//------------------------------// // Power of perseverance: 4 // Story: They're home. // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// 99066 is standing in front of 10k, unsure why exactly. The drone leader recalled it back to the High Score Cavern during worky time without stating a reason, only that its workload would be finished by someone else. Considering that its today’s assignment was digging, someone was going to be a very happy drone come breaky time. 10k is pacing -well, shuffling- back and forth, looking for a good way to say what it wants to. In theory, it can just send 99066 on any assignment, no questions allowed, but that’s “old rules” thinking, and if a drone is about to be asked to go on a deadly mission, it deserves to know the risks and the reason why.  Before speaking, the drone leader looks around. With the exception of 99318, its leg in 57999’s healing goop cast, sleeping off a fetlock crushed by a falling loose boulder, there’s no one in the HSC. It takes a deep breath. “99066, I called you here because you’re the fastest of the quicktrotters. That doesn’t just mean you have the best legs, but also that you can plan ahead as well as think on the fly if something goes wrong. I have a mission for you, and I want to be clear about this part, which you are allowed to refuse. If you do, I will ask the other quicktrotters later, and if all of you refuse I won’t force you, I’ll just...” 10k pauses, “Look, I did a bad thing, and I can’t undo it on my own. That’s part of why I wasn’t able to heal myself for such a long time. You can help me, personally, as well as all drones to improve our circumstances.” “You’re being really vague,” comments 99066. “I’m sorry. I have to be.” I’ve gotten away with lying to the Queen. That’s not the kind of thinking I want to spread among drones. That’s the part no one needs to know, with the exception of the few who already do. 57999 and 65536 know how thin of a line the dronekind is walking along in regard to the top ranks’ trust is, and they understand why there shouldn’t even be a notion that lying about important things is viable, and 99380 is a good drone and won’t spread my story.  “Okay,” 99066 shrugs, “It’s not like I’ll say no if it helps you and everyone else, but I still don’t know what you want me to do.” “99856 and 99111 created a weapon that might be able to kill a rumbler, and we need to test it.” “I don’t think there are words to overstate how much IN I am,” 99066 grins, “Why were you so worried?” “As I said, it will be incredibly dangerous,” 10k shakes its head, “The weapon is a melty the rumbler needs to bite into, and someone needs to get it into position, lure the rumbler to it, and make it bite.” “Oh…” it clicks for 99066, “I’m the bait.”  “Yes,” 10k doesn’t sugarcoat it, “We’ve come up with two things to help you get in and out alive. The first one is a silencing hoof transformation,” 10k shares a hive mind reference mark with 99066.  The quicktrotter tries the transformation out and takes a couple of experimental, bouncy steps. “It’s an easy transformation. Running with it will take some getting used to. If I could do a couple practice trots in various tunnels before the real deal, I’d know what I’m working with.” “That’s the problem here. I need you to do it today -that means between now and next worky time- because the longer we take the higher the chance of my body breaking up again, and I’d like our success to be a Hard Swarming present for the Queen. That might make her more lenient about what I did.” “Oooooh,” 99066 nods, “That’s a great idea! Plus the ‘not breaking down’ part is good too. Maybe we can ask Shiny Nose to give her some presents too. I know that 65536 said she gives presents only to drones, but maybe we can give the Queen some of the presents we get,” 99066 smiles excitedly before reminding itself that the mission comes first. Still, it’s definitely feeling pumped up now, “So what’s the other thing to make the plan less dangerous?” “99856 managed to make a new version of the emergency cocoon, but we only have the one and it’s never been tested. It should be sturdier than the one we’re using now but, more importantly, the rumbler melty shouldn’t do anything to it. My idea is that in case you don’t make it far enough for the rumbler to miss you, the emergency cocoon should protect you from both the bite and the melty. The response team has moved the melty to the area and will wait nearby in case you need help, but how much help they’ll be able to provide entirely depends on how things go. I’ll say it openly - if the rumbler misses the melty and eats just you, there’s nothing anyone will be able to do to help. If the rumbler eats both you and the melty and the melty turns out to be too weak, no one will help you. Even if everything works, the rumbler dies, and you get eaten too, it might take too long to get to you.” 99066 takes a deep breath before simply asking: “Anything else?” “I will be connected to you through 99380, same with the response team. Voice helped me bundle all the information for the plan in section d-f55e-q1 and you’ll get optimized access to it so that there’s no delay before you know anything you need.” 99066 nods. “I still think I should do some practice trotting with the new hooves. I can’t afford to trip at any point. The more practice I can pull off, the safer I’ll be.” 10k taps its hoof on the floor. “I think I can scrounge up love for an extra recharge without asking the Queen. Everyone else is who knows where- WAIT!” it shuffles off to its stash and grabs the tooth that 99 let it take a couple days earlier. There’s still enough love inside it to give a drone a decent recharge. Giving it to 99066, it adds, “Take this. Once you’re tired from your practice and steady on your new hooves, take a brief rest, and eat it.” “A high rank’s tooth?” 99066’s eyes go wide. “It’s 99’s. She lost it while sparring with 387.” 99066 stashes it into a leg hole. “I’ll be going then and I’ll check the hive mind on the way. If I have any questions about the plan, I’ll link up.” “Good luck, buddy,” 10k gives the quicktrotter a hug, “I’m proud of you, and I don’t doubt that High Score would be too. ” Because I have a long way to go before it could be proud of me again.  *** 99066’s practice runs went well, it even discovered that it had to reinforce its armor around its fetlocks to remain steady on the spongy, silenced hooves. Afterwards, the snack in the form of 99’s tooth gave it not just a recharge, but what felt like an overcharge.  Now, brimming with energy and, if the drone knew what the word centered means it would be that, the quicktrotter approaches 99112, 99158, and 99911 who have been waiting all this time near the known edge of the rumbler territory with a full barrel of 99856’s cleaning goop. All three members of the response team are, for drones, heavily armed with green goop balls stuck inside every leg hole available. Hopefully, none of them trips at any point.  “I’m here, 10k,” reports 99066 through a long-range hive link connection provided by 99380. In response, the three rescue drones link up as well. “99112 will be watching directly through your eyes. I wish I could do that too, but the fewer drones are linked up, the less of a drain it’ll be for you and you’ll need all the love you have. You know best how every fraction of a second matters.” “If things go wrong and if there’s any chance to help you, we’ll be there as quickly as we can trot,” says 99112, patting 99066 on the back, “Load it up, buds.” Nothing else needs to be said. 99158 and 99911 put the heavy barrel on 99066’s back, the quicktrotter takes a deep breath, transforms its hooves again, and finally heads off into the darkness. It’s cleaning time! *** For the first time in 99066’s admittedly brief life, the tunnels don’t feel like home. Granted, potential danger has always been lurking behind every dug-through wall, but that was different thanks to the layer of safety provided by the emergency cocoons as well as the knowledge that someone would come to help in case of trouble. Right now, that assurance is gone. The cocoon might not work, the help might not come. On top of that, no plan survives the first contact, and the heavy barrel on the drone’s back is lowering the dampening ability of the muffled hooves significantly. Is this how drones felt all the time under the old rules, while low on love on top of that? 99066 realizes it’s trembling, and it’s definitely not from any level of exhaustion. Despite brimming with love, it feels small, weak, and fragile. Calm down, 99066, it’s just another trot, only the rules have changed a bit. You’ve run longer routes with eggs on your back, and you’ve done so outside of the rebuilt tunnels as well. This is nothing new. Sure, the barrel is a LOT heavier. Sure, you can feel the ground shake so you know a rumbler is nearby. Sure, you’re far from safe- Where was I going with this? Oh, right. It’s just another trot, another sequence of precise steps. You’ve done this hundreds of times before. Approaching the area designated for the bait, 99066 tries to derail its gloomy train of thought by checking the hive mind map in detail. 10k picked the perfect spot. A large cavern with three tunnels leading out of it in a Y shape. The cavern is tall enough so that if the rumbler comes from below I can fly up and if it comes from above I have some time to get moving. Each tunnel has paths branching out of it, although not all will be easy to run in. The guys from the response team snuck through the tunnels beforehoof so we know they haven’t collapsed since the last time a drone was digging there. 10k is the top drone for a very good reason. 99066 puts the barrel down at the center of the cavern and returns its hooves into their original shape. For a few moments, it just stands there, breathing and still trembling. Its perked up ears are detecting no noise, there’s nothing other than complete darkness around, which only serves to enhance the remaining senses. The air isn’t moving, the uneven floor is cold under its hooves, but not as cold as the floor in the HSC, and the whole place smells faintly of moss. This isn’t going to get better if I wait. No reason to waste any more time. Gritting its teeth, 99066 stomps the floor. The sharp noises echo and briefly deafen it after so long in silence.  This time, it’s the ground that shakes. 99066 jumps around the barrel a couple more times while dust starts falling from the ceiling as the shaking grows more violent. With a final tap of hoof against the ground, the drone confirms an ugly truth. The worst case scenario, it’s coming directly from below. To give itself the most time to react, it flies up to the ceiling. The downside of this is that it’ll have to get back on the ground afterwards, and changeling wings are made for maneuverability, not speed, so it’ll take just that tiny bit longer to get out of here. In a situation where every extra second is a coin toss between life and death, the fifty-fifty tosses 99066 needs to win in a row are stacking.  The ground breaks with a deafening explosion of noise and a circular mouth full of drone-sized teeth opens, swallowing the barrel whole. How can something of this size move so quickly through the uneven underground mix of solid rock, gravel, and gaps is beyond both drone understanding and, frankly, caring.    Faced with the grinding and breaking of its entire world, 99066 freezes and its vision blurs even before the dust rises. For once, though, survival instinct does a good job, and 99066 blasts forwards to the first tunnel mouth it can see. The rumbler is too big to follow the flying drone, possibly it can’t even sense it up in the air, but that doesn’t matter. The ongoing environmental destruction proves dangerous enough as, while 99066 dodges falling debris caused by the rumbler grinding upwards through the ceiling, the scatter of large rocks from below shotguns 99066 upwards. The drone bounces off of the cavern’s breaking top, stunned by the double impact, and crashes down on the floor near the chosen escape tunnel. Every second is a fifty-fifty. A second passes. Every second is a fifty-fifty. A second passes. 99066 gasps for air, its eyes bulging, and almost automatically scrambles to its hooves and runs.  Every second is a fifty-fifty. A second passes. Every second is a fifty-fifty. A second passes. Every second is a fifty-fifty. A second passes. The grinding starts closing in again. 99066 notices that it forgot to shapeshift its hooves for smooth running. Round two begins, but this time the quicktrotter has nowhere to dodge. Every second is a fifty-fifty, and the drone finally loses one. The smooth ‘front’ of the rumbler unfolds into a mouth again, making 99066 trip over the ground crumbling under its hooves. With a hiss, the green emergency cocoon, tinted rusty red by 99856’s reinforcing material and fueled by 99066’s love, engulfs the drone. The forced hibernation doesn’t knock 99066 out quickly enough, and it feels the cocoon crack and the giant tooth crush it from the right hip down. Thankfully, the adrenaline overload and shock kick in, and the quicktrotter barely feels more than pressure before everything fades.   There is no sensation of time passing. Something is pulling at its forelegs. Everything hurts. Is that good? That must be good. Pain means that 99066 still exists. The drone’s body awakening from the brief hibernation instinctively drains the nearest source of love, which is the cocoon.  99066 gasps and opens its eyes. “It’s alive!” squee’s 99112. “Cracked all over but alive!” 99158 joins in. “Gentlyyyy…” adds 99911, digging away the remains of rumbler’s mouth and teeth still around 99066. The pulling finally works. “Ooof, that leg looks bad, but it’s still attached and that counts,” comments 99911 from behind. “Hi… guys…” 99066 whispers, “Rum… bler…?” “Deeefinitely doing worse than you are,” 99112 beams, “Not much left of it other than what looks like its outer scales. 99856’s goop cleaned everything even remotely squishy, it seems.” “99066 one, rumbler zero!” cheers 99158.  “99066, you won,” 10k voice rings through the quicktrotter’s head along with a breath of relief. With that finally confirming that this is not just some weird, last gasp of 99066’s psyche calming it down before death, the drone passes out again.