Free The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) by Vaughn Heppner Page A

physical conditioning.”
    Maddox refrained from responding. The more he dwelled on the subject, the less he liked it. Wasn’t the ancient dictum, “I think therefore I am?” He thought. Yet, he could be a pseudo-person. He found that more discomforting than ever.
    “This might hurt,” the doctor told him. The older man in a white gown used a handheld device, holding it against the small of Maddox’s back. The thing hummed and an area there became cold. A moment later, Maddox could no longer feel the spot.
    The doctor picked up a longish needle.
    Maddox tried to ignore it, but he kept looking at the needle sideways.
    “Steady now,” the doctor said. He put a warm hand on Maddox’s back and pushed the needle in the numb area.
    The captain clicked his teeth together, holding himself perfectly still.
    “Interesting,” the doctor muttered.
    “What is it?” Maddox whispered.
    “Just a minute,” the older man said. He pulled out the needle.
    Maddox looked back, seeing blood in the hypodermic. “Does that mean it’s me?”
    “I’ll be right back,” the doctor said, refusing to meet his gaze. The man hurried from the room, holding the hypodermic as if it were a prize.
    For just a moment while the door was open, Maddox saw Marines outside, armed and stoic-faced. This was serious business.
    The captain hopped off the crinkling white paper. He reached back, probing with his fingers. The spot was still numb. He withdrew his hand and saw a speck of blood on a fingertip. In his hurry to leave, the doctor hadn’t swabbed or bandaged the area.
    Maddox remedied that, although it proved awkward. Using a mirror to help him see, he pressed a bandage on the area. Then, he put on his uniform. Riker had brought him straight to the Navy hospital in Geneva at Star Watch Headquarters.
    After closing the last button, Maddox began to pace. His mental unease surprised him. How could he doubt who he was? If he hadn’t seen the Ludendorff android assassinated many months ago, he wouldn’t be having such a hard time with this. The android had given every indication of being Ludendorff, even managing to infuriate just about everyone.
    What had happened to the real professor? Maddox liked to think the man had survived his fate in the Xerxes System. Had the Builders scooped him up? Had Ludendorff fallen prey to the New Men stationed there? Had the professor slipped away into the Beyond, chuckling at his devilish cleverness?
    The door opened.
    Maddox spun around, relieved to see that it was the doctor. “Well?” he asked.
    “You’re human,” the doctor said. “Uh, well…” the man hesitated awkwardly.
    “I’m half human, you mean to say.”
    “No. You’re fully human. But…”
    “But part of me is mutated New Man.”
    The doctor nodded, still unwilling to meet his gaze. “You’re free to go, Captain.”
    “Just like that, eh?” Maddox asked.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “Do you know that I’ve—? Oh, never mind.”
    “Is something wrong, young man?”
    Maddox shook his head, although inside he was nodding. There was something wrong, all right. He had doubted himself.
    As he left the examining room and the Marine guards behind, Maddox thought about that. Causing a man to doubt his very identity could be a powerful weapon. Such a moment would be the perfect time for an enemy to strike.
    Maddox stepped outside at street level. Riker had left with the flitter some time ago, leaving Maddox to his own resources.
    The captain didn’t feel like calling the brigadier yet. She must have gone home to bed. It was late in Geneva, well past midnight. The sergeant and he had traveled across a third of the world while staying ahead of the dawn.
    Maddox felt groggy but decided against public transport. He could walk. It might help clear his mind. His internal time made it midmorning, what it would be in Shanghai about now.
    He moved briskly along a sidewalk, replaying the latest events. Who stood behind the Shanghai androids? Was it