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

Jezra moved from her spot in the lead predator and stood on the hood of the vehicle. She interpreted for me to the rest of her people only recently woken from their long sleep.

One of the Rung, a scarred figure with narrow eyes and a wrinkled brow, shouted something to me.

Jezra answered in their tongue. All eyes widened and they looked at me with a reverence I wasn’t sure I deserved.

“That is one of our leaders,” Tong interpreted for me. “He asks why they should trust you. Jezra told them you are the Chosen One, a child of the light.”

“I know you have no reason to trust me besides your prophecy,” I said, not sure where I was going but understanding this was the deciding point in my speech. “But your prophecy, the prophecy you have chosen to place your hope in, has proven true up until this point. Don’t stop trusting me now. Put your faith in my direction and I swear to you I will not let your people fall!”

A hushed silence raced over the crowd. I had to stop from smiling for a second. I didn’t know I had it in me, but I didn’t think I’d done half bad. They seemed to have bought it.

The Remboshi spoke amongst themselves for a moment. The same scarred figure who had spoken to Jezra before now exited his predator. He knelt in his white armor and pounded the dirt in front of him, unleashing a string of alien words.

“He says they will not stop hoping in the prophecy now,” Tong translated in a rush of excited words. “They will stand with you and the Rung to defeat Legion.”

I looked over to the Rung. Dama opened the chest piece in her power armor and said first in her own tongue then to me.

“We are with the Remboshi and the Chosen One and his people,” Dama shouted. “Together!”

A cheer went up from all factions: Rung, Remboshi, and human. “As one! As one! As one! As one!” The chant started by Ricky ripped through the humans gathered and was soon picked up by the Rung and the Remboshi alike, once as the meaning had been translated for them.

Goosebumps raced across my skin. Where once four of us stood against an army of infected, now we had our own army. Although still outnumbered, we had the edge in weaponry and technology.

I turned back to look at the infected just inside the jungle. For the first time since I had seen Legion, he looked anything but confident. The infected moved from foot to foot, confused and uncertain.

“We push for the lightning stone in the heart of the jungle!” I roared. “Kill them all! Burn every plant with spores that you see along the way!”

Mutt howled.

I don’t know what kind of imposing figure it made me, but I couldn’t help but kneel and give Mutt a good scratching around his face and neck. He’d been with me since the beginning. He never asked why or for anything in return but my friendship. We’d spilt blood together and we were about to do so again.

Thousands of humans, Remboshi, and the Rung present didn’t seem to care that I was on a knee petting a dog. If anything, it made them cheer louder.

When the shouting died, I gave Mutt one final ruffle of his ears and climbed into my suit.

“Seek See Nay!” Jezra shouted.

“Seek See Nay!” the Remboshi army answered.

“Seek See Nay,” Jezra screamed again.

“Seek See Nay!” the Remboshi and Rung returned.

“It means ‘as one,’” Tong interpreted over the comm unit in our suits.

The human survivors from the Orion soon joined in, filling the air with the alien war chant.

I turned my gaze on Legion now, who shifted from one foot to the other. All hope for the Remboshi and Rung to turn on one another was gone. He understood there was only one way this was going to end.

I started a light jog forward with Stacy on my right along with the four new Rung armor units. The craft that had dropped them off was already on its way back to get four more suits. The battle would be over before it could return, but at least the Rung were doing everything they could to help.

To my left, the Remboshi advanced with their convoy of predators, and behind me the survivors of the Orion prepared to do battle once more, hopefully for the last time.

My jog turned into a full sprint as I planned to hit Legion as hard as I could in my armor. I was going to get through to that lightning rock and the main plant that held the spores if it cost me my life. In that moment, I was ready to sacrifice everything. In that moment, I believed I was the Chosen One and that this was why I was here. I was going to fulfill that prophecy. Otherwise, everything that happened up to this point had meant nothing.

Weapons fire ripped forward from Legion. Rockets and grenades streaked through the air at the power armor units while smaller caliber fire was aimed at the Remboshi and humans.

On our side, we let loose with a volley of laser fire so intense, hundreds of infected fell by the second.

I didn’t bother trying to run and shoot the blasters on my shoulders. I was of a single mind. Get to the lightning rock.

A rocket streaked by my head, and a grenade went to my right, causing me to stumble but not fall. Then I was among them. Infected grabbed for me, those with bladed weapons or clubs striking my armor.

I ignored them all, swiping the long blade on my right arm like a scythe through wheat. I made the mental decision to separate what I was actually doing, which was cutting down the bodies, to nothing more than a simple task.

Get to the rock, I told myself. Get to the rock. All