“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.