"I still don't understand why I have to be the one to wear this," Leeroy grumbled.
"You know exactly why," Brendant was having none of her sibling's nonsense, "because we asked this crafter to make it to fit you, since you're the one most in need of extra protection."
Leeroy fidgeted and wiggled and the many, many different pieces of equipment were attached to her carapace by the fussy crafter, who constantly had to poke and prod the council member to get her to be still.
"Stop your fidgeting," the crafter scolded, "the point of this armour is to keep you alive."
"That's why I don't like it," the soldier muttered.
"What was that, Leeroy?" Brendant demanded.
"Nothing! Nothing at all."
"You've been warned any number of times to adjust your attitude," Brendant told her wearily, "you aren't a hatchling anymore, stop acting like it. It's your responsibility to fight, yes, but also to do everything you can to preserve the investment the Colony has made in you. Do you think everyone is given complete core evolutions like you? Does every ant in our family receive the personal education of the Eldest? You need to stop being so selfish."
Leeroy endured this lecture in dignified silence, she'd heard the same thing many times before. At times she wondered if she was just built fundamentally different compared to the rest of her siblings. She just couldn't see things the same way they did. But the Eldest had spoken, and everyone appeared to accept their word. All Leeroy could do is continue to secretly plot and plan her own glorious contribution to the greatness of the Colony. Something that this new armour would actively seek to impede!
Already she hated it.
"There are five cores powering the enchantment matrix," the crafter was saying, "two of those are here and here," she thwacked the metal with an antenna to indicate the locations, "which help to regulate the weight of the heavier plates."
The crafter moved toward Leeroy's head where she finished tightening the straps for the helmet as she continued explaining.
"The other three cores are concentrated toward the front of the armour. The metals here are infused with earth mana and the cores help to enhance that stability and hardness. The idea is to give maximum protection to the vital areas, as well as preserve the mass and momentum advantage the armour gives."
As she finished her explanation, the crafter stepped back and felt a surge of joy as she beheld the completed product. Leeroy was a large tier four soldier, with a thick carapace that housed a powerful musculature. Even with the enchantments lightening the load, the full set of armour still weighed over a ton, a soldier with less physical stats would likely struggle to move wearing that suit.
Watching the process from the side, Brendant had to admit that the crafter had done an incredible job. The many various pieces of armour fit together ingeniously, clips, hooks and straps used in a variety of clever places to help hold the suit together. She didn't have high expectations for this project, but looking at the final product now, she had to admit that she was impressed. Leeroy had been transformed from an indomitable soldier to something else entirely. The helmet gave her the visage of a fearsome demon, the folds of the metal that protected her eyes cast her features into shadow. Plates of metal swept down the sides of her head and curved around her mandibles, jutting forward beneath them to protect her mouth.
Thick plates covered her abdomen and thorax, with the most attention given to the plating down the sides of her body. Virtually no protection was afforded to the underside of the carapace. The idea was to keep the body low and charge forward, allowing the armour to both protect, and add to the impact.
The shock absorbent properties of the armour were also excellent. The crafter had done an incredible job of building an internal structure on the inside of the metal. The joints cunningly inserted would allow the armour to flex whilst the inner layer would transfer force from the armour to the carapace, dispersing the impact across a wider area and borrowing the strength of the existing exo-skeleton.
"Well, nothing to do now but test it. Are you happy to proceed, crafter?"
The smaller ant did one final tour around the indignant form of her test subject, checking straps and brushing her antennae lovingly over the plating one final time. Suddenly nervous, she stepped away and steadied herself before replying.
"It's ready."
The supporting ants cleared space to allow the two big soldiers some room.
"Alright then Leeroy, I'm going to enjoy this!" Brendant laughed rushing forward.
For the next ten minutes, she charged, bit and battered her sibling as Leeroy stood and absorbed the punishment with a resigned attitude. From the side, the crafter watched intently, her heart pounding in her chest. She needn't have worried, her work held up remarkably well. With her powerful jaws and many mutations, Brendant was able to puncture the armour in several places, but was unable to do any meaningful damage to the carapace beneath, the force of her mandibles wasted on the metal.
"I have to say, it's far more durable than I expected," the soldier observed as she stepped back. "Although carrying all that weight can't be good for your mobility."
"Certainly, only the stronger soldier specimens would be able to wear a suit this heavy," the crafter informed her, "for other castes, such as the generals, a more lightweight version would be needed."
"Makes sense. Alright then Leeroy, time for revenge, let's have it."
After enduring the attentions of her sibling for so long, Leeroy was more than ready to return the favour. Though, it should be noted that her enthusiasm was lacking. Without the threat of very real, mortal danger, she just couldn't become enthused. She shook her body to settle the armour, still adjusting to the feel of it before she set her feet and charged. Although slow to get going, she built up speed quickly, the dirt flying every time her claws dug into the soil.
The crafter's eyes shone as she watched that charge. The power, the force, the unstoppable momentum! This was it!
Mandibles wide, Leeroy dashed with all her strength, her speed much reduced but the power of that charge was undeniable. Brendant braced herself as best she could, but it was for naught. When the fusion of steel and insect that Leeroy had become collided with her, Brendant was instantly bowled over. Unable to stop her own momentum, Leeroy charged directly through her sister and smashed into the wall of the tunnel, cracking the stone heavily and burying her head in the dirt.
It took several minutes to extract the soldier, but the crafter was elated. This model of the armour was merely the first. In her eyes, it was a crude and brutish thing, lacking the elegance and with only a fraction of the raw strength that she envisioned. Even so, look at how well it performed!
"Well," Brendant said as she picked herself up, "that's quite the thing, isn't it?! I've got a crack in my carapace! I don't think she even bit me! I'm impressed! What do you think Leeroy?"
A little dazed, the other council member staggered over with a depressed air.
"It works really well. I feel almost un-killable in this."
"So why do you look so unhappy?"
"I feel almost un-killable in this."
"Ah."
Ignoring her idiot sister, Brendant turned to the crafter.
"Congratulations. Although it has a huge cost in resources, this armour does appear as if it will have a use. We can create and maintain a small number of these to begin with. I presume you have revisions? Smithant?"
The crafter started.
"What's a Smithant?"
"You are. You've got a lot of work to do. I think I might be recommending the Eldest pay you a visit as well, if they get a chance. I'm sure they'd want to see what it is you've done. Good job!"