“I’m okay,” Gallant consoled her. “It’s over. We’ve won. Aristotle won’t get to exterminate this planet a second time, thanks to you. You’ve been incredibly brave. Don’t give in now.”
“I’m...I’m...everything is so...” She was unable to express the emotional deluge that had finally caught up with her after all she’d faced—all the pain and death she had witnessed.
What more Gallant could have said was interrupted when the house AI communication channel relayed a call from the Intrepid for Gallant.
Neumann’s distress message ordered Gallant to return to the Intrepid immediately.
“You should have this wound sewn up and bandaged properly before you go,” said Aliana.
“There’s no time. I have to go now,” he said as tenderly as he could, not wishing to leave her alone. She hesitated to let him leave. Despite his worry for her, he recognized her concern was for him.
“I have to go,” he said quietly and kissed her cheek.
It took only a few minutes for him to get back to his Hummingbird and then he was off to the Intrepid. The laser-damaged ship was a dismaying sight on his approach.
Walking onto the bridge, Gallant was an odd sight—his civilian clothes were covered in blood, his shirt was torn away from his body, and the large makeshift bandage across his chest was oddly placed. Nevertheless, the bridge team seemed glad to see him.
He focused his attention on LCDR Neumann, who lay on a stretcher beside the captain’s chair. His uniform was cut away from his neck all the way down to his hip, exposing deep raw burns in his flesh. Puss and blood were oozing from distressed tissues and organs. A dozen tubes and wires were attached to his body. His normally handsome features formed a contoured grimace. Mendel was beside him ready to carry him down to the medical center for immediate surgery. When he saw Gallant his faced flashed a look of relief, followed quickly by a look of dreadful resignation.
“The AI machine is dead. I killed it with our supply of dark matter,” reported Gallant.
Neumann didn’t seem to comprehend the full import of Gallant’s report, leaving it a matter to be evaluated at a later date.
“I don’t like this situation, Gallant,” said Neumann.
“I understand, sir, but you’re in no condition to handle this battle,” said Gallant.
“I know. I know. There’s so much to do. I should deal with it, but I’m not up to it right now,” said Neumann with a scowl. He tried to stifle a wave of pain as he collected all his strength to say, “I’m appointing you, acting Captain.”
“I won’t let you down,” said Gallant, looking squarely into Neumann’s eyes.
“See that you don’t,” said Neumann. Despite the pain, he managed to mouth the official words, “Mr. Gallant, is acting captain. Mr. Gallant has command.”
The bridge team heard the command and repeated, “Mr. Gallant is acting captain. Mr. Gallant has command.”
“Okay, Doc, I’m ready now,” said Neumann.
After the irregular change of command, Neumann was carried off the bridge. Mendel immediately prepared his patient for surgery.
With Neumann’s departure, the mantle of responsibility was passed to Gallant.
I’m in command now. I need to get this right.
“Welcome back, Mr. Gallant,” said Chief Howard at his operations station next to the helmsman.
Gallant nodded. He needed to get up to speed immediately on the status of the vital ship operations. Instead of conducting a pre-watch walk-through, he decided to query each of the key watch-standers and gather the critical information.
He looked around the bridge with its fresh laser damage and tried to gauge if any critical stations were inoperable.
“Weps,” said Gallant, referring to Lieutenant Palmer, “range and bearing to the target?”
“Tango-one is a Titan destroyer, ten light-seconds away, bearing one hundred and seventy degrees, azimuth plus five. We’ll be within weapons range in twenty minutes, sir,” reported Lieutenant Palmer.
“Helm, report course and speed,” ordered Gallant.
“Course 110, azimuth up 10 degrees, speed to 0.002c, at time 2203, sir,” said Paul Gregory, the newly qualified helmsman. Though he was young and had learned his station mostly through simulations rather than practical experience, he was eager to do his job.
“Very well, helm,” said Gallant. “Engineering, report.”
The Engineering Officer of the Watch, Lieutenant JG Smith reported, “All sublight engines operating nominally, sir. FTL is off-line due to lack of fuel.”
“Very well, Engineering,” said Gallant, “Weapons report.”
“Lasers and plasma cannon functioning nominally and ready to fire. External racks are armed with four anti-ship nuclear tipped missiles. All sensors report nominal and able to launch, sir,” reported Palmer.
The Titan destroyer was approaching Elysium at full speed, only minutes away from reaching its missile firing envelope, which now also included the ability to target Hallo since the planetary force field was gone.
One of Chief Howard’s men came on the bridge carrying a fresh uniform for Gallant.
“Thanks,” Gallant said, as he quickly stripped off his tattered civvies and pulled on his uniform. He could not suppress a surge of pride standing on the bridge in command of the Intrepid.
Every face on the bridge was looking at him—eagerly waiting his orders. He surveyed the view screen showing Elysium and its moon on the sunward side of the Intrepid. The Titan destroyer was approaching from the outer reaches of the star system traveling at its maximum speed, 0.0022c.
I only have four anti-ship missiles. I’ll have to move fast, avoiding or knocking out his missiles while looking for an optimal shot.
Taking his seat in the captain’s chair in the center of the Intrepid’s bridge, Gallant took a deep breath.
The Titan’s most vulnerable point is its bow. I’ve got to hit it head-on.
He ordered, “Come to course 180, azimuth up 15 degrees, increase speed to 0.002c, at time 2226.” This changed course to directly away from the sun and toward the enemy.
“Aye, aye, sir,” responded the helmsman. The crew responded, as always, quick and accurate.
The ship turned toward the enemy, closing the range.
Gallant’s heart raced as the Intrepid flew at maximum speed directly into the face of the Titan destroyer.
For ships traveling at a velocity of 0.002c small relativistic effects were produced that the Intrepid’s GridScape automatically adjusted for. However, missiles traveled at more troublesome speeds. Missiles traveling at 0.01c produced a 0.00005 spatial contraction and associated time dilation, making maintaining a tracking and firing solution more problematic.
“Weapons, do you have a firing solution on the target?” asked Gallant.
“Firing solution is tracking. Solution is set. Anti-ship missiles one and two locked on target. Four minutes to maximum launch range,” reported Palmer.
Gallant fixed his eyes on the speaker. “I’m going to wait until we’ve reduced distance to fifty percent of maximum, to optimize chances for a hit. Keep me updated as we approach.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Palmer.
Gallant hoped the design and manufacture of the anti-missiles would prove successful. The ad hoc anti-ship missiles he and his crew had constructed on Elysium were about thirty meters long with a four-meter diameter. Fully loaded and armed, each weighed forty tons. Each had a multinuclear warhead with an individual warhead capable of tens of megatons TNT equivalent yield. They traveled to target and released decoys and chaff to confuse enemy counter measures. The missiles also traveled an erratic path and conducted broad maneuvers to avoid anti-missile missiles.
“We are one minute from the Titans’ firing envelop, sir,” reported Palmer.
“Very well,” responded Gallant.
He watched as the destroyer grew in the forward view screen covering more stars from view. He glanced at the rate the display icon mo
ved, showing the enemy’s course.
A second later, bursts of powerful engines ignited from the destroyer’s missile pods.
The weapons officer reported "Missile launch. Multiple missiles launched."
“Titan missiles designated Tango-two and three. Seven minutes to impact,” reported the radar-tech.
The alien fired two anti-ship missiles at the Intrepid. The Titan anti-ship missiles advanced, seeking to destroy the target with a multiple warhead nuclear burst. Their design was somewhat similar in to the United Planets’ anti-ship missile, about thirty-five feet long with a five-foot diameter. Fully loaded and armed, it might weigh thirty tons. It appeared to have a multinuclear warhead; each individual warhead could have tens of megatons TNT equivalent yield.
The alien missiles began taking countermeasures, releasing decoys and chaff and maneuvering erratically.
Gallant ordered, “Weapons, continuous laser and plasma fire on the anti-ship missiles.”
“Aye, aye, sir. Concentrating port batteries on Tango-two and starboard batteries on Tango-three.”
“Very well.”
The lasers and plasma fire repeatedly struck and damaged the Titan missiles.
One missile made a final radical move to escape the fire, but the Intrepid’s weapon team was particularly good at out-foxing the Titan countermeasures and continued scoring hits.
Then, before the destroyer could reload its forward missile launchers, Gallant sat staring at the withdrawing Titan for several minutes, letting his adrenaline level return to a semblance of normal.
The first tremendous shock of the explosions accentuated the grave danger as the nuclear warheads of the first missile went off. Fortunately, the blast passed harmlessly a considerable distance from the Intrepid.
The second missile exploded closer and sent a shockwave passing right through Gallant’s body. He felt a flood of misgivings. All the manifestations of the violence were clear.
"Damage?" yelled Gallant.
"We've lost 70% of our shields and we've got shock damage," reported Palmer.
The radar-tech reported, “Active systems down, sir, only passive remaining.”
In those critical minutes, the action was hot work indeed.
The missile flight time was now only six minutes.
The alien ship made a course adjustment and prepared to reload its missile tubes.
The Intrepid continued to close in on the Titan destroyer. The helmsman read out the closing rate and target acquisition cone.
“Sir, target at fifty percent maximum range,” reported Palmer.
This was what Gallant had been waiting to hear.
“Weapons, set firing solution, lock missiles on target, Tango-one,” said Gallant.
“Firing solution set. Missiles locked on target, Tango-one.”
“Fire missiles one and two,” ordered Gallant. He sat tense in the captain’s seat, watching the destroyer’s image in the view screen.
The weapons officer keyed the target tracking information into GridScape and turned the ignition switch sending the large anti-ship missiles bursting from the make-shift launch racks on its outer surface.
The Intrepid’s missile traveled away from the ship and toward the enemy.
The first two missiles left the Intrepid, seconds before the Titan fired its second salvo of two missiles.
Gallant ordered, “Weapons, concentrate lasers and plasma fire on Tango-four.”
Once the lasers and plasma weapons detonated the first Titan missile, Gallant shifted fire to the second, which also exploded close enough to cause minor damage to the Intrepid’s hull and a blinding violence that produced a brilliant white burst on the forward view screen. Gallant wiped his eyes to clear his vision and to concentrate his thinking as he tried to reevaluate the scope of the situation.
The seconds passed with agonizing slowness as he watched the Titan’s successfully destroy first one then the other of the Intrepid’s precious missiles. However the second missile did manage to score a near-miss, scorching the destroyer’s port side.
Each ship had exchanged fire now and had suffered superficial damage.
The Titans were the first to recover and fire another salvo of two missiles.
Gallant directed laser and plasma fire destroying these missiles as well.
The shock waves of the missile warheads’ exploding rocked the ship. The violent repercussions of this salvo were damaging to the UP spaceship. In engineering, men struggled to keep the nuclear reactors functioning, the weapon systems up, and the environmental controls working.
Now the two vessels were close and quickly flying past each other.
The Titan started a long sweep turn to come around and reengage.
His stratagem appeared heading toward a pirate victory. Gallant decided to turn much more sharply to be in firing position first.
He ordered, “Come to course 030, azimuth down 3 degrees, increase speed to 0.002c, at time 2246.” This changed course back toward the sun and met the enemy’s turning circle.
Gallant’s maneuver let the Intrepid responded quickly enough to reach a firing position for its second salvo. His heart raced as the Intrepid traveled once more at full speed directly into the face of the Titan destroyer.
“Weapons, set firing solution, lock missiles on target, Tango-one,” ordered Gallant.
“Firing solution set. Missiles locked on target, Tango-one.”
“Fire missiles three and four,” ordered Gallant, directing their last two missiles to their selected target. He had grown accustomed to the tempo of battle, but this was the first time he was in a command and responsible for so many others.
The anti-ship missiles were flushed from their launch rack with a swoosh of exhaust gases. Within seconds, each began an exhilarating, accelerating surge to reach 0.1c. The onboard pulse radar sent searching electromagnetic waves toward the target Gallant had mentally identified. The missiles locked on to their target and began collecting emission data to maintain its track.
The alien ship fired two more anti-ship missiles and Gallant was relieved they were coming his way instead of heading toward Elysium which was defenseless without its force field.
The Titan anti-ship missile advanced toward Intrepid at the same time the Intrepid’s missiles were in flight.
It took all of Gallant’s concentration to give orders as the Intrepid’s sensors fed data about the incoming enemy missiles, their trajectory to GridScape as well as the Intrepid’s anti-ship missiles heading toward the Titans.
Once again the weapons team fired lasers and plasma weapons to destroy the enemy missiles. They succeeded in detonating both missiles short of the Intrepid, but the explosions nevertheless inflicted significant damage to the ship’s shields and bow plates. The bow compartment was ruptured and rendered useless. A damage control team was dispatched to seal the air ruptures.
The effects of the blast momentarily blinded Gallant’s command systems—sparks and smoke streamed from several command circuits. The fires were quickly controlled by the ship's automatic fire suppression systems.
Gallant asked, “Radar, where are our missiles?”
The radar-tech reported, “Both missiles are on course closing on Tango-one.”
Gallant watched the forward view screen, waiting to see if the Titans had time to deploy additional countermeasures. Belatedly, he saw an antimissile launch from the destroyer, but it was too late.
The destroyer took two direct hits, bow-on.
Bam! Bam!
The destroyer blew up in a holocaust of fury and devastation, quickly disintegrating in the vacuum of space.
Gallant stared at the viewport, mesmerized by the bright colorful explosions and flying debris as different sections of the dying ship exploded, imploded, or disintegrated. The destruction was so total and complete he couldn’t fully appreciate it at first, but the result meant the Intrepid would be able to return to Sol and Elysium would remain safe.
After a minute, he became aware of
a continuous outburst of loud cheering from the bridge crew of the Intrepid.
“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”
CHAPTER 37
DUTY
Brobdingnag roared, spewing hot molten lava over the top of its highest peak. Liquefied metal flecks sparked and burst up into the atmosphere like Fourth-of-July fireworks. Nature’s temper tantrum had been ignited by the high explosives set in strategic places by the Intrepid’s crew and they enjoyed watching the visual pyrotechnics.
The roiling torrent of lava, heat, and steam cascaded over a precut ravine in the side of the mammoth mountain. As the rush of fluid wound over the terrain, it found its way into the overgrown tangled jungle. Its controlled course reached the edge of the ancient ruins and flowed into the entrance of the alien berserker AI machine, nestling under the earth. For hours the searing fluid filled the caverns, passages, chambers, and passageways. Every void within its ten cubic kilometers was filled with lava—scorching microprocessors, electric circuits, and memory chips. The heat incinerated everything it touched; completing the destruction Gallant had started when he had released the dark matter from its superconducting containment field.
Aristotle would never return. The underground grave would become a fitting monument to his victims—the Ely, the original inhabitants of Elysium.
The video-feed of the mesmerizing events—from the initial explosions to the flowing liquid burial of the ancient AI—were transmitted to all the citizens of Hallo, as well as the crew aboard the Intrepid. The planet’s population was still digesting the stories circulating about President Wolfe’s and Professor Hepburn’s deaths, so the events carried a powerful emotional impact.
Following the broadcast, Alaina Hepburn explained how the force field, supposedly controlled by President Wolfe, was a trick by Professor Hepburn while he was under the control of the AI berserker machine.
Alaina spoke candidly, “We have a heritage of overcoming adversity. Our parents and grandparents lived and worked in the dangerous environment of asteroid-strewn space to dig metals from weightless rock. Despite their surroundings, they were happy, hardworking people who cherished their children and their chosen way of life. We, who have made a home on Elysium, salute their sacrifice and dedicate ourselves to building a better future for our children. I ask you to join me to begin building the foundation of that future.”
Henry Gallant Saga 2: Lieutenant Henry Gallant Page 24
