Nova sprinted across the dirt packed training grounds.
Her feet struck the ground in steady rhythm, each impact sending small bursts of dust upward.
Ahead, on the eastern side of the field, large boulders rose in uneven sizes.
Their surfaces were rough and jagged.
Beyond them, the terrain lifted sharply into vertical cliffs.
Other ants ran beside her in formation keeping pace.
Nova's chest rose and fell quickly, but she did not slow down.
Her fingers stayed wrapped around the small flower she carried.
Its petals were slightly damp with morning dew, leaving a faint coolness on her skin.
Ahead, Beatrice stood at the far edge of the grounds where the path opened toward the western forest outskirts.
Her antennae twitched once as she turned toward the approaching group.
No way…
Nova's thoughts cut in as she pushed forward.
Our group made it back first…
She crossed the final stretch and came to a stop in front of Beatrice.
Her feet settled into the dirt, leaving shallow prints.
For a moment, only the sound of heavy breathing filled the space around her.
"Corporal Beatrice…" Nova said.
Her voice came out uneven, air still catching in her throat.
"We've… found the flower."
The recruits stood still behind her, shoulders rising and falling in uneven rhythm.
"I'm honestly impressed," Beatrice said.
"You're the first group to finish this test. And with a day left."
She took the flower from Nova.
"You stepping up to lead them… I have to commend that. Well done."
Nova's cheeks warmed.
She looked down.
"Ye… yes, Corporal Beatrice," she said, voice slightly unsteady.
Hours passed.
The training grounds grew quiet again.
Then movement returned at the edge of the field.
One squad came back first, then another after a long gap.
Each group carried a flower in tight grip, held close as they crossed the dirt.
Some slowed to a stop and raised theirs briefly before lowering their arms again.
Others reached the ground and collapsed immediately, knees sinking into the packed soil as exhaustion finally caught up to them.
Nova sat on the training ground, resting on the packed dirt.
After finishing a berry, she pushed herself up to her feet.
She brushed her hands lightly and scanned the returning squads.
Looks like the other groups made it back unscathed… Though we're a full day ahead of them.
She exhaled slowly.
If I keep this pace, I'll have the best shot at rising through the ranks.
A small smile formed on her face.
Our group made it back first. That has to count for something.
She tightened her fingers slightly.
I hope they see my potential.
Sudden murmurs moved through the line of recruits.
Nova turned her head, following their gaze.
Her eyes widened.
From the distant treeline, three figures stumbled into view, moving toward the training ground.
What…?
Her attention locked on them.
Did they lose all their members?
Her chest tightened slightly.
How… how could that happen…
Beatrice's voice surfaced in her memory.
"Where's the rest? Did you run ahead?"
"Over half were killed. The rest scattered in panic."
Lancelot looked away.
"We're all that's left."
Nova swallowed.
Valeria flashed through her mind for a moment.
"This is the reality outside our colony walls. Death follows us. Sometimes it claims us. If you aren't ready to face that, you don't belong in the military."
A pause followed.
"The three of you, come with me."
Her sharp glance swept across the recruits.
Nova quickly looked away.
"Beatrice, keep the other recruits occupied."
"Alright, listen up," Beatrice stepped forward.
"I'll demonstrate the proper way to use your mandibles in combat. Follow me."
The recruits shifted as attention was redirected.
Nova stayed still.
What could the captain possibly want with them?
Her hands tightened slightly near her chest.
Five days later, the recruits stood under blazing sunlight, each gripping a small rock in both hands.
Their arms trembled under the weight.
Dust clung to their legs and feet, rising slightly with every shift in stance.
Nova closed one eye.
I can't hold on…
Her grip tightened.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Corporal Beatrice called out.
The moment the order landed, most of the recruits dropped at once.
Heavy impacts hit the dirt in uneven waves.
Nova sank to one knee instead.
Her hands pressed into the ground as she steadied herself, drawing in slow, deep breaths.
I never knew training would be this demanding…
Her fingers flexed against the dirt.
But I have to endure.
After a while, quiet chatter spread through the exhausted recruits.
A male recruit leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
"Hey… did you hear about the termites that hit one of our groups during the first assessment?"
A few nearby eyes shifted toward him.
"Yeah," a female recruit replied.
Her voice came out a little tight.
"They said it was brutal… the termites melted them down. Nothing left."
She swallowed.
"Still sticks in my head."
Another recruit hugged her knees closer.
"So after training… we're supposed to fight things like that?" she whispered.
"That's terrifying…"
A pause.
"I also heard a dispatch went out to wipe out the termite colony," one of them said quietly.
His voice dropped as he spoke.
"And the three survivors from that attack… they were sent too."
A few heads turned at that.
"No way… is that real?"
"Yeah…" he answered.
"And get this... one of them… I think his name was Ari. He led the assault. Still a recruit. They're saying he killed around seventy termites on his own."
A silence followed.
"…Seventy?"
"And he even made it to the termite queen," the recruit continued.
"And came back alive."
The wind moved across the cliffs, cutting through the pause that followed.
"He's strong," one recruit muttered under his breath.
A second voice followed, quieter.
"Not even regular soldiers get put in something like that… and he was still training."
A pause.
"After all that… he's definitely going to climb the ranks fast."
Nova's antennae twitched.
Ari… he led the assault?
That's not possible…
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
isn't he a recruit like me…
A pause.
If he could survive that and come back alive… what does that make me?
Her fingers tightened.
Could I even compete with something like that… when I've never even fought real enemies?
Her gaze shifted toward the far edge of the training ground.
Shadows stretched between the boulders.
She didn't move.
The thud of a rock hitting the ground snapped Nova out of her thoughts.
Pale light from the fungi lanterns reflected faintly across the ground.
Each ant carried one, held steady in a firm grip alongside their mandibles.
Beatrice moved on the left, taking point.
Quinn and the two lance corporals held formation on the right.
Ari walked at the front.
Nova's gaze drifted toward him.
Something doesn't add up about him…
Her grip tightened slightly.
I've never seen him in the nurturer sector when I was a child…
Could it be… he isn't really part of the colony?
Her eyes stayed on his back.
Are they hiding something?
And yet… despite everything I've noticed… Corporal Beatrice and the captain trust him without hesitation.
Nova's grip tightened around her mandible.
They let him lead. No questions.
A pause.
Why?... why is he so special?
The squad moved deeper into the tunnels.
Nova's antennae twitched constantly, tracking the subtle vibrations through the ground beneath them.
Ari stopped.
"Something feels off…"
The words were low, barely carried across the group.
The tunnel widened ahead, opening into a large cavern.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling.
Water dripped from their tips in slow, steady drops, striking the dirt floor below.
Ahead, nineteen massive earthworms lay coiled and still.
Their segmented bodies were slick with soil, faintly reflecting the glow of the fungi lanterns carried by the squad.
Nova stepped back slightly.
Her hands trembled around her mandible.
Her eyes tracked the massive worms, the slow twitches, slick bodies rising and falling faintly.
She swallowed once.
Her breathing steadied, forced.
Calm down.
You can handle this.
I have to prove I can.
Without warning,Her fungi lantern hit the ground.
The glow bounced across the cavern walls.
Nova drew her second mandible and lunged toward the worm at the far end.
Everyone turned at once.
"Private Nova!! What are you doing? You didn't wait for my orders!" Beatrice shouted.
Nova turned her head slightly mid charge.
I can do this.
Watch me, Corporal Beatrice.
I will kill them all… and rise in the ranks.
She hit the creature's back.
The worm jolted violently under her weight.
Nova drove one mandible into its eye.
The body twisted hard.
A shriek tore through the cavern.
She shifted her stance, plunging both mandibles into its neck.
Then she dropped her weight and dragged downward.
Thick flesh split under the blades.
Green fluid sprayed across the dirt and stone.
She landed in a crouch.
The worm convulsed once.
Then went still.
A faint tremor passed through the ground… and faded.
Nova exhaled sharply.
She wiped the fluid from her exoskeleton and sheathed her mandibles.
Beatrice let out a slow breath.
Her glare sharpened.
"I'm going to punish her for this."
"Cut her some slack, Beatrice," Quinn said with a short chuckle.
"That was reckless, sure… but she killed it. And she didn't wake the others."
A pause.
"For a private, she handled it."
"…You have a point," Beatrice muttered.
A low vibration rolled through the ground beneath Ari's feet.
Then stronger.
The stalactites above began to tremble.
Fine grains of rock fell in short bursts.
Nova drew in a breath.
"See, Corporal Beatrice? I knew I was capable of—"
Ari's expression changed instantly as he broke into a run toward her.
"Nova, move!!"
Huh?
The ground split open beneath her.
A centipede like creature erupted upward.
Its armored legs struck the soil in rapid rhythm, scattering dirt and stone.
Spines scraped the ground as it surged forward.
The earth collapsed under her.
Nova's footing gave way.
Her body dropped.
She fell into darkness.
Screaming.
Ari rushed forward immediately, closing the distance in a straight line toward the collapsing edge.
He dove into the pit.
His arm shot out toward her.
"Ari! Nova!" Beatrice shouted, rushing to the edge.
She stopped abruptly.
Below, small glowing red eyes stared upward.
Chunks of stone and debris rained from the ceiling.
Beatrice jumped back as the cavern filled with falling dust and shattered rock.