Read The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) for Free Online Page B

mouth opened a trifle wider than seemed natural.
    That made Maddox uneasy. He removed the pistol from his throat and moved even farther away.
    A sonic blast erupted from the android’s mouth. The horrible noise staggered Maddox, almost rendering him unconscious. The creature leaped, no doubt trying to catch him unawares.
    Maddox was a pistol marksman and able to think faster than others in such a situation. The creature was made of pseudo-flesh with titanium sheathing underneath. Maddox neither had the time to pump enough bullets into the thing nor they the penetrating power to smash the android into harmless smithereens. That meant he had only one option—the eyes. They were logically a weaker portal straight to the AI. But the leaps and bounds the thing made jiggled the eyes, making them a difficult target.
    These thoughts flashed though Maddox’s brain in less than a second of intuitive insight. Then, he pulled the trigger. A spark against the bridge of the nose told him he’d missed. Another shot ricocheted off the forehead, leaving a smear of what some might have mistaken for blood. The next bullet entered the eye, smashing its way into the delicate braincase. A second and third shot followed, doing even more damage.
    The android lost its coordination. The eyelids fluttered madly while the body sailed limply, propelled by momentum.
    Maddox tried to dodge, but he was too late. The thing crashed against the captain, hurling him against a large refrigerator. The back of his skull slammed home with terrific force.
    Together, broken android and unconscious man crumpled onto the kitchen floor, the gun clattering away under a small space.
     

-2-
     
    Maddox groaned as his head throbbed painfully. For a moment, he had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. Then, he remembered the android and their strange conversation.
    The captain unglued his eyes and found the construct on top of his chest. Maddox tried to push it off. That made his head throb even more painfully. For a second, his overloaded senses threatened to render him unconscious again.
    Maddox quit pushing, letting himself relax. There were faint voices coming from somewhere. Did people hurry here because they’d heard shots? That seemed likely. That would mean he hadn’t been unconscious long.
    I have to get out of here .
    Maddox grew more alert. He realized he felt something ominous approaching. The palms of his hands had become sweaty. The certainty that this android was only phase one of his attempted kidnapping came crashing down on Maddox.
    He squirmed underneath the android. That threatened his head once more. This time, he didn’t stop. Instead, his breathing grew labored as bit by bit, he slithered free of the android’s broken weight.
    Instead of resting, Maddox searched for his gun. He looked around—
    Heavy footsteps neared the outer door. Maddox raised himself by his arms, looking up. The hatch slid open and a second android entered the kitchen.
    Maddox lowered himself out of sight.
    This was a presumption, of course, of it being another android. Maddox didn’t know it was just by looking. What made him think so was that the one standing by the door looked exactly like the one that had forced him into the kitchen, even down to the Woo Tower uniform it was wearing.
    “Hello?” the new android said, sounding friendly. “Is anyone here?”
    Maddox slithered across the floor as he searched for his gun. Several rows of stainless steel counters hid him from the new android. Once the creature entered farther, it would surely see him.
    The captain reached his targeted counter and wriggled his arm under it. He strained to reach his gun in back.
    “I hear something,” the new android called out. “Please, show yourself. Time is limited.”
    Maddox strained harder so his fingertips brushed against the gun. If he did this wrong, he’d push the gun away from him.
    Footsteps struck the floor. The android approached.
    Gritting his teeth,