Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space (The Henry Gallant Saga)

by H. Peter Alesso

  "Mr. Gallant, the leak rate in the reactor compartment is increasing and approaching the danger point. We’ve got to reinforce that new seal!" Dawson’s words interrupted Gallant’s worries.

  “Standby, Captain Dawson,” responded Gallant.

  He continued to wait as the saucer approached the spill. At the last minute, Gallant detected a slight change in its course. The saucer was going to try to skim past the edge of the spill.

  “It’s now or never,” said Gallant and he launched two missiles. They reached the fuel in seconds.

  The explosion was dramatically impressive.

  Caught on the edge of the explosion, the saucer was damaged and began moving erratically; it was clearly in trouble. Just then, a large asteroid moved directly into the path of the hapless saucer.

  Within seconds the collision demolished the alien craft, leaving nothing but debris. Gallant heaved a sigh of relief and Kelsey let out a whoop.

  “Hey, that was good work, Henry!”

  “Thanks! I’m glad they fell for the trap. I wouldn’t want to go head-to-head with one of those saucers.”

  Dawson radioed, “Great job! Thanks! I was really worried for a while. You guys are amazing.”

  "Thanks, Captain,” said Gallant, grinning with satisfaction.

  “But I still need some help with this leak,” said Dawson. “We’ve got to reseal the damaged area. Can Midshipman Mitchel come back over and rework the seal?”

  “Kelsey, would you mind?” asked Gallant, mindful of their earlier conversation.

  “I’d be delighted,” she responded cheerfully.

  Gallant brought his Eagle into a stationary orbit next to the Stella Bordeaux and Kelsey donned her gear and spacewalked over to the damaged area. Once again, she coordinated her repair activities with Dawson. They were making significant progress, when Gallant interrupted their work.

  As Gallant monitored space for asteroids tumbling in their direction, he detected a new contact. Another alien destroyer had popped up from behind a massive asteroid approximately a million miles away. He radioed, "We’ve got trouble."

  The appearance of a second Titan destroyer way out here in the asteroid belt doesn’t make sense, he thought. They can’t monitor Jupiter, Mars, or even convoys from here. A lump formed in Gallant’s throat, but he put aside his speculation for the more immediate problem of dealing with the enemy. They would be in range of the destroyer in a matter of minutes.

  Gallant’s thoughts flew to Kelsey. She’s floating outside a crippled merchantman, unaware. She’ll never make it back to the Eagle in time. She’s a sitting duck.

  He tried to evaluate his potential resources and options. His Eagle was far faster than the destroyer, and there were plenty of large asteroids in the area that he could use for cover. Both would be wonderful assets if he didn’t suffer from such debilitating liabilities; Kelsey and the Stella Bordeaux were completely vulnerable. They didn’t have any cover, or any power to escape. The Titan ships could destroy them with minimal effort.

  He knew he had come to a critical moment in his life—a moment for desperate action—to prevent the personal disaster that faced him.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Gallant did the only thing he could. He powered his Eagle to full speed and headed directly for the saucer. Without Kelsey in the second seat, he felt distinctly uncomfortable. He couldn’t feel her reassuring mind though the neural-interface or keep track of the numerous engineering and navigation parameters. He didn’t have her thoughts and ideas to aid him in making swift decisions. He was left with a feeling of loss.

  Gallant’s heart raced as the Eagle flew at full speed directly into the face of the Titan destroyer. The alien fired two anti-ship missiles at the Eagle. Gallant was actually relieved they were coming his way instead of heading toward the Stella Bordeaux. The Eagle’s sensors fed data directly to his mind through the neural interface and he concentrated on visualizing the incoming missiles, their trajectory, and his optimal solution for intercepting them. He maneuvered the Eagle into the best intercept angle and fired two antimissiles.

  The first AMM-3 Mongoose antimissile missile was flushed from its launch rack with a ‘swoosh’ of exhaust gases.

  Within seconds, it began an exhilarating accelerating surge to reach 0.1c. The onboard pulsed radar sent searching electromagnetic waves toward the target that Gallant had mentally identified. The Mongoose quickly locked on to its target and began collecting emission data in order to maintain its track.

  The Titan anti-ship missile advanced toward Gallant’s Eagle, ready to find and destroy its target with a multiple warhead nuclear bursts. It was somewhat similar in design to the United Planet’s Hydra-III anti-ship missile, about thirty feet long with a five- foot diameter. Fully loaded and armed, it might weigh thirty to forty tons. It appeared to have a multinuclear warhead; each individual warhead could have tens of mMegatons TNT equivalent yield. It was able to recognize its adversary, the approaching Mongoose antimissile, and began taking countermeasures for protection. It released decoys and chaff, and began erratic maneuvers.

  The AI system onboard the Mongoose worked diligently to discriminate its true target and home in on it.

  The Titan missile made a final radical move to try to avoid its predator. Gallant followed the Mongoose flight path in his mind, adding his judgments and corrections. The combination of the Mongoose’s AI and Gallant’s mental control enabled the antimissile to home in on its target. The lethal predator would not be denied. It scored a direct hit on the Titan missile, destroying it safely out of range of the Eagle.

  Gallant smiled as the second Mongoose destroyed its targets, eliminating the immediate danger. He found that he was particularly good at out foxing the Titan countermeasures and scoring hits. Then, before the destroyer could reload its forward missile launchers, Gallant opened fire at extreme range, targeting the center of the underbelly of the saucer, which he guessed was the critical propulsion area of the ship. If he was right, then his small missiles could do important damage to the saucer. Otherwise, he was in deep trouble.

  He continued to fire at the saucer without regard to for the saucer’s missiles, which were soon bearing down on him. He used his lasers to try to shoot down the incoming missiles, but he primarily relied on his flying ability to run away from them, using his best acrobatic tactics.

  No one was more surprised than Gallant when the saucer suddenly broke off its attack. He could only surmise that either the Titan was fearful that he was mounting a kamikaze attack or his missiles had done sufficient damage that the aliens decided they should retreat.

  Gallant sat in his Eagle staring at the withdrawing Titan for several minutes, letting his adrenaline level return to some semblance of normal. When he was satisfied that it was safe for the time being, he returned to the Stella Bordeaux.

  “That was quite a performance!” said Kelsey over her radio, sounding bewildered and awestruck. “I'm sure I never saw anything like that in the tactical manual."

  Gallant asked, "Are you OK?"

  "Yes, I’m fine. If you give me a little more time to complete these repairs, we can have the Stella Bordeaux running and clear out of this area."

  “Good. I don’t think that Titan ship will be back,” he said.

  Soon he heard Kelsey say, "Well, Mr. Gallant if you’re through gallivanting through space without your astrogator, I’m through with my repair job, and I’d like to get some rest aboard my ship.”

  “I’ll be right there,” said Gallant, adding as an afterthought, “You know, there is an awful lot of saucer activity out here.”

  Gallant and Kelsey continued to fly escort for the Stella Bordeaux until they were able to hand her care over to one of the UP destroyers sent to bring her back to the convoy.

  CHAPTER 18

  Ten uneasy days after the first radar sighting of the Titan Fleet, Captain Caine in the Repulse led a small but steadfast band of ships toward the aliens. Captains Rook of the Renown, Minford of the Remarkabl
e, and Waller of the Retribution followed. The four battle cruisers formed a column flanked by a column of five destroyers. Their weapons were at the ready. Their men were at battle stations, fully confident they would prevail.

  On the hangar deck of the Repulse, Gallant watched the refueling, rearming, and pre-flight checks being completed on his Eagle. Kelsey sat nearby, her arms folded and eyes closed. Nearly four hours had passed since they had returned from their solo escort mission. Bone tired, they had tried to nap but failed. The rest of Squadron 111 had returned earlier and was already prepped and rested.

  Making his way through the crowd of swirling technicians, Chief Benjamin Howard strolled toward Gallant. He extended his hand and said, “Henry, I’m glad I caught you. I wanted to wish you, Godspeed.”

  “Thanks," said Gallant shaking his hand. "Good luck, Benjamin.” They held their grip for a long moment. Instinctively they sensed that the life they knew was about to change All too quickly, however, they had to part and return to their duties. Howard left to take his station in the communication shack, as Gallant got aboard his fighter.

  Gallant’s AI console revealed a mesmerizing scene of the two approaching fleets. Recon drones that had been sent hours before were providing detailed information to supplement the current radar readouts. From the combined intelligence, it appeared that the Titans were targeting Ganymede, approaching in three separate formations.

  Like an octopus, the aliens extended their tentacles toward their prey. Each of the three threatening appendages pointed toward a UP target. They acted in concert to threaten the Jupiter frontier; the enemy ships never extended beyond the ability to provide mutual support.

  The first Titan tentacle was the main battle fleet, about thirty light-seconds ahead of the assault force. It was arranged in an ellipsoid formation as it approached the UP fleet. There was a large outer screen of destroyers with two dozen cruisers inside the perimeter.

  The outer screen formed a quilt-like arrangement. Each patch in the quilt made up of a group of a dozen Titan destroyers arranged in a simple geometric form, positioned in three dimensions with three ship triangles at each corner of a square. The overall effect solidified the volume of the outer screen which consisted of 144 ships.

  The Titans had the advantage of being higher up in both the Jupiter and solar gravity wells, so they could withhold their attack until they felt ready. They were on course 010, azimuth up 10 degrees, and speed 0.0022c - a direct intercept course toward the Jupiter Fleet.

  The second formation consisted of twenty-four ships, each of which had multiple large shuttles attached. They had small weapons profiles and appeared to be assault transports. Their course of 015, azimuth up 10 degrees, speed 0.0018c was aimed directly for Ganymede’s main settlement communities, including Kendra, home to over thirty thousand colonists..

  The third formation, made up of another twenty-four destroyers on course 015, azimuth up 10 degrees, speed 0.0022c, acted as a covering force for the transports.

  It was a moot question to ask how large the alien ground-assault force was. The only military presence on Ganymede was the Seventh Marine Regiment - 1800 men with a few armored vehicles and tanks. Clearly they would be outmatched by the contents of twenty-four assault transports. Such overwhelming strength could only be defeated from space before enemy troops landed on the moon.

  Caine sat in his chair on the bridge of the Repulse, broadcasting to the aliens on all available channels. He demanded, “Ships approaching Jupiter Station, identify yourselves.” He repeated this several times before he ordered, “All ships, man battle stations. All fighters, deploy in close support formation.”

  Caine broadcast a video message for all members of the fleet. "Officers and crew of the Jupiter Fleet, we are faced with a grave threat. The aliens have assembled a powerful force. It is apparent that they intend to attack our settlements and bases on the Jupiter frontier. As much as I would like to destroy the assault force, we must confront their main battle fleet first. Their arrangement prevents us from passing through their battle fleet without being decimated. The marine garrison on Ganymede, the research lab, and the Jupiter Station must defend themselves until we have dealt with the Titan main body.

  "The enemy’s capabilities and tactics are unfamiliar, but we will learn fast. Their motivation is unknown, but ours is clear. The fate of over three hundred fifty thousand colonists—men, women, and children—rests in our hands. Many of you have family and friends among them. I am certain that each of you will do whatever is necessary to protect them and defeat this callous enemy. Godspeed."

  That afternoon at 1616, Caine made the fateful decision to deploy his fleet to meet the enemy. On the command channel, Caine ordered, "Set course 150, azimuth up 10 degrees, speed 0.002c, at time 1616." The fleets approached each other at a closing speed greater than 0.004c.

  The four large battle cruisers launched their fighters, a total of forty-eight, and moved forward in a column, parallel with the five destroyers to starboard. Caine sent half of his fighter force to fly high cover. The rest of the fighters would remain for close antimissile support. Gallant flew escort around the battle cruisers. Preparations for the battle had kept Gallant so busy that he had not consciously acknowledged the danger. Now after hearing Caine, he felt strong and full of hope.

  The Titans' main battle force tightened their formation but kept coming straight toward the UP fleet. The alien’s movements were very precise, and Gallant wondered if whether the ships were manned by sentient beings or if they were automated. Gallant heard the order, “Flight 4, maintain close support on Repulse’s forward starboard quarter.”

  Gallant began the process of visualizing the planets, moons, and nearby ships, as well as their motion and the space-time curvature around them. The presence of the many UP ships caused him to strain to separate out the distinct patterns. He wondered how the other pilots did this same process. When he tried to concentrate on the alien formations, all he could see at first was a large blur of overlapping images. Slowly, he was able to distinguish individual Titan ships, their trajectories, and their influence on local space-time curvature. After a few minutes, he had a comprehensive mental image.

  When the fleets were at a separation of 1.3 million miles - a full seven light seconds - the aliens began firing missiles. The tracking radar showed that the missiles’ velocity was 0.11c, ten percent faster than UP missiles. Their flight time would be sixty-four seconds to target.

  Gallant noticed with some concern that the nuclear-tipped missiles traveled in a close-packed grouping. They might achieve a solid hit to their target.

  Heavily armored ships with powerful force shields could minimize the blast effects of nuclear-tipped missiles using speed and distance. Ships moving at 0.002c, or 1,860 miles a second, were in the vicinity of the explosion for only a tiny fraction of a second. Most of the blast dissipated into empty space. A missile would only do serious damage if it hit directly on the ship’s hull plates. Near misses could, however, weaken shields and armor over time. Direct hits could penetrate the ships’ shields and tear openings in the ships’ hulls. Even near misses contributed to the damage ships suffered.

  The Titan’s close-packed missile launch indicated that they were targeting a small area with a high density of warheads, expecting some direct hits.

  The alien fleet of one hundred and forty-four destroyers and twenty-four cruisers faced the UP's nine ships, but they had no small craft comparable to the UP's forty-eight fighters. Previous encounters had shown that UP ships had a slight technological advantage in weapons and defensive systems, but the saucers were more maneuverable and slightly faster.

  Ship velocity of 0.002c produced small relativistic effects. Gallant knew GridScape would automatically adjust for them. However, fighters and missiles traveled at more troublesome speeds. Fighters traveling at 0.01c, or 6.7 million mph, produced a 0.00005 spatial contraction and associated time dilation. Their missiles accelerated to 0.1c, or sixty-seven million mph, cause
d a 0.005 spatial contraction and associated time dilation. This was more difficult for the GridScape system to handle.

  Caine order a full UP salvo consisting of eight Hydra-III missiles, each fired from the battle cruisers, and four smaller missiles from each of the destroyers. This totaled fifty-two missiles. The fighters' antimissile missiles were held for close range. Sooner than Gallant thought possible, missiles belched from the Repulse’s bow, and the beginning of a life-and-death struggle was started.

  The aliens' first missile volley contained 384 large and small missiles. Gallant estimated that the larger saucers each had four large missile launchers and some plasma and laser weapons with a maximum speed of 0.0022c. The small saucers appeared to have two forward missile tubes and some plasma weapons.

  As the alien missiles approached the UP fleet, countermeasures were deployed to good effect. Decoys and chaff misdirected more than a third of the incoming weapons.

  Then, it was the fighters’ turn. They moved through space like sharks hunting for prey. When they acquired a target, they launched their AMM-3 Mongoose antimissile missiles.

  Using his neural interface, Gallant was able to visualize incoming missiles. He had a window of only twenty-four seconds to engage them. He began visualizing the individual missiles, but he was having a problem with the sheer numbers. Slowly and methodically, his mind constructed a comprehensive image of the battlefield, the ships, the missiles, and their trajectories. Finally, he had a grand view, including every individual missile and its flight solution. As his understanding of the dynamic situation improved, he discovered that many of his fellow pilots were shooting at the same targets while ignoring others. It occurred to him that they didn’t have as comprehensive of an interpretation of the battlefield as he did. He wondered whether it could be that, with all their vaunted genetic engineering advantages, his natural talent was superior.