"Have you considered the possibility of creating our own tunnels?" suggested Heem.
"Clarify?' I requested.
"It is a known fact that Ants utilize cold-beams in the construction of their tunnels. As we also have cold-beams, it occurs to me we could employ them in a similar fashion. If we sank a Bore shaft, say here, we could then use the cold-beams to tunnel horizontally to reach the egg chamber."
I considered the proposal. It seemed to be an effective and ingenious solution to the problem. I was about to comment to that effect, when I noticed Zur was consulting the data tapes.
"Do you have something to add to the discussion, Zur?" I asked.
"One moment, Commander. I seem to recall...yes, here it is."
He studied the data tape before continuing.
"I regret to say horizontal tunneling will not be possible in this situation."
"Explain?" requested Heem.
"Although it is true the Ants employ cold-beams to bore their tunnels, it is merely to supplement their own abilities. Constructing a tunnel requires more than boring a horizontal hole. It also involves some type of bracing to prevent its collapse. The Ants accomplish this with a form of cement they make with their own saliva. We have no such ability, and to attempt to construct a tunnel without support could only be disastrous."
"What if the tunnel is through solid rock? Wouldn't that negate the necessity for additional bracing?" Heem asked.
"That is what I was checking on the data tapes," Zur replied. "The region of the second anthill is characterized by loose, sandy soil, not solid rock."
"Perhaps the Technicians could devise a spray cement for us to use," Heem persisted.
"I will inquire as to that possibility," I intervened. "However, realizing we are in this predicament due to the Technicians' inability to comply with a simple request, and considering the lack of time before our departure, I do not feel it would be wise to rely completely on a new discovery as a solution to our problem. Another answer will have to be devised."
"Commander?"
"Yes, Zur."
"Perhaps we are treating the lake as an obstacle instead of utilizing it."
"Explain?" I requested.
"We know the eggs are vulnerable to water. Couldn't we simply drop one of the water darts we used against the Aquatics into the lake with instructions to direct its cold-beams against the lake floor at this point? Such an attack would flood the chamber, effectively destroying the eggs with minimal loss of personnel."
"What would prevent the Ants from evacuating the eggs through one of the tunnels?" asked Kah-Tu.
"We could collapse the connecting tunnels with Surface Thumpers," replied Zur.
"How could the water dart determine the precise spot to apply its rays?" commented Tur-Kam.
"The chamber is of sufficient size, the precise spot would not be important," Zur countered.
"I have to disagree," Heem injected. "In the campaign against the Aquatics, we discovered the cold-beam's effectiveness is severely restricted by water. In fact, it is doubtful that even with a precise target the beam would be able to break the chamber."
"Commander?"
"Yes, Raht?"
"I think I have the answer. Instead of collapsing both of these tunnels with Surface Thumpers, we could only collapse this one. That would leave this route to the egg chambers available for our use from the near Bore hole."
"As you pointed out earlier, Raht, that would jeopardize the attack on the Queen's chamber."
"I am aware of that, Commander. What I would suggest is that when we reach this point in the tunnel, we use our cold-beams and minigrenades to collapse the portion behind us, thus barring its use to the Ants.
I did not bother to point out that this action would effectively seal the force's route of retreat as well. Raht was doubtless aware of that factor when she suggested the plan.
"Do you feel you could traverse the tunnel with a sufficient number of your force intact to destroy the egg chamber?" I asked.
"That is my plan, Commander. If I find our casualties have depleted our force too severely to be effective, I will order the weapons be brought to bear on the ceiling of the chamber. As Zur pointed out, flooding the chamber will complete our mission, and it should be easier to accomplish from inside the chamber than from the lake."
If there was any doubt that what Raht was proposing was a suicide mission, this last amendment dispelled it.
"Very well," I said. "You are aware that this could very well be the key to deciding whether our assault of this Planet is a success or a failure. I expect, therefore, that you will give careful thought as to which Warriors you assign to this mission, particularly the leader."
"I plan to lead that team myself, Commander," she replied.
"As you wish," I replied. "Feel free to draw personnel from the other strike teams as you deem necessary. Any disputes as to the availability of individuals for this mission I will deal with personally."
I swept the assemblage with my gaze. There were no lowered heads or other indications of any exception being taken to my order. That was good. Raht was an exceptional Warrior, and her loss would be noted. I did not want her sacrifice to be in vain. If that particular attack failed, it would not because another strike team leader was unwilling to release the necessary key Warriors for reassignment.
"That concludes our meeting," I said. "Return to your teams in training now, remembering time is short before our departure. Zur, I would have a word with you."
"Certainly, Commander."
We waited until the others had filed out of the room.
"Zur," I said finally, "I require your clarification of something I noticed reviewing the equipment lists being prepared for loading onto the transports. Why is it that we require two different types of shuttlecraft?"
"One is the ground-to-space shuttle such as was used to pick us up from our last mission, Commander," Zur stated. "The other is of the type currently used between modules of the colony ship; only the ones we will be carrying will be armed as pursuit ships should the Ants attempt to escape via their spacecraft."
"Can't we use one kind of Shuttlecraft to fulfill both needs?" I asked.
"Not possible, Commander. The heavy armor of the ground shuttles is not compatible with the maneuverability necessary for a space shuttle pursuit ship. Besides, it has been ordered that the Technicians will pilot the ground shuttles, while the Warriors will pilot the pursuit ships."
"I remember now," I said. "The order seemed illogical to me at the time. The Technicians are far more accustomed to piloting the space shuttles than the Warriors are. It would seem natural that that assignment would fall to them, not us."
"In this instance, piloting the space shuttles involves direct combat with the Enemy," Zur pointed out. "As such, it is within the duties of the Warriors' caste."
"Very well, that completed my questions, Zur."
"While we have a moment, Commander, there is something I should report to you."
"What is it?'
"I was asked to oversee a duel in your absence."
"A duel? Who was involved?"
"Two of the trainers...actually they were only staff members, not full trainers. One of them you might recall, the second-in-command of the trainer you had executed."
"What was the duel over?" I asked.
"They didn't inform me, and I did not ask. The second-in-command I referenced emerged the victor and seemed satisfied that the incident was closed."
"Do you see any difficulties arising from this episode, Zur?" I queried.
"No, Commander. I merely felt you should be informed of what had transpired."
"I will make note of it," I said. "You may return to your duties now."
As he left, I tried to recall what else I had intended to ask him, but whatever it was eluded my memory.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I was reduced to waiting again. Perhaps the hectic pace of my duties on board the colony ship had reduced my tole
rance for inactive time or increased my metabolic rate. Whatever the case, I found I liked waiting even less than I had on previous assignments.
I was in one of three transports currently in orbit over the target planet. Zah-Rah's and Kah-Tu's teams shared one ship, Tur-Kam's and Heem's another. Raht's team and Zur's reserve force were quartered aboard my designated control ship.
The mission thus far had progressed smoothly. The reports and data from the advance scout ships showed no significant additions to the anthills. The team leaders had received their final briefing, which they were currently relaying to their respective forces. The power-sources and Energy-Drainers had been successfully dropped and were performing perfectly. I should have been pleased and contented. I wasn't. I was impatient.
Zur seemed unmoved by the delay as he waited with me in the control compartment. Rather than burden his force with the final briefings, we had decided they need only be given final data if the need for their involvement arose, and then only that data that applied to their specific assignment.
In the meantime, Zur stood as motionless as a statue in front of the bank of View Screens, apparently oblivious to the passage of time. I wondered if he had discovered some modified form of sleep to drop into at times like this. I almost asked him, but decided against it at the last moment. If he had, it would be improper for me to interrupt his trance before it was absolutely necessary.
I decided to review the late dispatches from the High Command once again, more from wanting something to do than from necessity.
The Technicians had finally perfected a watertight Borer unit. Similarly the cement spray we had requested was now ready. Unfortunately neither of these had been available prior to our departure from the colony ship.
While it was a mystery to me why the High Command bothered to send dispatches such as these, it did set me to thinking. Before attaining my current level of command and therefore having access to such dispatches, I had not been aware of the time lapse involved in traversing space. It seemed mildly incredible to me that two, perhaps three, flights of Warriors had been trained and dispatched since our departure from the colony ship.
It made me realize that the complexities of coordination involved in my own position were dwarfed by the task of the High Command in bringing the resources of the entire Empire to bear in one massive assault against the Ants.
It also brought to mind an unresolved problem I had previously ignored pending inactive time to fully study the matter.
"Zur?"
"Yes, Commander."
"How many Hatchings have you survived?"
There was a pause before he answered.
"I am not sure I understand your question, Commander."
"How many Hatchings have there been since you began your career?" I clarified.
I had the vague feeling I had had this conversation before.
"I do not know," Zur replied. "Why is this information important?
"While on the colony ship, I asked a Scientist to comment on the changes in the Empire. She seemed to feel the answer to that question played a large part in her reply. I was unable to decipher what she said, and I was hoping you might be able to clarify her analysis."
Zur pondered the subject for several moments.
"Do you feel outdated, Commander?" he asked finally.
"Explain?" I requested.
"Are you finding it increasingly difficult to communicate with other Warriors, to comprehend their motivations?"
"The Scientist asked similar questions at the time," I countered. "Yet when I asked if she was questioning my qualifications as a Commander, her reply was negative."
"She probably wasn't," Zur explained: "She was pointing out that you were different-not incompetent, merely different."
"Clarify?" I requested.
"The Empire has changed since you and I began our careers. I am aware of it, and apparently so are you, although you cannot identify the specifics. Warriors today think differently, react differently than you or I do. You notice I do not say better, merely different."
Both our heads turned as one of the ready lights came on on the control panel. That was for our ship. Raht was ready.
"I do not resent this change," Zur continued, "nor do I attempt to change myself. I am what I am, and I simply trust in the Empire to find an assignment where a Warrior of my attitudes and skills are necessary. While it is possible that a time will come when my usefulness will fade, I am confident that at some future date the need will arise again and I will be awakened from Deep Sleep."
"Could you elaborate on your views of the future?" I prompted.
"As you know, Tzen do not kill or destroy out of inconvenience," he said. "Even assuming the assault on the Ants is successful and the last of the Coalition is destroyed, the High Command will not abandon its Warriors. Whether from a yet undiscovered species which bars the path of our colonization or if Tzu's mythical race of intelligent warm-bloods develops, there will arise a threat to the Empire. Such is the Law of Nature. Just as the Coalition encountered a natural Enemy in us, we in turn will eventually encounter a natural Enemy whose power rivals our own. On that day, the Warriors will be awakened. As such, we need not worry about outliving our usefulness."
I thought about this for some time.
"I must admit," I said at last, "I had never given serious consideration to outliving my usefulness."
"I would not concern myself with the problem," replied Zur, "were I you, Commander. In many ways, you have changed much more readily than I."
"Explain?" I requested.
"The change has been obvious, Commander," Zur asserted. "Whether your rise in rank has been because of your change, or you have changed to fit the rank is irrelevant. The change is there."
"I am not aware of a change," I stated.
"Only because you are not prone to self-analysis. There was a time when you knew each Warrior under your command intimately. You deemed it vital to the performance of your duties. Now, I doubt if you even know the names of your strike team leaders' second-in-commands. I would hasten to point out this is not intended as criticism. A certain amount of detachment is necessary in a Commander. But it is a definite. deviation from your earlier patterns."
The second ready light came on. This time from Tur-Kam and Heem's ship. The period of waiting was nearly over.
Zur started to continue, but I held up my hand for silence. While his points were interesting to ponder in inactive time, I did not want any distractions when we finally entered into battle.
The third light remained unlit.
It occurred to me it would be ironic if the final assault against the Coalition failed because of a malfunctioning ready light.
The light still remained dark.
I considered summoning a Technician to check the device. I was about to ask Zur's opinion, when the third and final light came on, completing the pattern.
The entire force was ready.
With forced calm, I signaled the attack, and the final assault began.
CHAPTER EIGHT
There was a delay before the View Screens were activated. The first move of our assault was dropping the flyers, both the old single-Warrior and the new, larger, three-Warrior variety.
The view-input units were mounted on the underside of the flyers, and did not begin sending images until the flyers leveled off to start their attack. I could have had a visual report via the View Screens beginning the moment they were dropped from the transports, but decided the additional wait was preferable to having multiple displays of their free-fall to the planet.
The View Screens were grouped by anthill to avoid confusion in interpreting their displays. Zur and I watched in silence as one at a time they winked to life.
"Heem, Commander," came a message. "Report view-input unit malfunction on flyer four."
"Acknowledged," I replied.
The report was audible because of a late development by the Scientists. To ease strain on Planetary Commanders, they ha
d devised a unit that could convert booster-band-relayed telepathic messages into actual sound, and reversed the process to send messages. Even though messages to the Planetary Commander were sent by strike team leaders only, in an assault such as this messages were numerous and complex enough to make this new device a major aid.
We ignored the single blank View Screen and watched the others. The first assignment of the flyers was to seal the anthills, using explosives to collapse the tunnels at and around their surface accesses. Simultaneous with this action, they were to drop the Communication Disrupters. I personally placed little faith in these units, not because I disbelieved in their efficiency, but because we had no means of verifying if they were functioning properly or not. The blank View Screen gave mute testimony that not all devices were foolproof, regardless of the reassurances supplied by the Technicians. We still used the Disrupter units, however, since in a combat situation communications are vital, and any possibility of sabotaging the Enemy's efforts to pool and coordinate information was to be pursued. I simply didn't rely on their success in my planning.
"Tur-Kam, Commander. Borer units landed and functioning."
"Acknowledged."
That would be the fourth anthill. I checked the View Screens to confirm the operation. The fourth anthill had only three accesses to seal, so it was logical they would be the first to begin the actual attack.
"Heem, Commander. Borer units landed and functioning. "
"Acknowledged."
Fifth anthill. I hastened to obtain visual confirmation from the View Screens. This was a relatively difficult task. As I have noted, the view-input units were mounted on the flyers, and the flyers were far from inactive at this point.
As the Borer units were landing, the flyers were drop-placing the Surface Thumpers, a job calling for precision handling of the machines. More often than not, the View Screens afforded only a close-up view of the ground flashing by at high speed as the flyers raced to complete their mission.
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