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

eight hours,” Stacy said. “This place is filled with everything we would ever need. Things are looking up. I mean, besides not being able to shoot Jezra.”

“I thought for sure you were going to knock her out,” I said with a yawn. “I mean, I almost did.”

“What stopped you?” Stacy asked.

“Probably the same thing that stopped you,” I answered. “In her own twisted way, Jezra was trying to help. There are too few allies on this planet. If she says she’s one now, then we’re not exactly in a position to say no. We need all the weapons we can get our hands on. You saw what Legion is doing. Who knows how long it’ll be content to remain outside the walls.”

“I’ll never forgive her for what she did to you,” Stacy said, going over to wake Ricky. “Showers are down the hall to left.”

“What a minute; you were worried about me?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Little old me?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Slade.” Stacy smirked. “And if you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it all, but you’re starting to grow on me. Maybe it’s that prophecy Jezra told us about or the fact that we’re about to die every turn we make.”

We stood there staring at one another in the dimly lit room. Stacy was easy on the eyes, even if her personality was the exact opposite. Her honey blonde hair was down behind her ears for the moment and her eyes alight with mischievous fire.

“Huh?” Ricky broke the tense moment. “What did I miss? Are we going now?”

“Shower and food if you can walk,” Stacy said, breaking eye contact and helping him into a sitting position.

Ricky’s injury was a lot worse than my own. Sure I’d lost a fair amount of blood, but things like a sore foot, cut lip, or even a laceration on the side of my head paled in comparison to getting shot.

Stacy helped Ricky get to his feet. It was too soon. Ricky stumbled, about to fall before Stacy and I got him back on his feet.

“I’ll get Tong to see if they have a seated shower or maybe he can wipe you off or something,” Stacy said when she saw there was no way Ricky was going to be able to take a shower by himself.

“No alien is going to touch the family jewels,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “I’ll manage somehow. Maybe you can get me in there and I’ll take care of the rest. Unless, Arun—”

“No, Arun’s not going to give you a sponge bath,” Stacy said with an arched eyebrow of her own. “Come on. I’ll help you get in.”

I did what I could helping Ricky get to the shower, which consisted of offering a hand to steady him. Stacy did most of the supporting.

The showers were in a section of Cerberus I hadn’t seen yet. Stall doors lined up along the backside of a tile floor. Like most of the Remboshi installation, everything was white down to the stone-like floor, walls, and ceilings.

Stacy and I helped Ricky into one of these stalls before shutting the door for him. The stalls themselves were spacious, and as luck would have it, came with a seated area as well as a tube-like contraption that looked like a yard hose more than a showerhead.

“I’ll grab you two some towels and clean clothes,” Stacy said after we closed the door to give Ricky some privacy. “I’ll be back in fifteen.”

As Stacy walked out of the room, I took the shower next to Ricky. Like his, there was a square seated area that was made from the same stone as the floor. A hose came off the wall on the opposite side. A series of four buttons were below the hose, which I couldn’t read.

I took off my clothes and hung them on a hook that came out of the wall next to my seat.

“Any idea on what button to press?” Ricky asked from his stall.

“Nope,” I said.

I heard him curse as a spray of water erupted from his hose.

“The left button’s hot,” Ricky announced. “I think the right one is cold. The further we push the buttons in, the more of that kind we get.”

“Got it,” I said, pressing the hot-water button in two-thirds of the way and the cold-water button in just a third. Warm water came out of the hose. I noticed another hook above the hose, so I placed it there and started to clean up.

I didn’t realize how bad I smelled or how dirty I was until the stone floor was stained with dark brown and black streaks of water.

The center two buttons ended up being soap that was introduced into the water stream. I could have stayed there all day. Heck, I could have stayed there all night too.

There was just something about taking a hot, unrushed shower that rejuvenated my mind and body. All in all, I was feeling pretty good for a guy who went two rounds with robots after being chased through the mist by monsters. After my shower, I opened the door to see two piles of clothes and fresh towels.

I toweled off. Hearing Ricky finishing his own shower, I tossed a towel over the edge of his wall, along with his clothes.

“There you go,” I said. “You good? I mean, I don’t really want to help you get dressed or anything, but if you can’t, I can send Mutt in or something.”

“How thoughtful,” Ricky said snarkily. “I’m good. It just might take me a few minutes.”

“I’ll wait,” I said, putting on my own clothes.

The clothes provided were tight-fitting grey bodysuits, much like the ones Tong wore. They were a bit small, but it worked. I wasn’t going to start a new fashion trend or anything, but clean clothes were clean clothes.

Tong came in with a smile on his face and another tray of food.

“For many a time, I waited and prayed for the Great Dawn to arrive and now here