Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space (The Henry Gallant Saga)

by H. Peter Alesso

  “OK, Gallant, move into position for catapult launch,” she ordered.

  Gallant slowly maneuvered the craft over the hangar deck to the guide slot for the starboard catapult. It was possible to launch using only Eagle’s engines, but that was allowed only during battle conditions or emergencies because the exhaust heat scorched the bay area and required extensive cleanup.

  When he was in position, she allowed him to take off and fly short hops around Repulse while she lectured him, or demonstrated various capabilities. This activity lasted for several hours every day when Gallant was not otherwise occupied.

  -------------------------------

  Work clobbered him. Gallant spent every minute he could with Howard and Haggman working detailed plans to get equipment up to par with minimal downtime. He helped read the repair manuals while the men worked to replace circuits, or modify software.

  Slowly, the CIC status board reflected an improvement, but Gallant was falling behind his AI scheduled assignments and simulation exams for his fighter re-quals.

  Despite Gallant’s best efforts, Barrington was relentlessly critical of his performance and she piled on the simulation assignments to supplement actual flight time.

  Over the next few days, Gallant found division work melding with his re-qual study and training simulations, until it all blended into a seamless blur of constant activity. His occasional brushes with other midshipmen were strictly professional and impersonal.

  One awkward moment came when he literally walked into Kelsey Mitchel while turning a corridor.

  “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t looking …, I was thinking about …, Auh …,” he said. Then with one final, “Sorry,” he bounded away, leaving her there speechless.

  Nearly two weeks after his last visit, Gallant was once again in the XO’s office.

  “Gallant, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. You're behind in your re-qual assignments and you failed your last two simulation exams. I’m marking you deficient in your studies. Your final re-qual exam is tomorrow. Fail that and you'll be sent packing back to Mars.”

  Gallant said, “I understand, sir.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Three weeks had passed since he reported aboard. Gallant was still working diligently to complete all his studies for re-qual, in addition to keeping up a training program to become ship's duty officer, as well as to meet his obligations as a division officer. He was grateful when Chief Howard, more than once, saved an important message from going astray.

  Late that night, Gallant tried to study in the midshipmen's common room. The limited space was occupied, so he reluctantly made his way to the wardroom. It was acceptable for officers to spread out their daily work needs there when meals were not being served. He flopped into a chair and put his feet up on the adjacent one.

  His Eagle qualification exam was in the morning at 0600. He hoped to finish some practice questions before turning in. Balancing his study tablet in his lap, he worked through a practice series. Then, he activated the tablets flight simulator and practiced recovery maneuvers for a few accident scenarios.

  Lt. Mather wandered into the wardroom, nodded to Gallant and punched in his authorization code on the galley panel for some late night food.

  The auto-server popped up and displayed a tray of synthetic snack bars along with a few pieces of real fruit and a small portion of nuts. Mather picked at the nuts and fruit, leaving the synthetics for last.

  During deep space travel there was always plenty of space to store synthetic food ingredients that could be turned into edible materials. The trouble was that human nature yearned for the real thing as much as possible. In general, real food was stockpiled for the fleet at various space stations. But here in Jupiter orbit, the cost of transporting bulk food materials so far from Earth was prohibitive.

  Gallant's stomach growled, but snacks were not a midshipman privilege. He would have liked some exam advice too. But he knew better than to ask.

  Mather sat for several minutes absent-mindedly tapping the edge of the table. Finally, he got up and left without offering Gallant either.

  He was about to call it a night when the XO came in and stopped him. He scolded, "Where are your personnel fitness reports? They're late. I want them first thing in the morning."

  Before Gallant could respond, the XO went bounding off to deal with another of his endless litany of problems.

  “All part of the job,” Gallant said to himself and got on with the task.

  He popped several stim-pills for an energy boost and began working on fitness reports for his division’s personnel. Mostly he relied on Chief Howard's draft notes, but he made sure he spent enough time on evaluating and ranking each individual in his division to feel comfortable with the final grades he gave them. After a couple of hours, he was still only half done.

  He thought that if he decided to put the files away and hit the sack, he would be able to get a few hours of sleep before his re-qual exam.

  On the other hand, the XO hadn't looked like he was going to be very accommodating. So Gallant worked through the night to finish the personnel records. He put them in the XO's cyber in-basket just before the morning watch changed.

  Then he sat on his bunk bed and downed synthetic stim-coffee.

  At 0545, a virtual computer display popped up over his head and blared, “Attention Midshipman Gallant, you have fifteen minutes to complete your morning ablutions and dress. Report to Squadron 111 hangar to take your requalification exam including flight test.”

  The usual morning mad dash began.

  Before long, Gallant was in the squadron hangar completing his flight test under Barrington’s critical eye.

  Afterward, Gallant passed Chief Howard in the corridor.

  Howard gave him a questioning look.

  Gallant puffed his chest out with pride and returned a thumbs-up.

  CHAPTER 5

  The hours in a day were never enough. Each watch, report, and exam seemed like an organized disruption to Gallant’s desire for food and sleep. Each irreverent “Attention Midshipman Gallant” that blared over his head, called him away to some new obligation. A week after re-qualifying, Gallant joined the other midshipmen in an advanced flight training session conducted by Lieutenant Mather.

  Mather was going to review the ship’s computer systems in detail in preparation for a mock combat session. While many of the midshipmen were already up to date on the ship’s AI systems, it was an opportunity for Gallant to catch-up.

  Mather stood at the head of the compartment at a lectern facing several rows of chairs. He began describing the Repulse’s computer system, “It’s a marvel of Twenty-second Century technology. It provides three levels of operation for each and every important department on board including: navigation, engineering, weapons, environmental, and communications. The first level is the centralized Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. It performs what we call ‘strong-AI.’ Then, the second level includes system operations of individual departments with their own ‘weak-AI.’ They require more human interaction in order to coordinate systems. Finally, the last level is direct human manual control.”

  “Officers, this is the strong-AI system nicknamed GridScape.” A three dimensional humanoid holograph form appeared before Mather. ““The avatar image is changeable,” he flipped through a few before settling on a base form. “I prefer this nondescript image for my lectures. GridScape is a wireless grid computer network consisting of over one million parallel central processors performing a billion-billion operations per second. It helps to control operations throughout the ship and its fighter support within a limited range. It coordinates overall control with our technically trained crew. Of course, it has redundant connectivity for reliability; both direct wiring, as well as wireless connections. GridScape is fully capable of independent automatic operation for most routine operations and many emergency responses that the ship may be required to perform.”

  Sandy Barrington stood up and asked, “What hap
pens when there’s battle damage, sir?”

  “In the event the strong-AI system is damaged, the weak-AI computer systems take over local functional operation. Of course, every device can be switch to manual operation as required. Also, all crew members have their comm pins. They can connect to local resources that in turn can connect to the centralized AI,” said Mather.

  Neumann stood and asked, “How independent is the AI, sir?”

  “The goal of creating independent intelligent computers remains elusive. We have systems that can understand human language, solve problems, and navigate through space. However, intelligent robotics can never be totally relied upon. People still argue about whether it is possible for computers to think. Of course, our AI units ‘think’ in a limited fashion, but they can only function within their prescribed range. In my opinion, there is already a contest between the future development of AI and advances in genetic engineering.”

  He continued, “Of course, success may come easier for the genetically enhanced, but it’s not certain. The laws of chance still create accidents. Genetic engineering combines the best of your parents’ DNA while removing harmful genes. It means that we no longer fear inherited diseases. In addition, it can turn on helpful genes that promote neuron development and stimulation.”

  There were a few awkward glances toward Gallant, who was the odd man out in terms of genetic engineering.

  Mather returned to his topic, “Once targets are designated, AI can control Repulse’s main battery consisting of lasers and missiles, but our squadron of a dozen fighters flies independently for close-in support. Today, we will be conducting advanced fighter mock combat training to illustrate this point.”

  Mather paused for a moment, and then said, “Officers, in today's mock combat, you will be divided into a blue team defending Repulse from an attacking red team. Please note; your fighter may register simulated battle damage.”

  Mather provided assignments as Captain Caine slipped quietly into the back of the compartment and sat down. In the first mock combat exercise, pilots Gallant and Gregory were paired off as blue team against red team pilots, Neumann and Chui. Gallant and Neumann were selected as team leaders and the designated combat area was set, along with a time limit.

  Gallant’s conflicting emotions ran the gauntlet between confidence and anxiety, in confronting his first head-to-head competition with his shipmates.

  As the midshipmen boarded their two-man fighters, Kelsey Mitchel was assigned as Gallant’s astrogator. She went about her preflight checks professionally, hardly acknowledged him. He wasn’t sure if her presence made him even more nervous.

  One-by-one, the Eagle fighters were launched and they took their starting positions.

  Gallant pulled on his man-machine neuron interface headgear and began to concentrate. The dozens of silicon probes touched his skin at key points. They picked up the sensitive wave patterns emanating from his thoughts and used the onboard AI to process them. The AI would translate his thoughts into commands for flying the Eagle. The manual stick and physical control buttons were still present in the cockpit. They provided speed and thrust direction controls, but only as a backup. Thought control was faster.

  He felt a whole new world open up to him. He could visualize ship controls and equipment, as well as radar and optical scans that reached beyond his craft. As he spatially oriented himself, he ‘felt’ the controls for operating his fighter's propulsion and weapons. By merely visualizing the relative direction he wished to go, he could move his ship. In addition, he could interface with GridScape while he remained in the vicinity of Repulse. Also, he could mentally sense the emotional levels of his astrogator, Kelsey, and his teammate, Gregory. He felt a sense of relaxed confidence coming from both of them.

  He realized that a genetically enhanced midshipman like Neumann had an advantage over him. In past exercises on Mars, Gallant had been able to successfully interface with the neuron headgear, but he had not been able to maintain a high intensity of concentration for sustained periods. As a result, he would have to carefully pick his moments of maximum effort, relying on tactics that offered him brief moments of respite.

  Gallant looked out his Eagle's canopy at the void of space before him. There was a sense of peace that captured his imagination. Suddenly, he felt exhilarated, ready for the coming challenge.

  When all the ships were in the starting position, Mather signaled for the exercise to begin.

  To the surprised of all observers, Gallant started the exercise by ordering blue team to move at full speed away from the Repulse and away from red team. This maneuver allowed blue team to climb higher in the gravity well, giving Gallant a tactical ‘altitude’ advantage.

  Gallant could sense Gregory’s uncertainty about the maneuver, but he was sure that Neumann would let his ego cloud his better judgment and accept Gallant’s gambit.

  As Gallant anticipated, Neumann led red team in hot pursuit instead of directly attacking the exposed Repulse.

  By drawing the red team away of its primary target, Gallant hoped to gain both superior maneuvering position and more time for Repulse to move out of the designated combat area. On the other hand, Gallant's extra distance meant he could no longer coordinate fire support from the Repulse through GridScape. Also, if blue team was knocked out of action, Neumann would then have an unobstructed attack on Repulse. Clearly, Gallant's plan was a double-edged sword.

  A few minutes later, Gallant reversed blue team’s course and dove on the pursuers. He concentrated all his team’s firepower on red team’s propulsion plants. By the time he passed the enemy ships, red team had sustained significant damage to both their propulsion systems. It looked like his plan was paying off.

  Gallant felt a surge of excitement, “Blue team, bank hard left, and concentrate fire on lead fighter.”

  Gregory mimicked Gallant’s maneuvers, as the two of them darted at their opposition.

  Neumann maneuvered his ship so adeptly that he avoided the worst of the laser blasts, and he was able to score numerous counterblows. Gallant was now forced to engage in a slugging match with his opponents who were clearly outstanding pilots.

  In the dogfight that followed, Neumann and Chui consistently outflew blue team. As the time limit approached, Gregory repeatedly tried to cover Gallant, but Gallant’s fighter was finally designated destroyed and Gregory’s crippled.

  Red team was finally able to turn and catch up with Repulse which had made a dash for the safety of the combat area boundaries.

  By the end of the time limit, Repulse was able to flee the combat area with relatively few laser hits amounting to minor damage.

  While the contest was close, the loss of Gallant’s fighter tipped the scales to a red team victory.

  After the training team returned, Captain Caine’s only comment was “Most surprising, Mr. Gallant.”

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  Gallant was slouching in his seat in the officer’s mess when Kelsey walked in for dinner. To his surprise, she flashed him a luminescent smile and took the seat beside him.

  She asked, “What’s the matter? You look like death warmed over.”

  Tired from his mental exertions, and deflated by the exercise's outcome, he replied evasively, “Nothing.”

  “Something’s bothering you.”

  Gallant shrugged.

  “You’re not brooding about the exercise are you?” her eyes conveying maturity and understanding.

  Gallant grimaced.

  “You’re too sensitive.”

  “What? We lost.”

  “Get over it. You did okay. It was your first exercise and Mather threw you in the deep end as team leader. Neumann and Chui are not only a year senior to you, but they’ve run that exercise a dozen times already. The fact that you didn’t get us all slaughtered in the opening salvo was better than anyone anticipated.”

  “You included?”

  Kelsey shrugged and began eating.

  As Gallant stirred his simul
ated coffee clockwise, he watched in apparent fascination as the liquid swirled around the lip of the cup. After a moment, he stole a glance at Kelsey.

  “Where is your family from?” he asked, hoping to get the conversation on friendly ground.

  "Oregon, old-USA. We've been farmers for generations. My brothers help run the farm. Though with all the automation and advanced bio-engineering, the only remaining production variable is the weather. And even that is closely regulated with the weather monitoring and seeding satellites. It's amazing how much food is produced from well managed land these days. My family is proud of helping to feed people."

  She smiled and balanced a morsel of food on her fork. Then as if to illustrate how rapidly food could be consumed by a hungry population, she quickly gulped it down.

  "What about before the Unification?" asked Gallant, as he recalled a little history.

  In the middle of the last century, economics became the driving force that unified the governments of Earth. Over the course of the Twenty-first Century each of the continents formed common market trading blocks that created a close dependency between former independent nations. As trade and economic interests coalesced, the free movement of workers and goods mixed the various cultures of the regions into a global ‘melting pot.’

  Once colonization and asteroid mining began, commerce was established between the planets. Eventually, immigrants on the planetary colonies sought full rights as citizens. Many on Earth felt they had subsidized the colonies and should be repaid before citizenship was granted. The colonists felt they had sacrificed much in terms of depravation and danger, and therefore deserved full citizenship immediately. At first, this united the remaining governments of Earth, and led to a short sharp conflict between Earth and the colonies. The subsequent peace settlement granted the colonies equal citizenship rights with Earthers and united all of the planets' governments into the United Planets. One democratic government was formed with a president and multi-body congress.