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

to use the Orion as our home. We’ve also been able to construct tents in the area right outside the Orion. Some of the colonists prefer to live there instead of in a room turned on its side. Although I would like to bring up a plan in our future that would see the Orion righted once more,” Iris said, waving her hand over the holo display as she spoke. Green holographic images popped up, showing us 3D pictures of the Orion. “Communication with Earth is hindered at the moment. That entire floor of the Orion was destroyed in the crash as well as our supply level.”

“So, there’s no way to call home with what we have now?” Doctor Wong asked. The shorter man with glasses was in charge of the technology department on the Orion. He tapped his right pointer finger on his chin as he spoke. “Iris, what do your scanners tell you?”

“My scanners are only working on a very limited basis as of this moment,” Iris said with a frown. “If we are able to get them up and running again, I would be able to give us a better view of the planet. Perhaps we can even pinpoint the locations of where different sections of the Orion and even escape crafts landed on reentry.”

“I appreciate the need and want to find other ships and various sections of the Orion,” Captain Harold said. “However, I must insist that the defense of the Orion be paramount to our needs. We’ve already had reports of creatures in the mist down south as well as giant alien serpents in the jungles to the north.”

Captain Harold nodded toward my direction this time. He made eye contact briefly.

I’m not sure if he wanted me to back him up here or not. Honestly, I saw the value in both plans. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.

“Maybe the answer isn’t one or the other,” Stacy said speaking up for the first time.

“What do you mean?” Arun asked.

“Maybe we can work both on building a defensive wall around the Orion as well as getting Iris’ long-range scanners back online. They both seem equally as important right now.”

The room silenced as Arun thought over the plan.

I sure wasn’t going to say anything about the alien doors we’d found two kilometers from the ship. Arun knew what was out there as well as Stacy and Iris. The second day after we crash landed, Iris’ short-range sensors picked up the structure. It wasn’t really even a structure. It was a pair of doors set into the side of a mountain, a set of very large, very old doors.

As far as I knew, there had been no activity from the doors in the past few days. Thus far, Arun had kept the matter silent.

“I would have to agree with the need for both and as fast as we can,” Arun said with a sigh.

I knew she was about to tell them about the doors. There was a heaviness in her shoulders, a fatigued look of worry in her bright, blue eyes.

“Doctor Wong, Iris, and I will work on getting her long-range scanners back online in the hopes of finding other survivors as well as the communication section of the Orion if it wasn’t completely destroyed on impact. But there is more you all should know.” Arun stopped. She looked over to Iris and nodded. “Show them.”

Iris waved her hand over the green holo display again. This time, the image in front of them transitioned from the downed Orion to a giant pair of stone doors set into the side of a mountain.

Everyone in the room was quiet.

I looked over to gauge Doctor Wong’s and Captain Harold’s response. Doctor Wong’s chin dropped. He stared at the image, bug-eyed.

Captain Harold, to his credit, didn’t seem fazed whatsoever. The only indication that he processed the image in front of him at all was the bulging muscle in his jaw.

“Is that—what exactly are we looking at here?” Doctor Wong adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Is that what I think it is?”

“We haven’t examined it in great detail as of yet,” Arun said. “As far as we can tell, it’s alien-made. It looks old, hundreds, maybe thousands of years old.”

“When did you discover this door?” Captain Harold asked.

“Two days ago,” Iris answered. “One day after the Orion crashed.”

“I should have been made aware of this threat to our colony as soon as it was discovered.” Captain Harold glared at Arun and Iris. He turned to Stacy and then to me. “Did you two know about this?”

“I did,” Stacy said without blinking.

“This is going to piss you off even more, but I knew too,” I said to the captain.

Now I could tell he was really going to lose it. A vein in his forehead and another in his neck popped out. He looked like he was going to explode at any moment.

It hadn’t been easy for me either. I knew what he was going through. To go from thinking you’re the only species in the universe to discovering that you’re not alone is a strange, scary, and wondrous gamut of feelings.

“If there are any other findings or developments of this nature, I need to be among the first to know,” Captain Harold said just below a yell. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides. “How am I expected to keep this colony safe if I don’t even have all the facts of what is out there?”

“I understand your concern,” Arun said in an equally aggressive tone. “Know that you were only selected as the head of the Civil Authority yesterday. We’re all trying to figure this out together. In the future, you’ll be among the first to know when we uncover new information.”

Although Captain Harold didn’t exactly look happy, Arun’s words seemed to pacify him and the vein in his forehead pulsed slower.

“While we are working on reactivating Iris’ long-range scanners,” Arun picked up the conversation once more, “Stacy,