Chapter 1652 – Stability, At Last

Life slowly returned to normal around the fortress. In fact, better than normal. ‘Normal’ had come to mean an endless battle against the fifth, against the toxin, the Krath, the mucus and monsters. ‘Normal’ meant hospitals filled with partially dissolved ants, or those suffering from parasites. It meant barracks filled with humans, golgari, Folk, all praying to the Great One that they would make it through their next shift on the platform.

For a long time in the fortress, there had been no such thing as ‘normal’.

As Solant walked along the tunnels, she could tell that there was a different feeling among her many sisters. Members of the Colony were always dedicated, unwavering, brave and willing to endure much for the benefit of the family, yet even they had been pushed to the brink by the horrors of the fifth. A good general was always mindful of the state of her soldiers, and Solant knew that they had suffered greatly. It would be some time before they were ready to be pushed that hard again.

Yet now, the surrounding tunnels were being flushed with new mana, and the fifth was in the process of tearing itself apart. Every time the scouts went out, they found the cleansed mana spreading, the corruption retreating. New monsters were already spawning in the tunnels around the heart, growing stronger as they fought and battled with each other and the corrupted monsters around them.

The ants had springs in their steps, a new lightness in all six legs. They had done the impossible and triumphed against the odds. They had fought so bitterly, many of them being healed and cleansed dozens of times over the course of the wave.

Of course, it was victory that soothed the hearts and minds of those who had struggled, as Solant had always known it would.

Stepping into the headquarters, Solant was pleased to see all of her nineteen closest siblings had gathered. Deep in preparation for the next stage of the conquest, they didn’t even notice her entry.

“The gathering mechanisms will need to be totally redesigned,” Juliant declared. “If our experience here at the fortress has told us anything, it’s that throughput controls are a must. Having the flow of mana be ‘on’ or ‘off’ is woefully inadequate.”

“What are you proposing?” her fellow carver Subutant asked her sister.

“I have a few sketches I’d like you to review, if possible.”

“Of course.”

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“Mapping out the surrounding tunnels is our first priority,” Leonidant reminded them all. “If we don’t know the ground we’re fighting over, we have no chance of victory.”

“The scouts are moving as quickly as they can,” Washingtant spoke up. “Our models of the surrounding tunnels are expanding by hundreds of kilometres every day, but most places are still dangerously contaminated, which is slowing us down.”