Space being the immensity it was, even a general direction for search was a plus.
The `Dinis wanted to go on yellow alert and to implement intensive drill in the strategy of penetrating and destroying a Hive ship. As these tactics were of a suicidal nature, the humans, understandably, temporized, suggesting careful surveillance and reconnaissance in order to make the most effective use of the new weaponry with which the squadron was equipped. Untried against a Hive ship, to be sure, but theoretically more sophisticated than known Hive ordnance, delivering a paralytic shock of purportedly lethal proportions. Even glancing touches could inhibit movement for hours.
This was where the `Dinis and humans diverged in their mutual war against the Hive World. Technically speaking, the squadron’s orders were to seek and identify the Hive World, and return for further orders. A single fast scout might have accomplished the same mission but a single fast scout could neither carry the armament needed in case it encountered Hive ships – which was a distinct possibility given the unusual Hive activity that had created this emergency – nor the supplies to last an indefinite search period. So a squadron was committed to the task, with orders that one ship must survive to report.
In the `Dini view, coming across a Hive vessel meant it must be destroyed. It could not be permitted to exist, no matter what cost the destruction. It could be heading for their homeworld and must not be allowed to proceed once intercepted. whereas `Dini soldiery was quite willing to die to achieve that end, humans, not having had wars in several centuries, were not disposed to commit themselves with such fervent dedication. To be sure, naval units met with disasters of all kinds, causing the death of many or all those aboard the stricken vessel. But no human warship sought deliberate attack, nor considered it the logical conclusion of sighting an alien vessel. Cowardice had nothing to do with this: common sense did.
`He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day,’ might be a human sentiment but it was, unfortunately, an intolerable concept to the `Dinis.
As translator – and someone more familiar with the nuances of `Dini speech than any of the others at the conference – Thian was doing his best to tone down the challenging language from the `Dini while injecting vehemence into the almost diffident human responses. To the `Dini warrior ethos, this was put up or shut up time, while the humans seemed more interested in discussing alternatives that did not, in `Dini terms, exist. The oncoming object must be destroyed.
when Ashiant, for one, realized that `destruction’ was the preferred `Dini tactic, he cast a meaningful glance at Thian. Thian gave his head a quick shake, wishing the captain hadn’t such a tight natural shield so he could immediately explain that there was no way he, with twelve minor Talents – even augmented by the generators of six big warships – could do what, two and a half decades ago, had required several hundred Talents in the Denebian Penetration.
The human captains vigorously insisted on discussing alternative identities for the wayfarer, the favoured one – which the `Dinis repudiated as soon as it was mentioned – was the possibility of meeting yet another sentient species in space. Thian privately agreed with the `Dinis on that score. `Dinis had explored enough over the centuries of their space travel capability to be cynical about that prospect: especially in view of the fact that they had already found humans.
Politely, Captains Spktm and PIr listened to the humans but Thian could see that they were convinced this was Hive and it couldn’t be anything else.
In the face of that unalterable opinion, Ashiant and the other human captains wisely initiated intensive drill procedures but an actual discharge of the new weapons system, of course, was out of the question. The surprise of such new weapons might even have an effect on the implacable Hivers.
The Hive was also known to have acutely sensitive scanning devices – as some unfortunate `Dini scouts had discovered. Biologists had suggested that the live members probably had more acute hearing than vision. what few fragments of Hive ships were left after a `Dini suicide penetration gave little evidence of internal lighting systems.