Translating their names from chemical secretion to written language is nearly impossible. Simply put they were the Ambassador and the General. They'd take turns speaking, depending on how a situation unfolded. The Ambassador spoke of cooperation and negotiation. The General took a more direct route.
The ship they arrived in barely made it and they were offered a ride home after lengthy discussions with the #71EEB8 deep space guild. When they boarded the stupendous space cruiser they were already stunned by the abilities and technology of the species they referred to as the Beekeepers.
The General wanted ships and weapons. He viewed the Beekeepers as an extreme threat. The Ambassador, being a royal herself, and in a more direct than most way, a descendant of the Queen, saw them as powerful allies and their best chance at a partner in the region. The mission was a success and the Beekeepers had promised to send terraformers to help them mold the half barren planet into a more suitable garden.
After their meeting with the #71EEB8 diplomatic corps, they were led through the massive vessel to the ship that would carry them home. They spoke to each other in nearly untraceable pheromone bursts. The Beekeepers did their best to keep up with the conversation. Their bulky arm devices captured the fine chemical mist and ran it through an intense translator matrix that updated itself and learned as it went.
"They all look exactly the same," said the General.
"I'm sure they feel the same way about us," replied the Ambassador. "Isn't their outer color calming though? Beings with such a pleasant glow must be honorable."
The #71EEB8 clone escorts looked at each other in their matching seafoam green robes and nodded middle-aged silvery bald heads. They were completely aware of the effect their clothing had on insects.
"They could easily wipe us off the face of every planet in the system. Why do they help us? We offer nothing in return." The General hissed in mistrust.
"The Beekeepers have been friends to insects for millennia. They view us as a symbiotic species. They harvest honey for food as we do."
"Do they help us build up our territory, only to come and steal our food later. Will we be slaves to feed their countless numbers?" The General now understood that the colossal freighter was just one of many and that #71EEB8 space was far bigger than they could have previously imagined. "Are they domesticating us on a planetary scale?"
"They're not interested in our food. Though, I do think they understand our propensity to defend ourselves. Our position on their border means they will not have to defend the entire side of the nebula. By helping us they receive a buffer zone in return." The Ambassador did her best to smile at her guides, the Beekeepers with all their power and knowledge couldn't seem to understand simple facial expressions.
"As if they need our protection. We're nothing but an early warning system of an invasion."
They entered an enormous hangar bay full of polyhedron geometric shaped ships. The fleet of smaller spacecraft only strengthened the General's reserve.
"Look at their sheer numbers. How can you be so certain they will not turn their great power against us?"
"Don't you see the similarities between our species? Look at the honeycomb shapes of their craft. Try and bridge the gap between their collective and our hive." The Ambassador bonded as best she could.
The #71EEB8 clones worked their arm devices and a message was sprayed at the galactic Wasp diplomats. The winged representatives stood twice the size of the humanoid clones. When they paused walking they rested on the back four legs of their black exoskeletons. They received the instructions from their guides.
"This ship will take you back to your planet."
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The guides gestured toward a large cube directly in front of them. Two other clones in light green flight suits were waiting to receive them at the square door to the windowless cube. They led the Wasps inside and sealed the vehicle behind them.
"The outer surface seems to be some kind of synthetic carbon. Then a kind of living liquid layer with another cube floating inside." The General struggled to make heads or tails of the craft.
Once closed inside the central cube they joined the four-man crew. There were six curved chairs and a large view screen. The ship's Captain welcomed them, though he looked exactly like the others in their matching jumpsuits and arm communicators.
"Welcome aboard."
On the view screen, they lifted off the deck, moved into an airlock, and rocketed away from the cruiser into open space. There was no sensation of movement inside.
"Please tell us about your vessel, Captain," asked the Ambassador.
"It's a Hexahedron Gravimetric Phase Shifter. A single deck suspended in a bath of gravity drive plasma all kept neatly in a diamond nanofiber case. We are going to activate the Grav Glider now, please take a seat." The clones were getting better at communicating via chemical.
The Grav-Shifter created an artificial gravity well around itself and gently slid beyond three dimensions. They leapt across #71EEB8 space. The crew was startled when both their passengers flew out of their seats and attached themselves to the ceiling. They hung there upside down, wings randomly fluttering.
The Captain hurriedly activated his chemical communicator. "No danger. No need to fear. Slowing soon."
The only scent in the room his device read was fear and flight.
He dropped down to average speeds and released another communication spray.
"I apologize for startling you. Safety. Calm." He reached into his boot and pulled out a flexi-flask and squirted nectar onto the deck.
The two Wasps hovered down slowly, licked the sugar off the floor, and returned to their seats. On the monitor in the distance was their planet. A green pollen moon sparkled above it.
"Thank you, Captain, that helped more than you know," said the Ambassador.
The cube glided through the atmosphere and dropped the two passengers off in a spectacular field of gigantic flowers. The ship immediately turned around and returned to space. The scent of Goodbye and Friends and Return hung in the air.
The two diplomats flew in the air above the tall grass, their clear wings buzzing. They looked into the sky with their complex bug eyes and watched the cube rise to the edge of the stratosphere. The glowing cube began to change shape and warp space around it. For a moment they watched what appear to be an impossible motion. Then it was gone.
"We're right to call them the Beekeepers. To observe them is to see a mystery our minds may never comprehend."
The Ambassador stroked her antenna pensively, she hated to agree with the General's pessimistic attitude.
