The Pollinator

The Pollinator is not a line captain. They are a hazard specialist, a broodkeeper caste aimed at area denial. The Infestation is less a warship than a delivery system. In a fight it orbits on purpose, venting from nozzles until the battlefield is a lattice of clouds that hang for days.

Later Collective ships sometimes harvest the residue. It is good biomass. The Pollinator is pleased. They talk about a battle as gardening: the right seed, the right pattern, and the system produces something worth taking. They answer as they. Whether that is one mind plus the clouds, or a courtesy, is not a question the Collective has settled.