Akrys simply happened to be the closest planet to the northern border. Thus, that was where the incoming ship would end up first. It had nothing to do with humans considering many of the inhabitants of the world adorable.
No, that was merely a secondary benefit.
Though Catarina could already feel Anton, he was not the one to come to officially welcome them. That was left to the locals, and in particular Three Squeaks. They had with them a few ascended locals, including the eagle Echoing Cry and Mauled-by-Wolves- the first tortoise to ascend from among them.
Once it had become practical to actually make the trip, Catarina hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind. However, she had managed some amount of patience, which she rather needed to given her station.
She was one of the councilors of the Scarlet Alliance, after all. And she would be bringing with her several more. For the moment, that was just family- Timothy, Alva, and Chidi- but most likely some of the others would visit soon enough. Though Catarina likely wouldn’t be with them, as disappearing too frequently from the eye of the upper realms might draw attention. She could be gone for a few years without anyone noticing- she’d actually spent that long in the secure labs a few times, sleeping there and being brought food. But too frequently, and people might begin to look.
A tiny little creature with a similarly tiny bow strapped across his back flew up to their ship. His natural energy, however, was far less modest than his physical stature. His energy spread over the ship. “Akrys welcomes you. Some are returning, others will be visiting for the first time, but we are glad for all.”
The ship was large enough to have a proper communications officer, though in general the captain would have responded if there wasn’t one. It wasn’t Catarina’s job at all, as she was merely a passenger. There were some flowery words said in return, and then they continued on towards the planet.
Pictures and video didn’t do Akrys justice. Even though their early technological advancements were guided by humans, Akrys had completely different styles all mashed together. The Lower Plains in particular was quite a sight. Nature was infused into the city, but it was a clear population center.
As they passed the planetary barrier and descended, everyone on board got a good look at the various styles. The one feature that all of them had was sturdy. Not so much for defensive purposes, but rather because there were many members of their population that needed it. Not every building was made to accommodate elephants, but most could at least fit a hippo.
They ranged in style from very human looking buildings with glass windows to large adobe structures, no doubt reinforced with special techniques. Some buildings seemed to have places to climb around on the outside- or to fly in. There were also some buildings connected to the river flowing through the center of city… and some small ones built into the trees scattered throughout the numerous forested areas.
Nothing was wild or untamed, however. Plants and trees were simply part of the plan, providing room for many smaller individuals like the insects. No doubt when they got closer, void ants would be apparent as well. Much closer, unless one had particularly good eyes.
There were some formalities to undergo at the starport. Their arrival couldn’t be kept entirely secret, but neither was it advertised. They couldn’t exactly hide a bundle of ascension cultivators, however. Their ship was registered in the lower realms with different information set up ahead of time, just to obfuscate things if there were any spies. Though Akrys was the least likely place to have any of those.
Anton was waiting outside as they disembarked, and before Catarina could say anything, Alva scurried up to him. “Nice shot,” she said.
“Thank you,” Anton replied. “Which one?”
“You know which one.”
“It could have been the one I did from here,” he pointed out.
“Well… true,” Alva admitted, recalling their exchange across the border. “But I meant the other one.”
“Some people would say it was more than nice,” Anton grinned.
“Fine. It was world shatteringly impressive,” Alva shrugged. “Is that better?”
“Absolutely,” Anton said. “Honestly, kids these days. No respect for their elders.”
“You’re like… one eighth older than me!” Alva grumbled. “You only say that because you look old.”
Anton placed a hand over his heart. “You wound me.” He looked towards the others, smiling. “It is good to lay eyes upon you again. Or for the first time, properly.” He grabbed Alva and pulled her into a hug, while looking towards the others.
“You’re even more impressive in person, grandfather,” Chidi commented. He used the same manner of address as his mother and aunt, because it was easier than every generation bothering to figure out how many ‘greats’ there were to Anton’s technical relation. “Recordings don’t do you justice.”
“The same for you,” Anton replied. “I could almost cut myself on your aura. A match for Chikere’s, as distinct as you are.”
Yuval burned with fire, clearly trying to be as impressive as possible as he clasped his fist. “I greet grandfather.”
“I am pleased to see you as well. I heard you have great concern for all people. I admire that.”
“We should probably get out of the way,” Timothy pointed out. Mauled-by-Wolves was very slowly coming down the ramp behind the rest. “We can talk as we walk.”
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At the first available opportunity, the morning after everyone settled in properly after their journey, Anton took Alva up into space for some practice.
“It’s not really a fair competition,” she grumbled. “You’re strongest here and I’m… thin.” She waved her energy around, sweeping through the natural energy. “It’s been so long since I’ve actually dealt with this.”
“It’s good enough for our purposes,” Anton said. “Now we can properly sync up our energy usage. Pick a target and I’ll match you.”
Alva nodded. “Sure. Just have to sense something.” She stretched out her energy. They had only been immersed in natural energy for a few days, so she was constantly adapting. Finally, she found a decent asteroid and took a shot. The spirit arrow faded away the instant it left her bow, appearing at her target the next instant and puncturing a hole through the asteroid and out the other side. “See if you can beat that, huh?”
Anton took his time focusing. He carefully measured the amount of energy she had used, then took his shot. His arrow was formed of light and arrived but a few moments later, piercing through subspace. It flew through where her arrow had precisely perpendicular, creating a hole the same dimensions and meeting in the middle of the asteroid. Then it looped around and came in from the ‘top’, connecting from the third dimension as well.
“Fancy,” Alva said. “But kinda slow.”
The old man spread his arms wide. “You got me on that. I do not have the proper spatial insights to cut away so much distance.”
Alva puffed up, knowing he spoke the truth. It was good to actually be better at something. Even though she knew that he could outdistance her by… at least a few hundred lightyears, apparently. Ten or twenty if he was going for consistency.
The two of them could have easily remained there for days, but other people wanted some of Anton’s time… and they also had some business to cover.
-----
“You said you had thoughts about the Chaotic Conglomeration?” Catarina asked.
“Not quite. I said we had thoughts,” Anton replied. “Others in the lower realms will no doubt have further opinions, but I’m quite fine to bring the first opportunity.” He held out his palm. “Though it is actually the Great Queen who had an idea.”
“Oh? Tell me more,” Catarina looked down at the not-so-tiny ant.
“The Chaotic Conglomeration has many issues,” the Great Queen signed with her antennae and forelimbs. “You trust some of their members, but have not had the time nor manpower to vet the rest. The Chaotic Conglomeration also has trouble with their war, and keeping their fighting population fit. I propose a solution for both issues.”
“And what is that?” Timothy asked.
“Simple. Along with whoever else you choose, send my daughter and her brood. Crossed Antennae, of course. Fearsome Mandibles is quite happy here, and displacing her would be unnecessary.”
Chidi was actually doing his best to read her movements by the gaps in energy- and with the Great Queen’s size, it was actually easier than the other void ants he had encountered. His face twitched when he heard her proposal. “That seems… extremely dangerous.”
“Only if anyone knows they are there,” the Great Queen said. “Though we would need to inform a few individuals. However, I am not proposing that the void ants fight on the frontline. No, that would merely draw in an extermination. Instead, we would act as spies. It is not difficult to fit a sizable population in human cities or even cultivation sects without being noticed. We could remain in secret after planets were taken… or if there was some threat equivalent to extermination of the Chaotic Conglomeration, we could fight alongside them. If the Exalted Quadrant was doing it anyway…” she gave the equivalent of a shrug.
“It carries some risks,” Anton said. “But it is a potential solution. I would add it to your other options. I don’t believe the potential value of the Chaotic Conglomeration can be ignored any longer.”
“I’ll admit,” Catarina said. “We would have never thought of that. I must also say that it would take a long time to get permission from the council.”
“Screw those guys,” the Great Queen signed succinctly. “They can bar us from Scarlet Alliance space if they’re afraid of us, but Crossed Antennae should be allowed to go where she pleases.”
Timothy stroked his chin. “Have you actually discussed this with her?”
“Not yet,” the Great Queen admitted. “But I know she wishes to return to the upper realms. And not somewhere the void ants would be alone.”
Timothy nodded. “Very well. It’s definitely worth considering. Though the end of the cycle and thus the purge of the border systems is still fresh in people’s minds.”
“Not near the Conglomeration, though,” Catarina said. “It might work. But we would need to convince enough of their leaders that they don’t see it as some sort of attack. Not that they could easily retaliate against us, but they could harm anyone who was teaching locally. And that would be more than a few people if we wanted to provide value in a short time.”
“A risk, yes,” the Great Queen agreed. “But should the void ants be discovered… they could simply be purged.” When everyone looked at her with horror, “Obviously just some token population while all of those with personality fled. Crossed Antennae would never forgive me if her royal guard perished. Remember that just because void ants can all become people doesn’t mean we necessarily are.”
It was a step or two better than the idea that anything short of a queen was expendable. Not everyone felt the same as the void ants about the rest of their workers, but since the individuals in question literally never complained that was the end of things.
“Obviously she’d be motivated to remain secret,” the Great Queen continued. “But of course, we will not force our desires upon you either. Another place can be found for her with time, perhaps even one more suited. Continuing on the same issue, however… the ship you came in on is quite impressive. And it could be the key to the simplest method of surpassing the Exalted Quadrant for any humans you send.”
“It’s not particularly stealthy,” Catarina said.
“Does that matter?” the Great Queen tilted her head. “If it never even touches upon their territory, there is little they could do. Traverse solely through the lower realms… and fly back up to the Chaotic Conglomeration. Though allowing our future allies to see such technology may be a risk, it could be kept far from them as well. It would not allow for simple withdrawal, however.”
Catarina nodded. “A solution that comes with its own risks, but elegant nonetheless. I continue to see why you have been such an effective leader for your people.”
“Along with the help of many humans- and some others like those who live here on Akrys, yes. Cooperation is the most important thing we can do,” the Great Queen concluded.