"Oh! Hello there Mother… I, uh, didn't expect to see you here!"
"In the brood chambers, child? Where else would I be?"
I can almost sense another thwack coming… The first one really hurt! She's had a serious increase to her physical stats since her evolution. I rub the top of my head with an antenna as I quickly ponder my response.
"Wherever you want to be, Mother?"
THWACK!
Ouch!
"You wouldn't be suggesting I would skip out on my duty to the Colony, would you?"
"Of course not! Who would ever think of such a thing?!"
Dangit, Mother! My poor head! What did I even do? Turning around to face my overbearing parent, I take a chance to see how she's been faring. She looks fine, no wounds or scarring to mar her carapace. That ever-present twinkle in her eye is still apparent, as is the unusual level of force she's able to generate with her antennae. There must be a 'mother' perk buried in the system somewhere that grants bonus damage when disciplining children, otherwise it just doesn't make sense.
"If you're mad at me, Mother, then please just tell me what I've done," I capitulate.
evaded my responsibilities and brought danger down on the
at you, child. I
a funny way of showing it…"
that? I didn't
uh. It's nice to see you in
my own Biomass. The
the Queen out for hunts? Not that they could stop her, I suppose, but yikes. I'd love to have seen the council members' faces when they realised the Queen was going
to assume you
The Queen sighs.
want to say no, even if I do think it's a bit of a waste. Those children could all be contributing in a more
She shouldn't.
find that every member of your escort
member of her guards was carefully chosen to be the best at what they do. No way the
really is packed with brood. Dozens of brood tenders pick amongst the little grubs, ensuring that each is fed and cleaned, ready to take on the next step in
I tip an antenna at the young, "are we still making sure each hatchling is
born in this nest, they are transported to the first nest during the pupal stage. When they emerge they are taken through the training program before they enter service. I try to keep up with what is being done with
a bit worried that they'd get slack once the population started to explode. Must be hard for
laid each day right now, could it be as many as a thousand
to me once," the Queen informs me, "I believe that the creation of two new nests is being planned in
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