Chapter 10: The Colza League

The door opened briefly; a single Colza passed through and approached them.

“Odalis, your group has done well.”

“I remember you; you were the senior queen who went through the gate ahead of us; I remember your smell,” said Horti.

“Yes, Horti, Jesna Snibas, our old Queen, who knew your mother welcomes you. She and your mother planned to work together but did not do so due to the predictions of the oracles. The new Queen is waiting and knows intruders are in the tunnels. So, the game begins. If you succeed, Maslav Snibas will take over the operation in the other universe, Nasta 9. She hopes you do but has no idea you are here as Colza. The old queens are delighted you are taking the challenge as Colza. Horti, your mother, did not know you could change bodies. Our oracles predicted you would succeed, but the years passed, and we became concerned. We did plan as Zyla Grep Vandran has done to save a small number of our people. We do not have the resources to build a fleet big enough and provide fuel to travel with all of us to another multiverse. Your mother gave us the design of your ship, but we built only one vessel capable of traveling between multiverses. Such ships are highly complex; they are millions of times more challenging to construct than ships that can travel between universes.

“If you succeed, you become as do your friends, kings, and queens of the Colza. If you fail, most of us will die as you will be unworthy to perform the task,” said the old Queen. “The tradition comes from the early years before we were united. A queen would raid another league and dominate the queen. Our current Queen Jesna united us all, and we flourished.”

“What went wrong with my mother?” Horti asked.

“Horti, your mother, touched mine on the shoulder, the sign of an equal, but she could communicate with us much as you did. She felt the time was unsuitable for an alliance, but she planned for it under you, Horti. My name is Zhan Snibas, and I am one of the senior queens of this nest and the league.”

“Many of us have mirror names of your queens,” said Jiskassa.

“Yes, Jiskassa, your name Sabins, is our last name reversed. Your sister Valsam was named after the senior Queen, Maslav. We did not rename all of you,” said Zhan.

“Are you here to sabotage us or spy on us?” Asked Lisirra.

“Ah, Lisirra, you remain in character. I will accompany the group as a mentor. I will educate and update you on our current culture as we walk. I am available to answer your questions. I cannot provide solutions, but I can tell you what will not work,” said Zhan. “No intruder can get into our Leagues without detection, so we pretend you are undetected. We make the competition fair, so you operate under the rules and circumstances of queens of old. All of us senior Queens have challenged other more senior queens in a similar contest,” Zhan explained. “How we perform determines our ranking.”

“What can the defender do?” Horti asked.

“She can change tunnels and send patrols equipped as old patrols to find you. The regular patrols will not identify you as hostile; you would ordinarily be detected by the first group you pass, so she is only allowed identifiable patrols who cannot use our current detection methods. They use old equipment even more ancient than yours and rely on what they can pick up from tunnel web signals, smell, and how you communicate with them. Your scent is good, and we trained you well. Keep Chak in the center of your group. She is your weak link. Use your observation skills to evaluate how the patrols move.”

“How did intruders survive?” Annjus asked.

“Successful intruders prided themselves on using all the facilities of the league. They ate the food, slept in the dormitories, and confidently walked the tunnels. The brood chamber presents the biggest challenge in the contest. I will explain more as we draw near.”