I was not so sure of my observations as to raise comment at this time, however. Rather, I determined that my next review would be unscheduled and unannounced, even to my staff. I would compare my observations of that review with my current impressions before deciding if there was cause for alarm.
Something caught my eye as I scanned the training Warriors. I halted my progress, causing my staff to press closer to me and stand in a waiting semicircle around me.
We were on one of the elevated walkways overlooking a maze. The Warriors below were maneuvering the corridors utilizing the echo helmets, and pausing sporadically to fire at pseudo-Ant targets that appeared singly or in groups to block their path. The transparent walls of the maze gave clear view of the exercise, but what caught my attention was elsewhere.
“Zur!” I beamed to my second-in-command.
Because of the sensitivity of the echo helmets, we did not speak aloud in the training bays.
“Yes, Commander!”
“Summon that Warrior to me…The one who is waiting in line…third from the front.”
“Certainly, Commander.”
I waited as my request was relayed.
One of the specific things I was studying in this review was the weapons rigs of the individual Warriors. As I have mentioned, audible sound can have a confusing effect on the echo helmets, and individual weapons carried in the traditional battle rigs had a tendency to make noise…slight, but noise nonetheless. As many developments in the Warriors’ caste have come from solutions individuals have devised in the field in response to specific problems, I was eager to see what modifications were developing.