The Bug Wars

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Request, Commander."

"Yes, Zur?" I beamed back.

"If opportunity presents itself, I would like your permission to dispose of Kor's body personally."

"What method would you propose?"

"I would use my hand blaster to obliterate her body."

"Explain."

"She was an exceptional Warrior. She deserves a better end than serving as Ant food."

"Permission granted...providing opportunity presents itself. We do not want to prematurely display the power of our weapons."

"Of course, Commander."

Trust Zur to think of details like that under the most adverse situations. Then again, Kor's body was on his side of the fortification. He and Krah would have little to do but stare at it as we waited for the attack.

Our position was tenuous at best. The tunneling from the Southwest had stopped about thirty meters out. The other three groups of Insects had not moved, though another pack of Leapers had joined the group to the Southeast.

We had opened the top of the base disc of the fortification, giving us a circular trench from which to operate. Our force was split into three two-Tzen teams: Zur and Krahn covering the group to the Southeast, Hif and Zome covering the north, and Ihr and I covering the all-Ant group to the west. Mahz at turret gun was assigned to watch for the tunnel opening when it appeared, and cover anything that emerged with his superior firepower.

I scanned the terrain to the west of our position, but could see nothing, even using far-focus. A thick stand of trees fifty meters distant obscured my view. If it were not for our Defense Network, I would be unaware of the Enemy lurking there.

I wondered what the Insects were waiting for. It was almost sunset. Perhaps they were planning a night attack. I discarded the idea. That would be too much to hope for. Besides, the Leapers were not that effective as night fighters.

"Commander." It was Mahz's voice.

"Rahm here," I beamed back.

"More Ants arriving to the west. They're moving slowly, apparently dragging something."

"Identify."

"Unknown, Commander. Large and bulky, possibly mechanical."

I didn't like the implications of that. I shot a glance at the cages of warm-bloods, still stacked in place beside the fortification. They alone seemed unmoved by the situation.

"Shuttlecraft status report?" I beamed.

"Still has not departed... Attack Alert, groups from North and Southeast closing."

"Attack Alert!" I relayed, but it was unnecessary.

The sounds of the hot-beams were deadly soft as the other two teams opened fire on the advancing Enemy. The sound was soon lost in the shriek of dying Leapers.

"Zur," I beamed, "the hot-beams are effective against the Ants?"

"Most satisfactory, Commander," came the reply.

"West group is closing, Commander," Mahz beamed. "Moving slowly."

"Confirmed," I replied.

"Enemy incoming," I said to Ihr softly.

"Ready, Commander." Ihr's voice was tight.

I reminded myself she was a Technician and as such unused to combat.

"West status report?" I beamed to Mahz.

"I can't see anything," Ihr complained, glaring through the gathering twilight shadows.

I ignored her.

"Still closing, Commander," came Mahz's report.

"They're out there," I informed Ihr.

"Then let's see them."

Before I realized what she was doing, she rose and fired blindly to the West. Her hot-beam immediately touched off a small brushfire. In its light, I could see a small group of Ants gathered behind a large piece of machinery.

"Ihr..." I began, but too late.

A ray lanced out from the Ant's machine, cutting her in half at the torso. So much for the self-styled Warrior-Technician. The beam shot out again, opening a gash in the fortification dome behind me.

"Cold-beam!" I broadcast to the other teams, kicking Ihr's body to one side.

"Shall I try for it, Commander?" came Mahz's hail.

"No! Continue watching for the tunnel."

I did not want to disclose the turret gun's presence until absolutely necessary, particularly not with cold-beams around.

I moved along the trench to my left, then cautiously raised my head for a look.

"It seems to be a large, bulky mechanism," I beamed to the force at the fortification. "Any indication of similar devices in the area?"

"Nothing on the Network," reported Mahz.

"No visual contact to the Southeast," Zur beamed.

"Nothing to the North," came Hif's voice.

The Ants were close now. I raised my hand-blaster, aimed carefully, and fired. I was rewarded by seeing the machine collapse and smoke as the attending Ants abandoned it. Then the advancing Ants were on me.

I burned two to my right, then spun and got another as it tumbled into the trench behind me. I backpedaled, burning another, not realizing until later that it had some mechanism attached to its underside, presumably a stun ray.

Such weapons might be effective to ambush patrols, but not in open combat against a Tzen of the Warrior caste. I was constantly moving, presenting an ever-shifting target to the Enemy. Twice I abandoned the trench, clearing a space in the swarm with my blaster before rolling back to relative safety.

My wedge-sword was out now, and I used it freely on living and dead foes alike as the trench became more congested with bodies. I crawled sometimes over, sometimes under the smoldering corpses of Ants in my frantic evade-and-attack pattern.

Suddenly, the flow ebbed. I realized it was dark; the scene was lit by scattered fires touched off by our hot-beams. A beam hissed out from above me, scoring heavily in the ranks of the Ants. It was Mahz, giving me cover fire from the turret gun.

"Mahz! I ordered you to cover the tunnel!"

"I stopped that thrust, Commander. They broke off the attack after I burned the first ten as they emerged."

I burned another Ant.

"Cover it anyway."

The Ants had spent a lot of time building that tunnel. I couldn't believe they would abandon it so easily. Too many battles had been lost by assuming a retreat.

"Incoming from your right, Commander," came Hif's voice, and a moment later she appeared.

"The north group?" I queried, blasting at a group of Ants by the burning tree stand.

"Eliminated. Apparently it was only a feint"

"Zome?"

"Helping Zur and Krahn," she replied.

"Change places with Krahn," I ordered.

"But, Commander..."

"I need a Technician over here." I gestured at the tree stand. "Their extinguishers are putting out the fires we need for light."

"Understood, Commander."

She moved off. I glared at the fires as they flickered out. We'd just have to rely on the firebreak to prevent widespread ecological damage. Right now we needed that light.

"Status report on the shuttlecraft?" I beamed to Mahz.

"On the way, Commander."

"Incoming from your right, Commander! and Krahn appeared. She was wobbly, but apparently taking to combat better than Ihr had.

"Do you know the exact location of the extinguishers you planted to the West?" I asked, sweep-burning three Ants that were attempting to flank us.

"Yes, Commander."

"Start burning them out with your blaster. We need those fires."

"Commander! came Mahz's voice.

"Rahm here."

"Strange readings on the tunnel. The hollow indicator shows it's lengthening, heading for the fortification, but there are no digging sounds. "

"Cold-beam! Cold-beam in the tunnel!" I broadcast.

"I'll handle it, Commander," came Hif's voice.

"Shuttlecraft is down, Commander. Twenty meters due south. "

"Evacuate at once!"

The shuttlecraft was unarmed, and I did not want it overrun.

As one, Krahn and I left the trench and began sprinting for the shuttlecraft, burning Ants as we ran.

I saw Hif by the tunnel opening. She dropped a minigrenade down the opening, stepped back to avoid the explosion, then jumped in herself, blaster at ready. She knew as well as we did there would be no returning from the tunnel, but now our withdrawal was covered from that direction.

Zur and Zome were waiting by the shuttlecraft, pouring fire into a group of Ants pressing them hard from the Southeast. Apparently the Ants had taken up the bulk of the battle after the Leapers had been eliminated.

"Where's Mahz?" I asked, turning to train my weapons on the Ants pursuing us from the West.

"Still in the gun turret, providing cover fire as ordered," replied Zur.

That had not been my intention.

"Mahz!" I beamed.

"Here, Commander."

"Set the destruct mechanism on the fortification, then put the turret gun on auto-target and withdraw."

"Confirmed, Commander."

"Shuttle pilot!" I beamed.

"Here, Commander." I was surprised to hear Horc's voice.

"Stand by for immediate takeoff when our last member reaches us."

There was a hesitation before he replied.

"Confirmed, Commander."

I realized he had been expecting to pick up a larger force than was currently in evidence.

"Concentrate cover fire for Mahz's withdrawal," I called to the rest of the team.

We could tell when the turret gun went on autotarget: It began swiveling randomly back and forth, choosing its targets by Network-triggered priority.

Mahz appeared a moment later. He had to blast his way through several Ants who apparently realized a lone Tzen was an easier target than our group by the shuttlecraft.

We concentrated our fire on the other Ants moving to block his retreat, but as so often happens with uncoordinated group fire, we missed one:

The Network was set to ignore Tzen, and it did. The turret gun swiveled and fired on the remaining Ant, coldly unheeding of the fact that Mahz was in its line of fire as it triggered the beam.