It was admittedly unfair criticism, but Tzu seemed insensitive to it.

"Very well, Commander. But I will again stress the importance of field expeditions at the earliest possible time. Firsthand observation will enable us to direct our research to the most promising candidates, rather than attempting to study everything and hope to find our target by random chance."

I left her then, as there was nothing else to say on the subject. I sought out Horc, at work in the Technicians' lab. I could have beamed contact with him; but for this discussion, I wanted personal interface.

"Is the View Screen ready yet, Horc?" I queried.

"Shortly, Commander," he replied, not looking up from his labors. "The arm-units are complete, if you wish to distribute them."

"I'll see that it's taken care of. Is the new Technician acceptable?"

"Krahn? Quite acceptable, Commander. She'll be performing at less than peak efficiency, but that would be expected of any team member introduced at this late point in the mission."

He continued working without pause. I hesitated, casting about for a tactful manner in which to broach the next subject. Failing to find one, I simply took the approach that was most efficient.

"If I could have your undivided attention for a moment, Horc, there is a matter I would like to discuss with you."

"Certainly, Commander."

He set aside his instruments and met my gaze directly. Faced by this intent focus, I was suddenly ill-at-ease.

"Horc, you lost a team member today. Situations were such at the time I was unable to have private words with you on the matter. Though perhaps excusable, this was still negligence on my part as a Commander. To correct that situation, I have now set aside time to discuss the matter. Has the incident upset you or your team in any way? Should we make allowances for recovery time?"

"No, Commander. Aside from the extra time to brief the new team member which I have already noted to you, we require no special consideration."

"I am speaking here of your feelings in total, Horc. I wish to be informed if you harbor any resentment towards the Warriors' team for failing to provide sufficient protection, or-"

"Allow me to explain a little about the Technicians, Commander," interrupted Horc. "And perhaps it will clarify our position. Death is no more a stranger to the Technicians than it is to the Warriors, or, I suspect, the Scientists. Workshop accidents are a common occurrence, and they are frequently fatal. It is our job currently to find practical and safe applications for alien concepts and machinery, and in the process many are injured or killed. As an example, were you aware we lost over two hundred Technicians perfecting the design of the flyers?"

"No, I wasn't," I admitted.

"Few outside our caste are. Mind you, I'm not complaining. It's our duty, just as fighting the Enemy is yours. I am merely illustrating that this is not the first time we've lost a teammate. The main difference between your situation and ours is that we've never developed a combat zone comradery."

"A what?"

"A combat zone comradery. Unlike the Warriors, we are seldom in a position of working with teammates who have saved our lives. I would imagine that because of that, the Warriors feel a certain obligation to each other."

"The last Warrior who saved my life in battle was named Ssah. I killed her in a duel immediately after the mission was completed."

"I see," he said, apparently taken aback. "Perhaps I have overestimated my personal theories, and in doing so underestimated the Warriors."

"In the Warriors we react negatively to needless death, particularly if it was caused by carelessness or incompetence."

"In that, you are not unlike the Technicians. To reply to your original question, if there was any carelessness involved in Eehm's death, it was her own. As such, we neither mourn her passing, nor harbor any grudges against the Warriors."

"Very well. Then we will consider the subject closed. I apologize for distracting you from your work, but I wanted to deal with the matter as soon as possible."

"No damage done, Commander. We are well ahead of schedule on the View Screen. If you wish to pass the word to ready the flyers, the screen should be ready by the time they can take off."

"Excellent. The Scientists have been anxious to proceed with the mission."

"If I might comment, Commander?"

"Proceed."

"We Technicians have had more contact with the Scientists than the Warriors. They are a pushy lot given opportunity, and frequently short-sighted for all their wisdom. Though I expressed my feelings that I felt a Technician should lead this mission, I would add to that the observation that in lieu of a Technician, I feel much more confident of the success of the mission with a Warrior in command than I would with a Scientist in charge. In my opinion, you should trust your judgment over theirs."

"I had planned to Horc, but I will keep your comments in mind."

I strapped one of the arm-units on, and, picking up two more, went looking for Zur. Discussion was fine, but it was time we got this mission underway.

Zur and I stood watching as the two flyers departed. Arm-units had now been issued to all team members, and as promised the View Screen was functional.

Mahz and Vahr were piloting the craft. I would have sent Kor instead of Vahr, but Vahr was a competent Warrior and a veteran of the Wasp campaign, and Kor was a valuable asset to fortification defenses.

"Shall we watch their progress at the View Screen, Commander?" suggested Zur.

Even though our arm-units could monitor all data fed to the View Screen, the larger screen would afford better monitoring. I signaled my agreement by starting for the fortification.

The flyers we had used in the Wasp campaign seemed crude when compared to the craft Mahz and Vahr were piloting. The new flyers had been modified to allow vertical takeoff and landing, a feature that would have negated the crash landing and jury-rig drop takeoff of our last mission. More important for the immediate assignment, the new flyers were each outfitted with three view-input units. These would scan the terrain the fliers passed over and feed the images directly back into the View Screen data banks for storage and/or immediate viewing. With proper cuing, the View Screen arm-units could then either display the entire area or give a close-up of a specific portion. This gave each member instant access to a three-dimensional pictorial map of our terrain once the data was input.

Horc and Tzu were already at the View Screen when Zur and I arrived. That was one of the effortless parts of being a Tzen Commander. If something really important was happening, you seldom had to call a meeting. The staff would gravitate to the key point on their own.

The four of us watched silently as the map formed on the View Screen. So far it was identical with our existing data, but it was good to have it confirmed.

"Horc!" I said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Commander?"

"This ravine." I tapped the appropriate portion of the screen. "We're going to need some way of getting across it.

"An arc bridge?"

"A cable would be better. That and a jump ramp for skimmers. What we want is something we can cross, but the Leapers can't."

"Understood, Commander. We'll start on it as soon as we can get a Technician there for a firsthand look."

"Would additional close-ups help?"

"It would be advantageous."

I slipped on my booster band.

"Mahz!" I beamed.

"Yes, Commander!"

"The ravine you're approaching...after you've completed your preliminary sweep we would like some close-ups of the rim."

"Confirmed, Commander!"

As I started to remove the band, I noticed Tzu was checking something on her arm-unit.