A Bug's Life 2: Out from Ant Island
Chapter 7
●•●
Not long before the third airship's completion, the colony gathered for an official update on securing the territory of Ant Island. Sinny's face had healed enough to be presentable, so she found herself invited. Surprisingly, she was given a place of honor next to Lily behind the presentation stage.
The anthill's main hub was a large dome-shaped area with enough room to crowd in the colony's occupants, while still keeping a space clear for presenting. How anyone behind the first row was supposed to see anything was beyond Sinny.
As the workers filed in, Sinny recognized Leaf and the former think tank members setting up drawings and models on the stage – her drawings and models. Considering she'd only had an off-hand invitation to attend, she surmised they weren't going to have her take much credit beyond overseeing construction. Leaf did give her sympathetic glances now and then, which was something, and the boy who'd played with her glider model approached her like an old friend, chatting away about how cool the ships were.
Everyone stood up when the queen took to the stage and crossed to her own place of honor, Lily pulling Sinny up with her and shoving her back down again once the queen was seated. There were some speeches from head workers who seemed unrelated to the project, and Sinny immediately dozed off on Lily's shoulder. Lily tried several times to wake her, and finally succeeded.
"You need to stay awake," Lily whispered, pushing her sister upright. "The entire colony can see us."
"Mm," Sinny replied. She leaned back, trying to rest her eyes while appearing aware. It must not have been very successful, because the next thing she knew she was being shaken into consciousness again.
"Sinny," Lily hissed. "You need to stay awake, I'm serious."
Sinny blinked and looked around – the think tank was already in the middle of their presentation, explaining the logistics of the ship's ability to fly. The colony seemed in awe, and applauded heartily when the explanation concluded. Sinny yawned, clapping politely.
"And now," said the queen, approaching center stage as the think tank exited, "I think we should thank Princess Lily and our construction overseer, Sinnia – even if this event doesn't seem to interest her enough to keep her awake."
Sinny went rigid as the audience laughed amid scattered applause – okay, maybe she deserved that, she thought. Lily cleared her throat, meaningfully.
"However," the queen continued, hushing the crowd, "in a precognizant act of redemption, she's volunteered to accompany the airships' siege on Ant Island, as the Chief Mechanical Overseer."
The crowd appreciated this a little more than Sinny thought they should have, although the queen did have a way of making it sound like a big deal. Sinny took a moment to process the idea, and then went wide-eyed. She looked at Lily, who shrugged to absolve all guilt.
"Our flight begins in two days," said the queen. "I will be personally accompanying the troops to Ant Island, where we will reclaim the territory for ourselves. Princess Lily will remain here, acting as queen in my stead."
Sinny looked at Lily again, who didn't seem surprised – of course she wouldn't, Sinny thought, they were obviously in cahoots.
The presentation ended not with song or dance, but rather with a reading of the rules, which the entire colony recited along with, even the children. Sinny looked dumb-founded at the whole thing, despite several elbow jabs from Lily, an effort to get her to participate.
●•●
A celebratory dinner for the think tank and the airships' head coordinators proceeded the event, which seemed planned specifically to torture Sinny. It dragged on needlessly, and she fell asleep face-first on the table several times, only to be prodded awake by her sister.
She was prepared to drag herself off to bed after the meal's conclusion, but was ordered to stay where she was until the rest of the party filed out. Sinny was too tired to be nervous, and she stared at the queen, who decidedly did not look back. Finally, the leaf doors were swung shut after the last guest exited; even the guards left the room, although they were surely stationed right outside. It was silent, except for the queen setting her cup on the table.
"If these ships of yours really work, Sinnia, you'll be doing this colony a great service."
"I won't be doing my colony a great service," Sinny said, looking down at her plate.
"I trust they will work?" said the queen, and Sinny went rigid.
"I'll be there to find out, right?"
"Hm." The queen picked up her cup again, swirling what was left of the contents. "I realize you understand what's happening. Bringing you is a precaution. I ask again: they will work? You have no qualms joining us on the flight?"
"They will work," Sinny said, looking up at the queen.
"Alright then," said the queen. She still looked doubtful. "Have my doctors been doing their job? You still look ill."
"It's not their fault, it's just me." Sinny shrugged.
"I wasn't so different at your age – I wasn't expected to get anywhere as queen." She looked suddenly wistful, and Sinny couldn't help but stare. "I was thought to be too weak, physically. I wasn't even expected to grow wings."
Sinny gaped. "But… you did."
"Eventually."
"When? How?" Sinny tried not to be so openly enthusiastic, but she couldn't help herself. The queen seemed amused.
"As an adult, nature took its course. I was finally an heir to the throne, but not a moment before." The stern look returned. "Don't get your hopes up, though – there's no guarantee you'll grow your own."
Sinny sighed; she'd been too caught up in the idea.
"You're clever, though, I'll give you that," the queen continued. "If your sister wasn't so competent, I'd say you'd be the worthier heir. Only just. Not for my throne, of course, but maybe your home colony's, if they appreciate such unconventionality."
"Your Highness, is that a compliment?" said Sinny, a little more brash than she meant to.
"Such a mouth. Take back what I said." The queen looked more amused than Sinny had ever seen her, though.
"Do we really have to do this?" said Sinny. She figured it was now or never. "We can still stop this, find some other way to help the colony. I know a thing or two about grain, I could look at the crops nearby, or survey the soil."
"I know what's best for this colony," said the queen, her amusement fading. "It will stagnate if we wait around any longer. I've been planning this siege since I ascended the throne, and I'll see it through."
"But…" Sinny floundered, losing her nerve.
"We're done here." The queen gestured towards the door, where two guards entered to take Sinny away. Sinny got up and walked herself out.
●•●
She slept like the dead, not stirring until noon the next day. Her last day, she thought, as she stretched and rolled over. It took her a moment to realize Lily was in her cell and looking down at her.
"Yeah?" said Sinny, her eyes not opening completely.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing," said Lily. "You slept through two meals."
"Did I?" Sinny said, rubbing her eyes.
Lily sat down on the end of the bed.
"You okay?" She felt Sinny's forehead. "You looked really out of it yesterday."
"Yeah, I was just tired." Sinny waved away Lily's hand.
"You're missing the preparations for the flight. I, uh, I want to ask you something." Lily's voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible. "Did you do something to the ships?" Sinny paused, trying to think of an answer, but then she looked away. Lily seemed to understand. "But, you're joining the flight, anyway?"
"I have to," Sinny said.
"I guess, but…"
"Our family's at stake – I have to do this."
"Okay. Yeah." Lily looked towards the door. "They'll be missing me – I'll meet up with you later."
Sinny spent what remained of her afternoon milling about the yard, watching the ships as they were taken into the air and brought down again. The first one was largest, and the last smallest, as well as most maneuverable. The part of each ship still referred to as the lantern was twice as large as the passenger carriage, and was a decoupage of dry leaves – it was also a fire hazard if there ever was one. The only safety precaution was 'don't set the darn thing on fire,' and a few buckets of water brought along. It wouldn't do much good in a real emergency.
The carriage itself was interlaced twig framing, walled with leaves pasted together. The exits were at the top, where the ants manning the fires were stationed, as well as the ant controlling the fin. There were two wings near the fin, each one controlled by an ant, creating just enough air current to go forward. Rather than mimicking the flapping of a bird in flight, Sinny looked to inspiration from flying beetles, creating wings that came out 90 degrees from the sides of the carriage, and then rested flat against it. The effect was a little silly, but it did the trick.
She heard Lily buzz up behind her before she saw her, and didn't bother turning around. Something was suddenly thrust in her face.
"These are yours," Lily said, shaking it for emphasis. It being the goggles Sinny made in the workshop one day, on a whim. Sinny took them and held them up.
"Oh. I thought these were confiscated."
"They were," said Lily. "But, I borrowed them."
The goggles didn't work too well, visibility-wise, but Sinny strapped them to her head anyway, above her eyes where they could be pulled down.
"Well, uh, thanks." As Sinny was fussing with the strap, Lily suddenly kissed her cheek.
"I'm glad you're my sister, you know that right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." Sinny felt a little flustered. Despite herself, she immediately thought of Lily being an heir to this colony's throne, of their muddled loyalties. Still, even now, Sinny didn't know what to make of it all. "I also appreciate our sisterly-ness."
"You're not very good at this, are you?" said Leaf, who'd wandered over during the public display of affection. "You princesses have a moment? I wanted to introduce my wife, June, and our daughter, Daisy."
The tan female ant standing next to him smiled and said hello; she was holding their small, swaddled blue daughter, who was little older than a pupa.
"My husband told me you were the one who saved him," June said to Sinny. "He said you stormed into the council chamber and pleaded on his behalf when no one else would."
"Well, uh, he exaggerates," said Sinny, feeling a little embarrassed. She felt even more embarrassed when June also planted a kiss on her cheek.
"That's for saving him," she said.
Sinny felt both giddy and flustered now.
"You have a very pretty wife," Sinny told Leaf, still smiling at June. Leaf looked shocked.
"All right, come back to us, Sinny," Lily said, shaking her sister's shoulder. Leaf ushered his family away, maybe with a little too much haste, and Lily waited for them to leave. "I need to know: how long are the ships going to last?"
"What? Oh." Sinny shook her head. "Uh, an hour or so, at the most. Hopefully." She looked up at the ships, as though for affirmation.
"Okay. You be careful." Lily was still gripping Sinny's shoulder. Sinny nodded, not sure if it was a promise she could keep.
●•●
There wasn't much ceremony when it finally happened. Sinny was taken out of bed in the early hours of the morning, and delivered to the yard where the airships were being loaded. The queen watched as the last of the soldiers filed in, and then signaled for Sinny to join them. Sinny climbed up the side of the carriage, pausing to look out at the workers who'd gathered to watch, but she didn't spot Lily.
As she hopped down into the interior of the carriage, Sinny realized she wasn't being supervised, and made her way up to the cockpit, where the pilot was still making checks. For now she could only see the yard and the grass through the windows, but before long there would be a lot more to see.
When the co-pilot entered, he seemed miffed that Sinny was taking up what little room there was, but he didn't say as much. The queen must've given the signal, because before long there was a lurch as the carriage began to ascend skyward.
Sinny stumbled back into the wall, not sure what she was expecting; the co-pilot looked over his shoulder at her, but still said nothing. They were obviously ready for this, from numerous test flights, and before long the carriage was steady and moving forward. Sinny suddenly found she was nauseous in the confined space, and crawled back up and out the top, joining the ants who were manning the fires under the lantern.
From here she could see everything, like she could from her glider – the hills, the forest below them. She even got a glimpse of P.T.'s circus in the distance. In the early light, the forest below them was starting to be bathed in orange, the sky a murky, pre-dawn grey. Sinny ran along the carriage to the very front, still amazed that they were in the air and moving forward steadily; there was barely any breeze to knock them about. The ship she was on was in the lead, with the other two following behind in formation – Sinny wondered what they must look like to other bugs on the ground.
The ship lurched suddenly as Sinny stared off into the horizon, knocking her off her feet and sliding half-way down the side of the carriage. She managed to grab hold of the surface and pulled herself back up, as one of the fire-tenders called out, "You okay down there?"
"Yeah," she replied, scrambling to the top and hugging the floor for a while. She'd almost forgotten why she was here, and for a moment thought it was already happening.
Catching her breath, she gave a little salute to the concerned fire-tender and hopped back into the carriage.
Not long after the preliminary flight tests had been completed, Sinny began spending her evenings sneaking into the yard and weakening key structural supports. Her modifications should be, she thought, invisible to the naked eye, but unable to withstand more than an hour or so of flight. She hoped.
The soldiers were seated along the walls of the carriage's interior, chatting or simply staring. The queen was in the cockpit, so Sinny discreetly made her way to the supports holding the carriage to the lantern. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, perhaps merely to peer at her handiwork, nod to herself, and accept her fate. Instead, she found the beam not only wasn't weakened, it had been completely replaced at some point. Sinny looked the beam up and down, glanced over at the adjacent beam, and back at the beam in front of her, gaping. This certainly wasn't something she'd planned for.
She glanced over at the cockpit, and found the queen watching her, knowingly. Sinny stiffened, and then headed to the back of the carriage, where the supplies were kept. There was a flimsy barrier put up between the supplies and the main interior, to keep the packages from tumbling into the soldiers, and Sinny was alone, standing in the middle and looking down at the weapons and bundled food.
For a moment, she could see the ships reaching their destination, hovering over the early morning workers on Ant Island; ladders thrown down, hostages taken by force, detractors shot down. She hoped Ant Island couldn't be taken so easily, but she didn't know for sure. And if they succeeded, Sinny would have to watch as her home was infiltrated, her mother killed to be replaced by a new queen.
Sinny felt herself going cold and dizzy from the horror of the idea – she had to take several deep breaths to bring herself back. As she did, the queen disrupted her solitude, standing in the barrier's opening.
"Stupid plan, stupid girl," the queen said. "You thought a few modifications would go unnoticed? Your plan was completely obvious – your lying even more so. I had the beams replaced not long after you'd finished your little sabotage. But, at least you're honorable enough to risk going down with your own ships. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting that."
"I won't let this happen," said Sinny.
"I don't think you have a choice," said the queen. "We're nearly half-way to our destination, and I have two spare ships. I also have the majority of my army with me – what do you have?"
Sinny looked around at the supplies, seriously considering the question. What did she have?
"Nothing," said Sinny, still scanning the room. "I have absolutely nothing."
"I'm glad we're in agreement," the queen said. "Now, behave yourself the rest of the flight, and maybe I'll let you have a last glimpse of your family on Ant Island."
Sinny restrained herself, her hands twitching at the idea of strangling the queen right here and now; she forced herself to look down at her feet, trying to appear timid, and the queen seemed satisfied, leaving to return to the cockpit.
Sinny had plenty, as long as she could figure out what to do with it – she had an army's worth of supplies at her feet, after all.
First, she tore open one of the bundles, leaving the grain spilled on the floor, and gathered the fibrous packing material instead. Then she scanned the line-up of long bows against the wall, choosing one that looked her size while still being tall enough to get some distance. One stood out, made of a rich, red wood quite unlike the others. She held the bow out at arm's length and pulled the string taut – she wasn't as strong as most ants, but she thought she could still get a lot of force out of her shots.
Satisfied, she put bits of packing material on the heads of several arrows, wore the quiver over her shoulder, and headed up to the top of the carriage.
She wasn't sure what the fire-tenders would think of her, appearing next to them with a bow and arrow, if they'd think anything at all, but she tried not to dally all the same. Sizing up the closest ship, she used the lantern's heat source to light the tip of an arrow on fire, loaded it, and shot at the neighboring lantern.
It plunked into the base of the dry leaves, the flame catching and sending up a small smoke signal. Satisfied, Sinny tried again – the next arrow missed its mark, and Sinny cursed, setting up a third arrow. By now the fire-tenders were staring at her, and after Sinny's next arrow hit they got the idea she was staging a mutiny. The closest tried to grab her, but Sinny kicked the back of his knee and hit him in the face with the end of the bow, and he promptly tumbled, disappearing over the side of the ship. Sinny wasn't too worried about him – her fall from the glider had been at a comparable height.
By now the flames of the neighboring ship were licking away at the lantern and the entire ship was losing height; Sinny turned her attention to the ship behind her and landed several arrows in succession. A few ants anticipated this, climbing up the lantern to stifle the flames.
She'd just landed a fourth arrow when the bow was wrenched from her grasp – she'd forgotten about the second fire-tender, and he'd returned with the queen in tow.
"What are you-" the queen sputtered, looking at the bow and the flames consuming the airships. "You little wretch!"
She struck at Sinny, who tumbled close to the edge, her arrows scattering. The queen continued to stare at her sinking airships, looking dumb-founded by the whole ordeal.
"I told you they were a fire hazard," Sinny coughed out, and got kicked in the stomach for her troubles.
"I ought to make you take a flaming arrow to the chest for this," said the queen, picking Sinny up by the neck. "Or better yet-"
She flew Sinny over to the flame under the lantern, holding her to the fire until it began to singe her exoskeleton. Sinny was too shocked to comprehend what was happening at first, until the flames began to eat away at her shoulder and part of her face. The queen didn't seem satisfied until Sinny screamed in agony, and then she finally took her away from the fire and held her out over the side of the ship. Sinny could smell her own charred exoskeleton – it was bitter, somewhat like a decaying leaf or grain kernel – and the air was starting to bite into her exposed wounds.
"My other ships might not make it to Ant Island, but I will," the queen continued. "I want you to know that before you die. All your efforts were in vain." Sinny was choking by this point, and couldn't squeak out any sarcastic remarks. "Oh, and what I said about not growing wings before I was an adult – I lied. There was never any hope for you."
The queen's grip relaxed briefly to let this sink in – Sinny took the opportunity to bite the queen's hand.
Cursing, the queen let Sinny drop over the side of the ship.