NOVPUB"Our plans were just fine, Agent Whisper," Bloodimina replied harshly. "*You* were the one who said that dropping fire pots on the paper wasps' hive will ruin our secrecy."
Whisper huffed. She barely explained to Bloodimina the situation and was already being told to back off!
And Whisper had to fly all the way to Bloodimina's secret field camp inside of Farini's secret tent (built just for bees) to speak with her, since Bloodimina wasn't a Beemarine.
Commander Bloodimina's ability to send telepathic messages had the range of only 10 meters, and normally Whisper only talked to her through Bloodimina's second-in-command.
Bloodimina scowled at Whisper, but the Agent stayed fearless and irritated.
"I was just transferring Chief Agent's words! And it would ruin it, yes—that's why I say that we need a *better* plan. Would you just listen to it?"
"Quickly. My forces are going to take part in tomorrow's battle, and I need all the time to prepare. It will improve our humans' chances even further."
Whisper wasn't so sure. In an open battle, it will be harder to keep secrecy while also being effective.
"My plan requires two squads of Beehounds," she told Bloodimina. "First—"
"You want to send a decoy? It won't work. It was the second thing I thought about, and wasps just hunted out both squads."
Whisper frowned.
"Then it's a good thing that a decoy was *not* my plan. But… wait, what was the first thing?"
"Burning their nest down, of course. It reminds me terribly about my first battle against the murder hornets near Hive Rich—well, it was just a camp then." Bloodimina looked nostalgic for a moment. "What I'd give for being able to just burn them all back then! To see them all die overnight like in Hive Hornet's Nest!"
"If my plan will work—and it will!—these wasps won't be a concern for us," Whisper said, waving her hand in the air. "So, as I said. This plan will need two squads…"
Bloodimina listened intently, and her expression became more and more thoughtful the more she learned.
"You have a cunning mind, Agent Whisper. The risks of this plan are still high, but it's… It's possible. And for a guaranteed victory and the success our Father wants to hear about, two squads of my soldiers will gladly risk their lives."
Whisper exhaled in relief.
"Great. I will coordinate and instruct them—if you let me, Commander Bloodimina. After all, it's my plan—and I have compiled all the reports we got about the mapping of the enemy camp."
Bloodimina nodded.
"Yes. Give me an hour, and I will show you the squads."
***
In two hours, the squads flew out toward the enemy camp.
The zone which the paper wasps considered their domain started a decent distance away. There, Beehounds could scent their remnant pheromones in the air, and some wasps were likely to find the scent of the bees.
This was the fate of the first scouting party that went in this direction. This group had retreated, and the next one, like the Beehounds under Whisper's command, came covered in dirt that hid their scent.
Not for long, and not from close enough. It just increased the amount of time a bee had until it was found by one of the many roaming wasp hunters.
After this, more and more wasps would soon join the attack, until the bees were entirely overwhelmed or flew far enough away. At least the wasps were still slower than the bees, but not by much. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
'Group 1 is in position, Agent Whisper,' a telepathic message reached Whisper.
'Group 2 is in position, too. We sense an old wasp scent. Any further, and they will be on us,' another message came.
Right now, Whisper was safely away, sitting safely under Farini's heat, but not actually listening to his thoughts. All her concentration was on leading the groups, and in her mind were only their telepathic messages and a mental map of the enemy camp and its surroundings.
'Group 1, at my command, start moving at full speed and don't stop. Sunward from where you are should be your first target. Report to me as soon as you confirm their scent!'
'Understood, Agent Whisper.'
'Group 2, wait for the signal. Group 1, go!'
'Yes, Agent Whisper!'
Whisper couldn't see them, but she imagined how the Beehounds put on their protective helmets and dashed forward, just above the forest. The noise of their wings will attract attention, including that of wasps, but the speed was much more important.
Now Group 1 had only a few minutes before wasps will be on them, and they had to do a lot in this short time.
Whisper anxiously waited for the report and wished she had a time-measuring candle, or even one of the noisy mechanical clocks that rich humans used. But she only had a portable sundial, which was not precise enough, and useless under Farini's hat.
So she just counted taps of her fingers on her knee. Whisper counted 495 before there was another message from Sergeant Beehound of Group 1.
'We scented many horse-beasts. A large group in three dance turns, and a slightly smaller one in nine dance turns, both around the same distance away. Still clear on wasps. Next orders?'
Dance turns was a somewhat outdated, but instinctively easy-to-understand way to measure angle of direction. It was counted from the sun's position, always to the right.
Whisper accounted for all this on her mental map.
'Go on nine dance turns,' she replied.
This was a group of horses closest to the wasp's nest. And these horses were the next point of Whisper's plan.
'Yes, Agent Whisper. Moving out!'
'You remember your instructions, Group 1?' Whisper asked.
'Yes, Agent. We will use our telepathy and stings to scare the beasts and make them run toward the paper wasps' nest. The horse-beasts are easy to scare, so it's a simple task.'
'Then report when—'
'Alert! There's a wasp chasing us now!'
