Epic of Bee

I was surprised to see all the crystal displays up when I walked into the room. What astonished me even more, was all the different views that they gave of the Royal Flying Hive Fortress.

On top of there being about fifteen displays, each one of them was set to rotate between about four different views. The sheer amount of information that could be collected from studying this was immense, but it would be impossible for one person.

Gamble was not just one person; he was a six-in-one package that was already a genius. So, this was the perfect job for him, and I was glad that he took it on without prompting.

Typically, if I was reading a book, giving this much power to one person could be a terrible idea. The Queen System wouldn't allow anyone to work behind my back or plan anything that was against my wishes.

Even more so now that I had evolved and was getting a better hold on my powers. I had no qualms about trusting this job to Gamble, but I would see if I could get him some more help.

"This is quite amazing, but I think that you could use a bit more help down here. I will request that Raine looks into the matter and gets you some more help," I said after finally taking everything in.

"There is no need, but I will not refuse an offer from my Queen," Gamble said, giving me a bow after.

"I know that you can handle this, but I think that you should be using some of the other parts of you to work on other things, right?" I asked, and Gamble nodded, but he didn't look convinced.

"I will do as you say, but people find it hard to work with me because of my lack of talking if it isn't to say something important. People also have trouble keeping up with me," Gamble explained, and I nodded.

"Yes, I understand that, and if you don't think that they are helping, then you can send them back. I think you should give them a chance, though; I will talk to Raine and explain to her the type of people you are looking for. Now, let's talk about what could or might happen in the next forty-eight hours," I said as I walked over to a chair and sat down.

I was starting to feel a bit tired, but my walk through the flower gardens afterward would help with that. After that, I would be resting in my chair while I piloted the QBee, so I would be fine.

"Yes, so you have come to talk about the Holistic Threads, and I have heard that you had visions of your sister's Hive, right?" Gamble asked, and I nodded.

"Yes, from what I had seen, there were only about fifteen people infected with LichTar and only three Predators. One of them is Trent, and the other a covered girl," I explained, but before I could go on, John put up a hand, and I motioned for him to speak; if only everyone was this patient!

"That girl is Leafa, and she is the daughter of the Sheep Folk King that we were sent to help. We had thought that she was killed, but that has to be her. It would also explain how the predators knew our every move and were always ahead of us," John explained.

"Yes, I think that you are right. There are Threads that connect the girl to the Herba Kingdom, and the Sheep King is one of the Five Grass Eaters. He is the least notable of the five but still holds a tremendous amount of power," Gamble said, nodding his head.

"Then why did he need to hire outside help?" I asked, and Will was the one to put up his hand this time, and I was starting to feel like a teacher, but it was better than everyone trying to talk at the same time.

"The power that he controls isn't the military type; it's the massive amount of grains, hay, and EverGrass that they produce. The Sheep King alone supplies all the other four cities in the Herba Kingdom and all the smaller towns and villages. The problem is that the Goat folk are very close to becoming major producers of white pearl grains. Any weakness the Sheep King was to show would affect the other kingdom's choices on who would be the most reliable supplier," Will explained, and it did make some sense.

"Okay, so there is someone that can tell that we are coming, that is really not good, and it means that they already know that we are coming, right?" I said, feeling my stress levels starting to rise.

"Yes, that is exactly what it means, and why we need to talk because there seems to be a slight discrepancy in Leafa's prophetic abilities," Gamble said, and I gave him a raised eyebrow, but I knew what he was talking about.

"You think that she can't see me, right? Since the predators were caught off guards both times that they attacked, right?" I asked Gamble, but she shook his head.

"No, I think that she is lying to them. Something about you is special to her, and the two of you are connected with many threads, but they are all dark and unreadable," Gamble explained, but that didn't really help.

"I won't be with you, though, so what good does this information do for us until I get back?" I asked, not really sure what he was trying to get at.

"You will be with us, just on the ship, and unable to move, but my point is that she should be able to Lie about you at least. The thing is, we can't rely on that, and we need to get things moving with the idea that they know we are coming," Gamble explained, and I put my face into my hands.

Nothing ever worked out exactly how you wanted.