Unfortunately, it was not as easy as Regina had hoped. Her relationship with Marquis Lyns had cooled since the last major battle they had won, and he clearly wasn’t happy about what influence she had anyway.

She suspected it was also about the power balance. The hive was more powerful than ever, and they’d basically just beaten both Nerlia and the Esemen singlehandedly. That would make any ally worry a little bit about their own standing or necessity, especially under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have decided to channel this worry productively. Or maybe she was being uncharitable because she was irritated with him. Either way, it was probably a good thing that she didn’t talk to him directly.

Regina checked with Via, of course, and they tried to get what information they could from the contacts they had. Kiara had been hesitant to criticize Lyns too directly, understandably, but she’d at least given them a rough overview of what she’d wanted to complain about. Talking with Via and listening in around the army camp helped to solidify it for Regina.

It was pretty basic. When Kiara talked about the way Lyns was rationing food, she meant that he clearly prioritized his soldiers and feeding the civilians was, at best, an afterthought. Regina didn’t get detailed plans — assuming they existed — so she wasn’t sure how it would play out exactly. She supposed she couldn’t blame them for wanting to prepare for the winter.

The refugees were another matter. There weren’t as many as Regina had feared, although the conditions were pretty bad. The army was currently moving through land that had already been affected by the war, which probably played into it. Luckily, they hadn’t had a lot of land burned or the like, but there had been disruption, and passing armies tended to mean farmer’s food supplies being confiscated, apparently.

It would probably be worse without the System, she had to admit. Farming and agriculture-related Classes meant they were more productive and there’d be more food to go around. On the other hand, it probably makes the population density higher, too, or the proportion of people engaged in other jobs.

She really wasn’t sure what she could do to help. The hive was already sending food. Regina had notified the drones involved and would probably increase the amount of food earmarked for that purpose, but there were limits. The hive was still a lot smaller than Cernlia and there was only so much food they could produce. They certainly couldn’t feed even just a significant fraction of Cernlia by themselves. It also wouldn’t help the other issues the Cernlian population faced. Money wouldn’t be a problem, but this wasn’t the modern world and they couldn’t just buy relief supplies in bulk. Bringing a few blankets probably wouldn’t help much, either.

It did not make it easier to watch, through her drones’ eyes, children in dirty rags huddled in the streets, clearly a bit too skinny, and sometimes only having one parent to care for them. Hopefully that just meant the others were serving in the army, but it wouldn’t always. Seeing things like that just felt offensive.

Regardless, Regina was determined not to rush in and make a mistake that would only make things harder for everyone. The situation wasn’t time-critical, exactly, so she could afford to wait and gather a bit more information. While preparing for having more problems to deal with. This is why I wanted allies to deal with Cernlia in the first place, ugh. She felt like she was in a bad spot right now where she was affected and invested in what was happening but unable to directly control it or intervene, the worst of two worlds really.

In the meantime, Regina talked to Via to prepare the groundwork and start speaking to people, and consulted with several others to write a letter to Lyns, trying to strike a balance between politeness and expressing her concerns in no uncertain terms. Time would tell whether it did any good.

To channel some of that frustration, Regina focused on improving her hive. It was as good a time for a bit of restructuring as any, considering the current lull in the war. They were still adding new drones quickly, and expanding. Now they had to secure their new gains.

That was a bit complicated by the fact that the actual status of the territory the hive occupied in Nerlia wasn’t clear yet. For that matter, there was arguably a bit of land in Cernlia that fell under their influence which had the same issue. The hive had basically taken over administrating the land in Nerlia — with mixed results, she had to admit, because they only had limited resources and especially people for it — and they could keep it up for a while. In her own opinion, which might be biased, they weren’t doing a worse job than the various local lords in Nerlia. Although the hive was working with these, to varying levels, in the area under their influence.

Ben’s army had also advanced further and, according to their agreement with the Nerlians, was establishing garrisons in a few places. They didn’t really have enough troops to garrison everything, especially since Swarm Drones needed to be guided by sapient drones, but they could cover important strategic locations and make sure the Nerlians didn’t secretly build up their forces. That was really all they needed right now. A firmer reminder of the hive’s power might be nice, but Regina hoped that the way they’d crushed the Nerlians’ armies so quickly would remain in their minds. If nothing else, she or one of her senior drones could always drop by to give them a little more proof of what the hive could do.

Actually, that might be a good idea anyway. She made a mental note to look into relatively obvious but advanced civilian applications they could demonstrate. Nothing too bad for information security, but maybe something with their Conjuration — everyone who mattered should know about that by now — like some useful synthetic materials or tools? Worth letting Mia and the Keepers discuss it, at least.

By now, they had drones in range to keep an eye on the Nerlian capital, and Regina looked through the information they’d gathered. She still didn’t have as good a grasp on the Nerlians’ internal politics or even political structure as she’d like, but they had learned some things. For example, while the king was theoretically in charge he wasn’t exactly an absolute monarch and had to listen to at least a few important officials. Apart from that, it seemed pretty typical for a late medieval (or early modern?) court, with no proper bureaucracy but a bunch of court offices and basically an ongoing effort to further centralize the country which had been half-successful for a while.

At least it meant she wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with every little duke and count separately. For the longest time, her own original country had been basically a bunch of little states held together by twine and a prayer. She was glad it wasn’t this bad here. Dealing with a single absolute ruler might have been easier, but on the other hand, there were probably more points of leverage they could use to convince them in Nerlia. Besides, if she wanted to actually start modernizing the country, she had to start somewhere.

Communication infrastructure would probably come first. The hive should be pretty good at building roads, even though they hadn’t really bothered yet. Magical means of communication would make it even easier, they just needed to organize them properly. Then there were other parts of infrastructure, including hospitals and maybe something to strengthen the economy …

It would depend on how much direct control or influence she could and would want to use, Regina reminded herself.

There were also other influences and incipient power blocks to consider. Regina turned her attention to her own territory again, to what she was determined to ensure would stay under the hive’s aegis. A quick check showed that there was indeed a meeting scheduled and it was just beginning. She focused more closely on Zac’s mind, brushing it lightly to announce her presence, and listened in. He sent back an acknowledgment but kept his attention on his conversation partner.

Zac was one of their most senior non-combat-focused drones, at least in theory, and he’d stepped up recently to deal with the issues of the new territory and its people. It meant he was already familiar with the group of farmers and merchants who’d approached the hive and started to work with them, essentially facilitating their integration into their economy and system. They might be collaborators, but at least they seemed to be reasonably perceptive and concerned about the future.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet, Milord,” Green was saying. “I realize you are busy with your duties.”

“I’ll always try to make time,” Zac replied, leaning back in his chair. They were meeting in the same merchant guildhall Lucien Green and his associates had first met Ada in, but in a smaller and more private room. “Let me guess, you’re looking for news about the diplomatic situation?”

“If you’d be so kind,” Green confirmed with a wry smile.

“Well, there isn’t really any news about the negotiations with the Nerlian crown,” Zac said. “At the moment, it does look like this region, given its strategic relevance and closeness to our borders, will remain directly under the Hive, in addition to the arrangements made for the rest of Nerlia. But I think you’ve heard that already.”

“Lady Ada implied as much last we spoke,” the merchant nodded.

Zac nodded with a ‘well, there you have it’ kind of gesture. His diplomatic style was definitely a bit different than Ada’s, although he wasn’t exactly bad at talking to people.

“With the war coming to an end, and these arrangements starting to be decided,” Green began, obviously a bit hesitant, “I was wondering about future plans, again. Please do not take this the wrong way, but we would appreciate some security for planning for the future. And more than that, I do hope I and my friends have proven ourselves.”

“Ah?” Zac cocked an eyebrow. “Worried that you’ll be shuffled aside now that the war’s ending and we’ll bring in drones to handle all the administration?”

“Well … I suppose.” He shrugged slightly. “I believe I’ve shown how much help I can be to the Starlit Hive. And many people in this new province would be greatly reassured to see some familiar faces in charge — human faces, not to put too fine a point on it. While I, of course, understand how working with the local nobility would be problematic for the Hive. But it would not be the first time changes in political circumstances elevated some new blood. And as I said, a gesture to reassure the people that all is in hand and order will be kept would certainly help.”

He’s clearly angling for a title, Zac commented. It’s not a terrible pitch.

Yeah, Regina agreed. It could be better, though. We’ll definitely need to find a place for him, but I don’t think slapping a Nerlian noble’s title on him and calling it a day is it.

“You make an interesting point,” Zac said. “We’ll certainly keep it in mind, Mister Green. I’d advise you not to get your hopes up too much, though, just between us.”

“Of course,” he said, doing an acceptable job of hiding his disappointment. Green was smart enough not to ask further questions, or try to press the point, however.

There was a short silence, while Zac examined the small tapestry hung on the wall with apparent interest - it was a pretty boring pastoral scene - and Green fidgeted the tiniest bit.

“If I may ask, Lord Zac,” he finally started again. “Who — I mean, is there any word on how the Hive intends to organize the administration of the region going forward?”

Zac let him wait for a second, before he smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, my good man,” he said. “The Hive is aware of the importance of local governance and popular support. We won’t just subjugate all humans under Hive drones or something stupid like that.”

“That is a relief to hear.”

“As for who might be put in a position of authority, well, I truly can’t say.” Zac shrugged. “It’s not decided yet, as far as I know. I mean, I can speculate a bit. Hey, how would you say the people would react to a Cernlian put in authority?”

“I’m sure there won’t be any problems,” Green said, then narrowed his eyes a little. “Ah, Lady Marianne Neralt? I heard she was sent to speak to the Esemen for the Hive.”

“Yep. She’ll probably get a new job. Of course, even if she got something like a governor’s post, it might not be here. Like I said, nothing’s really been decided yet, and that goes for borders or administrative regions, too.”

Green nodded in understanding. Regina hummed to herself. Zac was right. His speculation was also pretty well informed, she was definitely intending to give Marianne a high post in some kind of governmental structure.

“A Cernlian lady might be a little bit of a hard sell,” Green admitted. “Not that I would dare make demands of the Hive, of course. And it would certainly be a lot better than the alternative. No offense, of course. I’m sure we could swing it quite easily.”

Zac nodded, choosing not to comment on that. “There are options, I think. For all I know, you might have Janis Starlit instituted as viceroy of the Hive’s new territories.”

Regina was a bit startled. She hadn’t considered that option in depth. It made some sense, of course.

Janis was a good mage and a good commander, and had already had some success with diplomacy. That didn’t necessarily mean she would be a good ruler or administrator, or that she would be happy in such a posting. And while it would put a more human face on it, she was still a foreigner and demihuman, although Regina supposed just looking (mostly) like a human would automatically give her more support than any drone, in addition to her greater experience. That didn’t mean it would be enough.

Her primary concern about letting Green or any of the other men like him head up a region, district or whatever they’d be called, even if they would be enthusiastic supporters of reforms, was their loyalty. They were Nerlians and it would be stupid to expect their absolute allegiance over their countrymen or the old order. On the other hand, she also knew getting a government set up with only drones in leadership positions was bound to be a disaster, not just for PR reasons. Although for those reasons, too.

I guess it comes down to a choice between loyalty and competence. Of course, if you just look at it in a vacuum then obviously competence should be the deciding factor. But in a situation where they might betray the hive, while we’re new and surrounded by potential enemies, I probably have to prioritize loyalty to the hive. Regina sighed to herself. She needed to find a good balance, but finding someone who was both competent and loyal to her, and also acceptable to the population, was harder than it sounded.

“That sounds like an … intriguing possibility,” Green answered. “Well, I suppose it is all simply speculation, isn’t it?”

“True,” Zac replied with a small grin. “I definitely won’t be making the decision. You won’t have to wait too long, Mister Green, but I doubt a decision will be reached tomorrow. For now, we’ll just continue as we have been.”

The Nerlian smiled and folded his hands. “That we can do.”

Regina withdrew her attention, judging that the interesting part of the conversation was over. Sometimes, she really regretted basically starting from nothing and only having a year or so of assets, support structures and contacts built up. There was nothing for it, though. And unlike her other problems, this should get better with time.