V2 Chapter 5 - Tactical Repositioning
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You can't run away from your problems. They will just chase you and get bigger and bigger.
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The sound of clashing metal and cries of pain reverberates around me, but my focus remains on the battlefield before me, my mind racing as I direct our forces with meticulous care. Much to my surprise the humans have been putting up much of a fight
At the forefront, a group of Strikers is entangled in a skirmish with the outer rim of the humans’ formation, and most importantly the Bandit King. Their agile forms darting between the rows, claws slashing and fangs bared. I see the strain in their movements, the way the humans are beginning to adapt to their hit-and-run tactics. They need support. With a sharp screech I signal a squad of defenders on standby to reinforce them, hoping that their bulk and body armor will allow the Strikers to regroup and strike with renewed ferocity.
To the right, our line is faltering, the weight of the human forces pressing hard against our defenders. They're clearly trying to create some space after my sister's performance on the left flank. A closer look reveals that the defenders’ exoskeletons are battered with relative ease, some of them crushed or cut open. Where did they get such high quality axes?
I can’t afford to lose this position, and I call in reinforcements in the form of curators. Their combat potential isn't as high as their siblings, but their ability to produce silk allows them to temporarily mend the wounds of their sisters. The defenders, reinvigorated, push back with a force that stops the humans’ advance.
At the center of their formation, the battle is a swirling maelstrom of bodies and blood. My sister is in her element, her movements a blur as she tears through the human ranks, her eyes alight with the thrill of combat. She’s carving a path, but the humans are quick to close the gaps, their formations tightening in response to her attacks. I need to widen the breach she’s created, to turn it into a full-fledged collapse of their defenses from the inside.
I shift my focus to the ceiling, where another group of Strikers is waiting, high on alert for orders. I signal them to descend, sending them to hit the humans from the sides while my sister pushes through the center. They surge forward, a wave of claws and fangs that tears into the human ranks, throwing their formations into disarray. The humans try to regroup, but it’s too late—the Strikers are everywhere, cutting off their escape routes, forcing them to close their circle even more.
My sister's relentless assault from within and the Strikers’ flanking maneuvers create a devastating pincer movement, trapping the humans between two unstoppable forces. The circle begins to break, the once-solid defense crumbling under the combined pressure.
But then, a sudden shift in the air—a change in the rhythm of the battle that makes my antennae bristle with unease. I turn my gaze towards the center of the battlefield, where the Bandit King is still cutting through our kin with brutal efficiency. He’s a terrifying sight, a massive figure with an ax that swings like a force of nature, each strike leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. I planned to save him for last, but then he sees me.
Our eyes lock for a split second, and I feel a cold dread rise to the surface. His expression changes, a recognition flashing in his eyes that sends a shiver through the plates of my exoskeleton. It's almost as if he found what he was looking for. He’s found me, the one pulling the strings, and now he’s coming for me.
I freeze, my mind racing to recalibrate, to adjust my strategies in the face of this new threat. But he’s too fast. His massive frame moves with a speed that belies his size, cutting through the chaos with a single-minded focus that I hadn’t anticipated. He bee-lines for me, trampling over any Strikers I put in his path.
I can hear the desperate cries of my sister in the distance, her voice a faint echo against the roaring tide of battle, but I can’t afford to lose my concentration. He’s getting closer, his intent clear. I retreat, falling back to the edges of the room, my movements calculated, trying to put as much distance between us as possible, but I know it’s not enough.
The air around me seems to grow colder as he closes in, each step a leap that's faster than any of my siblings could fly. At some point I get to the back wall, and right as I turn I catch a glimpse of his ax flying straight towards me.
Move…MOVE….MOVE. I tell myself, trying to avoid freezing up. This isn't sparing, there are no second chances if I mess up.
I duck just in time to narrowly avoid his ax, but I can feel the sheer force behind his throw, the ground shaking beneath my feet as it embeds itself in the wall. It's clear that normal tactics will be useless against a foe like him. I need to think, to find a way out, but my mind is clouded with fear. How does mother do this kind of thing on the fly?
He's coming closer, his attention split between his ax and I, reminding me that I'm not even close to being in the clear. I get up and resume my sprint, running around the edge of the room while he works to free his ax from the wall. In a few seconds the ax whistles past my antennae as it crashes into the wall just inches in front of me, sending shards of rock flying. The force of it stuns me, my calm, collected demeanor cracking as I realize just how close I am to death.
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I glance around, desperately searching for an escape, but I realize a crucial mistake. All the evacuation exits are above, and neither my sister or I can fly. We've effectively trapped ourselves inside of this room with our intruders.
I can hear my sister’s frantic shouts growing louder, but she’s still too far away, too entangled in her own battle to reach me in time. I resume running, but the Bandit King is closer than ever before now.
I hear him pull his ax free from the wall with a growl, and as I look back I see his eyes locked onto mine with a predatory gleam. He’s not just fighting—he’s hunting, and I’m his prey.
My mind rushes for a way out, anything to get away, and I set my eyes on a portion of the wall next to me. Its texture is different from the rest, a mix of smaller rocks that look like a single slab of rock from afar. It's not something that was originally here. Or rather, it's one of the routes that we sealed off to trap the bandits in this chamber. That can only mean that it's hollow on the other side.
I quickly aim to teleport through the rock, vaguely imagining what it could look like on the other side of the makeshift wall. The world blurs for a split second as I will myself through the solid rocks, and when it clears there's nothing but a tunnel upwards in front of me.
The cold of the narrow passage envelops me, the air thick with dust and the remnants of our earlier excavation. I stumble slightly, my legs trembling from the energy surging through my system, but I can’t stop now. I can hear the dull thud of the Bandit King’s footsteps as stops in front of the wall, pausing for a second.
The next moment, the sound of his massive ax crashing against the wall reverberates through the narrow passage, the strike shaking loose a cloud of dust and sending vibrations up my exoskeleton. He goes for another swing, then another, and I watch as the integrity of the stone formation begins to fade with each hit. It'll hold for now, but at the rate he's going, it will fall eventually.
Not wanting to stick around for the inevitable moment where that actually happens, I begin to flee, scrambling up the path as I kick up rocks and dust.
I've gained about 50 feet before I hear a loud thud from behind, the Bandit King barreling through the stone ax first. He stumbles over the rocks, but quickly recovers as he sets his eyes on me.
He’s relentless, a human whose sheer presence seems to warp the air around him, bending reality to his will. His ax, once again in his hand, scrapes against the stone walls as he charges after me, the sound a grating reminder of the danger that’s only steps behind. I dart forward, my antennae brushing against the rough stone as I weave through the narrow passage, racing up towards the second floor.
The one saving grace is the fact that I know this specific path well, after all, I helped design the traps laid within it. I designed all of our traps as a matter of fact. I just have to reach the first trigger, and I can start a chain reaction that might slow him down. Or at least, buy me enough time to think. As I rush forward, I do my best to mentally map out the layout of this specific section, recalling every twist, turn, and hidden trap we installed to protect against an intruder.
The Bandit King’s heavy steps grow louder, his heavy breathing a steady, determined rhythm that drowns out my own heightened heartbeat. He’s faster than I expected, his large form somehow navigating the narrow space better than my sister would. I reach the first turn, and as I slide around the corner I activate the first trap, a tripstring on the ground.
With a snap, a web above is shifted, sending a cascade of jagged rocks crashing down between us. I don’t look back to see if it’s enough to stop him, but I hope it's enough to at least slow him down. I can't afford to lose the momentum that I have. I continue to sprint forward, racing up the incline that leads to the second floor.
The walls here are even narrower, the air thickening with every step. I can hear the rocks shifting behind me, followed by a roar of frustration that reverberates through the stone. The Bandit King isn’t stopping; he’s plowing through the debris without a care for the damage. How was he even doing that?
I reach the top of the incline and immediately glance at the second trap. This is one that I hope will immobilize him, a pitfall filled with web above and sharp rocks below to cut those who struggle. It looks like the regular floor, but it's nothing but a sheet of rock held up by a few strings of silk.
I teleport forward over the patch that spans the width of the entire floor, but I hear a grunt of surprise some seconds later when the trap catches its target. At least I thought it did. I turn back to see if the effort was a success, and much to my relief, he's nowhere in sight. He is nowhere in sight, but his ax head is lodged in the wall above the pitfall, and I watch as he pulls himself up and out one-handedly, tearing off the webs that had caught on his skin and clothing. Was he even human?
The trap had drawn blood from what I could tell, but clearly not enough, for he continues the chase as soon as he's back on his feet.
I continue running, taking a turn and shortcut up a steep incline to the third floor as the air becomes colder, the walls slick with moisture from the underground springs we had diverted to create this labyrinth. The darkness here is almost complete, the only light coming from the faint glow of fungi clinging to the walls.
Finally, I reach the end of this passage, bursting into the open space of a nesting cavern that currently houses the core of our hive. I dart to the far side of the cavern, towards the next incline up, my legs shaking from exhaustion as I turn just in time to see the Bandit King emerge from the passage on the other side of the cavern.
But something changes. He pauses at the entrance, his eyes narrowing as he surveys the cavern, his gaze slowly drifting upward. To the various holes in the walls. I follow his line of sight and realize what he’s seeing—the vast expanse of our hive, the interconnected web of tunnels and chambers that stretch far above us, filled with the sounds of my movement.
It’s then that I feel it, a surge of power, a presence that fills the cavern as the rest of the Swarm arrive. The humans must have been dealt with in my absence, and now the full force of our hive is focused on the last intruder.
The Bandit King still stands alone, but now he is surrounded by the remnants of his brutal assault, the realization of his situation dawning in his eyes as he finally understands the scale of what he’s up against. Yet the burning passion in his eyes never fades.
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Respiration in Insects
For insects, respiration is separate from the circulatory system. Oxygen and carbon dioxide gases are exchanged through a network of tubes called tracheae. Instead of nostrils, insects breathe through openings in the thorax and abdomen called spiracles. As a result insects can take in greater volumes of oxygen in proportion to the body size compared to humans.