Electro Bee Magic

Electro Bee Magic
Favor
Harvid sipped the golden honey-mead and set the glass back on the iridescent tabletop. He stared longingly at the meal cooling on his plate.
"Have you tried the honeyed dew?" Senator Bumbleton asked. "It is simply scrumptious." She delicately jabbed a golden straw into the golden blob on her plate, rubbed her fingers, eyes, and napkin, then took a quick, delicate sip, daintily smacking her lips before emitting a small, perfect burp.

"I can't," Harvid said with a sigh and downcast eyes, "I've taken the Brood Oath." An outright lie of course, but Harvid had come too far to ruin his chance with bad manners. It wasn't that he didn't know them, rather, he had trained for months at Senate table manners, but he hadn't been born to them. They didn't flow as naturally as they should, and he couldn't afford failure because of an ill-timed wave, imperfectly executed burp of content, or carelessly tossed napkin. Better that he lie and go hungry than eat and jeopardize everything.

"You should have mentioned," Senator Bumbleton said with a smile that was more of a grimace. "I would have had some comb prepared and brought out instead of this frivolous delicacy."

"I appreciate your concern Senator," Havrid said bowing his head, "but I chose the Oath, and I alone suffer its consequences and rewards." He bowed his head again as protocol demanded. This gesture at least, he couldn't get wrong.

"You brave thing," the senator said, smiling and waving acknowledgement of supplication. She picked a hex crystal goblet off the table. "To the Oath," she said. "May it ever keep our people safe." She downed the drink quickly, in one gulp, very undelicately. Harvid raised an eyebrow but composed himself again before the Senator could see. This blatantly rude gesture only served to emphasize Harvid's precarious position. He raised his own glass, made eye contact with Senator Bumbleton, and took a delicate sip, the only etiquette he trusted himself with. Senator Bumbleton harrumphed.
"Now that dinner is through," she said. She signaled to the servants, who promptly removed the dishes and themselves--Harvid heard a click as the door was locked. "Why are you here exactly?" The senator stood, put her palms on the table as she leaned across the table to stare at Harvid with bright blue eyes.

Harvid was very grateful for his "Oath" at the moment, as he stood and returned the Senator's stare with determination. "All pleasantries aside," he said, "I need a favor..." Harvid paused, dreading this moment for many reasons. "I need you to give me access to a B-Drone." Harvid's palms were getting damp.
Senator Bumbleton scoffed and backed up. "A B-Drone?!" That's what you wanted my time to ask for?" She sat back on the nearby couch. "What aren't you asking...?"

"I need authorization for a colleague of mine to fly it to New York." Harvid chose to remain standing, afraid that he'd lose his nerve if he sat back down and had to avert his gaze.
Hanket
Hanket was led into a cell by a Drone. Its thin legs skittered slightly as it traversed the smooth metal floor. It turned to face him, its multifaceted camera eyes seeming to focus on everything and nothing all at once. "Remain here," it buzzed. It then skittered around him and exited; the door slid closed behind it silently. Hanket immediately tried to exit the cell, but the door would not open for him, nor could he find the mechanism that controlled it. He turned back to the room and examined the sparse contents; a couch set in one wall opposite a Scrin, and a small Saninook were all there was to see. The cell colors were muted, metallic blues and golden yellows. He sat on the couch, "All up to you now Harvid," he whispered. He waved at the Scrin and pulled up the book he'd been reading: War Swarm.
Stamen
Lazily flying through liquid summer air, Hanket scanned the horizon while fighting off slumber. There had been almost nothing of interest to see until he spotted a bright red splotch of color. He paused in his flight, hovering on wings heavy with fatigue, to rub his faceted eyes and refocus on the bright color.

Harvid lay on the medical couch in an induced coma stupor. Despite the powerful muscle relaxers syruping through his veins, his eyelids twitched spasmodically. The thick cable protruding from the top of his shaven skull pulsed with mesmerizing motion and light, continually supplying data and life to the vegetative body and mind. Harvid was elsewhere... perhaps elsewhen...

Hanket lolled against the red petals. It was becoming increasingly difficult to focus and control. He pushed against the encroaching consciousness fog, succeeding in clarifying his connection slightly. The Stamen came into sharper focus; Hanket launched himself toward the yellow and green protrusion, stinger forward. PROTECT THE HIVE!

Harvid jolted in his stupor. The life cable shaking violently with the spasm. A small amount of green fluid seeped from the corner of his mouth as well as the joint between his skull and the cable. The cable had been hastily prepared, but it had worked. Harvid now soared through the solar system.

Hanket jerked awake; rolled his head from side to side, staring about his cell wildly. He tried to rub his eyes, but restraints prevented him from moving his arms. "Help," he said, barely managing a whisper. He had been away too long. A small red light began blinking somewhere above his head as he thrashed around weakly. He fatigued quickly though and stopped, breathing heavily, closing his eyes against the bright cell lights. He began to shake as a sob escaped his honey-colored lips. A tear rolled down his pale cheek, "Why am I alive?" he whispered.
Arrival
Harvid marveled at Jupiter's thin ring, its many moons, its swirling, milk-like storms. He knew the moons well, but they appeared as small, bright dots, barely indistinguishable from each other. Even his destination was a bright dot though he knew it to be crisscrossed with rust-colored lines and cracks. These slowly became visible as he approached. He had no idea how fast he was moving, but even in the space of what seemed like a few seconds, the moon had doubled in size.
He impacted with the force of a million supernovae. The sphere rocked with the energy, perhaps wobbling in its orbit slightly, but nobody noticed. Harvid's spirit wasn't large enough. And with his arrival, he brought nothing... nothing but his consciousness. Europa's spirit still shook from Harvid's arrival... and nobody cared. This was exactly what Harvid had been hoping for. He looked to mighty Jupiter in the sky, and thanked the gods, not that they had seen or cared. He scanned the ice above and below. There were no inhabitants here. He tried to smile, but remembered he had no corporeality. Damn, he thought. He had hoped to impact near enough to a local to eject them whilst being drawn in. He tried to shrug, remembered his condition, laughed at himself, and set off toward Europiothia.

Hanket accepted the Nectar, drinking as much as he spilled down his chin. No matter though, the Nurse cleared it for him, licking his chin with her long, velvety proboscis. "Where is my brother?" He asked weakly.

"Do not try to speak," the Nurse said, "the recovery process will take time."

A canned response. Hanket had heard too many of them. He sat up; at least the restraints had been removed; and waved at the Scrin on the wall, which leapt to life. It began suggesting feeds and recordings to view, the cacophony of which nearly deafened him. He waved the volume down and selected a single feed. Too long... I have been away too long, he thought. He perused the selections, waving off obvious advertisements and scams. Still the same old shit. Have I failed? He thought. Why am I alive?