Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space (The Henry Gallant Saga) (21 page)

The high density of asteroids created a nest of rocky obstacles that obscured radar returns and created an archipelago that was a perfect sanctuary for hiding. Gallant maneuvered into this area. As the Eagle cleared a large shadow, its radar lit up with a dazzling brilliant display of ships, fortresses, and facilities.

Ironically, it was because Gallant and Kelsey were stealthily leapfrogging from one cluster of asteroids to another that they happened upon the best hiding place in the asteroid belt—a place the Titans had already discovered and used to build a secret Titan base. The base was the reason behind the large number of Titan ships that Gallant had noticed in the area.

Gallant was shocked to see a vast armada with supporting space stations, fortresses, and methane-production facilities. Rows of Titan ships were in orbit around the Ceres cluster, including a multitude of destroyers, numerous cruisers, and many battle cruiser saucers. Space stations and fortresses were distributed around the asteroid cluster. The entire base gave the Titan fleet extended capabilities.

Gallant directed his AI system to record data on the Titan forces and installations. Kelsey scrambled on her computer, trying to keep up with the information being collected and adding comments for everything she could.
Gallant maneuvered the Eagle to a less exposed position. He bobbed and weaved between asteroids, hiding from the Titans while they collected information. The big and small rocks formed a channel through which Gallant could maneuverer his Eagle. He hopped between the radar shadows they provided.

The constant acceleration adjustments caused little creaks and groans in the Eagle’s hull. The slight noises annoyed Gallant, but he ignored them and gazed out the forward view port to see what was before him. He slowed and tried to disguise their radar signature to appear like another one of the numerous Titan shuttlecraft moving between ships and facilities. They moved in brief spurts to give themselves the opportunity to reinforce the deception. After successfully playing hide-and-seek with the Titan fleet, Gallant moved the Eagle to a position where it could gather considerable information about the fleet, the fortresses, and their supply ships.

He completed a count of the Titan forces, getting as many details as possible. It included 288 destroyers, 72 cruisers, and 12 battle cruisers, along with three space stations and six fortresses. He knew that the Mars Fleet consisted of about 200 destroyers, 60 cruisers, and 24 battle cruisers outfitted with many fighters.

The Mars Fleet should be powerful enough to deal with the Titan armada. He recognized that the United Planets would be planning to send a relief force to aid Jupiter Station sometime soon, but such a force would take ships away from the defense of Mars. At that point, this hidden Titan armada would constitute a serious threat to Mars.

He considered the complex array of asteroids in the vicinity. He was looking for a clue to how the Titans had managed to build such an extensive base in the middle of the asteroid belt, unobserved. Somewhere, there was a detail that would enlighten him.

Gallant and Kelsey decided to keep a low profile and stay hidden among the asteroids while they spied on the secret Titan base. He was close to the edge of their hidden base and pondered whether he should make a run for it.

He pondered the possibility of trying to remain stealthy to prevent giving away the fact that the aliens had been discovered. He thought this would prove useful to the Mars Fleet. However, he had the gravest doubts as to whether they could escape the trap they had just walked into.

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 on a large asteroid. He fumbled in the dim light to maneuver into a crevasse and land as if he were docking on
Repulse
. Once there, they could remain 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 for escape. On his radar screen, he glimpsed ships in the immediate vicinity, but it was almost impossible for him 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 he would 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 Gallant’s line of escape. He realized that he was going to be hemmed in by scores of transports and shuttles that were intent upon resupplying a nearby fortress, with a number of destroyers and cruisers acting as their escorts.

Kelsey said quietly, “Henry, there are several destroyers drawing close on the port side.”

Gallant was going to acknowledge her 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 of which 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 clear 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 remaining 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, once again 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 most highly densest area, and the ships in the convoy were scattering farther away from him. He maneuvered the ship once again. Amidst 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 in space.

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 headed 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 shock wave 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’m coming 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.

Despite the hopeless appearance of the situation, Gallant fought on. He swerved as the Titans closed in. He accelerated upward as they flew toward him. He reacted to outmaneuver his enemy.

His throat tightened as he looked into Kelsey’s face, promising himself he would help her as soon as possible. He concentrated to clear his thoughts as his heart thumped hard. He felt sweat trickle down his temple. The ship’s tactical display revealed a hopeless situation. All he had was speed and maneuverability.

Gallant would have to win his escape somehow, but the enemy would not be easy to deceive. Fortunately, the chaos of the convoy and the resulting collisions was truly traumatic. The asteroids continued to offer extra cover.