“Yes, Raht?”
“I think I have the answer. Instead of collapsing both of these tunnels with Surface Thumpers, we could only collapse this one. That would leave this route to the egg chambers available for our use from the near Bore hole.”
“As you pointed out earlier, Raht, that would jeopardize the attack on the Queen’s chamber.”
“I am aware of that, Commander. What I would suggest is that when we reach this point in the tunnel, we use our cold-beams and minigrenades to collapse the portion behind us, thus barring its use to the Ants.
I did not bother to point out that this action would effectively seal the force’s route of retreat as well. Raht was doubtless aware of that factor when she suggested the plan.
“Do you feel you could traverse the tunnel with a sufficient number of your force intact to destroy the egg chamber?” I asked.
“That is my plan, Commander. If I find our casualties have depleted our force too severely to be effective, I will order the weapons be brought to bear on the ceiling of the chamber. As Zur pointed out, flooding the chamber will complete our mission, and it should be easier to accomplish from inside the chamber than from the lake.”
If there was any doubt that what Raht was proposing was a suicide mission, this last amendment dispelled it.
“Very well,” I said. “You are aware that this could very well be the key to deciding whether our assault of this Planet is a success or a failure. I expect, therefore, that you will give careful thought as to which Warriors you assign to this mission, particularly the leader.”