Dreadnought (Starship Blackbeard Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

eaten sugar. Drake rose respectfully to his feet, readying himself at the same time for a hostile move.
    “I will never understand humans,” Mose Dryz said. “When I think they are telling the truth, they are sure to be lying. When I am certain they are lying, it turns out that they have honorable intentions.”
    “You’ve inspected the antidote already?” Drake asked.
    “Your commander says she will attack my fleet if I do not allow her to communicate with you. I do not know if she is bluffing or not, but I have stopped blocking your communications link. Please tell her that you are not a prisoner, and that I will allow you to leave when you are ready.”
    “Is this true? We’ll be able to leave—all three of us?”
    “Of course.” Mose Dryz said.
    Drake touched his ear, and shortly, Tolvern was on the com, demanding answers. He assured her that he was safe and unharmed, and that she should maintain a neutral posture with Blackbeard while he completed the negotiations.
    “We have only begun to analyze this so-called cure you’ve offered,” the general said when Drake had ended the call. “But my scientists have read enough of your notes that they do not believe it is a trap or a trick. I am searching for a volunteer to test it. Nearly a third of my crew are sugar eaters—no doubt someone will step forward. Many will resist, of course. They will not give up sugar willingly.”
    “There are several doses,” Brockett said quickly. “And my notes should be self-explanatory. You should be able to replicate it.”
    Drake chose his words carefully. “When it proves effective, General, will you take it yourself?”
    Mose Dryz licked his lips. He seemed as though he would answer the question, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “Your scientists are clearly superior to ours. Hroom have searched for generations to find this cure.”
    “They weren’t my scientists,” Drake said. “I only discovered the antidote by accident and made the choice to share it with the Hroom once I’d got my hands on it. I don’t know who developed it, or why. Could have been Hroom involved—I suspect as much.”
    “Yet still human in origin,” Mose Dryz said. “Your scientists, your engineers, even your military thinkers, possess a creativity that ours do not. No doubt we did once—our civilization was vast and complex, and it did not spring from nothing. But now we are emulators, we copy what has been done before.”
    The Hroom paused, his eyes blinking. Some of the cloudiness had begun to fade, and Drake thought the general must have taken a mild dose of sugar, as he didn’t seem to be swooning from its effects.
    “Why did you give it to me?” Mose Dryz asked. “You must certainly understand what this means, how it will change the future relations between our peoples.”
    “I don’t think anyone understands the implications,” Drake said. “Not fully. But yes, it will change things, perhaps with great damage to human civilization in this sector. If the Hroom recover their strength, and they prove vengeful . . .”
    “You did not answer the question,” Mose Dryz said. “Why? You defeated my fleet, you destroyed my strongest warships, and now you are giving me this. It is a weapon—yes, a weapon.”
    “I don’t know why. Conscience. Or perhaps it’s our shared enemy. I know Hroom, I understand Hroom. They are civilized people, they can be reasoned with, even befriended and trusted as individuals.” Drake nodded in the direction of his pilot, then turned back to the general. “But I don’t know Apex, and I fear them.”
    “What is that?” Mose Dryz said. “Apex?”
    Nyb Pim said something in Hroom, and the general stiffened.
    “You know, don’t you?” Drake said, studying his reaction. “You’ve heard they’ve returned, that they’ve attacked Hroom ships. But did you know that they attacked human vessels, too?”
    Mose Dryz didn’t answer.
    “I don’t know if your silence means yes or no,” Drake