Prince of Dragons Read Online Free PDF Page B

navigator, relaxed as a big hunting cat on a limb; Mra, the Pangaean chief interpreter, shimmering with a faint green aura. They all wore the silver grey of the Orion , with commander epaulets over the symbols of their specialties.
    Only Sirena wore the distinctive golden yellow guard uniform. But she knew it was not only that which made every male turn and watch her entrance. She smiled as she sank gracefully into her seat, accepting their admiration as her due.
    The lean blonde man in the captain’s chair nodded to her. “Sirena.”
    “Captain,” she returned. She looked enquiringly at the empty chair beside him. “Commander Navos has not returned?”
    “His shuttle just boarded,” Captain Steve Craig replied. “He should be joining us in a few moments.”
    “He has recovered from the strain of having to examine the entire crew and passenger roster on our last voyage?” Mra asked, her green corn-silk hair waving gently with compassion. “He was exhausted.”
    Craig nodded, brows drawing together. “Yes. Dr. Tentaclar will be keeping an eye on him on this run to make sure he doesn’t overdo.”
    “Several, in fact,” chirped the doctor, waggling his eyestalks.
    Sirena joined in the chuckle of response. She liked and respected the Orion ’s chief medical officer. On their last voyage, Tentaclar’s skill had ensured that a young guard, attacked by a vicious saboteur, suffered neither pain nor lasting injury.
    “Tessa is well?” Mra echoed Sirena’s thoughts.
    Their captain’s blue eyes softened. “She’ll be joining us in a few days. Had to organize our new condo on Earth II.”
    Ogg nodded. “Lots of wedding gifts to put away. That takes time. A bride likes to line her nest the way she wants it.”
    Panthar eyed him with lazy interest. “You married, Ogg?”
    “Was once,” the mechanic replied in his gravelly voice. “Didn’t last.”
    “Oh. Sorry.”
    Ogg shrugged. “Don’t miss her. Too busy taking care of this lady.”
    The hatch slid open again, and a deep, smoky voice sounded behind Sirena’s chair.
    Her pulse galloped, although she remained outwardly serene.
    “Sorry, Captain,” said Slyde Stone. “I was pursuing a small investigation.”
    Sirena looked at him sharply as he slid into the chair beside her. He shook his head as their eyes met.
    “Later,” he murmured as the hatchway slid open once again.
    Craig smiled, his face creasing attractively. “Commander Navos, welcome back.”
    Sirena looked at the lean man who stood in the hatchway. With the cool face of an ascetic, he gave the impression of leashed power. His eyes were a deep indigo, nearly black as his hair.
    “Captain. Commanders. I trust the lateness of my arrival has caused no inconvenience.”
    He sat. Above the center of the console, a multi-dimensional holo-video sprang to life, swirling through a complicated pattern that became the LodeStar corporate logo—a sleek ship speeding toward a guiding star. After a moment, the ship accelerated out of the hologram, and the area settled to a quiet glow, awaiting input commands.
    Craig looked around at all of them.
    “Crew commanders, welcome aboard the third voyage of the Orion . As you know, we are bound for Carillon, by way of Aquarius and Hibernux. Thanks to the news services, the whole galaxy knows that we were attacked on both of our previous voyages.” He added dryly, “It says a lot about the adventurous spirit of our galactic travelers that we have a full passenger roster for this voyage.”
    “Or perhaps the positive spin the LodeStar publicists were able to put on the last voyage,” smirked Sirena. “After all, the Orion is ‘captained by the hero of the Solar Wars’.”
    “I preferred the glowing reports about our ‘elite Serpentian guard’,” Craig shot back.
    “Touché,” she murmured, although she felt none of the chagrin Craig displayed at having been in the public eye. The elite of all ship guards, her Serpentians deserved every kudos they