Insect spirits . What the frag else could he have meant? Dr. Adrian Skyhill—erstwhile managing director of Yamatetsu's Integrated Systems Products facility in Fort Lewis—had been a shaman. An Insect shaman. He, or someone like him, had summoned the Queen of the Wasp spirits. The same Queen that had killed Toshi and Hawk and Rodney and many others. The same Queen that had burned off my left arm. The same Queen that had run the .. . the hive, I suppose is the right word ... that had tried to assimilate my sister, Theresa. Oh fragging Christ on a crutch. How the frag were insect spirits involved in this?