"Update status as conditions change, but report directly to Zur."

"Confirmed, Commander."

"Zome!" I called softly.

"Here, Commander."

"Examine Kor and stand by to report."

"Confirmed."

He moved to Kor's body.

"Ihr! Analysis of Kor's report."

There was no response.

"Ihr!"

"Yes, Commander. I...in a moment."

I started to press her, then realized she was taking Kor's death badly.

"Ignore it," I beamed to her. "Make your report. You are acting head of the Technicians.

"But Commander," she beamed back, "the last thing I said to Kor...before she was captured...I said I thought the Warriors-"

"Warrior or Technician, she was a Tzen. So are you. Now report."

"But-"

"She's dead...and the rest of us could be the same unless we learn from her report. Now give your analysis!"

"The Ant's technology is apparently inferior to our own. The View Screen described indicates two things. First, they have not yet mastered direct input methods. Stick figures as opposed to full visuals indicate a display of manually input statistics. It is possible that there are several input stations, and also the possibility of several viewing screens displaying common data. It seems unlikely, however, that they would content themselves with representative figures if full visuals were possible.

"Secondly, they are apparently unable to modify equipment." Her voice was strengthening as she continued. "The fact that our teammates could observe the screen from a distance would imply it was a light display. This feature is probably unnecessary to the dark-dwelling Ants. The fact they have not modified this to their own use, despite the fact they have had access to the First Ones' technology longer than we have, indicates a low technical ability."

"Could it be," I interrupted, "that they did not anticipate another species penetrating that far into their nests? That would make a modification for an unlighted display an unnecessary expenditure of time."

"Being familiar with the design of View Screens, I can definitely state that visual light displays are more difficult to build and operate. To a being with technical knowledge, an unlit display would be a simple modification, and one which would ease both construction and operation. As they have not made that modification, I feel it indicates they do not fully understand the principle of the machinery they are operating, and are simply imitating what has been done before."

"Understood. Proceed."

"The stun rays are another example of faulty technology. There are far more effective methods for an Insect to employ a weapon than slinging it under its body. Used in the current manner, it would be extremely difficult to aim on uneven terrain. What is more, to use it when firing from cover would mean the Ant would have to expose itself completely to the Enemy before its weapon could be brought into play."

"How would you explain the fact that they have a weapon not currently in our arsenal?"

"You would have to ask the Scientists, Commander. To the best of my knowledge, however, the Technicians have never been asked to construct one."

"Zome! Your comments and analyses?"

"Kor is dead, Commander."

"Yes, I assumed as much. Now your analysis."

"None of her injuries seem to be caused by any mechanical weapon. From this we can assume that unless specifically prepared for combat, the Ants rely upon their natural weapons."

"As to the stun ray, while the Scientists are not currently aware of such a weapon, it is logically a device such as would have been employed by the First Ones. It could have been passed over in their notes as being unsuitable to our purposes. Tzen will usually either kill an organism or leave it alone."

"It would be useful on missions such as this, when we are assigned to capture live specimens," I commented.

"That is true, Commander, but investigative expeditions such as this are a relatively new venture. Stun rays could have been discarded and forgotten before the need for these missions was known."

"Possibly. Proceed with your report."

"The examination described by Kor indicates prior knowledge of Tzen anatomy. This means the Ants have either obtained data from our earlier campaigns here, or that we have finally discovered what happened to Sirk. In either case, it shows the Ants are also capable of investigative study. They are both aware of the Tzen, and eager for additional data. This last is demonstrated by the fact they were willing to risk attempting to capture live and armed Tzen to obtain subjects for study. We will have to assume if they are intelligent enough to do that, they are intelligent enough to use what they learn."

I waited for a moment to be sure he had completed. his report.

"Mahz!" I beamed.

"Here, Commander."

"Resume reporting updates directly to me."

"Confirmed, Commander."

"Zur, report and analyze."

"There are currently three groups of Insects in the immediate vicinity. From their position and actions, they are all aware of our presence, and preparing for attack. There are two groups of Leapers, apparently under the command of Ants, located southeast and north of the fortification. There is another group, composed entirely of Ants, directly west of us. All groups are currently stationary, apparently waiting for some signal or occurrence before they begin their attack.

"The shuttlecraft will not arrive until after sundown. It would be optimistic to assume they will not attack until then, so we must plan our defense.

"We will assume all three groups will attack simultaneously, though possibly the group of Ants to the west will delay their attack, hoping the other two groups will cause us to shift our positions. If there are weapons used in this attack, they will probably be with that group.

"There are several points in our favor in the upcoming battle. First, the Enemy is apparently still unaware of our Defense Net, which is currently pinpointing their positions and movements. Second, as we killed the spider with hand weapons only, they are not aware of our hot-beams or their effect."

"It is doubtful the stun beams described by Kor are effective beyond fifty meters. If nothing else, it would be next to impossible to use them accurately at a greater range. The range of our hand blasters and particularly the turret gun greatly exceed that.

"Unfortunately, the turret gun can only fire in one direction at a time."

"Our strategy will be to deal with the Enemy at maximum distance. The turret gun will concentrate its fire on the group of Ants to the west, as that is the most potentially dangerous. The rest of us must deal with the groups to the North and Southeast."

"Zur!" I interrupted. "Is it not true that the swivel guns on the skimmers have a greater range than our hand blasters?"

"That is correct, Commander."

"Then if we array the skimmers..."

"Commander!" Mahz's voice came to me.

"Rahm here."

"Instruments indicate digging. There is a tunnel in progress to the Southwest."