Chrysalis

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sloan asked Cobalt tentatively.

"Sure? Of course I'm sure?! Did you think I sat around here crunching numbers between my mandibles for twenty hours just for the heck of it?!"

"All right! I just wanted to check, please, keep working," the general made a tactical retreat to where several other council members were standing at a safe distance.

"Gotta be careful around the carvers right now," Wills greeted her, "they are more than a little touchy."

"Can't really say I blame them," Sloan muttered, "considering how hard they've been working, and the constant threat of being dragged off for torpor."

"That reminds me," Bella chipped in, "didn't Cobalt get dragged away yesterday?"

"She did. The moment she woke up, she was back at it," Wills confirmed.

They all fell silent as they internally paid tribute to the incredible fortitude of the carvers, the great buildings of the Colony. To face down not only an insurmountable amount of work, but the torpor police at the same time, it took more courage than most soldiers would dream of claiming.

Wills took another look at the huge steel constructs being assembled in front of them.

"Just so I get this straight in my mind," she said, "they want to drop these down and drive them into the plate that holds the city so we can run down the cables in order to assault the city?"

"That sums it up," Sloan said.

"I don't know… that doesn't seem… nuts? To any of you?"

"It's a bit extreme," Sloan agreed, "but when you think about it, there aren't really any safe ways to assault the city from up here. You either climb down the pillar, an idea that I've ruled out since our enemy is likely prepared for such an approach. Although we doubt they expect a serious assault from above at all. Or, you make your own way down. We considered creating a unit of flying soldiers or scouts to secure a landing ground for us, but the evolutionary costs are prohibitive."

scouts," Wills said absently, still staring at the huge 'spears',

every one of which would be participating in this assault. To counterbalance that, the fact that the eldest had reached tier six had inspired the ants to reach for that next threshold. Indeed, another member of

shared amongst a select few of her

"HeythereguyshowareyouallahwhoopsIdidn'tstopfastenoughnoooooooo!!!"

the small group before a detonation sounded from a nearby wall which raised a storm of cursing from exhausted

"I'mnotusedtomyspeedyetheeeeeeeeelp!" she laughed.

took a few seconds for Sloan to translate what she could smell, only then did they move over and try

we can't understand what you're trying to say when you talk that

to

speed had been absurd, then at tier

keep away from them, my advice is to be fast!

squeeze a scent in edgeways, she was gone, accelerating so fast she

what she's capable of now that she's evolved so I can factor

you," Wills laughed. "Best bet is you wait for the Eldest to get back. They can probably pin her down long enough to take a peek at her core and then let you know what

"I don't like having unknown factors in a battle, even if they're on my side. Maybe especially when they're

about her," Wills brushed her concerns aside, "having

double check your prescribed angles! We start tunnelling in ten minutes!" Cobalt called from the

see the last segment of the four giant spearheads had been slotted into place and the enormous kilometers long

ten minutes?! The troops aren't in place!" Sloan

lessons from Vibrant?"

at her sibling until the scout

my antennae crooked

into position as well? They're an integral part