The start of this one kind of surprised me. I didn’t remember that in the last book they had awakened an alien in the “cave” not far from the Orion. Apparently they had and were even talking to it now. Of course, the AI, Iris was doing most of the talking and trying to teach the alien English. It seems to be a very fast learner. It’s also very friendly and very non-threatening which is something of a first for the strange creatures on this planet.
Turns out the alien, who’s name is Tong, was specifically set in this place to awaken once humans arrived. As you’ll find out later, some kind of seer had foretold of the arrival of a ship with a the “Great Dawn”. That’s what the alien immediately started calling Dean Slade after they first met. It seems that aliens (the Remboshi) messed up this world with two factions going in different directions. The Rung wanted to advance technology as fast as possible and apply it to their alien bodies as much as they could. The Remboshi didn’t want to do this in such a hurried manner so the two groups separated and went their own way.
The Rung were working on advanced computers pushing them far beyond what they really understood. As to not let the Remboshi get ahead of them, the Rung created a virus that was supposed to affect only Remboshi tech. This virus backfired and began thinking on its own and now seeks to infect every living thing it can touch. It has become known as the Legion and with the crash of the Orion, it has grown tremendously by infecting all the survivors within its reach. These people now become possessed and are controlled by the Legion. They have already attacked and killed other survivors who didn’t know what they were like. Unfortunately, there are thousands of them in the forest not far from the Orioncrash site.
Tong has volunteered to take Dean Slade, Stacy, Arun and Ricky to his peoples fortification and sleeping chambers. There they can awake the rest of his people and secure arms and supplies for the remaining members of the Orion. Dean realizes this will greatly help in combating the Legion and also offer some protection should the Rung decide to attack. The trip is now without its problems since the building they need to get to is deep in the “mist” which is know to hid some very deadly creatures. You’ll need to read the book to find out if they are successful in getting what they need or even getting into the fortification if they make it that far.
Good story-line with more to come. Don’t know if the Orioncolonist will ever be found by Earth, but at least they might now have a chance.