Chrysalis Chapter 483 Where the hell are they?!

As the Colony expands and grows, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get the Council together. The mbers are needed all over the place. Victoriant and Antionette have their regular egg-laying duties, which takes the bulk of their ti. When they aren't laying, they usually have a ridiculous amount of Biomass they need to consu, as well as accruing experience from the monsters the Colony brings to them for last hitting. Evolving the Queens is still one of the top priorities of the Colony after all.

Needless to say, Burke and Wills have covered an unbelievable amount of territory over the last week. I don't think I've ever seen either of them look tired, but their legs are definitely hanging a little lower as they rest on their chairs. Coordinating the scouting expeditions throughout the literally thousands of tunnels and branches in every direction must have co close to frying their brains. Turns out when your territory is largely spherical, it's harder to manage than a nice flat piece of land.

The Soldiers have all been fighting in the many, many battles of expansion taking place all throughout the second strata as we strive to soak up as much space and resources as we possibly can before the attack begins. Chief amongst those resources is Biomass and experience. Our troops need to be fighting fit and as strong as they can get, as fast as we can get them there. Needless to say the Generals have been heavily involved in this activity. Organising the logistics of it all must have been a nightmare.

The worker classes have all been busy running support in the anti, not to ntion the constant research and developnt that goes on. Nest building, manufacturing, testing, experinting and pushing the boundaries of possibility in all areas. They are the scientists and engineers pushing the Colony forward. Which reminds of sothing.

"I understand you had sothing of a breakthrough recently?" I ask Ellie and Bella, the two core shapers as they settle into their chairs.

The two of them perk up imdiately, delighted to talk about their work.

"Oh, we sure have! We've been testing with that core combination technique you brought back to us from the Sophos, geez I'd love to et them. Anyway, since we've evolved to tier four, along with many of our fellow researchers, we've been making a lot of headway in utilising the technique. Our first 'folded' pet core design was completed yesterday!"

"Oh? What did you manage to fuse?"

"A centipede and a garralosh infant…"

Holy heck. I do NOT want to see that.

"How on Pangera did you manage to get those two to go together?"

Their antennae twitch wildly.

"It … wasn't easy. Extensive modifications were made to both creatures before the cores were able to rge. We don't believe the resulting creature will be useful, at all, but it's an important milestone!"

"Agreed… you didn't actually reconstitute one of these did you?"

"We did not."

Phew. Such a monstrosity should not be called into existence, even in the na of progress.

"This is really good news. Keep it up you two! I have high hopes for you. If we can develop more powerful and useful pets, it can have a positive impact in all aspects of the Colony."

The two core shapers happily salute and prepare for the council proper to begin. I sincerely believe what I said, the Sophos have shown the raw power that pets can hold. The core shapers have already proven that their pets can be useful, but with ti, and as their Skill levels rise, their creations will beco more and more deadly. The Colony will be able to pour enough resources into those pets that they can beco truly powerful.

"Alright then," I address the gathered council mbers, "where the hell are they?"

"What do you an, Eldest?" Victor asks.

"We're expecting an invasion from multiple fronts! Where are they?! Have they just given up and gone ho? Are we safe? I an, has anyone seen any sign of the golgari invading us?"

There's an awkward mont around the table as the ants look at each other.

"We haven't seen anything," Burke admits, "we've been expanding our zone of control in every direction and our scouts have pushed hard toward golgari territory, but so far there hasn't been any sign of them."

Wills backs her partner up.

"It's true. We've set up relays of scouts to bring word as soon as they spot anything approaching through the tunnels. Right now, we just haven't found evidence of the invasion."

"That doesn't an they aren't coming though," Advant warns the table, "we are still expecting a large enemy force to approach us, possibly from multiple directions."

"Our expansion has been going according to plan," Tungstant chips in, "the next two second strata nests are active and we've begun to develop surface nests to complent them. The new Queens are in place and the Biomass has begun to flow."

"Egg production has reached a new high at a touch over five thousand per day. It's going to put a strain on the academy as we attempt to graduate these larger classes. Our territory will need to continue to expand if we want to secure the experience and cores necessary to ensure our standards are t," the Brood tender, Florence informs the table.

"Also, we estimate that the total number of mbers in the Colony at around a hundred thousand," she adds.

"Five thousand a day?! A hundred thousand?!?!" I shout.

*THWACK!*

"Eldest! What was that for?" Leeroy complains.

"Sorry, I was shocked there for a second."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"You have a helt on, you probably didn't even feel a thing. Shush."

"That's right," Theresant affirms, "it's beco quite stressful, trying to keep up. A problem which will only get worse when the hatchlings from the two new nests erge. We actually want to take this opportunity to ask for more resources to be dedicated toward the academies and rearing the brood."

"Done," every mber of the table imdiately agrees.

Regardless of the situation, the Colony does not hesitate to invest in the next generation. Sacrificing the future to preserve the present is not a trade any ant is willing to make. Everything is for the brood.

"I suppose that ans that we need to rush the construction of the surface nests in order to provide training grounds," Cobalt muses. "That might an the defences for the new nests are left unfinished for longer than we anticipated."

"It might be necessary," I say, "if the war against the golgari drags on, we'll have ti to shore up our defences, but those hatchlings will be necessary reinforcents down the line."

A heavy silence falls around the table as the council is forced to confront the idea that a protracted fight will leave many ants dead. It's not sothing that the Colony has had to deal with so far, extended war against a superior foe. Which leads to believe that there's another thing I need to say which they may not have considered.

"We need to think about what will happen if we lose this fight," I announce.

Each mber of the council goes perfectly still, their antennae frozen with shock as they process what I said.

"We don't know what is coming, we don't know when they're going to get here, and we don't know that we'll be able to defeat this enemy. In the event that we lose, there needs to be a plan that will allow the Colony to survive. They'll try and hunt down every one of us if we can't push them back, so we'll need to be clever, hide Queens in faraway places, build disguised nests on the surface and place tier one and two ants there who can rebuild from scratch, given ti. It's important that our family carry on, even if we should fall."

The council digests my words for a few long monts. I can tell they aren't happy about it, but they know it makes sense. No matter what happens, the Colony must survive.