I found this book recommended in a "space opera" thread, and on the off-chance that the author might have offered a copy free, I found his website. There is, indeed, a free copy available. But two posts up you'll see that Feedbooks offers it for free now, though the url has changed. Here are both links:
http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2293/star-dragon
http://www.mikebrotherton.com/?page_id=8
Oh, and I knowingly ignored the old thread warning.