Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space

by H. Peter Alesso

CHAPTER 7

  JUPITER STATION

  Gallant shifted his weight from foot to foot, as he stood beside the airlock to Repulse’s hangar bay. He felt conspicuous in his Service Dress Blues, but that was the required uniform for travel. Inside the hangar, passengers were boarding a shuttlecraft. Several crewmen were also waiting for transportation to Jupiter Station. When his turn came, Gallant passed through the airlock and boarded the shuttle.

  “Hello, young man. Do you remember me? Jacob Bernstein? Jake?” called a man from the cockpit, waving his hand as he spoke. He was sitting in the pilot seat.

  “Yes, Jake.” Gallant felt as if he had found an old friend - it was the aged pilot who had brought him out to Repulse.

  “It’s good to see you. Come up front and sit next to me. I hope you’re doing well on your new ship.”

  “Yes. Everything is fine, thank you,” said Gallant, stepping forward to get out of the way of the dozen or so other passengers.

  “Oh, really? What happened to your hands?” Jake asked, looking at the extensive bandages.

  “There was a fire. I was careless,” Gallant said, sitting down in the co-pilot’s seat.

  “Tsk, tsk. Isn’t that always the case with the young?” Jake said, shaking his head. “So foolish. I expected better from you.”

  Gallant smiled contritely, “Repulse’s triage paramedics and doctors took great care of me. They put temporary dressings and healing salve on the burns. They gave me some prophylactic antibiotics and sent my stem cell samples to the Jupiter Station hospital. The hospital has grown new skin for me. I’m going there now so they can graft it over the burns. It’s no big deal. I’ll be going back this evening. My hands will be just fine.”

  “Nevertheless, you must think before you act, or next time you’ll lose more than a piece of your hide.”

  “You’re right. I’ll be more careful in the future,” said Gallant, appreciative of Jake’s concern.

  While they were talking, the shuttle filled to capacity.

  Jake announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We will be departing in a few minutes.” He shut the hatch between the cockpit and the main passenger’s chamber, as required for flight preparation.

  Jake called the Repulse’s hangar duty officer and asked for clearance to depart. When it was granted, he started the shuttle’s thrusters and maneuvered the vehicle out of the hangar and into space. Soon the passengers were chatting comfortably while the tiny craft made its way toward Jupiter Station in orbit around Ganymede.

  “How have you been doing, Jake?” asked Gallant when Jake had set the AI autopilot.

  “Oh, I can’t complain. Well, I guess I could, but it wouldn’t do any good,” he chuckled.

  “Why? What’s the problem?”

  “Oh, money,” he said. “It’s the cost of antimatter. You’d think with the Ganymede accelerator finally up and running, that prices would fall. But it doesn’t always work that way in commerce -not when the military has first call on the stuff.”

  “Do you own this shuttle business?”

  “Yes, for over thirty years. My family was among the first Jupiter frontier pioneers. They came to the Kendra settlement on Ganymede as silicate miners. Later they helped to develop space habitat for colonizing asteroids and moons. Did you know that some very large cylinder habitats are five miles in diameter and twenty miles long, made from ordinary steel and glass to support from 1,000 to 100,000 people. Some space colonies use thin-walled pressure vessels with recycled atmospheres and hydroponics. Each sector of a space habitat has its own atmosphere control system with sensors and regulators including activated carbon filters and air ionizers. Colonies often use solar energy until they get to large distances from the Sun such as Jupiter."

  Jake stopped for a moment then added, "I grew up out here in the colonies, but I didn’t fancy the mining trade. So when I was old enough, I started my own business. My dad supplied the down payment and secured a loan to get the shuttle. He also helped negotiate the military contracts, so I could travel between military ships and the station. My folks have since passed away, but I still earn a living for my wife, Margret, and me. We have a home on the station. My oldest son, Brandon, is a sergeant in the 7th Marine regiment stationed near Kendra. My other three boys and their families visit from their Ganymede settlements whenever possible.”

  “You’ve lived your whole life in Jupiter’s orbit?” asked Gallant.

  “That’s right. Plenty of folks live their whole life in space settlements these days. You’re probably used to Earthers, who take one space trip in their lifetime and think that it’s a great adventure.”

  “I’ve never been to Earth. My grandparents were pioneers too. They settled in New Annapolis, Mars. My father was a terraforming engineer and Mom was a mineralogist. They worked together and treasured everything about Mars. Those were magic years for us.” Gallant looked out into space. His expression changed as the pleasant memories were crowded out by painful ones. “One assignment resulted, in us being posted to an encampment on Phobos.”

  Gallant took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around his chest. “A large meteorite got past the laser defenses and struck our shelter.” His eyes welled up. “My parents had only seconds to react. They sealed me in an escape pod,” his voice wavered, “They never made it to their own.”

  He sat quietly staring straight ahead, numbed by his own revelation.

  “I’m sorry, Henry,” said Jake. He put his hand on Gallant’s shoulder. “That’s a harsh burden.”

  They were silent for a few minutes. Then Gallant, looking to change the mood, asked, “Tell me more about your business.”

  “Well, let’s see. It used to be quite lucrative. I operated under a military contract. They paid a base rate, plus a fee for each trip to ferry personnel and small shipments between ships and the station. They used to pay for maintenance, repairs and my flight time. Fuel was included as part of the contract. Now, I have to pay my own fuel costs. Oh, they upped the ferry price some, but not enough to suit me.”

  “The cost of antiprotons probably fluctuates because the availability depends on how much is left over after the military ships are serviced. Is that right?”

  “You got it. You’ll have to excuse me now. We’re approaching the station,” said Jake. He placed the ship in manual and began flying it toward a docking port.

  After Jake parked the shuttle, he said, “I’ll be here when your operation is done.”

  “Thanks,” said Gallant as he left.