After watching the stick bugs for far too long trying to figure out how to communicate, the Great Queen came to a simple realization. She was thinking too much like a human, and considering the methods the void ants had used to learn to communicate with them. Instead, she should have been looking for more obvious methods, such as pheromone trails.

The sorts of pheromones the stick insects produced were indeed foreign- a different language than the Great Queen naturally spoke. But she had the intelligence and adaptability to bridge that gap. Once she began attempting correct methods of communication, she was able to proceed quickly. Producing similar pheromones herself just involved a few simple tricks involving her control over her own body.

Soon enough, she smelled like a friend. And while it would have been devastating for the creatures if she was a mimic intending to devour them, they were hardly able to hide from her senses to begin with. The difference between a plant and an animal and the way they stored natural energy were clear as day. Only creatures with less developed senses would be fooled.

Creatures like a particular lizard that wanted to eat tasty bugs. And yet, in a way the foolishness of the lizard nearly turned into an advantage as it snapped at what seemed to be a leaf regardless of that being part of its natural diet.

But its jaws would not close upon its accidental prey. The Great Queen was currently attempting to befriend the leafy creature, and having to start over with another would be a waste. So even though the leaf insect was sent scampering off by the sudden movement of the lizards and herself, she would save much time.

The lizard’s mouth attempted to close around the Great Queen’s head as it chomped down, but her mandibles tore into it from the inside. It was a shame, as she had no intention to eat it. It had but the barest specks of natural energy, so it would find itself on the forest floor to be devoured by something else. Most likely some unintelligent ants, among other things.

The Great Queen followed the smell of fear and tried to replace it with a return to safety. The eyes of these insects weren’t particularly good, so as long as she smelled safe and didn’t move quickly they would accept her presence. And the more time she spent among them, the more she would learn their more advanced methods of communication. The way they moved their bodies was reminiscent of her own crafted sign language, though she had to admit their own antennae, forelimbs, and body in general were better suited to the task.

But she could replicate the overall motions well enough to begin communicating. That was fine, but the frustrations came when she determined they had no hierarchy. They were mostly solitary unless it was time to mate, which meant that she would have to talk to each and every one of them individually. Maybe she could have a daughter with sufficient patience…?

No, that would take too long to possibly begin. And what sort of queen was she if she couldn’t wrangle some solitary… herbivorous… non combative insects. Well if she thought about them like that, they really were rather disappointing. Perhaps they weren’t really sapient after all. If they were, wouldn’t they choose the best option and work together?

But of course, the Great Queen knew that more often than not the best option was not the ultimate choice for any thinking thing. Even she was swayed by bouts of emotion. Perhaps these creatures survived better in a solitary manner- they could each seek out their own feeding grounds, and enough of them would survive to continue on. But mere survival no longer fit the Great Queen’s standards, and it hadn’t for a long time. Anton wouldn’t approve either.

What should she do then? Teach them to fight? Unfortunately, they were not void ants so she couldn’t really impart useful techniques. Shearing off energy only worked if you had void ant mandibles. Time for a consultation.

-----

“I would suggest trying to improve their natural strong points,” Anton said.

“And those are…?” the Great Queen asked.

“I am certain you have recognized them on your own. You already said it, after all.”

“All they do is eat and try not to get eaten.”

“Exactly,” Anton said.

“But they have no limbs suitable for fighting, so if anything tries to eat them… they can only run. But neither are they particularly suited for escaping from predators…” The solution should be simple. Then it finally came to her. There was one area where the void ants meshed with these other insects, though the purpose behind each was quite different. “So if they are simply not recognized as anything, they will be left alone. If they advance their stealth abilities, they will be safer. But they will still be useless, unable to contribute to a fight.”

“Not everyone has to contribute to both reconnaissance and battle,” Anton pointed out. “And as solitary individuals, they would be more motivated to survive rather than develop combat abilities solely reliant on natural energy and not their bodies.”

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“I cannot teach them stealth. To me, it comes naturally as a void ant.”

“Does it?” Anton asked. “How so?”

“I am small and naturally quiet. And we do not stand out because we keep no natural energy to lock onto.” But of course, Anton knew this. And as usual, there was a purpose to his questions. “So if I remove their natural energy, they will be hidden?” The Great Queen knew that was wrong. “No, like a human if they learn to conceal it they can hide easily. And while I can’t teach them to control natural energy, I can tell them how easy it is to detect their energy.”

“That is what I would suggest, at least,” Anton said. “But of course, if you learn they want to try developing in other ways, we can work on things from there.”

Hmm. The Great Queen was finding this task harder than expected. For some reason, she had expected fellow insects to act more like her, despite knowledge that they were no more similar than Anton was to the meerkats and warthogs. Or perhaps even less similar, in some basic ways. It would have been nice if they fit into neat colony groups, though. Much simpler.

-----

Everheart took a deep breath, stretching his old bones. Even he didn’t like to hang out on Ye’sin too much, as he couldn’t find any way to actually adapt to the planet’s toxins. So instead he had to resort to the terrible fruit and the local mud to keep the gasses out of his system. Neither tactic had yet been realized by the visitors to the Everheart system. At least, not most of them.

Every once in a while, there was someone clever who made it down to a planet, found a cache or two, and made it out. Rich, from their perspective. And it wasn’t as if the value of any treasures Everheart used as bait were phony. Oh no, he didn’t have any need for such tricks. Let a few people get away with wealth and… his personal wealth would only skyrocket.

The more people that came to gamble their lives, the more he won. Because no matter how lucky any individual was, he was the house and the house always wins. If not, they simply hadn’t set up their odds correctly. Everheart usually didn’t even have to tip the scales, but he felt no regret when he did so. There was no promise implied or express that things would be fair here. This was the Everheart System. People were coming here to die, though they thought they were coming here to seek treasure.

Locals of the Scarlet Midfields were generally intelligent enough to stay away. That was why he had been so bored and lonely during his early days, but his recent activities among the Trigold Cluster had finally drawn their attention. Currently, they would likely say they were ‘scouting things out’, sending in disciples to die by the hundreds and thousands. Perhaps a small number compared to the billions and potentially trillions within their borders, but each and every one was potential that couldn’t be replaced.

“I need to get into the Exalted Quadrant again,” Everheart said as he stroked his beard. Another one of him nodded. It was a continual pain, replacing them so frequently, especially since he now had thousands of years of memories of boring labor. But it was better than getting it all shoved on him at once, or whatever other rebellion he might cook up if he left projections for too long. If there was one person who could out think him, Everheart would have to admit it was himself. “I heard they had a bit of a commotion there. That swordmaster or whatever. I remember when she first came to one of my tombs… I saw the potential. But she lost. And yet, she still ran off on her own again. I thought those Ceretos types were all in on the power of friendship.”

Obviously, the projection just shrugged. Because there wasn’t really anything that needed to be said. Everheart was just thinking out loud.

“Regardless, that whole incident ultimately caused great embarrassment to… what was her name… Nadzeya? Zaur’s lackey. They lost some high profile prisoners, as well. Speaking of which, I suppose I should foster the dissent with the split sects. This is a perfect time, and whoever dies is ultimately a win isn’t it. Yes… that will be good. I can’t believe those Xankeshan fellows aren’t already doing it. Are they just going to wait for the war to begin to start their warfare?”

“They did kill that Abraham guy,” the projection pointed out.

“Oh, sure,” Everheart shrugged. “But that was in their own territory. And it was just one fellow. They really need to do more to cause the Exalted Quadrant more than just a stubbed toe. Seems the lower realms are striking out to expand their alliance as much as possible, though. Wish I could get better information, but it’s like nobody trusts me. And I can’t even pay spies because it’s so difficult to move back and forth… and while Anton will talk to me he won’t tell me any of the juicy things. So disappointing.”

-----

Anton clutched his chest. The news about Chikere reminded him of the artificial ribs within his chest. She was going to need a lot of work… but the physical damage might not be the bigger part of that. She had never really seemed stable to begin with, balancing on a blade’s edge, but ultimately people had relied on her particular brand. Perhaps this collapse had been inevitable, but it was still unfortunate.

He really wished he could be there in person to talk to her. Sending a message from so far away was kind of pointless. What could words say? He could do a recording to get across his proper tone of voice, but it was still less than the proper feeling.

Then Three Squeaks walked up and Anton thought of the perfect message. “Pose for me with your bow for a moment, would you?” Anton said.

Three Squeaks didn’t even question, standing tall and regal… at all of thirty centimeters. His modified bow dangling over one paw as his other claw pulled the string. Anton captured the image and sent it along with a few words.

“I have nothing to say that will make things better so here is my meerkat disciple.”

Whether the message would ultimately be useful was unclear, but Anton firmly believed that cute things made the world better, whether they be grandchildren or fluffy animals. And Chikere had enough others supporting her in the upper realms that some fancy sayings from an old man wouldn’t really do much. Hopefully he could at least make her appreciate the better things in life.