“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.”
To demonstrate her point, she picked up a second rock and smashed it against the first. The rock split open at the impact, and she examined it out of habit. “It seems you were right, Commander,” she said letting the pieces fall. “It was just a rock. However, had it been an egg mass, we would have destroyed it performing that test.”
“Couldn’t you devise some other test?”
“Possibly, but there is no point in designing one.”
“Why?”
“Because whether transported as adult specimens or as egg masses, the number of spiders necessary for the campaign would exceed safety limits.”
“Safety limits?”
“As you recall, Commander, we encountered some difficulty in securing the specimens we have. While it is unlikely we would fall within the Spider’s natural diet, it is obvious they will attack Tzen if provoked. We would therefore not only be spreading an Enemy for the Leapers, but one for ourselves as well. What is more, to effectively deal with the Leapers, they would also constitute a threat to the empire. The last thing we want to do is replace one Enemy with another, and particularly not an Enemy who is immune to our cold-beams.”