Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3

“Put all your gear away and approach with empty hands spread out like this,” she said, placing her empty palm forward, arms spread wide away from her body.”

Woon did as told, and they walk slowly forwards. Eventually, the motion caught the attention of a min. When he turned full towards them with apparent alarm, Karen stopped walking and stood calmly, palms still out.

The min stood stock still for a second. The metal head jiggled, then the two other nearby min bots hurried over to join him.

“Hello,” Karen called out. Her Pocod, strapped to her waist translated via the algorithms given to Panther by their new galactic friends.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” one of the mins  who had just joined the group asked.

Karen introduced them, then said, “So if you could take us to someone who could help us, we would be most grateful.”

The mins turned to each other and consulted quietly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hoard of small drones swarmed in. They formed a circle around them high above their heads and spewed out strands that stuck fast to the ground.

“Woon, no!” Karen ordered as she saw motion beside her. “Don’t move! This is defensive on their part, and quite understandable.”

“I know, ma’am,” Woon said stonily. “I was just getting ready in case things escalated.”

“Yes, of course,” Karen said apologetically. “Still, best we stay still, I think, until they’re finished.”

“Will do, ma’am.”

The tiny drones weaved around each other to form a web. A dozen hovered above to hold the top of the dome in place, and the rest zoomed off to resume pollinating the orchards.

“I’m pretty sure a laser gun could dissolve this holding cell,” Woon said.

“Let’s hope we don’t need to try,” Karen said. A calm had come over her and the rest of them as Jasper’s secret calming pheromones floated around.

The mins went away to get back to their tasks, leaving the Chiron party alone in the net.

“I think we should assume they have a plan for us and get some rest, ma’am,” Woon advised.

Karen nodded. “Let’s do so.”

They tried to get comfortable on the ground, but shifted around on the lumpy surface.

“Shall I spray some conformal form on everyone’s back so we can get some sleep?” Jasper asked.

“Yes, good idea,” Karen said.

The party lined up and stood still until the foam solidified, then Jasper helped them gently down. He sprayed some on the ground, and lay on top of it. “More wasteful, but this will work,” he muttered.”

Karen woke to find mins staring at her. There was a vehicle nearby, and a half dozen mins outside the net. Everyone else was already awake, waiting quietly.

“You finally woke,” a min said. “Time to get in the truck, then. Stand back.”

The humans complied, and the min fired a weapon that made the netting sizzle and disintegrate. They got into the truck to find there were no seats. Instead, there were rows of stations with robot-shaped hollows. Their guards snaped themselves into stations, leaving the Chiron party to sit cross legged and grab onto what they could as they bumped along.

They arrived at a large rectangular building, with the look of rusted metal. A door just wide enough for mins and people slid open and they entered. The ceiling was just high enough for a min bot to clear by an inch, giving the humans a few inches to a good foot of clearance. A min led them to a modest sized screen. Karen gasped at what she saw on it.

“Yes,” the min monitoring it said. “Whoever you are, I think you’re better off down here. Except we’re upset with you for attracting the mutated, aggressive Tasla to us.”

On the screen, a battle clearly ensued. The min and humans watched as the AI computer fired a red blast into space. One shot hit, sending a Tasla ship spinning as parts of it dissolved. Three Tasla ships were firing on Chiron.