Dreadnaught
Ace Books by Jack Campbell
The Lost Fleet
THE LOST FLEET: DAUNTLESS
THE LOST FLEET: FEARLESS
THE LOST FLEET: COURAGEOUS
THE LOST FLEET: VALIANT
THE LOST FLEET: RELENTLESS
THE LOST FLEET: VICTORIOUS
THE LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER: DREADNAUGHT
THE LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER: INVINCIBLE
THE LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER: GUARDIAN
THE LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER: STEADFAST
The Lost Stars
THE LOST STARS: TARNISHED KNIGHT
THE LOST STARS: PERILOUS SHIELD
Written as John G. Hemry
Stark’s War
STARK’S WAR
STARK’S COMMAND
STARK’S CRUSADE
Paul Sinclair
A JUST DETERMINATION
BURDEN OF PROOF
RULE OF EVIDENCE
AGAINST ALL ENEMIES
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) LLC
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penguin.com
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2014 by John G. Hemry.
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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-14303-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Campbell, Jack (Naval officer)
The Lost Fleet : Beyond the Frontier : Steadfast / Jack Campbell. — First edition.
pages cm. — (The Lost Fleet ; Book 10)
ISBN 978-0-425-26052-4 (hardback)
1. Science fiction. 2. Space warfare—Fiction. 3. Imaginary wars and battles—Fiction. I. Title. II. Title: Steadfast.
PS3553.A4637L667 2014
813'.54—dc23
2013047004
FIRST EDITION: May 2014
Cover art by Michael Komarck.
Cover design by Annette Fiore DeFex.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
CONTENTS
Books by Jack Campbell
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
The First Fleet of the Alliance
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
To my sister Dianne, for whom “steadfast” is an apt description. Thank you.
For S., as always.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I remain indebted to my agent, Joshua Bilmes, for his ever-inspired suggestions and assistance, and to my editor, Anne Sowards, for her support and editing. Thanks also to Catherine Asaro, Robert Chase, J. G. (Huck) Huckenpohler, Simcha Kuritzky, Michael LaViolette, Aly Parsons, Bud Sparhawk, and Constance A. Warner for their suggestions, comments, and recommendations.
THE FIRST FLEET OF THE ALLIANCE
ADMIRAL JOHN GEARY, COMMANDING
SECOND BATTLESHIP DIVISION
THIRD BATTLESHIP DIVISION
Gallant
Dreadnaught
Indomitable
Orion (lost at Sobek)
Glorious
Dependable
Magnificent
Conqueror
FOURTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION
FIFTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION
Warspite
Fearless
Vengeance
Resolution
Revenge
Redoubtable
Guardian
SEVENTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION
EIGHTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION
Colossus
Relentless
Encroach
Reprisal
Amazon
Superb
Spartan
Splendid
FIRST BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION
SECOND BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION
Inspire
Leviathan
Formidable
Dragon
Brilliant (lost at Honor)
Steadfast
Implacable
Valiant
FOURTH BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION
FIFTH BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION
Dauntless (flagship)
Adroit
Daring
Victorious
Intemperate
SIXTH BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION
Illustrious
Incredible
Invincible (lost at Pandora)
FIFTH ASSAULT TRANSPORT DIVISION
Tsunami
Typhoon
Mistral
Haboob
FIRST AUXILIARIES DIVISION
SECOND AUXILIARIES DIVISION
Titan
Witch
Tanuki
Jinn
Kupua
Alchemist
Domovoi
Cyclops
THIRTY-ONE HEAVY CRUISERS IN SIX DIVISIONS
First Heavy Cruiser Division
Third Heavy Cruiser Division
Fourth Heavy Cruiser Division
Fifth Heavy Cruiser Division
Eighth Heavy Cruiser Division
Tenth Heavy Cruiser Division
Emerald and Hoplon lost at Honor
FIFTY-FIVE LIGHT CRUISERS IN TEN SQUADRONS
First Light Cruiser Squadron
Second Light Cruiser Squadron
Third Light Cruiser Squadron
Fifth Light Cruiser Squadron
Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron
Eighth Light Cruiser Squadron
Ninth Light Cruiser Squadron
Tenth Light Cruiser Squadron
Eleventh Light Cruiser Squadron
Fourteenth Light Cruiser Squadron
Balestra lost at Honor
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY DESTROYERS IN EIGHTEEN SQUADRONS
First Destroyer Squadron
Second Destroyer Squadron
Third Destroyer Squadron
Fourth Destroyer Squadron
Sixth Destroyer Squadron
Seventh Destroyer Squadron
Ninth Destroyer Squadron
Tenth Destroyer Squadron
Twelfth Destroyer Squadron
Fourteenth Destroyer Squadron
Sixteenth Destroyer Squadron
Seventeenth Destroyer Squadron
Twentieth Destroyer Squadron
Twenty-first Destroyer Squadron
Twenty-third Destroyer Squadron
Twenty-seventh Destroyer Squadron
Twenty-eighth Destroyer Squadron
Thirty-second Destroyer Squadron
Zaghnal lost at Pandora
Plumbatae, Bolo, Bangalore, and Morningstar lost at Honor
Musket lost at Midway
FIRST FLEET MARINE FORCE
Major General Carabali, commanding
3,000 Marines on assault transports and divided into detachments on battle cruisers and battleships
ONE
ADMIRAL John “Black Jack” Geary, accustomed to gazing down upon worlds from hundreds of kilometers high and looking into the vastness of space in which a man could fall forever, felt slightly dizzy as he leaned over the crumbling remains of a stone wall to peer down the other side, where the land dropped away for about ten meters in a steep slope littered with rocks. Beyond, a land green with vegetation rolled to the north into the low hills that marked this small portion of Old Earth. He remembered land like this, in parts of his home world of Glenlyon, a planet he had not seen for a century.
Geary squinted against a wind that brought scents of growing things and animals and the enterprises of people. Not like that inside a spacecraft, which despite the best air scrubbers known to science, always held a faint taint of crowded humanity, caffeinated beverages, and heated circuitry.
“Not much left, is there?” Captain Tanya Desjani commented, looking at what had once been the wall’s foundation.
“It’s thousands of years old,” Historic Properties Steward Gary Main replied. He seemed as much a part of the landscape as the wall itself, perhaps because members of his family had served as Stewards of the wall for generations. “The wonder is that there’s anything left at all, especially after the ice century of the last millennium. The Gulf Stream helps keep this island of ours warm, so it got very cold up here when the stream lost a lot of push. The rest of the world got warm, and we got cold, but then England has always been a bit contrary when it comes to the rest of the planet. Since then, everywhere else on Earth has been cooling down, and we’ve been warming up.”
Geary smiled crookedly. “I have to admit it feels strange to be on a planet that has known humanity for so long that people can speak of the last millennium.”
“That’s all quite recent, compared to this wall, Admiral,” Main replied.
“Hadrian’s Wall,” Desjani mused. “I guess if you want to be remembered for thousands of years, it helps to build a big wall and name it after yourself. I remember the Admiral and I talking about that Empire of Rome, and I thought it must have been pretty small. Just part of one planet and all. But, standing here, I realize it must have felt awfully big to people who had to walk it.”
Main nodded, running one hand above the fitted stones remaining in the wall. “When this was intact, it was about six meters high. Forts every Roman mile, and numerous turrets between them. It was an impressive fortification.”
“Our Marines could have jumped over it in their combat armor,” Tanya said, “but if all you had was human muscle, it would be tough, especially if someone was shooting at you while you tried to climb it. How did it fall?”
“It didn’t. Rome fell. As the empire contracted, the legions were called home and the wall abandoned.”
Geary looked down the length of the wall, white stone against green vegetation, thinking of the massive demobilizations that had taken place inside the Alliance since the war with the Syndicate Worlds had ended. The legions were called home, and the wall abandoned. It sounded so painless, but it meant that defenses once regarded as vital were suddenly surplus, men and women who had once carried out duties considered critical were no longer needed, and things once thought essential were now judged too expensive. “The borders and their horizons shrank,” he murmured, thinking of not just the ancient empire that had built this wall but of the current state of the many star systems in the Alliance.
Tanya gave him the look that meant she knew exactly what he was thinking. “They say this wall was garrisoned for centuries. Think of all the soldiers who stood sentry on it. Some of them might have been among our ancestors.”
“Many people think Arthur might have been a king during those times,” Steward Main said. “That maybe his knights held the wall for a while after the Romans left.”
“Arthur?” Geary asked.
“A legendary king who ruled and died long ago. Supposedly,” Main confided, “Arthur didn’t die but remains sleeping, awaiting a time when his people need him. Of course, he’s never shown up.”
“Maybe your need hasn’t been great enough,” Desjani said. “Sometimes, sleeping heroes from the past do appear just when they’re needed.”
Geary barely managed not to glare at her. But his sudden shift in mood was apparent enough to cause silence to fall for a few moments.
Main cleared his throat. “If I may ask a question of you, what do you think our other guests think of all this?”
“The Dancers?” Geary asked. An alien landing shuttle hovered nearby, mere centimeters above the ground. “They’re amazing engineers. They examined the remains pretty carefully. They’re probably impressed.”
“It’s hard to tell, Admiral, since they’re in their space armor.”
“You probably couldn’t tell even if you could see their faces,” Desjani told him. “They don’t display emotions the way we do.”
“Oh, right,” Main replied with remarkable understatement. “Because they, uh . . .”
“Look to us like what would happen if a giant spider mated with a wolf,” Tanya finished for him. “We’ve speculated that we look as hideous to them as they do to us.”
“Don’t judge them on their looks,” Geary added.
“I wouldn’t, sir! Everyone’s heard how they brought that fellow’s remains back. How did he get out as far as their territory in space?”
“A failed early experiment with using jump space for interstellar travel,” Geary said. “We don’t know how, but he finally popped out at one of the stars occupied by the Dancers.”
“His ship and his body popped out,” Desjani corrected, a rough edge in her voice. “He must have died long before then. Died in jump space.”
“That’s bad?” Main asked.
“About as bad as it gets.” She took a deep breath, then forced a smile. “But the Dancers treated his remains with honor and brought them home when they finally could.”
“That’s what I heard,” Main said. “Those Dancers did better by him than many a human I’ve encountered would have, I’ll tell you.” He glanced at the sun, then checked the time. “We should move on when you’re ready, Admiral, Captain.”
> “Give us a few minutes, will you?” Desjani asked. “I need to talk to the Admiral about something.”
“Of course. I’ll be right over there.”
Tanya turned her back on the curious crowds hovering a few hundred meters away, citizens of Old Earth who were fascinated not only by the newly discovered alien Dancers but also by the humans from distant stars colonized by those who had left this world long ago. She turned her wrist to show Geary that she had activated her personal security field so their words could not be heard by others or their lip movements or expressions seen clearly. “We need to talk about something,” she repeated to him.
Geary suppressed a sigh. When Tanya Desjani said that, it meant the something she wanted to talk about was something he wouldn’t want to discuss. But he stood close to the wall, right next to her, though he didn’t lean on the ancient structure. That just felt wrong, like using a book from the far past as a footrest. “Something about walls?”
“Something about here.” She turned her gaze from the landscape and caught his eyes. “Tomorrow, we leave Old Earth, return to Dauntless, and head for home. You need to know what people will be thinking.”
“I can guess,” Geary said.
“No, you can’t. You spent a hundred years frozen in survival sleep. You’ve been among us for a while, but you still don’t understand us as well as you should. But I know the people of the Alliance right now because I’m one of them.” Tanya’s eyes had darkened, taken on a hardness and a fierceness he remembered from their first meeting. “I was born during a war that had started long before I arrived, and I grew up expecting that war to continue long after I was gone. I was named for an aunt who died in the war, saw my brother die in it, and fully expected that any child of mine might die in it. We could not win, we would not lose, and the deaths would go on and on. Everyone in the Alliance, everyone but you, grew up the same. And while we were growing up, we were taught that Captain Black Jack Geary had saved the Alliance when he died blunting one of the first surprise attacks by the Syndicate Worlds that started that war.”