Read Online The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Leviathan by Jack Campbell - Free Book Online

velocity.”
    “Why the hell . . . ?” Desjani demanded.
    Geary was staring, trying to understand, when Desjani laughed.
    “They programmed them to do what you would do!” she said.
    “And I would throw away my chance to hit Ambaru?” Geary said.
    “You would if it meant not abandoning one of your ships to the enemy!” Desjani laughed again. “Don’t you get it? You come back for injured ships, you don’t abandon comrades, that’s how you’ve fought, and those dark ships are programmed to fight like you did.”
    Geary realized that he was smiling. “Nice. The dark ships aren’t thinking about it, they’re not responding to any moral imperative, they’re just doing what their programming tells them to do in a situation like this.” He hit his comm controls again. “All units in Task Force Dancer, immediate execute, come port one four degrees, up zero two degrees. Engage assigned targets when in range. Geary, out.”
    His warships angling in faster to hit the slowed dark battle cruisers, Geary made sure that enough of his warships were targeted on each to ensure they would be knocked out.
What would I do if I was on one of those battle cruisers? Dive down. And port or starboard? Starboard, to get back on a direct vector for Ambaru.
    He ordered a slight, last-moment change of vectors on his warships as his formation slammed into the dark battle cruisers from one side. The seven Alliance battle cruisers and the remaining heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers in Task Force Dancer threw everything they had at the dark ships, three of the Alliance battle cruisers passing close enough to the dark ships to unleash their null field weapons that ate chunks out of the enemy warships. One of the dark ships deployed a null field as well, taking a fortunately small piece out of
Intemperate
.
    Geary called out orders sending his formation curving up and over for a second firing pass in case one of the dark ships was still a threat to Ambaru. But as the results of the engagement were evaluated by the sensors of the Alliance ships, it became clear that wouldn’t be necessary.
    One dark battle cruiser was gone, replaced by a spreading cloud of debris. The second consisted only of its forward portion, tumbling off at an angle, which self-destructed while Geary watched.
    The dark heavy cruiser still survived, but Rosen was leading her heavy cruisers at it. When her firing run was complete, nothing was left of the dark heavy cruiser but pieces of wreckage.
    Desjani let out a cross between a whistle and sigh, pointing to her display.
    Ambaru Station was only two light-seconds away, everyone on it apparently still oblivious to how close they had come to destruction.
    “All units in Task Force Dancer,” Geary sent. “Well done. We’re going to brake our way around the star, so that when we’re back in the vicinity of Ambaru we’ll be able to match the station’s orbit easily. All destroyers are priority for fuel cell replenishment.”
    “What are you going to do about Ambaru?” Desjani asked.
    “It looks like we may have to invade it.”
    —
    THE Marines came off the shuttle ramp in full combat mode, their battle armor sealed, their weapons active. They took up positions around the landing dock, scanning for threats. Behind them, the shuttle pulled away, making room for another shuttle also loaded with Marines.
    Ambaru had a lot of docking stations. Right now, a dozen of those stations were receiving Marines who were equipped for battle and moving as if conducting an invasion of an enemy-held facility. General Carabali was aboard
Dauntless
, which had moved in close to Ambaru to oversee the assault.
    “Admiral,” the Marine captain in charge of the force with Geary reported, “all we have in sight are two civilians, no weapons visible, broadcasting identification as station officials, dock supervision department.”
    Geary studied the view from the captain’s battle armor. The two station officials, the