The Call of the Swarm

by Melani Matejak

  It was not to say the room completely lacked gloomy faces, particularly among Greens, but the highest ranking Commanders seemed to have in mind only the successful part of the mission. Their mouths were full of the young Queen and Xe kept mum, staring sullenly at the greenly irradiating wax of the floor. He didn’t bother to protest. He knew what the Superiors would say; it was for the greater good and victims were necessary for the well-being of the Swarm. May they all be damned, though Xe, I hate the Swarm.

  He got so adrift in his head the Commander sitting beside him had to elbow him when he didn’t answer the Supreme who was calling his name. Snapping out, Scout jumped to his feet.

  “Commander XeraM6697,” read Supreme LomoM0603, holding a thin plate of wax in her hands. “A Green. Scout unit 33. You have just lost your Scoutmaster, Commander CeraT8818, haven’t you?”

  Xe swallowed and tried not to shiver. “That is… correct.”

  “Under the given circumstances, the Supreme Command is willing to grant you the benefit of choosing your own placement. Do you wish to follow the young Queen to her new home or to remain in our Hive, Commander?”

  The question caught Xe by surprise as the young Scout didn’t expect to be asked anything regarding his future status. Facing the choice, he realized he didn’t want to leave; despite everything, this was still his home.

  “Remain,” he muttered.

  “Can you speak for your whole unit?”

  “Yes, Supreme.”

  “Then it’s settled. Scout unit 33 stays.” She carved the data into her plate with a sharp sliver of plant bark. “In that case, your new Scoutmaster will be Second Class Commander MapaY5370, who isn’t present at the moment due to a minor injury but will be ready for duty very soon. You and your unit are going to report to him in the morning six days from now. Until then, you are all on leave.”

  “Understood,” said Xe, quietly sitting down.

  After that, he got lost in his thoughts again. The listings continued, but the depressed Scout stopped paying attention. All in all, roughly one third of the Commanders were designated to the new Swarm; together with third of active Flyers and two Supremes, BeraS3111 and LomoM0603.

  Xe barely noticed the listings were over and that SupremeBeraX9917 gave one of his speeches, this time praising the young Queen. He just wanted to get out, and instantly as the Assembly of Commanders was adjured, he buzzed his air-screw and hurried toward the exit.

  Too hastily, as it showed. Storming out into the corridor, he almost collided with a group of the Queen’s Servants waiting by the Principle doors to speak with Supremes once the meeting was over.

  “Slow down, Commander,” said one of them patiently. That was MedaM0075, standing at the head of group. “Speeding is for open spaces.”

  Halting himself at the last moment, Xe backed up and lowered his head in embarrassment. “I deeply apologize, Page.”

  “Then it’s all right. And since you are here, you can meet First Class Page GabaZ3822 who was just promoted.” Many among them did as the Servants had to compensate for their members leaving with the new Queen. “He rarely visited the Central Chamber in the past, so I reckon you Flyers are quite unacquainted with him, but from now on you are going to see him a lot.”

  A rather old Eeol with a conspicuous scar in the form of a single slash running across his chest stepped out of the group. “Commander.”

  “Page,” hailed the young Scout, bowing his head.

  “Commander XeraM6697 was the leader of the Scout group bringing the sugar-dew for our Queen that last time,” reminded the Head Page.

  “Oh, yes, I remember,” nodded GabaZ3822. “Well done, Commander. The Queen is very satisfied with your work.”

  “It makes me proud to hear that,” lied Xe.

  In fact, he couldn’t care less about the Queen and her opinion. Also, for all the young Queen’s fairness and grace, her nearing departure caused him no sorrow, as she would always remind him on Commander Ce’s death.

  “The Queen is very happy at the moment,” continued MedaM0075. “A good outcome of her daughter’s Wedding Flight means the world to her.” He paused. “Although, it was extremely rough yesterday. Pity there was so many causalities. Did your unit have a hard time, Commander?”

  Xe’s voice went feeble. “We lost three, Page, and our Scoutmaster among them. He was a great Flyer and a great Commander. He taught me everything I know about scouting and I highly respected him.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. But the departure of a new Swarm is guaranteed and that’s what counts, Commander; the grand wheel of life must keep turning. Your unit will be appointed a new Scoutmaster.”

  “My unit!” Xe couldn’t help hissing bitterly. “Better to say what’s left of my unit, as we already lost one third of the original party. Six Scouts perished; six good Flyers, six friends of mine, Page. Plus one who was maimed for life.”

  “Scouting is a tough duty, Commander.”

  For the next couple of days the Hive buzzed with activity. The Supremes were deep in plans and arrangements, dividing the Swarm into two halves. There were many issues to take care of including the question of supplies the departing Swarm was to take with them and figuring out the best direction in which it should commence the quest for its own territory. Eeols were in work over their heads.

  But having the approved leave meant Xe was free from all obligations. He was spending time alone in his sleeping chamber, as there were questions he couldn’t get out of his head.

  Why did Commander Ce have to die? He didn’t deserve it, not in the least. Damned Dragonflies, Xe hated them so much! And the young Queen, everything what happened was because of her. Without the Wedding Flight, there would be no need to risk Eeols’ lives during the season of Dragonfly swarming. The Scout despised her in that moment. Go had said it right, it was really nice to be born a Queen. Perhaps it would be better, he reckoned, to live somewhere in a small group; it would be a true freedom, with nobody to serve and being spared of loss of friends over someone’s whims. But he would turn Rogue then…

  The time came to stop fantasizing. With the last of the preparations being finalized, the moment of the Swarm division was nearing. On the evening of the departure, the Farewell Party was organized in the Central Chamber just after the Evening Rally to ease tensions and the pain of countless friendships forced to come to the end.

  Regardless of all the merriness of the party, the Hive has simmered with anxiety. Friends would be separated, never to see each other again, and that wasn’t a pleasant thought. Furthermore, although nobody wanted to say it out loud, founding a new Hive was a hazardous task, with quite a few not surviving their first winter. Having the departing Swarm strong and healthy, Eeols hoped for the best, but there was no guarantee of success.

  The packed Central Chamber was echoing with clamor and soft buzzing that evening. Laughter of the young Queen rung sweetly as she flew back and forth all over the room, ceaselessly shadowed by the crowd of dedicated Servants. Supreme BeraX7719 made his speeches and some other respected Eeols put in few appropriate words as well, yet Xe didn’t listen to any of that but spent his time with those who were leaving.

  It was quite late when everyone started to retreat to their quarters, but it didn’t matter as nobody could sleep that night anyway. Early before the next sunrise Eeols gathered again in the Central Chamber to bid their friends a final farewell.

  The clear summer morning dawned and the restless young Queen and her Swarm emerged to the outside world. A giant red cloud hovered above the waxy dome, waving back to their mothering Hive one last time. Then the departing Eeols soared higher and headed east, vanished into the distance never to be seen again.

  16.

  Changes

  “What did they say?”

  Go shrugged. “Board.”

  Members of Unit 33 were sitting on wax pieces in the Central Chamber with their backs to the external wall. With the ranks of Flyers whittled down by one third, there was much more space
around and the young Scouts accepted their increased comfort as a welcomed change.

  Go finally mended from the Millipede sting. It left her with a whitish lump in her loins encircled by a large discoloration in the place where a chunk of her body armor had rotted away and fallen out. Although the scar looked ugly, she felt good and her strength seemed to be fully restored; yet the Superiors made her undergo testing before the special Board. Under Swarm rules, Flyers recovering from major injuries were required to show they could meet requirements for their service in order to be granted reassignment; and for Scouts, those were strict.

  “Don’t worry, you will pass,” Te said encouragingly. “We are going to hang together again.”

  “It will be great when you return. We miss you,” added Xe, and he was being perfectly honest.

  Go smiled sweetly, pleased by the support from her crowd.

  After the loss of Commander Ce, Xe valued his unit members even more than before. Sometimes he still had the illusion of hearing his Scoutmaster’s voice from somewhere, and now mere thought of him dulled the shine in the Scout’s eyes in such an obvious way that Go easily guessed the young Green’s mind, and her face darkened with grief. There could be no greater proof of how much Commander Ce had been worshiped among his Eeols; even rebellious Go liked him.

  “I was so sorry when I heard,” she said quietly, almost whispering. “At first I couldn’t believe he was really gone. I’ve always…” her voice shook, “I’ve always thought I’ll die before him.”

  The Scouts went silent for a moment.

  Sudden arrival of the Board of Examiners halted any further conversation and made them to stand up in a speedy fashion. Go took a step forward and assumed a stiff official posture, while the rest of the unit pulled back with respect. The Board counted forty-five Eeols, all of them experienced and well-esteemed Flyers, with seven of them being the Scouts.

  “Hail, Trooper GogoM2783,” the Commander in charge addressed the young Eeoless in a plain voice. “We are here as Examiners to assess your capacity for scouting duty according to the rules of the Swarm. Please come with us.”

  She nodded less defiantly than it was her habit and followed them quitely.

  Before joining the fleeting Board, the Commander turned once more to the unit 33. “You must understand, this is in your friend’s best interest. The duty of a Scout is not a joke; you in service know that all too well. If her abilities are substandard, we are doing her a favor by moving her to a safer position.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the Scouts replied automatically; but Xe still resented the Board a little.

  After they left, unit 33 sat down again, continuing with the small talk.

  Some distance from them, further to the center of the Chamber, a fair number of Flyers waiting for their summons has gathered in a large group. There were Scouts and Gatherers and Watchers alike, mixed all together, laughing and gibbering aloud; and for a while, they appeared to have a perfectly good time. Then, out of the blue, shouting and cursing erupted from the crowd, making Xe to flinch and turn.

  It had to be some quarrel going on out there. Casting a quick glance in their direction, the young Green momentarily recognized Wa 17 as the culprit smirking pompously in the center of the fuss, and his stomach cramped. It just wasn’t fair. Why did such a worthy Flyer as Commander Ce have to die and that rotten Wa 17 live? Why didn’t the Dragonflies get him instead?

  The appearance of their new Scoutmaster interrupted his brooding. He flew over totally unnoticed by his subordinates and just landed there in front of their group, gingerly and proficiently, stopping his air-screw the very second his feet softly touched the waxy floor.

  “Hail, Scout unit 33!”

  Xe and his friends swiftly jumped on their feet and mustered. “Hail, Sir!”

  Their new leader looked firmly at each of them. He was of medium high with scarce yellow markings embellishing his body armor and wore a helmet of a slightly darker red than average for their Hive. A jagged line of an old scar ran down his flank, and there was a small crack on the right side of his visor.

  “Attention, Scout unit 33!” he said sternly. “My name is Second Class Commander MapaY5370 and I have been appointed your new Scoutmaster. First of all, I value order and demand a perfect discipline. Duty comes before all else. From you, I expect nothing less than absolute obedience. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Sir!” yelled the Scouts, trying to hide their puzzlement as this wasn’t exactly what they had expected. Only Da looked pleased, eyeing his new Superior with great interest.

  “You’ll introduce yourself to me one by one, starting with your Green.”

  Xe stepped out. “That would be me, Sir. The name is XeraM6697, Commander Green.”

  The young Scout’s tone was respectful and kind, as it was supposed to be when talking with a Superior, but a subtle sting was concealed in his words. This newcomer had simply dropped out of nowhere taking Commander Ce’s place like he owned it, and now he was showing off talking to them like they were a bunch of Internals. Who did he think he was?

  “Very well. Next.”

  Responding to the call, Troopers of unit 33 were stepping out one at the time, stating their names in full length and attributing rank. Commander Ma was observing each of them closely and thoroughly.

  “Right,” he said when the introductions had ended. “Now, unit 33, these are our orders. Listen carefully! There will be no additional appointments to the unit, not until next generation of Starters are ready–”

  “But we are down to almost half of unit, Sir!” Xe couldn’t help remarking.

  The new Scoutmaster scowled, giving young Scout a dark glower. “Don’t ever interrupt me again, Commander. By now you should know it is forbidden to talk without permission!”

  While fuming on the inside for the way that insolent prick was treating him, Xe nonetheless bowed his head in a compliant manner. “I deeply apologize, Sir. I ask for your forgiveness.”

  “Beware not to repeat that mistake again, Commander. The staffing of our unit has been set by the Supreme Command, and there will be no objections. Furthermore, the First Flight for the incoming generation is going to be organized in several days. As soon as their training finishes, the appropriate number of suitable Starters will be assigned to fill our unit to its full capacity. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir,” answered the unit.

  “Very well.” He clapped several times. “Take off! I want to see how you perform, so spare no effort today!”

  With a powerful buzz, he leapt into the air and dashed toward their scouting company which hovered under the chamber ceiling, without turning to check if his Scouts were following him. They did, naturally, commenting silently along the way.

  “He’s different from Commander Ce, I admit that,” noted Da. “But he seems all right. I can recognize a fine Master when I see one, and I’m sure he will lead us well.”

  “He behaves like he knows everything,” muttered Xe angrily.

  “A Commander must be self-confident. And it’s his duty to maintain discipline in his unit and execute orders from his Superiors.”

  “He does appear to be somewhat distant,” said Le. “Still, every Commander has his or her specific style, I presume.”

  And that was the last of their discussion.

  Back in the meadows, unit 33 faced a difficult day. It wasn’t just because they had a new Scoutmaster, but the general situation in the Hive required hard work as supplying the new Queen seriously depleted its honeystock and Flyers were under pressure to replenish it in the shortest time possible. But Xe was content as he had truly missed scouting in spite of all perils associated with it, and occupying his time with quests also prevented the young Green from torturing himself with futile thoughts.

  That evening after everybody had returned to the Hive, Xe lingered for a while in the Commanders’ Area at the Subterraneous Level 5.

  The Area was a minor network of corridors and communal chambers where Commanders gathered to
socialize among themselves as it was unusual for them to stay in the Central Chamber which was regarded a commonplace for the lower ranks. At first, not knowing anybody, Xe shunned it, but then he got acquainted with several young Commanders and soon ended up spending more and more time there.

  Gatherers were the most common class and made up the bulk of the Commanders. Watchers came in significantly smaller numbers while Scouts represented the rarest class, and to Xe’s surprise, the most praised one. Scouting was the hardest and most dangerous job of all, and it was well recognized as such in the Hive. He even got a little embarrassed by the amount of respect other non-scouting Commanders were paying him, and not just the Greens.

  Two Commanders with whom he hung out with the most were So 147 and Eeoless Te 16, both of them being Gatherers and Greens. Having a wide range of friends, they were always well furnished with information, so when Xe mentioned the name of Commander Ma that evening they immediately showed to be more than familiar with the subject.

  “Oh, yes, that one,” said So 147. “An extremely unsociable fellow. You won’t meet him here as he goes directly to his quarters after Rallies. Stiff and official and cheap with words, constantly babbles about rules and duty; quite a boring fellow, actually. They say he’s always been like that, since his earliest days. So, you got him for a Scoutmaster? Lucky you.”

  “How come he was transferred to us alone?” Xe asked. “Where are his former Scouts? Did he lose his entire unit?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that. They departed with the young Queen and he was supposed to also, but swap with another Scoutmaster at the last moment. I think Ra was the name; Ra 40 or 60 or something. He was listed to stay in our Hive but wished to leave because many of his friends were going. On the contrary, your Superior seems connected more with the overall community than with individuals.”