Protector of the Great Queen
An astronaut crash landed on a hellish planet densely populated by strange hothouse vegetation that seem to have an intelligence of their own...and carnivorous appetites. Every step needed to be taken with caution as unknown horrors awaited at every turn. A scan proved that life readings on this eerie planet are off the charts but sensors indicate that temperatures outside of his protective spacesuit were sweltering and the air consists of noxious gasses considered highly poisonous if breathed by humans. The astronaut notes that sprouting from the jungle landscape here and there are strange hexagonal shaped structures that are seemingly man made...or at least whatever equivalent to man this planet had to offer. Some had majestic spires that reach up to the heavens, others were merely hexagonal shaped sinkholes that lead underground to dark and unfathomable depths. He investigated one that is, like most of the others, overgrown with frightening plant life, but this one had remnants of what seems to be technology...what looked like a radar dish and perhaps a vine riddled communications antennae that loomed high above at a slight tilt.
His attention was diverted downward as a creeper vine wrapped itself around his leg. He reached down to unravel the vine but it only tightened its grip. A mild blast from his laser rifle was enough to dislodge the plant but soon he would realize this pesky vine would be the least of his problems. He heard a deep buzzing from above that was remnant of old fighter planes and he looked up just in time to see something with a swatch of yellow and black soar by at great speed. It was hidden behind great banyan trees and out of sight for just a brief moment but the giant swatch of yellow and black reemerged again to reveal itself to be a gigantic hornet! It circled the hexagonal structure again and again each time moving closer to the frightened astronaut...the intense buzz that it produced could be felt vibrating the ground and its swiftly beating wings violently moved the air and plants as a helicopter would. One pass in particular brought the hornet hovering very near the astronaut indeed. He could see clear details...its immense head the size of a hovercar pivoted this way and that as the hornet examined the astronaut as if trying to see him from all angles. Its antennas vibrated occasionally. The hornet seemed completely organic but upon closer inspection...a tiny vent here or a small port there...the bug seemed to be at least partially a machine...a vehicle of some kind. On its back, the astronaut could see a clear bubble canopy like a fighter jet would have and seated within it was a very strange alien being...seemingly the hornet’s pilot.
The hornet then perched silently atop the thin structure that the astronaut figured to be a communications antennae...its legs grasped the structure delicately. Still he was unsure if the apparent radar dish and other technology was broken and long abandoned or active and highly functioning, but one daunting thought had become abundantly clear; the hexagon is the shape favored by bees to build their honeycombs. Of course! This whole place, perhaps this entire planet is a honeycomb and the astronaut imagined there were legions more of the hornet’s kind probably very nearby. As the hornet perched silently above the astronaut kept perfectly still with his laser blaster aimed at the head of the immense insect above. He hoped that keeping still would make it so the giant insect would forget he was there...but the hornet was very much aware of his presence. Scans of its own revealed the strange little being to be a poisonous invader who had crashed in a craft of his own about four moots in the direction of Aark. It had pondered what to do with the little being...eat it...sting it...leave it. Vibrating its antennas, the hornet was sending and receiving telepathic signals from the rest of the hive. Every individual, with its hive-mind was now aware of the astronaut’s presence...even visual and sensory information was sent as if they had all discovered the little being first hand. The hive came to a final consensus: Capture it. Analyze it. Enslave it. Take it down below. Perhaps it’ll serve as nutrients for the larvae, perhaps its a better suited building material for our catacombs...perhaps it is best as a sacrificial offering to our Great Queen. We live to serve our Great Queen for she is all knowing and wise.
What happens next? You tell me. Enjoy.
Protector of the Great Queen
An astronaut crash landed on a hellish planet densely populated by strange hothouse vegetation that seem to have an intelligence of their own...and carnivorous appetites. Every step needed to be taken with caution as unknown horrors awaited at every turn. A scan proved that life readings on this eerie planet are off the charts but sensors indicate that temperatures outside of his protective spacesuit were sweltering and the air consists of noxious gasses considered highly poisonous if breathed by humans. The astronaut notes that sprouting from the jungle landscape here and there are strange hexagonal shaped structures that are seemingly man made...or at least whatever equivalent to man this planet had to offer. Some had majestic spires that reach up to the heavens, others were merely hexagonal shaped sinkholes that lead underground to dark and unfathomable depths. He investigated one that is, like most of the others, overgrown with frightening plant life, but this one had remnants of what seems to be technology...what looked like a radar dish and perhaps a vine riddled communications antennae that loomed high above at a slight tilt.
His attention was diverted downward as a creeper vine wrapped itself around his leg. He reached down to unravel the vine but it only tightened its grip. A mild blast from his laser rifle was enough to dislodge the plant but soon he would realize this pesky vine would be the least of his problems. He heard a deep buzzing from above that was remnant of old fighter planes and he looked up just in time to see something with a swatch of yellow and black soar by at great speed. It was hidden behind great banyan trees and out of sight for just a brief moment but the giant swatch of yellow and black reemerged again to reveal itself to be a gigantic hornet! It circled the hexagonal structure again and again each time moving closer to the frightened astronaut...the intense buzz that it produced could be felt vibrating the ground and its swiftly beating wings violently moved the air and plants as a helicopter would. One pass in particular brought the hornet hovering very near the astronaut indeed. He could see clear details...its immense head the size of a hovercar pivoted this way and that as the hornet examined the astronaut as if trying to see him from all angles. Its antennas vibrated occasionally. The hornet seemed completely organic but upon closer inspection...a tiny vent here or a small port there...the bug seemed to be at least partially a machine...a vehicle of some kind. On its back, the astronaut could see a clear bubble canopy like a fighter jet would have and seated within it was a very strange alien being...seemingly the hornet’s pilot.
The hornet then perched silently atop the thin structure that the astronaut figured to be a communications antennae...its legs grasped the structure delicately. Still he was unsure if the apparent radar dish and other technology was broken and long abandoned or active and highly functioning, but one daunting thought had become abundantly clear; the hexagon is the shape favored by bees to build their honeycombs. Of course! This whole place, perhaps this entire planet is a honeycomb and the astronaut imagined there were legions more of the hornet’s kind probably very nearby. As the hornet perched silently above the astronaut kept perfectly still with his laser blaster aimed at the head of the immense insect above. He hoped that keeping still would make it so the giant insect would forget he was there...but the hornet was very much aware of his presence. Scans of its own revealed the strange little being to be a poisonous invader who had crashed in a craft of his own about four moots in the direction of Aark. It had pondered what to do with the little being...eat it...sting it...leave it. Vibrating its antennas, the hornet was sending and receiving telepathic signals from the rest of the hive. Every individual, with its hive-mind was now aware of the astronaut’s presence...even visual and sensory information was sent as if they had all discovered the little being first hand. The hive came to a final consensus: Capture it. Analyze it. Enslave it. Take it down below. Perhaps it’ll serve as nutrients for the larvae, perhaps its a better suited building material for our catacombs...perhaps it is best as a sacrificial offering to our Great Queen. We live to serve our Great Queen for she is all knowing and wise.
What happens next? You tell me. Enjoy.