“Mom” “Mooom!” 4 workers and 1 warrior are the next to be born. But their growth cycle is greatly different from the studs. The studs were very quiet and very tiny. They didn’t need to eat anything other then the scum off my body.
But the other larva have an actual growth time. The studs only needed hours to hatch and grow. But the workers and warriors have already had two days pass. 16 hours as eggs and god knows how long to mature.
They are still in a larval state but aren't as useless as they were when born. All of them would have died ten times over if it wasn't for my motherly instincts kicking in. Turn them over every hour so they don’t bruise. Provide food every 30 minutes and wake me up every minute I sleep.
I now understand why there are so many social benefits to help single mothers. With Crotch goblins like these going around. How could anyone leave them out of sight for a second. Of course no one has goblins like these. Those are my goblins and they are the most special disgusting bugs to have ever walked this earth.
I don’t have the capabilities to do anything. So trying to walk from one area to another is one hundred times more difficult then it used to be. I would have actually starved with them. If I haven't had found a rock that has actual worms and bugs underneath it. Which I chewed up and threw up for the kids.
Considering the size of the bugs. I guess I am as large as a medium sized dog. Of course a million times more useless then them. If I was unlucky and an actual animal showed up. Then I am just dead. I have no natural defenses other then my children.
Which makes me think I was supposed to be born in an actual hive, with fully grown workers. where I could have been protected. A hive built by MY mother, but supposedly where ever my parent went. They didn’t comeback for me. I am just a dumpster baby
But ill be damn if you find me doing that to my own kids. Actually I might do that. The leaf doesn’t fall far from the tree. They are extremely annoying. So its understandable why my own parent ditched me. After experiencing it.
“Mom the warrior is biting meeee” While lounging with the two studs. I see a worker being nibbled on by the far larger warrior. It seems hes doing a teething action where he needs to bite something. Not happy with him, I perform my newly learned skill of abusive reprimanding. I form a psychic attack and berate the warrior swarmer until its just shivering and whining.
“I bring a chew thing” One of the studs jumps off the top of my body and runs off to the woods. I let him leave. Deciding to spend most of my time just laying on my side, waiting until these cuties grow up. The studs are the only males in the hive. They have weird spindly legs and very thin quick bodies. The workers and the warrior are all female, Their bodies have significantly more bulk then then the males.
It was only recently that I realized that they are already fully matured. So rather then have them laze around on top of me. I order them to pick the bugs for me from around the area and underneath the rocks. They are too weak to actually roll those stones and rocks. So I just go around turning each rock over and they scramble to catch the bugs before they can run away.
It seems like this particular stud went to get something for his daughter. I don’t really care. He could come and go. Maybe get eaten while exploring. But his value has already become redundant. I have 500 stored samples, that can be used to spam spawn a shit ton kids. But absolutely no resources to sustain them.
Its also reaching the point of the other six to finally finish maturing. It seems like the workers are just about finished and be able to leave the nest and work. But the warrior still has really stubby legs. So it should take a day or two more to fully mature and act like a guard for me and the workers.
This is odd considering my own body has no legs and looks like a really over-sized larva. Makes me a little jealous that only my kids get the cool limbs and I have to crawl and wiggle my way around. This just makes me even more dependent on their help.
Stolen story; please report.
The low hanging fruit and easy to get food is going to run out. If I try to explore for more. Then its not even funny to consider what would happen. Its an obvious instant death. If it turns out that the drone swarmers are shit. Then I am really fucked.
“Here I gift” The stud comes back after 5 minutes with a normal wooden stick. The warrior swarmer happily munches on it. Its not like its anything special. It would have happily crunched on a rock. Looking outside, I see a similar stick that wouldn't have taken longer then 10 seconds to get.
Agh. I just need to wait. A few more hours is the absolute most it would take for anything to happen.
1 day later…
“Ready to serve. Queen-mother” I almost tear up. My little pumpkins are finally ready to leave the nest and earn their keep. Lazy maggots.
They seem more clumsy then what I expected them to be. But they are physically capabilities to finally do things. Even the warrior is done. I might have not reached my 10 thousand goal number. But there was an attempted.
“now TROOPERS! LINE UP” It took some effort. But these little cuties suffered my version of the education system. Teaching them math, ecology, other things and war tactics. Teaching them about flanking, the theory of guerrilla warfare. The value of missile and melee combat. It was more like a military boot camp. But they loved it.
“Yes Queen-mother.” Every worker forms a perfect line. The warrior is in the center acting as the leader of the platoon. The studs are exempt. Because when I tested the abilities of everyone. It became painfully obvious how useless they are compared to actual real swarmers.
Thoughts float in my head considering what I could have the workers do. Maybe I could build a hive. But what type of hive. An underground one, A skyscraper termite hill. A human style crypt/labyrinth. Its not just have that could be built. What about farms. Water dams for electricity. Making a water wheel could work as a low tech option.
“My Queen?” My stupor of future planning is interrupted by one of the workers.
“Ah yes. Ready march. Surround on me” They all circle me and protect me from attacks coming from any angle. The warrior is leading in the front. Only knowing where to go from following my directions very tightly. Its like using an rc car but with a living creature.
We go through an area. That I usually wander through. Its an open clearing that allows for clear view of any approaching predator. It might be a fools errand. Because I am way to slow to get away, Even If I saw them coming a mile away.
“Halt” As we approach the clearing. We follow the natural path until we reach a small stagnant pond.
Ooh what are those. Actual animals. I see a type of pond creature. That looks like a mix of a crayfish and a tadpole. One two three- Hey thats 8 of those critters in just one small pond. Thats FOOOD. What a lucky find.
“Girls. Do you see those creatures. Get them for me.” With out even thinking they jump right into the pond. Their swarm tactic instincts make them default on just throwing their bodies on the problem until its fixed.
After a bit of thrashing around. They only managed to get six of them. The rest hid behind rocks and crevices. Because those armored tadpoles are tiny compared to the swarmers, They couldn’t reach them. It was an intense thrashing inside the pond. But they don’t even come close to hurting my little cuties.
Unnamed Drone 3 has leveled up to 1
Woah I completely forgot about the level mechanics. I tell the one that leveled up to come to me. Its seems about 10% larger then the other drones. It even seems to have a greater presences then the others. As if it commands more respect through its aura alone.
“Tell me your status sheet.
Name: Unnamed
Race: Broodswarmer (Variant: Drone) Class: No class - Level: 1 Divine faction: Iseceka the Swarm-queen
Stats:
Strength:1
Vitality: 0
Agility: 0
Intelligence: 3
Will: -10
Magic: -20
Innate gifts: Linked brood-mind,
Active contracts: None
It didn’t even need to tell me. As the status is instantly opened for me. It seems like their status screens are fundamentally different compared to me. Missing major parts. The stats are also a little wacky. Its intelligence is higher then I thought. But its other stats are unimpressive.
I look through the other broodswarmer’s stats and they all have high intelligence compared to all of their other stats. Do they inherit a percentage of my stats. So if am super awesome then my kids are going to be just as awesome? It was written in the studs description that it does happen for them.
This brings a lot of future possibilities and a lot of scary implications.