Read Online Three Against the Stars by Joe Bonadonna - Free Book Online

over it.
    “Only a scratch,” he said.
    “I could have told you that, you enuretic furball,” O’Hara said.
    Four Drakonians crept up on them, their weapons ready to fire.
    “Heads up, Sergeant!” Makki shouted, throwing himself on top of the Irishman.
    O’Hara turned and threw his knife, skewering one Drakonian. Then he blew away two more with just as many shots from his automatic. A short burst from an Eddy machine gun spun the fourth Drakonian around. A laser beam finished off the lizardman.
    Akira and Cortez rushed over to O’Hara and Makki.
    Cortez kicked one of the dead Drakonians. “It is all over now, O’Hara.”
    “Get off me!” O’Hara said, pushing Makki away from him.
    Makki helped O’Hara to his feet and then retrieved the Irishman’s knife.
    “We thought you were dead, Seamus,” Akira said, relief written all over her face.
    “That’ll bloody be the day,” O’Hara told her.
    Makki flipped O’Hara’s knife into the air and caught it by the hilt.
    O’Hara scowled and raised a threatening fist. “Gimme that thing before I clip your whiskers, you ambulant biped!”
    Grinning, Makki tossed the knife to O’Hara, who caught it by the hilt. The Rhajni corpsman then saluted as Captain Luther Branch joined them.
    “Officer on deck!” Makki announced.
    “Captain Branch, sir!” Akira snapped to attention.
    O’Hara and Cortez were slow to follow suit.
    The captain was a tall, handsome but stern-faced black man with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. With him were Lieutenant Blip Levine, a freckle-faced lad, and Corporal Susan Baim.
    “I knew I’d find my three favorite malingerers taking a break as soon as we secured the area,” Captain Branch said. “Oh—as you were, for God’s sake!”
    Makki and the three sergeants stood at ease.
    “Any sign of Lieutenant Hooks, Captain?” O’Hara asked.
    Branch shook his head. “His last report said that he was holed up in some storage facility with a handful of Drakonians. He gave us his coordinates so our AEVs wouldn’t target the warehouse. I want you three to check it out.” He sighed and shook his head. “And O’Hara? Kindly sheathe that knife before you hurt someone.”
    O’Hara grinned and slid the knife back into his prosthetic arm.

    444

    Akira and Cortez moved into position on opposite sides of the door to a large, octagonal building. Makki stood back, out of harm’s way. O’Hara peeked through a dirty window.
    “Kick it open, lass,” he told Akira.
    “Hold this,” Akira said, shoving her cigar into Cortez’s mouth.
    Akira kicked open the door, and they stormed into the building. Makki tagged after them, sniffing the air for signs of danger.
    The bodies of six Drakonians lay sprawled among crates and stacks of weapons, ammo, and other assorted materiel. Five of the dead lizardmen had holes burned through their heads or chests. Zapguns were still clenched in the claws of three of them.
    “Here’s one for Sherlock Holmes,” Akira said.
    Cortez handed the cigar to her. “Who?”
    “Looks like these Draks committed suicide,” she said, ignoring Cortez.
    “Drakonians never kill themselves,” Makki said.
    “How would you know, furface?” O’Hara asked.
    “Stow it, O’Hara,” said Lieutenant Levine.
    “Makki is right,” Cortez said, examining the sixth Drakonian lying sprawled across a crate. Then he noticed the red and green buttons on the lizardman’s silver belt buckle.
    Shaking his head, he pressed the red button.
    The corpse of the Drakonian suddenly blurred like a bad image on an ancient video screen, and then morphed into a human being.
    “Lieutenant Hooks!” Akira said.
    “Them Drakonian sons of banshees must’ve found out who he was,” O’Hara said.
    “But how, Seamus?” Akira asked. “He was wearing a holo disguise.”
    O’Hara shook his head and looked around.
    “Why did the lieutenant go undercover?” Corporal Baim asked. “He was an officer.”
    O’Hara nodded. “Aye—but first he was a