The swirling patterns of the chitin scales on her light gray skin made her even more beautiful. It was as like an artist had tattooed the scales onto her. Xerath’s triangular face, almost elven with its pointy chin, had stunning, big black eyes and was crowned by a massive double set of Deynian horns. She had sinfully naughty lips framed by small, elegant mandibles, nothing like the massive ones her General possessed. The long fingers of the delicate hands from the bottom pair of her two sets of arms rested on her hips as she boldly advanced towards an empty section of the training area.
“What’s going on? Is this for real?” I asked when one of the Workers began configuring the holographic sequence for the Queen.
To my utter dismay, Queen Xerath spread her arms and the same type of lances General Daeko possessed started growing from the four arms, except hers were serrated on the outside in a vicious sawtooth pattern. Just like the General possessed needle spikes on his forehead while in battle form, Xerath’s entire body became covered with those. Her spine extended into a two-pronged tail whose tips were not only razor sharp but seemed to possess some sort of electric spark.
“Our young Queen has decided she wishes to be like the matriarchs of old,” Lekla answered calmly. “We have been providing her access to the Well of Knowledge of our ancestors, and she has been an avid learner.”
“Well of Knowledge?” I asked, giving her a sideways glance before returning my attention to the Queen who had begun some warm up exercises, swirling her forearm lances this way and that in a fluid flurry of movements.
“It’s a library where all the knowledge and experience of Queens past are stored in small quantities of water,” Lekla patiently explained. “Each conkrel—the equivalent of a tablespoon for you—can hold up to one terabyte of data. This way, it is easy to pass on accurate copies of knowledge from generation to generation, requiring little to no effort from the recipient. The challenge is that data can only be consumed in small amounts to avoid mental overload.”
“Are you saying that previous Queens used to do battle?” I asked disbelievingly.
Lekla burst out laughing. “All the time,” she said with an amused smile. “As I explained back on the Moon of Melibos, we used to have multiple Queens, one on each continent. However, two Queens were raised on each continent in case one of them was defective or didn’t prove good enough for the task. Whenever there wasn’t a clear winner, they would fight to the death and the best female would rule. It also wasn’t uncommon for Queens to challenge each other if they wished to take over another’s district. Overpopulation put an end to it. As the Queens died, they were not provided replacement except for the dominant Queen in the capital. That is why our youngest Workers believed there was only one Queen for the entire colony.”
“I see,” I answered watching the young female continue her movements, under the watchful eye of her future mate. It amused me to realize she was trying to impress the young General. “So, you intend to return to your warring days then?”
“No. Well, not in the short term,” Lekla said pensively. “It is the Queen’s personal request to be trained. She refuses to be as helpless as Queen Aitxa was in the last days of her reign before Khutu executed her. Should he come for her, she intends to personally kill him.”
“Good on her,” I said approvingly. “The rest of you should follow her example. Being female does not mean you should be helpless and entirely dependent on your Soldiers.”
“You sound just like her,” Lekla said mockingly. “Queen Xerath has stated all of us are to start training before the war. I am too old for such changes. I will be dead in the upcoming months. I can only hope to live long enough to see the fall of General Khutu. But if I don’t, promise me you will guide her in the early days of her reign.”
I eyed the elder female silently for a few moments. A part of me hated her and all the others like her. The Workers were the hands, the brains, and the lifeblood of the Kryptid Empire. Their males, the Soldiers, knew nothing of science or construction. They only knew battle. It was the females, under the ruthless thumb of the General, and alongside scientists kidnapped from other worlds, that had performed the research and the experiments that had made me what I am today. Why should I care about the cause of their Queen beyond achieving my goal of revenge against the General?
“I can see that glimmer of resentment in your eye,” Lekla said unapologetically. “Do not waste your time on what could have been or never should have. We all have our fate to follow. Yours, however much you may hate it, is far better than many others. And above all, it was required to empower you into achieving what no one else could have. I will not apologize for my role. Just like you have no apologies to make for killing our previous Generals and Queen Aitxa. We had our orders; we complied. And now we are enlightened. You can play a major role in ensuring none of this ever happens again.”
“I never make a promise that I cannot fully commit to hold,” I answered in a somewhat cooler tone. “Your Queen is still young. Once she takes the throne and begins to show what type of ruler she intends to be, then we shall see.”
Lekla pinched her lips but did not press the issue. I had only been amongst them for a few months, but she knew me well enough now to know when I would not be swayed.
“On a different topic,” I continued, “it would be wise to consider moving the two of them to a new place. Ideally, it will be somewhere even more self-sufficient than this base. Your Workers need to keep their movements to a minimum. Both of the Northern Plains’ Generals have been executed. They’re not so big of a loss considering how flimsy they were. But Khutu has kept the Queen.”
“What?” exclaimed Lekla, a horrified expression on her face.
“Relax,” I said in a firm but gentle tone. “All of the Workers were able to take cyanide pills before he could capture them. There is no need to fear the rebellion’s secrets will be spilled. The Queen has been kept unaware of anything taking place outside the hive, as per your instructions.”
Lekla’s shoulders slumped with relief. I could only imagine the stress this Elder Nursery Worker was under. Nothing in her life had prepared her to be one of the leaders of a planet-wide rebellion, she who had been raised to strictly and blindly follow hierarchy. Only the dire circumstances threatening the death of the colony could have pushed this submissive species to take arms.
“However,” I continued, “this is only a temporary reprieve. He is closing in on all of the other bases. How soon can these two be mated?” I asked, glancing at the Queen and then the young General.
“Not for many months, I’m afraid. At least eight before she’s able to breed,” Lekla said apologetically. “We cannot rally those still under the thumb of the General without a perfect, mature Queen and her mate. She’s still a child. We will buy ourselves time using whatever means necessary. We just need you and your sisters to continue to run interference for us and relay communications between the hives. And above all, we need you to ensure those Warriors will come to our aid when the time comes.”
“Have no fear,” I said with confidence. “They will not miss a chance to obliterate that piece of shit. And I will be right there alongside them.”