They're... ON HOLIDAY?

Day 7 - Drones? What drones?: 1/7

Rays of morning sun entirely fail to penetrate the windows of the water bungalow belonging to the changeling delegation thanks to a secondary membrane of green goop hidden behind the bead curtains. Inside, 387 is sleeping unexpectedly peacefully, mainly due to a little help from Chrysalis' mental skills, as limited as her control over the ancient warrior is.

Well, was sleeping until a few moments ago.

The Queen herself, however, is taking a steaming hot shower in the next room, not caring in the slightest about how the piping can even work here. 93 is standing next to her, currently busy with shampooing the Queen's mane. Some things are a luxury hard to come by in the hive, and she fully intends to enjoy them as much as she can.

"Tell me, 93-"

"You do realize that 387 is listening to us, right?"

"I can't sense anything other than his presence nearby, Your Majesty. I can't even tell if he's awake."

"Heh. It does take some practice. Anyway, I'm just telling you because I want him to taste his own medicine. Report as always, but do try to sound as suspicious as possible, will you?"

"I don't understand, Your Majesty."

"Hmph... just do it."

"-how is your primary secret mission doing?" Chrysalis lowers her voice only so much for it to be recognizable but still not too difficult to hear over the running water.

"It- uhh- it's going slowly but well, Your Majesty. I'm still having trouble inserting myself into the required situations, but I... um... infiltrated the vicinity of Emperor Shining Armor yesterday and we had fun- we got to know each other on a rather intimate level."

"Wait, really? Don't tell me I actually did teach him something useful before the inv-"

"NOT LIKE THAT, YOUR MAJESTY!"

"What do you mean?"

"I confirmed my suspicion that what I invest myself into the easiest are events requiring tactical decisions. I believe your objectives regarding Shining Armor allow me to develop in ways I haven't considered before."

"Okay, now you've confused even me. What's that about?"

"I enjoy tactical games, and so does Shining Armor. It's clear that his wife accepts that side of him but can't become a part of his hobby."

"Ohhh, well done. Keep at it, but- wait, we've been quiet for a bit too long."

"Continue pursuing that objective, but don't forget about the others," Chrysalis raises her voice a little as 93 begins rinsing her off with a stronger stream of water, "We need to spread our webs as far and wide as possible, to know where to pull in which situation."

"And I don't want a changeling whose main skill would be sitting in a cellar and huffing paint."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

"However, there's one aspect in which you have disappointed me very much."

"Y-Your Majesty?" 93 jolts. This... this doesn't sound like a part of the game.

"Your critical mission regarding 65536."

"So far, you have failed to develop a physical affinity, 93. Listen to me very carefully now," Chrysalis hisses and lowers her voice this time for real, "You are an experiment, the only stable one I managed to create before we lost access to the, ugh, crusher. I don't know what it would cause if I told the drones and 387, or sent them to re-establish the tunnels and the cavern system. Right now, the hive is running smoothly, but we won't survive if we suffer an internal split. My rule needs to be based on success and improvements, but I must retain the underlying threat, and the crusher's reputation does way more than its original function."