I faced them squarely for my closing comments.
"You will all be quartered here with Zur and me. Once your teams are formed, you will be on call to me at all times. If I call a staff meeting, I will expect to see you, not your second-in-commands. Serious illness or injury will be the only excuse for nonattendance, and if your impairment is serious, we will not expect you to recover and will seek a replacement. I mention this so you will not overextend yourselves between sleep periods. Do not allow yourself to become fatigued to the brink of exhaustion, for your planned sleep may be interrupted."
"As we are one of the first strikes forces to be sent out, we will have to adapt to any new developments or equipment in minimum time, or not at all. Are there questions?"
The team leaders were silent for several moments as they digested the briefing.
I waited.
"Question, Commander!"
"Yes, Tur-Kam?"
"Would you clarify the necessity for destroying the egg beds as well as the queens?"
I turned to Zur and nodded for him to reply.
"It has been discovered," he began, "that in event of a queen's death, the Ants are able to inject additives to certain eggs to produce a new queen. Therefore, if we are to succeed in exterminating the Ants as a continuing species, we must destroy the eggs as well as the queens."
"Commander?"
"Yes, Raht?"
"In our selection of specific Warriors, particularly our second-in-commands, are there any Warriors you would deem unacceptable?'
"While you will be expected to review your choices with Zur or myself prior to acting on them, we currently have no prejudices against any individual, Hatching, or ability group which would result in an immediate veto."
"Question, Commander."
"Yes, Kah-Tu?"
"What are your anticipated casualties on this mission?"
"If the assault proceeds according to plan without unanticipated resistance, we expect to survive the mission with no more than seventy percent casualties." No one said anything else.
CHAPTER THREE
Zur accompanied me as I rode the shuttle flyer to the Technicians' portion of the colony ship. Actually, I realized, the term "colony ship" was a misnomer. The reality of the situation was that the colony was actually a collection of smaller ships traveling in close alignment without any physical connection between them. Although they theoretically could be joined together to form one massive unit, and each new module was designed with that purpose in mind, the fact of the matter. was that they had not been so arranged since shortly after the Empire relocated its population into them. Each massive module was a self-contained, stand-alone unit. When it was necessary to form a new colony ship, orders were simply issued for certain modules to set a new course, and there would be two colony ships where before there had been-only one. How many such colony ships there were currently in the Empire I neither knew nor cared.
The modules that composed the Technicians' portion of the ship were easily distinguished from the others on the screen. They were the ones that were solid discs as opposed to the rings that were the Scientists' and Warriors' modules. I had never known the reason for this until the first time an occasion arose necessitating a visit to the Technicians' section. Once there, it became obvious. Unlike the Scientists and Warriors, who worked and trained in the centrifugal-force-simulated gravity of rim-module, the Technicians did much of their work in the near-zero gravity that existed at the center of the module. In fact, certain subcastes of Technicians, such as the pilot of our shuttle craft, the transport pilots, and the heavy construction workers, were specifically bred for zero-gravity work and spent the majority if not all of their lives in that condition.
The docking process interrupted my thoughts. We departed the shuttlecraft without exchanging words with the pilot. As I have noted before, exchanges between members of different castes are rare except at certain rank-levels.
A Technician was waiting to receive us as we disembarked.
"I am Or-Sah," he introduced himself. "I have been assigned to answer your questions."
"This is Rahm," Zur responded, "a Planetary Commander of the Warriors, here to inspect the progress on various pieces of equipment being prepared for the Ant campaign."
I did not question why Zur did not introduce himself. Part of the reason I had him accompany me on these trips was that he was far more familiar with intercaste protocol than I.
"First," I stated, "I would wish to inspect the new Borer units."
"Certainly, Commander," replied Or-ah without hesitation. "This way."
The Borer units were an improvement on the fortification we had used in our last mission. Instead of simply burning their way into a ground-level position, the new units were fitted with telescoping walls that extended downward as a tunnel was burned to accommodate them. Although all the units were of the same general design, they had to be individually modified. As each anthill was unique, the Borers designated to each anthill had to be built to penetrate to different depths. In cases where the chosen path for the Borer intersected existing Ant tunnels, ledges and firing slots had to be added to enable the Warriors to defend the tunnel from assault.
"Here is the prototype of the Borer unit, Commander," Or-Sah said, leading us into a large chamber.
High above us, work crews were laboring, furiously constructing additional units. We ignored them and studied the unit at our level.
One feature that was immediately apparent to the eye was the additional armament. The weapons at the top of the dome were heavier and more numerous, and there were additional weapons mounted along the perimeter of the unit.
"Have the lock-out mechanisms of the auto-weapons been modified?" I asked.
"They have," Or-Sah confirmed. "They will now recognize and bypass a Tzen in their field of fire, though I personally have never understood the need for such a requirement."
I kept my silence, but involuntarily my head lowered.
"On our last mission," Zur commented conversationally, "the Commander lost a team member because one of the auto-mounts opened fire while he was in line with the target."
"But the specifics of this campaign state that no Warriors will be on the ground outside the Borer units," the Technician argued. "Why should the Technicians have to waste valuable time designing-"
"Are the walls of this tube in their finished state?" I interrupted.
"Yes they are, Commander."
"Why haven't they been treated for cold-beam immunity?"
"Because it isn't necessary, Commander," Or-Sah replied. "The Energy-Drain units should render the Ants weapons ineffectual."
I found the patronizing tone of his voice irritating.
"And if they do not, every Warrior in the tube will be vulnerable to having his escape route cut off," I commented.
"The Technicians have every confidence in the Energy-Drain units."
"Have they been live-tested?" I asked.
"The Warriors' caste vetoed any live testing," Or-Sah retorted. "The reasoning given was that if the units were successful, it would give the Ants forewarning and provide them with time to develop a countermeasure."
I noticed that now it was Or-Sah who was lowering his head. I considered his position, and found his anger justified. It would be irritating to be forbidden to test a piece of equipment, then have to answer complaints that it was untested...particularly when both the veto and the challenge came from members of the same caste.
"Perhaps," I suggested, "you could provide me additional information as to the nature of the Energy-Drain units. My lack of understanding of the official releases on them is doubtless contributing to my reluctance in accepting their effectiveness."
He seemed surprised at the request, but responded nonetheless.
"Certainly, Commander," he began. "The xylomorphic interface utilized by the Ants-"
"Excuse me, Or-Sah," I interrupted, "but are you familiar with a Technician named Horc?"
"Yes
I am, Commander," he replied. "I served under him on my last assignment."
"Would you happen to know if he is available for consultation at this time?"
Or-Sah hesitated before answering.
"Horc is dead," he said finally. "Killed in a duel with a Warrior."
That surprised me.
"That does not seem logical," I commented. "Warriors are currently forbidden to challenge outside their caste."
"Horc was the challenger," Or-Sah explained.
"Then are there any other Technicians available who are used to dealing with members of other castes?" I asked. "Although your explanations may be clear to another Technician, as a Warrior I find them beyond my comprehension and vocabulary. "
He maintained a thoughtful silence for a few moments.
"Perhaps I can try again, Commander," he suggested finally. "I feel there is a growing need for communication between the castes, and I will not develop that ability in myself if I delegate the job to others."
"Proceed," I acknowledged.
"Both the Ants and the Empire utilize the same power-source, specifically that developed by the First Ones. Even though we have succeeded in applying it to a higher level of technology, it is still the same energy-source. It is as if the Ants and the Empire each maintained a cave with a circular opening to let the sunlight in; even though the caves are different, the openings and the sunlight are the same. Because of this, the Ants can run their machines from our power sources and we can run our machines from theirs."
He paused. When I did not interrupt, he continued. "In preparation for the Ant campaign, we have made two major developments. First, we modified our power-source and changed the configuration of our machines to accept it. In the analogy, we have effectively created a new sun, one which will shine through the hole in our cave, but not through the hole in the Ants' cave."
"How is that done?" I asked.
"I would be unable to explain it without becoming extremely technical, Commander," Oh-Sah replied. "Simply accept that we have done it."
"Very well," I said. "Continue."
"Now. The situation exists where we can run our machines from our power-source or theirs. The Ants, on the other hand, can only utilize their own power. When that is used up, their machines become nonfunctional. Our second major development is a machine, one which runs on the Ants' power-source. It consumes their power at an unbelievable rate, and converts it to power which replenishes our own new power-source. These are the Energy-Drainers. In simple terms, they make us stronger by diverting the Ants' energy away from them and to us."
I considered his explanation.
"Is this power drain instantaneous?" I asked.
"No," he admitted, "but the battle plans call for the units to be dropped in advance of the actual assault. The Ants' power should be drained prior to the strike teams' landing."
"What if the Ants have power sources they do not activate until the assault begins?"
"Then they would have power for a short time before the Energy-Drain units could fully deplete them."
"In that case," I concluded, "I will formally submit a request to the High Command that all Borer units be treated for cold-beam immunity."
"That is your prerogative, Commander," the Technician replied.
"I would examine the progress in arming the shuttlecraft next," I stated.
"Certainly, Commander. This way."
Zur broke off his inspection of the Borer prototype and fell in step as we left.
"Might I ask a personal question, Commander?" Or-Sah said as we went.
"Proceed."
"Do you or your aide find the current designs for individual blasters ineffective?"
That question surprised me, though I could see where, as a Technician, he would be eager to know the answer. I glanced at Zur, who indicated no desire to respond.
"No," I said for the two of us, "we don't."
"I had simply noted that both of you wear only the old hand weapons," Or-Sah explained.
He lapsed into silence, apparently unable to bring himself to ask why.
He had given me food for thought, however. In hindsight, I realized that all five strike team leaders...in fact all the Warriors I had recently encountered, wore blasters either in addition to or to the exclusion of the old hand weapons. I made a mental note to add a blaster to my personal armament again. It would not do to have it appear a Planetary Commander was not staying abreast of new developments.
CHAPTER FOUR
I was performing one of my scheduled reviews of the force in training. Although these were normally one of my less distasteful duties as Commander, I was finding more and more that I had to schedule these reviews or they would be overlooked in my numerous other tasks in preparing for the upcoming campaign.
As prescribed by the High Command, the Warriors were all training in the new echo helmets. Unfortunately, this made it impossible to distinguish among individuals. During training, the echo helmets had extra face plates to obscure the vision, simulating total darkness and forcing the Warrior to rely solely on the data provided by the helmets' sensors. The difficulty was that the face plate also obscured the individual's features, making casual identification difficult if not impossible, save in cases where radical physical differences such as height or an amputated tail marked the Warrior.
Zur and the five strike team leaders accompanied me as I made my review. Aside from that, training progressed normally...at least theoretically. I say theoretically because there were numerous subtle points of difference between what I was observing and what I knew from experience to be a typical day's training.
For one thing, it was rare that a trainer would actively take part in the training. They, like myself, were usually overburdened with administrative details of scheduling and training design and therefore had to delegate the actual training process to their staff. It was not uncommon for a Warrior to cycle through an entire training phase without once directly encountering the trainer responsible. Today, however, the trainers were very much in evidence. Whether directly supervising the training or simply overseeing their presence was extremely noticeable.
Then there was the appearance of the training bays themselves. Though orderliness is necessary when working with or around live weapons, there is usually a certain amount of clutter and disorder associated with training. When the primary focus is on training, Warriors tend to let things fall where they fall. They would police the area afterward, but for the time being their main concern was experimenting with new possibilities and combinations to perfect their skill as the fighting arm of the Empire. The training bays I was seeing were so orderly I had the definite impression that I was viewing an exhibition rather than a fighting force at practice.
I was not so sure of my observations as to raise comment at this time, however. Rather, I determined that my next review would be unscheduled and unannounced, even to my staff. I would compare my observations of that review with my current impressions before deciding if there was cause for alarm.
Something caught my eye as I scanned the training Warriors. I halted my progress, causing my staff to press closer to me and stand in a waiting semicircle around me.
We were on one of the elevated walkways overlooking a maze. The Warriors below were maneuvering the corridors utilizing the echo helmets, and pausing sporadically to fire at pseudo-Ant targets that appeared singly or in groups to block their path. The transparent walls of the maze gave clear view of the exercise, but what caught my attention was elsewhere.
"Zur!" I beamed to my second-in-command.
Because of the sensitivity of the echo helmets, we did not speak aloud in the training bays.
"Yes, Commander!"
"Summon that Warrior to me...The one who is waiting in line...third from the front."
"Certainly, Commander."
I waited as my request was relayed.
One of the specific things I was studying in this review was the weapons rigs of the individual Warrior
s. As I have mentioned, audible sound can have a confusing effect on the echo helmets, and individual weapons carried in the traditional battle rigs had a tendency to make noise...slight, but noise nonetheless. As many developments in the Warriors' caste have come from solutions individuals have devised in the field in response to specific problems, I was eager to see what modifications were developing.
That is what I had been looking for. It was not what caught my eye.
The indicated Warrior was approaching our group now. I was pleased to note he had not removed his echo helmet. The force was rapidly approaching the point where they would be as natural maneuvering from the echo helmet data as with their normal vision.
"I am Rahm," I beamed to him, stepping forward. "May I examine your wedge-sword?"
"Yes, Commander," responded the Warrior, smoothly snatching the weapon from his harness and extending it to me handle first.
I took the sword and examined it closely. It was identical to my own weapon in size, heft, and balance, except for the pommel weight at the butt of the weapon. It was this that had caught my eye. Rather than being smoothly tooled like my own, it was fashioned as an irregular lump.
"I am puzzled by the design of your pommel, Warrior," I beamed. "What improvement does this deviation from the normal pattern signify?"
There was a moment's hesitation before the Warrior replied.
"None, Commander."
"Then why use this design over the standard?"
"It's fashioned to resemble the head of an Ant, Commander."
I examined the pommel again. He was right. Now that I was looking for that specific feature, the pommel did roughly approximate the head of an Ant.
"But why would you want a pommel that looks like the head of an Ant?"
"It...it gives me pleasure to look at it, Commander."
I was beginning to think there was something significant indicated here. Perhaps a recurrence of the inactive time problem I had experienced on my last mission.
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