Thank you to empoleonlol for following! Although a review would have been nice, I'm hoping this chapter might spur one up!

~ CHAPTER 2 ~

Wisdom of a Virgin Mother Grub

The metal doors opened and were large enough for the huge mother grub to scuttle inside and to a corner. There she curled up and would rest for several hours leaving Dwayne inside a room filled with books. In the middle was a wide metal table that reminded him of billiards, and it was stacked with labelled tomes that the white creature must have gathered for all of them. They seemed to relate to their species, Dwayne stepped up and skimmed their titles. Fluorescent bulbs lit up the grey room and it certainly looked alien enough. He did wonder what their species had against a bit of colour. Hallways led to different areas of the hive but Dwayne remained in the first room spreading the reading material out in front of him. One book with symbols on the front caught his eye. He lifted up a heavy book with the four card suites on it with confusion, it read 'Comprehensive Guide to Troll Romance'. With a blush he set it back down. Why on earth would it need to be so thick? He thought about looking through it but instead picked up a book about the hemospectrum. It would be very embarrassing to have various information on troll romance floating through his mind when the psychic creature woke up. Dwayne remembered the mother grub mentioning a hemospectrum and its implications on society so he carried the book to a soft sofa seat built into the wall.

There were twelve blood colours or castes. Members of the higher end of the spectrum were blues and purples, they were made up of the blue bloods, high bloods and sea dwellers. The highest blood caste was exceptionally rare on their planet and exclusively female. The only to have it was the empress, referred to as Her Imperious Condescension, and any other heirs to the throne. Trolls who were higher on the spectrum were gifted with strength, psychic resistance and remarkable lifespans. They were also prone to violence and sudden mood-swings. Dwayne felt himself getting nervous, was he going to be the most reasonable of all of them? Were they going to be barbarians? The lower end of the hemospectrum were the reds, oranges and yellows, made up of rust bloods and powerful psychics. They were supposed to be more even-tempered than the higher bloods and possess remarkable abilities. However the lowest end of the spectrum and most common only lived a dozen or two solar sweeps. Further reading lead Dwayne to the information that a sweep was 2.17 years, so he or she would live to be somewhere between thirty to fifty. Apparently the higher your blood caste the lower your body temperature as well. Dwayne felt around his arm before realising that was stupid. What was this book even talking about anyway? His blood was red, just like every other human. Right?

Dwayne stared intently at the vein in his arm. He looked closer... was it his imagination or did it look a little green? Flicking through the book to his own caste he decided to immerse himself in the specifics of Jade Bloods. It seemed he was smack dab in the middle of the spectrum at number six. Jade Bloods were the highest of the green castes or midbloods, despite their perfectly average social standing they were forced into their role as the species' care-takers. It still seemed quite the prestigious role in its own way. When Dwayne started reading about his biology he discovered his own lifespan was actually closer to one hundred and fifty! He blinked, not knowing what to think about that. As he continued reading he began to get confused. The book was mentioning some kind of biological anomaly involved with their caste, some kind of mutation which referred to them as Rainbow Drinkers? He continued his avid research on the sciences and it was beyond fascinating to read more about himself and a culture he didn't even know he was a part of. It made the years of learning biology at school completely redundant. When the mother grub awoke Dwayne hadn't even noticed the hours had flown by, he'd almost finished the book.

I am glad to see you taking such an interest in learning about your species. She began with a stretch.

"Yeah..." he responded quietly. "It's fascinating."

We have a limited supply of uranium, which is this base's energy source. However we can not remain this close to human civilisation or we will risk exposure. The sun will rise in a few hours and before then we must relocate. There are other methods of travel aboard this ship.

"This is a ship?" Dwayne asked, astounded.

Yes. Before finding you I'd discovered the traces of several other trolls.

"Oh?" but then why...

I can only commune with you, Dwayne, due to your position on the hemospectrum. You now understand a decent amount about the castes. While typically the low bloods manifest their psychic abilities in remarkable ways, all trolls have a minimal form of psychic connection. This is what will allow you to find the others, through honing your senses.

The creature then crawled through a hallway, narrowly missing the edges. Dwayne hesitated before following.

I will move this base through teleportation to a new location residing in the local area of another troll, one I believe to be another mid-blood. Hopefully it will be another green caste or lower.

"The... higher castes are supposed to be dangerous aren't they?" there was a pause. "I don't understand how I'm supposed to convince people of all this by myself!"

They will believe, and as for the volatile nature of the high bloods, there is a way to placate them naturally. It requires you to learn more about the applications of troll romance. Due to their hostile nature when left to their own devices the higher bloods are most likely social and society outcasts.

Dwayne had been caught up by the mention of troll romance again. Were they supposed to seduce them into being civil? What the fuck?

Not in the sense you are thinking specifically, no.

He forgot she could read his mind and blushed so furiously he'd probably see the jade pigment in his face were he to find a reflective surface. The mother grub lead him to a command station and began flicking switches and pressing buttons with her small insect limbs. It was a slightly bemusing spectacle, for some reason.

The higher bloods do serve an important purpose to our species and mission. Once their powerful energy and determination is better focussed on our goals they will become valuable assets. But you are not equipped with how to deal with them just yet. I will educate you but seeing as time is of the essence we must work equally hard to build up the members of your team.

There was a dull hum which became louder as the mother grub finished typing in her co-ordinates. Dwayne didn't even get to fare-well his urban area before a flash of bright green above indicated that they had moved. There was a strange sensation in his gut that he likened to being on an elevator or suddenly going down a roller-coaster. Looking up he noticed the roof of this room was glass, or some other transparent material. There were branches above that looked different to the trees found in Dwayne's area, but it was still dark.

I am still tired, but for the next few hours I will tell you whatever you wish to know. Then at dawn I must ask you to leave for the recruitment of the second member of our group.

I think that's enough exposition, bring on the action next chapter! What will the first encounter with another of his species be like? Will flushed feelings abound?