Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

kind of fancy talk to say you want me to fight someone?” I asked the screen, unamused. “Usually, people want me to fight someone.”

“Yes and no. The answer is always yes and no.” Jezra leaned close into the monitor so all I could see were her large blinking eyes. “The test is one part combat the other pure determination. It will take iron will to see Legion and the Rung defeated. You must possess not only the heart of a champion but the intellect of a leader.”

“You’re starting to lose me,” I said. “What do you want me to do? If you want me to jump through a hoop to get out of here, then fine, let’s just get it done.”

“Very good, very good,” Jezra said, leaning back.

I couldn’t see what she was doing, but her gaze looked down now as she moved her hands over some kind of control panel.

A hissing sound started in the center of the room, then a panel in the floor moved to make room for a cylinder to rise from the ground with two arms extending out. It stopped about chest high, the pair of arms extending a meter in length and as thick as my torso.

“Your opponent will be a modified drone we used to train our own troops during the Blood War with the Rung,” Jezra informed me as she went to work pressing more buttons on the keyboard in front of her.

Another hissing sound met my ears. The door opposite my side of the room opened from the ground up, revealing a robot. I had seen robots before. They had them back on Earth. But this robot was different. It stood easily six feet with a Remboshi-shaped body, reptilian head, skinny limbs, and a thick tail.

It walked into the room with the grace of a living being, no clunky steps or awkward movements. Its gecko-shaped head sported bright yellow eyes, and the steel encasing its body was dark grey.

“The first test is one of determination,” Jezra began. “The two of you will each take a section of the turnkey in the center of the room. Each of you will try and rotate it in a different direction. Once one of you have turned it a total of three times, the test is over.”

“I’m not making excuses here, but your Remboshi robot over there is probably stronger than I am to begin with,” I said. “Why don’t you get in here and go against the robot?”

“Fair point, fair point,” Jezra said from her seat behind the monitor. “I set the training bot’s strength level to match your own. The only difference here is that the robot will not tire and you will.”

“Wonderful,” I said, stretching my arms and shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”

22

The steel of the turnkey felt cold under my hands. The robot was directly to my left on the other side of the device. It was impassive to say the least, looking at nothing besides the steel cylinder in front of it.

“You may begin,” Jezra said from her place on the monitor.

I leaned into the steel bar in front of me then bent my knees and extended my arms. Head down, I pushed for the life of me. I think I got lucky. The turnkey actually moved a meter or so as the robot beside me adjusted his own grip on the turnkey and matched my strength.

Hope died a moment later as we came to a halt. We were deadlocked. The robot was using the exact same force I was using on the turnkey. I understood I had to think of something fast. My arms were already burning from pressing my palms into the steel and air came in faster, labored gulps.

“Now you see the true test of things,” Jezra said. “What will you do when you are faced with an enemy that matches you perfectly? What will you do when your enemy will not give in or tire?”

I didn’t waste the breath to respond. I had a finite amount of time to come up with a plan and execute said plan before my energy reserves ran out. With no food in my gut and little rest, I knew my tank was going to run out soon.

I faltered for a moment trying to change my grip on the cylinder. The robot noticed and used my temporary distraction to take another step in the turnkey. I wrapped my arms on the underside of my cylinder, pressing my chest into the steel bar now. My legs were still bent in a split lunge position as I pressed my frame into the steel.

I stopped losing ground for the time being.

Think, think. Focus and think, I told myself. This thing is as strong as you are and won’t get tired. You’re not going to beat it no matter how strong you are. You have to think of something else.

The idea hit me like a thunderbolt. It might not work, but I was crazy enough to give it a shot. Giving up my grip on my side of the cylinder completely, I turned and waited for the robot to slowly stalk forward, carrying the entire weight of the turnkey himself. When he reached me, I leaned into the steel cylinder and he pressed forward on the opposite side.

The turnkey came to a complete stop again. The robot was so close, I could reach out and touch him. That was point. On the other side of the cylinder and this close, I got a better look at it.

Gears just under his metal exterior hummed and buzzed in a low tone. If it did take notice of me at all, it didn’t show it, so singular was its purpose.

“Interesting, very interesting,” Jezra said from her place in the monitor. “What is your strategy now?”

I still wasn’t going to waste breath in talking. I needed to act now. Every second that passed, I was exerting energy. I allowed the turnkey to move forward