I was mildly surprised to see Eehm, the third Technician, at work outside the fortification. She must have left the fortification as soon as it had touched down. Apparently Horc shared Zur's near fanatical obsession with effective deployment of troops. Eehm was busy unrolling the wires that were to be our outer perimeter alarm system. She was intent in her work, ignoring everything but the job at hand. This could be both good and bad. It was good because she was not allowing herself to be distracted, she wasn't worrying about doing the Warriors' job for them. It was bad because in Enemy terrain, no one can afford to completely ignore one's surroundings.
The sound of the cold-beams ceased. The upper surface of the disc was now level with the ground. The fortification was secure.
"We're not level!" Rahk was looking at a small instrument balanced on the floor next to his gel-cushion.
I didn't bother wondering what it was or where it came from. Scientists carry instruments the way Warriors carry weapons.
"I trust it will not seriously impair the performance of your duties?" I asked.
"We are used to working around the shortcomings of the Technicians," Tzu assured me.
"Commander!" Horc's head appeared in the hatch. "Could I see you a moment?"
He swept the Scientists with his eyes. If he noticed the instrument on the floor, he gave no indication.
"If you'll retain your places, we should be done in another few minutes."
He disappeared before they could respond. Technicians seem particularly skillful at timely retreats. I rose and followed him.
"Down here, Commander!" His voice came up to me from the armory.
I descended the ramp and found him bent over, unbolting a hatch in the floor.
"I see the Scientists didn't waste any time discovering we were out of level," he said, not looking up from his work.
"You heard?"
"It wasn't necessary to hear them. I saw the Q-Box on the floor."
"The what?"
"The Q-Box. The instrument they were using to check level. The Technicians built it for them, so of course they use it to criticize our work."
"Do you find the Scientists difficult to work with?"
"No worse than the Warriors." He paused in his labors to look at me directly. "You see, Commander, as a Warrior, you've been relatively isolated from the other castes. The Technicians, on the other hand, have to deal with both Scientists and Warriors as part of their normal work. Had I been asked, I would have said a Technician should head this mission if for no other reason than his ability to deal with the other castes."
He abruptly returned to his work. I was beginning to find the Technicians' habit of ending conversations before rebuttal vaguely annoying.
He lifted the hatch and set it aside. He stuck his head into the inky hole as his hand went to a mechanical box attached to his belt at the small of his back. The hiss and blinding light of a cold-beam filled the armory, startling me with its suddenness.
Horc grunted and pulled his head out of the hatch as the beam died.
"I was afraid of that. The number six beam is malfunctioning."
As he spoke, he detached the box from his belt and began adjusting dials and setting slides.
"Here, Commander," he said, handing me the box.
"When I give you the word, trip the far left switch."
"Me? What about Ihr?"
"She's busy dismantling the control panel. That's why we're using the remote unit. It's not difficult, Commander, just trip the switch when I signal you."
With that he slid through the hatch and disappeared
I felt immensely uncomfortable waiting there with the strange device in my hands. The myriad of dials and levers on its surface were completely foreign to me.
Taking care not to change my grip or touch any of the controls, I turned the unit over to examine it more closely.
My action was answered by a flash and hiss from below as the cold-beams activated.
For the first time in my career, I froze. Horc was still under the beams! My curiosity had triggered the box! I had killed one of my teammates!
As abruptly as they had started, the beams stopped. A heartbeat later, Horc slid out of the hole and began replacing the hatch lid.
"We are now level, Commander, and any Tzen that wishes to dispute it should-"
He broke off, looking at me for the first time.
"Is something wrong, Commander?"
I forced my voice to remain level.
"You didn't signal."
"Oh, that! No insubordination intended. The problem was not as difficult as I anticipated, so I flattened into a dead zone and triggered the beams manually. I was under the impression you were reluctant to handle the controls, so I did it myself."
"In the future, Horc," I intoned, "if you or any of your team set a plan of action, you would be well advised to follow it. We are in a Combat Zone, and failure to communicate could be disastrous."
"I'll remember that, Commander." He bent to finish his task.
I decided to let the matter drop. If I pursued it further, Horc might realize my anger was more from relief than from concern for proper procedure.
"If my usefulness here is over, I'll give the `all clear' to the Scientists. They are probably most eager to begin their work."
"Of course, Commander."
I started for the ramp, only to be met halfway by Ihr.
"Commander, the advance party is trying to get your attention."
I hurried past her up the ramp. Now that I was not concentrating on Horc's work, I could detect Zur's signal.
"Rahm here, Zur," I beamed.
"Commander, we have a problem here which requires your attention."
I was about to tell him to wait while I passed the movement permission on to the Scientists, then observed they were already moving about readying their lab for operation.
"Explain the nature of the problem."
I had visual contact with Zur even if he couldn't see me through the dome. He was standing in a small conference group that included him, Mahz, and the Scientist Zome.
"We have lost one of the Technicians."
CHAPTER THREE
"How did the Technician die, Commander?"
"That is not necessary information for you to perform your duties, Commander." My head hurt from the prolonged use of the booster band. "Simply drop a replacement as soon as it is possible."
"I will have to deny your request, Commander," came Krah's voice in reply. "I do not have the personnel to spare."
"Perhaps you are right, Krah. Perhaps you should be more closely apprised of the situation." I realized I was starting to flatten my head in annoyance which was a pointless gesture, as Krah was still in orbit above us and therefore unable to observe the gesture.
"The situation is this. I am in command of this mission, including the ship's personnel. In that capacity, I am not requesting, I am ordering you to drop a replacement for the dead Technician. Further, I happen to know you're overstaffed by two members. This was specifically planned by myself and The High Command. Do you know why?"