“Are the recon drones in place?” she asked Alex Rudd.
“In place and ready,” he assured her.
“Merlin, fire the chaff. Be sure to leave the line of sight to Recon Drone Number One.” They would communicate with the recon drone by needle laser and she didn’t want the chaff to block the connection.
In twenty seconds, two hundred chaff rockets launched and spread out on a predesignated matrix. When they exploded, chaff spread out to form a sensor wall between the advancing Dominion warships and the ‘ships’ that were arriving from Refuge. It wouldn’t completely block the Dominion’s sensors, but it would create a lot of doubt and second guessing.
“We have an open channel to the recon drone!” Gibson confirmed.
Emily nodded. Soon now. “Order the Kent to eject its missile mines. Anti-missile system on full automatic.”
On the Dominion ship, Fortitude, Captain Bauer turned to Admiral Kaeser. “We are in missile range of the wormhole, plus three minutes time under power.”
Kaeser nodded. “You may fire, Captain.”
“Fire all missiles!” Bauer commanded.
“Fire the stingers!” Emily ordered. “Merlin, advance the ECM drones! Chief Gibson, put one nuke into the chaff cloud and trigger an electromagnetic pulse. Let’s see if they’ve hardened their missile guidance systems.”
Sixty drones each fired their stinger missile. The fast missiles leapt from their launchers and sped through the chaff cloud.
“Activate Dark matter Brake for five seconds only!” Emily commanded the Yorkshire and Kent.
The Chief Sensors Officer on the Fortitude blanched. “DMB flash! DMB! The Victorian ships are braking and turning!” Then his sensors display caught the first signs of the stingers through the chaff. “Incoming missiles! Can’t determine how many due to chaff interference, but sensors showing many missiles.”
“Sensors, any evidence of new ships, more than the three we’ve been following?” Admiral Kaeser asked.
The Sensors Officer adjusted his instruments. “Sir, we are picking up signs of multiple ships. Readings are weak and distorted because of the chaff, but there are at least thirty distinct emissions sources!”
Frowning, Kaeser asked Captain Bauer: “Decoy drones? Or have some of the Vicky warships actually turned around in Refuge and come back?”
Captain Bauer shrugged.
“Some of the drive emissions are consistent with Refuge warships, sir,” the Sensors Officer said. “Additional missile launch! This one’s from the Victorian ships!”
Kaeser sighed. If they were bringing Refugian and Vicky ships back through the wormhole, he and his little flotilla could find themselves mobbed. He needed more ships, and thanks to Admiral Mello’s recklessness, he didn’t have them. If they were just decoys, well…he had no real choice. Honor the threat, he reminded himself. He couldn’t risk losing any more ships until more reinforcements came from Dominion. Someone on the Victorian side had played his cards very cleverly.
“Just so,” he murmured to himself. “Message to all ships,” he ordered crisply. “Break off attack and return to the planet Cornwall at full military speed.” He swallowed his disappointment. Maybe, with luck, his anti-matter missiles would get through.
By the time the Victorian missiles reached that space, the Dominion warships were gone.
Meanwhile, the stinger missiles and Dominion missiles entered the chaff cloud at the same time. The stingers sensed the oncoming missiles and exploded, but they barely put a dent in the numbers the Dominions had fired. One hundred and twenty enemy missiles, including the three deadly anti-matter missiles, burst from the chaff cloud, made a course correction toward the worm hole and pressed ahead. The Kent’s anti-missile mines killed fifteen more, and laser fire took out another six.
Ninety nine Dominion missiles, including the anti-matter missiles, reached the worm hole intact and plunged into it. Two minutes later they emerged in Refugian space and the three anti-matter missiles began to scan for the Atlas.
Sitting in his command room in the larger of the two Refugian forts, Uri Ben-Ari saw the missiles come through on his high magnification screen. “Fire” he said softly. Golda, the fort’s AI, released the missiles.
One thousand anti-missiles launched from the fort and met the oncoming Dominion missiles. Twelve of the Dominion missiles somehow survived. The other Refugian fort fired its volley of anti-missile missiles. Only one Dominion missile emerged from the roiling cloud of explosions, wobbling as it did so. A laser beam from the waiting gunboats killed it.
On the New Zealand, Chief Friedman wearily lifted his head from his sensor display. “The Dominion warships have gone, Captain. No sign of anything between us and the worm hole.”
Emily nodded. “Thank you, Chief.” She felt drained, incapable of emotion. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. And forget, if she could.
“Message to the Yorkshire and Kent, activate transponders and follow us through the worm hole. And Chief Gibson, please send a courier drone though ahead of us. Let them know we’re coming through.” Wouldn’t do to get shot after all this effort, she thought, without any humor at all.
Five minutes later, the last three ships of the Coldstream Guards disappeared into the wormhole that would take them to Refuge and safety.
Chapter 71
Atlas Space Station
Three hours after entering into Refuge, tractor beams from the Atlas space station’s pulled them into one of the large service bays, designed to hold up to six battleships. The Yorkshire, New Zealand and Kent looked like toys as they hovered side by side in the cavernous space.
Emily just wanted to crawl into bed and escape into sleep, but before she could even leave the bridge, Queen Anne, Sir Henry, Peter Murphy and Hiram crowded into it. To Emily’s astonishment, the Queen threw her arms around her.
“You did it! You did it!” Anne cried, eyes alight. Behind her, Sir Henry leaned over and solemnly shook her hand. “Very nicely done, Captain. First rate.”
Emily blinked. “So, we’re safe?”
Queen Anne beamed. “Atlas came through intact, without a scratch. All of our hopes for the future are intact. All honor to you, Captain, you’ve done a magnificent job.”
Emily shook her head, fighting the angry rush that flushed through her face. “Make sure you earn it, Majesty,” she said bitterly, watching as the smile ran from the Queen’s face. “Ten thousand people just gave their lives so that you would make it to Refuge. By the Gods of Our Mothers, do something to earn those lives.”
“Captain!” snapped Sir Henry. “Remember to whom you speak!”
Queen Anne held up a hand to silence him, never taking her eyes from Emily. “You want promises, Captain?” she asked sternly. “Very well. I can promise you nothing but blood, toil and tears. But I also promise you that I will not stop until I have made the Dominions cringe in terror whenever they hear the name Victoria. And I promise that one day, by my hand, the language of the Dominion will be spoken only in hell.”
Emily stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. For now, it would have to be enough.
Chapter 72
Emily’s Personal Journal
Today I killed my best friend.
Chapter 73
On the Dominion Vengeance
In the end, they simply ran out of ammunition.