Aide to the Queen, Beru (Currently a Worker)

It has been a day since the glorious Queen left with her escort. Sadly, I was not able to go with her like in past lives. The reports from the others, state that they only rest and keep the connection to our hive. It is a sad day when we are unable to help our Queen because of the biting frost. If only we could bite it back! Thankfully while our escort is unable to provide help, besides keeping our Queen's voice with us, we are warm and comfortable here.

As ordered, all the breeders have been moved to safer locations. I am personally overseeing the eggs this day. Other workers wander about, as I touch my antenna to their own. Giving them orders, so the Queen does not have to guide us at all times. There are few others like me within the hive. Yet, this body grows older with each passage of the light outside our hive. I do not fear death, for I have endured it time and time again. My body may succumb, but I shall not. I will be reborn when I die, struggling inside the egg then eating as I am fed. Waiting for the order to turn once more into what my Queen needs of me.

This is the true miracle our glorious Queen bestows upon us. If we perish, we are asked if we wish to pass on, or if we shall continue to serve her. Many do not answer, for they do not care. Their minds simple, as they gave them to the Queen to not think. I dare not call my brothers and sisters foolish for this, since our Queen uses their minds to help her with tasks that even I cannot comprehend. Those of us that choose to stay with her, are rewarded as our memories are taken through the Queen, and imprinted on a fresh new mind that has yet to think it's first thoughts.

Blast! I was so absorbed in my thoughts, that I almost neglected the poor Breeder in front of me. I gently licked her face as an apology, before cleaning her body. After I was done with my section, I began to carry the delicate little eggs where we were keeping this Breeder's eggs. I could feel the life within such. So eager to escape it's egg and help the Hive. All in time little one, we will care for you until you are ready. Placing the egg down in it's own personal cell. I had to headbutt one of the lazier workers who decided to put multiple eggs in one cell.

The hubris! Thinking he knew better than our Queen! He clicked his mandibles at me, as if wanting a fight. I touched my antenna to his as he told me how many times he was reborn. Only thrice! He wasn't even a warrior or scout once! I accepted his duel promising to let him try as he wanted if he won. Other workers moved around us, saving the poor eggs. The two of us circled each other, clicking our mandibles together. Both of us moving back in forth in our dance. Neither of us wanted to really hurt the other. Since we were brothers after all, and so we developed a way to fight without making either less useful to the Queen.

He lunged first taking the initiative. I hopped where his stinger would have gone, and touched the top of his head with my own. These worker bodies had much stronger legs than the others. I had learned how to use them in fights before. The Worker below me was stunned as I landed behind him. Swiftly I turned and charged him from behind. Flipping him onto his back. The other worker rolled his legs, before getting back on his feet. He lowered his head, and started doing his job properly. I touched his antenna with mine, letting him see my memories of what happens when more than one egg are in a cell together. The larva grow and die, and that saddens our queen.

He understood, and promised not to do it again. I flicked my antenna, picking up a disturbance from the warriors. Something was going on at the front lines. I quickly skittered my way towards the area, while I received information that another war was going on. This time the enemy was tougher than the termites from before. We were losing warriors!

The reason became clear, as I entered the fray. Our scouts had found a new nest of termites, and grew complacent with how well our previous dealings with the enemy went. This new group was sleeker than their thicker counterparts. They had sharper mandibles, with their own warriors having metal along the edges of their legs and mandibles. Where the other termites were unable to harm us, and such made them easy enough to deal with. These ones were tearing into our warriors, taking legs here or there. The warriors were able to take around ten with them, before succumbing. This was unacceptable however!

It would only be a matter of time before we ran out of warriors, before the enemy lost enough to retreat at the very least! One managed to sneak past our lines, and I met it. The termite went for my leg, thinking me to be an average worker. It did not expect me to just kick into it's mouth and twist to sever its head. The fool! It's severed head attempted to bite at me, but it held no leverage or ability to try and tear. I kicked the head to get it off. Watching it bounce off the ceiling back to the hoard.

Clicking my mandibles I requested support from the rest of the hive. Ordering the warriors to hold the line and use their bodies to block them from coming. Quickly more warriors came to my call. Some of them remembering me from my past body. I quickly touched antenna with a few, and they spread the information I had gathered to each other before charging in. We would lose if this were a number game, but there was one important fact. We could fly while the enemy could not.

I fell back away from the warriors as they fought, more coming. I ordered them to retreat back, this tunnel far too large for us to meet the enemy without losing too many of our warriors. I touched their antenna to explain my plan, a trick I learned when we attacked a wasp nest. Then the spinners came, having finished their job of securing the slave nest. Even if their eggs hatched into fresh warriors. They would be trapped in the webbing that we flew through. Even then their warriors were pathetic enough that even a fresh worker could endure without dying.

I touched antenna with this new body type, asking them to make the tunnel small. The warriors holding the line, would not last too much longer. The Spinners did as ordered, quickly using their silk stingers to weave a web. It was truly strange having a body type without any actual stingers, but the webs they made were rather durable. Two silk stingers worked with each spinner, as I told them to leave holes at the bottom. Small tunnels for the enemy to come through one at a time.

I had learned this from the wasp hive, where I was separated from the rest of my squad. I had to retreat through their nest, squeezing through tunnels. I ended up in the one of their hatcheries. I quickly dispatched the workers there, leaving the eggs for later. Then their warriors came through the same small opening I did. One at a time, and it made everything easier! I could just dispatch the one poking it's head through, pull the body in and toss it behind me. Then repeat the process until they stopped coming.

The line with the warriors broke, and I thanked them for their sacrifice to the Queen. I heard no complaints or regret from them. They were happy to serve the Queen to the end. The older ones telling me that my plan better work. My only response was that I am not a fool, only the enemy are! I ordered the new warriors by the holes left for our enemy. The plan worked perfectly as the enemy began to trickle in one by one. The warriors taking turns to tear into the enemy as they came in slowly. This would minimize our losses, and the Queen should be rather pleased.

Still, I ordered some of the spinners to make a sticky path around the tunnel for our warriors to take shifts. Then to make another set of walls just like this. The enemy might be foolish, but I will never underestimate them! Not since our first enemy here, tried to collapse the entire hive into their nest. We might have suffered many more losses without her interference. We are a strong glorious hive, serving a glorious Queen! Only minimal losses will be tolerated. I raised my head to click my mandibles to exclaim our glory. The others joining me, before continuing with their duties.

Time passed, as I had different patrols replacing others. I watched the warriors growing sluggish from slaying two hundred to three hundred of the enemy. It was time for another patrol to replace them. The enemy truly were foolish, I had expected them to try and tunnel around our wall, but they made no effort for such. Workers carried the the dead or dying bodies of the enemies. I myself had decided to eat a few, my mandibles growing sharper and more polished. Even the talons on my legs seemed to become metal. A rather nice boon, no doubt bestowed to us by our glorious Queen.

More time passed, as the enemy just continued to come. Then it happened, our Queen was starting to evolve and change once more! I neglected to inform others to tell her of the situation! I didn't tell her myself! There were usually lives before she evolved, but to evolve again so quickly! The others started to become sluggish, as this evolution seemed to be one that was going to change the hive! I had no idea how much of the enemy was left. I scrabbled towards one of the holes, ordering the spinners to seal all that they could! They were past the fourth wall, and I was truly happy I had not been foolish not to keep them close by the walls just in case. They set to work sluggishly, as the enemy started to pour into the wall we were guarding.

I ordered the warriors to fight as best they could. Thanking them for their sacrifice, the youngest didn't understand. I had no time to explain it to them, they would meet the queen and be given their choice to make. I ordered any worker or warrior near the walls without spinners to seal it with their bodies. To spread their wings and embed themselves into the web to block the enemy. We were all going to sleep soon, and we needed as much time as we could possibly get. I saw the warriors dying to the enemy. I grabbed one of the bodies of their dead comrades that a youngster dropped to sleep. I threw it into a hole, hoping the enemy might be reluctant to chew through such. I slowly skittered my way towards another hole. Turning to face the enemy. I would not die in this body with my back to them. I would hold the line for our glorious Queen. I raised my mandibles to click them together, while backing into the hole with my wings and stingers spread.

The enemy fell upon me, even in my half unconscious state. I fought against the coming changes, anything to give our hive another precious second. I fought the enemy, who appeared as shadows to my mind. Using my legs to kick and cut into them. The metal edges helping a lot to properly dispatch them. The one blessing from this, is that all the eggs will hatch, and all the larva will change to fill the numbers we lost. All of us that choose to serve the glorious Queen for another blessed life, will have stronger bodies. One of the enemy finally caught me by my neck. My head finally being severed. Still I fought for our hive, using my antenna as legs to jump and bite the enemy. I managed to take the one that killed me before being bitten in half.

----------------------------------------

Aide to the Queen, Beru (Currently in Wonderland)

I awoke, expecting to find the paths. The two branching paths, with one leading to our glorious Queen, the other leading to the great beyond. I expected to be able to see my brothers and sisters making their choices. Even I could never have expected to see such immaculate splendor. I looked down at my body, to find it similar to the Queen's. Two legs that held me upright, and four arms. I had wings on my back, and as I stretched them I looked up at the sky. It was beautiful beyond words, a warm starry night. The stars above were the voices of my brothers and sisters. Yet, while I stood here, I could see them slowly extinguish one after the other. A reminder that I needed to go back and help the others. To wake up, and protect the hive.

I looked around me, only to find I was in a soft lush meadow of green that came up to my waist. There were no trees that climbed infinitely into the sky. I could not even find my fallen brothers and sisters. Then I smelled a fragrance with my antenna. Something warm, and sweet. I followed the scent, wading through the grass ocean. I heard them before I saw them. Two voices within my Queen. "We really should just slow down time here. Take a second to really talk about this."

"You're right, but I want you to do it Mimi. We both use mind magic, and you are lacking right now."

"My apologies Alice. I'm just nervous."

"Because the Hive is under attack? It's fine, I understand. Just breathe, and focus. I won't let you mess up."

I could hear a deep breath being taken. Then the stars seemed to glow a little, before gently shining. I could see the ones being snuffed out were taking much longer before fading. As if watching them die in slow motion. I continued towards the voices. A wall of taller grass blocking my view. Parting the grass, I stepped into a small grove with so many things to take in at once.

There was an exceedingly large table made of ivory with an ebony top. Veins of ebony and ivory running through both with soft curves here and there. The grass was shorter here, not obstructing my movement, or vision. I could make out a tiny waterfall past the table with many legs of different colors. Chairs seating these four sets of legs. One set was Ivory, the other Ebony. The other two sets were perfectly still. One with a mousy tail curled over a green and white dress. With black stockings and emerald shoes. The smallest of the sets, without her feet touching the ground. The other was thick ebony legs, with golden pulsing veins running through it.

Only two were talking however. "Great job Mimi, you managed to slow everything down outside our domain. Well, you sped us up, but that's what you needed to do."

"Thank you Alice. What do you think it means though? WIth Mister Hatter here eating our guest?"

"Well, he is the Devourer. At least a manifestation of it within our minds at least. Would explain why he looks like the old one, but also different. We can't influence these two, because they are just concepts doing their jobs."

"I don't understand..."

"That's okay Mimi, we have all the time we need. We spent years building this place around them, and for us. We were so busy, we didn't even notice the illusion affecting our daughter."

"She noticed it, and brought it to our attention though." The ebony legs kicked as if they were a bit happy.

"Yes, and I'm glad she noticed something was wrong. We should be taking care of illusions and other mental attacks for her. We should focus on guiding the hive as well. We are her subconscious after all, and we are her mothers."

I was certain the voices I heard were my Queen and the other voice that caused us trouble in the past. Though it didn't sound as if my Queen was worried about this other voice anymore. Then the sweet scent hit me again, and I walked to one of the table legs. I began to climb it.

"What did you do with the spider anyway? Alice?"

"Oh nothing too bad, I offered him a choice. He could die and go to the great beyond, or serve us in our hive. His mind was almost fried with all that information, but he was afraid of dying. He accepted my offer."

"Aren't you worried he might try to betray us?"

"Why would I worry about that? He'll be a part of the hive, even if he gets uppity we can just kill him. We also should get some bugs to learn how to share all this work. It's such a hassle doing all of this one at a time. How did you manage?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I was the Queen, it was what I was made to do. Give orders, receive information, and so on. I didn't know I was using magic to help me do it. How did you survive so long anyway? I thought I ate your brain and you probably should have died."

"I would have, if it wasn't for my magic, and the talent. I was able to make copies of myself using the minds of your hive. You didn't notice because you never thought to check your hive for me. I was also too weak to actually take you over, and by the time I could. Well you already had more minds than I could hope to fight. Hence why I was whispering to you directly. Fighting you sometimes."

"I see, we've been here for years now. Is it okay if I ask?"

I made it to the top of the table, seeing two identical queens. One black, the other white. I saw a mouse girl sleeping with her head on the table, ears as big as pans wrapped over her head to let her sleep. She had ivory hair, and green ears that just made her adorable. She even had a black muffler. The other figure sat with it's arms crossed. A completely black figure with golden veins running through it. Wearing a silky white hat with yellow veins moving through such. It held jet black hair and wore a pitch black fur pelt. While the mouse girl wore a dress.

I turned towards the queens, to see them sorting my brothers and sisters. Asking them questions, before sending a few into the waterfall. Others were tossed back into the sky. Why very few simply disappeared.

"It doesn't hurt to ask Mimi. Go ahead." The Ivory Queen smiled at the True Queen.

"Why did you save me? After all I did to you?" My Queen looked back at the other, frowning a little.

Alice just laughed, "Took you long enough dear. When you were fading away, I realized we would be stronger together. That everything you did, wasn't out of malice, but for survival. That and the fact you fought me on my darkest nightmares and memories. You have no idea how strange it was to see a monster struggle to save others. Everyone else was running. I was okay with you running, but you didn't. You stayed to fight, even if you couldn't win. Most of the adults in our school couldn't even manage that much."

"You saved me, because I wasn't doing what you thought I would?" Mimi went back to sorting the small specks. The table was littered with all kinds of food and drink. Memories of what they had eaten before. I do not know how I came to understand all of this, or how they had yet to notice me. They were probably too busy talking to each other, or sorting. Maybe a mixture of both, but it would be rude to interrupt them.

I made myself comfortable by a small pile of sugar, enjoying it. "I was trying to convince myself that you were a monster. Something not worth saving, or even trying to talk to. I was angry after all the years of fighting with you, all the pain you put me through."

"Sorry..."

"Don't be, wasn't your fault. You were doing what you had to do. All that in order to keep your hive safe and survive. I was trying to convince myself that you were worse than you really are. I'm sorry for putting you through all of that. Then you started to let yourself die, because you understood what you did. You weren't a bug or a monster at that point. You were Mimi, and you took the course that might at least make up for what happened. That's why I saved you, because you were someone worth saving."

Mimi smiled, as she finished sorting, "Thank you. I'm glad we can work together, and still be alive here. I'm proud of our daughter."

Alice laughed, before sipping some tea. "Of course, I'm proud of her as well. She's the best of both of us. Darn shame we can only try talking to her when she sleeps through dreams though." Alice looked at her tea, deciding it needed more sugar. She reached for the spoon, to find me holding the same spoon out to her.

Both Queens finally looked at me, tilting their heads. I knelt, "Glorious Queens! I apologize for not telling you that we were under attack! If only we had thought to tell you! Please forgive me! Forgive us for being foolish enough, not to tell you the situation we were in!" I quickly prostrated myself before them. "I did not know you were to evolve! Let alone bless the entire hive with your gifts! We were in the middle of battle with a new hive of termites! The enemy wields bladed legs, and mandibles! I fear they might break through the silk walls we erected and slay us!"

I heard the one known as Alice laugh a little. The other softly touching my back to stroke it. I was finally noticed by the one true Queen! Despite the tragedy about to happen, this was the happiest day of my many lives! "It's okay, we slowed time down here. Alice made it even slower. Please step on my hand and share memories with me."

I bowed my head, before crawling onto her hand that was easily the same size as my body. She effortlessly carried me to her antenna, where ours touched. I never dreamed of such a possibility before. My vision went white with bliss, before I blinked it was over however. My Queen smiled gently at me, "You have done well. I shall give you a name, and a new position. Sadly, I cannot make you a body like this one you have so dreamed of. Though I can try giving you a brand new body I think you might enjoy regardless. Are you okay with doing more work for me?"

"If it was for my glorious Queen, I would never hesitate! You have not only given me the honor of touching antenna with you, but you are also giving me a name. Words fail to describe how filled with joy I am, my most glorious Queen!" I prostrated myself before her again, my head gently rubbing against her palm.

"Thank you so much for everything Beru. I am counting on you. Do you have any questions?" She gently stroked my back and wings.

"None my Queen, unless you are asking me to think of a few." I kept my head lowered to not gaze too much at her majesty.

"If you can think of any, please ask. You might see things I missed after all. I'll even let you explain your reasoning if you choose to defy my orders in the future. I do not need or want complete obedience. I want smart honorable minds like yours to guide when I cannot. This will help the hive far more than you might understand right now." She spoke sweetly, and softly to me.

"Then I have one question, my Queen. Is the Richard a suitable mate? When will you lay your own eggs so that we might guard and protect them?"

I heard the voice known as Alice laugh out loud, while my Queen remained silent. "When it warms up, if things go well. It's too cold for babies right now." The same voice chimed in.

My Queen finally spoke, "That is not just my decision to make. Thank you for your service."

----------------------------------------

Aide to the Queen, Beru (Currently an Officer)

I awoke once more, starving as a larva. My body starting to change already as I struggled through such. I was starving, I needed food. Anything to drink as well. It felt as if my antenna were touching all those around me at once. I did not have antenna yet, so this shouldn't be possible. Unless! Yes, my glorious Queen has given me the ability to talk to others without touching them. To communicate with them. I crawled out of my cell, ordering workers to bring me food and gel. They quickly moved to do such, knowing I was chosen by my Queen. My body growing larger as I gouged myself on food. Then the rest of the transformation hit me, my pain was distributed to those around me. My body splitting at the seams, before quickly and violently changing. I emerged once more in a body the size of a warrior and a half. The workers around me, quickly started to clean me. I turned my attention to the front lines.

The battle was still on going, everyone past the forth wall had fallen during our changes. Only the threads from the spinners kept us safe since that wall was closed off. The termites had started to eat around the threads, and would likely start to come through. I ordered the spinners to pull back. Laying a sticky trail while they retreated. Most of the larva were going to become the forces we lost, then some more. Yet, I understood what happened while we slept. We all gained the ability to slip through the threads, and not be hindered by them. An important advantage against those spiders that kept capturing our scouts for fun. That was for later however. I needed to focus on the enemy ahead of us.

For the first time, I felt things more complicated then joy for our hive. I felt regret and sadness for those brothers and sisters that had fallen. I felt fear at letting the enemy break our lines, and kill our breeders. The despair that might come if our hive was broken here. Yet all these feelings gave way to my resolve. We would not break, we would not die. Our hive was too glorious, too mighty to fall to such cowards. My brothers and sisters around me clicked their mandibles at my thoughts, feeling and sharing the same emotions I felt. I had the warriors march their wings. The spinners planting strands from the ceiling. All while I made my way towards where the enemy was about to break through.

My legs were thicker than a workers, and they felt stronger. With bladed talons, and a line of dark chitin. I had no metal on this body, but I had the armor of my Queen with me. I was her chosen, I am Beru, first officer of this glorious hive. My wings were long and beautiful like a scouts. I beat them in a low drumming tune. To make the marching of my warriors more sinister. I had four stingers, and as the first officer I had no idea what they might do. I needed to test them later, since one or two could be explosive. The spines on my back ran straight like sharp spikes, and my eyes were compounded. I could use each section to see what another in the hive saw. To understand the situation better. My new mandibles were slick and jagged. Perfect for carving and cutting.

As I arrived to the front lines, I saw a large enough hole for ten of the enemy to crawl out at a time. More holes following, but they were still fools. They did not think to tunnel deeper, and blindside us elsewhere. They only dug around what they could not tear through. Which was better for the hive. The strands of silk caught those that advanced towards us. A wave of enemies surging forward. The warriors and myself stood our ground, beating our wings in unison. The spinners making another wall behind us. The true last line that we would need before they were truly within our hive.

The enemy was caught on strands, and swung around as they continued to march forth. Many getting caught in the sticky trail with their comrades crawling over them like a bride. I wondered briefly, how many were just beyond the fourth wall. How many were trapped and left to die, because these termites only thought about attacking? Such musing was cut short, as the enemy came within my range. I flexed my longer leg, aiming at the first one's neck. The talons tore through them cleanly. I was stronger than the warriors now.

The enemy continued to pour forward, their numbers severely reduced thanks to the spinners. The ones that made it to us were the last wave of their army. Our warriors made our way through those that were restrained. Easily picking them off and severing their heads. Even the workers helped with this, since there were so many. The enemy Queen would not be allowed to live, she was to be devoured. It took us hours to finally end the last of their warriors and make it back to the front lines where it all began. There were far too many enemy warriors compared to the other hives we found. The enemy was likely a hive similar to our own, even if they were foolish.

There were reports of the Richard bringing us leftovers, and such was sent to the Queen. It filled me with joy that she enjoyed such positive news. Now that I understood these emotions, I wanted to keep her happy, and my brothers and sisters safe. The Queen was no longer the center of my small world. She was still the most glorious Queen, but now I understood she would sooner die to protect us. Her burden is heavy, and I have been humbled to be allowed to share such. If there was something our Queen could not deal with, I needed to ensure the hive was safe and would continue to prosper.

It was no longer blind loyalty that guided me, but the humble understanding of our glorious Queen's true desires. Still we carved and marched forward towards the enemy hive. There were surprisingly few enemy warriors here. Even the workers appeared to be absent. I sent some scouts ahead to try following the paths and finding a way to the enemy queen. Oddly enough there were reports and sightings of white termites. They seemed to move away out of fear. I made the order to not pursue them, or attack them unless attacked first.

The whole situation seemed more perplexing than I initially thought. Was another hive attacking this one with us? Were they desperately retreating from these white termites? If that were the case then their Queen would have been carried and pincered. We proceeded further into the enemy hive. Most of the tunnels abandoned, save for the white termites poking their heads around corners to look at us. They were smaller than the enemy warriors, but even the enemy had smaller workers with them. These termites seemed to have fuzzy antenna, with soft exoskeletons. A few suddenly moved towards us, and I ordered the others to stop moving. The white termites went to one of the injured warriors.

I made the decision to see what they intended to do. Ordering the others to standby. The three that moved towards the injured warrior began to lick at it's wounds. Seeming to heal him as best they could. Two of them died from closing the wound, our blood poison to them. The one that was left seemed to realize this and looked down. We ignored it, and continued to march onwards. If the enemy was trying to establish peace, it was far too late for that. They would have killed our breeders, slain our unborn, and devoured our children. We have done the same to other hives, and we shall do the same to this one.

The scouts reported multiple queens in different tunnels. Which should be impossible, but now that I could think on it more. It made sense to have more than one Queen. The Breeders could have been Queens, but they served one purpose. This hive's breeders were their Queens. It explained their numbers since they only needed wood to make more. Wood that was all around us. I took a second to look through the eyes of the scouts to confirm their reports before sending warriors to take out these Queens. This hive truly was massive and we needed to make sure none survived.

I continued my group, to find more of the white termites skittering here and there. They moved out of our way, gently clicking their mandibles at us. They were trying to keep us away, but quickly parted when we continued. I decided to see what they could be guarding, since I had kept the scouts from fighting anything that resisted. To my surprise, I found a rather large Queen that was different from the ones with metal. Then I realized we weren't the first hive to keep a slave Queen for ourselves. A mighty blow to my ego, in how we were the first hive to be so clever. While these fools had already been doing such before we arrived here.

I moved forward towards this large white Queen. I could practically see the eggs being made inside her almost transparent abdomen. Then I saw an enemy warrior clicking it's mandibles at me. It placed them on the Queen's neck, threatening to bite it off. I didn't care, as I approached the enemy Queen. The white termites trying to block my path, but were ultimately brushed aside. When one attacked my leg, I squashed its head. These white termites were too weak to pose even a threat to our larva. This still caused the others to retreat to try and protect their Queen.

I felt I understood this to some extent. It was how I saw the hive before, that every brother and sister should protect the Queen. Now, I only saw a fat breeder that offered it's entire hive to stay alive. This was no queen, there was no glory in this hive or the slave hive. They were merely flesh to be eaten by the stronger hive when they decided to do such. The small termites tried to rush at me once more, but I was tired of dealing with them. I swept a leg, cleaving through them. The cowards retreated, as I advanced towards their queen. The enemy warrior seemed to realize I was going to kill her anyway, and moved to attack me. I kicked through his mandibles and tore his head off, like the first enemy I fought.

A few of the white termites pitifully tried to bite my exoskeleton, but were unable to even leave a scratch. I just turned around. This hive would suffer and die on it's own. It had no protection, no warriors. I took a second to lick their blood off my legs, to find they tasted slightly sweet, unlike the nutty flavor of the hearty termites. If they decided to join our hive as slaves, then we would protect and eat them. I ordered the warriors that followed me, to eat the ones I killed and leave.

The fat breeder, that I could not even see as a Queen anymore seemed to let out a hissing groan. The white termites surged towards me, and stopped a small distance away. They lowered their heads, before going back to their fat breeder. They tried to lift the thing, but were unable to do even that much. I sent out a call to the hive to get some workers to carry our newest slave hive. This enemy hive was too massive to take over right away. The warriors finished eating, and I ordered them to go help cleaning up the rest of the enemy. We managed to kill five of their Queens, but the scouts found five more. We just didn't have enough workers to move everything. I ordered what warriors and scouts I could to help move the corpses for the workers. They did so happily enough.

There was always more to do, but our largest threat in the moment was finally dealt with. I took a second to count all our numbers and hive. The Queen seemed to choose where everyone went and the bodies they now had. New minds came into our have today, fresh newborns that might show their own potential with guidance. I took the time to give our glorious Queen a proper report of the numbers and everything that happened. All of it so much easier, now that I could accurately count the connections and everything. Usually the Queen had us count to ten and added up all those tens through us, leaving the leftover until it was done.

I sent the report, and the Queen was quite pleased with my decision to keep this new slave colony. She thanked me for my service, which once again filled me with joy beyond words. I raised my head to the sky, exclaiming my joy. My brothers and sisters following my lead. Long live the Queen! Long live the Hive! Glory to the Hive! Glory to the Queen!

Current Hive status (As of the start of the next chapter):

Breeders: 9

Warriors: 1100

Scouts: 600

Spinners: 350

Workers: 3500

Officers: 1 (Beru) (Gray coming soon)

Larva: 2000 (Breeders can produce up to 300 a day)

Slave colony status:

Slave Queen: 1 Hearty Termite (Can make 500 eggs a day. These eggs take a week to mature)

Eggs: 200 (1 day) 400 (0 days)

Slave Colony 2 status:

Slave Queen: 1 White Termite (Can make 600 eggs a day. These eggs take three days to mature)

Eggs: 100 (0 days)

Workers: 500 (Most were lost to the enemy, since they prepared to take their slaves with them. These workers are weak, but can at least help wounds heal.)