They're... ON HOLIDAY?

Day 5 - Standard procedure: 5/8

Despite the potential magnitude of the discovery of Smiley's chalk-imitating goop, the trio led by 10013 don't rush towards the water bungalows forming a half-circle against the sparkling morning sea, instead they walk at casual pace, taking in the sights. Also, secretly hoping that 387 would pop up at some point and they wouldn't have to bother the Queen.

99380 twitches and bumps into 10013 when a series of loud, high-pitched caws rings through the air. Immediately, the drones freeze and start looking around.

Nothing happens. No ponies or griffons start running around, no sign of any predator approaching them, no one seems to care about the noise.

"...this place is so loud..." mumbles 99380 when they resume walking, now a bit more on edge.

"From what I've seen in my life, the surface tends to be," 10013 nods, nudging 99380 with its nose to comfort the newbie, "But so far it seems that critters that are loud are like that either as a warning or just... you know... because. It's the ones that are quiet until they're screeching and rushing at you that are the problem."

"Really?" the words of authority reassure 99380.

"That's the best I can tell you," 10013 shrugs, "I think the drones who spend the most time on the surface are 36658 and 57999 so they'd know better. Oh, and of course 65536."

"But I thought you were a much higher rank."

"And?" 10013 smiles, "We're not in the old days anymore. I mean, things were a lot simpler then - you just did what you were told, there was always a clear map marker to follow, and if there wasn't one it meant you should be sleeping."

"Is it wrong that I kinda like the idea?" asks 99380, "I know that whenever you veterans always talk about those times you get... strange. Distant," when it hears 10013 sigh and hang its head, 99380 adds, "Sorry."

"No, that's okay," to 99380's surprise, 10013 looks back at it with a soft smile and a slightly detached look, "You're right in a way. Things were simple. Not good whatsoever, but simple. Sometimes I want to go back to 'simple' too, especially with my responsibility for you guys and for the well-being of other drones. On the other hole, we don't randomly get eaten by peckish high ranks anymore. When we get hurt, we get time to heal instead of being recycled or sent back to the tunnels. The amount of love we're used to these days is... still crazy to me," it wipes its eyes as they walk, smiling and looking down the long, paved street leading directly down towards the beachside promenade, "We never knew we had any unique talents because all we were supposed to do was dig, carry, and use our goop as basic reinforcement of tunnel walls. Every drone only knew about tunnel dangers whatever little it learned before it got killed by something it didn't expect," 10013 chuckles, "And look at us now! We're on the surface, we can learn from each other, we can scribble down knowledge for newbies, and now that you're here we'll all eventually be able to use our portion of the hive mind. I only wish High Score was here to see it. With it around there's no telling how far we would have gotten already."

"Ummm..." 99380 scratches its head, instinctively briefly using its wings to compensate for missing a usable leg for the next step, "I always listened to 36658's stories and... and... don't take this the wrong way because I know how much you respect High Score, but... haven't you done way more for all dronekind than it did in your life? All of you veterans have, really."

The horrified look that 10013 shoots 99380 only serves to confuse the newbie more. On top of that, Smiley adds its own mental string of:

*Drone face* *Happy face* *Distorted face* *Sad face* *Happy face* *Sad face* *Happy face* *Sad face* *Confused face*

"Uhh, sorry?" apologizes 99380, having no idea why but feeling that what it said was somehow perceived as incredibly wrong.

"Sorry, Smiley. I have no idea what you mean," 10013 shakes its head. Smiley briefly wibbles at it to no avail, and 10013 only reaches up and pats its head which seems to help, "99380, I don't think you can understand how easy I have it under the new rules. High Score did everything it did in such a hostile environment that we can only hope you newbies will never live through again. It even learned a warrior-level transformation! On top of that, it did something no other drone could have even dreamed of. It's the one story which 36658 never told anyone."