The Bug Wars

by Robert Asprin

  "Where did you obtain this weapon, Warrior?"

  "From the Technicians, Commander, like any other weapon. I'm sure if the Commander is interested, one would be available for him, too. I notice several of his staff already have them."

  Startled by this statement, I shot a glance at my waiting staff. The Warrior was right! Zah-Rah and Raht were wearing weapons similar to the one I was holding. I had simply not noticed before.

  "Very well, Warrior," I beamed, returning his sword. "That will be all. You may resume your training again."

  The Warrior turned and strode away.

  I resumed my tour of review.

  "One moment, Commander."

  It was Tur-Kam's voice beamed into my head. I halted and turned to face her. The ex-trainer was intently watching the retreating figure of the Warrior.

  "What is it, Tur-Kam?" I beamed.

  "With your permission, Commander, I would like to investigate something."

  "Proceed."

  The Warrior I had conversed with suddenly halted, turned, and retraced his steps back to our group. I realized he must be responding to Tur-Kam's hail.

  She stepped forward to meet him, and there was a silent exchange for a few moments. Then the Warrior removed his echo helmet and handed it to Tur-Kam. She examined it closely.

  "Commander! This warrants your attention."

  I joined them, and she passed me the helmet.

  "I thought this Warrior's movements were too sure for one just learning the intricacies of an echo helmet," she beamed. "If you examine this unit, you will see it has been modified to allow his normal vision to bypass the face plate."

  She was right. Though undetectable while the helmet was on, the modification was readily apparent when viewed from this vantage.

  "Zur!" I beamed.

  "Yes, Commander."

  "Spread this order. All training in this bay is to cease. All Warriors are to remove their echo helmets. Immediately."

  I passed the helmet to my staff and waited for the Warriors below to comply with my orders. Within moments, they were all standing with faces upturned toward our position. I stepped to the edge of the walkway.

  "The trainer of this Warrior will present himself to me immediately," I announced.

  "Commander," Tur-Kam said, quietly stepping to my side, "If there is to be a duel, I would request permission to represent the Empire. This incident is a reflection on all trainers and therefore on me. I would therefore ask preference of challenge."

  "I disagree, Commander," said Zah-Rah stepping to my other side. "This Warrior is in my strike team. If preference of challenge is to be awarded, it should be mine."

  "Your opinions are noted," I replied. "Return to your places.."

  The trainer was approaching as they complied with my order. I took the echo helmet from Raht and passed it to her.

  "Examine this helmet," I ordered.

  She took the helmet and examined it closely.

  "With your permission, Commander?" she asked.

  She stepped to the edge of the walkway and beckoned to one of the Warriors below, presumably her second-in-command.

  We waited as the Warrior hastened to join us. The entire episode was potentially quite serious. The trainers are a privileged subgroup of the Warriors, but there is a price for their status. They are responsible for everything that takes place during training.

  The new Warrior joined us, and the trainer passed the helmet to him without a word. The brevity of his inspection was not lost on me or the trainer.

  "Your comments?" I asked.

  "None, Commander," The trainer replied.

  Her assistant started to step forward, but she held up a hand to restrain him.

  "I am responsible for this portion of the, training," she continued, "and therefore stand ready to answer for any transgression which may have transpired."

  "Face the Warriors," I said.

  She hesitated, then turned and stepped to the edge of the walkway.

  I raised my voice to address the entire bay.

  "It has been brought to my attention that the progress in training I have viewed today has been falsified. If this had not been discovered, had I been allowed to think you were more prepared than you are, I might have committed you to battle before you were actually ready. If that situation would have occurred, you would have been soundly defeated. The Empire's campaign against the Ants would have failed, and we would have been too depleted in numbers to mount another attack."

  I pointed to the trainer.

  "This Warrior was responsible for your current phase of training. Her neglect of duty does not constitute a difference of opinion or an affront to any individual, group, or caste. It is a direct threat to the Empire."

  I signaled to Zur. His alter-mace came off his harness and struck in one smooth blur of motion. The trainer's body hurtled off the walkway and crashed limply on the floor below.

  "She dies not as a Tzen and a Warrior in a duel or in service to the Empire, but as an Enemy and a threat to our existence."

  I turned and continued my review, my staff accompanying me.

  As we entered the next training bay, we could hear behind us the cautious sounds of the Warriors resuming their training.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "...the earlier possibilities of the Ant's utilizing either poison gas or an acid spray have been discarded. While these devices are within the grasp of their technology, there have been no indications to date of their use or development."

  Of all my duties, I found these briefings with representatives of the Scientists' caste the most distasteful. The briefing was particularly uncomfortable as I was without Zur's counsel. He was justifiably preoccupied working with his reserve force. Unfortunately, this left me to deal with the Scientists alone.

  "We are still working on a means of disrupting the Ants' communications, but at this time it seems unlikely an adequate counter will be perfected prior to your departure. Effective countermeasures have been developed, however, to deal with the stun rays."

  She indicated a small flat mechanism on the table at the side of the room.

  "They are worn strapped to the chest, and field tests have proved they will nullify the effect of a stun ray. The Technicians are currently producing them for issue in the near future."

  "Has the exact range of a stun ray been defined yet?" I interrupted.

  "No," the Scientist answered. "It seems to vary according to the amount of energy fed into the projector."

  I made a mental note to require all transport crew members to wear these units. Having the Planet-side Warriors immune to the stun rays would be of limited merit if the Ants could succeed in using them against the orbiting transports.

  "We have continued monitoring the indirect surveillance of the spacecraft housed in the anthills," the Scientist continued. "There have been no sounds or other indications of work or modifications being performed. Therefore, it is assumed the Ants are still utilizing the primitive craft originally given them by the First Ones. The armed shuttlecraft should be sufficient to insure no Ants will escape once the final assault begins."

  "Do the Ants' spacecraft utilize the same power source as their weapons?" I asked.

  "That is correct."

  "Then won't the Energy-Drain units perfected by the Technicians negate the use of the spacecraft?"

  "The Energy-Drain units were developed independently by the Technicians," the Scientist pointed out "Until the principle has been tested and confirmed by the Scientists' caste, I would be hesitant to comment as to its reliability."

  "Will those confirmation tests be performed prior to my force's departure?"

  "I am not familiar with that project's priority rating, Commander. I will investigate and inform you immediately."

  "Very well. What is the next item for review?"

  "That completes the agenda for this briefing, Commander. Do you have any questions?"

  I thought carefully for several minutes before replying.


  "Would it be permissible to ask a question not related to this mission? One of a nonmilitary nature?"

  "Certainly, Commander. I have been assigned to supply you with information. There have been no instructions limiting the scope of that information."

  I considered my question carefully before verbalizing it.

  "Could you comment as to whether or not the non-active time now available to the individual is having an adverse effect on the Empire?"

  The Scientist cocked her head, her tail twitched minutely.

  "Could you clarify your question, Commander?"

  I began to pace restlessly. I was unaccustomed to expressing my thoughts to Scientists.

  "Since returning from my last mission, I have become increasingly aware of certain changes in the Empire. For the most part, I ignored them, as they had no direct bearing on me or the performance of my duties. Recently, however, an incident occurred which I could not ignore for its potential implications."

  "What incident was that?" she asked.

  "The details are unimportant. It involved a deliberate deception."

  "A deception? That doesn't seem logical."

  "My staff discovered it in my presence," I reiterated. "A premeditated falsification of training progress. My question is is this a widespread problem throughout the Empire or was it an isolated case?'

  I waited as the Scientist pondered my question.

  "No other such incidents have been reported to the Scientists, Commander," she said at last, "though I cannot say whether this is because no similar incidents have occurred or if they were simply deemed unimportant."

  "Unimportant?" Despite my self-pledged control, I felt my head begin to lower. "Such a falsification can only be interpreted as a direct threat to the Empire."

  "I find your logic unclear, Commander."

  "If I had believed the deception, I might have committed my force prematurely."

  "But would you have?"

  My tail began to lash slightly.

  "Clarify your question?" I requested.

  "Your exact words were that you might have committed your force," the Scientist replied. "I was inquiring as to whether or not you actually would have. If the deception had gone undetected, if you had believed everything you saw, would you have immediately reported to the High Command that your force was ready for combat?"

  "Certainly not," I responded. "The force's training is far from complete. There is considerable time remaining before our scheduled departure, and it is my duty and that of my staff to be sure that time is utilized to best advantage."

  "Then by your own admission, the incident was of no importance."

  "You have missed the point entirely," I said.

  "Perhaps, Commander. Could you clarify your position?"

  I paused to organize my thoughts.

  "As a Commander of the Warriors' caste, I must be sensitive to the implications of an event beyond the immediate. I must concern myself with potentials, not just confirmed realities."

  "Commander, are you attempting to explain the necessity of considering potentials to a member of the Scientists' caste?"

  I lapsed into silence realizing both the truth of her observation and the futility of my efforts. The break in the conversation lengthened as I cast about for a new way to phrase my question.

  "Commander," the Scientist said at last, "might I ask a question?"

  "Certainly," I replied.

  "How many Hatchings have you survived?"

  I cocked my head.

  "Clarify?" I requested.

  "How many Hatchlings have there been since your own?"

  "I have no accurate knowledge of that," I admitted. "My career began when the Empire was still in the Black Swamps. During those times the number and frequency of the Hatchings were kept secret, particularly from line Warriors such as I."

  "Do you know why that was necessary?"

  "Yes. There was a period, three campaigns before the current war, when the Enemy we were fighting, the Day Swimmers, were not only intelligent, they were also able to decipher our speech. Information on the Hatchings was withheld so that a captured Warrior could not be forced into yielding it to the Enemy. It has been an axiom among our caste that the only way to be sure a Warrior will not talk when tortured is to give him nothing to talk about."

  "But," the Scientist persisted, "since that time Hatching information has been available for the asking. How many Hatchings do you recall?"

  "I have never concerned myself with such matters," I said. "I learned originally to function in the absence of such information, and have never encountered evidence since to convince me of its necessity."

  "Commander, my own career began here on the colony ship, after the campaign against the Wasps. Though I have never kept close note, I personally know of over thirty Hatchings since my own. Perhaps you could estimate from that "

  "I fail to see the point of this line of questioning," I interrupted. "What is it you are attempting to discover?"

  Now it was the Scientist who paused before answering.

  "Commander," she began at last, "among my fellow caste members, I am considered old and knowledgeable. Yet I have only vague knowledge of life in the Black Swamps, and would have to go to the data tapes to obtain information of the War against the Day Swimmers you reference so easily."

  "There is no doubt my veteran's status played a major role in my candidacy, if that is your point," I prompted impatiently.

  "More than that, Commander. It means your attitudes were shaped and set in a period completely alien to today's Warrior's."

  "Scientist," I said, "are you questioning my qualifications as a Commander of the Warriors' caste?"

  "Not at all," she said hastily. "Hear me out, Commander. If my information is correct, the current battle plans allow for sixty-three to ninety-two percent casualties. In the early campaigns of the Empire, victory itself was uncertain. This could account for your difficulty in understanding the logic processes of the newer Hatchings."

  "Clarify?" I requested.

  I was growing increasingly aware of the time being consumed in this interview. What I had hoped would be answered with a brief statement was developing into a lengthy conversation.

  "The newer Hatchings enjoy a security you never had, Commander. Whereas you were taught that the Empire hung in the balance in every battle, the younger Warriors have a strong conviction the Empire will survive. As such, they are more concerned with their standing in the Empire than you ever were. This is not to say they are not aware of the importance of the upcoming campaign against the Ants. They are still Tzen and Warriors and would never knowingly participate in any activity they believed would weaken the force. However, they also have an interest in their roles after the battle, and as such are not above trying to create the best possible impression on their superiors, in this case you."

  I decided it was time to bring this discussion to a close.

  "Your comments and observations have been most beneficial," I said formally. "I shall be on my guard to insure this new feeling of security does not endanger the force's preparations for battle."

  "But, Commander-" the Scientist began.

  "My duties require my presence elsewhere," I interrupted. "As always, the Scientists have proved their undeniable value in support of the Warriors' caste and the Empire."

  I turned and strode away before she would resume her oration. As I went, I chided myself briefly for having attempted to pose a nonspecific question to a Scientist. As expected, the answer had been cryptic and had not directly addressed the question posed.

  I resolved not to enter into another briefing session without Zur's accompanying me. Perhaps I would even delegate that portion of the preparations completely to him. My duty was to prepare my force for battle, not play word games with a Scientist.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The tri-D projection maps of the anthills were a minor marvel. They were possible through a modification of the jury-rigged device the T
echnicians had developed on our last mission. The original device simply indicated the presence of a subterranean hollow such as a cave or a tunnel. This had proved to be an invaluable aid in setting our defenses, giving us forewarning of the Ants' attempts to tunnel toward our fortification.

  The new modification, however, made the device a powerful addition to our offensive effort as well. Instead of simply indicating the existence of a tunnel, the new devices could also determine its size. And depth from the surface. A scout flyer armed with one of these devices crisscrossing the air over an anthill could now bring back a map of the tunnels and caverns composing that network.

  My staff was currently assembled in front of one of those maps, the map of the second anthill, Raht's assignment.

  "The difficulties in assaulting this particular anthill are obvious," I stated in opening. "As you can see, one of the major egg chambers lies here, under this lake."

  I indicated the specific location on the map.

  "I have called this meeting to seek your counsel on a problem which has arisen, or more specifically has failed to be corrected. The latest progress report from the Technicians indicates they have been unable to perfect a watertight Borer unit. What is more, their current projections for a completion time on that task fall well beyond our anticipated departure date. That means our original plan to bore directly to that chamber is no longer valid. We will have to formulate and implement a new plan if the assault is to be successful."

  I waited as they pondered the problem. Raht bent over to examine the map more closely, a gesture I realized was merely a formality to help her think, as she had long since committed the map to memory.

  "Commander," began Zah-Rah," am I correct in assuming a force will have to traverse the tunnels from one of the other bore points? If so, it seems logical that they would have to come from this point, as it is the nearest to their objective."

  "With your permission, Commander?" Raht requested.

  "Certainly, Raht."

  "That is not a viable possibility, Zah-Rah," she began. "They would have to travel one of these two tunnels. Our current plans call for both those tunnels to be collapsed by Surface Thumpers. Failure to do that would allow the Ants to bring support units into position to protect the queen's chamber, here."