Grant Skiffington hugged the wall. Ten feet ahead of him four Marines lay sprawled in an intersection of two corridors, killed in some earlier skirmish. Grant could hear calls and screams and more shooting. He knelt down and peeked rapidly around the corner. Three of the armed intruders stood, backs to him, less than one hundred feet away. He looked back at the dead Marines. One of them still clutched a Bull Pup in his hand. He wanted that gun. Another peek; the gunmen were still facing the other way. He took a step-
A strong arm snaked around his neck and jerked him off his feet. “Gods of Our Mothers, didn’t you learn anything at Gettysburg?” a voice whispered harshly.
Grant squirmed around to see a Marine in a ballistic helmet. The figure raised the visor. “Cookie?” he stammered. She put a finger to her lips. “Shhssh. How many?”
“Three, about a hundred feet up.”
Cookie gestured to Millard, who crept to the corner, then flung a grenade. As soon as it exploded, Cookie and Millard stepped into the corridor and fired down its length. “Okay,” she called to Grant. “Get a gun and as much ammo as you can find.”
“That was my last grenade, Corporal,” Millard said.
“I know, Mickey.” She turned to Grant. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?”
“I know the Ducks are involved. I think those Dominion ships we rescued nailed the Sussex. They’ve got to be working with the Tilleke somehow.” Grant checked the charge on the Bull Pup. Half full. He found another clip and pocketed it. One Marine had a pistol on his belt and Grant took that as well, stuffing it into his pants.
Cookie grimaced. “The Ducks are working with the Tilleke? Then we are truly fucked.” She gestured to the dead intruders. “These guys are Savak, the Emperor’s Guard unit. Somehow they got on board, a lot of them. I’ve counted over sixty that we’ve seen and from the sounds, there must be more. They’re going room to room, killing everybody they find.”
Aret1 nodded when First Sister Pilot led the other Pilots onto the bridge. “The ship is yours,” he told her. We hold Engineering, Combat Systems and the bridge. We will eliminate the rest of the crew within the next hour.”
“The Emperor’s blessings!” she replied, eyes sparkling. They had captured a Victorian battleship intact! Her Sister Pilots quickly fanned out to the control systems they had studied for years. One opened a com to the Engineering Room, where other Pilots were bringing up power and restoring systems. First Sister Pilot found the ship’s navigation lights and turned them on, then examined the sensor display. There were six other Victorian ships in the immediate vicinity, three of them with blinking navigation lights. She studied the ships without navigations lights. Each of those ships would soon be the target of a Savak attack. She looked at her watch. Her orders were to destroy any ship not captured within two hours. “Get the missile systems ready,” she ordered.
The lights suddenly flared on, making Grant blink and Cookie and Millard duck into the nearest doorway. “Get out of the corridor!’” Cookie hissed. They waited a moment. In the distance there was the sound of intermittent shooting. Millard reached up to a wall com.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Grant told him. Millard looked at Cookie in confusion. “But the power’s on. We can get help!”
Grant shook his head. “It means we’ve lost the ship. If you call in, they’ll know there are survivors and exactly where we are.”
There was a shout, then a shot. Millard screamed and clutched his leg, blood blossoming between his fingers. Cookie crouched, let loose a burst, then a second, then they were running, dragging Millard by his combat harness.
Behind them they heard shouts and the pounding of pursuing feet. They reached an intersection, saw more Savak coming from the right, and then more yet emerged at the far end of the corridor. “Left!” Cookie shouted, then cursed as a pellet ricocheted off her helmet. Grant stopped in front of her and she bounced off him. “What?” she cried. They were in a dead end. Millard pushed himself up against the wall and shakily raised his weapon. Cookie unclipped her last grenade and tossed it around the corner, then knelt and raised her weapon, only dimly aware that Grant was struggling to open some hatchway in the wall. The grenade rattled along the deck, but obstinately refused to explode. Footsteps pounded closer. One Savak skidded into the intersection and Cookie hammered him with a short burst. A second ducked his arm around and fired a spray of pellets. Millard uttered a sharp cry of pain. “Goddammit, I’m hit again!”
“We’re having fun now!” Cookie muttered. Then Grant grabbed her by her battle harness and pulled her backwards though a small enclosure. She tripped and sprawled on the deck
“Don’t leave me,” Millard begged. “Don’t leave me!” He began to crawl across the deck. A spray of pellets stuck the wall above him. He reached out an imploring hand. “Please! Corporal, help me!”
Cookie struggled to her knees, but a Savak commando suddenly loomed in the hatchway. Cookie tried frantically to bring her rifle to bear, but the front sight caught on her clothing. The Savak was shouting something, his weapon almost on her, and then he flinched backwards, blood spurting from his knee. Grant shot him a second time in the leg. The storm trooper’s leg buckled and he fell on top of Cookie, pinning her with his weight, and then Millard was screaming in agony and another Savak was there, firing again and again into Millard’s chest and Grant stepped forward and smashed his fist against the large red button on the wall.
The hatchway closed with a bang and suddenly they were all hurled to the floor by a tremendous jerk.
And then Cookie understood: They were in one of the ship’s escape pods. The explosive bolts blew and kicked the pod into space, leaving the London behind.
Chapter 28
Dominion First Attack Force.
At the Entrance to the Cape Breton/Victoria Wormhole
Admiral Mello nodded once to his aide, who keyed the com so that his words would be heard throughout the First Attack Force. His voice was deep and vibrated with pent-up emotion.
“Soldiers and sailors of the Dominion of Unified Citizenry! I salute you! Fifteen years ago the Dominion suffered its first and only defeat, at the hands of the Victorian navy. That loss has been a stain on our honor. Today we regain our honor. The Dominion is the greatest society in all of human space, but for fifteen long years we have been pushed, bullied and taken advantage of by the Victorians. The Victorians beat us at Windsor, but in their blind arrogance they think that because they won one battle, they had defeated the Dominion for all time.
“Today, you and I and everyone in this Attack Force will teach them the error of their ways! In a moment, the entire First Attack Force will cross into Victorian space. Soon we will meet the Second Attack Force, led by Admiral Kaeser. Together, we will attack Victoria, and when we are done, it will no longer be Victorian space, it will be Dominion space!
“This will be the decisive battle! With this one stroke, the Dominion shall rule all of inhabited space. I expect each of you to do his duty! Admiral Mello out.”
Mello swiveled in his chair to face Captain Pattin. “Send the order: First Attack Force to enter Victoria!”
Chapter 29
Leaving the H.M.S. London
In Tilleke Space
The Savak on top of Cookie grabbed her by the throat and began to beat her head against the deck. Cookie clawed at his face, ripping off his helmet. Choking, frantic with the need for air, she jammed stiffened fingers into his eyes, hard. His grip loosened for a second.