Chrysalis



The Colony rapidly became a formidable fighting force once they had gained sapience. Under the leadership of the Eldest, who stamped out some of the more self-destructive ant impulses quickly, a doctrine of safety first, conservative generalship was settled as the norm.

Using our natural affinity for digging and construction, defensive battle styles in which we were able to grind down our enemies and preserve our numbers were adopted. Siege warfare utilised a similar approach, with armies of ants building enormous structures from which to launch assaults in safety.

In pitch battle, however, we relied on our superiority of numbers and the quality of our troops to win the day.

Everything changed with the emergence of Solant. Adaptive tactics, deception, lightning-fast assaults on fortified defensive positions, in the area of attack, specifically, she brought something the Colony had never even considered before.

And just in time.

- Excerpt from 'The Warfare of the Colony" by Historiant.

It turns out that Solant's plan wasn't actually that difficult to grasp, certainly not my role within it. I'd told her that the reason the monsters spawned by the wave attack the nest is because they could sense what an enormous and juicy pile of resources we are. The reason we don't close off the nest as much as possible is to accelerate our growth.

So she figured she'd replicate the strategy in miniature. She plopped an irresistibly tasty treat on the table in front of the monsters (me), and when they inevitably swarmed me, desperate to crack my outer shell and enjoy the tasty insides, they'd been even easier pickings for the rest of the ants than normal.

All of the fancy diagrams and drills were the other layer of her strategy, rapid rotations. Even that was relatively simple to grasp: she wanted to rotate the fighters more rapidly, something the Colony doesn't like to do since there's inherent danger in turning your back on the monsters in front of you.

But if everyone coordinates carefully, it's possible. She succeeded by having everyone form four identical ranks layered one behind the other and doing a neat sidestep/overstep move, where one group stepped to the side to make space and then back, while the ranks behind climbed over them as they retreated. Each group fought for a minute before they were rotated for the group behind, moved to the back and then had three minutes of rest before they'd have to fight again.

It's the kind of detailed tactic that's only possible with a well-coordinated group who act all on the same page, but with Solant coordinating the battle, everything becomes that much simpler. As a champion, ants are drawn to follow her, believing in her and trusting she can lead them almost instinctively. The other part is her unique outlook, evolutionary choices and skillset. With her view of the battlefield, she can see problems before they happen, stepping in and coordinating plugs for holes that nobody else can see.

I get a much clearer picture of this over the course of the next few battles. We use the same strategy, but this time, I try to keep my wits about me rather than turtling up into a miserable ball. With my antennae carefully positioned, I listen in on the exchanges between the ants as the fighting rages and Solant is a constant, and I do mean constant presence.

Positioned just behind the front rank, she ceaselessly communicates with her troops, identifying dangers, picking up on anyone out of position, micro-managing the ants behind her to ensure they're healed, rested and ready to rejoin the fray.

She's like the boss, the secretary and the accountant all rolled into one. She has the vision, the details and the practical application to make it all happen.

One curious titbit I pick up on is that the amount of time she has to spend managing the members of her own squad is vastly less than it is for everyone else. I'm guessing that despite not being together for that long, all things considered, after training and fighting together, they've already adapted to her way of doing things and can anticipate what she wants or how she would react.

This gives me an insight to what her eventual army will look like: an entire fighting force who thinks like she does. This would dramatically reduce the amount of time and energy she would need to spend on controlling every aspect of a fight and allow her to focus more on bigger picture items.

When we retreat again, I make a point of chasing down a few ants to speak with. I'm not going to pretend I'm smart enough to know if her ideas are working well or not, I mean, it seems fine, but wouldn't everything work well if you have me sitting out in front taking the beating for the rest of the ants?

"Hey, you got a second?" I ask the healer in charge of medical care in this tunnel, Fixant.

"No."

"Think you can make some time then?"

"No."

"Great. I wanted to ask if you think these rapid rotation tactics are helping lighten the load for the healers?"

The healer sighs, her antennae drooping.

"It's hard to tell considering you're the one taking the most damage and we don't have to heal you at all. We've had very little to do during the shifts you're out there."

Good point.

All right then, time to take the training wheels off.

"Solant, you're going out there without me next time. I want to see how you go without me helping."