The Call of the Swarm

by Melani Matejak

  But all of the sudden the cold wind moaned.

  Unexpectedly, the weather was shifting.

  The change came astonishingly fast and caught the company by surprise. Overhead the clouds turned lead-gray and began to billow, and with sun vanishing beyond a heavy cloud curtain, the daylight dimmed and previous high temperature dropped abruptly.

  The wind was picking up and Mission Commander had to order an emergency landing on the plateau, as its powerful blows were threatening to swipe Eeol formation off the sky. Down on the chunky and coarse gravel the troubled company hurried to assemble, but then the lightning tore the dark clouds making it clear a storm was on the way. The terrified Scouts realized the bare plateau offered no protection whatsoever.

  “We can’t stay here!” howled one of the Commanders. “Rain will decimate us! We have to take cover in the vegetation!”

  “But the meadow is far off! How can we fly in this wind?”

  “We must! It’s our only chance!”

  Having no other option, DeraB1044 ordered the lift-off right into the raging windstorm.

  In a frenzy and total confusion, the Scout units were soaring up. Accelerating to their greatest velocity, they fought the rampaging air currents in a desperate attempt to reach sanctuary under the metal-fortified plants. Another gust of wind flung the company apart, and they scattered into small groups and lost eye contact with each other.

  And then it began. Thumping. The huge white balls started dropping out of the sky. Some were the size of an Eeol body and some even bigger; cold and hard, they were crashing to the ground with a tremendous force.

  It was hail.

  All over the plateau the ice was falling relentlessly like a shower of white rocks. Plopping and battering, the deadly bombardment grew heavier by each moment.

  Xe was zigzagging desperately to dodge blows while his heart throbbed as if it would burst out of his chest. He sensed a cold object to graze his right rump, but not hard enough to knock him off course. Another icy ball brushed his loin, and another one bumped against his shoulder. His armor was answering with cacophony of clings and clatters, and the Scout felt the warm blood dripping from his injuries but no pain at all.

  The first metallic plants started to come into focus standing lonely at the very edge of a meadow. One massive trunk flashed out of the darkness in front of him, its bark rough and clubby and bearing dense branches forking low over the ground. With the last remnants of his strength, Xe cast himself beneath.

  It spun in his head and wretched Green just remained to lie there.

  It took a while before he was capable to perceive muffled conversation somewhere in the vicinity. He shook his head to discover that he was resting on his belly on the repulsively cold and damp earth. There was the sound of trickling rain all around, silenced from time to time by mourning of the wind. Despite the faint light, the large irregular pieces of slowly melting ice were still visible across the plateau.

  Xe recognized Starters Jo and Fe kneeling by his side. He tried to get up and groaned loudly; his body was pulsating with pain. But he wasn’t bleeding anymore as his yellow blood dried upon his wounds in rubbery clots that looked like smudges on his red armor.

  Fe flinched and leaned over him. He had some blood on his cheeks. “Commander Xe?”

  “Yes, I hear you… what’s the situation?”

  Fe’s visor was pulled up with his eyes staring forward stiffly. His face seemed emotionless like carved in stone, and when he talked only his lips moved. “They didn’t make it. We lost them both… Commanders Da and Ma. I overheard DeraB1044 confirming the hail has killed them…” his voice broke down.

  It was late afternoon when the rain ceased at last, allowing the battered scouting company to retreat. Broken and weak, Xe was unable to fly and was carried by four Starters. It has been a sad trip. The first stars had already come up and pale purple moon shone through the thinning clouds when they finally arrived home.

  Xe was immediately taken to the Healers. He was lucky; his injuries were fairly extensive but not life-threatening. His metallic armor got crushed pretty badly in a few places but its hardness limited the damage done to the deeper tissues.

  The hail claimed the lives of seventeen Eeols from company three that dreadful day. The losses in unit 33 stayed at two, and others got away with nothing more than massive bumps and welts. By some miracle all its Starters managed to survive but were now changed; they had met death, and the innocent glow their eyes once had was gone forever.

  22.

  Puddle

  Xe didn’t need a lot of time to mend from his wounds as they were mostly superficial. He received a brief recovery leave and spent it in his sleeping chamber, forcing himself not to ponder on the recent tragedy. Thanks to regular visits by his friends, he didn’t have much time for that anyway with everyone doing all they could to ease the situation for him.

  When he got better, he rushed back to duty, knowing work would be the best remedy for his grief, but new arrangements were in place. His unit was disbanded and its Scouts got transferred to other units. It meant Xe had to part with Te and Go; they weren’t to fly together any more. He was to lead his own unit now. The Supremes gave him a promotion to Third Class Commander in spite of his youth and appointed him a Scoutmaster to Scout unit 84, made of his Starters from former unit 33 with the addition of one Mature named Trooper XeraP8768 to assist him.

  “I’m honored to serve with such a distinguished Scout such as you, Sir,” said the Trooper.

  Work had a soothing effect on Xe indeed and he breathed easier out there in the blooming meadows. Trooper XeraP8768 showed to be a reliable Flyer, calm and bright, while respectful Starters jumped to their new Scoutmaster’s every command. They looked up to him in the same way his old gang had once looked up to Commander Ce, and for Xe that was quite flattering.

  His injuries left a mark, though. He wasn’t as fast as he was before, and although he was still pretty good by average standards, Jo was faster now. He kept saying to himself it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it hurt nonetheless.

  Furthermore, while he was happy and proud of his new unit, he missed the old one terribly. Scout unit 33 did continue to exist in the Swarm but as a completely different unit with Scouts unfamiliar to Xe. He watched their assembly once, and when their Scoutmaster called the unit name, a sharp pain shot through his heart. No matter what they said, that was not Scout unit 33 for him. And he slept poorly and felt depressed, often plunging into a grim snappy mood.

  “Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind,” he complained to his friends in the silent corner of one of the rooms in the Commander’s Area.

  There were So 147 and Te 16 and good old Te sitting close to him on handy pieces of wax rubble. The latter-mentioned was still confused a bit around here, as he and Go became Greens only recently and he was new to this part of the Hive. It was late, so the green-lit room gaped empty. They lingered waiting for Go to arrive from last of her detentions.

  Te 16 yawned. “I don’t understand what your problem is, Xe.”

  “That’s right,” agreed So 147. “What happened, happened, and you must not think of it further. You are on a fine track now, achieving excellent results in quests, getting praised by Superiors, and your Scouts love you. What more do you desire?”

  Xe sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  In fact, the problem was quite simple. What was bugging him the most was dissatisfaction with the Swarm. He increasingly viewed its rules as misconceptions contributing a great deal to the hard life of Flyers, but he couldn’t talk about that with his friends who were incapable of grasping such subversive ideas.

  “I get the feeling you simply enjoy making your life miserable,” grumbled Te 16.

  In that moment Go entered the room.

  She looked sorrowful. “Sad news, fellows. Our dear Commander Fa passed away this afternoon. In front of our eyes, he just collapsed on the floor and died.”

  The four Commanders went silent
. Among Eeols, it was a rarity to die from old age, and those cases tended to remain long in the collective memory of the Swarm. Comforting to hear, thought Xe as the small group headed to the sleeping chambers, that deceasing naturally wasn’t the exclusive privilege of a Queen.

  The next day he lost Ve.

  Fortunately, the young Eeoless didn’t die. All that happened was a minor accident during a routine practice in stabbing; her left-hand spike broke off after hitting some misplaced rock. The spike stump bled substantially, making Ve cry and sob but nothing more beyond that. Nevertheless, having both spikes was a mandatory requirement for scouting duty, and the Superiors had her reassigned to a position of a Gatherer.

  “Sad, yet it might be for the better,” commented So 147 when he heard the news from Xe. “She was rather poorly skilled for a Scout, and gathering duty will suit her well.”

  Perhaps that was true, but it left Xe one Scout short and his unit with less than ten members, with very little prospects for replacements in this part of a season.

  Further development of the situation didn’t go into his favor. A prolonged period of torrential rains came upon the flatlands, pushing Eeols into forced idleness and hampering their food-gathering activities. Even when the sunny days finally returned problems continued to linger as the downpours left many ominous ponds and slushes across their territory.

  Most worrying, on the higher grounds not far from the Hive itself, several smaller bodies of water have merged to form a single huge puddle. It was deep and wide and rolled its muddy waves all the way from West Fork to the Yellow Sands. Not only there was a flooding hazard to the Hive, but it also served as a magnet for Dragonflies and other dangerous creatures, making the surrounding areas more perilous for Eeols.

  Like all this wasn’t enough, the scouting companies suddenly received orders to go questing alongside the puddle’s overgrown shores. The Supreme Commands’ unexpected announcement of those missions in the middle of the Evening Rally created consternation among Flyers. The risk associated with the Puddle zone was enormous, yet BeraX7719 assured it was the Queen’s will and hence nobody objected. As always, the Swarm abided the rules and kept quiet.

  Xe couldn’t sleep that night. He saw no point in such a nonsensical decision, and more he thought of it the more absurd it seemed to him. Upset and distressed, he hung upside down in the solitude of his chamber wide-awake until the break of dawn neared. At the end of his long vigil, he produced a resolution. He had to speak with the Supreme Command.

  The Scout flew straight away to Level 6 to ask for an audience with the Supremes.

  Jumping from leaning against the waxy construction supporting the entrance of the Supreme Command Quarters, Second Class Commander HegoT8330 eyed him with suspicion. It was still very early, well before the Morning Rally, and Xe’s bewildering request to see the Supremes obviously didn’t fit in with whatever plans he had for today.

  “What do you want to discuss? And why so early?” he asked in deep voice. “Did it occur to you the Supremes are too busy to deal with trifles!”

  Four other Eeols standing at attention by the gate supported their Commander with their unsettling glares.

  Xe didn’t back off. “It’s important, Sir! I’ll keep it short, but I must see the Supremes right away!”

  HegoT8330 was getting nervous. This was not the standard protocol, and if he hated anything more than Xe in this moment, it was the lack of proper procedure. But the Scout’s request wasn’t illegal, as every Eeol had the right to be heard out by the Supremes and HegoT8330 solved this dilemma by concluding it was not his decision to make.

  “Fine! Have it your way, Commander. I’ll inform Supreme BeraX7719 of your appeal. Wait here until I return.”

  Angry, HegoT8330 marched inside leaving his four subordinates with the distasteful duty of standing still and staring at their annoying visitor.

  It turned out the Supreme agreed to see him, and a short time later the Scout stood before his Superior.

  They were not in the spacious Principal but in one of the smaller chambers placed deeper in the Supreme Command Quarters where Xe had never stepped before. HegoT8330 and four other guards were also present, arrayed along the opposite wall all stiff and mute.

  Supreme BeraX7719 sat on a finely-cut wax shard worked up into a comfortable seat rising on a small pedestal. He evidently just woke up as his visor wasn’t pulled up entirely, and the joint linkages of his armor cracked at every move; but his black eyes shone clear and bright.

  “Commander XeraM6697, you are truly one attention-hungry fellow,” he said dryly. “We’ve been dealing with you constantly since you became a Flyer, and I don’t recall ever laying eyes on a more persistent Eeol. You will never rest, will you? Come on, don’t hesitate and state your business.”

  Xe rushed with his idea about keeping Flyers away from the big Puddle.

  “We shouldn’t go there, Sir. Our supplies are not low, so we are in no dire need to risk Eeol lives. We can afford to ease up, and therefore I ask you to call off the quests scheduled for the Puddle.”

  The Supreme’s hands gripped the soft wax of the seat arms and Xe knew his reply wouldn’t be favorable.

  “I have to decline your suggestion, Commander.”

  “That’s not right, Sir!”

  “We can’t allow ourselves to miss a good opportunity for stocking,” continued BeraX7719 in the same tone, ignoring his interruption. “It’s impossible to predict what the rest of the season will produce, or what awaits us next spring. Vegetation around the Puddle is rich with flowers and trips there and back will be short, saving time otherwise wasted on travel. Due to all of this, the Supreme Command finds the quests worthy of the risk.”

  “Risk?” Xe ground out with acerbity. “Are you aware what that word means outside in the plains, Sir?”

  The Supreme’s expression didn’t change a bit. “Yes I am, Commander. Don’t forget I served as a Flyer when I was younger. But securing the food supply is our top priority, as the future of the entire Swarm depends on it.”

  “It’s too dangerous! Running into foes would be unavoidable and somebody is going to get killed for sure!”

  The Supreme waggled his head.

  “It’s correct, and it’s horrid, but the needs of the many surpass the needs of the few. The well-being of the Swarm is more important than the lives of individuals, Commander, that’s the simple truth. New Eeols are born daily to take the places of those who fall, while in the case the food reserves run out before the spring, the entire Swarm would perish.”

  “So it doesn’t matter what happens to individual Eeols as long as the Swarm lives on?”

  “Eeols are the Swarm!” argued the Supreme. “We all are the Swarm, Commander, you and me and everyone else in the Hive.”

  Xe rolled his eyes on the preaching.

  “And don’t twist my words, Commander. I care for each Eeol and grieve when bad things happen, but sometimes you have to choose between two evils. I assure you that the Queen, who made this decision in the first place, knows very well how hard that choice was.”

  “The Queen,” hissed Xe. “I have been following her commands my whole life. Toiling day after day, jeopardizing both my life and the lives of my friends, and I have never even seen her.”

  “Neither have I. Duty is a duty, Commander, and the same stands for us all. You have orders to execute, and that’s what you should be focusing on now. It’ll be all, Commander. Dismissed.”

  “Sir, I…”

  The Supreme gave him a sharp look and waved his right hand signaling to HegoT8330. “Commander, show Commander XeraM6697 out.”

  The Scout had to leave the room immediately and he exited the Supreme Command Quarters deeply disappointed.

  There was nothing he could do. After the Morning Rally, unit 84 joined scouting company three and its two hundred and fifty Flyers reluctantly buzzed north-northeast toward the dead waters of the threatening Puddle. Only one gathering swarm was scheduled to go there per
day, so the three remaining companies turned to the usual pasture grounds in the open meadows.

  “Listen, Trooper,” said Xe to his aid Xe 68 while they were flying some distance away from the others. “You are close to earning your Commandership. If things go wrong for me in the future, I am counting on you to assist my Starters.”

  Xe 68 looked at him. “What sort of talk is that, Sir?”

  “Come on, Trooper. In the world we live in, such discussions are necessary. If I died, somebody must fill in for me as my Starters are still inexperienced. Promise me you’ll be there for them.”

  “Naturally I will, Sir, but let’s not jump to conclusions. Everything might be well yet.”

  The Scoutmaster shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  The Puddle was indeed vast and impressive, bigger than any other Xe had seen before. The murky water spread all the way to the skyline with tops of sunken rocks and remnants of plant stalks projecting out here and there to break the monotony of its brownish-colored surface.

  It has to be teeming with Waterworms, thought Scout with disgust.

  He had to admit the Supreme was right about one thing, though. The broad stretch of fertile land along the banks was virtually bathing in blossoms and Xe couldn’t imagine a richer pasture. There were sumptuous red and yellow flowers of Samse, the last ones flourishing this season, then the countless Moon Herb purple cups and ginger-orange Pima blooms; and also vividly blue heads of Glee and elegant flowers of purest white of the mighty Fern Grass. Vegetation wasn’t too dense either and it would actually make the perfect feeding grounds for Eeols, if only it wasn’t adjacent to this gloomy water.

  Xe turned to his Scouts.

  “Trooper Xe, get behind me. Starters, follow in the line formation. Remember to be extremely cautious. Above all, keep off the water!”

  Wary Scouts managed to secure the chosen area without serious incidents. One lone Ant was roaming the brassy undergrowth but they chased it away easily with some light blaster fire. In moist periods Ant sightings were rare, as they preferred to wait for the return of dry weather in protection of their watertight tunnels. Apart from that, the Scouts discovered only harmless creatures in the rustling metallic foliage; a multitude of Flea Beetles, several Caterpillars and Grasshoppers, and a pair of Peaceful Flies jiggering in spirals around the Fern Grass stalks.