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

I left the room before Stacy could make a joke and entered the long hall. There was a pair of suits outside the door right next to ours. I nodded to them before going in.

“Ahhh, there he is,” Trevor said, looking up at me with his battered face. “The man of the hour.”

“I’m not sure about that, Buttercup,” I said, pulling up a chair to him and turning it around so I sat on it backward. “You seem pretty popular yourself right now.”

“You and I are brothers, feathers fallen from the same bird,” Trevor went on.

His eyes were wild, dark but darting all over the place, almost as if he were reading something.

“How’s that?” I asked, playing along to get any more information out of him.

“I see the animal in your eye. You’re a warrior just like me. A skilled fighter,” Trevor said as if he were giving me a compliment. “You and I are survivors. I can see the pain that lives deep inside of you. What you must have been through.”

“Listen, I’m not sure why you’re gazing so longingly into my eyes, but you’re wrong,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Now what is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“I wanted to tell you that you are destined for great things, as am I,” Trevor said. For the first time, he looked serious, like he was actually telling the truth, or at least he believed he was. “You and I are about to embark on an adventure together, like two swords poised for battle.”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, we’ve already embarked on an adventure,” I said, looking around the room. “And I hate to break it to you, but the only thing you’re going to be seeing for a long time is the inside of a cell on the Orion, and maybe the inside of a cell once we establish the colony on Kronos Five. Is that all you have? Is that all you wanted to say? That you think we’re friends about to go on a road trip?”

“I never used the word ‘friends,’” Trevor said, looking deep into my eyes once more. “Not friends. The very best of enemies.”

“There you go gazing deeply into my eyes again,” I said with a sigh. “You got to at least buy me a drink or something if you’re going to look at me like that. Why don’t you tell me something useful for a change? How many of you are on board?”

Trevor grinned. “I will not tell you, brother. No, that is your journey.”

It was my turn to laugh. I chuckled, filling the room with the noise. “I’m not your brother, Trevor. I can guarantee you that.”

There was a knock on the door just before it opened, and Arun walked in holding a long needle.

Trevor’s gaze rested on Arun before turning to the device in her hand.

“What is that?” he asked through clenched teeth. “What are you doing?”

“It’s time to have an honest conversation for once in your miserable life,” Arun said, and stalking forward, she slammed the needle into Trevor’s neck and pressed down on the plunger with her thumb.

“What? No!” Trevor jerked his body and neck as far to the side as he could, but the restraints kept him in place. The needle’s point disappeared into his neck a second later.

I was no stranger to pain, but even I winced at the ferocity that Arun stabbed him with. I realized what she reminded me of. She was like a momma bear, and those on the Orion were her cubs. Her anger came from the fact that they were in danger.

Arun finally extracted the needle from Trevor’s neck, taking a step back.

Trevor shook his head and worked his jaw like he was trying to get water out of his ears.

“Iris, how long will the truth serum take to begin its process?” Arun asked the room. “How will we know that it’s working?”

“The serum will take effect in the space of a few seconds,” Iris said, phasing through the closed door. “You will know, trust me.”

Trevor blinked at the Cognitive a few times then grinned. “A Cognitive. One of the enemies of humankind.”

“What’s your real name?” I asked as Trevor continued to grin. “Your accent tells me that you’re not from America. The name Trevor Bishop doesn’t fit.”

“You are correct, my friend.” Trevor grinned. He pursed his lips as if he were deep in thought. He swayed a little in his chair as if he were drunk. “My name—my birth name is Maksim Aleksandre Kuznetsov Petrov.”

“Yeah, that’s a mouthful. I’d probably go by Trevor too,” I said.

Maksim smiled and actually laughed, almost genuinely.

“Maksim,” Arun took over the line of questioning, “I need you to tell me if you planted any other traps or anything else that could be dangerous or destructive to the Orion or those it carries.”

Maksim looked over at Arun. Previously, his eyes had always been full of hate when he looked at an Eternal. Right now, it was more like fear that washed over his bruised face.

“Why don’t you just leave us alone?” Maksim said, looking at Arun like he truly wanted to know. “Transients only want a better life, but you make this impossible, placing yourself at the top of the food chain with your boot on our necks.”

“Maksim,” Arun said while using a softer voice, trying to calm the man. “Please, I need you to focus right now. Are there any other traps set to go off on the ship? Anything that would harm the people on board the Orion.”

“I have not,” Maksim said with a heavy, regret-laden breath. “I did not have enough time to set the toxins to rotate through the air filtration system. My brother here was fast enough to stop me.”

It took me a second to realize that Maksim was talking about me.

That serum was one hell of a drug. Maksim’s eyes were glazed