Descent of the Reaper: A military Scifi Epic (The Last Reaper Book 8) Read online

  Copyrighted Material

  Descent of the Reaper Copyright © 2019 by Variant Publications

  Book design and layout copyright © 2019 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.

  www.jnchaney.com

  http://www.scottmoonwriter.com

  1st Edition

  CONTENTS

  Don’t Miss Out

  Previously in Will of the Reaper

  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

  Important Terms and Characters

  Join the Conversation

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  About The Authors

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  PREVIOUSLY IN WILL OF THE REAPER

  Cain and his friends survived a three-way battle between the Alon, Slayers, and a truly alien race called the Sansein. The first betrayed them in the second fall of the twisted nature, except for one hybrid struggling to remain human. As for first contact with the Sansein, it could’ve gone better. The highly advanced and mysterious creatures now seem to be at war with humanity. Cain holds out hope that there is one called Envoy who may bridge the gap in the future. In the meantime, the fleet is scattered across several systems. The Last Reaper and his friends must find and explore a world neither the Alon nor the Sansein dare trod upon.

  1

  I hit my last burpee like a twenty-year-old, then sprinted across the small training deck. Driving hard with my legs and pumping my arms for momentum required all the sprinting technique I’d been refining just for this race.

  Elise finished her burpees and began her run for the finish line. It wasn’t often I had this kind of lead on the girl, so I needed to win—for her sake. She was getting cocky and needed a lesson. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done these days.

  “I’m coming for you, Reaper!” she shouted.

  My response sounded like an enraged animal. Elise laughed—actually laughed—as she sprinted ahead of me.

  “You should have defeated her, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said in my ear when I’d finished and started walking with my hands on my head to open up my lungs. “The distance was short, and your improved sprinting technique combined with raw strength should have given you the advantage.”

  “Not helpful, X.” I tried not to look at Elise, avoiding the trash talking for as long as possible.

  “I thought you were going to crush me, Reaper. I guess that lecture on how different distance running is from a life and death sprint—”

  “It is different,” I said, wanting to puke from the exertion of this little farce. “Who cares if you always win on the treadmill?”

  “I always win on the track too.”

  “Don’t get cocky, kid.”

  “You’re losing your edge,” Elise said, hands on her hips. “Is that the lesson you were going to teach me, because I’m not sure I get it. You don’t have to sacrifice your dignity to build my confidence. I’m good. Completely certain of what I can do.”

  “The Union didn’t give me the ability to recover from workouts that they gave you. If I could train three times a day without wrecking myself, I’d be kicking your ass, kid,” I said, bending forward to put my hands on my knees.

  “Not a kid, Reaper. As for kicking my ass… whatever.” She straightened and went to the water cooler we’d put in the corner of our gymnasium. “Is the big scary Reaper sore from our workout yesterday?”

  What the Union had done to her and how we met was a touchy topic. I knew she healed quickly. Everything else was either innate or the result of hard work. When she obsessed over a new skill, like flying the micro-fighters, she practiced with fanatic intensity.

  Then she talked trash, which I was morally obligated to return with interest—when possible.

  “What’s the matter, Reaper?”

  “Your day will come.” I stretched my back.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t race.” She shook her head at my unimpressive level of flexibility. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Doesn’t matter how fast you are,” I said, laughing with frustration right behind the words. “You have to follow my lead during the mission to Yansden, and that means staying on the ship with Hannah, Bug, and Tom while I go down to have a look. Path will remain here to help you watch the Slayer.”

  “Briggs doesn’t give me a problem,” Elise said, already recovered from our little challenge. She had a glow to her skin that was… youthful. “By your own logic, I should go with you, maybe even take the lead, so you can teach me stuff. I’m not going to learn the ropes unless I get my hands dirty.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said.

  “She has a point,” X-37 said to me privately. “Seventeen hours and three minutes ago you told me it was time to start treating her like an adult.”

  “Don’t take my words out of context, X.” I found my own water bottle and took a long drink.

  “Victon told you there was a secret weapon on Yansden that we need to protect the Wallach-Xad fleet,” Elise said, stepping into my personal space.

  “Right. But he said weapon, not ship.” I was tired of this argument and couldn’t understand why no one agreed with me.

  Elise shook her head, really frustrated now. “Even if it was a weapon, it would have to be so big it would require a ship—like the fleet paralyzer of planet Xad.”

  “Slow down, kid. I know more about weapons, and ships for that matter, than you do.”

  “But you don’t know more about ships than Tom,” she said, keeping her tone more reasonable than when we first met. She was maturing and I appreciated that.

  I adopted my most civil tone, which was probably just north of being a total jerk, but I tried. “Tom agrees with me.”

  “No, he doesn’t, and Path is better at personal combat with any weapon than you are,” Elise said, moving to stay in front of me as I turned away in annoyance. “Why aren’t we getting his opinion on this Sansein killing super thingy?”

  “Path doesn’t know how to use them to end
wars—as in, he’s not an assassin. Thanks for making me say it.” I squared up with her. “We’re done with this conversation.”

  “How convenient. You can’t stand being wrong,” Elise said.

  “It’s late. I’m hitting the bunk,” I said. “In the morning, I’ll take a look at Yansden and if I need you, I’ll have you come down with Hannah or something.”

  “Oh, you jerk!” Elise balled her fists and stormed out of the training area.

  Several seconds of silence passed.

  “Do you really think you will be able to sleep, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.

  “I guess we’ll find out. Elise doesn’t understand work life balance. I’m doing my best without cigars—that means rest and relaxation whenever I can get it, because you and I know there won’t be any of that once we touch down on Yansden.” I headed in the general direction of my room. “Sleep, a good breakfast, and some time on the observation deck, then I’ll go to the planet and see what we’re dealing with. Have Jelly continue to patrol the system until then.”

  “Of course, Reaper Cain.”

  “Yansden is a fascinating system, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “And so far, it doesn’t seem anyone in it wants to kill you yet. Recommendation, enjoy it while it lasts.”

  Things always seemed weird when my LAI made idle conversation. Warning bells chimed right at the edge of my subconscious—a dark and mysterious place where my animal instincts lurked. In my defense, I was still distracted by my argument with Elise. “Why would anyone want to kill me? I’m retired.”

  “Truly?” X-37 asked, sounding genuinely surprised—a tone he didn’t use often.

  “I’m pulling your chain, X. I’m going out in a blaze of glory. Everybody knows Reapers don’t die,” I said. “Or retire. Someone from the Union has to do that for us, in case you forgot the frequent assassination attempts on me and my death row sentence and subsequent incarceration.”

  “I have retained that information though rarely dwell on it, per one of your earlier requests,” X-37 said.

  I waved my hand in a tight circle, indicating the conversation was over and we needed to move on. “Call me crazy, but those ore haulers heading to Yansden are really loaded down. Where are their escorts? The Union would have at least a squadron of warships in the area for something like that. And why aren’t the Alon raiding them; they have to know this is the situation.”

  Every ship we’d seen coming from or going to the asteroid belts in the system was pushing four or five times its own mass using a simple but effective technique I thought the people of Xad would appreciate. The situation looked like pirate bait. Something about the arrangement was off. If I’d come for raw materials, I could have made out like a bandit with no resistance.

  Or fallen prey to the mother of all traps.

  “Yansden is a rich system, developed by the ancestors of the Alon, if the design of their void capable conveyances is a good indicator of who these people are,” X-37 said. “My analysis suggests they’ve been building surplus for centuries. What you’re seeing must be the result of a society with an abundance mindset, rather than the scarcity mindset you grew up with.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, X?” I switched the holo to show a new set of ships chugging along toward the planet.

  “The people here are not as paranoid as you are,” X-37 said.

  “Okay, that makes sense. For a bunch of crazy people.”

  “It’s good that we have these little talks, Reaper Cain.”

  Something was definitely off with my digital friend. Maybe it was too soon to wonder if X was stalling, but maybe not. There was no reason for the behavior, so it felt random—not a common occurrence with my LAI but it did happen.

  “The nine hours of sleep you managed—with my help—have done you good, Reaper Cain. Don’t waste it,” X-37 said.

  “I’m not,” I snapped.

  “You should relax, Reaper Cain.”

  “I am.”

  “You should.”

  “X, let’s stop right here before you start sounding like Elise.”

  The next thing my limited artificial intelligence said confirmed my suspicions. “I’ve not consulted Elise on what I should say to you. There is absolutely no reason for me to require such advice.”

  “You’re lying, X.”

  “How could I lie to you, Reaper Cain?”

  “We’ve covered this. You explained to me in excruciating detail that you could lie to me if you thought it was in my best interest or if the deception served the mission,” I said. “Normally, I find this pretty irritating, but I came here to relax and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “You should.” X-37 paused, and when he paused, it was like the silence of an airlock. Not my favorite sensation, even though I understood it was just my perception playing tricks.

  I shifted, trying to get comfortable without admitting I was waiting for X to finish the statement.

  “You should,” X repeated. “Relax, that is.” His lack of concern for my mental health was bullshit. “Just take a breath, let it out slowly, and relax—”

  “I am relaxing!”

  “Your biometrics suggest quite the opposite.”

  “Because you’re being a pain in my ass!”

  “Reaper Cain, I was created to monitor your wellbeing and maximize your performance…”

  Sometimes, the only way to deal with an advanced computer algorithm woven into your nerve ware was to ignore it. So I did, praying there was no sound deprivation chamber quality silent treatments headed my way. I deserved a vacation even if it was just a couple of hours on the observation deck.

  Still annoyed, I selected the panoramic view of the system; computerized images of planets, moons, asteroid fields, and the star in which the focus of my attention grew large enough for me to see—like the Jellybird was zooming in with a powerful telescope. It worked best when I was chilled out and going with the flow. Jelly used the same technology during combat situations. In those conditions, the change in perspective could be harsh and jarring—kind of like combat itself.

  “Are you listening, Reaper Cain? Shall I discontinue my review of your recovery schedule, caloric needs, and the point by point list of improvements you need to make if you are ever going to win another foot race against Elise?”

  I manipulated the holo, touring the system from where the slip tunnel had dumped us to the planet we were approaching in full stealth mode. What I didn’t do was patronize my extremely frustrating LAI.

  “Would you like to see more of the freight haulers from the habitable planet?” X asked.

  “No.”

  Few things were better than a cigar and whiskey on the observation deck—if I had a cigar and if I enjoyed drinking alone. Tom was normally here around this time but was conspicuously absent. Sometimes the rest of the crew was gathered in the lounge to play games of chance or argue and tell jokes at my expense.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked. “I thought I’d have company by now.”

  X-37 answered but I suspected Jelly was also ready with an explanation. The ship AI and my LAI worked well together. “Elise, Bug, and your sister Hannah have descended to the Kalon planet called Yansden,” X-37 said. “I’m treating this as a direct question above any of my allowed deception protocols.”

  “Not funny, X. Work on it.”

  “That was in no way intended to be humorous,” X-37 said.

  I stood up, making a fist because I didn’t have a cigar to relieve my stress. This had the makings of a serious crisis, but I forced myself to hesitate. Without more information, I wasn’t sure where to aim my anger. “X, I’m going to need the rest of the story. Leave nothing out.”

  “Of course. Right away, Reaper Cain,” my LAI said, then continued to stall.

  I turned my back on the wall-sized holo screen and headed for the door, still not rushing to failure but definitely thinking about kicking it up a notch. Elise and my friends were loyal and brave—and a huge pain in the ass. I
’d made the mistake of guessing their intentions in the past. It was better to know, to choose my reactions based on facts and not to go off half-cocked. Or so everyone kept telling me.

  “I’m waiting, X. And this had better be good.”

  “In my defense, Elise made several convincing arguments in favor of delaying your reaction to her mission. I’ll store them for later use if you wish to review those particular discussions and the details therein,” X-37 said. “I should also mention that she has learned a great deal from your sister, Hannah, in regard to subtlety and espionage.”

  “What are you doing, Hannah?” I asked no one.

  “From the evidence I was able to gather, or piece back together after defeating several clever encryption algorithms they implemented to block my probes, it seems they’ve gone down to Yansden with the intent of infiltrating the primary shipyard,” X-37 said. “Where they believe the secret weapon Victon mentioned must be hidden.”

  “Fuck my life.”

  “Is that a request or an order, Reaper—”

  “You know it isn’t, X. Just give me a second.”

  “Perhaps you should punch something,” my limited artificial intelligence suggested.

  “I’d like to punch you.”

  “Impossible.”

  I headed for the armory, picking up the pace now. A calm and reasoned response was good but now I needed to enter the phase I called getting shit done, kicking ass and taking names, or just showing everyone what’s what.