Found

“Where did you get this?” Their mother demanded, running her feelers over it in alarm.

“It was hanging in the crillows, down by the lake,” they chittered back.

“Lies! You’ve been exploring the Salt Barrens again, haven’t you? What have I told you about going there?”

“That it is dangerous, and we could die.”

“Exactly! Why would you disobey me like this? Am I not your Brood-Mother? Do you not owe me respect?”

“Yes” the broodling responded, reaching out to her for forgiveness.

“I ought to consume you all, return your energy to the ones yet to hatch. But if you swear never to go there again, I will let it go, this time.”

“Thank you, Mother” they responded as one, rubbing their rear legs together in appeasement.

She left the broodlings to think about what they had done. The Elders needed to see what they had found – it was an ill omen, she was sure. The metal rope coiled coldly in her craw, its weird artifact dangling from her jaws as she hurried to the citadel. 2 half circles, joining together at the bottom to form a point. It seemed simple enough, yet it reeked of Invaders. The Elders would know more. They would figure out what to do.

The Citadel rose before her, the tall towers stretching high into the atmosphere, reaching towards the three moons that hung low in the pale lavender skies. Soldiers guarded the entrances, their monstrous size and sharp mandibles clicking as she come closer.

“Stop! What do you mean by bringing this evil here to our people?” They reached for it with razor sharp claws, before drawing back in horror.

“I apologize. The broodlings found it by the Salt Barrens… I thought the Elders should know.”

The Soldiers communicated between themselves, their feelers pulsing with electricity.

“Alright. You may proceed. Try not to cause alarm on your way, we don’t need another stampede.”

Brood-Mother hurried forward, scaling the closest tower before disappearing inside an entrance halfway up. The tunnels wound down, deep into the earth below. They were lit with the bioluminescence the Yearlings secreted, glowing light blue. At each of the many cross junctions she paused, seeking the scent of the Elders so she would not get lost. The maze of tunnels were confusing if you didn’t pay attention to these things.

Finally, the smaller tunnels branched out, leaving a larger central avenue to the heart of the Citadel. She kept to the shadowy edges, hoping not to scare the others as they scuttled about their business. The Inner Sanctum pulsed, brilliant turquoise light pouring through cracks in the web. More soldiers were posted here, marching back and forth before the entrance hole. They rose on their rear legs, clacking their claws angrily in Brood-Mother’s face, before realizing she was on a mission.

Inside, the Elders rested in their sticky funnel webs. They were immensely old, from the times before the Citadel even existed. Back when their people had roamed the whole planet freely, living above ground without need for Soldiers. They slept most of the time now, exhausted by the great wars, wounded and broken from the fight. Brood-Mother had never seen them before, and her thorax ached for them.

“What have you brought us, Brood-Mother?” They chittered, blue sparks flying from the tips of their feelers as they lumbered out of their nests.

“An artefact, found by the broodlings. I am afraid for what it means,” she told them, laying the locket down on the ground for them to explore.

“This is evil, for sure,” an Elder told her, pulling back his feelers in disgust. “The Invaders have returned. I had hoped to live out my years without ever seeing their vile forms again.”

“Yes, yes, Invaders are coming. I have warned you, brethren, I have sensed it in the air! They disturb my slumber, they walk the Salt Barrens at night when the moons are setting…”

“You have had a vision?”

“I have, brethren, I have. I have seen them come again, with more of their silver egg sacks, descending on our planet like a scavenging plague, stripping our lands to feed their broods.”

The Elders shook their mandibles, eye stalks rolling wildly as they listened to the prophesy.

“Is there no hope, then? We defeated them before, won’t we succeed again?”

“Not this time, Brethren. I fear we are outnumbered. They come in their thousands, their scouts are even now stalking our lands, leaving their wicked artefacts to warn us of what will come!”

“What will we do? What about my broodlings? And the unhatched?” Brood-Mother fretted.

“You must gather them all, bring them underground within the Citadel. We will make a last stand, maybe we can drive them back once again.”

Brood-Mother bowed her head, rubbing her back legs together anxiously. She had not expected another war in her lifetime, the broodlings were too young, too inexperienced… there were barely enough soldiers to protect the Citadel itself.

She scurried back along the glowing tunnels, rushing to gather her young. Overhead the 3 moons hung like golden orbs, but she noticed dark shapes passing over their surfaces. Silver egg sacks, disc-shaped and enormous.

The Enemy was returning.