Chrysalis

"Haul your abdomen, Sloan!" Victor yelled at her slower contemporary.

"I’m coming!" Sloan grumbled back.

The two generals were exhausted. They hadn’t fought on the front line during the course of the battle but they’d been debating, planning and coordinating the efforts of the colony without pause for over a day without rest.

"Finally getting to the good part and you want to miss out?" Victor joked.

"I’ll push you into the mouth of a Garralosh spawn," Sloan promised, "watch yourself up there."

"I’m not worried, Leeroy will probably already be in there and can push me out."

At the mention of the more... enthusiastic of their soldier siblings, an irritated twitch flicked through Sloan’s antennae. Now that they’d come to this point, nothing could be held back any longer. Which meant that Leeroy, and the soldiers who’d kept her pinned down in the nest, had been sent back to the wall.

The two generals rushed out of the dark nest and into the bright light of the surface. Victor shielded her eyes with her antennae as best she could as she stared at the carnage taking place beyond the walls. From this high up, she could see the children of Garralosh approach, flames trickling out from between their teeth.

"About time you slackers made it up here," Burke observed from nearby.

"We haven’t been slacking!" Sloan ground out.

"I know that, obviously." Burke turned to Victor. "Why is she so tense?"

"Not much torpor."

"Ah."

The three of them continued to observe the battle. Things were heating up now, and not just because of the flame spewing crocodile monsters. The Queen had re-joined the front line and the ants there had quickly reached a boiling peak of rage and fury.

"We need to get down there," Sloan gasped urgently.

know," Victor

really think you can stop

chance,"

managed to convince her to return once. Why not once more?" Sloan

the battle that raged at the seventh

I don’t think she expects to survive this battle. The only reason she retreated last time was because she would have caused more deaths than she saved. There

to help her!"

course we

"Let’s go!"

by the din of battle.

boiling rage and feverish heat that built within the closer they came to the Queen. Before they could reach the edge of the

no sound as they doubled their ferocity. For every monster that made it to the top of the wall, four or five ants were there

and the unfortunate

ants fell back from the edge, lest the inferno claim them. The wash of heat was felt dozens of metres away as the air crackled against Burke’s

to take a backward

by

and unleashed a torrent of acid from her mouth! Garralosh spawn in front

down on monsters up to thirty metres away. When acid and flame met, the stream exploded into boiling hot clouds of acidic steam that wafted over the battlefield, scalding all who

her acid away, the Queen relented in her opening salvo and clacked her

careful!" Sloan sputtered, exhausted from the

go back. Not this time. I’m needed here," the Queen spoke sharply, unwilling to waste

know that! Just ... try not

could respond, another scent

this!" Leeroy shouted as she barrelled forward, excitement

The enthusiastic approach she didn’t mind, it

-!" She tried to call, but to

anticipated her siblings would attempt to cut her off

I will fight,