“I have flares - if i can reach them, they might scare it off?” Carthage suggested. “Not from down there; all our fliers will see them too.” Thebes cautioned, before questioning the Rothians. “What sort of countermeasures do these cargo bots have? Anything we can use offensively?”

“Can I synchronise my targeting reticule with that bot’s topside camera? I could take a shot through my flier’s wing.” Athena jumped in, already seeing if she could maneuver her railgun into position. “It’s diving!” Dr Ngata warned, his eyes fixated to the bot’s feed. 

The fliers let out a unified ‘SCREEEE’ and tried to break away and flee, but they seemed bound together by an invisible string. So after some wasted effort, the creatures fanned out instead, all flapping furiously in the same direction but presenting a range of altitudes and positions. “They should be scattering - something must be keeping them on course!” Ngata realised, before addressing thin air. “However you are, let them follow their instincts, people are gonna die!”

“Negative! Stay on course and keep us together!” Thebes countermanded, hoping whatever they were going to meet was still listening.