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

over, and he sported a silly grin on his lips. He could have easily passed for someone who had been out all night drinking.

“My brother, my brother,” he kept on repeating. “My brother, there are great things in store for us. Two swords. Two blades pointed away from one another.”

“Maksim,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “How many other Disciples are on the ship?”

Maksim shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe zero, maybe a hundred.”

“You just said there were others on board,” Arun pushed. “You told Stacy and Elon there were others here.”

“I lied to get into their head,” Maksim said, shaking his own head. “I don’t know. The Disciples would never tell me if there were others on board for this very reason. If I were caught, I could expose their plans. This way, I am unable to. That’s the truth.”

I looked over at Arun. I believed him. There was no reason not to, now that he was high on the happy juice. It made sense anyway.

Arun’s brows were knit in a line of thought.

“Iris,” Arun finally broke the silence. “How sure are we that the truth serum is actually working?”

“Ninety-two point nine percent,” Iris explained. “It’s highly improbable that he is able to lie at the moment.”

That was it, then. There could be no more threats to the Orion, or there could be a dozen cloaked Disciples just waiting to be activated. Only time would tell.

19

The suits were going to question Maksim more, of course. While he was still high on the drug, they’d use the time to get out anything more that they could. The piece of information we needed most was beyond our grasp.

I went to bed that night battered and bruised, wondering how Arun and Elon were going to break the news of the water shortage to the Orion the following day. I didn’t envy them that conversation.

Ricky was still out, probably drinking, definitely gambling with some of the other mechanics or passengers on the Orion. I fell into a fitful sleep.

When I woke, dull memories of a ruined building touched at my thoughts. I had woken before my alarm even went off. I sat in the lower level of the bunk Ricky and I shared.

I quickly realized what had interrupted my sleep. Iris’ familiar voice reached my ears over the comm system that traveled the entirety of the Orion.

“Good morning, passengers and new colonists of Kronos Five,” Iris said in a warm tone. Or at least the tone would have been warm, had I not known what was coming next. “Many of you are asking why the water system is unavailable on your levels. Please do not worry. We are working on the issue now. We are asking everyone to either meet at the Assembly level or stay close to a comm unit. At 0900 hours, we will be holding a conference to answer all of your questions. Thank you for your calm understanding.”

I blinked a few times in my bunk, rubbing my eyes.

“What—what the heck is going on with the water?” Ricky asked, swinging his head down over the edge of the bunk so I could see him in the faint light of the room. “Hey, what happened to your face?”

“Oh, right,” I said, touching the bruised places on my cheek and jaw. I had thought about not telling Ricky, but he was going to weasel it out of me one way or the other.

I told him everything. From fighting the cloaked Disciple, to being recruited by the Civil Authority and the issue with the water. Ricky was the closest thing I had to a friend, and as much as I wanted to deny it, it felt good to talk to someone about it.

As I went on, Ricky’s mouth grew wider and wider. He nearly fell out of his bed when I told him about the poisoned water.

“Man, I hope you’re getting paid for all of this,” Ricky said when I finally finished.

“Really?” I asked, getting out of bed and dressing for the day. “I just told you we have to ration water for the next five and a half weeks and that there could be cloaked Disciples ready to sabotage the air we breathe, and all you can think of is money?”

“Well, all I’m saying is that if you’re going to be involved with the higher-ups in the new colony we’re creating, maybe you should consider having a manager.” Ricky swung his skinny legs off the bed and reached for the lights in the room. “I mean, you gotta get paid for your services.”

“I’m assuming you could be my manager?” I asked, buckling on my long cargo pants.

“If you want me to, then yes, I accept the position.” Ricky shrugged, tapping his right pointer finger on his chin. “You should be compensated for putting your life on the line. There’s a term for that. What is it?”

“Hazard pay?” I answered.

“Yep, that’s it,” Ricky said, hurriedly dressing. “You should get hazard pay along with your normal hourly.”

“Pump your brakes there,” I told Ricky, shoving my feet into my boots. “I told them I didn’t want a job.”

Ricky stopped midway through putting on his shirt. “Dean, are you serious? You didn’t even negotiate with them?”

“Nope,” I grunted as I lifted my arm to put it in through my shirt. Pain raced up my body from my ribs to the area where I had been shot by Stacy. That memory brought a sardonic grin with it.

“We can still get you a reasonable deal. I’m sure of it,” Ricky consoled himself as he continued dressing. “We’ll tell them there was a misunderstanding and we’re back at the table accepting offers.”

“I’m not sure it works like that,” I told him.

“Please, please, Dean.” Ricky patted me on the arm. “Let me do the talking.”

I shrugged with an amused smile, and we exited the room together, heading for the male restroom on our level. Not to our surprise, there was no running water.