The Bug Wars

by Robert Asprin

  "A what?"

  "A combat zone comradery. Unlike the Warriors, we are seldom in a position of working with teammates who have saved our lives. I would imagine that because of that, the Warriors feel a certain obligation to each other."

  "The last Warrior who saved my life in battle was named Ssah. I killed her in a duel immediately after the mission was completed."

  "I see," he said, apparently taken aback. "Perhaps I have overestimated my personal theories, and in doing so underestimated the Warriors."

  "In the Warriors we react negatively to needless death, particularly if it was caused by carelessness or incompetence."

  "In that, you are not unlike the Technicians. To reply to your original question, if there was any carelessness involved in Eehm's death, it was her own. As such, we neither mourn her passing, nor harbor any grudges against the Warriors."

  "Very well. Then we will consider the subject closed. I apologize for distracting you from your work, but I wanted to deal with the matter as soon as possible."

  "No damage done, Commander. We are well ahead of schedule on the View Screen. If you wish to pass the word to ready the flyers, the screen should be ready by the time they can take off."

  "Excellent. The Scientists have been anxious to proceed with the mission."

  "If I might comment, Commander?"

  "Proceed."

  "We Technicians have had more contact with the Scientists than the Warriors. They are a pushy lot given opportunity, and frequently short-sighted for all their wisdom. Though I expressed my feelings that I felt a Technician should lead this mission, I would add to that the observation that in lieu of a Technician, I feel much more confident of the success of the mission with a Warrior in command than I would with a Scientist in charge. In my opinion, you should trust your judgment over theirs."

  "I had planned to Horc, but I will keep your comments in mind."

  I strapped one of the arm-units on, and, picking up two more, went looking for Zur. Discussion was fine, but it was time we got this mission underway.

  Zur and I stood watching as the two flyers departed. Arm-units had now been issued to all team members, and as promised the View Screen was functional.

  Mahz and Vahr were piloting the craft. I would have sent Kor instead of Vahr, but Vahr was a competent Warrior and a veteran of the Wasp campaign, and Kor was a valuable asset to fortification defenses.

  "Shall we watch their progress at the View Screen, Commander?" suggested Zur.

  Even though our arm-units could monitor all data fed to the View Screen, the larger screen would afford better monitoring. I signaled my agreement by starting for the fortification.

  The flyers we had used in the Wasp campaign seemed crude when compared to the craft Mahz and Vahr were piloting. The new flyers had been modified to allow vertical takeoff and landing, a feature that would have negated the crash landing and jury-rig drop takeoff of our last mission. More important for the immediate assignment, the new flyers were each outfitted with three view-input units. These would scan the terrain the fliers passed over and feed the images directly back into the View Screen data banks for storage and/or immediate viewing. With proper cuing, the View Screen arm-units could then either display the entire area or give a close-up of a specific portion. This gave each member instant access to a three-dimensional pictorial map of our terrain once the data was input.

  Horc and Tzu were already at the View Screen when Zur and I arrived. That was one of the effortless parts of being a Tzen Commander. If something really important was happening, you seldom had to call a meeting. The staff would gravitate to the key point on their own.

  The four of us watched silently as the map formed on the View Screen. So far it was identical with our existing data, but it was good to have it confirmed.

  "Horc!" I said, breaking the silence.

  "Yes, Commander?"

  "This ravine." I tapped the appropriate portion of the screen. "We're going to need some way of getting across it.

  "An arc bridge?"

  "A cable would be better. That and a jump ramp for skimmers. What we want is something we can cross, but the Leapers can't."

  "Understood, Commander. We'll start on it as soon as we can get a Technician there for a firsthand look."

  "Would additional close-ups help?"

  "It would be advantageous."

  I slipped on my booster band.

  "Mahz!" I beamed.

  "Yes, Commander!"

  "The ravine you're approaching...after you've completed your preliminary sweep we would like some close-ups of the rim."

  "Confirmed, Commander!"

  As I started to remove the band, I noticed Tzu was checking something on her arm-unit.

  "Something wrong, Tzu?"

  "I'm not sure, Commander, but it is definitely interesting. Do you see those rock formations there...and there?"

  "The large rocks with the small ones clustered about?"

  "That's right. Do you notice anything strange about them?"

  I studied them for a few moments.

  "They seem to have a similar configuration. Each one is a large rock surrounded by brush and small rocks. Why? Are they some kind of marker?"

  "I'm not sure, but look at this."

  She extended her arm to share her arm-unit.

  "This is the same area, but displaying data from the last campaign. The formations are there, but a different number of them, and in different locations."

  I compared the display on her arm-unit with the display on the View Screen. She was right. The configuration of the formations had definitely changed.

  "Do you have similar data from the other two campaigns?" I asked.

  She cued an index list and studied it.

  "No data from the campaign against the Aquatics... They were concentrating on the bodies of water then...but...yes, here it is."

  She fed a cue into the arm-unit and extended again. "This is the same area during the campaign against the Wasps."

  Together we studied it. The rock formations on this display were arrayed differently from either of the others we had studied.

  "Zur!"

  "Yes, Commander."

  "Take a look at this."

  By the time he reached us, I had cued my arm-unit for the Leaper campaign display so we had all three examples in view.

  "Look at these rock formations. They seem to be-"

  "Commander!"

  Mahz's voice beamed into my head, interrupting my discussion.

  "Rahm here, Mahz."

  "Coming onto your screen now! Request immediate instructions!"

  "Commander!" Horc called.

  "Coming! Tzu, Zur!"

  We crowded around the View Screen. There, coming into view was a large anthill.

  The Ants! The last members of the Coalition after the Leapers! We knew they would be present on this planet, but none of our data had indicated their activity in this area. The hill was a new installation, constructed since our last campaign. It was less than eight kilometers from our fortification!

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The discovery of the anthill understandably threw our team into a bit of a turmoil.

  Word was passed to all team members as Alert status immediately went into effect. Mahz and Vahr, however, were ordered to finish their survey sweep as originally planned. Whatever our future plan would be, we would require information on the terrain around us.

  Zur placed Kor in temporary command of the defense forces and joined the rest of the staff in our emergency planning session.

  Tzu, speaking for the Scientists, had very strong opinions, not only on the subject at hand, but also on how it was to be discussed. I was beginning to expect this.

  "But, Commander, the course of action we have to recommend is the only logical approach to this situation."

  "Recommendations for courses of action and discussion of those recommendations will take place after we have had the necessary informational reports from the staff."
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  "If I might point out, Commander, time is of the utmost importance in this situation," she argued, her tail lashing impatiently.

  "I agree. Far too important to waste arguing over meeting procedures."

  "But-"

  "And I will further point out that had we followed your initial time-sensitive recommendations and pursued the Leapers, without a mapping sweep, we would have either missed the anthill completely or blundered into it unawares. Now I will again suggest you give your portion of the information report and save your valuable recommendations for later."

  "Very well, Commander. How detailed a report do you wish?"

  "Summary only. As you have pointed out, time is of the essence. Address specifically those behavioral points pertinent to the immediate situation."

  She was silent for a few moments, organizing her thoughts; then she began.

  "The Ants are the fourth species of the Coalition of Insects. According to the notes of the First Ones, confirmed by our own studies, they are the most intelligent members of the Coalition and hence the most dangerous. They were rated as being the most responsive to training in the operation of simple mechanical devices, and possess a definite-ordered society. In all probability, they were the masterminds behind the initial formation of the Coalition."

  "Question."

  "Yes, Horc."

  "Are they still operating machines, and if so, of what level complexity?"

  "Unknown. They are credited with being able to pilot primitive starships after the First Ones modified the controls for them, and the continued spread of the Insects through the Universe indicates some machinery is still being utilized. However, whether these are the original ships or if improvements have been made is unknown. This is why the Scientists recommend that we-"

  She broke off as I caught her eye and flattened my head. For a moment she held my gaze, then continued.

  "Although they will forage for food on the surface of the land, they are primarily burrowing creatures. The bulk of their civilization is maintained in subterranean caves and caverns interconnected by a series of tunnels. These colony nests may extend over a radius of up to twenty kilometers with installations to a depth of two kilometers.

  "Physically, they are a bit larger than the Leapers, often reaching five meters in length. Even though it might be suspected they have poor eyesight from their underground existence, they seem to forage on the surface both day and night. Their primary natural weapon is a set of powerful mandibles, and they are reputed to be strong, vicious, and tenacious fighters."

  "You mentioned a civilization," I inserted. "What is known about that?"

  "What little is known is unconfirmed. It is not unlike our own, having both Hunter and Constructor castes. The main difference would seem to be that they also have a Reproducer caste. However, this is all information from the First Ones."

  "What are their vulnerabilities, physically?"

  "Unknown, Zur; from their appearance we would postulate a similar physiology to the Wasps. But that is, at best, a guess."

  "How fast do they dig their tunnels?" asked Horc.

  "Unknown."

  "How many Ants in a nest?" asked Zur.

  "Unknown. It is believed to be in the thousands."

  "Is the anthill we viewed a new nest, or a new outlet for an old colony?"

  "Unknown, Commander."

  There was a long moment of silence.

  "If there are no further questions..." I began.

  "There is one more bit of information which could be important to our planning, Commander."

  "Proceed, Tzu."

  "They possess some method of passing information among themselves. Whether this is done by direct contact, by telepathy, or even genetically is unknown. This characteristic of the Ants defied even the First Ones' attempts to explain."

  The silence was longer this time as we digested the information.

  "Horc," I said finally, "what does the presence of the Ants mean to the effectiveness of our Defense Network?"

  "The Network was designed to detect and destroy surface creatures such as the Leapers. While it will still be effective against surface hunters, it will be totally ineffective against burrowing," he replied.

  "Will your team be able to devise an effective defense?"

  "There are two possibilities we can explore. One would be a device to detect sounds of burrowing. The other would be a machine to locate subterranean hollow points. It is doubtful, however, that they would be effective to a depth of two kilometers. With the equipment we have on hand, we couldn't guarantee coverage much deeper than a quarter kilometer, half a kilometer maximum."

  "How long until the devices could be in place?"

  "We would have to design them before I could give you an accurate appraisal of construction and installation time. I could have those estimates ready by this time tomorrow, however."

  "Very well, Zur, what is your appraisal of our Warriors' defensive ability."

  Zur did not hesitate, but plunged into his analysis.

  "The campaign against the Wasps has given us undisputed air supremacy. The campaign against the Aquatics has guaranteed we will not have to fight for water. That leaves the Surface Packs, the Leapers, the Subterraneans and the Ants to present threats. As we are only required to fight a defensive holding campaign as opposed to a counterstroke, I am confident the Warriors will be able to hold the fortification against any surface or frontal attack up to and including a massed frontal assault. As to the possibility of a subterranean burrowing attack, we must rely on such devices as the Technicians are able to improvise for our defense. The Warriors will be unable to guarantee the safety of the fortification or the force in event of such an attack."

  "I don't understand, Zur," commented Horc. "I was under the impression that part of the Warriors' duty was to be able to fight anything, any time, anywhere. In spite of this you are telling us that in the event of a subterranean attack, the Warriors will be helpless and completely reliant upon the Technicians' devices?"

  "You are correct in your observation of a Warrior's duty, Horc," answered Zur. "However, it is the duty of a Warrior Commander to give an accurate appraisal of his teams' abilities. We are not equipped physically or mechanically to enter into such combat, nor have any of the Tzen under my command received any training in subterranean battle. Though I can assure you that if such an attack occurs, the Warriors will fight in a manner befitting their caste, I would be lax in my duties as a Commander if I guaranteed their effectiveness. Unfounded assurance would only mislead the Commander and the other members of the staff, and could potentially prove disastrous should those assurances be relied upon."

  "Question, Zur."

  "Yes, Tzu?"

  "You claim to be submitting a conservative appraisal of your team's abilities. Still, you arrogantly guarantee a capacity to withstand an unknown force with unknown armaments. Is this not in itself a form of unfounded assurance?"

  Zur looked at me, but I remained silent, thereby giving him unspoken authority to speak for the Warriors.

  "The factors you refer to, Tzu, are, as you have said, unknown," he began. "Unlike the Scientists, the Warriors do not deal in unknowns; we deal in realities. Were we to qualify our reports with provisions for the unknown, we would never enter into battle, for none can guarantee success against the unknown. The realities of the situation as set forth in your report are that we are faced with a force physically not unlike the Insects we have successfully battled in the past, capable of surface and subterranean movement, with no known weapons or machines modified for warfare. I must base my report on those facts, and by those facts my force will be able to provide security as long as the attack is made from the surface. Should the known facts be altered, I will have to reassess my evaluation. Until that time, my report stands unamended. In the past you have refused to accept my testimony as a Scientist. If you are expressing equal reluctance to accept my testimony as a Warrior-"

  "Zur!" I interrupted. His he
ad was sinking dangerously low. "Complete your report."

  "Very well, Commander. There does seem to be a point of misunderstanding I would like to clarify. When I refer to the Warriors' ability to enter into subterranean battle, I am speaking of their ability to intercept and engage the Enemy in their tunnels. As the Tzen are themselves surface dwellers, the Enemy would be forced to surface to effect their actual attack. Once that happens, we are again referring to a surface attack, and our reservations concerning subterranean combat would no longer apply."

  I surveyed the assemblage for several moments. They waited in silence. There were no additional questions.

  "Very well. Having now heard the reports from the individual teams, I would be interested in hearing any recommendations from the staff regarding a course of action. Tzu, I believe you had some opinions in the matter?"

  "I would apologize for my earlier impatience, Commander. You were quite right. Having heard the team reports, my recommendations are obvious and do not require formal verbalization."

  "State them anyway, Tzu."

  "Very well, Commander. All our plans are handicapped by a lack of confirmed information on the Ants. It is obvious from this that top priority must be given to a study of the Ants. This study would serve a double purpose: First, it would provide vital information for the Empire for its upcoming campaign against the Ants, and second, it would give us the necessary data upon which to base our decision as to whether or not to continue our current mission."

  "Thank you for your recommendations, Tzu. Now here are my orders."

  I shifted my gaze to include all three staff members.

  "Our first concern is to secure the defense of the fortification. Horc, I want two of your team working on the design and installation of both types of subterranean detection devices you described. The third is to begin designing the requested method for crossing the ravine.

  "Zur, I want your entire team on full alert until such time as the new defenses are in place. The only exception to this will be to establish an irregular observation flight over the area evidencing the unexplained rock movements. You are to avoid all contact with the Ants and particularly the anthill until our defenses are ready.