CHAPTER 17
STELLA BORDEAUX
Forty lumbering merchant ships, trudged through space in a convoy escorted by two destroyers and Squadron 111. The destroyers intended to make the entire journey from Jupiter to Mars. The fighters, scheduled to tag along for only six days, were deployed in a lattice radar formation to detect converging asteroids and any alien ships that wandered into their path. As the ships advanced, the density of the asteroid field increased, along with the level of danger.
Gallant was surprised, at how comfortable and relaxed he felt in his Eagle. His mind felt the control systems, and he adjusted the ship’s trim and thrust vector until it almost purred. His course through the asteroid field was constantly updated by Kelsey’s astrogation computer. She diligently monitored obstacles in their flight path. For each degree in her update, Gallant smoothly adapted the Eagle’s flight path. The ships in the convoy fired their lasers to destroy any meteorites that were a potential danger to the more fragile merchantmen hulls.
Occasionally, the task-force commander in the lead destroyer, Fletcher, altered the convoy’s course to avoid the worst of the asteroid concentrations. When this happened, Kelsey swiftly laid out their new course.
Gallant was pleased at how well they worked together. He wanted to tell Kelsey that he appreciated her expertise, but he couldn’t find the words to express this without sounding somehow inappropriate.
He thought, If only I had Red’s confidence with women.
Kelsey said, “Caine seems to have found a clever solution to his dilemma.”
“You’re right,” said Gallant. “He’s planning on having it both ways.”
“But will it work?” asked Kelsey. Seated tandem, she spoke loud enough for Gallant to hear her over the murmuring of the engines.
“It should. Max speed of the merchantmen is 0.001c. That’s sixteen million miles per day. In six and a quarter days, that’s a hundred million miles. That puts them well into the asteroid belt but still three hundred eighty million miles short of Mars. There, they’ll rendezvous with Dauntless and Devastator. Then, as Captain Caine says, the squadron can ‘hotfoot’ it back to Jupiter, before the alien fleet gets there. The battle cruisers and destroyers will escort the convoy the rest of the way.”
“That’s cutting things close. I wouldn’t want to miss all the action,” said Kelsey with concern.
“Don’t worry. We won’t," said Gallant.
As the convoy continued for a little over three days, Kelsey and Gallant alternated taking naps. When Gallant slept, Kelsey had to drive the ship using manual controls. Gallant was gratified to learn how adept she was at making delicate corrections with such blunt instruments.
But then, the plan changed as far as Gallant and Kelsey were concerned.
As commander of Squadron 111, Neumann ordered, "Gallant, drop out of formation and escort the Stella Bordeaux while she makes engine repairs. They suffered a fire and internal explosion. Your orders are to provide escort and assist repairs for three days and then return to the Repulse at maximum speed. Under no circumstance are you to fail to rendezvous in three days."
“Aye, aye, sir,” responded Gallant. He banked his Eagle and positioned it adjacent to the ailing merchantman.
"Now we have to play nursemaid," said Gallant, biting back a curse. He was frustrated that Neumann had singled him out for the thankless task and visited this problem upon Kelsey as well.
“Don’t pout. It’s only for a few days,” said Kelsey, as they watched the convoy diminish into a distant point of light. “Besides it’s an independent command, an opportunity to excel!”
Trust Kelsey to find the silver lining thought Gallant, smiling.
Gallant contacted the Stella Bordeaux’s captain, Edward Dawson, and asked for a briefing.
Dawson said, "We had a fire in the reactor compartment. It caused an explosion that breached the hull across both the engine room and the reactor compartment. It produced a serious radioactive gas leak, as well. We put a quick internal patch on the engine room, but we couldn’t enter the reactor compartment with the reactor still running. We are conducting an emergency reactor shutdown now. That part of the hull breach can only be sealed externally."
Gallant said, “Captain Dawson, we request permission to board Stella Bordeaux to visually inspect the damage and decide how best to help seal the hull.”
“Permission granted—with appreciation.”
Gallant flew a few loops around the merchantman and scanned the distance with his radar for enemy intruders. Finding none, he docked with the Stella Bordeaux.
Kelsey and Gallant boarded the ship and walked through the damaged engine room and reactor compartment. Their shielded suits protected them from the radiation leak.
Gallant checked the reactor compartment pressure. He was sure it had read near the normal range when he first arrived, but now the engine room was showing a dramatic drop in pressure. In fact, all the connected compartments were showing abnormally low pressure readings. The air loss was critically dangerous on its own, but worse, the differential pressure threatened the possibility of valve seals rupturing, which in turn could cause a plasma discharge and a reactor-core meltdown. This would be a disaster.
Gallant tapped his comm pin and sounded the collision alarm. This made all the hatches and openings automatically seal, to maintain airtight integrity throughout the ship. Gallant concluded that when he had first looked at the pressure in the reactor compartment, the air leak had been masked. The damage in the reactor compartment must have led to the reactor overheating. The rising reactor temperature would typically have made the air pressure in the reactor compartment increase, but due to the leak, the pressure didn’t go up. Instead, it approximately balanced out against the leakage rate, so for a short period of time, the reactor compartment pressure looked nearly normal. The reactor temperature must have been corrected when Dawson started to shut down the reactor. The reactor bled away the air in its chamber and from the adjacent engine room as well. Then it began sucking out the rest of the ship’s air, until just now when Gallant resealed all the openings.
The Stella Bordeaux was adrift while Gallant, Kelsey and Dawson devoted their energy to finding a solution to restore power to the ship.
Dawson had to seal the leak and return the reactor to a safe and reliable condition. Then, the crew would repair the hull and engines as best as possible, given the scant resources available. Finally, they would need to find a safe route for the Stella Bordeaux to avoid any wandering alien ships and drifting asteroids. Dawson stood next to Gallant and Kelsey, a frown on his face, as he said, “We are well along with most of the internal repair efforts, but I have no one who can do the external repairs. Can you help with that?”
“I’ve had training for external hull patching,” replied Kelsey. "I'll do it."
“No, I’ll do the spacewalk. The Eagle’s AI can guide me through the repairs,” said Gallant wishing to protect her from the difficult assignment.
Kelsey got close to Gallant’s face, and said with authority, “When we're aboard the Eagle, you’re the command pilot and you give the orders. When we’re not, I’m senior. Don’t forget! I will do the external repairs. You return to the Eagle and use the lasers to keep meteorites from poking holes in me. Is that clear?”
There was a long moment of brittle tension before Gallant, feeling properly chastised, said, “Perfectly.”
Kelsey collected the appropriate protective gear and made her way to the air hatch, instructing Dawson to monitor her from the bridge of the freighter. She coordinated the repairs with Dawson’s crew and carried the patching material out of the airlock while Gallant returned to the Eagle.
“Let’s get on with the job,” said Kelsey, as she exited the freighter and spacewalked to the damaged area.
No sooner had Kelsey begun to work on the freighter than Gallant felt a vague discomfort. He monitored her as she methodically began the repairs. She coordinated her efforts with the readings that Dawson provided from th
e reactor’s control panel. She was engrossed in placing the final seals over the reactor compartment’s exterior leak. Twice she had Dawson run pressure tests, and once she had him increase the temperature—all in an effort to evaluate the strength of the patches.
“Captain Dawson, the materials we have available are not up to our needs. I’m afraid these makeshift patches may not last, but there isn’t a great deal we can do,” said Kelsey as she clung to the side of the freighter.
"I understand. We'll make do," said Dawson.
While Kelsey was finishing the external repairs, Gallant occasionally had to fire his laser at meteorites that approached the drifting Stella Bordeaux. They were on the outer edge of the asteroid belt, and Gallant was concerned because the repairs were still ongoing many hours after they had separated from the convoy. Everyone was exhausted.
Looking around, Gallant respected the spectacular view of the universe he was being afforded, but he would not let himself be distracted from the important task. He was more thankful for the sight of Kelsey returning to the Eagle than he was for the view of the stars surrounding them.
After several hours, they were able to restart the reactor at low power. Soon they were limping along on one engine. All the time, the leak continued to steal small quantities of air from the damaged areas of the ship.
With the reactor power restored and the starboard engine on-line, the merchantman was moving sluggishly through the asteroid field, when Kelsey reported, “I’m getting a faint radar signature of a ship at the edge of the asteroid field, and it's heading in this general direction.”
Gallant looked at the display. It showed a small alien saucer that could outgun both the freighter and his fighter. He looked at Kelsey. She was waiting for his orders. Only then did Gallant feel the full weight of his responsibilities.
Gallant opened a communication channel to the Stella Bordeaux and said, “I don't think that saucer is currently tracking us. It may have caught a glimpse a little while ago and then lost us when we moved behind this small planetoid. Dawson, what do you think would happen if we dumped your cargo of volatile fuel and then fired a missile into it?”
For a moment Dawson didn’t respond, as he let the idea sink in. Then a broad smile spread across his face. “We’d give them one heck of a headache!”
"Right. Captain Dawson, plot the saucer’s best course toward us and begin discharging the cargo in that location. Then go back to the communication room and, when I tell you, start broadcasting on the radio."
“You want me to transmit openly? The saucer will pick that up and—oh...OK,” Dawson responded.
Gallant watched the saucer on the display screen and waited, until it reached a position that would require it to travel directly through the just-released cargo to approach the Stella Bordeaux’s current location. "Now, Captain, come to all stop and start transmitting."
“We’re broadcasting.”
Slowly, the saucer responded to the transmission and changed course directly for the Stella Bordeaux. Gallant watched the approaching saucer and calculated its transit toward the fuel debris, all the while keeping his Eagle behind the planetoid. As he watched, however, he was concerned that the fuel was dispersing. How long should he wait to fire? Would the amount of dispersed fuel be enough? Would the saucer detect the fuel and avoid it?
"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 burst. 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 megatons 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 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.