They Answered The Call

Her fear increased as she listened to the Hive mother describe what happened to the innocent drone. She no longer wanted to do this; she did not want to hurt the drone in front of her. She sent thoughts to the Hive mother, pleading in desperation.

The Hive mother’s thoughts cut her off, and she winced from the powerful anger contained within them, an emotion she had never experienced from the Hive mother before.

More thoughts came, gentle and loving this time.

Her fear diminished as the thoughts entered her mind, but she was still filled with doubt as she continued to look into the eyes of the waiting drone.

She wanted to make her Hive mother proud, and she looked away from the drone towards the wall of the chamber.

Bandit-Friend was standing there, looking at her with his yellow eyes. Next to him was Hive mother, and she could sense her anxiety and worry as she grasped one of his claws with hers.

She looked back at Bandit-Friend, and he glanced at the Hive mother before removing his claw from hers and making claw movements to her.

~My queen, we are here for you. We believe in you. We know you will succeed and make us proud. Just focus on what your Hive mother has taught you and forget about everything else. Forget about us; it is just you and the drone. ~

The queen looked back at her Hive mother, and she felt her resolve harden as she looked into her large black eyes filled with hope and anticipation.

She looked back at Bandit-Friend, and he nodded to her slowly as he gently took the Hive mother’s claw back into his own to comfort her as she anxiously waited for her daughter to perform her task.

The queen could feel the love and trust they had for each other, and she drew courage from it, knowing that they were there for her and loved her.

She looked back at the drone waiting in front of her and reached out with her mind-self, quickly finding the opening she had seen before.

Entering it, she emerged within the mind of the drone. All around her were memories and simple emotions that floated within the large cavern she found herself in.

The queen looked at the memories as she stayed in front of the threshold and oriented herself in the new environment. Most of the memories were thoughts of its work and the tasks that it performed within the Hive.

She looked at other memories, seeing the drone as it moved throughout the Hive and touched claws and antennae with other drones during its travels.

There was a feeling of contentment as the drone touched others and performed its job within the Hive. There was also a feeling of safety and a primitive awareness that it was in a good Hive with a good Hive mother and queen that did not kill or abuse them.

There were other memories in the distance, and it seemed as if the drone had put them there for a reason. These memories were shaded and dull, separated from the others that she had already experienced.

She made her mind-self go towards them, carefully treading along the paths and making sure she did not cause a disturbance during her passage.

As she got closer, she could start to feel the emotions associated with the different memories. These were filled with fear, anguish, and death.

The queen stopped moving towards them, unsure of herself as she tried to understand why these memories were different. She pushed aside her fear and forced herself to go to them.

She finally reached them, and the emotions that came from these isolated memories became stronger, making her mind-self drawn into itself as protection.

The queen forced herself to experience the isolated memories and to feel what the drone felt as it lived in these moments of time.

The first few were of its work and life in the Hive, and there was constant apprehension within them.

Command drones and worker drones would suddenly disappear, their unique scents no longer found within the Hive as it went about its daily work.

Food was scarce, and tasks were changed abruptly on a frequent basis, causing disruptions within the Hive that would be followed by more disappearances.

Their rest periods were shortened, their work was doubled, and exhaustion became part of their daily existence.

Worker drones could sense the fear emanating from the command drones and become infected with it, their simple minds not understanding why the ones who gave them orders had so much fear.

She forced herself to experience the other memories, her confusion mounting. Why did this drone have these memories?

Her Hive mother was not cruel, and she always made sure they had more than enough food and rest. Her questions were answered when she entered the other memories.

The queen saw through the drone’s eyes as the queen emerged from her chambers and fled the Hive. The queen was not of her Hive, and she instinctively knew it was one of the Hive mother’s sisters.

She felt the emotions of the drone as it watched their queen abandon it and the others. The command drones started giving them weapons they had never used before and ordering them out of the Hive to fight the animals.

Tens of thousands of its sisters would leave the Hive and never come back. This would happen repeatedly, and the Hive started to become empty as there were fewer drones with each passing day and night cycle.

Order collapsed, and the drones would wander aimlessly without tasks and direction as they searched for nonexistent food and water.

The drone started to hide, not wanting to be forced to leave the Hive and never come back like the others.

More of them would be forced to leave the Hive, and the drone could hear the strange, loud sounds from outside growing closer. The Hive would shake, causing terror to grow in its mind and the minds of its sisters.

Leaving that memory, she went into the last one remaining, and this one was not shaded and dull. This one was bright, full of happiness and joy.

She felt a powerful thought command suddenly enter the drone’s mind.

The drone and all the others felt it and stopped what they were doing. It was from a queen, a different queen than the one they knew before.

The queen could tell the thought was from her Hive mother, and she watched the memory as the Hive mother entered the Hive holding claws with two drones.

She could feel the remaining drones harmonize with joy at the return of a queen who touched their minds with love and tenderness, something they had never known before.

The queen saw as they left the Hive of death and sadness and went onto the Hive ship to go to their new Hive, a Hive that was promised to be free from suffering and hunger.

She made her way back to where she had started outside the threshold and searched for the essence of the drone she was inhabiting. She saw it over on the side of the cavern, looking at her with its large, black eyes.

The queen slowly walked towards it, afraid to startle it. It remained where it was and waited for her to come to it. She arrived and stared into the essence's eyes.

She stood in front of it, and she could sense that it was ready and willing to accept her control over it. She reached out with her mind-self and entered the essence.

Her vision abruptly changed, and she was now inside the body of the drone, feeling its body as her own and the different senses the drone relied on to live its life.

She could see her physical body in front of her, and she was momentarily disoriented by the jarring change of perception and the loss of self.

The queen let the moment pass and regained control. She moved the drone’s head and looked to where her Hive mother and Bandit-Friend were still standing along the wall.

She made the head move again and looked for the game, seeing the board and the pieces on top of it where it had been placed on the floor.

The queen made the body move, marveling at the new sensations as the drone body began to walk towards her favorite thing to do.

She reached it and positioned the drone body on the side with the white pieces before using a claw that was not hers to move one of the pawns/drones forward two spaces.

The queen looked at her Hive mother and Bandit-Friend and signed to them, making sure she made the proper signs with claws not used to doing them.

~Come and play with me, Bandit-Friend.~

They looked at each other and walked over, Bandit-Friend grimacing in pleasure while the Hive mother radiated strong feelings of pride. Thoughts came from the Hive mother, and she let them into the drone’s mind.