Faetaera: Machinations

 

The windows of Brairton's office were small and high up on the wall.  So high up that he could not see out of them.  He didn't care much for what the scenery outside had to offer.  If he could have it his way the place would have no windows at all.  But he needed easy access for his spies.  The feline part of Brairton's nature wanted always to swat at the wasps buzzing their news to his ears.  But if he killed them before they relayed their information his whole Buzz System would be quite pointless. So he resisted. Regretfully.

So finally, he now knew how the goat fitted into Lac Taal’s network.  It had taken careful planning and positioning of his spies to find out that key point.  Brairton considered letting the queen's consort know, but decided he would keep this nugget of information locked away for the present.  A time would come when the queen would truly understand his worth and see how she had underestimated him.

He wondered how his little exercise in distraction was progressing.  Perhaps he should just take a peep at the proceedings to see if they were going according to plan.  Not that he anticipated they wouldn’t.  This was a tiny display of what he intended for the future.  Lac Taal would have to up his game considerably to deal with what Brairton had in mind.  The hairs on the back of his neck rose in anticipation at the mere thought and a purr of pleasure rumbled deep in his throat.

But the view from the observation screens in his side wall did not cheer him in the way he had anticipated.  The twin entity were good at their job.  He extended and retracted his claws as he walked stiffly round his desk. Brairton had to give Lac Taal his due, he knew how to pick a good crew.  But he slammed his fist hard into the surface of his desk.  Several nervously slumbering desk items leapt from the desk squeaking and scattered to the darkest outermost reaches of the office.

He still had an expedition to organise and it would take careful planning.  Now, on to the third stage of the operation.  How many operatives would he need?  Three.  Yes, three would be more than enough.  Brairton sneered.  It was almost too easy.  If the prize waiting at the end of this match was not so substantial he would almost think the game unworthy of his time and talents.

Brairton turned casually to view the nectar pods where his exhausted spies slurped at their reward.  With a swift motion he trapped a plump furred wasp body between his fingers.  The insect made no effort to struggle.  Brairton pinched out its stinger and sucked at the venom, feeling the tingle of it against his tongue in the same way the hairless skin on his abdomen prickled when touched by a nettle.  He relished these sensations, but they were fleeting.  And he longed for a more substantial feeling, one that would linger in the mind as well as the body.  Finally Brairton pulled out the insect's wings, leaving them to flutter carelessly to the floor while he savoured the taste of the nectar sweetened body of the wasp.