CHAPTER 21
HIDING IN THE ASTEROIDS
The asteroids that made up the Ceres asteroid family proved to be a magnificent hiding place. This was true for Gallant’s Eagle, as well as for the secret Titan Fleet. Some larger boulders formed a channel, or path, for Gallant to follow to avoid detection. With astonishing abruptness, he moved through some of the brief open spaces. He thanked his lucky stars that he had decided to maneuver along the sunward side of the Ceres family. It offered better concealment than the far side, which ran very close to one of the large fortresses.
As he readjusted his neural interface, his subconscious noted the positions of every ship and rock in the asteroid field. Making rapid maneuvers required all of Gallant’s concentration. He gave himself little respite as he worked vigilantly. He shook off the stress, driven to find the best course to the next position of cover.
The deception of mimicking the local traffic was working, but the dangers remained great. They came upon a long, looming crevasse on the surface of a large asteroid. Gallant dropped the Eagle down inside it. He fumbled in the dim light to maneuver into the crevasse and land as if he were docking on Repulse. Once there, they remained hidden while they weighed their options on how to proceed. He could finally disengage from the neural interface to rest.
He had only a vague sense of how to inform Mars that the Titans were in a position to launch a sneak attack. If he was discovered, he would have to fake his ship’s destruction. Then he could alert Mars without the Titans realizing it. This would give Mars a strategic advantage. But it was easier to run into this danger, than make a run to escape. On his radar screen, he glimpsed ships in the immediate vicinity, but it was almost impossible to identify an escape route.
If they were cornered, he planned to pull off a deception based upon releasing debris with a covering explosion, and then find another crevasse to hide in.
As they collected more information, Gallant was concerned about how long he should wait before trying to get a message to Mars. He discussed their options with Kelsey. He was tormented by the idea that if he broadcast a message, they would be exposed to immediate discovery and attack.
Gallant found inspiration when he looked at Kelsey. Even at this dangerous moment, her eyes were fearless.
"We need to try a stealthy escape. It allows for the best strategic options," she said.
We will succeed, thought Gallant, optimistically. But before they could act, everything changed.
The radar alarm rang out "Ping... Ping.... Ping... Ping......" Their hiding place had been discovered by a scout ship.
There was nothing subtle about the situation they found themselves in now. They had to scramble out of the crevasse and get moving. They were fighting for their lives; outgunned a million to one.
As Gallant began evasive maneuvers, he prepared but did not transmit a message to give a quick warning to Mars. It would tell Mars Fleet that there was a large, hidden Titan force near Ceres, but they would have to wait for details. He would only transmit the message if the Eagle was about to be destroyed. It was a tough choice, but the only one he could reasonably make.
They tried to make a quick exit, but as they maneuvered away from the Titan destroyer, their path was blocked by a large convoy. The convoy’s course posed the very real danger of cutting off their line of escape. He realized that he was going to be hemmed in by scores of transports and shuttles intent upon resupplying a nearby fortress. The convoy was being escorted by a number of destroyers and cruisers.
Kelsey said quietly, “Henry, there are several destroyers drawing close on the port side.”
Gallant was going to acknowledge, but never started the sentence. He angrily thrust the Eagle forward at full speed. The image of the destroyers appeared on the radar scope and then quickly disappeared. He wasn't sure in what direction to move next. The Eagle flipped to the right, rolling at 30 degrees as she was forced backward and down in the maneuver.
He could tell by the maneuvers of two cruisers on his port side and two cruisers to his starboard that they’d had brief radar glimpses of his ship and were maneuvering to intercept. It seemed that the general alarm had been given.
He could only try to make erratic maneuvers to avoid giving the enemy a clear opportunity to fire at him. It might seem hopeless, but there was nothing to be gained by doubting the only plan possible. He would play it out to the last second. He dropped his hand onto the console and concentrated on his neural interface to identify ships and asteroids. He calculated the speeds and courses of each, and adjusted the Eagle’s actions accordingly.
The ships and asteroids surrounding the Eagle nearly formed a net. Gallant could see only one slim avenue of escape, but the destroyers were fast enough to close that gap once they realized his intent.
Gallant thought, Remaining here is death. I must risk everything on one throw of the dice. He made a dramatic move, charging directly at the convoy. At that moment, he knew his opportunity lay in scattering the convoy and causing them to maneuver to avoid collision, with him and each other. It just might mislead the escorts.
Hard to port, Gallant thought as he maneuvered. He was confident that he could use his mind’s eye view to preserve his position relative to the enemy ships.
The destroyers fired several missiles in his direction but left the escape route open. Gallant shot his antimissiles. In the stillness that prevailed on board the Eagle, he could hear the swoosh of the exiting missiles venting from the Eagle’s tubes.
Hard to starboard, thought Gallant, maneuvering the ship. He drove full speed toward his escape path.
“Missiles approaching, starboard side,” said Kelsey, calmly.
Gallant was too busy to reply. The next moment, the Titans’ plan revealed itself. The destroyers on the port side were once again working toward him, and he guessed that they were making a concerted effort to close the net around him. However, they were trying to get the convoy out of the way at the same time.
He had only seconds to make each decision. He thought, Hard to port.
A cruiser spat a missile in his direction. The warhead detonated off his starboard side, but did no damage.
Hard to starboard, up five degrees, he thought as he maneuvered. It was an attempt to get a better position. The Eagle worked around the convoy and moved to cross the bow of one of the ships.
To avoid the ponderous broadside of one of the destroyers, Gallant moved closer to one of the convoy ships. His efforts to keep the merchantman and the combat ships confused were working. The situation remained risky, however. Gallant’s maneuvers compelled them to make maneuvers within the asteroid field that could cause collisions. Sure enough, the merchantmen collided, one after another. Some were struck by asteroids as well. They spewed debris in front of the remaining ships, further confusing the radar image.
Gallant had already strayed dangerously into the field’s densest area, and the ships in the convoy were scattering farther away from him. He maneuvered the ship once again. Amid the confusion, Gallant could see that the destroyers were trying to avoid collisions as much as trying to attack him. Gallant’s mind was constantly processing multiple calculations, yet it still didn’t seem enough.
The number of ships in so small an area was working against the Titans; because they had to avoid collisions, they couldn’t fire at the Eagle indiscriminately. Gallant weaved his magic as his neural interface offered him a complete picture of the objects around them.
He tried to forecast the courses of the ships and at the same time avoid the asteroids and missiles. He had to remember the rate at which the destroyers could fire their missiles and how close he could get before a plasma blast would be heading his way.
He heard Kelsey curse as the Eagle had a close shave with an asteroid. The Eagle twisted and leaped. Several missiles approached, but the Eagle’s magazines were empty. They exploded nearby, and the shockwave caught the Eagle.
Gallant's tense mind spent several seconds trying to understand what had happened. The
Eagle had been damaged.
There were now fires and damage within the ship, so he operated the fire-suppression system while keeping the ship on course.
Another flash of light and another explosion smashed near the fighter, adding to the chaos within.
Kelsey coughed and moaned. He could see that she had been seriously injured by shrapnel and the fire.
She cried in pain as she struggled to remove the jagged metal penetrating her pressure suit and cutting into her legs. Blood gushed from her lower torso. Molten metal and burning electrical panels discharged toxic fumes and blinding smoke.
Gallant said, "Don’t move. I’ll help as soon as I can." He watched as her blood created a red flower on her uniform.
It took all of Gallant’s self-control to turn away from Kelsey and concentrate on the battle. Turning the fighter in a tight spiral, he moved away from the main formation of the attacking Titan ships that nearly surrounded them. With an acrobatic evasive maneuver, he headed for the one remaining avenue of escape. Without any antimissiles, he was helpless against the crisscrossing missile barrage that threatened to engulf them. As Gallant pushed the Eagle’s thrusters to maximum, the fighter’s impaired engines strained to accelerate and break clear. The engine finally spit out a blistering stream of plasma, propelling the Eagle forward. Gallant concentrated on plotting a course through the dense asteroid field and avoiding the trailing ship-killer missiles that the Titans sent streaking after him. After several tense minutes of performing agile maneuvers, Gallant and Kelsey found a temporary respite.
His throat tightened as he looked into Kelsey’s face. He concentrated to clear his thoughts as his heart thumped hard. He felt sweat trickle down his temple. The ship’s tactical display highlighted the desperate situation. All he had was speed and maneuverability. Fortunately, the chaos within the convoy along with the resulting collisions was sufficiently traumatic. Gallant found what he had been looking for; a planetoid of sufficient size where he could hide. It provided the opportunity to carry out his plan of faking his destruction.
He fired his lasers into debris discharged from the Eagle, making it look like it had been destroyed in the last missile attack. Next, Gallant settled on an asteroid with a crevice deep enough for him to hide his fighter and avoid detection by radar.
He put his fighter down in the rocky fracture and waited. He desperately hoped the Titans would believe he had been destroyed. A number of Titan scouts passed by, but he remained unobserved. After a while, Gallant’s radar screen revealed that the Titans had moved off, looking elsewhere, and he started to consider ways to leapfrog to other hiding positions that might get him closer to Mars. Unfortunately, the last explosions had damaged his communication system, and he couldn’t send an immediate warning to Mars.
Gallant watched as the remaining undamaged convoy ships gathered speed and moved toward the nearest fortress. Meanwhile, more scout ships joined the search in the immediate area.
Finally, he was able to turn his attention to his critically injured companion. The moment that he saw Kelsey’s bleeding and broken body, dark thoughts spilled over him. The fear of losing her filled him with a deep and profound sadness that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Kelsey, stay awake. Look at me; it’s going to be OK." He carefully pulled broken metal shards out of her flesh and quickly applied a tourniquet to her right leg. Then he pressed his hand against her left calf to control the bleeding while he applied a large bandage. Kelsey grimaced but bravely stifled a cry. He looked at her as he injected a pain reliever and watched as the medication started to work. Slowly, her contorted expression relaxed. "Thank you, Henry," she said, her chest heaving. As she became composed, Gallant cleaned the rest of her wounds.
Even as he had completed his treatment, he was concerned about her going into shock. Thankfully, the medication helped her to fall asleep.
He let his mind wander to the grave threat that the United Planets now faced. Anxiety and strain brought focus to his thinking, but he was careful not to disturb Kelsey. His irritation increased at the thought of how much he hated the time he was wasting keeping her from the medical aid she needed. As he looked at the console screen above her, he could see his own reflection. His tangled brown hair caused his ill-tempered frown to return. A curse went unspoken on his lips. He noticed Kelsey struggling to deal with her suffering.
As they remained in their dark hiding place, Gallant continued his discontented examination of the ship's condition. He kept his doubts to himself while he tried to repair the ship’s systems.
The data he had collected was in a horrible state as a result of damage the equipment had suffered. Broken storage lockers spilled food and equipment all over the floor. Burned electric panels smoldered.
Once more, a shadow of doubt crept into his mind, and he put his hand to his temple, rubbing his forehead.
Gallant realized the Titan attack on Jupiter Station had been a diversion, designed to lure away part of the Mars Fleet while this huge alien fleet remained hidden, ready to pounce. He knew what he must do. With his ship badly damaged and no functioning communication equipment, he had to escape and warn Mars. And he had to save Kelsey.