Your conversation with Hank is cut short, as you feel the ship bump into something. Hank makes a calming motion “We've docked at the pier, nothing to worry about. But I've got to close your crate up again. Once we underway upriver, I'll open it up again.”
A moment later you were once again encased in the darkened crate, and could hear him walking away. Left alone in the dark, you feel.... butterflies in your stomach. Nervous to be so close to your destination.
You hear the distant whirring, and before long you feel yourself hoisted into the air by a crane. You sway in the air, before being set down again. You feel the barge you've been placed on sway side to side a moment, obviously a much smaller ship than the cargo ship. You sit there, for what feels like hours, before hearing the motor roar to life, and feel the boat begin to move upriver. A few minutes pass, and the boat coasts to a stop before your crate opens again, and there is Hank, smiling down into the crate again. “a few hours on this boat, and we'll be at the campsite. Still best if you keep out of sight though, lest someone see you”
You peek out, to see that he's returned to the controls of the boat, and you're speeding upriver again. The fresh amazonian air blows past the crate, filling it with the smells of the jungle. Your colony becomes restless, as it resonates in their collective memory, reminding them of the past.
The time flies by, though the colony becomes more and more restless with anticipation. Soon the boat glides to a stop, bumping into a dock. Hank hops off the boat, and returns a moment later with a forklift, and lifts the crate up. With a little maneuvering he drives you into what seems to be a warehouse, large and open. He sets your pallet down, and helps you and your colony out.
“What about setting up here, at least, until you can dig a subterranean nest?”
You look around, your eyes taking in the warehouse. Your colony spreads out, measuring every small detail of the warehouse. “This is hard to defend your majesty, but it will take us a long while to dig a proper nest large enough for you. This could do until you've daughters of your size to do the digging.”
You nod to Hank, just as the door at the far end opens, and in steps an older man in a white lab coat. “dear Gods! Hank, what is that?!”
Hank startles, and turns. “Oh uh.. hello Doctor Benjamin.”