J. N. Chaney Copyrighted Material Orion Colony Copyright © 2018 by Variant Publications Book design and layout copyright © 2018 by JN Chaney This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney and Jonathan Yanez. www.jnchaney.com www.jonathan-yanez.com 1st Edition Books in the Renegade Star Universe Renegade Star Series: Renegade Star Renegade Atlas Renegade Moon Renegade Lost Renegade Fleet Renegade Earth Renegade Dawn Renegade Children Renegade Union Renegade Empire Renegade Descent Renegade Rising Renegade Alliance Renegade Evolution Renegade War Renegade Peace Standalones: Nameless The Constable The Constable Returns The Warrior Queen The Renegade The Deal The Orion Colony Series with Jonathan Yanez: Orion Colony Orion Uncharted Orion Awakened Orion Protected The Last Reaper Series with Scott Moon: The Last Reaper Fear the Reaper Blade of the Reaper Wings of the Reaper Flight of the Reaper Wrath of the Reaper Will of the Reaper Descent of the Reaper Hunt of the Reaper Bastion of the Reaper The Fifth Column Series with Molly Lerma: The Fifth Column The Solaras Initiative The Forlorn Hope Final Battlefield (Coming soon!) Resonant Son Series with Christopher Hopper: Resonant Son Resonant Abyss The Galactic Law Series with James S. Aaron: Galactic Law Galactic Judge Galactic Jury Galactic Executioner Deadland Drifter Series with Ell Leigh Clarke: Deadland Drifter Deadland Wanderer Deadland Sentinel Deadland Protector Contents Join the Conversation Connect with J.N. Chaney Connect with Jonathan Yanez Orion Colony Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Epilogue Orion Uncharted Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Epilogue Orion Awakened Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Epilogue Orion Protected Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Epilogue Orion Uncharted Map Renegade Star Universe Join the Conversation Connect with J.N. Chaney Connect with Jonathan Yanez About the Authors Join the conversation and get updates on new and upcoming releases in the Facebook group called “JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers.” This is a hotspot where readers come together and share their lives and interests, discuss the series, and speak directly to J.N. Chaney and his co-authors. Join the Facebook Group He also post updates, official art, and other awesome stuff on his website and you can also follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. For email updates about new releases, as well as exclusive promotions, visit the link and enter your email address. Click Here Enjoying the series? Help others discover the Orion Colony series by leaving a review on Amazon. Connect with Jonathan Yanez Join his mailing list Connect on Facebook Follow on Amazon For all of the Renegade Readers. Your support made this new series possible. -J.N. Chaney To J.N. Chaney, Now, we’re cooking with gasoline. -Jonathan Yanez 1 Life on Earth was changing. Thanks to the creation of an immortality drug, humanity had divided itself into two distinct groups: the Eternals, a class of wealthy, prospering people, and the Transients, which consisted of lower- and middle-class folk who were just trying to stay alive in a world that was quickly running out of room. My name is Dean Slade, and I’m a Transient mechanic, grade-2. Once the Transients rebelled against the all-powerful Eternals, demanding a return to the old ways, things seemed to get out of hand, quick and in a hurry. It took a few months, but the Eternals had struck a deal with the leaders of the rebellion, finally granting their lower level counterparts—us Transients—an opportunity to branch out and leave this planet. This compromise had been a long time coming. Twelve seed colony ships had been built over the last few decades, each the size of a small moon. I was one of the lucky sons of guns working in the trenches, assembling parts. Mechanics were high in demand right now, thanks to the sheer size of the ships. It wasn’t as if they valued our trade, however. Far from it. They just needed hands to hold the tools, turn the screws, and connect the pieces. Automation could only get you so far, after all. There was just no substitute for human hands and a little elbow grease. It was about two kilometers in each direction from my apartment to the yard where I worked. During this walk, I traveled through a neighborhood well known for its crime statistics. As it happened, I was about to become one of those numbers. The sounds of footsteps shuffling echoed like a whisper from the nearby alleyway, followed by someone gagging and coughing. Usually, I didn’t get involved in these types of things. My credo was don’t ask, don’t tell. Just keep my head down and do my job. Live my life. Survive. I don’t know what made me break my silent pledge. It’s not like I didn’t know better. For whatever reason, I chose to stop and investigate the sounds, poking my nose where it undoubtedly did not belong. Around the corner, large trash receptacles and a fair amount of garbage littered the ground. The smell of week-old rations someone had thrown up wafted through the air. Past the stench, three men wearing heavy coats and beanies struggled with a woman. Outnumbered three to one, she still found the strength to fight back. While I didn’t know her name, I knew I had seen her before. She was one of the other mechanics working on the colony ship. There were hundreds of us, and I’d only taken the time to talk to a handful. The three men harassing her were reaching into her coat pockets, or at least I hoped that was what they were doing. The alternative left a foul taste in my mouth. “Easy, come on now,” snickered the man covering her lips. “Credits don’t come easy around here. This is Warlord territory, so you’d
