NOVPUBA single paper wasp wasn't terribly dangerous, but it was a threat. Paper wasps were already twice as tall as bees, and their evolution gave them deadly dangerous claws and immunity to venom.
Whisper knew that a squad of Beehounds would surround and defeat a single wasp, anyway, even if some of them might get wounded or even die. But a wasp nearby meant they were already being hunted and chased.
'You can't slow down, Group 1!' Whisper messaged the Sergeant Beehound of the group. 'Keep moving toward your target and keep reporting the situation!'
'Understood.'
There was silence after this message, and Whisper nervously chewed on her claw.
She had the second group of Beehounds just for this inevitable moment. Whisper knew they were too many wasps to just distract with a decoy, so they were more of a safeguard in case the first group was tied up or fell before they even started on their objective.
Perhaps it was already the time to send them in…
Whisper shook her head. She couldn't let herself hesitate or panic! If she sent the second group too early, it will just attract more wasp attention without actually achieving anything.
Instead, she re-focused on the mental image of the battlefield.
Sergeant Beehound continued describing it in her mental messages. Despite the tense situation, her mental voice was tight and controlled.
'The wasp is behind us; another one in sight, didn't join the first one yet. The distance to the target is… five hundred meters. We see them. They aren't in a building. Humans are nearby, too—six. Unclear if we are noticed.'
Whisper let out a sigh of satisfaction. She picked a good choice of direction—if horse-beasts were in their stables, it'd be troublesome to bring them out of there. But by her knowledge, the location of this group of horses was on the edge of the camp that lacked even the most temporary buildings.
'Got it, Sergeant. Don't bother hiding from humans.'
'Understood. We are near horse-beasts now. They've noticed us. There are five. The wasps are both chasing us, but we got farther ahead of them.'
'Use the closest horse—it doesn't matter. Fight off the wasp for as long as it takes to direct it to their nest.'
'Yes. It already acts scared, it will be easy—shit, there's the third wasp,' Sergeant Beehound finally sounded truly displeased. 'They will catch up quickly.'
Three evolved wasps against eleven Beehounds. It was an even match-up.
Whisper knew that this was the time.
'Keep working,' she said steadily to Group 1.
Then she focused on the Sergeant of the Group 2.
'Move out, Group 2. Trace the first group—stick to their scent trail. As quickly as you can!'
'Yes, Agent Whisper! Moving out at full speed.'
Since Group 1 already gathered most of the bees in the immediate vicinity of their path, Whisper hoped that this tactic would let Group 2 pass mostly unnoticed… until they reach Group 1 at least.
It was a wonder how good the smelling of these paper wasps was. Only Beehounds normally could track another Beehound by air after she covered themselves in dirt to hide her scent.
But if these paper wasps weren't so sensitive, they wouldn't be such a problem.
Now Whisper had to focus on two groups at once! It was even more complicated.
'We are scenting wasps ahead,' Group 2 reported to Whisper a dozen seconds later.
'The horse is stung. A Beehound tries to direct it, but it's panicking. The humans and other horses are also acting chaotically. The wasps are almost there,' Group 1 reported almost at the same time.
Two reports overlapped in Whisper's head, making her wince. It was always hard to listen to several mental messages at once.
But she wasn't a nobody—she was an experienced Agent who spent more time talking telepathically than aloud! In the next instant, she began sending responses.
She couldn't send two different messages at once, only split one message to several people, so she focused on Group 1 first. It was more urgent.
'Forget telepathy—just scare a horse in the right direction with your buzzing and shouting!' Whisper said to the Sergeant of Group 1.
To the Sergeant of Group 2, she just told to keep moving.
'The wasps have caught up with us. Nine Beehounds are fighting them off; the rest are trying to scare the horse-beast. One of them had run away—they are fast! I'm unsure we can keep up. Humans are shouting at them all, too.'
'We scent Group 1—we see the fight. Three wasps ahead, three more around the perimeter. Preparing to help our sisters.'
'No, Group 2! Guard the perimeter.' Whisper switched the targets of her message and continued in the same breath, 'Group 1, if you make a horse run, it will give you a breather from the wasps.'
Both groups sent back confirmations, after which Whisper was again forced to wait. But just a few seconds.
'It's running! The direction is wrong by a half dance turn, but we are wrangling it. The wasps are left behind; one sister is down. More wasps are flying from the nest's direction—I count seven.'
'Someone must make sure that the horse reaches its designation, Group 1,' Whisper messaged grimly. 'It can't turn sideways halfway there.'
She didn't need to say aloud how dangerous it was. Suicidal, really. And the first group understood how dangerous their task will be when Whisper explained the plan for the first time. Compared to them, the second group had it easy.
'Yes. For the Empire and our Father!'
'For the Empire,' Whisper sent quickly and switched to Group 2 again, just as they sent their next report.
'We are fighting two—now three wasps. One was killed by a human; another human attacks one more wasp, poorly. Their shouts are deafening…'
'Leave this fight—follow Group 1. Win them just a little time,' Whisper ordered.
She hoped she would be able to at least order the Group 2 to retreat before they all died.
The success or failure of her plan was going to be decided now.
