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

“It’s all over,” I said. “There’s not much we can do now. I’m sure Iris and the Eternals will come up with a plan to sniff out any Disciples if there are any more. In the meantime, we go on like business as usual.”

“As mechanics,” Ricky added.

“Yeah. What’s wrong with being a mechanic?”

“There’s nothing wrong, but we could be secret agents, like super spies or something,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “Did you talk about me to Arun at all?”

“What? No,” I said, confused at first, then realizing why Ricky would ask the question. “I’m not sure you’re her type.”

“What? Incredibly smart and entrepreneurial?” Ricky asked as we made our way to Boss Creed’s office and our next job.

“No, gambling prone and the target of the Warlords,” I answered.

“Ah, everyone needs a hobby, and besides that one Warlord in the brig, I left the rest of those chumps back on Earth.”

20

“Hey, can you hand me the set of sockets?” I asked Ricky, looking to my right. “The one with the red handle?”

“Sure thing, super spy,” Ricky said, placing the requested tool in my hand.

He’d been calling me names like super spy and secret agent since I told him about the events surrounding Maksim’s capture. That was three weeks ago. We were halfway to Kronos Five and, against all odds, the passengers on the Orion hadn’t torn each other apart.

Water was still rationed. But the tech team had found a way to clean clothes and dishes using a chemical substance. Showering was still a point of contention. Everyone was tired of wiping themselves with antibacterial cloths, but we all had enough to drink.

I’d seen Stacy a few times as she resumed her undercover identity as a mechanic. She always had a smile for me. I had to bite my tongue a few times and not ask how the search for more Disciples was going. I was sure she’d tell me, but it wasn’t really any of my business.

I hadn’t seen the Eternal brother and sister team at all. They were no doubt busy with tasks calling their attention around the ship. Even Iris was someone I found myself thinking about a few times.

It’s over, I told myself. Stick to what you do. It’s already enough you’re on a seed ship hurtling through space. You don’t need to enlist as some kind of agent on top of that.

“You sure you don’t want to sit in on the game tonight?” Ricky asked as we worked on repairing one of the larger sweeping drones that cleaned the floors. “I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind someone sitting in. I can show you how to play.”

“No thanks,” I said politely, refusing to join in on one of Ricky’s gambling nights. “What do you guys bet with anyway? I mean, money isn’t going to be any good at the colony, at least not until things get up and running.”

“Yeah, we thought about that,” Ricky said with a shrug as he tinkered with the machine’s power core. “But we decided to do it anyway. Sooner or later, there will be stores and such. We started playing for fun, but it just wasn’t the same.”

“Yeah, I bet,” I said, leaning back from my work. I cleaned my hands on a dirty rag. Ricky and I were in a large back closet area on a cafeteria level. They kept the sweeping drones on rotation. It was our glamorous job that day to make sure the drones not working were maintained and ready to go when their time came.

“So, you and Stacy, huh?” Ricky said, unable to let more than a few seconds of silence pass at any given time.

“Nope,” I said with a shake of my head. “Not at all.”

“Oh, come on.” Ricky rolled his eyes. “You and Stacy for sure. It’s obvious she’s into you.”

“How so?” I asked.

“The way she gives you that smile,” Ricky said. “I’ve caught her looking at you a few times, and she’s not exactly hard on the eyes. Maybe once we settle onto Kronos Five, you two can—”

The rest of whatever Ricky was going to say was cut off as the ship buckled for the first time. It wasn’t just a tremor. It was a full-on earthquake as the floor below our feet rocked and rolled.

It was the first time that had ever happened. Red warning lights flashed overhead.

“What the f—”

Ricky was cut off again as Iris’ voice filled the intercoms. “Passengers of the Orion. Please make your way to your rooms and await additional details. There is no need to panic. We will give you further instruction as soon as we have more information for you.”

The ship buckled again, this time so hard that, even in my kneeling position, I was almost thrown onto my back. Tools and canisters along the shelves in the utility closet were falling all around us.

Ricky and I exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.

“Disciples,” Ricky said to me as if he could read my own thoughts. “It’s the Disciples, man. There’s more of those cloaked mothers here on board. What are they doing now?”

“I don’t know,” I said, rising to my feet as I headed for the door.

“This is your heads-up warning, Mr. Slade.” Iris’ voice reached my ears before she phased through the door in front of me.

“Your what?” Ricky asked.

“Never mind that,” I said impatiently. “What’s going on out there?”

“I have been requested to escort you to mechanic Stacy Wilson.” Iris glanced over to Ricky. She blinked her right eye rapidly. “There is a mechanical issue that needs your expertise.”

“What’s wrong with your eye?” I asked.

“There is an issue that only you can resolve.” Iris did the weird thing with her eye again. “An issue you have helped us with before.”

“Are you winking at me?” I asked. “You can just say it out loud. Ricky knows everything.”

Iris gave me a disapproving look before turning to Ricky.

“It’s true,”