Soul of the Reaper: A military Scifi Epic (The Last Reaper Book 11) Read online

  Copyrighted Material

  Soul of the Reaper 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

  Soul of the Reaper

  The Last Reaper Series #11

  How far will a Reaper go to regain everything he’s lost?

  Haleck Cain fights free of a failing life pod only to learn the space station he doesn’t recognize is in a degrading orbit. Battling for basic survival, he quickly realizes nothing is as it should be. He’s alone, damaged, and surrounded by new enemies.

  Ten years have passed and the civilization he helped build is in ruins.

  Cain’s search for his friends will take him to the most dangerous parts of Maglan and reveal a secret he never suspected. By the time he has true enemies in his sights, he will know who he really is and what it means to be the last Reaper.

  Fans of Renegade Star and The Last Reaper series will be on the edge of their seats until the final pages of Soul of the Reaper. Grab your copy today.

  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

  Soul of the Reaper

  Blood of the Reaper (Coming soon)

  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

  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

  Important Terms and Characters

  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

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Connect with J.N. Chaney

  Connect with Scott Moon

  Join the Conversation

  Renegade Star Universe

  About The Authors

  Important Terms and Characters

  Acronyms

  AI—Artificial intelligence

  AWOL—Absent without leave

  BMSP—Bluesphere Maximum Security Prison—Ultramax IX

  CD—Climbdown Day

  CIM—Computerized Inmate Monitor

  CV—Curriculum Vitae

  DM—Dreadmax Marines (inmates on Dreadmax, often falsely imprisoned, who have prior military experience and protect people from gangs and cannibals)

  HDK—Highly Destructive Kinetic (weapon / rifle)

  HDK 4—Shortened (11-inch barrel—from the trigger assembly) HDK commonly used by spec ops and law enforcement

  HDK 4 Dominator—Full length (16-inch barrel—from the trigger assembly) HDK with double high capacity magazines and a grenade launcher under the barrel)

  HUD—Heads up display

  LAI—Limited Artificial Intelligence

  LED—Light Emitting Diode

  LZ—Landing Zone

  MRE—Meals Ready to Eat

  NG—Nightfall Gangsters

  OFAT—Ocean Floor Access Tower

  QRF—Quick Reaction Force

  RC—Reaper Corps

  RSG—Red Skull Gangsters

  SD Regulator—Slip Drive Regulator

  UFS—Union Fleet Ship

  UPG—Union Prison Guard

  X-37—Halek Cain's Reaper AI (limited)

  YOHP—Yansden Ocean Harvesting Platform

  YT—Galdiz 49 rifle, sniper model. (YT is a ran
domly generated model number)

  Characters in Bastion of the Reaper

  Acrondis

  Emperor of the Alon.

  Briggs

  Former Union special operations commander, now a genetically modified monster called a Slayer. His human and Sansein DNA are constantly struggling for dominance, causing radical changes to his physique and mental abilities.

  Cain

  Halek Cain, the last Reaper.

  Cain, Hannah

  Hanna Cain, Halek Cain’s sister.

  Cain, Olivia Anna

  Olivia Anna Cain, Halek Cain’s mother.

  Coranth

  Sansein warrior.

  Eggleton

  Sergeant Davy Eggleton, a sniper observer for one of CSL Locke’s special teams. JWO Hamm’s partner.

  Elise

  Elise Hastings, protege of the last Reaper.

  Envoy

  Sansein leader and liaison to humanity.

  Hamm

  Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Roger Hamm, a sniper for one of CSL Locke’s special teams.

  Hutton

  Admiral of the Wallach-Xad exodus fleet.

  Henshaw

  James Henshaw, ocular engineer and owner of the Lady Faith. An accomplished gambler who sometimes cheated with a simple LAI but who lost his LAI during Hunt of the Reaper while attempting to acquire the Black Phoenix device.

  Isaac Meldon

  Isaac Meldon of Yansden, leader of Yansden. Similar to a president in authority but with virtually no influence on their primary military force, the Kalon Regulars.

  Jelly

  AI of the Jellybird.

  Jess

  Alon First Sergeant Kiliana Jess

  Novasdaughter

  Captain Amii Novasdaughter, acting vice admiral of the Wallach-Xad defensive fleet and captain of the Nightmare.

  Locke

  Chief Squad Leader (CSL) of Wallach.

  Loren

  Commander Loren Jacem, leader of the Kalon Regulars—the most professional fighting force on Yansden.

  Marcus

  Captain Marcus Kellerman, Yasden

  Oberland

  Admiral Braxton Oberland of the 1344th Alon Grand Fleet.

  Path

  Grigori Path, a sword saint and weapons master who joined Cain’s crew after Roxo II

  Pennington

  Carl Pennington, supervisor of YOHP lower level

  Rejon of Xad

  Leader of the people of Xad.

  Sarah

  Junior supervisor in the YOHP lower level

  Tatiana

  Granddaughter of Melina, leader of the largest compound in Yansden City.

  Tobias

  Commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th Alon Grand Fleet.

  Tom

  Self-taught engineer and friend of the last Reaper.

  Ships

  RWS = Republic of Wallach Ship

  AES Ever Victorious

  Alon Empire Ship Ever Victorious. Flagship of all Alon fleets.

  Bright Lance of Xad

  Flagship of the Xad fleet

  Captured from the Union in Flight of the Reaper, TLR 5

  Captain: Cynthia Thomas Younger

  Executive Officer: Commander Bernard Gile

  AI: Mavis

  RWS Coronas 1

  Personal ship of President Amanda Coronas. Up-armored. State of the art escape pod.

  Hunter of Xad

  With Jellybird scouting new system after Macabre

  Captain: Omon

  Jellybird

  Halek Cain’s ship

  AI: Jelly

  Lady Faith

  James Henshaw’s ship

  AI: Lady

  RWS Battle Axe

  With Jellybird scouting new system after Macabre

  Captain: Don Hunger

  RWS Jumping Fox

  Captain: Jaime Peterson

  RWS Nightmare

  Captain: Amii Novasdaughter (acting Vice Admiral)

  AI: Necron

  RWS Spirit of Wallach

  Flagship of the Republic of Wallach fleet

  Captain: Quincy Drysdale

  Ship the President of Wallach, Amanda Coronas, travels on. (She does not command the ship.)

  Ship that carries General Karn’s main army

  Striker of Xad

  Captain Yolanda Dempsy

  1

  Drowning in viscous fluid the moment you regained consciousness sucked. Roaring, half blind defiance wasn’t helping my situation—at all. Distorted and unintelligible, my words clarified nothing, summoned no savior, and wasted oxygen I was going to need like five seconds ago.

  I locked my mouth shut and expelled air bubbles, clear goo, and my dignity from my nose at a more controlled rate. As much as I wanted to breathe, sucking fluid into my lungs would be worse than a little oxygen debt. This was like purging a scuba mask. Easy as not dying. Relax, Cain. Just get a fucking grip.

  I wanted to tell the universe what kind of deviant sexual things it could do with itself, but I kept it classy because I’m a pro at staying alive.

  Calm, cool, and collected—that was my mantra.

  Yeah, right.

  Punching and kicking at the glass didn’t work, and the clock was ticking. Seconds felt like years. If this kept up, I was going to make a lot of unmanly sounds and die. I needed to do something totally badass.

  I twisted into the fetal position, tangling myself in electrode monitors and intravenous lines. Faux amniotic fluid sloshed around me as I prepared my legs to kick like a pissed off mule.

  Legs and core strength drove both heels against the glass above me like twin battering rams. One, two, three kicks did nothing but make me want to beg for mercy. Suffocation rose to the top of my least favorite ways to die list. Red spots filled my darkening vision.

  Misery loved company, and right now I was the prom king. I kicked again and again, losing marks for lack of originality. And let’s face it, my cool points were long gone. This was how the last Reaper died.

  So anticlimactic.

  It took me a second to realize the lid was gone, launched halfway across the room.

  I scrambled out of the slimy goo and got stuck. Intravenous tubes tethered my arms, legs, and multiple points of my body to the inside of this thing. I ripped them free even as I admitted they were probably there for a reason. I’d been in some kind of stasis.

  This probably wasn’t a hot tub experiment perpetrated by a drunk ex-Reaper, but a life pod. Question was, how did I get here? Where were my people? Why wasn’t X-37 harassing me with his annoying advice?

  A lot of thoughts went through my mind as I coughed and gagged and puked on the cold floor.

  What kind of idiots put a person in a life pod that killed people? This thing was a death pod. Sick bastards. I had tubes and restraints everywhere—arms, legs, private areas… even my eyes had been pasted shut with something nasty until I blinked them open.

  I scraped the crust from my face and realized I had two arms, neither of them cybernetic.

  With my perfectly functional left hand, I touched my face, carefully feeling for my left eye. Gentle probing proved it was real and completely organic. Great, I guess.

  I needed a Maglan Goldband cigar. I also needed a beer, or better yet, whiskey.

  My trembling arms and legs refused to cooperate. I pushed to one knee, then rolled to my side like a gang of muggers had just kicked the crap out of me. “X, a little help here.”

  My limited artificial intelligence had the day off, apparently. I didn’t want to face the obvious truth. I had both arms and both eyes. That meant no cybernetic augmentations, and that probably also meant I had no nerve-ware.

  No nerve-ware, no LAI. No X-37.

  “Well good riddance, X.” My heart ached. I missed all my friends, as though something catastrophic had wiped them out and I was completely lost and alone. “You were a pain in my ass anyway.”

  I rolled into a sitting position and massaged my face with my han
ds. Everything felt weird. I could almost hear Elise teasing me, poking fun until I roused myself to attempt a practical joke at her expense. The image made me chuckle despite my sorry condition. Where are you, Elise?

  Throat raw, each cough hurt, but I was getting better. Before long I’d be singing and dancing in the Maglan City Opera and wouldn’t that be a sight?

  “It’s been a long time since I woke up naked and drowning, X. This bites,” I said, not caring if my voice cracked. “Please explain why someone did all this work to patch me up then left me to die.”