Queen World of the Insectoid Empire, 2175 A.D.

The Hive mother waited for the last rebel sister to reach the brood chamber, keeping tabs on her progress through the Hive as she closely watched her through the eyes of dozens of drones.

After her victory and the ritual killing of the other rebel sister, the last remaining sister surrendered when her fleet had arrived and laid siege to her Hive.

The Hive mother was secretly grateful that her sister had chosen to accept her supremacy instead of forcing her to cull another sister.

She did not have to waste the lives of millions of drones or much-needed ships invading the rebel Hive, and she did not have to cull another sister. Yet.

Of the twelve queens they had when the swarming started, four were dead, and she was now Hive mother. There were only seven queens left, a terrible legacy she inherited from the Hive mother before her.

As the rebel sister neared the brooding chamber, she looked at the other six loyal queen sisters arrayed around her. They had answered her call to come and see their sister surrender and pledge fealty to the new Hive mother.

I need to make new queen daughters; seven queens are not enough to properly manage and defend the Hives. We are fortunate the animals are too engrossed in their own conflicts to press their advantage against us, she thought to herself as she looked at each of the six loyal sisters that had accepted her as Hive mother from the start.

She felt the Hive mother within wanting to share thoughts, and she opened her mind to her wise ancestor.

<Daughter of mine, do not presume to know the inner thoughts of the animals; they have shown us time and again that they can frustrate our efforts and cause us great harm.>

She detected that her advisor wished to say more, and she waited, her mind open.

<You are correct that we are fortunate that they have not decided to seek revenge yet, but you should prepare for that eventuality. We have killed too many of them this time. This they will never forget, or forgive.>

<As always, your wisdom is true, Hive mother. Do you think I can trust my sister to be true to her thoughts and promise of obedience?>

The Hive mother within did not respond right away, and she continued to wait for more insight.

<My daughter, for your sake, I hope she is true and spares you from falsehood. I felt your anguish when you were forced to cull your other sister, and we all wept with you as you held her body and grieved for the sister she once was. So much pain and hurt was in you, and we all shared in your agony.>

The anguish of having to cull her sister came back, just as terrible as the day she did it. The Hive mother within felt her renewed pain and continued sending thoughts.

<I chose to accept you, as did the other Hive mothers and queens within you, because you are capable of such thoughts and feelings. Instead of thinking of others as mere tools to be used and discarded like many Hive mothers have done since the dawn of our awareness, you seek to change our ways for the better.>

<I regret that you had to share in my pain and grief; I wish I could have spared you and the others the difficulty of carrying such a burden. You should not be troubled with such things while you dwell within me.>

She suddenly felt a multitude of minds touching hers, careful not to overwhelm her thoughts as they caressed her spirit and imbued her with feelings of love and gratitude for her desire to spare them from such pain.

They retreated, and she felt unworthy of being gifted an exalted lineage of genetic ancestors such as them. The Hive mother within sent thoughts again as the others continued to withdraw and return to their dormancy within her.

<This is the way of the Hive, sweet daughter of ours. We were Hive mothers and queens once, and the time will come when you enter our world and join your wisdom with ours. It is a terrible burden to be like this, dead in the world of the living yet still alive as we dwell in the world of death.>

She felt a strong outpouring of emotions, the strongest of those being sorrow and regret, and more thoughts came to her.

< We are cursed to look back on our time of living and see how little wisdom we truly had. We now see our indifference and casual cruelty towards the worker drones who loved us unconditionally and never received our love in return. We see our insatiable lust for power and expansion. We were selfish and capricious, and we aggrandized ourselves at the expense of the Hives under our control.>

She felt more of her ancestor's emotional turmoil buffeting her spirit, and she mourned for the ones within her, condemned to see the error of their ways only after they had passed from the realm of the living.

<And even when we finally achieved the wisdom in death that we should have had in life, very few of our daughters wanted to listen to us as we tried to advise them. We were forced to watch as they made the same mistakes and committed the same wrongs as we did, thinking themselves wiser than we are. We were powerless hostages, unable to prevent them from going down the same destructive paths we once traveled.>

The turmoil lessened, and waves of contentment and joy touched her mind as the Hive mother within shared more thoughts.

<Such was our terrible fate until you came, and for the first time, we are now within a daughter worthy of our wisdom and guidance. We are now within a daughter who thinks as we do. We are now within a wise daughter, and we are happy.>

The Hive mother made the image of her ancestor inside her mind, seeing her in all her glory as she once was when she ruled an empire that felt the warmth of many suns. She hugged the ancient Hive mother with her spirit, sharing her love and appreciation for the one who chose her.

They embraced, and for the first time, she finally found the motherly love she had been desperately seeking since she first emerged from her pupa.

<It is time for you to return to the world of the living, my daughter. We will be here watching and waiting until you have need of us.>

The image dissipated, and the Hive mother within turned back into an orb of light that receded into the distance to join the other ancestors that dwelt within her.

She came back to the brood chamber, resenting having to return to her trapped body that would never again feel the warmth of a sun or the waters of the sky cleansing her exoskeleton.

She suppressed her unseemly self-pitying and stretched out her wings, fluttering them to remove any traces of dirt. She chose this path; she plunged the ritual dagger into her Hive mother's brain. This was now her burden to bear.

The rebel sister entered the brooding chamber, escorted by the two attendant drones she was entitled to. She approached timidly, stopping halfway before bowing in obeisance. She sent thoughts, and the Hive mother accepted them.

<I have come to you in obedience. My life is yours to do as you wish. You are Hive mother, and I accept the consequences of my disloyalty.>

The Hive mother stared at her prostrated form, conflicted by the need to make a choice on whether to punish her or show her mercy. I must do what is best for the Hives, not what is best for my desires, she thought to herself as she stared at her bowing sister.

She made her choice and sent thoughts to her sister.

<Sister, do you accept me as Hive mother? Will you give me your loyalty without reservation and promise to obey me in all things?>

<I do, Hive mother. I will not insult you by asking you to pardon me for my actions. All I can do is promise I will never question you again, and I will do as you command. I will no longer presume to know what is best for my Hive, for it is no longer mine but yours.

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The Hive mother felt her thoughts, detecting no falsehoods within them. She closed off her mind to her errant sister and sent thoughts to the other six loyal sisters surrounding her.

<Sisters, I have need of your thoughts. What do you think I should do?>

She felt their surprise and confusion at being asked for their input by the Hive mother. That was not the way of the Hives, and she realized with a flash of insight that they all felt like she was trying to trick them into revealing if they disagreed with her. She needed to correct their thinking.

<Sisters, I am not the Hive mother who brought us into existence. I am not trying to trick or trap you. You may share your thoughts freely without consequences. The old way is not my way, and I need your help to make this decision. She is our sister, and she deserves to be judged by all of us.>

Slowly, she felt their thoughts being revealed to her as they allowed themselves to freely let their thoughts be known without consequences for the first time in their lives.

They are like pupae, never truly allowed to grow into their own under the tyrannical rule of the prior Hive mother, she thought to herself sadly as she felt them struggling to share thoughts that were entirely their own.

They all wanted their sister back, and they were all concerned about the small number of queens remaining to maintain control of the Hives. They wanted her to make them new sisters to replenish their numbers, something she had been reluctant to do while the Hives were fractured.

She could not put it off any longer, and she thanked them for sharing their true thoughts with her.

<I will make new sisters for you today, and we will all work together to ensure the survival of the Hives and our species.>

She looked at her sister, who was still bowing with her head touching the floor as she waited for judgment. She opened her mind back to her and sent thoughts.

<Your sisters and I have decided that you will return to us and retake your place again as a queen. What has happened before no longer matters, for I have decided to never think of it again. Rise and take your place among your sisters, where you belong.>

She felt the surprise and gratefulness in her sister's thoughts as she slowly rose up and faced them.

<Take your place; we have need of your thoughts.>

Her sister walked over and joined the others. The Hive mother let them commune with each other for a few moments before sharing thoughts with them all.

<Sisters, we have difficult choices to make. We have not been in such a perilous position since we established our new empire in this space. We have retreated from all the territory we captured during the swarming, and we have suffered grievous losses at the hands of the new animals. I fear for the time to come.>

As her sisters listened to her thoughts, she could feel their worry and doubt about the state of the Hives in their minds. One sister sent thoughts, addressing them all.

<What are we to do with all the Hives you had us abandon? We do not know what is happening to the drones left behind. Have the animals killed them all? Are they still there, waiting for us to come back for them?>

Another sister added her own thoughts.

<I ordered my command drones to fight to the death if the animals came to our Hives. The animals will know suffering if they try to take their dead worlds back.>

The Hive mother felt the arrogance in the thoughts of the sister, and she felt the anger that rose in her at the callous disregard for the lives of the drones the sister left behind. She sent thoughts, letting her disapproval come through.

<And you are proud of that, sister? Those drones were abandoned by us, and they will follow your last commands and die for you. The old way is not my way. For too long, we have been mistreating the drones, using them, and discarding them for our pleasure.>

She felt the minds of her sisters' recoil from her thoughts, not understanding her anger. They had a right to use their drones as they saw fit, and now the Hive mother was telling them they did not.

She pressed deeper into their minds as she sent more thoughts.

<They are our daughters. We gave them life and purpose. Do you not feel the love they have for us when you enter their minds? Do you not feel their desire for our gratitude and recognition of the hard work they do for us as they toil during their short lives until their time of death comes upon them?>

She drew upon her new powers as Hive mother, increasing the strength of her thoughts as she felt her mind tap into the vast network of ancestors within her and their combined mental power.

<When their bodies are dying and they send you their last simple thoughts asking for gratitude and permission to claim their reward of eternal rest, how many of you granted them their wish? How many of you showed them mercy and kindness before they died? How many billions of drones did you let die with the one and only desire they have ever asked of us unfulfilled?>

The seven queens cowered under the unexpected onslaught of her mental powers, trying to close off their minds from the painful psychic assault. She pressed deeper, ripping away the weak mental barriers they tried to put up and feeling their minds quiver as they laid bare before her.

She felt their arrogance flee before her. It was replaced with terror as she continued to tear through their minds unimpeded. She showed them all the times they let a drone die unanswered.

She showed them all the times they killed a command drone for the slightest mistakes, or worse, for no reason at all. She then accessed her own memories and showed them all the times she communed with dying drones, answering them and fulfilling their dying wish.

The queens became filled with shame and regret as she allowed them to see and feel the exchanges between her and her drones when she was queen. Her drones were afraid; they knew they were dying. They sent thoughts to her, asking for her pardon because they could not work anymore.

She would respond to them, giving them the gift of her gratitude for a life of service and granting them permission to claim their reward of eternal rest. In their simple minds, the fear of their coming death would dissipate as she caressed their minds with hers, letting them know she was grateful.

Their fear would be replaced with pride and joy as they finally received recognition from the queen they served and loved without reservation. They would die at peace, the only favor they ever asked for in their short lives of endless toil fulfilled.

She felt the change in the minds and spirits of her sister's as they were forced to see themselves for what they truly were: selfish, arrogant, and unworthy of being queens. She withdrew from their exposed minds and returned to her own, letting them recover from the violation.

She was in her own mind again, and she looked at the queens, seeing the fear they now felt towards her in their eyes. She waited as they reassumed control of themselves, letting her anger die out before sending thoughts to them again.

<I am Hive mother. All the drones and Hives belong to me alone. Now you see my power, sisters. Do not mistreat my drones again, or I will obliterate you. You will be culled, and I will remove all traces of your existence from the memories of all others. None will remember your thoughts, and your essence will disappear into nothingness.>

She saw them react to her thoughts, and one after another they all reverently bowed to her. Their thoughts came to her, filled with total obedience as they all called her Hive mother. Her ascendance was now complete, and the empire was hers.

She told them to rise and face her; there was work to do. As they all looked at her once more, she sent thoughts to them again, more conciliatory this time.

<Sisters, I have built several small hiding ships that I created in secret. I intend to send them into animal space to see what is happening to the Hives we abandoned on the dead animal worlds. I intend to retrieve the drones we left behind, and I want your thoughts on how we will do this. Open your minds; I will send you thought images.>

She waited as they reluctantly opened their minds to her, still terrified of what she had done to them before.

When they were ready for her thoughts, she created a mental image of a star chart with all the animal stars and planets they had abandoned and shared it with them.

<Sisters, help me think of a way to save our drones without having to make war against the animals. We are their queens, and they need us. Send your thoughts when you have decided.>

They all absentmindedly responded to her as they all started turning their full mental energies into the task she had set before them. She withdrew from their shared thoughts and sent a command to the drones in the small chamber behind her.

She did not have to wait long, and ten drones came in groups of two, each group carrying a small white mass that writhed in between their claws.

The first two drones walked up and held out the egg to her, knowing they were holding something sacred.

She gently took the egg into her claws, careful not to squeeze it too hard or drop it. She brought it close to her eyes, staring at it undulating within her grasp.

She felt an overwhelming sense of love, contentment, and worry as she gazed at it. It seemed to know that it was being held by a Hive mother, and a thought whisper came from it, asking for the gift of life.

She slowly put out her tongue and kissed it, concentrating on making sure the right enzymes were being injected in the right proportions needed to begin the chemical processes.

She removed her tongue slowly, barely able to contain her excitement at finally being able to create a daughter queen for the first time. <I have waited so long for you, daughter. I love you already.>

She moved the egg closer to her thorax and activated her silk glands. She cradled the new future daughter queen on one leg and used the other claw to pull out the first strand of silk, attaching it to the base of the egg.

She repeated the process on the other side, and she slowly started to turn the egg as she gently wrapped it in her silk as her two glands spun the fibers.

Soon, the egg was completely wrapped, and she handed it back to the two waiting drones.

They carefully took it within their claws and backed away to bring the egg back to its place where it would undergo chemical processes now that she had kissed it with the gift of life.

The next pair of drones moved up, and she gently took the second egg from them. Then the third, the fourth, and then finally the fifth egg was kissed and wrapped.

As the last two drones took the final egg away, she felt the Hive mother within wanting to share thoughts with her. She eagerly accepted them, feeling delirious after what had just occurred.

<Daughter of ours, we are filled with joy for you. You will be a good Hive mother to them; we know it.>

As the Hive mother within retreated, she put herself into a dormant state. Soon she was dreaming of helping her new daughters stand and take their first steps as queens, feeling their claws in hers for the first time.

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