“VICTORY! VICTORY!”
Surprise had been achieved—like all surprise was achieved in war—through surreptitious intelligence. The desperate gamble had paid off and the UP fleet—in a colossal feat of ingenuity, courage, and daring—had decisively defeated the Titan armada.
An insane roar of triumph erupted aboard the Warrior.
CHAPTER 32
Sealed Orders
Seated in his cabin, Gallant was conscious of an internal struggle he could only identify as an abnormality in his thought process. After all this time, he had hoped some new possibility might come to mind to allow him to make peace with the mission’s outcome. Once again, his mind began to review the calculations he had previously made under duress, as if he could somehow achieve a reconciliation of his desired outcome with the actual results—something that would change the past into something more to his liking.
Putting aside his self-doubt, he bent over to reach the locking mechanism on his safe. He pressed his thumb print onto the keypad. Opening the safe, he removed a locked package that had resided there for the entire mission.
He tapped his comm pin and said, “Bridge, ask the XO to come to my cabin.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
There was a knock on his door a minute later.
“Enter.”
“You asked to see me, skipper?” said Roberts.
“Yes. I would like you to verify that the Warrior has fulfilled our requirements for phase one of our mission under our current orders.” Gallant handed Roberts a tablet with the list of mission requirements.
It took Roberts several minutes to go through the list. When he was satisfied, he pressed his thumbprint onto the tablet, verifying the mission requirements. He handed the tablet back to Gallant.
“Is that all, sir?”
“One more thing; please verify the electronic lock on this package containing our sealed phase two orders.”
Roberts examined the package, which had remained unopened until then. “All correct, skipper.”
“Thank you,” said Gallant.
Roberts waited a minute, hoping he could remain.
Unwilling to enter a discussion with anyone at the moment, Gallant said, “That’s all.”
Disappointed, Roberts replied, “Aye aye, sir,” and left.
Gallant opened his new orders. A life-size holographic image of Admiral Collingsworth projected into the cabin, and an audio recording played. “Henry, I assume you’ve successfully completed phase one of your orders,” Collingsworth said. “Congratulations!”
Gallant nodded absentmindedly.
The holographic image grinned from ear to ear as if it could see the gesture. Collingsworth then continued: “First, the good news—I’m authorizing your field promotion to lieutenant commander immediately and changing your posting from captain pro tem to captain. I realize these recognitions come late, but I never doubted that you deserved them.
“Now for the not-so-good news: You’re not coming home. Your sealed orders provide detailed instructions, but let me summarize them: I’m sending you to Gleise-581. Your exploits at Jupiter and Saturn were training for the more formidable task of penetrating the Titans’ home planet. I wish I could give you more than warm wishes, but you already have my trust and respect. Good Luck!”
Gallant took it all in and remained quiet for a long, long time. Finally, he opened his message tablet and began a new page. He had put this task off for as long as he could. Now it was necessary to write the letter he dreaded . . .
Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel,
It is my sad duty to inform you of the death of your son, Midshipman Michael Gabriel, who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our people. You have my deepest sympathy on your loss.
I served with your son during his deployment aboard the Warrior. He was a caring and compassionate young man as well as an excellent officer. He was always doing something for someone else but never taking credit for it. Michael was respected and admired by his shipmates for his love of service and family. He was also a capable and dependable officer, and for that reason he was often called upon for special assignments.
Giving one's life for others is the highest act of selflessness, and your son’s valor occurred on a perilous mission where his sacrifice saved countless others. You can take solace in knowing that he died defending the people he loved so dearly.
He was an inspiration to us all. I am proud to have served with him, and I will always keep him in my thoughts to remind me why I continue to fight.
In Deep Sorrow,
Henry Gallant
Lieutenant Commander Henry Gallant
Commanding Officer, UP Warrior SS 519
— the end. —
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Henry Gallant and the Warrior
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