Queen Chrysalis watched the fleet land and as she watched, she realised the true size of the ships. When the prince had come, she hadn't left the hive and instead had him come to her and was unable to witness the size of the ships herself.
Sand and rocks were kicked up by the rockets of the ships as they landed one by one. It was the smaller ones first followed by the larger ones. The ship carrying the small metal craft was the third from the last to land and did so gracefully, even though Chrysalis expected its legs to snap under its weight. The second last to land was slightly smaller but was heavily armoured and carried strange instruments on it, perhaps some kind of mobile command base.
The last to land was staggeringly gigantic- a veritable flying mountain. It was clear that this was the flagship of the fleet. The metallic emblem on the front end of the ship - a two headed eagle with three crowns, a sword in each claw and a shield on its chest depicting what was perhaps a landscape - looked down at her.
The armoured mountain landed, causing the ground to shake a bit and a large cloud of dust to be thrown up in the air.
It was clear from her expression that she was nervous. She was going to meet with the man who had almost single-handedly orchestrated an extremely successful campaign to conquer a land where he was always at a disadvantage. The heir to the throne of an empire that her hive could not compare to. A man whose people believed him to be a prophet who would usher in a new age of prosperity.
A man more powerful than her.
It was clear that she feared him.
She put on a brave face and was joined by her personal guard as she made her way to the ship. The ground around it was still hot from the landing. She could feel eyes on her as she stopped a small distance from the front of the ship. A few moments later, a ramp lowered from the bottom and several armoured soldiers armed with swords and stepped out, their faces obscured by skull shaped masks. They reached the ground and stood in two rows either side of the ramp.
Three men then descended. One was old with grey hair while another was somewhat younger. They both flanked a man who seemed younger than them both but was clearly the leader, the Grand Duke. The three descended the ramp followed by a pair of metal carriages that moved by themselves.
The carriages broke off and headed off into the desert to do something while the three men continued walking till they were in front of the soldiers. They discussed something among themselves for a few moments before they started approaching her.
They stopped a few meters from her and both parties stood there in silence for a few moments before Chrysalis gave a short bow and spoke up "You must be Grand Duke Mark Sayadi Salemsky."
The men were a bit surprised but they composed themself quickly. The Grand Duke then spoke, "Yes, I am. And you are?"
His voice was calm and kind but firm and it threw Chrysalis off a bit but she continued speaking, "I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all changelings of the Southern hives."
The Grand Duke didn't have much of a reaction to this information other than what was perhaps curiosity. The other two men's emotions told her much more, however. The younger one seemed to be a bit suspicious of her, trying to figure out weaknesses that they could exploit, in short, a warrior. The older one, however, seemed more curious than either of his comrades and in ways that weren't strictly military.
When the Grand Duke didn't say anything, she continued, "I suppose that you have come here chasing prince Ahmad of Gerat?"
The Grand Duke frowned a bit before speaking, "Prince Ahmad? He is leading the Gathering fleet?"
"You did not know he was leading the fleet?" Chrysalis asked. Wasn't he hunting the prince?
"No, we did not." the Grand Duke answered. "But I will thank you for telling us."
She seemed to have gotten on his good side but was still confused. "Were you here to hunt them down or was there any other purpose?" They would have known who commanded the fleet if they were here just to hunt it down but they didn't, meaning that they were here for some other reason.
The Grand Duke thought about his answer for a moment. Pytor and Daud both whispered something to him before he spoke, "Yes, we came this far from home for different reasons. I don't believe there is any harm in telling you." The Grand Duke took a breath before continuing, "We are here looking for an artefact of sorts named 'Project Salvation'. We need it to save our homeland from certain doom. The Gathering's fleet was unexpected but we suspect that they may be going after it too."
Chrysalis was about to reply when a raindrop fell on her muzzle. She looked up at the sky and noticed that it was starting to rain. The men had noticed that as well.
"I believe we can continue our talks inside." Chrysalis said to them, inviting them into the hive. The men seemed a bit weary of coming and Chrysalis half expected them to decline.
"I suppose we can." the Grand Duke said with a small smile.