Night Song (The Guild Wars Book 9) by Mark Wandrey (best management books of all time .txt) 📗

Night Song

 

Book Nine of The Guild Wars

 

By

 

Mark Wandrey & Marisa Wolf

PUBLISHED BY: Seventh Seal Press

 

 

Copyright © 2020 Mark Wandrey & Marisa Wolf

 

 

All Rights Reserved

 

 

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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Gateway to Union”

and discover other titles by Mark Wandrey at:

http://worldmaker.us/

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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”

and discover other titles by Seventh Seal Press at:

http://chriskennedypublishing.com/

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Do you have what it takes to be a Merc?

Take your VOWs and join the Merc Guild on Facebook!

Meet us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/536506813392912/

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For a suggested reading order guide to the Four Horsemen universe, go to:

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/4hu-suggested-reading-order/

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For a listing of all the Four Horsemen books, go to:

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/

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Cover Design by Brenda Mihalko

Original Art by Ricky Ryan

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License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

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Dedication

To all of you fans of the Four Horsemen Universe who also happen to be dog lovers, and have been wondering when we were going to get some equal time. This is our love letter to you, and our doggies, both alive and in the summer lands. They were all good boys and girls, and we miss them.

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Contents

Dedication

Prologue

Part I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part II

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

Epilogue

Glossary

About Mark Wandrey

About Marisa Wolf

Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy

Excerpt from Book One of the Singularity War

Excerpt from Devil Calls the Tune

Excerpt from Book One of the Mako Saga

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Prologue

Kumbia Plains, Gephard, Crapti Region, Jesc Arm

Crent’s muzzle wrinkled at the stench of Humans. They always smelled so…simian. Even the pair in their powered armor standing next to the command post exuded monkey stink from the armor vents. He guessed they wouldn’t smell as much if they were in space and thus forced to seal their armor. Fronth, his second in command, matched Crent’s strides a few steps behind him as was proper. He could see his long-time adjutant’s muzzle wrinkled, a sure sign he didn’t like the smell, either.

They stopped outside the command post and waited. Like everything else the Humans did, it was custom made, big, armored, and expensive. There were a hundred Union companies making mobile command posts. None of them would be good enough for the hairless monkeys. Scents of Akesh, they could be so wasteful and arrogant.

“There has to be a better way, Commander,” Fronth grumbled sotto voce.

“If there is, tell me what it might be,” Crent replied. Fronth sighed. “If Krif’Hosh is to live, this must be done.” His ears flattened, and, after a moment, Fronth echoed the gesture in submission.

The command post’s door opened, and an unarmored Human stuck his round head out. “The commander will see you now, Zuul.” Crent’s translator rendered the simian Human’s grunts and barks into the more sonorous base Zuul.

“This is commander Crent,” Fronth said, his ears back in anger. “We are not some pet for you to summon.”

Crent put a gentling hand on his second, feeling the bands of muscle in his shoulders.

“You coming or not?” the Human asked. Crent nodded, and the Human held the door.

Inside was similar to any Union-made command center; multiple workstations and a central plotting area with a three-dimensional Tri-V display showing the battlefield. Crent shook his head slightly. If it is so similar, why do they insist on making their own? A Human of at least two meters, thus several centimeters taller than most Zuul, came from the other side of the Tri-V to face them. “Commander Crent, I’m Commander Porter, CO of Silent Night.” He put his hand to his forehead in a gesture Crent remembered was a Human salute.

“Commander,” he said, and put his curled paw against his chest in the Zuul’s version of a salute. “It is good to meet you at last.”

“The briefing in space back at Jaakul station was hurried.” Porter nodded. “That was the first sign I got that something might not be as we were led to believe.”

“Indeed,” Crent said. “The Zuparti are paranoid and, more often than not, their contracts turn out to be nothing more than a pup foolishly howling at the moons.”

“I think I understand the analogy,” the Human said. “I understand you wanted to talk about an urgent matter?”

“Yes,” Crent said. “You know our position here is untenable.”

Porter’s body language instantly changed, as did that of all his various subordinates in the room. Most had looked curiously or, as Crent suspected, suspiciously as the Zuul mercs entered their command center. Now they were all looking at him after his translator spoke the