Nis was honestly shocked to see a building here in the ant colony. He was already at the end of his rope, so he didn't have the ability to control his reaction and just let his mouth hang open in surprise.
'Why? Why is there a building here? And why just one? Do only the government get buildings?'
Kragg noticed Nis's shock and chuckled a little at the sight.
"Is this your first time seeing the base? It really is a sight. The commander said it was something he learned while on one of his incursions."
"Huh?! Your boss is an infected?"
"Infected? With what?"
"Oh, uh, that's just what I call it. Y'know, those who go on incursions and such."
Oh, a Warper. Indeed, we have quite a few in the defense force. You should really get out more, brother. This is common knowledge."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I think I'm just a little confused currently."
'I really wish the voice counted that as necessary knowledge.'
The two other Defence Force members stopped at the doorway and motioned for Kragg and Nis to enter. They only motioned at the doorway because there was no actual door. As such, Kragg and Nis just walked right past them into the base.
They met with another attendant who let them into a medium-sized room. Kragg called it the commander's office. It was time to meet the commanders and hopefully reap some rewards. However, Nis was a little tense at the thought of meeting them.
'I'm not really good with people who have authority. I don't have any tools to fight against them. I'll just have to get on their good side somehow.'
Nis took a glance at Kragg to see what he was feeling. The bug's face was filled with something akin to awe. Like when someone meets a celebrity. Though for Kragg, it was a little different. It was still like meeting a celebrity, but one he was very familiar with. Not overwhelmed, just excited. Seeing the bug's shine, Nis felt a little better about this.
Entering the doorless doorway. Nis saw two figures: one tall and wide, the other smaller and thinner. Before Nis could ascertain more details, a loud, husky voice sounded from the larger figure.
"Kragg, my boy, are you all right?"
"Yes, commander! Myself and all the miners came out unscathed."
"Good to hear, my boy! Now, tell us what happened."
"Of course, Commander..."
Kragg paused for a moment and glanced at Nis, who was still leaning on him for support.
"My friend here is a little... worse for wear. Could he be allowed to rest soon?"
"Ah, I see. What's your name, and how are you feeling, little brother?"
"My name is Ina Nis— uh, Sir. Just Nis is fine. I'm not too bad, but I could use a little rest."
The commander squinted his eyes in thought, finally giving Nis some time to think. Looking at the commander, Nis felt something was wrong with his appearance. He was tall, incredibly wide, and muscular, which didn't make sense since he didn't have skin but a carapace. How did something with an exoskeleton get muscles?
Nis shook off the sense of confusion and took a look at the other figure. It looked oddly... feminine? The other female ants looked fairly similar to their male siblings, but could be understood as female through subtle differences. This and on the other hand... had all the curves an older woman would have.
Nis's mind started to spiral more. Why were there curves in the ant's carapace? They served no purpose as far as he could see, so what was the point? Thankfully, the Commander's voice snapped him awake again.
"Okay, Kragg can give the report for both of you, and you can go rest."
Nis was happy to hear that. Unfortunately, his mood didn't last long. The commander's voice boomed again.
"Before you go, I have a couple of questions.
"You are a Reality Warper, correct?"
The words rang in Nis's ear, causing alarms to go off in his head. He started to rack his brain. He had to come up with something to throw them off. This state only lasted a few moments. He was too tired to come up with some elaborate scheme. And some scheme wasn't going to get him out of this anyway.
'Lies won't get me out of this one. They can already tell they just want confirmation.'
Nis let out a soft sigh and spoke quietly.
"Yes, that is correct."
"Mhm, you became one recently?"
"Yes."
"Mhm, it's unfortunate that you missed launch day."
'Launch day?'
He looked back at the feminine-looking ant and asked?
"How long ago was it that the others left?"
The female ant didn't speak but just touched the Commander's arm. A moment later, she removed her hand, and the Commander spoke again.
"I see, it was about two hundred days ago. That means the next is about a thousand days away."
He turned to look at Nis once more.
"You'll have to wait quite a while, little brother."
Nis barely even heard the final words the commander spoke. Everything was getting too confusing. And he was starting to feel even worse physically.
'How many days? And what the hell's a launch day? Is launch day the day their infected go on incursions?'
The commander didn't give him any time to think and continued on.
"Lastly, what is your job?"
Nis took a few seconds to think. Of course, these thoughts were all filled with cheap and feeble deception.
"Well, Sir, I have always been sickly. I never got to have much purpose because of that. So, I currently don't have one. Thought, I guess with becoming a Reality Warper, my body has been doing better."
Nis made a gamble. He knew ants were social creatures that took care of their weak. Of course, this only went up to a certain level for regular ants. If they were too much of a burden, they were simply let pass and buried. But those were regular ants. These people were far more advanced and intelligent; they even possessed a plethora of complex emotions. And emotions were something that he could work with.
As far as he could tell, Nis wasn't so much of a burden that their more advanced species would need to leave him for dead. It simultaneously explained his lack of history and place of belonging. Finally, once his deeds were recounted by Kragg, he would most likely have an opportunity to join the defense force.
'If it doesn't work the way I think. The worst that could happen is that they bury me. I can handle being buried. Probably...'
The commander shook his head and turned away from Nis. The other one's gaze stayed on Nis for longer than Nis was comfortable with, making him think she knew of his mild deception. Thankfully, she looked away just as the commander spoke.
"I'm happy to hear you're feeling better, little brother. Now go rest and you'll feel even better."
After the commander finished, he let out a deep, hearty laugh and then called out in a loud voice.
"Kraggle, take the boy to the rest-room!"
'Kraggle? Does he mean Kragg?'
Suddenly, the ant who led Nis in appeared in the doorway and motioned for Nis to follow. Before Nis could leave, Kragg tapped him on the shoulder and smiled. He seemed to want to wish Nis well, but didn't say anything.
'Does he think I won't get much better, since I said I was sickly by nature? He underestimates my incredible vitality.'
Nis pulled himself out of the room. What he was doing could barely be called walking. He was clutching his chest. His vision was blurring, so Nis was glaring at the ground so he wouldn't misplace his feet.
Their destination was only a couple of doorways down, so it didn't take long to get there. Nis's guide left the moment Nis reached the door. He never even said a word in Nis's direction.
"Maybe he's the antisocial type."
Nis giggled a little. It made him lose focus, so he dropped to his hands and knees. Nis looked ahead into the room. He saw something that looked like a pillow made of grass. He tried pulling his body closer to the pillow, but couldn't last long enough to make it all the way.
He collapsed with only his upper body on the pillow. The rest of his body had settled with the cold, rocky floor.
'I'll just rest a little. Then I can reap all the benefits of my good deed...'
With that, he could finally rest. Or rather, his body forced him to rest. In the end, it was all the same to him.