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

the same people or beings that had given them the Ludendorff android? That seemed the most likely but it wasn’t conclusive. The most logical answer was the mysterious Builders. They were aliens, having built the silver pyramids and having helped the Adoks six thousand years ago against the Swarm. Starship Victory was an Adok warship, which meant Galyan, the ship’s AI, could have possible Builder connections.
    Why would the Builders put androids in the Spacer embassy? Were the ancient aliens meddling with humanity again? Did the Builders really stand behind the New Men, or was it Strand and Ludendorff, as the facts seemed to indicate so far?
    There were too many puzzles in play. Star Watch needed to know the truth in order to make the best decisions. Clearly, aliens had meddled with humanity in the past, meaning they could be doing the same thing now.
    As his boots struck pavement, Maddox determined to answer the riddle. He loathed the idea of someone pushing humanity like ciphers for mysterious alien goals. Humanity had to be free. He wanted to be free, in control of his own destiny.
    There were at least two wars happening at once. The open war was between humanity versus the New Men. The hidden war was between the android-makers and humanity. The ancient Methuselah Men, Strand and Ludendorff, also had their own agendas—if the professor was still alive, that is.
    While lost in thought, Maddox reached his apartment building three-quarters of an hour later. He tapped in his ID code and entered the main lobby. He paused a moment, inspecting his surroundings. A feeling of unease caused him to stare at various shadows harder than normal.
    After the drugged drink and the android incident, some caution might be in order.
    Maddox clicked open his holster, putting a hand on the gun butt. He rode the elevator that way. Fortunately, it was late and no one else entered the lift. Soon, he sauntered down a corridor, pretending an easy manner but wary just the same. He could spy nothing amiss, finding nothing to validate the unease.
    Reaching his door, he pulled his hand from the knob as if it was hot and stepped back. The unease had just intensified. With his fingertips, he brushed the door jam, running his fingers around the length of the frame. There hadn’t been any forced entry that he could tell. Could someone have used a key?
    He crouched, studying the lock. It didn’t seem that anyone had tampered with it…
    Maddox drew the gun, readied himself and tapped his thumb against the pressure lock. The door clicked open. With a foot, he pushed the door and hopped into the entryway. He stood listening, opening his person for greater feelings of wrongness.
    The furniture was in the right spots. No items were misplaced, nor could he spy foreign objects. Quietly, he closed the door. His instincts told him something was wrong, but he couldn’t see any evidence of that.
    For two minutes, he stood waiting with his gun poised.
    What do I sense?
    Analyzing his senses, he realized it was just a feeling. No one had entered his apartment. If someone were hiding here, he would have detected it by now. Besides, he had countless security systems in place. Some sensors even watched outside despite his being many floors up.
    Before leaving the first time to find Victory , gunmen in an air-van had attempted to ambush him in his apartment.
    With his gun ready, Maddox tiptoed through the rooms. He moved like a great cat, straining his senses, traversing the entire complex, even checking the closets. He didn’t find anything off.
    Could he be overreacting? He didn’t like to think so. He was Captain Maddox. If he were going to start jumping at less than shadows, how would he ever help to defeat the New Men and Strand?
    Muttering under his breath, he reentered the living room, going to a small bar. He clunked the gun onto the countertop and poured himself a whiskey.
    One thing was for certain, he would not drink from a tainted source again. That had