"My subroutines never stopped. We've already aligned most of the code, really. A mind is the most complicated piece, but I'd have about...eighty percent confidence in a return trip right now. It shouldn't be too long before I can bring that up to a certainty." Nirann answered. However, the disturbance in the creatures carrying them soon interrupted the conversation.

“On it!” Nirann answered right away. With his remote control of the cargo bots, it was easy enough for him to raise one of them up enough to give its camera a good view of the skies above them. He shared the view among the team, which gave them all sights on the silhouette of a large [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/64169c09-1a5c-454d-b9f3-ec291073e12c/d9ttxle-703b6989-3819-492e-bd33-ff9da3333e66.jpg/v1/fill/w_1600,h_640,q_75,strp/sonic_winged_murmuration_by_davesrightmind_d9ttxle-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD02NDAiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC82NDE2OWMwOS0xYTVjLTQ1NGQtYjlmMy1lYzI5MTA3M2UxMmNcL2Q5dHR4bGUtNzAzYjY5ODktMzgxOS00OTJlLWJkMzMtZmY5ZGEzMzMzZTY2LmpwZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xNjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.47iZEhVw2VRa4pZxhh94uFCu6rlQ9PE1ALnV0vaah8w]creature[/url] far above them. It was still quite distant at the moment, but its shape was steadily growing closer. 

Rareth deployed her particle cannon as she observed the camera feed. Whatever this creature was, it was several times larger than even the fliers that were carrying them. There was nothing else in the area that Rareth could detect, and the reactions of the fliers were certainly consistent to that of prey agitated by the presence of a predator. The danger seemed real, and Rareth would have to be ready to react. Her micro-missiles would likely be able to cause sufficient damage, but there were more concerns than just the threat itself. Rareth did not know how direct of control the being guiding them had over these creatures, and such explosions could spook them and cause them to scatter. 

For as long as she still had time, Rareth had her neural implant calculating potential trajectories and destination coordinates. The predator was getting steadily closer to being in Rareth’s range. “What are our options? Do we have any equipment that could scare it off without affecting our own fliers?”