Pruit's trip to Earth is described as a "long" one, hinting that she may have had to travel for years at sub-light speeds.
2600 BC
The Champion was the first ship built by the Kinley race capable of traveling faster than the speed of light. It's mission was to explore Earth—a tiny blue planet light years from their homeworld of Herrod. But The Champion's first mission would also be its last...
Present Day
Almost five thousand years ago, the Kinley were almost wiped out by a warlike race called the Lucien. For five millenia they rebuilt their world from the ground up. But there is a new threat from the ancient enemy—a plan to finish the job they started long ago.Facing extinction, the Kinley hold out hope that the technology that once enabled them to cross galaxies in the blink of an eye—technology long lost—might allow them to outrun their enemies and find a new world to call their own. Their future rests with a young soldier called Pruit, who must make the long trip to Earth—where a last, desperate message from The Champion originated in the time of the Pharoahs....
A review indicates that Earth was only eight light-years away from the Kinley homeworld of Herrod, and reiterates that the Kinley "once held the power of faster than light travel," suggesting that they no longer do at the start of this book, and that Pruit's journey to Earth must indeed have taken eight-plus years at sub-light speeds.
The Kinley’s once held the power of faster than light travel, but in a brutal war with an alien species called the Lucien, along with a series of unfortunate events, that technology was lost 5,000 years ago by an ill-fated journey 8 light years away to a planet called Earth. Now, facing the threat of extinction at the hands of their ancient enemy, a Kinley soldier named Pruitt must retrace that ancient voyage, in order to retrieve the technology to save her planet.
Another review mentions that the Champion was damaged during an earthquake and that the Kinley are similar to humans, which presumably helped the ones left stranded on Earth to blend in. It also mentions that the technology the Champion used to get to Earth was called the Eschless Funnel, and implies that Kinley technology may have had something to do with the building of the Egyptian pyramids.
The short summary is that an advanced alien species called Kinleys, which are similar to humans, comes to Earth during ancient Egyptian times. Their ship is damaged during an earthquake, and the crew requests a rescue team from their home planet. Unfortunately, their home planet is engaged in a war with a rival, non-human alien species known as the Luciens in their home planetary system. Because of the war, their home planet is unable to send a team. The crew is stranded on Earth.
Thousands of years later, the Kinleys need to return to Earth to see if they can locate the remnants and any possible survivors of the mission. Why? They want to get access to an advanced technology called The Eschless Funnel that their ancestors used to travel to Earth. The Kinleys and Luciens have been at war for thousands of years, and the Kinleys need The Eschless Funnel to gain a permanent advantage over their enemy.
The book has a good mix of science fiction, action and adventure. Dayton also weaves in how the influences of advanced alien technology could explain the mysteries of ancient Egypt, such as the pyramids.
