Did you really find the explorers?
More like we found each other.
And you told them to meet me here? Princess pressed for an answer. She was nervous. I also shared the sentiment. We had just been assaulted by flying termites; there was no knowing what they would do next. It was going to be a long sleepless night for everyone, and an even exhausting morning the next day.

Princess wasn’t impressed with my nod but didn’t complain either. I just wished she would trust me a bit more.

We were on the twenty-sixth floor, in the construction site that was to become Princesses home once she became a queen. The explorers decided the time and I, the place —this was the only one I was familiar with that was private enough for her to meet the explorers without external influence. The site was isolated from the city, the ruckus and worry, the aftermath of the assault. And since all the free workers had been called to report at the tower, it was also unoccupied, empty, and desolate. It wasn’t complete yet and would take even longer now that the situation wasn’t so positive, but Princess didn’t seem worried about that.  

The termites had given the city its largest wound since the second generation’s western expansion project. Nearly two thousand dead and a quarter of that number injured; of course, we killed them back, but the price we paid was too big. They have insulted our authority: Is how princess summarized their action. In simple words: the next great war was on the brink of eruption.

I could sess no vibrations from the ground or sense any scents. The chamber was eerily silent and chill until it was not. Minute vibration passed from the ground up my legs. I sessed them coming. Princess agreed. She stood a bit straighter, sharper. Their scent arrived before them, allowing us time to get our bearings straight. Princess was born ready. As for me, well, I copied her as closely as I could and hoped I wouldn’t leak any emotions and embarrass her.

There were five of them: The swift and strict captain at the front, the long-legged monster at the very back, and everyone else in between. I was half-expecting them to be flying their scent banner high and mighty. They hadn’t left much of an impression on me.

I see them. The long-legged one let out. She was loud, whether by design or not, was not important. There are only two of them. They are alone. No ambush.

They approached and stopped at an appropriate distance for holding a scented conversation. Princess moved forward to exchange greetings, but the long-legged one was faster than her.

Youse the princess he was telling about? Youse don’t look the part. There was an awkward silence before the captain slapped her head and apologized for her insubordination.

Don’t scent again. He told the long-legged soldier and walked toward Princess Tinbuji. They greeted by touching each other’s antennae, reading the segments and the scents laced over before separating. The royal captain stepped back to his team and Princess returned to my side. I was glad she did.

He started. Accept my apology, princess, for being suspicious. It’s how I was taught; preparation triumphs genius – my seniors used to say.

I was told a similar thing once, many moons ago. Princess picked up. Prepare to be betrayed and you will have an easier time expecting the truth.
It seems exactly like something my senior would say. The captain said then nodded. His demeanor changed. He stood a bit sturdier, antennae straightened. From casual to serious, he switched in a heartbeat. I heard you wished to know something regarding the termites, Princess?

I felt Princess’s attention upon me. Real sly, I thought but acted unimportant otherwise. My opinion of him fell further.
They are The explorers. My inner voice rose. Why are you being biased?
I just didn’t like them for some reason. They were too—too confident. That’s right. It was the ease with which they operated that worried me. The arrogance they had. The termites hadn’t fazed them. The death hadn’t saddened them. The remorse should have affected them, too. They were one of us, weren’t they?
I wished to share my thoughts with Princess but decided to wait. It wasn’t my place to say anything — yet being the keyword.

However, Princess fidgeted. I realized that I must have leaked something again. My heart thrummed, nervous thoughts emerging. She ignored me, however. I hope my guard didn’t say anything inappropriate.

Of course not; he’s well taught, unlike someone. The long-legged soldier clicked in a show of discomfort. I might as well say he was very persuasive.

I wondered what he meant. Nothing bad, I hoped. It was stupid actually, my suspicion.
Its jealously, said my inner voice. No its not! I retaliated. The voice giggled in response. Then why do you suddenly want to join the slaves? That was my decision and it had nothing to do with them! And I wasn’t decided either. Not yet; but I was almost ready.

The battle had shown me the reality. Now I knew what I could never be. I could never be a worker again, and I was not good at being a soldier either. I could be a caretaker… no, not even that. Princess needed a guard, a real guard who could save her. For that, I was ready to ask the help of the aged warrior, even though I didn’t want to associate myself with her kind. Just like how I brought the explorers to meet the princess even though I didn’t like them. There would be strings attached, but if the aged warrior could bring me up to speed and the explorers could help the princess, then those small favors would be well worth the pain —at least that’s what I thought.

A little scented push brought me back to reality. It was disbelief, danger, alertness, everything mixed together. Something had happened. They are attacking! I got on my haunches, ready to pounce, but I was mistaken.

That can’t be right. The scent exploded from Princess. Dirt absorbed the chemicals before they could bounce and distort her following words. But we followed the trail. The trail lain by, by…

You see, the explorer’s captain confronted her emotional outbreak with calm expertise. Anyone could have laid that trail. Someone must have known our destination and used the opportunity to send you all to the mountains.
I listened to their conversation, horrified at the possibilities.
But why would anyone do that? Princess asked, equally uncomfortable.

Well, The scent came from one of the other explorers. Someone must have really wanted you to find the termites and save the ant.
She was surprisingly a worker, a nurse to be accurate. Of course, they would want one to take care of their wounds, which none of them surprisingly had? That was intriguing detail in itself. More surprising was her body. She was tall, taller than me, and just shy of her captain’s height. That was not what a worker was supposed to look like; especially a nurse. There really was no one normal among them.

That will be easy to find out once the ant wakes up. The royal captain said. If it does wake up, that is. Though I do wonder, why do you find the ant special? Does it look any different, princess?

It looks the same as us and carries the same passport pheromones. She replied the spark that she had started with dimming along with her confidence. However, he fought against twenty termites and not only managed to kill half of them, but also kept his life? If that’s not suspicious I don’t know what is.

Youse serious? Youse should have started with that— a tentacle swished toward her head, but the long-legged one timely ducked and evaded this time. Alright, alright, I won’t speak again. Just stop hitting me. It hurts.

That is indeed suspicious. The captain agreed.

Princess raised her head back. She had finally found a supporter. Of course, it is suspicious! She scented a vibrant mix of emotions, previous blunder already forgotten. He managed to do the work of thirty individuals alone!

He’s alive. Princess said. The nurses incubated him in the tower post aid for faster recovery. He’s not dead. She added upon seeing the captain fidget — he didn’t exactly move, but it was easy to see that the possibility of the main lead dying had surprised him.
Princess continued. The nurses sent him down to the thirty-sixth floor before the thunderstorm hit. He was unconscious and not injured. So there was no point in keeping him at the tower. If I’m right, Princess explained. He would still be there, kept under watch, but safe and sound.

He would have been taken to the fortieth floor and forgotten there if he was one of ours is what I heard.  He would have been accessed for injuries, total damage, the position of his wounds, and then checked with the slaves for extended hospitality. Every life matters —is not complete without— and should be used appropriately.

Someone —we knew who— let out a scent of amusement. She was ignored, but the smallest one among them, a soldier lankier in form compared to his peers, said something that brought the discussion to an end.

You want to go to the 47^th city, and you want us to take you there. Am I right, Princess?
Princess was taken aback by the sudden revelation but recovered quickly. She must have been thinking about how to broach the subject because once the truth was out the antennae that hadn’t stopped waving above her head, calmed instantly.

She agreed with his assessment. I failed to make mother believe me, but that doesn’t matter. She’s was against sending troops so far without any concurrent information before the assault. Now she has a different priority to take care of.

The Queen was more worried about the near tomorrow than the distant future. Since the near tomorrow was dangerous enough, why would she worry about a future that might not come to pass?

Princess surprised me by turning toward me. He’s right. She said. I had leaked my thoughts again. These antennae were going to be the death of me. But I hope I have gained enough of your interest to at least think about the issue. The termites have changed. If the reason behind their change stems from the 47^th city, then it needs to be investigated before the situation grows out of hand.

That’s a very tall order. The long-legged one said. Youse should think about it for a second. That place is not in our backyard from where you can return easily. That place is far-far away. So far away youse can’t get there in a day!

I know. Princess said. And I understand I’ll never get there on my own; the reason I beg you to take me there.

But why do you want to go there? The lanky soldier questioned. Espionage is not your job?

Because I care, said princess.

Everyone turned toward the captain who had simply been observing since the lanky soldier had started speaking. He had listened to both the truth and the issue. Being the captain, it was his decision. I didn’t want him to agree. I wasn’t strong enough to protect the princess in the colony; how would I do that out in the open free world? But that’s what Princess wanted. She wanted to join them because she cared? That wasn’t a lie, but it was only half a truth. I hadn’t forgotten the yearning for adventure that I had felt from her during our internal connection.

Let’s see our guest first. The captain said. We might find out more from him.
But he’s still unconscious. Princess said.
You don’t have to worry about that. 29 here, the captain pointed his antennae toward the lanky soldier, the only regular one among them. He is good at these kinds of things. He claims to have the ability to read the minds of the dead.
That’s a false claim. 29 cleared with a short burst of temper, which he also quickly subdued. I can read minds, but not a dead mind. There is a difference. The long-legged one let out amusement again.
How? Princess asked in disbelief.
He doesn’t say. Captain interrupted. Anyways, now that we have a plan, let’s not waste any more time and get to it.

I believe 29 would have told us his secret, had the captain not interrupted. The long-legged one clicked in annoyance but didn’t disobey her captain. They, I was learning was a tightly knit bunch than even the harvesters I had the opportunity to accompany on a mission. I had been excited at that time. That had been an opportunity. That had been marvelous until we met the termites and the day turned to hell. But this — I was not in favor of this. I had my reasons. There was something that had happened to make me hesitate. I had gotten another one of those colorful graphical notifications while talking to them. And it had been an ominous one.

Don’t let your suspicions ruin your life. The fun of living lies in the unknown. What good is a life where you know the future?
You have acquired a new skill: Premonition.

[Premonition][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[Future is a flowing river and its flow an unknown force. So heed the warning with a grain of salt. Don’t break ties without confirmation, because you may end up inviting trouble instead of evading it.]
[Effect: Makes you sensitive toward the others and helps you sense their intentions, whether good or bad, without any difference.]
[Reward: Your intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]

I had always understood what these skills meant without really understanding their nature or origin. It was these skills that had bestowed me the gift of sight and the ability to hurt others with charge, had protected me from the termite’s acid, and now given me premonition, an extra sense.

They were changing me every day, enhancing me, and change is suspicious. However, I also couldn’t say that they hadn’t helped me, either. So, between the alien skills that for better or worse were a part of me and the explorers —whom I didn’t know— I had decided to stick with my suspicion and keep searching their faults until I was confident that they truly meant Princess no harm and were allies to keep.

We left the empty chamber and went back to the city. The once narrow and full tunnels were suddenly broad and empty. We barely met a handful of soldiers patrolling the tunnels since most were stationed outside to lookout. A preemptive platoon had already been sent to the distance western outposts. There hadn’t been any news yet, but everything would be clear by morning.

The residents we met gave way where the explorers passed. I wasn’t the only one who had paid them attention at the tower. Everyone had seen them fight, seen them mutilate the termites, and ignore the inured. They had shown their strength and shown their cruelty. They had their priorities, and now we all knew them.

The long-legged soldier was nimble and could perform acrobatics impossible for the regular folks. She could jump a large distance and even flip over her back.  
The giant, who was also a bit crazy, was a beast that had thrown termites off the tower! He was the one who had held back one of the five giant termites, that his mates had then killed.
I hadn’t seen the nurse fighting, but that was obvious. She was a nurse.
The captain and his left man were a team that worked. They weren’t nimble as the long-legged one or strong as the giant but knew each other well enough and it showed when they fought. Together they were a storm that had shredded the termites apart one by one.

They barged into the sparsely occupied military camp and weren’t stopped or questioned. The soldiers stopped Princess and me, however, and only let us go after checking our identity. The number of soldiers present would have barely filled a platoon. The soldiers some stared, some followed the explorers, but they were quick on their feet and passed by. We had to run behind them.

Don’t we need the commander’s permission? I asked from behind.
Youse will never get it. The long-legged one scented. And we don’t need it. Answered the lankly soldier.

Princess, The captain called from inside the downward slope leading to the thirty-seventh floor and she took the lead. She took us toward the southern wall on the thirty-seventh floor where the soldiers had dug in burrows. All were empty except one that had been barred by a door guard from the outside, the coin head facing inward.
That’s the one. Princess scented and sped up, antennae buzzing in expectation. But the burrow was guarded and we were right in the middle of the soldier’s camp. Even fewer soldiers occupied this place, but a few had followed us from the preceding floor and they doubled the pressure. Needless to say, the soldiers had been specifically ordered to stop anyone seeking the guest.

The soldier's order and the explorer’s aggression led to a confrontation. The giant stepped in to protect his team —or should I say, to protect the soldiers from them— and the long-legged one skillfully evaded the soldier's aggressive grabs by rolling, jumping and slapping them, and reached the door guard. They both performed their duty with such finesse, their actions almost seemed practiced. Maybe they were?

There was no stopping the explorers once the long-legged one reached the door guard, especially the giant. Soldiers clung to his limbs and he dragged them around like a bee carting pollen. In the end, their captain pulled the door guard back and entered the burrow.

A sergeant stopped the brawl soon after before anyone could get hurt. Thankfully, the soldiers had been sensible enough to not through poison around like stomped dirt.  

It was an amazing spectacle, to say the least. I considered them crazy, but they were absolutely mad! Princess liked them. I shared her feelings, but reminded myself of the premonition and extinguished the spark before it could feed my doubt. They had no hesitation. Where did they gain the confidence to go against all the soldiers? Whatever the case, Princess was right in asking for their help; they had the ability to handle the journey to the far-city. It’s just that I wasn’t so sure about the chances of us two making there with them.

The soldiers had caught us the moment they retaliated. We were let go, but the humiliation felt worse than having my skeleton sheared off.

Don’t just stand there. Princess said as the rest of the explorers crowded the burrow. Come on; we need to see this through.
We followed right behind them, but the truth was shocking. The burrow was empty, the ant missing.

What is this? Where’s the ant, the one form the 47^th city? Princess bellowed out the scent.
The soldier didn’t say, but their sergeant knew something. We don’t know. He scented.
What happened? The captain asked. He kept his emotions in check, unlike Princess Tinbuji who had turned ghastly still.
He has been missing since the assault. The sergeant replied. We answered the call for help during the assault; he was gone when we came back..

Now can we finally have some rest? The long-legged one scented. She had been grumbling since we had met, and was on the verge of falling asleep right there.
The lanky explorer clicked his mandibles. We should meet the commander. He said and was turned down before he could give a reason.
You won’t find him? The solder said. He’s in a meeting with the committee. They are deciding you know what. He doesn’t have time for a missing ant right now.

You should go back. Captain told the sergeant. His order was followed and the sergeant went back to his soldiers. It’s up to us now. Finding what’s lost is the perfect job for us. The captain said, making princess fidget in nervous hesitation.

Did she want to participate? I believed she did, but I hoped she wouldn’t. I needed rest like the rest of the workers and soldiers that had been working without a pause to get the city back in order.

I hadn’t lazed while the rest worked. I had kept my promise to myself and helped the workers scrub the scents off our territory. I helped the wounded and dragged them to where the nurses had set up their work station. All of that had taken a lot of time and energy. The workers gave me a rough time, but since I had decided to help that’s what I had focused upon without worrying about their nitpicking. For a time I had felt like a regular worker on the clock, running against time; until the work was done and I had no one to share my tiredness or thoughts with.

Thanks for believing me. Princess said.
Of course, it’s our job as explores to explore all options and find the truth. The captain said. I couldn’t even find any fault in him. He had taken it upon himself to find our messing suspect — or was he a clue? Whatever the case, he had just denied Princess Tinbuji's help, and even told her to get rest. She hesitatingly agreed.

We walked together up till the thirtieth floor where we separated. The explorers went up and we went down to the thirty-first floor, to the royal chambers.

Although it was midnight, the city was wide awake. Why would it not be? There was no knowing when the termites might attack again.

There were fewer workers around, and even fewer soldiers. Everyone was busy. Even the thirtieth-floor military encampment was only half full. The security was made so strict that the same soldier, who had once let Princess Tinbuji in without checking, checked both her identity and passport pheromone before stepping aside and letting her in.

I left her there and went to sleep in an empty place nearby, but couldn’t. I was restless. The whole city was filled with this restless energy that seemed ready to burst. It was the anticipation of the residents, the zeal for revenge. The soldiers were nervous and the workers were even more. There was no rush of bodies in the tunnels. Everyone was waiting for the sun to rise and the committee to pass their decision. Tomorrow would decide the fate of the city and its residents.

We would know about the situation on the western front in the morning, but then we were already at war with the termites according to the princess, and they had the upper hand.

I got up and started walking. I let my feet take me, no destination in mind. The day played in my head like a broken record. Some of it made me bashful and other parts scared me to death. One such moment was her reason behind suspecting the ant from the 47^th city. She found it suspicious because it had survived when it shouldn’t have.

A thought emerged in my mind: What if she’s only given me the job because she finds me suspicious, too, for not staying dead as I should have? The possibility gave me the jitters.
I promised myself to get to the bottom of the suspicious notifications as soon as possible. The question was coming soon. I made it a priority to find an answer before it was asked.