TOI-700 d, 101.4 light-years from Earth

Republic Hive World

June 16th, 2176 A.D.

0103 local time

"Babe, wake up and turn the damn wristcom off before Ito hears it, please!"

"Mmffh...you do it."

Emily felt Owen grabbing her right hand, muttering angrily as he awkwardly tried to silence the wristcom. She let her arm hang loose as she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to lose the interesting dream she was having. It seemed important, and she needed to see how it played out.

"Babe, it's from Amanda. She thinks Indigo is sick or dying!"

Emily's eyes flew open at that, her motherly instinct kicking her sleepiness to the curb as she jerked her arm from Owen's hands, far rougher than she intended to. "Jeez." Owen uttered as if deeply offended while Emily tapped on the callback icon. "Sorry, babe, I didn't mean it." Emily murmured by way of apology as she lowered the volume and waited for Amanda to pick up the call.

The connection rang twice before Amanda's frantic and tinny voice came out of the tiny speakers, her words a fast jumble of unbroken words.

Emily? Please, I don't know what to do?! Indigo is lying on her side and breathing heavily, and she won't get up. There is a bulge by her stinger, and she seems to be in pain!

Emily knew exactly what was going on as soon as Amanda described Indigo's state, and she smiled with pure happiness as she answered soothingly, trying to calm Amanda down and get her to focus.

"Amanda, slow down and take a breath, okay? I am on my way right now. Go get a couple of palmfuls of the jelly, wet it with warm water, and then hand-feed Indigo while gently rubbing the back of her thorax just below the neck joint. She will eat it, and I'll be there shortly with Zelda."

Okay! Okay! Pleasehurrythankyoubye!

The wristcom beeped as Amanda closed the connection, and Emily pivoted on her ass and pushed herself out of the bed, her hands beginning to slightly shake from the adrenaline and the excitement as she threw the Zikali spidersilk robe on to cover her nakedness.

The Hive was hot as hell, and both Emily and Owen had taken to sleeping in the nude; otherwise, they would soak the sheets and mattress with their sweat like they used to when they first got here. The Insectoids loved their heat, and the portable swamp coolers they had shipped from Earth barely managed to cool their sleeping chambers to a balmy 82 degrees even during the winter on the surface.

She turned around and saw Owen eyeing her appreciatively as the spidersilk robe clung to the sheen of sweat covering her body, accentuating the new curves she was gifted after carrying Ito. "Don't even think about it, mister. Amanda is about to become a grandmother."

Owen looked crestfallen by her rejection, and she decided to mess with him a little bit as she leaned over on the bed and let him see down the hanging robe. "If you help me get my shit together, I'll let you take this off me when I get back," she promised huskily.

His eyes glinted with desire, and he was out of the bed before she even had the chance to straighten back up. They both turned towards the opening as they heard the familiar scuffing sounds of Zelda's tarsi on the ground.

A moment later, Zelda's slow-waving antennae appeared first before her large, black eyes emerged almost sideways as she peered into the chamber like a little kid who was trying to spy on them without getting caught. They both giggled at the ridiculous sight, with Owen coining it the 'Killroy Maneuver' ever since she started doing it regularly.

"Killroy is here." Owen deadpanned as he continued to put instruments and scanners in a large bag for her to take to Amanda's chambers.

Emily giggled again before calling out softly. "Come, Zelda, we are going to see Indigo!" The drone's antennae both went still before Zelda fully emerged and quickly entered the chamber now that she had permission to do so.

Owen held out the now full bag towards Zelda. "Here, Zelda. Take this, please." Zelda immediately skittered over to him and took the bag, expertly putting her upper arms through the loops and carrying it like a backpack before she touched her dominant claw with Owen's hand, lightly scratching it in greeting like drones do to each other.

Once Owen returned the greeting scratch, Zelda scurried back over to where Emily was standing and held out a claw for her to take, clearly excited to go see her friend Indigo. Just like other signs of obvious intelligence, Zelda quickly learned to associate the sound of Indigo's name with the worker drone being taken care of by Amanda, and Emily and Amanda frequently had playdates with baby Ito and the two drones.

Emily took Zelda's outstretched claw and let herself be led out. "Be back as soon as I can!" She promised Owen before passing through the opening and entering the main chamber of their quarters.

Zelda led her directly to the crib so Emily could see that Ito was safely sleeping before leading her quickly out of the chamber and into the main corridor. Just over a minute later, they were less than ten meters from Amanda's chambers, and Zelda suddenly froze. Her antennae began slowly questing in the air before she let go of Emily's hand and quickly skittered the rest of the way, vanishing in the opening and leaving Emily behind.

Emily ran after her, worried something bad had happened, and she entered through the opening without properly announcing herself before coming to a halt at what she saw.

Amanda was hunched over a prostrate Indigo, and Zelda was right next to her, running her antennae over Indigo's abdomen and using her dominant claw to scratch Indigo's back. Amanda turned at the sound of her entering the main chamber, her worried face galvanized Emily, and she went into mother hen mode, hurrying over and taking a knee next to Amanda.

"Everything is going to be okay, Amanda, or should I say... Grandma?" Amanda's worried face gave way to an expression of utter confusion before the understanding dawned in her eyes, and her mouth opened and closed several times, finally stammering after a few seconds.

"What?! Is she... having a baby? How? None of the male drones have been near her, unless... Indigo has been sneaking out on me." Emily saw the anger of protective love in Amanda's eyes, and she held in the laugh that wanted to come out as she put up a hand to calm her back down.

"Chill, Amanda! That's not how it works with drones. Nobody...violated Indigo, I promise you! They are like female chickens, believe it or not. They lay unfertilized eggs once they reach sexual maturity, without a male being involved. How do you think there are four and a half trillion of them, Amanda?"

Amanda had been staring at her in disbelief as Emily explained what was happening, and she looked down at Indigo before looking back up at her. The anger in her eyes was replaced with a combination of relief, happiness, and maybe a little fear before she looked back down at Indigo and began to baby talk to her.

"My poor girl! I didn't know you were going to be a momma, no wonder you have been so hungry lately and trying to steal my food from the table. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Indigo, I didn't know!"

Emily was rubbing her hand on Amanda's back as she apologized to Indigo, and it was time to let nature take its course and stay out of the way. She dreaded what was about to happen, having experienced it herself twice already in the last four months.

"Amanda, look at me, please." Emily said gently to get Amanda's full attention as she stopped rubbing her back and stood back up. Amanda heard the change in Emily's tone and stood up immediately, the worried look back on her face. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Emily felt the abrupt shift in Amanda's bearing and decided a soldier like her would want the truth instead of being fed a line of bullshit to spare her feelings. "Amanda, drones are going to come and take her eggs away after she lays them. It's usually a command drone and several workers, but Aurora herself came the first two times when it happened to Zelda to explain to me the way of the Hives so I may understand."

The worried look gave way to pure rage as Amanda's eyes flashed with promises of retribution to any who dared to mess with Indigo. "Nuh-uh, not going to happen. Nobody is fucking taking Indigo's babies away from her!" Amanda said hotly as she stared into Emily's eyes for a long moment before they shifted to the opening of the main chamber behind her.

She saw Amanda's pupils dilating as the beginnings of a snarl began to form on her lips, and Emily quickly looked to see what had caused such a response, though she already knew as she finished turning and saw the command drone with four worker drones standing in the tunnel just beyond the opening.

She spun back around and put her arms out, hoping to stop Amanda before she did something stupid. "Amanda, you cannot interfere! This is the way it is, and there's nothing you can do to stop it." Amanda was glaring at the drones, and she ignored Emily entirely as her right hand went behind her lower back and pulled out a standard-issue Republic combat knife.

Emily's eyes widened in shock, not believing what was happening. "What the fuck? Where did that come from, Amanda?!" The words and the way she said them seemed to finally reach Amanda as her eyes flicked back over to her, and Emily saw nothing but a total willingness to do whatever it took to defend Indigo's eggs within them.

There was a blur of black and yellow, and Zelda was now in front of Emily, her body lowered to the ground. A very loud and angry buzzing noise was emanating from Zelda's vibrating body, her entire demeanor giving a 'back off, bitch!' vibe that made Emily's heart swell with pride.

Amanda's eyes flicked down to Zelda and softened slightly before darting back over towards the opening as more scuffing noises came from the tunnel, and Emily saw the change in Amanda's eyes as she finally lowered the knife, looking ashamed of herself.

Emily spun back around and went rigid as she saw Venus standing next to the command drone, not expecting to see the young queen at all. Venus raised her claws in salutations before beginning to sign to them.

<Sisters, why are you in conflict? You both know it is forbidden for one sister to harbor ill intent against another. It is a wrongness, and not the way of the Hives.>

Emily felt deeply embarrassed, and she struggled to find a way to explain what was happening without offending the queen or making Amanda look bad. Surprisingly, Amanda stepped forward and began to sign to Venus before Emily could respond.

My queen, it is I who has committed a wrongness here, not Emily-Friend. I did not want Indigo's eggs to be taken from her, and I wanted to prevent your drones from doing so. Emily-Friend was only trying to stop me. I ask for your pardon, My queen.

Venus stared at them both for several seconds, her large, black eyes taking everything in as her head moved slightly to look at each of them several times before she signed again.

<Amanda-Friend, why do you wish to stop the eggs from being taken? Indigo cannot fertilize them, and she will eat them for nourishment if they are not removed from her presence within twelve solar hours of laying them. By preventing them from being removed, you are killing them and depriving the Hive of much-needed worker drones.>

Amanda turned her head slowly and looked at Emily with a horrified expression, completely gobsmacked by what Venus had just told her. "Is she serious, Emily? Indigo is going to eat her babies if they are not taken from her?!"

"Yep. I was going to explain, but you decided to go all Ramba on me and pull a fucking combat knife out of your ass instead of listening to me!" Amanda looked extremely embarrassed as she put the knife back behind her back just as smoothly as she had taken it out. "Emily, I'm sorry, I just wanted to protect Indigo and her babies; I didn't mean for things to turn out this way."

Emily nodded as she sneaked a look at Venus still waiting in the tunnel. "Let's talk about it later, ok? Venus is waiting for you to invite her in, and she will explain to you as her mother did to me for Zelda."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Oh shit, right. I owe you, Emily." Amanda whispered gratefully as she turned back to face Venus and raised her hands in salutations before signing for her to come in. Zelda was still making her angry buzzing noise, and Emily leaned down, lightly patting her on the upper back of her thorax to snap her out of it. "It's okay, Zelda. Good girl!" Zelda's vibrating stopped immediately, and she skittered right back over to behind Indigo and continued to scratch her back area.

Venus and Amanda had been signing to each other in their own private sharing, and she saw Amanda nodding reluctantly before stepping to the side and gesturing towards Indigo. Venus skittered over and stopped in front of a clearly distressed Indigo before lowering herself to the ground and running her antennae over the swollen abdomen, which seemed to calm Indigo down.

Amanda came back over to stand beside her, arms crossed as she anxiously watched Venus and Indigo's interaction. They did not have to wait long, and Indigo's legs twitched spasmodically as a small, white mass emerged from the opening under the base of her stinger and plopped onto the rough-hewn bedrock.

Scuffing sounds came from behind them, and the command drone skittered by them before taking up position right in front of the ovipositor. The four worker drones followed, taking positions behind her as they held large woven baskets with their upper arms.

The command drone gently picked up the first egg from the ground before holding it closely in front of her eyes and inspecting it slowly. "What is she doing?" Amanda whispered as she eyed the command drone suspiciously.

Emily leaned closer to Amanda and answered quietly. "She will inspect each egg for viability and defects first before placing them in specific baskets. The first basket is for immediate fertilization, and the second is for eggs destined to go to the Queen World or another Hive. The third is for long-term storage, and the fourth is for defective or non-viable eggs. They will be ground into fertilizer and used to feed the algae the aphids eat."

Amanda's pale face and neck turned beet red, clearly furious by what she was hearing, though she remained where she was and kept silent as Indigo rapidly expelled two more eggs. The command drone inspected them again, and now there were three eggs in the first basket as another egg came out of Indigo's ovipositor.

"How many eggs do worker drones lay?" Amanda asked, her curiosity winning out over her anger as the fourth egg was placed in the second basket. Emily took a moment to remember the egg counts of Zelda's broods before answering. "The first laying is the largest and averages between twenty-two and twenty-six eggs, which is why it is so uncomfortable. After that, it typically normalizes to twelve to fifteen eggs every six weeks or so."

"Holy shit."

Emily nodded sympathetically to Amanda's statement as another two eggs came out in rapid succession. The rest of the laying passed in silence, and when the last egg was placed in its basket, the command drone stood back up and bowed to Venus before displacing Zelda from her spot and reaching down to scratch Indigo on the back for a few seconds.

Once she was done, the command drone straightened back up and skittered over to where Amanda and Emily were standing. She stared at Amanda silently for a moment before giving her the slightest bow and then skittering past them, the worker drones following her out with their baskets.

Venus lifted herself back up to her full height and came over to them before signing to Amanda.

<It is done, Amanda-Friend. Do you have any questions you wish answers for?>

Yes, my queen. Why did the command drone stop and look at me?

<She sent you thoughts, Amanda-Friend. They were thoughts of appreciation for caring for Indigo and wanting to protect her with your own life, if need be. In her mind, she now sees you as she is: a command drone who cares for and protects the worker drones of the Hive.

She accorded you great respect by acknowledging you in this way, and soon all the other command drones in the Hive will know what you have done here and consider you as one of them. You are no longer an animal guest in the Hive; you are now a command drone and part of the Hive, and a sister to them just as much as they are to each other, Amanda-Friend.>

Amanda seemed deeply touched by that, and she lowered her gaze to the ground, exhaling sharply before looking back up at Venus and smiling at her gratefully as she resumed signing.

Thank you, my queen. Do I need to do anything for Indigo to make her comfortable? Now that she is going to be making more bab- eggs, do I need to feed her more or anything else?

<She will enter her dormant state and must be allowed to do so undisturbed for as long as required to recover her strength. I have commanded worker drones to bring large amounts of jelly to you in preparation for when she recovers. She will be very hungry, and you are to allow her to eat as much as she wants.

I warn you, sister, do not attempt to feed her with your claws. She will bite you if you do so, as she will be maddened with hunger and know not what she is doing. Once she has eaten her fill, she will go dormant again for a shorter time and then resume her regular duties after. Go to her and scratch her back, Amanda-Friend; she will not go dormant until you do so.>

Venus raised her claws in salutations, indicating she was done and needed to depart, and they both returned it before bowing their heads in proper respect and then moving out of the way. She skittered past them, and Amanda grabbed Emily in a hug before whispering in her ear. "Thank you, Emily. Thank you for everything."

"Anytime, Ramba."

That made Amanda cackle in her ear, hurting it as she finally released her and hurried over to comfort Indigo, who was staring at Amanda with her large, black eyes. Emily walked over and lightly scratched Indigo in the proper spot to show Amanda how to do it and then stepped back to give her some room.

Amanda lay on the ground behind Indigo and began to softly scratch her in the right place as she murmured quietly, her voice filled with tender love. Emily slowly retreated until she was back in the tunnel, where she watched them for another moment before turning to the left to go back home, Zelda following behind with the bag still on her back.

Watching the birthing process stirred something deep inside of her, as it always did when Zelda laid eggs, and she smiled to herself as she hurried back to Owen. She wanted another baby, and the timing was just right; she could feel herself beginning to ovulate, and she will take Owen and make him hers tonight.

* * *

The Chief Cleric entered the birthing chamber and walked over to where his favorite concubine was lying on the nesting bed. He looked at her dispassionately for a long moment before grabbing the nape of the elderly matron who was monitoring the birthing and violently throwing her to the side.

Her cries of shock and pain as she landed heavily on the metal deck plating filled him with pure joy, reinforcing his dominance over the females in the birthing chamber as he relished the look of pure fear on the face of his concubine.

She was covered in fabrics, and he flicked out his tongue, tasting her suffering and the birthing hormones in the air as he rubbed it against the glands on the roof of his mouth before looking down at her exposed cloaca. It was bleeding profusely, and he became ecstatic at the sight of the torn and grossly enlarged opening.

It meant she was birthing a large litter, which was another sign of his prowess and genetic fitness, and he ignored her whimpering cries as he looked around for the hatchlings that had already come out so he could inspect them.

He spotted the metal bin on the other side of the concubine's nesting bed with another elderly matron next to it, her two upper hands inside of it as she hooted softly in joy. He stepped over the concubine and made to strike the other old matron with a backhanded slap, but the wily female ducked under his blow and scrambled out of his reach, surprising him with her quickness despite her advanced years.

He hissed at her in half-hearted anger just to prove his dominance, feeling a grudging respect for the old female despite her defiance. She still has her wits and spirit. I will let her live a little longer and kill her after the next litter, perhaps. He leaned over the bin and peered into it, feeling proud of himself for bringing forth so many new crusaders.

He looked at the old matron that had fled from him, enjoying seeing her cower in the corner as he hissed angrily at her again before asking a question. "How many?" She flinched at his words and looked down at the deck submissively before answering.

"Fifteen, Holy Prophet."

He purred with joy at the number and looked back into the bin. They were squirming in a big bundle as they screeched in fear, and he suppressed the atavistic impulse to pick them up and hold them tenderly against his chest, hating that such weakness still hadn't been bred out of their genes yet.

He reached in and pulled one out, checking its sex organs. It was a male, and he crooned with contentment as it tried to bite him. This one is strong, he thought with pride as he tossed it onto the nesting bed next to the still whimpering concubine.

He reached in again and took out another hatchling, hissing disapprovingly as he saw the small, barely formed cloaca. Sticking a claw in the small container of bright green pigment next to the bin, he wiped it on the useless female hatchling and tossed her back in with the others.

His anger grew as he continued to pick up hatchlings and mark them, only to find more useless females and several still birthed, and he was filled with a murderous rage by the time he checked the last one and tossed it next to the other two males by the concubine.

Only three males out of a litter of fifteen, with three stillbirths, was the disgraceful contribution of his favorite concubine to the holy crusade. He turned his gaze onto the terrified face of the young female, seeing the fear in her eyes as he stared at her malevolently.

She began to tremble violently as she pleaded for her life, promising to bear him many males in the next litter if he would only let her live, but he closed his ears to the useless words as he reached down and closed his hands around her throat.

As she struggled weakly against her coming death, he felt a part of him crying out against what he was doing, and he angrily suppressed the weakness, using his shame of it to increase the power of the grip until he finally heard the trachea crunching.

He let go and watched as her chest heaved for many solar seconds, desperate for air but unable to get it as her body struggled to survive. The useless female finally expired, her chest no longer moving, and he turned away in disgust before glaring at the wily matron still cowering in the corner.

Hissing again, he pointed a trembling claw at her, the fighting chemicals in his blood wreaking havoc on his nerves as he addressed her. "You. Find a wet nurse for the males to feed them before they are added to the communal hatchling pen."

He turned back to look at what used to be his favorite concubine for a moment before heading back towards the opening. Right before he exited, he heard the old matron speaking, her voice filled with sadness.

"What of the females, Blessed Prophet?"

He stopped at that, forgetting about the useless hatchlings in his anger. Without turning, he answered the question. "Choose two that you think will survive the best and add them to the communal breeding pen. Kill the rest and grind them down to feed the other hatchlings; they are always hungry. Have the butcher come and process the concubine; it is a sin to waste good meat, and the spoils are to go to my underlings."

He did not wait for a response and left, heading towards his harem chamber, where all his other females were kept. He will impregnate as many as he can, and he will pick another favorite concubine to take the place of the one he had just killed. It would not do to have the others question his fitness after having a litter of mostly useless females.

Females only served one purpose: to use for pleasure and breed more warriors for the holy crusade, and their numbers were purposefully kept small to increase their rarity and value. This served as an incentive for the crusaders to perform their duties and strive to increase their standing so they may earn females and pass on their genes.

Very few knew the truth of the old ways, when it was the matrons who ruled the Bal'Ri and made the decisions. Their brains were larger than the males, and they were excellent thinkers and planners who ensured the Bal'Ri lived in peace and cooperated despite the many different clans and doctrines populating the Womb World.

Because of the matrons, the Bal'Ri were weak and uninspired, focusing on things that did not matter, like science and culture, instead of bettering themselves through conquest and purifying the gene pool by ensuring only the fittest survived.

Only when the Holy Ones came did the Bal'Ri'Kan see the truth of it and kill the ruling matrons who rejected the teachings of those who dwelled within the Gel'Sha'Nac. Now the males ruled, as was proper, and the surviving females were forbidden from learning or working.

With help from the Holy Ones, the females were purposefully bred for dull minds and large litters, and it has been this way ever since, as was proper. As he neared the harem chamber, he could feel his face scales flushing with excitement, imagining the fearful whimpering of his concubines when they saw him entering.

The time was drawing near when they would need to continuously replenish the ranks of the holy crusaders. Hundreds of hunter scouts were coming and going, searching for the scent trails of the disgusting insects and their empire. They were many, and they were not easy to kill, according to the legends passed down over the countless generations.

Even now, the massive war packs were moving in the general direction beyond where the Insectoids had fought against them, and they were already almost two thousand light cycles closer to the untouched sectors that have yet to be purified.

Right before he reached the chamber, an underling came sprinting down the corridor, his face scales dark blue with happiness or excitement. The Chief Cleric halted and waited for the underling to reach him, feeling his own face scales changing colors as he responded to the infectious joy of the underling's pheromones.

The underling finally reached him and went to his knees, bowing obsequiously before raising his head and looking at him with awe-filled eyes as he waited for permission to speak.

"Speak, underling."

"Holy Prophet, Hunter Cruiser 493 of the Shr'Kssk Clan has returned; the sub-chieftain says he found the Insect Empire! He begs an audience with the Holy Prophet so he may show you where they are."

It took several moments for the Chief Cleric to process the unexpected news before raising his head up and screeching in pure joy. The sound was magnified as it echoed off the bulkheads, and even the underling joined in, unable to control himself.

The Chief Cleric was so full of happiness that he did not punish the underling for joining in, as was his right, and he reached down and pulled the ecstatic underling back up onto his feet. He grabbed the underling's dominant hand and placed it upon the mark of the Holy Ones on his chest, blessing him even though he did not ask for such a precious gift.

The underling's eyes closed, praying with fervor as the Chief Cleric let go of his hand, and the underling dropped again to his knees before bowing. "Holy Prophet, thank you for blessing me."

"Rise, underling. That was your reward for bringing me the good news, and you may tell all others that you have been blessed by the Prophet if you wish. Have the sub-chieftain dock with us and tell him to wait in the command chamber for my arrival. Go."

The underling scrambled back up onto his feet and sprinted back the way he had come to do the bidding of the Holy Prophet who had blessed him. The Chief Cleric walked the few remaining paces until he was standing outside his harem chambers, and he placed his dominant hand on the scanner.

As the door slid open, he breathed deeply, relishing the taste of the many females inside who were his to do with as he pleased as their scents wafted out. After he took his pleasure and selected a new favorite from among them, he will go to the command chamber and speak with the sub-chieftain who had found the insect empire.

He will bless and reward him with many fresh and unspoiled females so the others may see how such service is rewarded. They will see this, and they will strive to earn the same rewards when they see how generous the Holy Prophet is to those who have earned his favor.

The females inside began to whimper, having detected his scent through the open door. The sounds of their fear filled him with lust, making him feel powerful as he finally stepped inside the dim interior, his face scales flushed with desire.

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