Free The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) by Vaughn Heppner

move before they take Meta off Earth.”
     

-6-
     
    “Take us higher,” Maddox said.
    Sergeant Riker sat in the flitter’s pilot seat, thinking about the bottle of Guinness beer waiting for him at home. He wanted to stretch out on the sofa and finish watching the hockey match between Japan and China that he’d started viewing earlier tonight while waiting for Maddox. The beer would help soothe him before going to bed.
    “Did you hear me?” Maddox asked.
    “What’s that, sir?”
    “Higher,” Maddox asked. “Take us higher.”
    Riker piloted a flitter. It was a nifty model, identical to the vehicle Maddox had used to fly down to Loki Prime over a year ago. The sergeant didn’t like to think about that episode. He still had nightmares about the place and the worse convicts. Loki Prime was the vilest prison planet in the Commonwealth. The air-car had a bubble canopy and a range that could take them several times around the planet before refueling.
    Below, the lights of New York City spread out in a vast panorama with the dark Atlantic Ocean to their right.
    “Sir,” Riker pointed out. “Your apartment is only a few kilometers south in New Jersey. Shouldn’t I go down instead of up?”
    “I already told you. We’re headed to Monte Carlo.”
    Riker knew the impetuous young agent better than most people did. The captain possessed uncanny abilities, with the strengths and weaknesses of youth. He was bold, clever and could storm his way through most troubles. He was also reckless and trusted his abilities far too much. For all that, Riker had come to appreciate the man’s insights. The sergeant saw it as his task to shepherd the genius back to harbor, watching for the common sense troubles the “high-flyer” sometimes missed.
    “Meta is in Monte Carlo?” Riker asked.
    “As to that, I don’t know yet. Octavian Nerva is, though. We’re going to see him.”
    Riker hesitated. Loyalty was everything to him: first to the Star Watch and then to his companions in arms. They were the guardians keeping the wolves at bay. It was lonely work against a seemingly infinite supply of enemies. The truth was he found his worth serving Star Watch, knowing that he walked the ramparts to keep his nieces safe in Tau Ceti. He believed in Star Watch’s code of honor and duty to humanity. The service was his home.
    “It’s quite simple,” Maddox explained. “Meta knows more about Starship Victory than anyone else save for Doctor Dana Rich. The doctor is in the Oort cloud and quite untouchable. Meta was exposed. I believe the New Men desperately want that knowledge. We know the enemy acts fast. That is their normal mode of operation. What that means is that we have to free Meta tonight, or it might be too late.”
    “Shouldn’t we tell the brigadier about this, sir?”
    “No. O’Hara would likely order me to stay away from Monte Carlo. I don’t feel the need yet to face an inquest.”
    “How are the two ideas related, sir?” Riker asked.
    “I would have to disobey the brigadier’s direct order if she told me to stay away. That’s why we’re headed there on our own.”
    Riker squeezed his fingers around the controls. “There’s another possibility, sir. I wonder if you’ve thought about it.” When Maddox didn’t answer, Riker continued. “Maybe Octavian is acting alone for reasons that include hatred for the two of us. I’m the one who actually shot Caius Nerva. I’m the one who killed Octavian’s son and heir. If he wishes to torture anyone more than you, sir, it’s me.”
    “We can’t let fear hinder our resolve,” Maddox said.
    Riker’s back stiffened.
    The captain must have noticed. “Your courage is well noted,” Maddox said, a trifle grudgingly. “I owe my life to it on more than one occasion.”
    “I don’t like it when you speak well of me, sir. It means you’re going to ask me to do something incredibly foolhardy.”
    Maddox’s lips thinned as he looked away. The captain sat like that for