Did you say mate?

Frozen. Freethinker variant #1700354 could no longer move, no it was no longer a free thinker. The true hivemind herself had taken over its body; not only was this body frozen in place, but every single body in the entire hive stopped. Casualties uncountable piling up from multiple warfronts, precious biomass burnt, hacked at, shot at and disintegrated. But it didn't matter, the small weak unprotected prey-spawn in front of it was all it saw, all its instincts were screaming protect. A strange feeling the hive has never felt before washed over every body it owned simultaneously. A psionic attack? No, what attack could make its instinct-no emotion? Go this haywire.

Still staring at the prey-spawn, NO! This isn't prey anymore, this is something else, but what? It was also staring at the current body in a way I couldn't quite understand. This 'emotion' This one has never seen on the prey's warrior caste before. Anger, fear, desperation all understandable from prey but this? its mouth curled upwards. the current body tried to replicate alas it had no flesh over its teeth like the small-spawn.

Seconds past by that felt like eternity watching this small-spawn that brought a calm to the hive the hunger, the drive for domination ceased. Calm. A few seconds turned into a minute and then it realised this current body, one of its guard brood still has its paralytic gaze mutation active. 

!!!!

What if it hurt little-spawn! Quickly forcing the body's gene suppressants to deactivate its effects, its eyes once again go full focus on its most important thing. The little-spawns mouth goes flat and raises its arms up. Although still in control of the body, a chemical reaction happened in every other body across vast space as the hivemind shouted psionically "RAISE YOUR SCYTHES WHAT IF IT GETS INJURED!!!" Every single variant of itself that had them flinched their upper limbs up at the command still stunned from what they were all seeing.

After the command, a few seconds go by until the hive hears the most beautiful noise it had ever heard

"What's going on?"

*Pffft*

Every single body the hivemind was made of ,excluding male drones, let off huge clouds of mating pheromones. Humans already stunned by the paralysis redoubled their efforts on war fronts thinking a new bioweapon was being released and purged the bugs even harder than before.

Inconsequential. It heard its future mate! Never had the hivemind thought it possible it would have a mate. Even the males produce eggs asexually after enough biomass consumption the females were elite warrior caste and psionic caste. No need for another and yet here it was. This one being on the prey's outer rim barely at its door stood nature's gift to it. Before it could stare more at the little-spawn-mate it heard more.

"Why has it sprayed that wonderful smell? Huh my old mother must be right I'm a real treat haha! Come on then bug beauty, gobble me up" 

!!!

The mate didn't use mouth flaps to utter that it must have a psionic gift! That means we can communicate. The hive once again let out a new pheromone... It was glee. It made the air taste like salted popcorn. 

But it's so small it couldn't take my psionic strength as is. The hive pondered a moment.

VARIANT FREETHINKER, KEEP PSIONIC LINK OPEN WE CANNOT SPEAK TO THE FUTURE MATE AS IS. YOU MUST USE OWN PSIONIC GIFT TO COMMUNICATE.

MAKE GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION DANCE AFTER GREETING. MUST REFOCUS MANY BIOMASS LOST.

With the 'queen brain' now out of its body, but still observing through the open link, freethinker variant #1700354 immediately got to courtship.

"Greetings small-spawn"

"Huh" I thought "Who said that?" Starting to the left and right of the killing machine In Front of me I started wondering who would be stupid enough to get close enough to it and speak?

"Now that we are connected psionically I can feel your fear and disorientation please be at ease our one, this one means no harm"

I suddenly grasped the situation, the chitin covered creature in front of me was speaking into my mind. I could tell it was my mind because as it said those words to me incomprehensible clicks and chatters were coming out of its mouth " Are-are you? How are you speaking to my mind? Are you a telepath? More importantly, why aren't you eating me already? You clearly look like you eat little babies?"

"Ea-eat you! I would never little-mate-spawn" The freethinker stammered releasing a musky pheromone of fear unconsciously "As to your other question we heard you reach out with your own psionic gift otherwise we wouldn't be able to communicate little spawn as psionic communication relays intent not words." I understood we weren't communicating with words so to speak more like relaying intent through our mutual gifts. speaking of

"So I have a psionic gift? Is it a rare thing?" Despite being calm in this truly bizarre situation I had only been on this planet hours at most I may be smart but not omnipotent and don't have the cheat-sheet to this new world so information digging I must go

"It depends little-spawn, to your prey species we have encountered very few as we have recently arrived at this star map a decade or so but they do seem rare. As of the hive, all have a link to the psionic mind but only elites such as my gene caste and other more adapted psionic users can relay orders and use it for attacks."

I pondered this information for a moment so I'm something of a rarity? If the being In front of me has relayed true intent and won't eat me maybe I'm of some use "So … what happens now if I'm not food? Not exactly a safe space for a baby, a bin in a warzone? Are you taking me with you? A hostage maybe? As you said psionic users are rare in my species, you could use that in some way?" hopefully with that it will allow me to continue what I thought was my already ended existence

!!!

"Mate is in danger? No need to worry the swarm will finish our attack and once the enemy warriors are vanquished, we shall retreat to nest world where mate can be safe whilst the rest of swarm will turn current planet into forward nest world for future assaults"

"Oh ok-" I paused the word has come up a few times now and had not clocked on until now

"Did you say mate?"