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

second,” Stacy answered immediately. “Dean, with me. Lou, get on the Blood Shot. If anything happens, you and Tong light him up.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Lou said, trading spots with her.

“Careful,” Tong warned us. “He’ll try and get into your head. That’s what he was created to do, spread and infect.”

I exited the vehicle, making sure to unholster my Judge handgun, which sat securely on my hip. Courtesy of Jezra and her Cerberus Installation, the weapon was one I had grown accustomed to and relied on to keep me and my crew safe. I wasn’t the best shot in the world, but it would be hard to miss, as close as we were to Legion.

Stacy and I walked forward side by side. The combined headlights of the vehicles were more than enough to give us a clear view of Captain Harold. Or what used to be Captain Harold.

I’d never liked the man very much, but I respected him. We hadn’t always seen eye to eye, but that didn’t mean that his heart wasn’t in the right place, having the interests of those he protected at the forefront of his mind. We both wanted a home for our people and a safe one at that. We’d just gone about it differently.

“I have all of his memories, you know,” Legion said, tapping the side of his head. “I have all of their memories. Not just that, I’m better at coordinating their movements, both together and individually.”

“We noticed,” Stacy said. “You shot at us, remember?”

“Oh right.” Legion smiled. “Still not very accurate apparently.”

“What do you want?” I asked, suddenly struck by the obvious. “I mean, besides being lonely and wanting to talk. It must get pretty boring only having yourself to hang out with.”

Legion looked at me with a snarl that he quickly controlled and turned into a smile.

“You’re not wrong, Dean ‘Steel Hands’ Slade.” Legion shook his head. “It does get rather lonely turning beings, only for them to become pieces of myself. Perhaps this is why I am here. I’m feeling a bit generous and nostalgic today, so I’m going to give you a way out. I won’t kill you.”

“How benevolent,” Stacy said sarcastically, clenching the grip on her Judge tighter. “What is it that you want besides a friend to talk with?”

“My very purpose, the very reason I was created by the Rung, was to spread myself throughout this world and convert the rest,” Legion said, shaking his head. “I understand it all now, after infecting a dozen or more Rung scientists. I was created to kill the Remboshi. Then I became self-aware and tried to kill both Remboshi and the Rung. This is my history, brought back to me now from eyes that are now my own.”

Legion paused as if he was choosing his next words carefully. “Granted, I do understand the flaw in that logic. If I kill or infect everyone, eventually I will be the only living entity on Genesis, and what kind of existence is that?” Legion thought out loud. “It happened to me once before when the Rung and Remboshi went into hiding. I can only live off animals for so long. I crave intelligent life. You have no idea what it’s like to be alone for so long. The only way I was able to survive at all was to hibernate in the pollen of a very special plant. I—”

“Listen,” I said, interrupting Legion’s speech. “This is all very sad and endearing, but my trigger finger is getting itchy. To tell you the truth, I’m not that great of a shot, but Stacy is. How about you just tell me what you want? Or can we just end you right here and be done with this conversation.”

“Like I said, it’s nice to have someone to talk to.” Legion cleared his throat. “What I’m offering you here is a partnership. I’ll let you and your colonists live, even release those I now possess, including that Eternal of yours who fights me so vehemently.”

“And?” Stacy asked. “There’s always an and when it comes to dealing with someone like you.”

“Perceptive as you are beautiful,” Legion said, licking his lips. “No wonder the body I possess held you in such high regard. And, in return for letting your people go, I will content myself with taking over the Rung and Remboshi. By the time I take possession of all their scientists, I’m sure I can form a cure for this never-ending urge I have to spread and infect.”

“You want us to just look the other way while you infect every living thing on Genesis that isn’t human?” I asked incredulously. “Do you really think we’re that stupid, you virulent narcissist?”

“I think you care about your own people enough, especially that Eternal, to see the logic in my thinking.” Legion shrugged, ignoring my insult, or perhaps enjoying it as flattery. “Sooner or later, I will possess her fully. It would be a shame to order her to take her own life by slitting her throat or walking into the sea.”

“You’re a monster, in every sense of the word,” Stacy said through gritted teeth. “I should shoot you right here.”

“Go ahead. There are so many other bodies for me to control these days. The minds of the living seem never-ending.” Legion smiled. “Oh, but you won’t because you’re holding on to the insane hope that you will be able to defeat me. That you’ll get everyone I infected back and you’ll find a way off this planet. Dreams and wishes, nothing more, I assure you.”

“You know, a sick little part of me almost felt sorry for you when you were talking about how alone you are,” Stacy said, taking a step forward. “You almost had me. Then I remembered what you really are at your core. You’re a selfish virus that only wants to consume others, leeching onto them like an insidious parasite. We’re coming for you now. Your days are numbered.”

I was proud of Stacy for giving it to Legion like