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Zak stole away from the panicked mass of drones, retreating down the colony corridors. So the scouting parties were already having skirmishes... that made their job a bit more difficult. With everyone on edge like this, there were bound to be people looking a little closer. Yes, they smelled like Pax and scent was the most powerful sense of all, but eyesight wasn't entirely out of the equation. And, of course, they only had a limited numbers of vials of scent to use to continue to pass for the dead colony member.

Their fingers twitched in agitation, drawing claws restlessly along the walls as they walked. The buzz would die down, of course, for now. Open war was still a ways away, and while news of the skirmish would do much to disturb the members of the North Colony, it wouldn't reach them yet. For now, they still had time.

The young drone from earlier had disarmed them. Alix was enchantingly beautiful, but more than that- they were so unassuming, so meek and mild mannered. They could see immediately that they had been targeted by a more aggressive drone, and why. Likely the most high standing drones were scoping out all of the newly initiated young things systematically of course, much like the Queen xirself would be going through them all one by one, but Alix was an especially high target just because they were beautiful and demure.

Zak wasn't supposed to be getting too emotionally involved with the colony members here of course. It was bad for the job. But they did need to keep up the pretenses of socialization, so they supposed there wasn't any real harm in befriending them temporarily.

That's what they told themself anyways. If Alix reminded them of a younger version of themself, well, that was just a coincidence. Gliding on over to them and intercepting the prissy 'Queen's favourite' had been easy enough to do, and the look of gratitude and awe on the younger drone's face had been well worth the trouble. Zak's mandibles had twitched in agitated appreciation for the youthful beauty on display in front of them. They always had preferred drones over workers, not that workers couldn't be fun too on occasion, but they had a soft spot for their fellows. Of course even a drone didn't hold a candle to a Queen, but, well, not many colony members ever met more than one of those in their lifetimes.

Not unless you were a spy drone like Zak, or an especially elite solider trained to infiltrate behind enemy lines, which was a much riskier venture than the mission Zak was embarked upon.

When the panic rose up around the announcement of the skirmish between the scouting parties, Zak had felt anxiety rise in their thorax, acid burning at the pit of their throat. Their wings buzzed, pulling them up into the air to hover, their feet just a breath above the hard colony flooring. Their mission was delicate, and rising fear and suspicion would upset the balance of their progress.

They had to remind themselves that nobody here was likely to think that Southern Colony was already infiltrating them from within. That would be an unheard of thought. Zak themself would have never expected such a move before they had been approached by their Queen for the job.

Still, they needed to keep a lower profile. It wasn't hard to slip out of the commons rooms unseen while the rest of the drones were in turmoil, asking questions of the ones who had brought the news, demanding to know things that nobody could possibly tell them at this point in time. Their one regret was the way that Alix had looked to where they had previously been, hopeful trust shining in their eyes as they sought them out, and then the disappointment as they found that Zac- or, Pax, as they thought they were- had slipped away.

Why where they so reluctant to dash the hopes of one very pretty but ultimately meaningless drone? They asked themself this over and over as their buzzing wings carried them down the corridors away from the bustling commons. The earth of the colony filled their antennae with scent, and they tried to focus on the crawling feeling of wrongness being surrounded by this much North Colony scent filled their blood with, itching under their exoskeleton. Focusing on the alarm bells in their head from being so in the thick of enemy territory... not on the very wide, lovely eyes of an enemy drone.

Zac made it back to their quarters- Pax's of course, it smelled so strongly of them that there could be no mistaking it- and leaned themself against the wall, closing their eyes and trying to calm down.

Memories of their own days as a youthful, newly initiated drone floated around the edges of their mind. They didn't want to re-live those memories. Scrapping with older, more aggressive drones, being the target of the favorites. They could still remember the time their food had been laced with just enough diluted venom to make them sick for a cycle and miss their calling by the Queen- all because the Queen was showing signs of favoring them more, calling on them more often.

The drone's commons were, in Zac's experience, a den of backstabbing, nasty rumors, and pretended niceties. They didn't expect North Colony to be much different. But they had managed to do something most drones didn't, and that was what had landed them this mission in the first place.

"Ow! I can't believe you!" the drone Warix had screeched, hand clutching at their left eye. Zac could scent the smell of blood on the air, and their own hand stung from the impact of their pads against their face. They were vibrating with adrenaline, mandibles clacking. A crowd was closing in around them, only adding to their caged feeling.

"I'm sick of your shit Warix." Zac's voice against all odds remained even, despite how much they wanted to truly lash out more. "Touch me again and I'll do worse." Their exoskeleton still dripped with honeydew, pooling in round droplets now on the floor on their feet. It had been rigged to pour from the door frame the moment they passed through the doors into the commons, one more prank in a never ending litany of them. Harmless fun except for the fact that they were on their way to meet with the Queen and would now need to bathe first or show up like this.

They had known exactly who had been behind it. Sure swiping at them with their claws was an escalation into real violence, but Zac had been through playing these games. It wasn't the first time they had thrown a punch in response to Warix and their follower's taunts, either.

"Can't take a joke, you little shit? You want to get rough? Fine. Let's get rough." Warix had squared up, and hands reached out to grab at Zac from behind them. They swallowed. This was about to get ugly. Zac was scrappy, but they were very outnumbered. The crowd started to jeer at them, cheering on Warix as they took a swipe at their face.

Zac could brawl though. Sun and Moon, could Zac brawl. Their mandibles clacked hard as they lashed out, ducking under Warix's swing and going for their waist. They could feel acid bubbling up deep in the pit of their throat.

They danced, with Zac taking the lead. Neither of them had the build or the strength of a worker, but Zac fought dirty, with mandibles and claws going for the weak points on Warix's body, the joints and the eyes. They bit down on exoskeleton hard enough to feel the crunch of it beneath their pressure, to taste the grit of it as it cracked in their mouth. Warix shrieked in pain and drew claws over Zac's abdomen, sending sharp bolts of pain through their hide. They grit their teeth and spun around to duck away from more hands closing in as Warix's lackeys came to their aid.

Acid was already dribbling over their lips and chin as adrenaline surged through them. In a flash they spun around to launch an attack in a wide arcing radius. Drones shrieked and dove for cover, all of them desperate to keep their wings out of the spray. With a sinking feeling Zac knew that they had gone a step too far. Drones got into scraps from time to time, but using acid against fellow drones was considered a serious taboo. A drone's wings were practically scared.

The breaking of this foundational rule of confrontation turned the tides against them.

A well placed punch directly to the mouth sent them reeling, and hands clamped down on their arms, their wrists, their waist, pulling them down to the ground. They gaped up in fear as Warix stood over them with a smug look of triumph on their face, despite the green ichor oozing from their wounds.

"You want to play it like that?" they said, a dangerous lilt to their voice. "Maybe I should ruin those pretty wings of yours once and for all. We'll see how much the Queen likes you then," they sneered. Alix felt the first true chill of terror sweep through their body, starting in the center of their thorax and moving in waves out through their appendages and their abdomen, itching across their exoskeleton. They could scent their own adrenaline on the air. There was terror in their eyes.

Not the wings.

They could see it coming, the bright green acid as Warix's mouth opened up, mandibles moving out of the way, their body leaning over them as hands held them down. They thrashed, fighting back to no avail, acid about to drip out of Warix's mouth and directly onto their wings, their beautiful wings, they would be ruined forever, the Queen would never call for them again...

And then in a rush, everything stopped. "What by the Sun is going on here?" a brash, roughly textured voice cut through the din of the crowd, and a new scent made itself known. The scent of workers.

The drones parted in a sudden rush. Hands left Zac's body and Warix backed off, head lowered in respect. Zac didn't bother. They got up in a rush, wings out, dusted themselves off, and met the worker's eyes. It was the captain of the soldiers, if Zac recalled correctly. They dipped closer to them so that their antennae touched, exchanging scents.

"Zac. The Queen has been waiting for you," they said with a disapproving grimace.

That was interesting. Why would soldiers be sent for them? The Queen had never sent soldiers before even when the drone's pranks sometimes meant they were made to keep xir waiting.

"I... apologize," they had said, taken aback. They were still coming down from the rush of adrenaline, their breathing still somewhat erratic. "But forgive me, why did the Queen send you for me?"

A large hand was placed on their back. "We'll talk about that. Come with me." What on earth was happening? The residuals of terror coursing through Zac's body were turning into confusion. "As for the rest of you," the captain said, "The Queen will deal with your behavior." Their eyes passed over the gathered drones, in particular the ones who had been the most involved in the brawl. Zac felt a momentary satisfaction at exactly how much damage they'd managed to deal despite being vastly outnumbered. Warix in particular had several cuts, bruises, and burns in their exoskeleton that would take a while to recover from. Served them right.

There wasn't long to congratulate themself however as they were soon being led out of the commons. "Sorry Captain, but can I get cleaned up first?" they ventured to ask, even as the soldiers were moving into the corridor.

The captain glanced at them but did not stop moving. "No time right now, you're already late enough as it is," they said. Their tone of voice was scented with irritation.

"I'm confused. Is this not the usual tryst with the Queen?" Zac asked.

"No it is not," came the reply. "Now be quiet until we get there. The Queen will explain everything in detail."

---

"You want me to what?" Zac asked in incredulity. They were not seated in the Queen's personal quarters, instead they had been led by the group of soldiers into the formal audience chamber. This was much more businesslike than the usual intimacies that were involved when a drone was summoned by the Queen. Their eyes moved from xir to the captain and then back to xir again.

"Zac, you've showcased that you're not only a very beautiful drone and a skilled mate," xi said softly, xir voice an echo of sweet nothings that fell on Zac's ears and gliding through their senses. Drones more than anyone in the colony became familiar with the Queen's presence and scent, but even to Zac it was still heady and strong. "But you are also adept at fighting and have a strong will and sense of self. You are remarkably formidable for a drone."

"But solider training? Why would I be trained for battle? I've never heard of a drone solider." Drones only had one option for jobs, as far as Zac had been aware.

"Not a solider," snorted the captain. "A spy. The Queen has selected you to be sent to the North Colony as a spy."

The Queen nodded. "You will be a plant. We want to infiltrate them from the inside out, and you are the best drone for the job. I've been watching you, Zac. I am not entirely blind to what goes on in the drone's wing."

Zac felt a flush of pride swell through themself. The Queen had been watching them? And xi was impressed with their fighting capabilities? The job they were describing sounded dangerous, but what an honor to have been chosen for it! They dipped their head in obedience to xir, their lowered eyes rising just enough to meet xirs.

"I am truly honored to be considered for a post like this my Queen. But please, tell me, will I still... still be yours when I return?" With their eyes locked, the Queen and Zac together, a moment of profound connection passed between them. Xi was their Queen, their ultimate power, their goddess. They were nothing but devoted to their desires and their command, and the Queen knew it.

"Zac," they said softly, a hand sliding under their chin to tilt their face towards them. "You will always be mine."

Zac sighed as the memories faded. So hard to hold on to, here in the heart of enemy territory, the enemy Queen only a few chambers and corridors away. Xi was their target, and they had to remember that. They could smell xir scent everywhere in this colony, mingled with the scent of all of the colony members, and the scent of their own Queen was so distant from them now. It was a memory they had to hold tight to.

A better scent to think about than the scent of Alix. Alix, so young, so new. They hadn't even had their first night with their Queen yet and they were already being target by drones who didn't understand the meaning for 'For the good of the Colony'. That was likely why they were so drawn to Alix. They felt bad for them. And unlike themself, they didn't think that Alix had the fortitude to become the scrappy brawler that Zac had become. Or maybe they did, and that was part of the problem. It would be a shame to see the sweet innocence on that young drone's face fade away.

But Zac couldn't protect them from either Alix's fellows or from themself. That wasn't why Zac was here.

"Get it together," they said to themself under their breath. "I have a job to do here, and that does not involve getting emotionally compromised by a pair of pretty wings. I'm here for the Queen. Nobody else."

They would need to get the job done soon. From their perusal of drone records in the library, Pax was not at the top of the Queen's favourites list, but also not at the bottom. They did get called on on a fairly consistent basis, and within half a cycle they could expect the summons. They just had to keep up their cover until then.

In the meantime, it would behoove them to learn as much as they could about Pax, their mannerisms, and the people they knew. They needed to play the role well when the Queen eventually did call them to xir chambers. They could also not go amiss in gathering information as much as they could, speaking to as many people as possible and reading up on the colonies histories and advancements.

No time to dally with Alix, no matter how pretty they were. Alix had enough on their own claws to worry about anyways, between readying themself for their own first time, and now worrying about oncomming war. Zac really wished the South Colony meathead scouts had held off on skirmishing so soon, it really did put a new tension on their life that Zac did not want to deal with. But that was workers for you, so often all brawn and no brains.

Zac had a sneaking feeling that they were going to run into Alix again eventually however. They clenched their hands and then released, trying to let the tension leave their body. They would not be tempted, even if they had to admit that Alix was, in fact, tempting.

But Zac was South Colony first and foremost and they were loyal to their Queen. They would do their Queen proud.