A Change in Strategy

Chitis looked at the shattered tank with an equal mixture of concern and aggravation. One of the tall cylindrical tubes lining the walls of her main laboratory had exploded from the inside. Green, viscous mutagen pooled around the corpses of four slain warrior caste changelings.

She had been in the middle of her sleep cycle when the alarms had blared. Proper protocols had gone into effect, every automi had evacuated with no losses, and a security detail had been sent in to enforce order. Now, she had a mess on her hooves.

"Automi Claw," she napped, voice strained with command and frustration, "which experiment was stored in this tank?"

The smaller male changeling jumped to attention, wings flattening in concern, "Erm... subject number 802-42, Proxima."

"Specialization?" She questioned.

"Changeling reaction to being unable to transform. We were testing where the Love nodes would redirect the energy..." he petered off, but before she could speak again he added, "It is important to note, Proxima, that the experiment was never fully completed. Subject was undergoing the final phases of metamorphosis before the breach."

Chitis wrinkled her nose. Mid transformation? The creature should have been nothing more than a half-formed blob of goo, how had it managed to-

"Proxima Chitis," a familiar voice hissed from the raised platform at the entrance to the room.

Chitis drew in a breath, and turned solidly to face her Queen.

Chrysalis looked resplendent, as always, with a loose turquoise dress that was nearly see through as her only garment. Her emerald eyes betrayed nothing except a faint hint of contemptuous amusement. An expression practiced over long centuries.

Chrysalis flicked a hoof and said in a soft voice that nonetheless reached every corner of the chamber, "Leave us."

Everyone shuffled out, mute and despondent. None of the automi dared look at the Queen, and when the last one had exited she turned her piercing gaze turned once more to Chitis.

Chitis met it with feigned indifference. She was terrified, but she was a leader. She would answer, she would respect, but she would not cower.

Chrysalis strode down the stone staircase leading to the scene and stood silently next to Chitis for a time, taking it all in. When at last she spoke her tone was neutral, but her words stung like poison.

"Failure does not suit you, Chitis," the changeling queen purred.

Chitis nearly flinched, but remained stoic and said nothing.

The Queen turned to look her in the eye and said, "You do remember the price of failure, don't you Chitis?"

The hive's newest Proxima said levelly, "Pardon, my Queen, but the only thing I fail to do is grasp your meaning."

A hint of genuine surprise poked through Chrysalis' air of deadly calm. With the quirk of an eyebrow she said, "Oh? Are you admitting to stupidity, as well as incompetence?"

Chitis suffered the insults and moved on, "My Queen, I would like you to point out the exact moment of my failure please."

Chrysalis turned to the broken tank, clearly curious, and played along, "I should think that your inability to contain one of your experiments is obvious."

"Indeed?" Chitis replied, striding closer to the tank. She stood taller, and beamed with hollow pride at her Queen, "I see this as a hallmark of success, your Grace."

Chrysalis frowned, "Explain."

Chitis began pacing back and forth, "An interesting word choice 'contain'. For containment was the job of the warrior caste who, I am sure you will find, I have no direct control over."

Chrysalis' eyes flashed with anger at the insult, but Chitis continued speaking, "It is interesting, therefore, that one of my experiments was able to break free and successfully assault four fully grown warriors."

Chitis turned with a smirk of her own, "I believe you will find, my Queen, that all of the protocols I put in place worked flawlessly. There was ample time for evacuation and no sentient minds were lost. The failure of these four guards is neither my doing, nor the mistake of any of the automi under my command."

The Queen's eyes were narrowed at Chitis, peering directly into her soul. She would know that Chitis had doubts about what she was saying, but she would also find no weakness in Chitis' resolve to keep the project going and stay alive.

Finally the Queen merely said, "Hmph. You have grown a spine, Proxima. An rare trait in an invertebrate. Very well, let's test your hypothesis, shall we?"

So-saying, the Queen sent a mental pulse. Moments later four more warriors walked into the room, heads low. Warrior castes were an interesting bunch. They were not truly of their own mind, but could follow limited patterns of predetermined directions. Like a particularly intelligent pet. They were even capable of speech, as one now demonstrated.

"Sentry 27002. Lost sight of target after exit from the hive. Casualties: 1 warrior, 2 workers."

The voice was flat and emotionless, delivered like a pony machine would.

The Queen looked at Chitis, "These four were the secondary layer of security. They failed to catch your 'experiment'. What would you recommend their punishment be?"

Chitis knew what the answer was. It was brutal and heartless, as these creatures had done no real wrong. Neither had the soldiers dead on the floor. But someone must take the blame. Someone must be an example. Chrysalis would not have it otherwise.

"Send them to the reclamation pools," Chitis said without the faintest tremor in her voice, "and remove their genetic lines from the archives. If these four cannot catch an unformed drone they do not deserve the right of progeny."

Chrysalis stared at her one moment longer, then another pulse went out. The four guards marched dutifully out of the room, their Love soon to be one with the Hive's once more.

They stood in silence for a while, the Queen and the Scientist. Each one weighed the other. Chrysalis evaluating a threat to her control, Chitis evaluating how far she could push before the Queen's tenuous favor would snap.

At last the Queen said softly, dangerously, "You are bold, Automi Chitis."

Something about this statement slipped under Chitis' tight-knit skin. Perhaps it was the shame of failure, perhaps it was the pain of sending four innocent drones to die, or perhaps it was simply the stress of dealing with a blade pressed to her throat at all times. Regardless, she responded with true vigor.

"Proxima Chitis," the changeling snarled, "and boldness is required when tradition has failed."

A few hours later order had been restored to her lab. The automi stood at their stations taking notes or adjusting measurements, while Chitis stood aloof away from it all. It was lonely by herself on the observation platform, and gave her far too much time to think. Something had been off about the way those warriors were killed. When she had examined the bodies in closer detail after her verbal spat with the Queen, she had noticed no open wounds that she could see. No cracked carapace or severed tendons in sight. What she had seen was a complete breakdown of their organic structure from the inside-out.

The organs had been unrecognizable lumps of what might have been ash. Their thick armored plates had become a dull grey, as opposed to lustrous black, and were brittle to the touch. Their eyes had gone completely dark, not even the faintest spark of Love kindling inside of them. The workers and other warrior who had died outside of the laboratory chamber had been killed the exact same way.

Chitis looked out over the swarming hall of scientists, each one still buzzing excitedly despite the muted atmosphere. She looked at each of the tanks where an experiment floated, one piece of the puzzle grafted on to an existing changeling at a time. How many of those tanks contained monsters? How many times could this happen again before she lost her life?

She stood straighter and sent out a pulse of command. Immediately all sound in the room stopped as every changeling turned to look at her expectantly.

Her pure blue eyes blazed with determination, "Enough, We are ready. We're moving up the timetable. Clear the lab and flush the tubes. We begin production of Bellum now."