She hesitated and glanced back toward the cavern, then continued in a conspiratorial voice.
“Third, it would allow us to rid ourselves of some of the less desirable elements on the team.”
My head wanted to lower again, but I kept it level.
“Explain your last comment.”
“The composition of the teams should be clear, even to you. Mahz is a good Warrior, and his loyalty to me is undeniable. He and I would form one team. You are a capable Commander. Understand my earlier comments were not meant to deride your abilities, but rather to say I felt mine were better. Zur is slow, but his strength makes up for any lack of speed. The two of you would make a team with a better-than-average chance of survival.”
She hesitated again.
“And Kor and Ahk? What about them?”
“Kor is bloodthirsty, and Ahk is a coward. If they don’t kill each other off, the Enemy will.”
I abandoned my hope of control.
“You claim you want to lead the team, yet at the same time you tell me you would willingly try to kill off one-third of the members?”
“Rahm, you and I both know a good small team has as much or better chance of survival as a large sloppy team. “
“Do you have the vaguest conception of what we are facing on this planet, Ssah? The Enemy doesn’t count its strength in troops, they count it in swarms. Swarms! Against that we have six Tzen. Six! And you want to divide our strength? Divide it and cut our numbers to four!”
I caught myself and forced my head and voice level, though both had a dangerous tilt.
“I reject your proposal, Ssah. It is my opinion that the six of us should remain together as a single unit to maximize our strength and firepower. As an example of how desperate I feel the situation is, at this time I even consider your presence an asset!”