Henry Gallant Saga 2: Lieutenant Henry Gallant

by H. Peter Alesso

  Wolfe let down the force field long enough for Gallant’s Hummingbird to rendezvous with the Intrepid in orbit over Elysium.

  Previously when Gallant had attended Captain Dan Cooper in his cabin, it had been a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere with Cooper treating him more as a colleague than a subordinate. Things were different under Captain Anton Neumann.

  Gallant stood frozen at attention as Neumann dressed him down.

  “You’ve exceeded your authority and exposed me to grave consequence when we report to fleet headquarters on Earth.” Neumann’s venomous tone was unmistakable. “You’ve deliberately exposed me to a court martial inquiry. I see through you. This is payback. But you’re wrong if you think you’ll get away with it. I’ve documented my orders. You will make a detailed report admitting you made unsanctioned concessions, including recognizing the sovereignty of Elysium.”

  Gallant exhaled, letting Neumann vent.

  “Under what criteria do you think it’s reasonable to agree to transfer an arsenal of weaponry to an unstable character like Wolfe?” Neumann didn’t wait for a response. He said, “I am now not only vulnerable to Wolfe’s continuous demands but I could be cashiered if I perform as you’ve agreed.”

  Surprised by the intensity of Neumann’s outburst, Gallant stared for a long second, and then he broke discipline and relaxed his posture without permission. He went so far as to sit down across from Neumann and look him directly in the eyes.

  Neumann frowned—the tension was balanced on a razor’s edge.

  Gallant said in a controlled, measured voice, “Wolfe has control of the planet’s force field. With one flip of the switch he can deprive us of access to resources and skilled mining manpower, not to mention forge and manufacturing facilities. Without Wolfe’s cooperation, there will be no returning to Earth—the Intrepid will never be FTL-worthy again.”

  “What do you mean? You want us to meet these outrageous demands?”

  “I don’t trust Wolfe. There’s no way the man I met designed and built a planetary force field. It is beyond the combined scientific capabilities of the entire United Planets.”

  “Hmm. Yet, he expects us to deliver a Titan destroyer to him on a silver platter. That’s not going to happen,” said Neumann.

  “Actually I think it might be possible to capture the destroyer, if we act quickly enough with our repairs.”

  “Never mind. If Wolfe becomes a real problem, it would be easier to send an armed Intrepid force to take over his operation than to capture a destroyer.”

  “Maybe, but, even so, my guess is he doesn’t expect us to completely fulfill our commitment,—he has another game he’s playing. I will explore and attempt to find the controls to his force field.”

  “That must be the highest priority,” said Neumann.

  Gallant spoke forcefully. “I propose we give Wolfe laser handguns and a few plasma rifles, as a show of good faith. We will demand he support us with men and equipment to begin mining operations immediately. As we progress, we can delay sending heavy weapons and nuclear reactor parts, saying they are under repair. Once we’ve completed substantial ship repairs and refueling, we will have more leverage, and we can get tougher in our negotiations with him. In addition we can insist he acquire a plebiscite for recognition of independence from the UP.”

  “What good is a vote? Won’t he win?”

  “I’m not so sure. There is an opposition group on the planet led by James and Alaina Hepburn. They may disrupt Wolfe’s plans. We can use them to our advantage.”

  “All right. I’ll go along with your approach, but, rest assured, your responsibility in initially overstepping your authority will remain on the record.”

  Gallant sat mute, but the tension dissipated. They changed topics to discuss the engineering and technical details of the mining operation to produce heavy metals, antimatter, and dark matter.

  “What will it take to construct a heavy equipment forge and build an accelerator? Plus we’ll need a dark matter plasma containment-field bottle.”

  As they were counting up everything they needed to manufacture, in the end, they added two more items—anti-ship missiles and a trailer they could hitch behind the Hummingbird using a tractor beam to transport men and equipment.

  “We don’t have much heavy moving equipment on board, but the colonists have tractors, bulldozers, excavators, and heavy trucks along with drilling and blasting mining rigs. After all, they were asteroid miners to begin with. They have a number of excellent mining engineers to supplement our crew.”

  “Will they work for us?” asked Neumann.

  “Not for us,” said Gallant, “but perhaps with us.”

  “Perhaps,” said Neumann, much calmer now. “There’s something else I need to discuss with you. We’ve monitored the Titan destroyer limping toward the outer planets. It’s traveling erratically at reduced speed while streaming gas and debris. Our readings show its power is fluctuating and my guess is its fusion drive is unstable. I’ll bet it explodes from internal damage before they can make effective repairs. Regardless, their course is toward one of the moons of the fifth planet, a gaseous giant.”

  “It’s possible they have a small base there which will offer them relief and refit capabilities.”

  “The drone we launched while we were entering this system has reported a space station on one of the moons of the fifth planet. It’s methane-based and has extensive facilities, probably enough to fix the destroyer. Given their current progress, they won’t be back here any time soon. Perhaps in four to six months. At that time we should have made all our repairs and refueled. We might even be heading back to Earth by then.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” said Gallant.

  ***

  Gallant met with Chief Howard to talk about the engineering spaces and personnel. They discussed the process of repairs and their concern for the hull integrity of the Intrepid to withstand initiating a warp bubble.

  “Chief can you update me on the engine room’s status?” “Yes, sir. We’ve lost a third of our engineering personnel including several key men, Joe and Phil and Bill. Number one fusion reactor is totaled. A fire in the reactor compartment caused an explosion, damaging the hull from the engine room to the reactor compartment. It produced a dangerous radioactive gas leak requiring an internal patch on the engine room, but we couldn’t enter the reactor compartment until we isolated the reactor. We conducted an emergency reactor shutdown and sealed part of the hull breach externally. There’s nothing more we can do to recover it.”

  Gallant checked the reactor compartment pressure readings over the course of the past history. They were now near the normal range, but the engine room was still showing a lack of pressure control. In fact, all the connected compartments were exhibiting this reaction. The radiation was critically dangerous on its own, but, worse, the differential pressure had threatened the valve seals to the point of rupturing a plasma discharge valve to the reactor core. This could have been a disaster. They were all fortunate Chief Howard had acted quickly and returned things to a safe state.

  “The best we could do is seal it off to minimize radiation leakage and additional damage to the ship.” “And the number two fusion reactor?”

  “I think that’s salvageable. I have a report here detailing the parts and repair issues. Given replacement uranium fuel elements and tritium injectors, which we may be able to manufacture with the help of the colonists we can restore criticality. I’ve made extensive scans of Elysium’s geological formation and evaluated the mineralogical deposits as best I could from orbit, and there are considerable elements we need in and around the large volcano north of the town Hallo. I can’t be sure of the quality without a proper exploration of the deposits, however. Also we are going to need more deuterium and tritium. We can set up an extraction facility outside Hallo on the shoreline and mine the ocean separating out the heavy water components.”

  “That’s something.”

  “Yeah, but we need mor
e dark matter and a new plasma containment bottle. Collecting sufficient WIMPs without proper facilities will take great effort.”

  “That’s true, but we have no choice if we’re ever to see Earth again. I think we’ll need the mining operation to be on the side of the volcano. A second operation will be a foundry and fabrication facility not too far from the mining operation but close enough to Hallo to get workers and supplies. The heavy water extraction facility on the shoreline will be the third facility. Altogether that entails considerable manpower, equipment, and organization.”

  “Tell me about Elysium,” asked Howard.

  “Well, Chief, it’s a beautiful world. Not a bad place to be marooned on, except for the possibility of more Titans in the future.”

  “Yes, sir, but what about the force field?”

  “Yeah. . . . What about the force field?”

  CHAPTER 15

  BROBDINGNAG

  Olympus Mons was the largest volcano in the Solar System; it emerged on Mars, rising to a height of twenty kilometers, almost three times as tall as Mount Everest. Elysium created a challenger twice as large, formed from many thousands of fluid basaltic lava flows pouring out from volcanic vents over a long time. Its profile was shaped like a tent with a gradual craggy upward slope of five degrees. The people of Hallo appropriately named it after a fictional land of giants—Brobdingnag.

  Upon returning to Elysium, Gallant decided to follow up Chief Howard’s recommendation to evaluate geological deposits and survey possible heavy metals mining sites around Brobdingnag. Since Wolfe was dragging his feet about allowing more UP personnel to land, the task fell to him.

  He borrowed a single-seat hovercraft to explore the island from Junior, of all people. The flyer looked more like an old dilapidated motorcycle than something capable of flying several hundred kilometers at an altitude of three kilometers. Junior’s “generosity” included beige trousers and a blue short-sleeved polo shirt, along with the assurance he wouldn’t be followed, which made Gallant smile. He felt sure Junior would have a tracking device hidden onboard. He packed a few sandwiches and a couple hand-operated prospecting tools into the small trunk compartment.

  He had his doubts about the machine’s flight worthiness, but, as an experienced fighter pilot, he wasn’t about to show any timidity in front of Junior.

  Rather than wholly trusting Junior’s recommendation, Gallant took a short hop on the tiny “put-put” vehicle to Alaina’s residence. When she answered the door, wearing white shorts and a blue halter top, he asked her if she could suggest someone to be his guide for a day’s exploration of the large volcano.

  To his surprise, she took the question as a personal invitation. She said, “I’d be delighted to take an outing.” Before he could respond, she hopped on to the back of his flyer and wrapping her arms tightly around him.

  “Let’s go,” she said, in her cavalier way.

  “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.” He hesitated.

  “Really? Why not?”

  Realizing this situation was one of his own doing, he yielded. Gunning the reluctant throttle, he took off in the flyer with Aliana clinging to him.

  “Who gave you this piece of junk?” she yelled in his ear after they had climbed to two thousand meters and had traveled nineteen kilometers.

  “Junior,” he yelled back, adjusting the throttle and altering the fuel mixed for the tenth time on the effete flyer.

  “Junior?” she repeated, bewildered.

  “Cyrus Wolfe Jr.”

  She giggled. “You’d better not let Cy hear you call him that. He definitely wouldn’t like it.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “Yeah, and his father is always President Wolfe, or Mr. President, or Mr. Wolfe—never anything less formal.”

  They flew over the island’s lone town, Hallo. The colony was a combination of somewhat primitive and advanced technology and styles. The town had developed its own agricultural food sources by identifying edible plants and animals indigenous to the planet. There were acres of farmland spread below, with nearby corrals of various mammals. Despite Hallo being a small town, the residents had constructed a minor industrial base and trading center for normal commerce, thus containing all the necessary ingredients for survival. The community as a whole did not appear different than one found on Earth.

  Gallant found the strange mix of the rural agricultural society of Elysium and the transplanted UP mining population had produced a rugged individualism that was best exemplified in Alaina. The colonists had even acquired Titan technology before severing access. Several small lakes and creeks surrounded the farmlands. The forests and grazing lands farther out were filled with animals raising their young in a natural habitat. And something else bothered him. It was not what he could see, but rather what he didn’t see. He saw plenty of children in the town, but there didn’t seem to be many children running freely about, playing on the outskirts of town.

  He wondered why.

  The flyer engine sputtered and gasped, causing Alaina to say, “Really, if I’d known Junior had stuck you with this worthless clunker, I’d have suggested taking mine. However, since we’re over halfway to the volcano, I guess we’ll have to stick it out.”

  They flew for two hundred kilometers until they reached the volcano, surrounded by dense jungle with numerous lakes and rivers.

  They landed on a plateau midrange on the volcano. They stretched their legs and began prospecting using the basic handheld equipment Gallant had loaded on the flyer. They explored the geological formations and mapped out several deposits of heavy metals. He took samples and analyzed dill readings.

  The day was simply delectable. For several hours they climbed the jagged rock face and steep mountains until Gallant had sighted, tested, and sampled many of locations. He was gratified to find substantial agreement with their long range analysis. The area was rich in the heavy metals they needed.

  Exhausted from their exertions and having worked up a good appetite, Gallant suggested they fly a short distance away and find a spot to break for lunch before continuing the exploration on the other side of the volcano.

  Alaina pointed out a convenient landing area at the base of the volcano near a large pond away from the jungle. They set down the flier and sat on a grassy knoll overlooking the water. Gallant was glad he had thought to include a packed lunch for his journey and could offer to share it with Alaina. They sat on the ground on a large sheet of material, meant as a vehicle covering. Alaina supplemented Gallant’s meager sandwiches by harvesting fruits and berries from the nearby trees and bushes, creating a picnic atmosphere for the pair.

  Nearby, huge leafy trees cast their reflection on the still pond water only to be intermittently interrupted by ripples from waterfowl swimming leisurely across. Fascinated, Gallant and Alaina spent a leisurely lunchtime under this idyllic, picturesque setting as they found numerous topics to chat about, with equal give and take, but, before long, humor and a good-natured banter developed.

  Everywhere he looked, he saw vivid colors with textures and aromas in stark contrast to his Spartan space existence. The variety of the numerous species of animals was astounding. Small mammals scurried about, and fowl flew overhead. Their beauty and friendly manner added to the quiet atmosphere. Gallant enjoyed his conversation with Alaina, and their secluded location made the occasion special.

  The natural environment of the wild animals was revealed. More than half of the feral animals were fearless enough to approach them. Alaina shared interesting facts about each animal’s habits, backgrounds, and lifespan.

  “Kauai is the largest island of this chain. It has many native species of mammals, and mammalian predators and herbivores have been introduced from other islands. The native species are vulnerable to attack. Add the warm tropical climate, lack of competitors and predators, and this archipelago provides an ideal habitat for all introduced mammals to become well established. The native flora and fauna were evident,” she said.

&
nbsp; An abundance of insects also swarmed around him, occasionally nipping at him. He slapped his neck when one such creature dared to bite him.

  “Ouch,” he said.

  She laughed. “Elysium’s version of mosquitoes.”

  “Mosquitoes? Nonsense. They’re vampire bats.”

  “Ha,” she said. “You needn’t worry about dangerous animals, fish, or fowl; at least not this far from the jungle during daylight. In the jungle at night, however, is another story. There are deadly serious large panther-like mammals. They would make a nice meal of you”—she laughed again—“if they caught you.”

  She had a pleasant smile when she laughed. Curious, he asked her about her personal relationships.

  “I don’t have a serious relationship—though Cy wouldn’t agree with that. His expectation for a relationship is quite different than mine. He likes to hear the sound of his own voice. I think he’s the most troublesome man I’ve ever met.”

  He longed to question her further, but he feared to touch on prohibited ground.

  She said, “Tell me about your family and your background. There is much I would like to know.”

  “As an orphan, I grew up in my grandmother’s care on terra-formed Mars. She was the center of my life until I went to the Space Academy.”

  “And is she the only woman in your life today?”

  “My grandmother passed away while I was at the academy,” he said, and then added, “There was one other woman. Someone who I thought was special.”

  “And she’s not so special anymore?”

  “She made another choice.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t thinking anything in particular,” she said. “But perhaps love is a sore subject with you.”

  “My personal situation is still unresolved.”

  “She has not married then?”

  “To my amazement she will be, at the end of this voyage. Her fiancé is my current commanding officer.”

  “There’s a twist. If she let you go for someone else, she’s not right for you. Move on. Did you love her so much?”