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

“Iris?” Ricky asked, unable to bottle his need for answers. “Iris, what are they saying now?”

“Legion managed to get into their main underground bunker. He killed or turned more than half their number,” Iris said in a low whisper so as to not miss the conversation still taking place between Jezra and Sulk. “Sulk said the Rung survivors have a plan to kill the heart of Legion in the jungle to the North. They have the plan, but they need the manpower.”

So, there it is, I thought to myself. There’s the kicker. They have the plan but need our help to carry out the mission. Which means they want us to share in the dying.

“Are they kidding? The Rung want us to help them clean up their mess,” Boss Creed said, shaking his head in disbelief. He laughed, a short bark with no actual joy in the sound. “Am I the only one that remembers the Rung were the ones that created Legion in the first place? Now their Frankenstein monster has spun out of control and they want us to help them?”

The tent grew silent, with everyone lost in his or her own thoughts.

More than anything, I wanted to throw the Rung out over the wall and be done with it, but we had to be smart about this. This could be the one and only olive branch extended before Legion wiped out the Rung. After the symbiot killed the Rung, it was obvious where he was going to go to “recruit.” Legion would fixate on the Orion next.

“Does he have a cure to heal those already infected?” Ricky said, swallowing hard, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Tong asked Sulk the question.

The Rung answered back in a series of sharp T’s and S’s.

“He said once Legion’s core is destroyed, then those with the virus will be released from his hold,” Iris explained. “Kill Legion, cure those he infected.”

Stunned silence descended on the tent as that news set in.

“Then that’s what we will do, for Arun and everyone that’s infected,” Ricky said abruptly, looking around the tent for support. His gaze fell upon me. “We have to try. We have to do something, figure out a way to kill Legion.”

“We will,” I promised. “We’re going to help Arun, Ricky. We just have to go about this the right way. You know there are a lot of people who aren’t infected, and we have to think about them first.”

The spark in my friend’s eyes dimmed for a moment. As passionate as he was about finding a cure for the woman he loved, he understood what it meant for the rest of the colonists. Not just a fight but a war was at our doorstep. The Orion survivors who had already been through so much hardship were about to be asked to go through even more.

“We need more information and Elon needs to be told about what’s going on as well,” Boss Creed said, looking over to me. “I’ll stay here with Tong and Jezra. You two should go let him know what we’re dealing with.”

“I’ll tell Stacy and meet you there,” Ricky said with a quick nod.

I could see the hope in my friend’s eyes again and I sincerely wanted it to be well-founded. Ricky was doing his best to put on a strong front for Arun, but I knew how much my friend was hurting inside. The Eternal had come to mean a lot to him, just as Stacy had to me.

Outside the tent Stacy was finishing up speaking to the gathered group of survivors. She had a contingent of Civil Authority Officers with her and I felt a moment’s pride at the view.

“And that’s all we know at the moment,” Stacy was saying. “I understand that we’ve had to hold information back in the past for the betterment of our people, but not anymore. As soon as we find out more, we’ll address you again and update you with what’s going on. We’re in this together. We’ll all survive together.”

The crowd seemed oddly satisfied with Stacy’s blunt truth. There hadn’t been a lot of honest communication between those leading the expedition and the colonists until now. They had been kept in the dark about the reason for the crash and even our alien friends until recently. That really wasn’t fair, or, as had been found out, effective as a safety measure. In the attacks that occurred, the colonists were blindsided and unable to properly defend themselves. They needed to be prepared in all instances, which they couldn’t be if we spoon fed them bits of information.

Stacy ran the show differently now. She tackled the hard topics head on, and for that, I was grateful. The community had come together and seemed to have more faith in us now.

As soon as she was finished, Stacy opened up the conversation for questions, much like an official press conference. Neither of us had been ready for our current positions, but she’d settled into hers just fine. I was still floundering; at least it felt that way.

“I’ll wait until she’s finished to tell her,” Ricky said, bobbing his head up and down enthusiastically. “You go and tell Elon and Arun. The sooner we get everyone on the same page, the sooner we can gather our forces and link up with the Rung to take out Legion.”

“Rick,” I said, taking in a long breath. The way I said his name made my friend stop in his tracks. He gave me his full attention.

“What’s wrong?” Ricky asked. “Are you hurt or something?”

“No, nothing like that,” I said, clearing my throat. Bringing the words to my mouth was nearly painful. It was harder than taking a blow or lifting a physical weight. “I—you know I’m here for you, right? I mean, if you need to talk about everything going on.”

Ricky gave me a sideways look and nodded. “Dean, are you feeling okay?”

“Yep.” I cleared my throat. “I just know you’ve been through a