The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

that Per Lomax is still aboard the starship.”
    “Yes, sir,” Riker said, in a resigned voice.
    “Sergeant,” Maddox said. “It’s quite possible Per Lomax had inside help. Whoever else was involved is obviously still on the ship.”
    “Unless this dead slarn trapper was Per Lomax’s inside help,” Riker said.
    Maddox froze before cocking an eyebrow at the sergeant.
    “What did I say?” Riker asked.
    “Something profound,” Maddox said. “Now, come along. Our enemy is moving swiftly to accomplish something. We must move faster to stop him.”
    ***
    Maddox knocked on Meta’s outer hatch.
    “Who is it?” Meta called from the inside.
    “The captain.”
    “Are you alone?”
    “No, Sergeant Riker is here. He will remain outside to stand guard.”
    “Why would he have to stand guard?” Meta asked.
    “Will you open the hatch?”
    “Answer my question first,” she said.
    In the beginning, the muffling from the hatch made it difficult for Maddox to tell anything from Meta’s voice. Now, it was clear. She was nervous.
    “Per Lomax has escaped his holding cell,” Maddox said. “I also found Sten Gorgon. The slarn trapper is dead, with a broken neck.”
    A second later, an inner lock clicked and the hatch moved a bare centimeter. One of Meta’s eyes peered through the crack.
    “I’m tired,” she said. “Why don’t you come back later?”
    Maddox put a hand on the hatch and pushed. It moved another several centimeters before stopping. Meta used one of her arms to block the hatch from opening farther. She had been born on a two G world and was denser than a regular human. Meta also happened to be quite nude. She had a voluptuous figure with tantalizing breasts. Her long blonde hair was up, tied in a knot. Maddox enjoyed the view, but he didn’t let her charms distract him. Speckles of blood were smeared against her throat as if she had wiped it but failed to rub all the blood away.
    “Are you getting ready to take a shower?” Maddox asked.
    “Don’t you have any manners?” Meta asked angrily. “I’m naked. Your sergeant is staring me.”
    Maddox turned around to chastise Riker. The sergeant had his back to Meta. The closing hatch bumped Maddox forward. The lock clicked shut.
    Maddox realized Meta had used a diversion against him to get the door closed.
    “Meta,” he called.
    “I’m busy. Go away.”
    “You killed Sten Gorgon. It’s his blood I saw on your throat.”
    “Leave me alone!” she shouted.
    “Per Lomax has escaped his holding cell,” Maddox said.
    “Don’t you think I know that?”
    “Why didn’t you come tell me?” Maddox asked.
    She didn’t answer.
    “Meta?” he called.
    “I wanted to tell you, but I…couldn’t.”
    Maddox and Riker exchanged glances.
    The sergeant tapped the side of his head, mouthing the word, “Teacher.”
    Hatred for the New Men surged through Maddox. He’d been conceived in a genetic facility in the Beyond. His mother had escaped to Human Space, where he’d been born. Now, the enemy had tainted his lover. Had Meta really become so corrupted that she had aided a New Man against him?
    “I’m here now,” Maddox said. “Unfortunately, the ship is in danger. I need your help.”
    “I’m no good to anyone,” Meta said. “I can’t even trust myself. Just leave me alone.”
    “Listen to me. You have to—”
    The lock unlatched but the hatch remained shut.
    “Wait here,” Maddox told Riker. “I don’t like the direction this is taking. Wait on the other side of the corridor.”
    “Sir?” Riker asked.
    “Call it a precaution.”
    “Yes, sir,” Riker said, with a new, harder edge in his voice. The sergeant drew his stunner, and the tenor of his body language said he was worried.
    Maddox opened the hatch and stepped into Meta’s quarters, closing the hatch behind him. The room was tidy and minimalist. Bloody clothes lay in the small container at the foot of her bed. Meta sat on the bed with a red silk robe covering her nakedness.