Henry Gallant Saga 2: Lieutenant Henry Gallant (7 page)

The
Intrepid
was still alive with bustling activities, however. Atmosphere venting from metal ducts provided fresh air while a multitude of machines produced a steady drone, as the air conditioners fought the heat buildup. Men were working and discussing their problems. Progress was slow, but steady.

“I guess I should get started by reviewing our operational status,” said Gallant with a questioning inflection.

Howard shook his head, “Operational? Not much. We’re working around the clock to restore what we can, but … honestly… the ship is a mess. The men—those fit for duty—are exhausted. The XO has been driving everyone hard. I …, I mean Captain Neumann,” said Howard referring to his new commanding officer as captain for the first time.

Howard explained the entire propulsion plant was defunct. The crew was reporting numerous defects and major failures throughout the engineering spaces.

Gallant began to evaluate the sublight and FTL engines.

The Higgs containment field, required to maintain dark matter at negative temperatures and pressures, had ruptured, releasing their entire supply of dark matter.

The sublight fusion engine consisted of simple antimatter fusion reactors using an ordinary plasma containment field to drive the ship during normal planetary travel. The antimatter engines normally shot antiprotons into the nucleus of deuterium atoms, which caused a release of energy under the fusion process. However, even a small number of antiproton reactions could start a chain reaction which would otherwise have required a much larger mass of deuterium and tritium to sustain. With antimatter catalyzed reactions, only one gram of heavy hydrogen was required along with a microscopic amount of antiprotons. However, the antiprotons had to be kept isolated in plasma bottles surrounded by powerful superconducting magnetic coils.

The antimatter plasma containment field had also ruptured, thereby requiring more antimatter as well.

Howard said, “The fusion reactors are badly damaged; one critically so. The faster-than-light drive was also seriously damaged. A new inventory of exotic dark matter has to be acquired, or else we’re not going any place.”

After their brief physical inspection, Gallant went into the engineering control room located in the middle of the upper level of the engineering compartment. He pulled on his man-machine neuron interface headgear. This allowed him direct access to the ship’s Artificial Intelligence or (AI), nicknamed GridScape. The dozens of tiny silicon probes touched his scalp at key points, sensitively picking up wave patterns emanating from his thoughts and using the AI to translate his thoughts into physical commands for operating the engineering machinery and reactors. The physical controls were still available, but only as a backup.

Controlling machines with thoughts is faster,
he reflected.

Gallant was uniquely qualified to be engineer on the
Intrepid
because of his exceptional neural abilities. Despite being a Natural, non-genetically engineered, his performance had been proven to be far superior to officers who were specifically engineered to use the neural interface. His exceptional talents were also his burden of responsibility.

Genetically enhanced officers, like Neumann, were altered to have the hormones and enzymes necessary for this operation, while he was uniquely born with them. In the past 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. Now, however, he had developed far beyond the abilities of officers like Neumann.

Using the interface, he
felt
the engineering plant open up to him. He could visualize reactor controls and equipment. He spatially oriented himself then
felt
the controls for regulating reactor control rods and hydraulic valves and pumps. By merely visualizing the operations, he could manipulate instruments.

Mentally, he visualized the pneumatic-hydraulic plasma discharge valve for the starboard antimatter engines. There he cast the light onto the automatic control setting and checked it was in the closed position. The green status light indicated the automatic closure feature was operating normally as well.

Chief Howard had done a splendid job in getting things started, but there was so much more to do.

“I guess we should start with setting up a rotating work schedule and set repair priorities,” said Gallant.

Methodically, he went through the status of the rest of the equipment and began going over a general repair schedule including validation tests. The list of tasks to be accomplished seemed endless. He set up a long-term personnel work schedule identifying key expertise requirements.
He concentrated and visualized the ship, its controls, and the system failures, as one image. He then tuned his senses to see the path to recovery. Developing a sense of harmony between controls and performance, he created a solution in his mind’s eye. Hours passed while he worked diligently evaluating the various system failures and devising possible workouts. As he figured out the failure modes for each piece of equipment, he submitted his solution to the AI for evaluation. He used his mental image to evaluate the virtual information data feeds.

The AI reported, “Damage in port and starboard engines—control panel and main electrical panel fused—atmospheric supplies contaminated—rupture of the antimatter plasma containment field—other casualties involving additional equipment beginning to register.”

He began to assess the damage and evaluate remedial corrective actions. Without hesitation he changed settings on the engines, stopped the environmental equipment, and altered control settings on internal power.

Gallant continued to work on unraveling the casualties in men and machines. At first, the AI rejected everything he proposed, but slowly, he was able to develop a plan to partially restore the ship’s life-support capability and then established a repair plan to allow minimal power for essential items. Despite his fatigue, he submitted his final renovation concept to the AI. It approved the path to restore life-support and the minimal power supply.

His mind wrung out from wrestling the computer, Gallant walked through the engineering spaces and watched as engineering personnel performed repairs.

Soon robotic arms and trollies moved equipment and machinery into position for removal or replacement with AI and human guidance. UP hadn’t been able to develop robots or intelligent computers, to operate independently, but the AI systems could understand human language and solve many problems. People still argued about how smart computers were, but nevertheless they were helpful and obedient.

Howard reviewed the progress on the virtual readout screens. “I’ll see the captain about approving the long term plan and get people working accordingly. However, you should be aware with so much equipment out of action we’re practically flying blind over this planet. Captain Neumann is going to want to get power to the sensor array and communication stations as a high priority.”

They desperately needed to monitor the departing Titans as well as investigate the planet below, but that merely added to the endless series of needs to fill. Gallant said, “We’re going to need Deuterium and Tritium for our fusion reactors. We need to extract heavy water from the only source within eleven light-years—those oceans below. We’ll also need to construct an accelerator to generate antimatter and dark matter. That’s only the basics. We’ll need to build a major mining and manufacturing facility on the planet.”

Howard shook his head, bewildered.

“We’ll need heavy transuranic metals as well.”

“Transuranic?”

“We’re going to build anti-ship missiles with nuclear tipped warheads,” said Gallant. “Once we get our fusion reactors and antimatter production, we can generate dark matter to power our FTL, but we’re going to need the local population to help.

“Spaceship, identify yourself. Spaceship, identify yourself.”

The
Intrepid
was forced to ignore the repetitious broadcast while it maintained orbit over the earthlike plane. The endless repairs which included the communication equipment encompassed their full attention. The crew worked feverishly to care for their wounded comrades and battered ship. With so many men undergoing surgery and rejuvenation therapy, they were shorthanded carrying out the extensive repair regimen.

The signal emanated from the large island chain consisting of six large mountainous islands crossing from the planet’s temperate into its tropical zone. Active volcanoes spilled lava into the nearby ocean, which quickly cooled and pulverized the rock into black-sand beaches. However, this was no black, crater-pitted wasteland, such as appeared on the moons of Jupiter where the
Intrepid
was first launched. Instead, oceans, rivers, and mountainous archipelagoes ranged across this planet. Most of the large islands had wild tropical landscapes with a number of pristine white-sand beaches.

From the initial reconnaissance, the crew had learned the planet’s inhabitants occupied a single community with mainly residential structures in a cluster along the southern shoreline on the largest island—the only visible settlement on the main tropical island chain. A few industrial buildings and factories were on the settlement’s outer perimeter. The rest of the planet’s land masses appeared barren of people, but they were teeming with other forms of life. The inhabitants seemed to embrace the splendors of island sun-soaked beaches as a true tropical oasis. Along the volcanic areas were vast jungles and tropical vegetation. Towering palm trees overlooked sparkling bays and a warm tropical wonderland filled with stunning waterfalls.

The broadcast went unanswered as it repeated relentlessly, hour after hour, for days. The crew toiled over its urgent priorities until finally the communication equipment was once again functioning.

“Pin-point the communication source,” ordered Neumann.

“Here, sir,” reported the radio operator. A moment later, he pointed to a spot on his virtual screen. The screen was a bright image floating above the burnt and disfigured electrical equipment generating it. Around the screen were fragments of mechanical parts strewn together Rube Goldberg fashion. Nevertheless, the array was operating.

“How long have they been broadcasting?”

“Continuously for 120 hours, sir, ever since the battle. Imaging capability from orbit has been able to resolve individual people, and, by using thermal-imaging on individual houses, it can see how many people are inside each room.”

“What’s the total population?”

“We were able to count about twenty-four thousand individuals within the community. There may be others farther inland, however.”

“How many structures are there?”

“There are about seven thousand inhabited dwellings along with numerous buildings, probably for commerce and industry. Also there are several thousand vehicles of all kinds from single-riders to mass-transport vehicles.”

“Our battle must have created quite a stir on Tau-Beta. The population of the colony must have had enough capability to observe a great deal of the battle through telescopes, but the nuclear explosions would have been visible to the naked eye.”

A few minutes later the radioman frowned, made an adjustment and then spoke. “Sir, we’re being radar scanned again. And the general radio transmission is being rebroadcast. We’ve been monitoring the planet’s communications and they continue to speak only standard United Planets’ dialect.”

“It is all native UP language?”

“Yes, sir. There is considerable local communication and it’s all in native UP language.”

“Humans using standard UP, what do you make of it, Gallant?” asked Neumann.

“The planet’s surface revealed the individuals of this civilization are human. We have to consider the possibility these humans are from own solar system, captured by the Titans and transported here sometime in the last two centuries,” speculated Gallant.

“Humph,” was all Neumann responded.

“We’ve got communications operating at minimal capability now, sir. I suggest we contact them and see if they can be of any help with our repairs,” suggested Gallant.

“If they’re cooperative,” said Neumann.

“Maybe we can arrange to trade with them.”

“We don’t know what kind of relationship they had with the Titans,” said Neumann.

Gallant addressed the radioman, “Still nothing?” And watched as the radioman and shook his head negatively.

He said, “Nothing sir. I thought there was another radar scan a moment ago, but it appears to have gotten lost in the static.”

Unperturbed, Gallant said, “Keep looking for the source of the scanning.”

The broadcast message continued to blare. “Spaceship, identify yourself. Spaceship, identify yourself.”

“Can you raise them on a direct communication channel to someone in authority?” asked Neumann.

“I’m sure I can. One minute, sir,”

A minute later, communication was established. The radio operator indicated Neumann was connected and could speak.

“This is the United Planets’ ship,
Intrepid,
Lieutenant Commander Neumann commanding.”

“This is Cyrus Wolfe, President of the Planetary Council of Elysium.”

“
Intrepid
is on an expedition from the star Sol, eleven light-years distance. We have come to test a faster-than-light drive. Can you explain your origin?”

“We are an independent self-governing planet.”

Independent? If they’re human, they should be under United Planets’ authority regardless of how they arrived here,
thought Gallant.

Neumann said, “We’ve been in battle against an enemy Titan destroyer which we incapacitated. It is currently moving away.”

Wolfe said, “I suggest you leave before they recover and return.”

Not the welcoming I’d hoped for,
thought Gallant.

“Our ship is too badly damaged. We must conduct repairs. Aren’t you concerned about the Titans? Do you need our assistance?”

“We have nothing to fear from the Titans. They can’t harm us. We have a protective force field we can raise over our entire planet whenever we’re threatened.”