Into the Hive

Chapter 3: The Grand Council

"The Grand Council has long ruled the multitude of Hives. A Queen from each of the three great lineages are placed by voting, ruling from their throne, with sub councillors beneath them. Their distant command is like a beacon to the many Hives that make up the Grand Hive. Through their council, the many hives maintain balance and peace. Any may speak before the council, though tradition holds this be done verbally, as the chaotic Noosphere within the room can deafen all but the strongest willed" The Long Annals, 2789

It was early in the morning when Daarsh came for her. Annabelle was led to the bridge with speed, and after a quick and informal hello, Siellan pulled her to her side, where she knelt beside her massive form. One tendril rested over her shoulder, gently patting her head. Annabelle blushed under the attention, but did not fight it.

Ahead of them, the normally blank screen buried into the taut flesh of the wall hissed, as organic LEDs flickered in response to data projected by external eye constructs. The image that blazed into existence was a world, with blue-green oceans, and vast swathes of green and grey. She realised the expansive grey patches were cities, spreading like an ever-complex network of spider webs. They glistening like gems as they reached the dark side of the planet.

"This, is the Nexus. Our cradle world. I was hatched here, and imbued with all the knowledge of our people before joining my hive as a moultling" Mother said, proudly.

She raised up on her knees, almost trying to get a better look, to which mother laughed in a musical fashion.

"We will get a better look soon. We will be docking at an orbital station my hive uses, and will meet several of my fellows there"

"Will I need anything here?" Annabelle asked with curiosity.

"No, only yourself"

The viewer faded, and she felt the flesh of the ship undulate and its bones shiver as it came in to dock. Her three fellow humans arrived, along with their assigned genesires. They also had a praetorian guard of a large group of bulky warriors, dressed in their exoskeleton. With a grunt and a shiver, mother's legs unfolded, detaching herself from the dias. Most of her rear end laid in place, and tugged a moment before disconnecting with a slick pop. She began to realise this was only the ovipositor and egg sac, her body was slighter that she imagined. Built much like the warriors, albeit far larger, with a much larger head. She had several tendrils connected to a harness about her back, and large bismuth-coloured constructs she couldn't identify.

"Come, by my side" she ordered, as the vanguard of her escort marched out.

They marched through larger halls of the ships she'd only slipped past, and never really walked through. They were tall and vaulted, like a cathedral. Other drones skittered out of their path and bowed, saying nothing.

They reached a large, grand portal, opening with a clench of muscles. She did not get to admire the bone carved bas relief above, instead keeping up with mother. The opposite portal opened, allowing her to walk in, only realising a moment later she was passing from the Wayspinner's airlock to the station's airlock. She groaned as a slick noise above her revealed descending mass of tentacles, accompanied by thick rivulets of translucent ooze falling down.

"No, not this again" she whimpered

"Ah my child, don't fear it. It is purification. It will remove any sickness clinging to you"

"Oh" Annabelle responded "Its decontamination"

That would be a mantra as the tentacles descended on her, covering her in the thick ooze, covering and falling off her. They caressed the entirety of her body, prompting several started gasps as they rubbed more delicate places. She'd finally gotten the last of it cleaned from her body, and now she was coated again. Her hair was slicked back as the ooze sloughed away, and she walked free, the opposite portal opening. Mother said nothing, glistening under the fresh purification. She admired how feminine mother's figure looked compared to the male warrior drones she'd seen so far. With the decontamination apparently satisfied, the opposite portal unclenched. They were met with a matching vanguard of warriors, armour a shade different to her own hivekin. Hivekin... she was already calling them that? Snapping back, there were numerous attendants, and another Queen! How alike she seemed to Siellan, though slenderer, and shorter in stature. They trilled to one another and closed on one another, tendrils whipping and hands reaching out to one another. They trilled and thrummed, but Annabelle recognised most of the conversation happened within the Noosphere. Then the newcomer turned to case Annabelle. She recoiled a moment, as six eyes locked with her and seemed to scrutinise her, then the queen lunged. Two tendrils seized her legs and lifted her into the air, flipping the young woman up in an instant. She yelped, and tried to right herself only for more to seize her arms, and stretched her into an x shape, holding her steady as she brought close to the Queen's face. Two more tendrils investigated her closely, her large hands gently manipulating her head, mouth, hands and feet.

"I apologise for my sister. She is supremely curious, and does not know when to leave well enough alone" her measured tone seemingly having given over to amusement and exasperation at the situation.

The newcomer manipulated her head, a finger probing her mouth, then manipulated both her breasts, hefting them, and squeezing her nipples, before finally pulling her close to admire her sensitive lower lips, parting them. She bit her lip under the attention, but said nothing.

After studying her from every angle, Annabelle was returned to the ground and the queen proceeded to run to the procession and grab Leoni, studying him in a similar fashion. She never felt so naked as she did in the hands of the queen. Siellan ushered a doll to her fellow and plugged it into a port on the artificial construct on her back. With a brief screech and hissed, the doll began talking.

"Ah, sister, these new creatures are fascinating! I have been parsing the torrents of data you transmitted, but there's nothing like seeing them in the flesh. Such intriguing creatures. And it is true they have no noosphere connection?" the newcomer blurted at high speed.

"No natural connection, but they are highly receptive to direct connection, which I have noted in the listings of technical development" she replied calmly.

"Fascinating" she said, now lifting the captive Evelina and Matthieu and holding them together to compare with interest.

A sudden panic fell over Annabelle and she prostrated in the direction of the newcomer "Your eminence"

She released her two squirming subjects and circled back around "Oh, no need. I care little for these conventions. And it's not eminence."

She circled around to face the human, and gave a small bow.

"I am Solesh Kashk Cur Vesinax Sekril-Makis XXVII, Queen and scientist. As a Queen of the same hive, you would call me mother"

"Of course, mother" she responded politely.

"I like this one, I can see why you are so enamoured with them" she cooed "Now there's no time to waste, we have to head to the umbilical and attend the council chambers immediately. I have already been communing with as many Queens as I can to lean the voting to us"

They rushed along at a brisk pace, heading to the opening of a large cylinder, easily big enough for both Queens to walk through side by side. Pouring in, they were in a circular pod, with more than enough room for the entire party. Once the last warrior was in, the door sealed behind them. Her stomach lurched as the pod shifted violently. Evalina looked at her excitedly, pointing to the opaque windows buried into the side.

"We're in an umbilical cord! Or... maybe an oesophagus? It's an orbital elevator!" she beamed, pressing to the window.

Annabelle tried to rationalise it all. Her chief scientist was naked, marvelling at alien technology as they descended onto an alien world to decide her right to exist. It felt too much... but her surviving crew needed her to prove her worth. She moved to the window and looked out as they began to reach the upper atmosphere, seeing the tallest spires of the hive reaching up. Each of the spires was glittering white, some a bright marble, while others were a more matte ivory colour. A huge hand rested on her shoulder, while another pointed into the cluster of skyward bound spires.

"That centre one, with the three interweaving spires. That is where we are going" Siellan said "It is the Triskelion, the seat of power"

It took sometime yet before they reached the ground, the orbital elevator pod coming into a docking station and disgorging its occupants. Leaving the tether facility, it was Annabelle's first view of the world proper, and it took her breath away. Giant sparkling towers, constructed in intricate, and spiralling patterns, branching into sub-spires and platforms. The road ahead was constructed from a synthetic material, like rubber beneath her feet, with multi-legged transport constructs travelling about the road. They reminded her of termite mounds meeting Roman monuments.

The procession walked across a closed road, with several warrior drones out to halt traffic and direct them to an adjoining aerodrome. She could see crowds gathering, multitudes of eyes falling upon her. Her appearance, her strange pink flesh, the lack of protective exoskeleton, long hair, it must have been as strange to them as their appearance was to her. As the residents stared at the strange flesh creatures, Annabelle felt the swell strong feelings of shame in her appearance. Her face flushed red in response, quickly spreading to her ears, and her hands reached to over her breasts and groin. Lying dormant inside the hangar, a dragonfly-like air transport rested. The size of a large civilian aero transport, with long wings ready to cast them into the air, it featured a rear loading ramp. They loaded up, and she ended up between her Queen and Daarsh. The Queen noticed her flustered face, sitting in a larger space intended for her stature. One of the tendrils reached out to lay a reassuring grip across her shoulders.

"What is wrong child? Your biorhythms have fluctuated. Is it the environment?" she asked through her doll.

She shook her head "No, mother I-" her hands moved uncontrollable to cover her bare chest and groin.

"Ah" she chuckled in her melodic tone "You missing your coverings?"

"Yes... they- our social structures, our culture. Showing our bodies is... shameful. Seeing so many of your people, looking at me, at my crew... its... difficult."

The tendril curved around her head, almost reassuring, which made the Queen's response so jarring

"Solesh Anur Sih Khulix-Khulix I" she began, using her full designation. She almost felt like a child being told off "You are a drone of Hive Solesh. You bound to the geneline of Khulix. I have never once needed to hide my form from my kin or subjects. No drone has ever felt shame, or embarrassment at their appearance. Only pride in a body that serves the hive. Your body will serve the hive, hold pride in it. This is my culture.Ourculture"

It really set in, she was here for life. She lowered her hands and looked down, trying to bury the shame. The dragonfly creature thrummed to life, wings beating so fast the blurred into a haze, and the machine took skyward, flying through the busy hive. They had a few windows, giving her a look at the sprawling metropolis below, hives in interconnected networks with sky bridges extending in a complex web that spoke of a natural geometric pattern. It was almost dizzying for her to observe. With a dip in the nose, and a high-pitched whine, the ship pulled around and gently unfurled its multitude of legs, touching down on a landing pad jutting from the Triskelion tower.

Three winding towers, curving upwards, representing the three arms of the Grand Hive. A crowd had gathered, but watched in unerring silence. Entering the wide marble steps, they were guided by a worker drone within the bio-organic corridors, each ornate in the detailing of the resin, scrimshawed bone structures, and iridescent chitin. Reliefs decorated the walls, showing Queen, Warriors, Workers and Attendants, working alongside one another. Finally, they passed through a massive pair of oaken doors, easily twice as tall as Siellan. Within was a colossal hall, big enough to fit a dozen trailer trucks end to end. It held multiple rings, climbing up the high into the air, where light came down from clusters of hundreds of bioluminescent lights. The lower stands were filled with many from the attendant caste, and a few warriors, the crowd undulating like swarming ants. The higher stands had many Queens and Princesses, in a variety of sizes and body forms. Their stands were likewise packed. Ahead, a high, onyx stand rose opposite to them. It looked like coastal headland, a cliff towering above breaking waves. There were three enormous Queens perched side by side up here, looking down.

The worker guided them to a lower booth, where all within could view them. Daarsh lined up alongside them, and gave a harsh command to bow.

Without argument the four humans, along with the gathered escort, bowed to the floor. The humans each said "your eminences" though the rest of the hall was devoid of human voices, only the chittering of insectile mouths. They were sat in low booths not really made for human physiology, but they sat nonetheless. The two sisters walked forward, their dolls disconnected, as they began to speak, rather than transmit through a chaotic and packed noospheric neural network. Daarsh kept his doll though, so he could keep them appraised of the changing situation.

--

"Assembled queens and drones, I have come before the Grand Council with a dramatic proposition. After first contact with an alien race" Siellan motioned to the strange, pink skinned creatures behind her "I wish to integrate them into the hive, and use them as experimental subjects. I desire to measure their races compatibility with our technology, culture, and biology, and create a new geneline to serve the Grand Hive"

The hall erupted in murmurs, which were quickly silenced by the cold, grating call of the lead. Velt Krki Duj Erudeg Mosir-Ves XIX made her opinion known.

"We have seen the initial data. These are violent barbarians, firing upon a scout vessel without warning" she said, their voice filled with venom "What's more, they are lost and isolated. We need not fear a war with their people. They can be expelled into the void without concern"

"This is true" the crowd fell into hissing whispers as Siellan spoke "Our scout vessel violated first contact procedures. Their ship suffered a breakdown of command. Both sides hold culpability for the loss of a young and emerging Princess. I will redeem my gene heritage by my conviction to integrate them into our Grand Hive. They will redeem themselves through dutiful service."

The War Queen grumbled. The inquiry mind to her side stepped up, and her sonorous voice broke the whispering. Sheka Kashk Ija Nalaar Sekril-Soma VI looked upon proceedings with interest.

"Tell us more about the creatures. I understand the wealth of data acquired, but I wish to know more from your own words. Please, utilise the display" she motioned to the display at the centre, the size of a swimming pool.

"I current possess 119 subjects. They number 62 males and 57 females. While some came to me injured, all are currently at optimum condition for use"

She placed a hand on the console, and swarms of fireflies erupted, flashing across a thousand colours to create three dimensional images. Each one was towering, image, with dozens of alien characters filtering across the image. They contained a single main image. A human, naked as they were born, slowly rotating. She started with her first and favourite drone, displaying her unclothed form to the crowd. She did not see the embarrassed former captain Annabelle Van Vorne sink into her booth in shame. It then flicked through all the captives, showing each in turn.

"Each of these mammalian creatures is a treasure trove of data. They are utterly different to us. They have expressed male and female genders, with pronounced sexual dimorphism" she paced about the holographic display, hands pointing to the paired display comparing a male and female example "The genders do not represent caste differentiation, so I have designated all humans as drones"

A quiet trilling spread across the crowd as these strange creatures were shown on screen, featuring more images flashing by

"They have no organ for connecting to the noosphere, but they are receptive to direct linking. They possess 23 chromosome pairs, and a double helix DNA structure. They breathe much the same air as us, feature an endoskeleton and have iron-based blood structures" Siellan spoke, guiding them through slides of human anatomy with calm precision.

"They reproduce though a male using his external aedeagus to implant seed within their internal egg sac and fertilise their eggs." She intoned carefully, using annotated holograms of her first female and male drones, with metrics presented.

"They do not lay eggs, but birth live larva. These are normally a single clutch, but my data shows they can, under special circumstances lay clutches of up to eight! And these clutches can include clones, or genetically unique larva" Siellan said, simulated diagrams of breeding, gestation, and birthing flashing by, followed by a simulated aging chat "They require nine months of gestation, but are still ambulatory and work capable of the majority of the gestation period, and once the larva is born they are fed on a diet of fluid provided by epidermal glands on the thorax of the mother, delivered through Trophallaxis"

Returning to face the council, she motioned to the simulated growth chart "The young require no pupa stage and constantly grow and mature through several stages, and at 18 years and become ready for service. I understand it is double most of our accepted maturity periods, but they require no sacrifice or biological specification for caste expression or selection."

"Interesting. And their biological caste system, hive hierarchy?"

"None. They do not exist in hives. They have unique social constructs, and familial units. The group I recovered are a military unit bound by organisational constructs. And there are no biological castes!"

She flicked through an example of the castes. The former captain, now drone as an example of a Queen. The professor as an attendant caste, it flashed through several captive marines as example of warrior castes, the pilots as example of subcastes, and several of the lower deck crew as examples of workers.

"The human body can adapt through dietary alteration and induced physical pressures to self-direct into castes. And their biological processes are a treasure trove of data and control processes"

--

Of the four assembled humans, three were stooped low in their booth, while the scientist amongst them watched with rapt attention. Of her surviving crew, she had now seen each naked, and blown up on the largest hologram possible. And now, good God the thing coming up now was traumatising. It was initially a hologram of her under that horrible interrogator hood, body shaking in restraints as she resisted. It then cut to a hologram of her first examination, the one where tentacles emerged and proceeded to fuck her to climax. This hologram came complete with sound! Holographic Annabelle rotated as she squeaked out lewd sounds from the tentacles pressed into her mouth, her body writhing under restraint.