Captain "Black Jack" Geary slept for a century, but even that cryogenic slumber could not have prepared him for the planet-shattering conflict between the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds. In this sixth and final installment of Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet, this great war comes thundering to an exhilarating, action-packed conclusion. Military sci-fi for true thrill seekers. A mass-market original.

Deep within Syndicate World space, the Alliance fleet continues its dangerous journey home under the command of Captain John "Black Jack" Geary - revived after a century spent in suspended animation. Geary's victories over the enemy have earned him both the respect--and the envy--of his fellow officers. "Black Jack" Geary has made many risky decisions as commander, but ordering the Alliance fleet back to the Lakota Star System where it had nearly been destroyed by the Syndics has his officers questioning his sanity. It's a desperate gamble that may buy Geary just enough time to prepare for the Syndics' inevitable return--and give the fleet a fighting chance of survival. But even as he struggles to stay one step ahead of the enemy, Geary must face conspirators within his own fleet: an unknown number of officers who want a change of command. And Geary knows that his fleet must stand together or the Syndic forces will tear them apart . . .

In Jack Campbell’s New York Times bestselling Lost Fleet series, Campbell’s hero Captain Black Jack Geary explores the furthest reaches of space. Here, Campbell explores what kinds of problems mankind might face as our horizons expand. The third in a series of collections of Campbell’s short stories includes some of Campbell’s favorite stories, and some of his earliest. A brand new author’s note accompanies each story. “Lady Be Good” is one of Campbell’s most popular stories, winner of Analog Magazine’s “AnLab” reader poll for Best Short Story and cited in Gardner Dozois' Year’s Best SF. The Lady Be Good is an old ship, running obscure routes, not all on the right side of the law, with her loyal first officer Kilcannon and reclusive captain. When Kilcannon decides to rescue the survivors of an attack on a Vestral Company ship, a mysterious new passenger thanks him by asking difficult questions about the Lady, with unexpected answers. In “Kyrie Eleison,” the Verio shipwrecked centuries ago on an out-of-the-way planet, and the descendants of the ship’s survivors have gotten along as well as they can by following the orders that were passed on to them. But those orders weren’t intended to govern life on the planet’s surface, and when the Bellegrange arrives on a rescue mission, her captain will have to reckon with the unexpected social order on the planet. In “Do No Harm”, a ship is so technologically advanced that it can repair itself--but turning over the keys might not be the best idea. And in “Down the Rabbit Hole,” a series of failed attempts at faster-than-light travel lead to a novel approach: sending an untested Naval captain out in a space ship to see if he can figure out what’s gone wrong. With eleven stories in all, AD ASTRA is the most multi-faceted introduction to the short fiction of Jack Campbell, and an essential complement to his bestselling book-length work.

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century--and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized, beyond belief... Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics. Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend...

Jack Campbell's New York Times bestselling The Lost Fleet sci-fi adventure series has transported legions of fans out of this world and into the heat of battle. Now, readers will discover how it all began—not only for John "Black Jack" Geary and his descendant Commander Michael Geary, but for those who fought and sacrificed so much alongside them.Spanning from before the Alliance/Syndicate war to the devastating initial conflagration that would lead to decades of unremitting conflict and beyond into full-blown war, from the Geary's own epic heroics to where their surviving compatriots found their own fates, this volume reveals the triumphs, tragedies, and life-altering events that made these warriors living legends in their universe.Packed with high-stakes military action and drama as well as humor and humanity, this volume explores the foundations of The Lost Fleet series as well as past exploits of its most popular characters—and also includes the novelization of...

The authority of the Syndicate Worlds’ government is crumbling, and civil war and rebellion are breaking out, despite brutal attempts to suppress disorder. In the Midway Star System, leaders must decide whether to remain loyal to the old order or fight for something new. Betrayed by his government, CEO Artur Drakon launches a battle for control of Midway. He is assisted by an ally he’s unsure he can trust, CEO Gwen Iceni. While she controls the mobile fleet, she has no choice but to rely on "General" Drakon’s ground forces to keep the peace planet-side. If their coup is to succeed, Drakon and Iceni must put their differences aside to defend Midway against the alien threat of the enigma race -- and to ferret out saboteurs determined to re-establish Syndic rule…

The authority of the Syndicate Worlds’ government is crumbling, and civil war and rebellion are breaking out, despite brutal attempts to suppress disorder. In the Midway Star System, leaders must decide whether to remain loyal to the old order or fight for something new. Betrayed by his government, CEO Artur Drakon launches a battle for control of Midway. He is assisted by an ally he’s unsure he can trust, CEO Gwen Iceni. While she controls the mobile fleet, she has no choice but to rely on "General" Drakon’s ground forces to keep the peace planet-side. If their coup is to succeed, Drakon and Iceni must put their differences aside to defend Midway against the alien threat of the enigma race -- and to ferret out saboteurs determined to re-establish Syndic rule…

Trapped within the dead city of Marandur, Master Mechanic Mari and Mage Alain must escape both merciless barbarians and the pitiless Imperial Legion. Beyond those dangers lie the mightiest and most unforgiving powers in the world of Dematr: the Great Guilds that rule the world with iron fists. Mari's Mechanics Guild and Alain's Mage Guild have always been enemies, but they are united in wanting to kill their rogue members before Mari can fulfill the ancient prophecy of being the one who will finally overthrow their power. Mari and Alain must risk those dangers because halfway across their world lies a place where truth has long been hidden. A place that could explain why their world's history begins abruptly, with no hints of what came before. A place where they might learn how the Mechanics Guild came to control all technology and how the Mages manage to alter reality temporarily. A place that might tell them how to achieve a task that appears to be impossible. Never before have a Mage and a Mechanic worked together, and their combined talents offer their only hope. But she and Alain must first survive the deadly and implacable Assassins of Altis.

Jack Campbell returns to the world of the New York Times bestselling Lost Fleet novels with a new action-packed military science fiction series that explores the founding of the Alliance . . . and the men and women who fought to create it. Earth is no longer the center of the universe. After the invention of the faster-than-light jump drive, humanity is rapidly establishing new colonies. But the vast distances of space mean that the old order of protection and interstellar law offered by Earth has ceased to exist. When a nearby world attacks, the new colony of Glenlyon turns to Robert Geary, a young former junior fleet officer, and Mele Darcy, a onetime enlisted Marine. With nothing but improvised weapons and a few volunteers, Geary and Darcy must face down warships and armored soldiers--or die trying. As battles rage and pirates take an increasing toll throughout the colonies, the only hope for lasting peace lies with Carmen Ochoa, a "Red" from the anarchic world of Mars, and Lochan Nakamura, a failed politician. They have a plan: to lay the groundwork for mutual defense that could someday grow into an alliance. But if their efforts don't succeed, the growing power of aggressor worlds could turn regions of space founded on freedom into battlefields between the first interstellar empires...

The Lost Fleet continues its perilous journey home. Badly damaged and low on supplies, the Alliance Fleet is raiding Syndic mines for raw materials-and Captain "Black Jack" Geary hopes they can continue to remain one step ahead of their enemies. But the Syndics are the least of Geary's worries when he learns of the existence of aliens with the power to annihilate the human race.

Twenty years after the war that overthrew the Great Guilds, the Empire is vowing to avenge the massive defeat of the Imperial legions at Dorcastle. Aiding the Imperials are renegade Mechanics and Mages still loyal to the old Guilds or employed by the Empire. But before they can launch an all-out war, the Imperials must eliminate a major threat: Kira, daughter of Master Mechanic Mari and Master of Mages Alain. Kidnapped and imprisoned, Kira has to escape and avoid recapture as the full might of the Empire is aimed at her. Her only hope lies in the skills she has mastered; her indomitable spirit; and the unfailing aid of Jason, her boyfriend from the distant world of Urth. With the Imperial legions closing in and thousands of lives riding on her efforts, Kira has to use every weapon available to her, including special abilities she has kept secret until now - abilities that may prove to be as dangerous as the enemy forces. Mari and Alain must come to Kira's aid and work to...

On the world of Dematr, the Emperor and his legions rule over the lands on the eastern side of the Sea of Bakre, and the Great Guilds rule over the Emperor and his subjects. The Mechanics Guild, whose members claim they came from the stars, controls technology far beyond that of the swords and sailing ships of the common people, while the Mage Guild wields strange powers that terrify all who face them.Jules, an orphan from the Imperial city of Landfall, has fought her way up to become an officer in training with the Emperor's fleet. But her plans and her life are shattered when a Mage prophesizes that a daughter of her line will one day overthrow the Great Guilds and free the world. In that moment, the prophecy takes over her life. The Mages plot to kill her, the Mechanics try to find ways to use her, and the Emperor seeks to coerce her into having his children.Unwilling to surrender her life to serving the prophecy, Jules makes her escape by joining the crew of a pirate...

Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary fears the greatest threat to humanity may be itself in this gripping continuation of the New York Times bestselling series.As far from explored space as any human has ever been, Geary and the Alliance fleet are on their own, protecting a diplomatic mission in territory belonging to an alien species with still-unknown motives.His already complex and dangerous mission is further imperiled by deadly challenges from other human factions seeking to harm or exploit the aliens. When another alien species whose technology is far more advanced than humanity’s arrives, the stakes are raised to the highest possible level.Only the most serious danger comes from an unexpected source.Presented with orders to carry out actions he believes not only are mistaken, but would be contrary to the ideals of the Alliance, Geary has to decide whether he must invoke the power that his long-revered name holds—even though this...

Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary may have saved the Alliance only to destroy it, in this thrilling and eagerly awaited continuation of the New York Times bestselling series.Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble.But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance's problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence.Geary's warships must escort a...

Trapped inside the Empire, Captain Jules of Landfall has to use every deadly trick and strategy she knows to avoid recapture by the Emperor's legions, and stay alive despite every attempt the Mages make to kill her. The only chance to get away may require walking back into the trap she barely escaped the first time. But even her freedom won't be enough. The prophecy that consumes Jules's life demands she has an heir to carry on her line. Yet how can she satisfy that while being hunted everywhere? And what might the prophecy cause to happen if she doesn't have a child?Battling wind, waves, implacable Mage assassins, and Imperial ships, Jules is forced to turn to an unlikely ally—the hated Mechanics. She must gather men, women, and ships from all of the new settlements to face the Imperial legionaries and galleys. For only Jules can lead the free people of the west in the final battle that could be their salvation—or the destruction of all that she's fought for.