“So we have to decide,” Admiral Douthat said flatly. “Our sensors are reporting that the worm hole has in fact begun to move left. We can either turn with it, or we can trust this message and turn away from it, lining up Atlas to enter it when — and if — the wormhole reverses course.”
“This message is a Dominion ruse, an attempt to misdirect us,” Wicklow said heatedly. “Any fool can see that.”
“How do we know that?” asked Captain Eder of the Lionheart.
“We don’t know it is not,” Sir Henry replied. “And because we don’t know, we cannot trust it. We must go left.”
The argument raged for another few minutes, going nowhere. Hiram sat quietly, trying to puzzle it out. Then, when there was a brief lull, he asked: “Admiral Douthat, you said that the message was addressed to Queen Anne and to me, is that correct?
Douthat nodded curtly.
“Exactly what does the message say?”
Douthat pushed a button and the message appeared on a screen:
To Queen Anne of Victoria and to Lt. Hiram Brill, Fleet Intelligence:
We send you greeting in your time of trouble, and a warning. The Refuge worm hole has begun to move west relative to your plane of advance. It will move west on a horizontal axis for seven standard hours, then reverse course and move east past its point of origin. It will move east for ten hours from the time it changes direction, stopping at relative coordinates X-2930; Y-1446; and Z-0473 your perspective. Turn east now.
Hiram Brill, your aunt sends you chocolate cake.
Hiram laughed out loud. “Turn east, Admiral. The message is good.” He explained about Jong, the monk from The Light, and his odd question about Hiram liking his aunt’s chocolate cake.
“This is nonsense!” Wicklow spluttered. “This could be a Dominion trick, or even if it isn’t, why should we trust The Light? How could they possibly know what the worm hole will do?”
Queen Anne raised her hand and Wicklow fell silent. “Admiral, I have reason to trust this message as well. I believe I know who sent it. I don’t pretend to know why they believe the worm hole will reverse course, but I think we may rely on it.”
“Your Majesty,” Sir Henry protested, but she cut him off.
“I understand your position, Sir Henry, but a decision must be made, and I have made it.” She stood. “Admiral Douthat, direct the tugs to turn Atlas to the east and plan your battle tactics accordingly.” She smiled warmly at everyone in the room. “I have the utmost faith in your ability to get us all safely to Refuge. May the Gods of Our Mothers bless you all and keep you from harm.”
Admiral John Mello stood at the helm of the D.U.C. Vengeance and stared at his hologram display. His blocking force was in place; now they awaited the inevitable Victorian response to it.
“Do you think they’ll go for it, sir?” Captain Pattin asked quietly.
“Without a doubt.” Mello smiled coldly. Sometimes you defeat your enemy through their arrogance, sometimes through their fear. And sometimes, simply through their predictability.
It didn’t really matter, as long as you won and they died.
After the others had cleared the conference room, Queen Anne sat with the remaining captains of the Coldstream Guards. The others sat away from Captain Wicklow, no one wanting to appear as if they were taking his side by sitting too close. Captain Wicklow in turn looked at them with unveiled disdain. Queen Anne studied them in turn, observing their body language, hoping that the Guards could maintain enough unity to be combat effective for this last, vital push.
“In a very short time,” she said evenly, “Admiral Douthat will send the Queen’s Own and Black Watch ahead to attack the Dominion blocking force. If that attack is successful, the main body of the Dominion fleet will either be defeated or at least out of position to stop our passage through the Refuge worm hole. The Coldstream Guards will remain with Atlas to serve as the reserve and to protect it from any attack from the rear, although Admiral Douthat assures me that such an attack would likely get bogged down in the minefield.”
“There are two issues Admiral Douthat asked me to deal with,” the Queen continued. “First, who shall command the Coldstream Guards, and second, what to do about the pending arrest warrant for Lieutenant Tuttle.”
“It is perfectly clear, Your Majesty,” Captain Wicklow said earnestly. “Following the unfortunate death of Captain Grey, I am the senior officer of the Guards and should, as a matter of rank, tradition and expertise, assume command. As for Lieutenant Tuttle, she should be taken into custody immediately for treason in the face of the enemy for turning her guns on a ship of Your Majesty’s navy. Her actions were criminal and she must now face the consequences.” He looked coldly at Emily. “And, I might add, Your Majesty should immediately open an investigation into the mysterious circumstances of Captain Grey’s death. From all reports she died under most irregular circumstances. Most irregular.”
“If by most irregular, Joe, you mean she died while her ship was attacking enemy instead of running for home, I couldn’t agree with you more,” Captain Rowe said pointedly. There was a rumble of agreement from the other captains, all of whom had stayed and fought despite the odds.
Captain Wicklow nodded calmly, seemingly oblivious to the insult he had just received. “You fought against overwhelming odds and won, Captain Rowe, no one will deny that. But that doesn’t change the basic fact: You should never have fought that engagement. By doing so you placed a third of the Queen’s remaining Fleet in extreme jeopardy, with little chance of success. The fact that you survived doesn’t change the fact that you were wrong to do so.” He glanced at Tuttle. “As for this junior officer, she will hang, of that I assure you.” He smiled at her.
Queen Anne pursed her lips. “No, she won’t, Captain Wicklow.”
Wicklow frowned. “Your Majesty?”
“Captain Wicklow, you will continue to captain the Gloucester, but I am assigning the Gloucester to the Queen’s Own. You will now report to Admiral Eder. Captain Rowe of the Bristol will assume command of the Coldstream Guards and I will leave it to him to decide who should captain the New Zealand. My decision on these assignments is final.”
Wicklow flushed a deep, angry red. ““Perhaps, do to Your Majesty’s inexperience in these matters, you do not realize that the time-honored traditions of the Fleet are that the senior officer automatically assumes command of-”
“Do not lecture me on military protocol, Captain,” Queen Anne said tartly, “least I be forced to lecture you on the blatant inappropriateness of a line officer who takes it upon himself to issue arrest warrants and seize evidence in contravention of the established procedures of the Office of the Judge Advocate and the Military Police.”
Wicklow refused to back down. “I must protest, Your Majesty! I acted in the face of a clear criminal conspiracy-”
The Queen held up one slender finger, silencing him. “I have no time for this. In a few hours we will be in the most important battle of Victoria’s history. But take note, Captain, I am more than a little curious as to why the logs of your ship, the Gloucester, give one account of the incident with the Dominion reinforcements, while the logs of the other ships give a different account. I intend to explore this further once we have made it to Refuge.”