"I am unsure as to the necessity of an explanation. Surely there are differences of opinion within the Warriors' caste? Why should you expect the Technicians to be any different. Regardless of caste, we're all still Tzen."

I considered his answer. It was logical, so logical in fact I was surprised it had never occurred to me before. "I had never considered it in that light before, Horc. The Technicians always seemed a very united, stubborn caste to me, both in attitude and opinion."

"That is not unusual, Commander. Do you recall my question about the duty of the Warriors' caste at the conference on the Ants?"

"Yes."

"Well, until then I had considered the Warriors to have a caste identity: effective, but swaggering and arrogant. Zur's admission of the limitations of his team forced me to view the Warriors differently than I had previously. Perhaps our difficulty is that prior to this mission, we only dealt with the lower echelon of each other's caste. I have observed that the lower individuals stand in their caste, the more fiercely they will defend it."

I suddenly realized I was being drawn into a much more thoughtful discussion than I cared to partake in.

"Returning to my original question, Horc, what is your opinion of the design of the skimmers?"

He hesitated before answering.

"Normally I would not criticize a project I was not working on, just as you would not criticize a campaign you had not fought in. However, as in my moment of weakness I let my feelings be known, I might as well clarify my position.

"The skimmers were modified from the water darts. That in itself indicates the High Command was concentrating on other priorities. When you modify a design instead of devising a new one, inadequacies and shortcomings are inevitable. Then you modify the modifications. The result is the kind of sloppy performance you just witnessed. In short, you invest a lot of time and effort to produce a device of dubious value. I personally would rather see the work put in on something specifically designed for the situation it will be used in."

"Then you agree the skimmers are poorly designed?" I asked.

"To a point I was surprised the Warriors accepted them."

"We didn't. Our formal protest was turned down by the High Command."

"Really?" He sounded surprised. "My respect for the Warriors is strengthened knowing that."

I decided to seize the opportunity while it presented itself.

"Realizing we are in agreement on this point, is there a chance your team could design further modifications to the skimmers?"

He thought for several moments.

"Possibly," he said at last. "Though after watching the actual performance of the craft, I would be more inclined to discontinue it completely. We could disassemble them and perhaps use the parts in another design completely."

"How long would it take for such a project?"

"I obviously can't commit to a specific time span, but with the team I have here-"

"Commander."

Tzu was beckoning from the View Screens.

"Zur wants to confer with you."

Something was wrong. Zur wouldn't need my counsel unless there was a major change in the situation.

Breaking off the conversation, I strode hurriedly to the screens, accepting the booster band as I went.

"Rahm here."

"Commander, I'd like your advice on this."

I hurriedly scanned the operational screens. They displayed a view of ridge and brush, but nothing noticeably unusual.

"Explain, Zur."

"The clump of brush by the dead tree. Examine it closely."

I did. At first I saw nothing, but as I used far-focus I saw it. An Ant.

"Kor just noticed it, Commander. It seems to be observing us."

"How long has it been there?"

"Unknown. It may have been there through our entire skirmish with the spider."

I studied the Ant, but my mind was elsewhere. Mentally, I was reviewing the briefing we had received from Tzu: intelligent...capable of understanding machinery...able to communicate with the nest.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Surprisingly enough, the Scientists did not seize upon the incident to renew their arguments for a closer study of the Ants. If anything, their efforts in that direction slackened. They even abandoned their covert monitoring of the view-input units by the anthill, leaving the View Screens unwatched for unprecedented periods of time. Instead, they pursued the mission with renewed, almost frantic energy. Not that there wasn't enough to occupy their time: there were countless specimens to collect and observe. Also, there was the spider.

After they had realized they were being observed by the Ants, the team had cut short their field studies. Instead; they had transported the spider's carcass back to the fortification, intact. This was accomplished with no small difficulty by draping this spider across one of the skimmers and piloting it back. This involved actually crawling under the body and peering from between its legs to steer. I was quite proud of the nerves of the Warriors who performed this task. It is not pleasant to spend a prolonged period of time in such close proximity with the body of an Enemy, particularly one that has come close to killing you. Still, they carried out the assignment without falter or complaint. It did cause quite a stir when they hit the defense network, though.

Zur had beamed ahead that they were coming in. He neglected to mention the spider. The Warriors on guard had not taken cover and were caught in the open when the team burst into view. When you are expecting to see a teammate, the sight of a huge spider coming out of the brush at you can be unsettling, particularly if it is skimming the ground at unnatural speed.

Only the fact that the second skimmer, unadorned, was clearly accompanying the spider averted disaster. If a Warrior is startled, he tends to react with his weapons.

I was disappointed when I learned the Scientists had almost immediately dismissed the spiders as being unsuitable as a natural enemy for the Leapers.

"Rahk, Zome, and myself all concur, Commander," stated Tzu, as if it were both a unique and final statement.

"While it will be interesting to study the exoskeleton, which was impervious to our cold-beams, and its poison will give us a definite advantage, the spiders cannot be considered a serious candidate for the desired natural enemy."

"Explain."

"First is their hunting pattern. They appear to be primarily ambush hunters, remaining in one place until a victim wanders in range before striking. This method is far too random and slow for a species we want to exterminate the Leapers.

"The size of their digestive tract also indicates a light hunter. It gives every indication of a creature which feeds only occasionally, taking long rest periods to allow the food intake to digest. Again this is unsuitable for our needs. What we are looking for is a creature or plant with a high metabolic rate, one which is driven to feed constantly and gluttonously.

"With the displayed hunting and feeding pattern, it would require capturing and transporting them in vast numbers if the tactic were to be at all successful."

"What about egg masses?" I interrupted.

"Also out of the question."

She stooped and picked up a fist-sized rock at random from the ground.

"Is this a spider egg mass?" she asked.

"No," I responded immediately.

"We Scientists are not so sure. The clusters of rocks we first observed around the spiders are actually egg masses, camouflaged like the spider itself. They are produced in a variety of sizes, apparently depending upon the feeding habits of the adult, and adhere to the sides of the female before dropping off. As I have said, they are extremely well camouflaged, to the point where we are unable to differentiate egg mass from rock until we attempt to break it."