Wraiths
The Smallest Hive
Chapter 2
The Hive trembled one last time. Not as violent as the others had been but more like a person trying to clear their head after working too hard and for too long.
The pain that the Hive had endured would have been enough to drive any other creature mad but the reasons for why the Hive had endured what it had just done and for why it being mad may be a moot point but the Hive had done what needed to be done sane or otherwise.
Now it could rest again. It began by shutting down almost all of the systems it had struggled so hard to activate.
It would leave only enough on line for those that it had awoken to take over the task that the Hive had been charged with for so long. Of course they could hardly been any ones first choice for a mission as important as this but then, what was that old wraith saying? When hunger burns like fire the first human will always do? It was something like that but it didn't really matter. The hive had done what it needed to do and that was all that mattered the Hive thought to it self as what passed for its consciousness once more slipped back in to darkness.
Just as the Hive was going back to sleep, others were just emerging from their long enforced hibernation.
The hand that had only moments ago emerged from the pit was now followed by a head. Covered in the ooze the head slowly swiveled back and forth to take in its surroundings. For a few seconds it was near blind in the almost complete darkness but that was an easily remedied problem. Blinking a few times its eyes took on a yellowish green glow. Now the wraith could see perfectly. Reaching up with one hand to grasp the edge of the pit the Wraith effortlessly began to pull itself out. When it was almost half way out it stopped and looked back. Around its waist were the arms of another wraith. The Female bared her teeth and hissed before she delivered a vicious back handed blow to the other wraiths head which sent it back into the center of the pit. Now free of that entanglement she bounded up out of the pit with little effort. Landing on her feet she stopped and looked around the chamber as she tried to recall what had happened prior to her imprisonment in the pit.
*Uhh wh what happened?* asked the male wraith as he floated spread eagled atop the surface of the liquid in the pit.
*Get Up!* The Female ordered him harshly.
The male just nodded silently and then rolled over and began to swim his way to the edge of the pit.
To be honest the female was wondering the same thing.
Shaking her head to clear more of the ooze from herself which was drying and flaking off and not leaving any trace of it self very quickly, she continued to use her powerful night vision to stare around the pit chamber trying to jog her fogged memory. She was about 6 and half feet tall, and her lithe and athletic form rippled with strength and a predatory prowess. She was dressed in a thin white dress that clung to her like a finely woven web. It was styled like a medieval garment that showed off her more prominent female assets. Around her waist was a green metallic chain to which was a attached a small scabbard which housed a curved jewel encrusted dagger that she was quite proficient in using. On her legs she wore dark leather thigh high stiletto boots which were covered in long binding straps and buckles. She also wore a jacket made of the same material as her boots. Her dark black hair with natural green high lights hung long and straight to the middle of her back.
The male had by now clumsily pulled him self over the edge of the pit and was meekly standing a meter behind her in a slightly bowed and respectful or fearful manner. He was shorter then her by almost 5 inches. His garb was far less elegant then hers. Also made of black leather like material it was more thick and sturdy. Around his waist he wore a belt with many pouches and strange tools attached to it. His boots were large and cumbersome. All over his body were strapped many tools and instruments. His long unkempt white hair was almost down to his waist and it also had small bits of metal and tools tied in it where they were readily available. Over his eyes he wore a pair of goggles that appeared to be made of an organic like material. On the lenses wraith text could be seen to scroll across them. Over his right ear was an odd insect like device. Its "legs" were firmly attached to the side of his head and it had 2 little antenna sticking which twitched back and forth as the feed information to the goggles.
Unlike other wraith he wore fingerless gloves on his hands. Like others he also had the finger device used in feeding but he had other devices attached to all his other fingers.
The female stopped looking around the chamber and turned to face the male.
*What is going on?* She asked. *I cannot sense any of the others.*
A few seconds went by and he didn't reply.
Her anger starting to rise, she once again bared her grey shark like teeth and him and hissed.
This got his attention. He raised his head to look at her but his hands continued to push buttons on the devices he wore and over the "bug" on his head.
*Um, uh, err yes, I mean no, no I can't sense any of them either, and I am not getting any telemetry from the Hive.*
He stuttered nervously.
*What could have happened, and why can I not remember anything?* She asked herself. Not realizing that she wasn't addressing him directly he did his best to answer her.
*Pro, prolonged hibernation has been known to cause temporary memory loss and since we were submerged in the preservative fluid I would think we were not intentionally placed there to hibernate, an and I can't remember either but if I can access the hive's memory bank I might be able to find out wha, what happened.* He said nervously. He was trying very hard to supply her with all the information he could. Not that being helpful was his main goal rather then annoying a female could be very detritus to ones state of well being.
*Then we will make out way to the command bride now.*
She said and started to turn to make her way when both of them were stopped. Another form was starting to rise up from the pit. Like a leviathan coming up from the depths The Warrior climbed out of the pit to stand next to the other two. Towering above both of them he was nearly 8 feet tall.
Even for a warrior drone he was massive. Looking no different then any of his masked and armored warriors the only distinguishing thing about him was the vivid green symbol in wraith that was stenciled over the face of his gruesome mask. Looking down at the other 2 wraith he cocked his head to one side and simply stared at them waiting for orders.
The power of his mere presence was enough to even give The Female a momentary pause as she took in the daunting giant. She quickly regained her imperial domineer and ordered them to follow her and with that she turned and headed for the exit of the pit chamber. The smaller male quickly fell into step behind her but the Warrior hesitated for a second before he also began to follow them.
As the trio made their way thru the hives twisting and curving corridors it was becoming very apparent that there was something very, very wrong. Even under normal circumstances the lighting in a hive was very low but the farther into the hive they travelled in to the more active parts it should have been better illuminated then the ever present darkness that continued to surround them. Several doors they came to either wouldn't open or were left wide open to equally dark and empty chambers. None of the transportation scoops used to shorten travel thru the hive was operating. They came across no functioning work stations. Even the atmosphere they were breathing had an unfinished tang to it. And it was far thinner then it should have been. And still they couldn't sense any other wraith on the hive. They hadn't even come across any remains of any dead which one could almost expect to find as all most all of the corridors they traversed showed some signs of what appeared to almost be battle damage.
Explosions and fires of varying were evident everywhere.
Not knowing what to make of this they continued to traverse the several miles till they reached the bridge in silence. As they continued the Female suddenly turned and looked behind her. The warrior was gone.
*Where is he?* She asked bluntly.
*What?* the other male asked not realizing what she was talking about. Jerking his head around he quickly took notice of the Warriors absence.
*Oh he has probably gone to check on his pets.* he said.
*His pets?* she asked slightly flustered.
*Yes he keeps pets. It is a habit he acquired some centuries ago I don't really know why but he seems to enjoy it.* the male answered matter of fact.
The female tried to ponder this but decided that her efforts were better put to concentrating on getting the answers at the bridge then the strange quirks of her companions.
As they continued on their way the warrior was indeed checking on his pets. Standing in a small side chamber in front of a row of small hibernation chambers he pushed the buttons to open it up. Nothing happened. He pushed the control again. Nothing.
Silently the warrior reached out and simply pulled the door off of the small chamber. Tossing it aside the warrior looked in side. He was not happy with what he found.
Inside were the remains of a half dozen small forms.
All long dead. Apparently the power and chemical feed had been cut off from it for quite some time. None of this was going thru the warriors mind as he tenderly reached inside and took the remains of one of the creatures in his large hands. The multi legged insect crumbled to dust despite his gentle handling. It was the same with the others. Nothing remained but dust, dust and memories.
The warrior simply continued to stand there and stare into the small chamber.
The other 2 wraith by now had finally reached the command bridge.
Like the rest of the hive it too was void of life.
They stood side by side staring into bride. The female turned her head slightly and glared at the male. After a few seconds he realized this and quickly made his way over to one of the side consoles. As he was attempting to gain access to the hives memory banks the female began to walk around the control room. She made her way over to a large bench that was at the rear of the chamber. She walked up to it and looked at it with greed all but pouring out of her eyes. She turned and slowly lowered herself down onto the bench. A smile slowly spread across her face. She looked up at the command chamber and the smile got even larger.
It is mine. She said aloud. The first words she had uttered since awakening.
Clenching at the sudden sound the male quickly turned around and looked at her.
Did you say something? He asked saying it out loud.
Yes. I said that it is mine. She all but jumped up as she said it.
What is yours? He asked.
This hive now belongs to me. This hive and all a board it are now MINE! She said proudly.
But how can it be yours? He asked seemingly not following her line of reasoning.
Since we have awoken we have not seen another wraith aboard. Not the queen. Not a commander. Not even a low level cleverman or blade. They are all dead so that makes it MINE!
But we don't know that they are dead. They may have abandoned the ship or.. He started to say but she cut him off by thrusting her hand out and attempting to take telepathic control of him. A normal queen would have made him into a puppet almost instantly but all that happened was he took a few steps backwards as if a large wave had just rolled over him. He simple stood there dumbfounded by the fact that his mind hadn't been turned to mush by now.
Aaarrgghh! She growled as she curled her outstretched hand into a fist. I am the Queen of this hive now and you will OBEY ME! She bellowed and slammed her fist down on the arm of the bench. Hitting it with such force that it caused one of the legs on the bench to shatter like glass sending the bench toppling over and her to land in an undignified heap on the floor.
The male didn't know if he should rush to help her up or just run from the chamber as fast as he could so in stead he just stood their in a near state of panic and confusion.
He was far to low in ranking to have to be dealing with this kind of situation. By now the female had gotten to her feet and was quickly bearing down on him. Pulling her dagger from its scabbard she simply held it up under his chin.
He realized that she had just made her point most efficiently.
I am yours to command. He said as obligingly as he could.
She replaced her dagger into its scabbard and turned to make her way to the center of the room.
*Have you managed to access the hives memory yet?* She asked going back into the more traditional form telepathic style of communication.
*Huh oh yes um very nearly yes.* He stammered as he rushed back over to the side console. After a few minutes of working at the console and linking his "bug" device into console he finally seemed to make some progress.
He turned to her and began his report.
*It appears that almost every system but minimal life support and internal gravity is off line. Including weapons, internal and external sensors.* He stated.
She didn't like that sound of that at all.
*I have also been unable to access anything in the memory any further back then a few hours before we were awoken and the reason the hive did revive us is because there is a vessel of unknown origin approaching.*
*Are you sure that is correct?* She asked secretly hoping that it wasn't. He turned back to the console and rechecked the information he had just managed to pull from it.
*No. I interpreted the information wrong.* He added sheepishly. He wasn't used to having to interface with the hive's higher functions like this.
The female relaxed a little at this slightly good news.
*There are several vessels of unknown origin and they are now right outside the hive.*
To be continued.