“I know the work you do to defend the helpless, and it is appreciated around the world,” Enid snapped. “If only you’d devoted yourselves to doing that instead of coming here and trying to kill people that didn’t need killing. I’ve lost a lot of good folk and so have you.”
The commander could only shake his head.
“The two tasks are one and the same. We came here to protect people from what these monsters will become. I hope you realise the mistake you have made before it’s too late.”
With nothing left to say to each other, the two sides parted ways. Titus got back to organising his forces, counting the dead, ensuring the injured were cared for and arranging logistics. He would need to get his Legion to a gate as soon as possible, and he was determined that none would be left behind. After two more hours, every head had been accounted for and the Legion began their march. They were exhausted and drained, but none complained. Better a hard stretch of travel now, followed by rest, than a never-ending battle against the monsters who were already beginning to spawn from the walls.
Enid sighed as she watched them go, then turned back to walk up the tunnel to the nest. Already, the ants were swarming over the ruins of their once pristine tunnel, trying to re-establish their defences before the wave hit in force. It was amazing the damage that good people with bad ideas could do, she reflected. Though doubtless, Titus would say the exact same thing about her. Not wanting to dwell on such depressing thoughts, she turned her mind to the things she would do next and the list quickly grew.
First of all, she needed to contact the families of those who had fallen. An unenviable job, but a necessary one. She remembered many times her husband would take on this duty, informing the loved ones of those who hadn’t made it back from a delve. Shoulders square, Enid walked briskly. There was work to be done.
When the High Blade Balta had awoken, he instinctually felt they’d lost. That he lost. Not only the duel, but the expedition, his reputation, and that of his House. When confirmation came from contacting the Abyssal Legion that the reincarnator yet lived, he knew he’d been ruined.
The reputation he staked, the favours he called in, all for nothing. Less than nothing. The wave wouldn’t finish the ants as some of his advisors hoped, he was sure of it. In fact, he was scornful of those who were prepared to think it. The ants had been stronger, far stronger, than he expected, and thousands of golgari had been lost in the tunnels. When he returned to the empire, the disgrace of this failure would haunt the House of Balta for years. He was so frustrated he could burst.
Full of spite and bitterness, he barely paid attention as the lesser nobles arranged their swift retreat to the nearest gate. They would need to travel hard, and even then, they wouldn’t make it before the monsters started to spawn. Yet more trouble awaited them. When they finally began to move, the golgari expedition was a silent and morose column of Warriors and Shapers, each lost in their own thoughts. Such was the manner of the defeated.
Inside the nest, the colony had not paused to rest for even a moment. The council launched into action only to find that their various caste members had already leaped into their work. The carvers were everywhere, in the tunnels, working on the gates, shaping stone and metal with the assistance of the soldiers who were doing the heavy lifting, many of them injured.
The healers worked frantically, trying to turn over as many wounded as possible in as short a time as they could manage. If an ant was eighty percent healed, they were out the door, Biomass and their own regeneration would take care of the rest. The more severely damaged colony members were overflowing the long-term wards within the nest, and tunnels were co-opted for emergency treatment areas.
The colony had lost many over the duration of the conflict. The final toll, when it was eventually counted, was over ten thousand members of the family who had fallen in the fighting. Fortunately, the Queen’s had not ceased egg production during the long siege, and the total population of the colony hadn’t much changed. Even so, many excellent ants had perished, and they were mourned.
The colony grieved in the only way they could: work.
155. What was Lost, What was Gained
Legs are something I grow back easily enough. The cracks and damage to my carapace are going to take significantly longer, especially considering how I’m totally out of juice in my regeneration gland for the moment. The inner plating will help a ton, though, so I’ll be back on my feet and out there working with my siblings in no time.
BUT I DON’T WANNA! I’m tired! The Legion’s been gone less than an hour and I still don’t have a full complement of legs! Give me a break! Please! Where are the mandatory rest enforcers? I have an emergency situation for them!
Actually, I think I spot one over there, what’s she doing? Lifting rubble. Dang. I suppose in these dire times, even the strictest of colony rules must be waived to some degree. Until I get all of my legs back, I’m stuck sitting in the middle of the chamber within the gate whilst a flurry of work gets done around me. At least I get to listen in on the various reports as they come in.
The brood chambers have been secured, though it was apparently quite difficult to defeat the golgari. I have only sympathy for the soldiers and scouts who had to go in there. Trying to fight amongst the brood without injuring them? A nightmare scenario. A few clutches of eggs were destroyed, as well as many larvae. Even though the damage was contained to just a few rooms, the losses could be as many as a thousand. The eggs are kept fairly bundled up, after all, there are hundreds of them in each egg chamber.
The very thought of the losses suffered by the next generation makes my blood boil, and I’m sure every ant in the colony feels the same. If it weren’t for the wave, I’m confident a team would have been launched to chase down the stone-people and end them. I’d have gone. Just thinking of the adorable grubs who never managed to reach maturity… I wonder if the colony will let me retire and become a full-time grub tickler? There’s a need that I can fill! The grubs deserve only the best tickles!
Bah. No chance. The Queen would chase me out of the brood chambers in a matter of minutes.
It was a relief when a passing Brood Tender was able to let me know the Queen was alright. I’d thought she’d be safe in the egg-laying chamber, but trust the Queen to find some way to nearly die whenever there’s a major fight going on. Apparently, she nearly died twice this time, which is a new record. Her injuries were fairly major, and they don’t think she’ll be back to egg production for a few days, which must be serious.
Sarah has apparently holed herself up in the chamber with the Queens and is refusing to leave, though she needs some serious healing as well, from what the Tenders tell me. I’ll have to pick myself up and get over there for a visit, once I can walk that is.
As for that traitorous ringworm, there hasn’t been any sighting. He’s so good at hiding in the stone and soil of the Dungeon, it’ll be a nightmare to find him. With the wave going on, I doubt the colony will have the antpower to spare looking for his treachery-laden backside.
The second he turns up, he’s going to be food, I swear it on the lost grubs! What he hoped to achieve with his betrayal, I’ve no clue, and I don’t care. Justice will find him eventually.