Conquerors' Heritage

4

The Elder nodded and vanished. Shifting on his couch, Thrr-mezaz looked out the window at the Human-Conqueror village and the swaying plant life beyond its borders. At first he'd rather liked the idea of having a premade headquarters to move into on Dorcas, even one of alien design and manufacture. But that comfortable feeling had eroded considerably over the past eleven fullarcs. Aside from occasional harassing raids, the Human-Conquerors were still sitting mostly silently out there in their mountain stronghold.

Far too silently. The only logical explanation was that they were preparing a major counteroffensive.

And when that assault came, Thrr-mezaz had the feeling that his Zhirrzh were going to feel badly exposed here in their borrowed dwellings. Perhaps he should try one more time to persuade Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit to let him disperse his warriors into the wooded areas surrounding the village. It would be less convenient, but far more concealed.

The Elder reappeared. " 'I don't think it's all that premature,' " he quoted Thrr-gilag's words. " 'The Humans are an extremely dangerous threat. We need to learn as much about them as we can, and the quicker the better. I just hope this mission is the right way to go about it.' "

"It sounds like you're not all that eager to go," Thrr-mezaz suggested. "Is anything specifically wrong?"

The Elder nodded again and was gone. Reaching to his desk, Thrr-mezaz activated his reader and called up the most recent update from the encirclement warships orbiting the planet. Another small Human-Conqueror spacecraft had come into the system about twenty hunbeats ago, too far away for the Zhirrzh warships to reach before it left again. It had sent laser communications at the planet, though, obviously intended for the Human-Conqueror stronghold. The messages had been unintelligible; the language experts and translators were still trying to decipher them.

The Elder returned. " 'I'm not exactly wild about going, naturally. But what bothers me most is that the Speaker for Dhaa'rr has insisted on Gll-borgiv going as Dhaa'rr alien specialist. With the unquestioning acquiescence of the Overclan Prime, I might add.' "

Gll-borgiv; Dhaa'rr. The name didn't mean anything to Thrr-mezaz. "Is this Gll-borgiv incompetent?" he asked.

He was rereading the report for the second time when the Elder returned. " 'Not incompetent as such, but nowhere near the best the Dhaa'rr have. Klnn-dawan-a could slice circles around him on her worst fullarc, just to name one.' "

Thrr-mezaz had to smile at that one. "There wouldn't be any personal bias mixed into that assessment, would there?" he asked blandly.

" 'None at all,' " the somewhat indignant answer came back a hunbeat later. " 'I've seen Klnn-dawan-a at work. She's a highly capable searcher.' "

And even if she wasn't, Thrr-mezaz suspected, Thrr-gilag would defend her abilities just as passionately. Love was like that. "Maybe she's just too far away from Oaccanv or too embroiled in some other study right now," he soothed. "That could be why the Speaker for Dhaa'rr didn't pick her."

" 'She's on Gree studying the Chig,' " the answer came back. " 'That's only a fullarc's spaceflight away. I guess what bothers me most is that my part in the fiasco on Base World Twelve may have influenced Speaker Cvv-panav's decision. It feels like the Dhaa'rr are trying to put as much distance as possible between them and me, even if it means sending less than their best to the Mrachanis.' "

Thrr-mezaz slid his tongue gently around the inside of his mouth. "Well, don't go all paranoid before you absolutely have to," he advised his brother. "Don't forget that the main reason you were assigned to this mission in the first place was that you were the only Kee'rr alien specialist close enough to Base World Twelve to get there before the Human-Conqueror prisoner arrived. Decisions get made for lots of different reasons."

The Elder nodded and vanished. Reaching to his reader, Thrr-mezaz called up the reports of the last four intrusions by Human-Conqueror spacecraft and arrayed them side by side. Four intrusions in two fullarcs, three of them in the past fullarc alone. It was surveillance, all right; surveillance and communication with the Human-Conquerors in the mountains. But in preparation for what?

Whatever it was, he doubted he was going to like it.

The Elder reappeared. " 'I suppose you're right. And I suppose I'd better let you get back to your work, too. Are you doing all right?' "

"No worse than any warrior does in enemy territory," Thrr-mezaz said dryly. "It comes with the ranking threads. But we get by." He hesitated. "Incidentally, were you planning to see Mother while you're on Oaccanv?"

The pause this time was longer, and Thrr-mezaz was picturing a puzzled frown on his brother's face when the Elder finally returned. " 'I was hoping to see her and Father both. Why? Is anything wrong?' "

"She's been having some problems," Thrr-mezaz said evasively, wishing he hadn't had to bring this up. Thrr-gilag had been with that archaeology group on Study World 15 half a cyclic ago when the whole problem really started, and it hadn't been something either he or their father, Thrr't-rokik, had wanted to trust to the gossiping of the Elder communications network. But his brother deserved to know that things there weren't right before he walked in on it. "She's moved, for one thing. I wasn't sure you knew that."

" 'No, I didn't,' " the reply came back. " 'When was this?' "

"About thirty fullarcs ago," Thrr-mezaz said. "She's in a little house just south of Reeds Village now."

Another long pause. " 'But I was talking to her right around that time, Thrr-mezaz. That was just before I was grabbed and taken to Base World Twelve to meet with the Human prisoner. She never mentioned anything about a move.' "

Thrr-mezaz sighed. "You can ask her about it when you see her," he said. "Father can give you directions to her new house. And some of the details about the move."

He'd expected another long pause, but the answer came back with only the usual delay. Clearly, Thrr-gilag had picked up that this was something private and not to be discussed via an Elder pathway. " 'All right. You be careful, my brother. Much as I'd like to see you, I'd just as soon you not arrive at the family shrine while I'm visiting.' "

"I'll be careful," Thrr-mezaz assured him. "You too, especially on this new expedition of yours."

The Elder was back a hunbeat later. " 'I will,' " he said. " 'Farewell, my brother.' "

"Farewell, Thrr-gilag," Thrr-mezaz said with a sigh. "You may release the pathway, Communicator," he added.

"I obey." The Elder vanished, returning quickly. "The pathway is released, Commander. Will there be anything more?"

"Not right now," Thrr-mezaz said. "Return to your observation duties."

A flicker of distaste might have crossed that transparent face. "I obey," he said, and vanished.

"But not happily," Thrr-mezaz murmured, turning back to his reader. A dazzling bit of understatement, really; and under the circumstances, he could hardly blame the Elders for their anger with him. They'd been brought along to serve as communicators, information pipelines between the Dorcas expeditionary force and home. Having them double as sentries had been a flick-of-the-beat idea of Thrr-mezaz's, partly a response to the limited number of warriors he'd been given and partly because it had seemed like such a good idea.

No one else had thought so, even back then. Now, with Prr't-zevisti gone, the Elders were half a beat away from open revolt, putting pressure on him to pull the pyramids back inside the perimeter, and undoubtedly making the same demands of the Overclan Seating and Warrior Command.

Thrr-mezaz sighed. No, it wasn't paranoia on Thrr-gilag's part to think the Speaker for Dhaa'rr was trying to distance his clan from the Thrr family. Between Thrr-gilag's mistakes on Base World 12 and Thrr-mezaz's own fiasco here, he wouldn't be surprised if the Kee'rr-clan leaders themselves decided to throw the family out.

And the consequences of all this were likely to hit his younger brother far more personally and deeply than Thrr-gilag had yet realized. Or at least more deeply than he was letting on.

With an effort Thrr-mezaz sliced the thought away. Thrr-gilag was his brother; but right now even the needs and future of his family must be subordinated to the task facing him here on Dorcas. Optimistic official statements to the contrary, Thrr-mezaz himself had a strong sense that this was the opening round in a long and potentially devastating war.

And in that kind of situation the actions of a simple ground-warrior commander on a minor enemy world could prove as momentous as anything else that happened across the vast reaches of space.

He pulled up a map of the land surrounding their appropriated Human-Conqueror village; and he was just settling down to search for a good place to move his encampment when the clanging of the alarm split the silence.

"Alert!" he shouted unnecessarily to the warriors in the command/monitor room, jabbing at the alarm to mute it. An Elder appeared in front of him. "Have all communicators report on enemy activity," he ordered, getting up from his couch.

"I obey," the Elder said, vanishing.

One of the warriors poked his head around the door into the office. "Signal from the Imperative, Commander," he called. "An attack force of seven midsized Human-Conqueror warcraft have entered the system. They'll be in combat range of the encirclement forces in approximately six hunbeats."

Four Elders appeared. "We find no indications of Human-Conqueror movement, Commander," one of them reported.

"There will be," Thrr-mezaz told them, heading for the door. "Have everyone spread out to the full range of their anchorlines and keep moving around. And don't watch only in the direction of the mountains—the Human-Conquerors are tricky. Let me know the instant you spot anything."

The command/monitor room was buzzing with activity. For a few beats Thrr-mezaz paused in the doorway, surveying his warriors, giving special attention to the movements of their tails. But there were no panic spins. Untried for the most part before this expedition, the beachhead attack and Human-Conqueror harassment were rapidly hardening them into combat veterans. Above them, hovering silently out of the way, a half-dozen Elders waited to run Thrr-mezaz's orders out to the perimeter warrior teams, the protector units at the four pyramids, and anyone else who was out of the optronic direct-communication circuit they'd set up within the village. The Elders themselves were unlikely to panic, fortunately. All were combat veterans, mostly from wars fought two and three generations ago against other alien enemies.

Small and inexperienced, the Dorcas expeditionary force nevertheless had good potential. Thrr-mezaz could only hope it had gathered together enough of that potential to stand against whatever was about to happen. "Report," he said, stepping into the room.

"All ground defense systems energized and standing ready, Commander," one of the warriors said. "Warrior patrols are moving to their perimeter jump points."

"We have a direct laser link now with the shipboard monitor cameras," another added.

"Good," Thrr-mezaz said. Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit and his warriors would undoubtedly be too busy to talk to him, but this way he'd at least be able to observe the space battle. "Offer them good luck, then maintain silence unless they address you."

"I obey, Commander," the warrior said, turning back to his monitor.

"So," the quiet voice of Second Commander Klnn-vavgi said from beside Thrr-mezaz. "You think this is it?"

"You mean their main counteroffensive?" Thrr-mezaz flicked his tongue in a negative. "No. What we have here, Second, is little more than a probe. A few warcraft, a simultaneous air assault, perhaps some ground warriors thrown in for good measure. A test of our strength, or of their ability to befuddle us with multiple opponents."

"Maybe." Klnn-vavgi looked around the room at the monitor stations. Thinking, perhaps, of the warriors' lack of experience. "I hope you're right."

"No, you've got that backward," Thrr-mezaz advised him dryly. "You're supposed to hope I'm wrong. That way I'll be demoted in disgrace, and you can settle down to revel in the glory of command."

"There are several highly impolite words that would reflect my opinion of such glory," Klnn-vavgi said tartly. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the right Zhirrzh for this particular hot seat, and clan politics be damned."

Thrr-mezaz smiled. There was loyalty to one's family, to one's clan, to one's warrior unit. And then there was friendship, which could supersede them all. "Thank you, my friend," he said. "I hope you feel the same way when Speaker Cvv-panav offers you my job."

"He already has," Klnn-vavgi said. "I told him what I just told you. Shouldn't we be getting the Stingbirds into the air?"

For a pair of beats Thrr-mezaz stared at him, the other's question barely registering. He'd meant that crack about Cvv-panav to be facetious, a slightly disparaging comment on the Speaker's fondness for throwing Dhaa'rr political weight around. To find out that Cvv-panav had already been trying to do exactly that...

"Commander?" Klnn-vavgi prompted.

With an effort Thrr-mezaz brought his attention back to the task at hand. As Klnn-vavgi had already said, clan politics be damned. "No," he said. "We're leaving all our aircraft right where they are."

Klnn-vavgi's midlight pupils contracted noticeably. "Commander, if I may recommend—"

"We're leaving them where they are, Second," Thrr-mezaz repeated, glancing up at the group of silent Elders above him. They'd heard the whole exchange, of course, which probably meant that in a couple of fullarcs the Elders of all eighteen worlds would know that the Speaker for Dhaa'rr had tried to have him replaced. Should make for some interesting discussions. "Seriously, Klnn-vavgi, it's really our best strategy," he continued. "Our ground defenses should be adequate to handle anything they have except those two Copperhead warriors. I want to hold the Stingbirds in reserve against the fullarc that we find a way to deal with those."

"Excuse me, Commander," an Elder said, leaving the hovering group and moving in front of him. "I have to say that I stand with Second Commander Klnn-vavgi in recommending we lift the Stingbirds. This looks disturbingly like the same entrapment situation the Chig used against us in the Battle of Ko Roaddo. I was there, in a ground force consisting of—"

"The Battle of Ko Roaddo was nothing like this," Thrr-mezaz interrupted, resisting the urge simply to tell him to shut up and get back to his post. If he had a tentharc's leave for every time some Elder insisted on giving him sage advice based on out-of-date experience, he'd be retired with high honors by now. "For one thing, these aren't Chig. For another, the Copperhead warriors are too valuable for their commander to waste."

"You don't know that he thinks that way," the Elder argued. "It wouldn't necessarily be wasting them, either. If the Copperhead warriors would give him victory, he'd be a fool not to use them."

"And if he does send them in," a second Elder added, moving in to back up his associate, "they'd be here before we could even get the Stingbirds off the ground."

"A victory down here would be meaningless as long as the encirclement is intact over his head," Thrr-mezaz said. "He must surely know that."

"I still stand with Second Commander Klnn-vavgi," the first Elder insisted.

"Good," Klnn-vavgi put in. "Because Second Commander Klnn-vavgi stands with his commander. The decision has been properly made; the order has been duly given. Now return to your duties."

Glowering, the two Elders moved back to the communicator group. "Thank you," Thrr-mezaz muttered.

"They mean well," Klnn-vavgi muttered back. "For whatever that's worth. You're right, though: their commander is surely smart enough not to risk his Copperhead warriors. Certainly not while our encirclement denies him replacements for them."

"Which is really the key point here," Thrr-mezaz said. "If our warships lose their phase of the battle, those Copperhead warriors are indeed likely to make an appearance. We'll have to keep close watch on that."

"Agreed," Klnn-vavgi said grimly. "So it's all up to Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit."

Thrr-mezaz glanced around the monitors. "There should be plenty for all of us to do."

"Commander?" one of the warriors called. "The Human-Conqueror warcraft have reached the encirclement. All warships are engaging."

"Acknowledged," Thrr-mezaz said, moving forward a few steps for a better view of the monitors. The Human-Conquerors had launched their explosive missiles, with their fighter warcraft following close behind. The Zhirrzh warships were responding with laser fire, targeting first on the missiles and second on the fighter warcraft. "What about their Elderdeath weapons?" he asked.

"No sign of them, Commander," the warrior said. "Not from either the warcraft or the missiles."

"Odd," Klnn-vavgi murmured. "You'd think they'd use those right from the start to try to cut off our communications. That's certainly what they did against the survey ships."

"Book Lesson Number One," Thrr-mezaz said. "The enemy will seldom accommodate your preconceptions of him. Stay alert; the ground commander could launch his attack anytime."

The words were barely out of his mouth when an Elder appeared. "They're coming, Commander," he said. "Three aircraft approaching from the southwest. Treetop height; range approximately fifteen thoustrides."

"Have someone keep watch on them," Thrr-mezaz ordered. "Are the warriors at the south and west jump points ready?"

The Elder vanished, reappearing a few beats later. "All three teams are ready," he reported.

"Tell them to stand quiet," Thrr-mezaz said. "They're not to attack without orders unless they're in immediate danger. Detail two Elders to run liaison and communication for each team; the rest will maintain surveillance."

"I obey," the Elder said, and again vanished.

"Alert the ground defense stations," Thrr-mezaz ordered the warrior at the appropriate monitor. "Prepare to repulse enemy aircraft."

"I obey, Commander."

"You're expecting them to send ground warriors in behind the aircraft?" Klnn-vavgi asked.

"I think there's a good chance they will," Thrr-gilag said. "That's why I ordered the perimeter warriors to stand quiet. No point in blatantly giving away their positions by firing on the aircraft."

"Especially since they probably wouldn't hit them anyway," Klnn-vavgi agreed. "I wonder how they were able to move those aircraft that far from the mountains without the encirclement warships spotting them."

"Slowly and carefully, no doubt," Thrr-gilag said. "Now that we know they can do that, we'll have to watch for it."

"Commander, laser scan has picked up the aircraft," one of the warriors spoke up. "Defenses ranging on them."

"They've veered off," someone else said. "Cutting back around—" He threw Thrr-mezaz a sharp look. "Heading directly for the southern pyramid."

"All ground defenses open fire," Thrr-mezaz ordered. "Communicator: probable air attack on southern pyramid. Order guards there to fire at will on enemy aircraft."

"I obey," one of the Elders said, and vanished.

"Everyone keep sharp," Thrr-mezaz warned the others, his eyes skipping across the monitors. "They've got something else under their tongues. Bet on it."

An Elder appeared. "Southern-pyramid guards have opened fire on the enemy aircraft. No apparent damage."

"The pyramid itself?"

"The aircraft don't seem to be firing." The Elder disappeared, was back three beats later. "Enemy aircraft have passed over the pyramid and left. Still without firing."

"Keep close watch," Klnn-vavgi said. "They may be back."

"I obey, Second Commander."

The Elder vanished; and as he did so, another popped into view. "Five enemy ground warriors have been spotted, Commander," he said, his tone edged with apprehension. "Two thoustrides northeast of the northern pyramid."

"Show me," Thrr-mezaz ordered, stepping over to a monitor that showed an aerial view of the village and surrounding terrain.

"Here," the Elder said, pointing a transparent tongue at a low ridge that ran roughly east to west a few thoustrides north of the village. "They're following behind this ridge," he added, tracing out a westward line.

"Heading for the pyramid, you think?" Klnn-vavgi suggested.

"Or else trying to use that ridge and those others as cover for an approach on the village." Thrr-mezaz frowned at the overview monitor, flicking his tongue out thoughtfully. "Or else..."

"Signal from Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit," one of the warriors called. "The Human-Conquerors have launched a group of fighter warcraft away from the battle, heading toward the planet surface."

"How far away are they?" Thrr-mezaz asked, crossing to him.

"Approximately eight thousand thoustrides," the warrior said. He indicated them on his monitor, a somewhat jumpy picture obviously being fed directly from one of the Imperatives optical viewers. "They're cutting down and away from both us and the Human-Conquerors' mountain stronghold."

"Going to drop straight to the surface and come in at low altitude from there," Klnn-vavgi muttered.

"And if they reach the lower atmosphere, the warships' lasers aren't going to be able to get them," Thrr-mezaz agreed. "Has Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit detailed a warship to intercept them?"

"The message didn't say," the warrior said. "But they may not be able to spare one right now."

Thrr-mezaz felt his tail speed up slightly as he studied the monitors. The warrior was right; the encirclement forces were taking a beating. Despite the Zhirrzh laser defenses, far too many of the Human-Conqueror missiles were getting through, their powerful concussive blasts sending devastating shock waves straight through the nearly indestructible ceramic hulls and into the more delicate structures and equipment within. Enough of this kind of pummeling, and the Zhirrzh warships would be turned to hard-shelled jelly.

Still, the prognosis was hardly desperate. Even as the Zhirrzh warships suffered under the Human-Conquerors' battering, their attack lasers were steadily ripping away at the softer composite metal hulls of the enemy warcraft and cutting a swath through the swarm of fighter warcraft. "Signal to Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit," he said. "Urgently request that he detail one of his warships to attack the Human-Conqueror fighter warcraft before they reach atmosphere. Second, order the Stingbirds to lift for interception."

"I obey, Commander," Klnn-vavgi said, stepping over to the Stingbird monitor.

Thrr-mezaz turned back to the Imperatives monitor; and as he did so, a half-dozen laser flashes lanced out toward the fighter warcraft diving toward the surface. "Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit seems to have acceded to your request, Commander," the warrior said. "The Requisite is dropping to intercept."

Another salvo of laser fire lanced out. Thrr-mezaz frowned hard at the monitor, wishing he had a better view of what was happening. "Communicator, have one of the Elders go straight up to his anchorline limit," he ordered. "I want to know if he can see anything."

"I obey."

"The Stingbirds are in the air," Klnn-vavgi reported, stepping back to Thrr-mezaz's side. "Anything on the fighter warcraft?"

"The Requisite is attacking them," Thrr-mezaz told him. "I've ordered an Elder to his anchorline limit to see if he can see anything."

Klnn-vavgi snorted gently. "If they get that close, we're already in trouble."

"True," Thrr-mezaz conceded. "Still, five thoustrides straight up should give him considerably less atmosphere to have to look through. He might at least be able to catch a glimpse of the Requisites laser fire. Stay on this one for me, Second. If those warcraft make it to the surface, we're in trouble."

"Right."

Thrr-mezaz moved over to the overview monitor. "Communicator, get me an update on those ground warriors."

An Elder appeared. "They appear to be changing direction," he reported, pointing to a spot. "They're behind this ridge now, moving slightly north of west."

Thrr-mezaz frowned at the monitor. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Get me a confirmation."

The Elder vanished, was back a half-dozen beats later. "Confirmed," he said, jabbing his tongue at the monitor again. "This is their position, and they're moving this direction."

"Thank you," Thrr-mezaz murmured, moving his tongue thoughtfully back and forth inside his mouth. Confirmed... only it didn't make any sense.

"Commander, the Requisite reports all the approaching Human-Conqueror fighter warcraft are out of the air," Klnn-vavgi called. "Either destroyed outright or crashed and presumed destroyed. I have two Stingbirds on their way to the projected crash site to confirm."

Thrr-mezaz felt some of the tension leave his tail. At least that threat had been neutralized. "Acknowledged, Second. Have two more standing ready as backup if enemy aircraft head that direction. And warn them to keep sharp. If the Human-Conquerors think they can salvage anything from the wreckage, we might see those Copperhead warriors after all."

"Right." Klnn-vavgi murmured an order to the warrior at the Stingbird monitor, then came over to join Thrr-mezaz. "Looks like the main Human-Conqueror attack force is preparing to disengage, too. What's left of them, anyway." He gestured at the overview monitor. "What are the ground warriors doing?"

"What they're mostly doing is not making any sense," Thrr-mezaz growled. "At last report they were here, moving along behind this ridge."

Klnn-vavgi frowned. "Where are they going?"

"Good question," Thrr-mezaz agreed. "They're not really getting any closer to either the northern pyramid or the village."

"Could this be the only route with adequate cover?" Klnn-vavgi suggested doubtfully.

"No," Thrr-mezaz said. "That's the whole point: it's not. This ridge here—see it? Leads almost due southwest, right over to this group of hills. At least as much cover as they've got now, and they'd end up in a line-of-sight position over the village. Or they could follow this other ridge over here and make their way to the pyramid."

"Maybe they're just lost," Klnn-vavgi sniffed. "Shall I send a couple of Stingbirds to chase them away?"

Thrr-mezaz gazed at the monitor, trying to think himself into the aliens' footsteps. All right. If they were heading for either the village or the northern pyramid, they weren't doing a very good job of it. Could they have merely been part of the Human-Conquerors' feint, like the aircraft that had overflown the south pyramid? Something else to keep the Zhirrzh ground warriors occupied while those reinforcement warcraft tried to sneak in?

Or was that merely what they were hoping he would think? Could the aircraft—maybe even the fighter warcraft—have actually been the distraction for the ground mission? Were they even now making their way toward some important objective, something outside the village itself?

"They had two high-power Elderdeath weapons operating when we first arrived," Thrr-mezaz said, tapping the shoulder of the warrior at the monitor. "Show me where those were."

"Yes, Commander," the warrior said, fingers and tongue flicking across the keyboard. A beat later two flashing spots appeared superimposed on the view, one at the northern edge of the village, the other on a hill a few thoustrides west of it. "The heavy air-assault craft destroyed both of them at the beginning of the invasion," the warrior added.

"Yes, I know," Thrr-mezaz said. But the Human-Conquerors had already demonstrated that they had small, portable Elderdeath weapons on hand. If they had another of the high-power versions hidden out there somewhere...

"Do you want me to send the Stingbirds?" Klnn-vavgi prompted.

Thrr-mezaz flicked out his tongue. Time for a command decision... and a command gamble. "No," he said. "Let's let them go a little farther. See if we can figure out where they're going."

He sensed the flick of Klnn-vavgi's tail. "I'm not sure that would be a wise idea," the second commander said. "We've already seen that some of their explosive weapons don't rely on line of sight. If we let them get too close, they could do considerable damage."

"I realize that," Thrr-mezaz said. "I think it's worth the risk."

"Commander, if I may suggest—"

"Commander, the enemy warcraft are withdrawing," one of the warriors called.

Thrr-mezaz looked over at the Imperative's optical-viewer feed in time to see the last of the Human-Conqueror warcraft flicker away. It was over, at least for now. "See if you can find out how extensive the damage to our warships was," he instructed the warrior.

"Yes, Commander," the other acknowledged. "It'll probably take a while, though—they're going to be busy up there. Just a beat... Commander, the Imperative reports that there was a series of laser-communication signals to the surface just before the Human-Conquerors withdrew."

Final messages. Or final orders. "Understood," Thrr-mezaz said. "Keep a close watch; the Human-Conquerors may have a second wave on its way."

"I don't think so," Klnn-vavgi said. "The ground warriors seem to have given up."

Thrr-mezaz turned to find an Elder hovering beside Klnn-vavgi. "Are you sure?"

"They've moved back to this point, Commander," the Elder said, indicating a spot. He vanished, reappeared—"They're here now. Moving back the way they came."

And moving pretty quickly, if the Elder was marking their position correctly. "Check and see if they're carrying anything they didn't have before," he instructed the Elder. "Or whether they seem to have left anything behind."

"I obey," the Elder said, vanishing. A handful of beats later he was back. "No to both questions," he said. "At least nothing larger than hand-sized. Do you want us to try to make a closer examination?"

"No need," Thrr-mezaz said. The Elders wouldn't have had a detailed list of what the Human-Conquerors had carried in, anyway. "Looks like they've aborted their mission. Whatever it was."

"There's still plenty of time to hit them before they get to the mountains," Klnn-vavgi pointed out. "With the Stingbirds or either of the two teams of ground warriors we've got on their flanks. Shall I give the orders?"

Gently, Thrr-mezaz rubbed his tongue against the inside of his mouth. Tactically, of course, the Second Commander's suggestion was certainly the thing to do. Every enemy warrior destroyed was one less warrior to threaten their beachhead. Plus the intangible but inevitable damage it would inflict on Human-Conqueror morale.

And if they hit the ground team now, before they got another half thoustride away, the Zhirrzh warriors would have the advantage of instant targeting and tactical information from the Elders anchored at the north pyramid. It would be a chance to prove to the skeptics, from Supreme Ship Commander Dkll-kumvit all the way up to Warrior Command, that using Elders as sentries this way was a sound and practical military tactic. A way finally to silence the rumblings of criticism and contempt that had been circling his head ever since the theft of Prr't-zevisti's fsss cutting.

Yes, he could easily destroy them. But if he did, they might never try this again. Whatever it was they were trying...

"No," he told Klnn-vavgi. "Let them go."

The low buzz of conversation around them vanished into silence. "Excuse me?" Klnn-vavgi asked carefully.

"We're letting them go," Thrr-mezaz repeated, turning away from the monitor. "We'll have the Elders watch them, of course, and I'll want both the ground warriors and the Stingbirds standing ready. But as long as they continue to head away from the village and the pyramids, we don't attack."

Klnn-vavgi cleared his throat. "With the Commander's permission—"

"They were up to something out there, Second," Thrr-mezaz said. "Something important. I want to make sure they feel secure enough to try it again."

"Understood," Klnn-vavgi said, his tone making it clear that he didn't understand at all. "What are you all sitting around for?" he added, throwing a quick glare around the room at the warriors watching them. "We have damage assessments to make, Stingbirds to service, and warriors to redeploy. And the Human-Conquerors might still decide to fight over the wreckage of those fighter warcraft. Get busy."

The warriors turned back to their monitors. Klnn-vavgi glared at them another couple of beats, then stepped to Thrr-mezaz's side. "This is risky, Thrr-mezaz," he said quietly. "And I don't mean just from a tactical standpoint. I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I," Thrr-mezaz agreed. "History will have to pass the final judgment."

"That won't stop a thousand clan Speakers from writing their own versions of it."

"They'll be doing that whatever decisions I make at this point," Thrr-mezaz said. "The Thrr family is in political trouble, and there are going to be a lot of Zhirrzh scrambling to capitalize on that. That's the nature of politics."

"I suppose so," Klnn-vavgi said reluctantly. "It really shouldn't be allowed in wartime, though. I just hope Warrior Command has enough stiffening not to cave in to the whims of the Overclan Seating."

"I think they do," Thrr-mezaz said, sliding his tongue thoughtfully across the roof of his mouth. "There's been something different about Warrior Command these past few fullarcs. They've become more serious than I've ever heard them before."

"You know, I've been thinking the same thing," Klnn-vavgi said slowly. "The first few fullarcs after the survey ships were attacked, everything coming out of Warrior Command was all bright and brisk and businesslike. Cheerful, even, as if they were really looking forward to taking on this new challenge. And then suddenly it all changed."

Thrr-mezaz nodded. The messages and orders had suddenly become terse and grim, and Warrior Command had begun scrambling together new expeditionary forces to throw at the new enemy.

And so there they sat, underequipped, overvulnerable, trying to hold on to a barely tenable beachhead on a clearly minor Human-Conqueror world, while similarly underequipped and overvulnerable expeditionary forces did the same on other Human-Conqueror worlds.

Why?

"They know something, Klnn-vavgi," Thrr-mezaz said quietly. "Something they've learned about the Human-Conquerors that's got them scared. Something they can't or won't tell us."

"Could be." Klnn-vavgi snorted under his breath. "Then again, maybe some genius there has only just gotten around to counting and realized we're eighteen worlds against the Human-Conquerors' twenty-four."

"Maybe," Thrr-mezaz said. "If the data in that Human-Conqueror recorder can be believed, anyway. Personally, I'm not convinced the thing wasn't a deliberate deception. Planting a recorder loaded with disinformation would be just the sort of thing a devious conqueror race might do. Maybe this mission to the Mrachanis isn't so premature after all."

"The Mrach—? Oh, right. Those new aliens. That mission's confirmed to fly, then?"

"That's what I hear," Thrr-mezaz said. "I want you to keep close track of the Stingbirds heading out to the warcraft wreckage. It's still possible the ground warriors were nothing but an attempt to distract us."

"Maybe." Klnn-vavgi looked back at the overview monitor. "What do you think they were really up to?"

"I don't know," Thrr-mezaz said. "But I can't help noticing that that's the same general area they were in when they took Prr't-zevisti's cutting."

"Interesting point," Klnn-vavgi said slowly. "I'd assumed they were there that time to get a look at the pyramid. You think there's something hidden out there that they want?"

"Or else they're trying to plant some non-line-of-sight weapon in position," Thrr-mezaz said. "Or trying to gain access to an underground supply or tunnel system. All we know for sure is that it's important to them." He flicked his tongue. "And I don't want them waiting until they've gathered so much strength that we won't have a hope of stopping them."

Klnn-vavgi snorted. "Under the circumstances, I hardly think that's likely."

"Unfortunately, circumstances seldom stay constant for long," Thrr-mezaz countered dryly.

"Point," Klnn-vavgi conceded. "All right, I'll go watch the Stingbirds. What about you?"