Finally, when we had exhausted our imagination finding new drills, we jury-rigged nets on our own without the assistance of the Technicians and set the Warriors to work running down warm-bloods with their skimmers to supplement the food stores. The Technicians' team was openly scornful of our net design, but it worked.
However, despite all our efforts, the Warriors had an unaccustomed surplus of inactive time at their disposal. Much of this was spent in idle conversation, a pastime hitherto unheard of in the Warriors. The Warriors from the New Hatching seemed particularly susceptible to this. I chanced to overhear such a conversation one day.
"The more I think about it," Hif was saying, "the more it occurs to me that all our training as Warriors, the skimmers, the hand weapons, everything, is futile if not needless. What do you think, Kor?"
Kor was still held in awe by many of the New Hatching, and justifiably so. Not only was she a noted veteran, she still possessed one of the most spectacular sets of combat reflexes in the Empire, despite several generations of selective breeding and genetic experimentation.
"I am a Warrior," she replied abruptly. "I wasn't trained to think; I was trained to fight."
"But Kor," Sirk persisted, "we're talking about fighting; or not fighting, to be specific. Surely there are better ways to handle the Insects than direct combat. Chemical or Bacteriological warfare would be so much more effective. The Warriors' decision to-"
"If you want decisions, talk to one of the Commanders. I'm not trained to make decisions; I'm trained to fight."
"But-"
"I have no time for such talk. I'm going to check my weapons. I'd advise you to do the same."
"Again? We just wanted to..."
But she was gone.
"There goes a Warrior's Warrior," came Vehr's voice. "She's right, you know. There's reason for everything in the Empire. Asking about it is only a waste of time. If there wasn't a reason, the situation wouldn't exist. The fact the High Command issues an order is all the proof you need that a reason exists."
"But don't you ever ask questions?"
There was a moment of silence before Vahr replied.
"I did once, just after the campaign against the Wasps. The casualty rates on the planet we hit exceeded even the Empire's calculations. When I saw so many Tzen die, I asked questions not unlike the ones you asked Kor. Wasn't there a better way? Why risk lives unnecessarily. In fact, I got permission to take time out from training to try to find the answers."
"What happened?"
"Two things. First, I found the answer to my questions. In short, we don't use chemicals or bacteria for the same reason you don't cut off your arm to get rid of scale mites. We don't want to destroy what we're trying to save. We're in this war because the First Ones upset the ecological balance of the Universe. They allowed the Insects to spread off-planet, away from natural enemies or control. Unchecked, they'll spread through the Universe, denuding every habitable planet they find. That is the imbalance we're trying to correct...for our own sakes. We won't do it by unbalancing things further. Chemicals kill indiscriminately. Bacteria, once started, may be impossible to stop. If we want to preserve the Universe, not destroy it ourselves, the war must be fought on the simplest level possible."
"But, by that logic, aren't we the same as the Insects? I mean, aren't we spreading beyond our planet and therefore disrupting the balance?"
"Possibly. But unlike the Insects, we respect the balance and try to upset it as little as possible. If we destroyed planets to dispose of the Insects, we'd be as bad as they are. We don't. So the gamble is the possibility of our disrupting the Universe against the certainty of the Insects' doing it if left unchecked."
"You mentioned two things happened as a result of your research. What was the other?"
There was a long pause before he replied.
"I lost two teammates in the campaign against the Aquatics," he said softly. "Ridiculous situations. With a little more practice, I might have saved them. But I hadn't been practicing. I had been looking for answers to questions I had no business asking."
"Warriors die in combat."
"I know that, Hatchling, better than you ever will!"
"But there's no guarantee you could have-"
"No guarantee, but a possibility. That possibility is worth my full concentration. Kor knows that, and so should I. I'm going to check my weapons."
"But we wanted to..."
I missed the rest of the conversation. I had just been beamed by Horc. The defenses were in place. We could begin the mission.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"We're in position, Commander."
"Does Hif observe anything unusual about the boulders?"
"No. She claims they are identical in color to the rocks which abound throughout the area."
I studied the boulders in the View Screen. The Technicians had established a bank of View Screens in the fortification, allowing us to monitor the images relayed by the view-input units mounted on either the flyers or the skimmers. By this method we were able to indirectly observe whatever transpired on a patrol or assignment.
The boulder stood alone in a small field of knee-high grass. It was three meters high and roughly spherical in shape. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about it except for two things. First, it was identical to several other boulders we had observed in this area. Second, it hadn't been here two days before. However innocent it looked, this was one of our mysterious "moving boulders."
"Any reaction from the Scientist?" I beamed.
"Zome? No, he seems quite content to follow our orders."
"I meant does he have any comments on the boulder?"
"No. He is as much at a loss to explain the phenomena now as the entire Scientists' team was from studying the View Screens."
Beside me in the fortification, Tzu shifted her weight impatiently. Unable to hear the telepathic communication between Zur and me, she was doubtless wondering what the delay was. However, this time, for a change, she remained silent.
"Bracket the boulder with your skimmers and use far-focus for closer examination."
The scene in the View Screens changed as the two Skimmers moved to take positions on opposite sides of the boulder.
Now it was my turn to wait as they studied the target and telepathically discussed their observations. During the interim, I considered the scout team. I had been in conference with Horc when they departed, and this was my first opportunity to check Zurs choice and deployment of the troops.
The team included three Warriors and, reluctantly, a Scientist. We were trying to keep the Scientists inside the fortification as much as possible, minimizing the chances of losing them to an attack. Of the three teams, they were the hardest to replace and therefore the most valuable. This tactic, however, was easier to order than to enforce. The natural curiosity of the Scientists led them outside whenever opportunity presented itself or was manufactured. In this specific situation, however, I had to admit their logic was justified. Firsthand observations of a Scientist in this puzzle could be invaluable, even though so far he had not made a significant contribution.
I studied the pairings, now visible in the screens as the skimmers faced each other.
The Scientist, Zome, and Kor shared one skimmer. Because the Scientist was inexperienced, Kor would probably be controlling both the steering and the weapons. Well, if any Tzen could do it, Kor could.
Zur and Hif were teamed in the second skimmer. I supposed Hif's color-sighted ability made her a logical choice over the more experienced Vahr. Also, if they weren't included on assignments, how would the new Warriors gain experience?