War Song (Orphan Wars Book 2) Read online

  J. N. Chaney

  Copyrighted Material

  War Song Copyright © 2021 by Variant Publications

  Book design and layout copyright © 2021 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.

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  Book Description

  Only an Orphan can stop an Orphan.

  Murph and Jack are on the hunt for the biggest prize of them all: the Fifth Gate.

  But what exactly is it? And what will they do when they find it? Jack thinks he knows the answer, but what they find might not be what they expect.

  To make matters worse, someone else is on the hunt. And not just anyone, but another Orphan, and a powerful one at that.

  With his team by his side, Murph saddles up and prepares for a fight he won't soon forget.

  Experience the second entry in the acclaimed Orphan Wars series from authors Scott Moon and J.N. Chaney. If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, Farscape, or the Last Reaper, you're sure to love this scifi thrill ride.

  Books in the Series

  Orphan Wars

  War Song

  Samurai Guns (Preorder)

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

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  About the Authors

  1

  Low, steely clouds scud across the sky above Tamondran like a giant, sagging tent. Appropriate, I think. Grim weather seems fitting for a resistance—cold, hard, but most of all, steady. We’re in it until the end now.

  Concealment of the growing rebel army is nearly impossible. Men and women march to and from the underground base—hodgepodge uniforms, nearly random weapon assignments, and weary faces testify to two weeks of hard fighting on the mainland, alternating with hard training here. Some are done for the day. Others are just beginning. The practice field, just beyond the main camp, is torn to pieces by their stomping boots and mock battles.The sound of war is carried on the wind—officers bawling orders, soldiers bitching, and the endless cycle of engine noise, laughter, fear.

  Rows of tents cover every available square meter in this clearing. Jack’s meticulous attention to detail manifests among his troops.

  Once, not long ago, this area had been a field of wildflowers meant to deceive anyone who flew overhead. There had been a grove of saplings near the center—it is gone now, cleared away with saws and axes to make space. Maybe if the sun comes out the colors will return around the perimeter, but it will take time for the animals to emerge from their hiding places, long after the Hadrian resistance wins and returns to the mainland.

  Someday.

  For now, conflict reigns supreme, but it usually does. War is a needy god.

  I see Jack nearby, stalking the field with predatory anger. His expression twists sourly as he evaluates Tamondran’s defenses. His sunglasses, even on a day like this, conceal most of the blackened skin around his eyes—something I’m used to now, despite the alien change on his angular features.

  “This place…” He shakes his head, striding beside me as we head for a meeting with Tamok Sky and his commanders. He motions toward tents and troops, then the naked perimeter marked by centuries and newly dug foxholes, but there are no walls or tank traps. “After all the hype, I thought Tamok would have better defenses.”

  “Stealth and concealment were all that mattered before Anaximander’s assault troops.” Does Jack really know how much is still below the surface of this complex? It’s doubtful I’ve seen even half of it. My friend, the Orphan Dark Eye former CIA super commando, will never earn an all-access pass. Rebels mistrust outsiders. And there are few people in the Goliath Sector who fit that description better than me and my friend Jack.

  “Sure, but you can’t rely on tricks and gimmicks forever. Eventually, you have to do the wet work,” Jack says.

  The term makes me cringe. Wet work? Like assassinations or bloody hill assaults? “Christ, Jack. Not exactly a pep talk.”

  He shrugs away my comment. “Don’t get glum on me, brother.”

  Forcing a smile, I give him a comradely shove and jump back from his lazy jab, jab, punch counterattack.

  He turns his face toward the sky as we fall back in step with each other. “I like cloudy days.”

  I nod in agreement and chuckle. “I remember that about you. We did some of our best drinking in college on days like this. Crisp and cool and all the sorority girls in their sweaters.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah… we were geeks. Who are we kidding? They never even looked at us back then.” He laughs, low and slow. “Oh to be there again.”

  “And then.”

  This is the friend I remember. Not the Dark Eye or the Orphan or the self-proclaimed savior of the Goliath sector.

  We step aside as a platoon of Tamok’s best soldiers double-time their way to the mess hall.

  “The man knows how to feed his troops,” Jack says.

  “An army marches on its stomach.”

  “Maybe they do know what they’re doing.”

  “The complex is bigger than you think,” I say. Most of my time here had been spent in the tunnel to the waterfall gate, but I’ve seen more of the subterranean facility than he has.

  “You’re the expert,” he says, looking toward the entrance to the command center underground.

  His casual acquiescence allows my mind to drift back to one of the most important and unique events in my life, even though it seems almost inevitable for me in the Goliath sector. Traveling to, and then through, my second Orphan Gate was a big deal. It changed me even more than the first time. Jack has performed the same feat a half dozen times—and his superhero physique, endless endurance, and lightning fast thinking proves it.

  I don’t know why he started jumping through every gate he could find. Zedas, Shaina, and I had been trying to avoid Anaximander and his Overlord troops. It’d been a matter of survival, almost desperation. But Jack had done it on purpose, over and over.

  “You alright?” Jack asked.

  “I was thinking about Anaximander.”

  Jack snorts with derision. “Dead. Just as he should be, the bastard, his army broken into pieces by Tamok’s army. And my—followers. Most of them are fumbling around the mainland looking for Tamondran and thinking they can still beat us with one desperate strike. Idiots,” he says, still in a pretty good mood from our reminiscing. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Agreed. History’s full of lessons on the subject. Defeated armies never stay defeated, especially if they can regroup and have a clear objective. The Overlord remnants might not have a leader, but they’ve been looking for Tamondran for a long time, and the quest gives them purpose.”

  Jack narrows his gaze, not looking at me but clearly considering my point as we arrive at Tamok’s HQ. “Interesting analysis, Dr. Murphy.”

  I study him, wondering if he is the same person I knew—as a boy, and then later in life. Despite the nostalgic moment under the cold sky, the truth is that passing through the Orphan Gate changed me, and it sure as hell transformed Jack, alrea
dy a dangerous man, into a force to be reckoned with.

  His athletic physique and constant high energy level makes me think about leaders. The Overlord troops might have lost Anaximander, but surely there are more than a few within the ranks ready to rise to the occasion and get their companions fired up with the need for vengeance.

  Guards step back and wave us forward without hesitation. Jack doesn’t salute them, and they don’t salute him. I’m not sure what the protocol should be. Is the Dark Eye an officer in the rebel force? A high ranking ally? Something else?

  One thing’s certain. Real tension holds Tamok and Jack’s forces together. My fear is that it could just as easily drive them violently apart.

  The blast door parts and slides into a concrete foundation concealed by vegetation. Inside, dim red light illuminates the passage until we’re well away from the opening.

  “What’s on your mind, Murph? I can tell you’re using that thinking finger,” Jack says.

  I flip him the bird but with my healed ring finger instead. “You need to borrow it?”

  He smirks.

  “You’re the one getting ready for a confrontation.” I read him like a book. “I’m compelled to remind you that diplomacy works wonders in these types of situations.”

  “You don’t know Tamok as well as you think you do.” Jack’s next words chill me because they have the unpleasant reality of being true. “And you don’t know me anymore, brother. Not like back then.”

  Before I can respond, he throws one arm around me and hugs me as we continue to walk, like best friends heading home after a day of adventuring. “Don’t listen to me. Negotiating with Tamok puts me in a foul mood. One of us should be in command. Sooner or later, the troops are going to forget who to follow.”

  “You could bow out, tell your people to follow his orders. They’re from the Goliath Sector, just like he is. Doesn’t that make him the natural choice?” I ask, trying to sound reasonable, but he’s already tensing up.

  When he laughs, it sounds forced. “That’s noble, Murph, but foolish.”

  We stride into the planning room. Dozens of officers and twice as many regular soldiers and noncommissioned officers surround map tables that are covered with holographic images. Most of the soldiers belong to Tamok, but a bunch of Jack’s followers, including Slade, are here. Tall, muscular but lean, and with yellow eyes, black diamond pupils, and almost blood red skin, Slade is the most intimidating follower of the Dark Eye.

  “Glad you could make it,” Tamok says. His gaze passes over us, somewhere between anger and dismissal.

  The rebel leader once warned me not to cross him, and that he was a hard man with one goal: freedom from the Overlords. Emotional energy crackles through the room. Jack and I are at the nexus for a good portion of it. Few people truly love Orphans.

  “My apologies,” Jack says. “I came straight away—after following up on a lead about the fifth gate.”

  “What did you learn?” Tamok asks.

  Jack shrugs. “Turned out to be nothing. But if I find a way to send ships across the galaxy in the blink of an eye, I’ll let you know.”

  “I expect nothing less,” Tamok says, then steps closer to the central map table. “My lookouts, and yours, Dark Eye, have confirmed the advance of three Overlord forces. None of these remained viable after our clash with them on the mainland, but they have regrouped and reorganized under new leadership.”

  I give Jack a look, but he doesn’t acknowledge that I’m right. Down but not out. Stand by for the Overlord retort.

  Tamok continues. “Two elements have landed, one on the north shore, and another on the south. It appears the third amphibious force will hold station away from the island until called for.”

  “Why are they coming by boat?” a young, frightened officer asks.

  “We destroyed most of their airships and spacecraft in the last battle on the mainland,” Jack says, looking at his crowd and drawing laughter from several men and women.

  “But not all,” Tamok interjects. “Expect dangerous air support, even if they can’t move large numbers of troops with what they have. And remember, these Overlord soldiers are one hundred percent committed to our destruction, now more than ever.”

  “Why is that?” I ask.

  Jack answers. “Because the Overlords will send reinforcements if it looks like they can win; otherwise, their generals will cut their losses.”

  “You’re right,” Tamok says. “Few Overlords will risk dishonor by sending their personal armadas to fight in a lost cause. So the remnants of Anaximander’s forces must fight to the death to prove they’re worth being saved. And they know they can never return to their homes unless successful.”

  Silence grips the room.

  “Even if they switched sides and we smuggled them back to their loved ones, they’d be arrested or shot when it was learned they quit the field of battle,” Tamok explains. “These are desperate, hard men and women. Expect no quarter from them.”

  “That makes it easy,” Jack says to confused looks from half the room. “We have no choice but to win. Good thing we got that out of the way. Let’s get down to business, Sky.”

  Tamok leans both hands on the table. “To business, then. Reports from the continent show other attacks. The Overlords may not know the true importance of Tamondran or the location of the Orphan Gate on this island. They’re just trying to take every bit of real estate we hold. At least two of my sources claim the enemy still believes that Tamondran is on the mainland. Which suggests this attack will be more a matter of checking off boxes than a full commitment to our destruction.”

  “They’re idiots,” Jack says. “Just what I like to hear…”

  This earns another round of laughter.

  “…but we should be ready for anything.”

  Tamok points to several locations. “I already have troops deployed, here, here, and here to slow their advance.”

  “Sir,” an officer interrupts. “Overlord warships are bombarding the coast while putting infantry and armored vehicles ashore. Massive wave.”

  “Unexpected, but not something we can’t deal with. Those vehicles will have a hard time navigating the jungles,” Tamok says. “It’s time to bolster our defenses closer to the base.”

  Facing me, Jack opens his eyes wide, exaggerating the gesture. “Kind of think it was time a month ago when it would have made a difference.”

  His followers see it, and so do a few of Tamok’s people, but no one calls him on it. Officers break into groups with their platoon and squad leaders, make assignments, and send people out.

  Jack summons his crew and strides for the exit. “Let’s get after it, folks. We can plan on the way to our defensive positions.”

  “I need to find Zedas and bring him in.” My words have little effect as everyone dives into their own tasks.

  Jack waves me away, clearly more intent on planning his part of the battle to come. “Say hi to the big guy for me.”

  “Will do, Jack,” I say, watching him gather his captains and lieutenants. Leaving the room, I draw a deep breath that’s free of tension, my first since being in the presence of Tamok.

  And Jack.

  “Change is coming,” I tell myself, but it’s something I already know.