The Bug Wars

CHAPTER TWO

We waited in the fortification.

Waiting seemed to be a major portion of my new position. If I had been aware of this beforehand, I might not have accepted the promotion, not that I had really been given a choice. I was the only Commander who had successfully led a force for an extended period of time on an Insect-held planet, so I was the logical choice to head this mission. Still, I did not appreciate inactivity.

The fact that both the Scientists' and Technicians' teams were also sharing my inactivity did nothing to ease my discomfort. It was taking longer than anticipated to secure the landing area, but not enough time had elapsed to justify calling for a report. Final equipment checks were completed, and like myself, the other teams were impatient for action. However, impatient or not, Warriors or not, they were still Tzen, and they didn't complain.

We all lay on gel-cushions waiting for the "clear" signal from the landing party. I was using the cushion originally intended for the third Scientist, the one who had dropped with the landing party. I must admit I found this a marked improvement over the original plan.

By that plan, I had a choice of using the turret gunner's scantily padded seat or one of the vats of gel set aside for keeping specimens. Of the choices, I preferred the third. Any one of the three, however, was better than dropping with the advance team. The acrophobia I felt when being dropped in a flyer paled to insignificance when compared to what I experienced when forced to take part in a bubble drop. Even though it was proven bubble drops were currently the most efficient means to dispatch troops from orbit, my reactions to them were so strong that I would actually be incapacitated for several precious minutes upon landing. As such, our plans included my riding down with the fortification.

"Landing area secure, Commander," Zur's voice was beamed into my mind.

Involuntarily, I touched the booster headband as I replied.

"You exceeded your time estimates, Zur. Explain."

"We had to clear a nest of Wasps from the area."

"Wasps?"

"A different species than the Coalition Wasps we exterminated, but the Scientist, Zome, felt they constituted a potential threat."

"Understood. Anything else to report?"

"No, Commander. The homing beacon is in place and activated. We're ready to cover your descent."

"Very well. Stand by."

I shifted my focus to the Technicians.

"Horc!" I beamed.

"Yes, Commander," Horc's voice answered in my mind.

"The Advance Party has cleared the landing area and set the beacon. Take command of the launchland proceedings. Krah should be standing by for your orders."

"Acknowledged, Commander."

As the final step, I raised my voice to the Scientists in the immediate area.

"Stand by to descend. The advance party has confirmed a clear landing area."

"How long before departure, Commander?" asked Tzu.

"I would estimate-"

The fortification detached itself from the bottom of the transport and began its plunge to the planet's surface.

"I withdraw the question, Commander."

It was just as well. I was unsure of my ability to complete my answer. When I stated my preferences for mode of descent, it was not meant to imply that I enjoyed the prospect of being dropped in the fortification. Rather, I found it at best a meager improvement over being dropped in a bubble. Free-fall in any vehicle is not a pleasant sensation to me. I made a mental note to inquire into the possibility of having ships land to dispatch troops instead of dropping them from orbit.

I have been told the fortification was a masterpiece of design, and that if its performance on this mission was satisfactory, it would be used as a prototype for similar installations in the future. The main body of the installation is a half-globe, ten meters in diameter, surmounted by a turret gun bay. The half-globe was hollow, and bisected by a wall, dividing the Scientists' lab from the Technicians' workshop. This entire structure was in turn mounted on a disc twenty meters in diameter and three meters thick. This disc contained the Warriors' quarters and armory as well as providing cover for the immediate perimeter of the installation. I was also told it was aerodynamically unstable and had the glide pattern of a rock.

Our descent was described to me by Horc as "not quite a glide...more like a controlled fall." This afforded me little reassurance as we waited for impact. The only comforting fact I had to cling to was that the Technicians were also on board, which meant they at least had confidence in its design.

I felt the gel-cushion surge up against me, a pause, then another surge. I deduced from this that Horc was using exterior engines, probably similar to those that powered our flyers, to slow our descent. Its surges became more frequent and longer in duration until it became one uninterrupted pressure, almost as if we were in a one and a half gravity field.

I began to relax. I should have realized that the Scientists and Technicians were less accustomed to physical hardship than the Warriors. As such, the landing would be understandably softer than those I had experienced before. This illusion was shattered as we impacted with a bone-jarring, eye-flattening crash.

There was a moment of silence as we collected our shattered minds and bodies.

Tzu broke the silence.

"Commander," she began hesitantly.

"We've crashed!" interrupted Ralik. The second of the two Scientists on board, he was of the new Hatching, color-sighted, and outspoken. "Trust the Technicians to-"

"That will be enough, Ralik," Tzu said, to stop her subordinate's tirade. "Your comments, Commander?"

Before I had time to answer, the hatch to the adjoining compartment opened and Ihr lurched into view. She was the junior member of the Technicians' team, also of the new Hatching, also outspoken.

"You might be interested to know," she informed us, "that according to the instruments, that was the softest landing this vehicle has achieved. If we had been allowed a bit more practice with the controls and time for a few polish modifications in design, we might have been able to set it down gently enough to conform to the delicate standards the other castes seem to require."

"Actually," I said before Rahk had a chance to respond, "the landing was well within our tolerance levels. Do not worry yourself about the Warriors' ability to withstand hardship, or the Scientists' either."

"Worrying about the comfort of the other castes is not one of my duties, Commander."

"lhr!"

Even from the next compartment there was no mistaking the rebuff in Horc's voice.

"Horc asks," Ihr continued hastily, "that you remain stationary while we settle the fortification."

She disappeared before I could respond. Ihr was going to be a problem. Horc had warned me that his junior member did not like the other castes, and Warriors in particular, but I had not expected her feelings to be so obvious.

I stole a glance at the two Scientists to try to interpret their reactions. They were silent, but from the focus of their eyes I suspected they were communicating telepathically. Observing their respective postures, I surmised that Tzu was reprimanding Rahk for his earlier outburst. I hastily averted my eyes so as not to betray my awareness of the situation. Tzu was a Tzen. She could and would handle her own team.

We could hear the cold-beams mounted in the base of the fortification working as we began to settle. I directed my attention to the scene outside the dome, eager for my first glimpse of this new planet.

Even though I had not been enthusiastic over landing in this or any other free-fall vehicle, now that I was down, I could admit a certain admiration of its design. The dome afforded one-way visibility of the surrounding terrain. That is, we could see out, but nothing could see in. This could be a definite advantage in a hostile environment.

The fortification was sinking steadily. I could now see some of the area around us as well as view the activities of the advance party. Neither the Scientist Zome nor Zur were to be seen, but the bulk of the Warriors' team was in full sight, stationed at scattered intervals around the fortification. Weapons at the ready, they barely glanced at us. Instead, they scanned the sky and brush for any danger while we were in this vulnerable phase of our mission. Even though their deployment appeared random and haphazard, I saw Zur's handiwork in their arrangement. Zur did not approve of stationing guards at static, regular intervals. Rather, he positioned them as necessary to cover each other's blind spots, to leave no brush tangle or erosion gully uncovered. When Zur planned a defense, I knew I could relax...that is, as much as a Warrior ever relaxes.

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."