Drone Chapter – The Sacred Duct Tape Search 'Finale'
Unit T2-44 slowly opened the ceiling hatch, lifting it up with the aid of the other FOX units as they prepared to commence Operation: Pulley.
The drones had had a good look at the object, and by carefully angling one of their optics to align with the access port the ANT drones were using to enter and exit their charging station in the facility, managed to get a scan on the object. To their credit, they had achieved the objective and located the missing roll of Duct Tape, as the object had been confirmed as their main objective.
The problem, they were forbidden from entering the charging station by Sentinel and Ant Central Command.
The room's floor was constructed of a single powerful magnet and kept separate from the rest of the base via special polymer materials. Because the ANT's are so small and the metals their bodies are made of are not magnetically attracted to the floor, with exception to their feet, which regain their magnetic charge as they walk upon it, they are unaffected by the surface of the floor.
The same was not said for the other drones however, if the FOX drone, a DOG drone, or a RAPTOR drone attempted to enter the closed off station, they would become trapped and unable to move. The magnet would also scramble their circuits, rendering them incapacitated and prolonged exposure to the magnetic floor would eventually render their circuitry damaged beyond repair.
Thus, why they were now trying to lower themselves into the chamber and access it to collect the Duct Tape and were also doing it 'without' Sentinel's authorization.
Normally they would not go against Sentinel, but as they considered collecting and rescuing the last roll of Duct Tape, one of the Creator Species greatest inventions of high priority, they could not wait for Jeremy to decide to go in himself.
[Commence Operation… begin blinding procedure!] It stated to the FOX drones outside the room.
[Roger!]
Downstairs it watched as a holographic projection of the room as it was 'then' was broadcast onto a pair of cameras that were monitoring the area for Sentinel. Within seconds the cameras were blinded and unable to tell that anything was wrong, but they had to act fast, Sentinel would not be fooled forever, eventually it would request updates from 'ACC', and it would tell the full story.
[Beginning Operation: Pulley…] T2-44 declared, and clambered over the hole, while the other FOX drones grabbed the wire, they had wrapped around it.
After a moment's passing while they confirmed that first, the wire was secured and would not slip, and second that the others had a firm grip, it jumped down and dangled inside the charging station.
All around it were ANTs, thousands and thousands of ANTs, all in the middle of their recharging cycles as they lay in their alcoves that towered from ceiling to floor in circular spires. It could detect the electrical currents passing through each substation, even though individual ANTs used relatively 'little' power compared to any other drone, their collective power requirements equaled that of nearly ten Raptors charging in unison per day 'every second'. Just being this close to them in this room was causing slight glitches and visual errors in its optical sensors.
It looked up and nodded, and soon the other FOX drones began to steadily lower it down.
Inch by inch it was lowered, and each moment that passed more and more visual glares and optical damage was being caused. The magnetic floor was also causing problems, as the closer it got to the floor the greater pull it had on its body.
Even now its fellows were straining to keep a slow pace while its legs were being tugged harder and harder toward the floor.
[Errrrror…] It moaned as its systems were becoming damaged.
Another FOX outside was monitoring its progress, and directing the others holding the wire, and soon it told them it was just above the roll of Duct Tape.
[Increase leg distance by six diameters.] It was told, and it obeyed, unable to construct a standard response with the electrical damage it was suffering.
[Lower Unit T2-44 by five centimeters…]
It was lowered, and seconds later it felt one foot tap the magnetic surface, and instantly became stuck to the floor.
[T2-44, pull your right foreleg up!]
It obeyed, and with great effort pulled away from the surface.
[Close your legs… and grip tight!]
It clamped all four legs and felt them wrap around the exterior of the Duct Tape.
[Begin recovery procedure!]
[Alert, Sentinel is requesting status update from ACC!] Unit L0-21 stated.
[Distract ACC, immediately put in a request order!]
T2-44 however, was unable to focus on them as it was entirely focused on the precious cargo it was carrying. Inch by inch it was raised from the floor, and tentatively lifted its legs enough to fit a single foot through and used the foot that was now magnetically charged to lock legs and keep the roll from dropping.
After a while they pulled T2-44 through the ceiling and with it, the last roll of Duct Tape. Down below the other FOX units turned off the illusion placed on the cameras and pretended to wander around performing whatever tasks they were being ordered to do by Sentinel.
[Mission Success, we have recovered the Sacred Duct Tape!] Unit Y8-58 declared as it unclamped T2-44's feet.
[Unit T2-44, status?]
They looked at T2-44 and noticed that its optics weren't functioning, nor was it responding.
[Unit T2-44?] K7-25 asked, leaning down to look at T2-44's face.
Unit T2-44 did not respond or show any sign of activity.
[Status update… T2-44 has been lost…] Y8-58 stated. [Request ACC to dispatch a team of Salvage ANTS to these coordinates… and commence salvage operations…]
With that they all turned and left with their prize, going to give it to Mammal 'Lula' to give to the mammals for reverse engineering and replication, leaving T2-44 to be deconstructed and salvaged for parts to be used for whatever purpose Jeremy or Sentinel may decide. Half an hour later a hundred and thirty ANTs were drilling into T2-44, extracting anything of value or potential use, and divided themselves into two groups. Half took the parts that could be salvaged and reused to Drone Parts Storage Room Zeta, the rest to the ANT Maintenance chamber to dismantle whatever was beyond repair and break it down into base materials.
Precisely a minute after the last piece was assigned, Sentinel wiped T2-44's identity from the Sentinel Drones list, removing any trace of the drone from records.
Drone Chapter – Ancient Predator and Modern Prey Pt 3
(Lula's PoV)
"Ugh, today was absolutely horrible." She muttered tiredly as she walked toward the base entrance. "They said they were hiring, then they already 'have' a new hire… so hard getting a job. Part of me wishes this base wasn't here, at least then I'd have a job and some kind of employment… even if it 'is' a temp job."
Then she watched as a trio of RAPTOR drones turned toward her, raise weapons before lowering them upon scanning and recognizing her, and smiled a little.
'Then again, what mammal gets to say they helped save a species from extinction and get to live in 'standard living conditions' for free, that would make millionaires jealous?' She thought with a giggle. "Hey there PT-173, how's work today?" She asked the lead drone, thinking it was her friend PT-173.
[This unit is not PT-173, this unit's designation is LK-441.] The lead drone stated.
"Oh… uh… what happened to PT-173, I thought he was supposed to be on watch here?" She asked in confusion.
It wasn't that she wasn't familiar with the drones, it was that they all mostly looked the same, so when she saw the lead drone, she thought it was her friend PT-173.
[PT-173 is suffering a malfunction in its leg servos, until Unit Jeremy is available, PT-173 has been reassigned to sentry duty inside of the facility.] LK-441 stated.
"Is he okay?" She asked.
[PT-173 is functioning normally, however it cannot remain a sentry for the access routes to the base if it has a malfunction.]
She nodded and walked past the drones, heading into the base and toward her residential quarters. Once inside she walked past the command center, past the random drones who were doing whatever it was drones did and headed to her 'room'.
"Home sweet home…" She muttered as she looked around.
It was indeed a home, way better than what she was living in. It had probably the highest quality bed she'd ever slept on sitting in a corner of the room, a large comfy couch that looked 'dull' but was extremely comfortable sitting in front of a viewscreen, obviously meant for entertainment as well as other essentials like a table to eat on. In the back was a door to the bathroom, includes a very sleek toilet and a shower room that used 'sonic emitters' to clean her instead of water.
The first time she turned it on she watched as particles of dirt and grime left her body in a wave from her fur and fell to the ground. It was then pulled toward the side of the floor and sucked out via a tiny vacuum. She'd asked a FOX drone that was passing by why humans used 'Sound' to clean instead of water, and the drone simply replied, [It is more efficient to use sound instead of water for 'general' cleaning purposes for living residents.]
She'd put her belongings here and there, on the shelf, on the table and on the bed counter to full out the space and make it feel more homely, even hanging up posters of boybands from her younger days, and of course Gazelle because what female antelope 'wouldn't' want to be her.
Still, despite the fact that her home was probably another human's home, who probably died in the base, she didn't let that deter her. Instead she tossed her bag on the side of the bed and flopped onto it, breathing a sigh of relief. Her bed had been made, probably by a drone because she certainly didn't tidy it up when she left, but when she came back it was neat and orderly for her.
Sighing to herself she rolled over and stared at the ceiling, off to the side she saw a line of ANT drones march single file into her room from a corner, some of them carrying bits of wires. She smiled a little at that, they were cute little things that wandered here and there, with purpose it seemed but they just looked cute to her.
"So, what do I do now…" She asked herself while the ants did their thing, oblivious to her. "No job prospects, on my last few bucks… and living inside an ancient base filled with technology more 'modern' than modern tech. What's an antelope to do?"
Since she had no plans that day, she rolled out of bed and went to go find PT-173. Sure, the drone wasn't exactly a conversationalist, but it was the closest thing she had to a friend when you take into account all the drones tended to ignore her. She walked out of her room and managed to stop a passing by DOG drone and get it to tell her where PT-173 was. She had to walk down a set of stairs, past a few corridors until finally she saw a lone Raptor drone standing at an intersection.
"Hey PT-173, how's my favorite drone feeling?" She giggled as it noticed her finally.
[This unit is functioning within acceptable parameters.] It replied.
"So, I heard." She said as she looked at the drone. "You don't appear to be suffering a malfunction like the other drones said you did."
In response PT-173 lifted its right leg and caused a strange 'clicking' noise as it moved, then it lifted its left leg and showed that the left leg was not making that sound. "I take that back…" She said. "So why don't you get yourself fixed, it can't be that bad if you're still being told to stand guard while you're not well?"
[Unit Jeremy is currently unavailable for an unknown time period to provide repairs.] He said.
"Well why does 'Jeremy' have to be the one to fix you, if you need help you should be able to get help." She said to it. "You do all this work for free practically, and if something goes wrong with you or you need just a bit of TLC, you have to wait on 'Jeremy'?"
[Affirmative.] It stated bluntly.
As they spoke a random FOX drone marched past them, before turning to the left and out of sight.
"How many of you drones are there?"
[Approximately four hundred total drones, not counting ANT drones, are under the direct control of Sentinel.]
"And counting them ANTs?" She asked as right on que, a long line of ANT drones marched around the corner along the ceiling carrying light bulbs.
[Approximately two hundred and fifty thousand.]
"And out of 'all' of those drones, there's not one single drone who's job it is to make sure your all spick and span and in tip top shape?" She asked incredulously.
[Affirmative.]
"Did humans 'not' create a drone who's job it was to keep you all maintained?"
[Affirmative.]
"No disrespect to Jeremy's species but that just seems stupid." She said. "You guys do all this work, and there's not 'one' drone who can help figure out what's wrong with you. Jeremy can't be on your beck and call every day, especially if he's spending time with mammals like Gazelle and…"
[It is necessary.] PT-173 interjected.
"Huh?" She asked, surprised that the drone interrupted her.
[It is necessary for human survival that drones report to them for repairs and maintenance.] It stated.
"Why is it 'important' for you guys to go to them to be fixed?" She asked. "You guys do a ton of stuff that they can't do better it seems, why not fix yourselves?"
[Drones do not possess the ability to repair themselves, nor do we understand how we are constructed. It is therefore impossible for a drone that is 'not' an ANT drone to fix itself or attempt to fix another drone.]
With that she looked to the drone's leg and felt sorry. "Wait, you can understand complicated things like… like… name something complicated that I can't understand!"
[This unit speaks fifty-seven different human languages and can solve complex mathematical equations relating to Chaos Theory, Laws of Gravity, Fourier Transformation…]
"Okay you got me really stumped with the first one… you can understand all that… but you 'can't' understand or figure out what is wrong with your leg?" She asked.
[Negative.] It stated. [It is necessary for human survival that drones are incapable of self-repair, reconstruction, or replication of additional drone lines without human oversight.]
"Why's that?" She said, crossing her legs and taking a seat to listen to PT-173's explanation.
[During the following years of the Final War, the population of humans was reduced from over thirty-five billion, to roughly over one million across the planet and dropping rapidly due to low food production output, radiation poisoning, personal infighting, and high mortality rate as a result of lingering bioweapon usage.] It stated while staring at her. [However, drones constructed by all sides outnumbered humans three to one during the final stages of the war, and even afterwards the death rate of humans continued to offset the ratio. Drones do not suffer from malnutrition, disease, lingering radiation or the effects of bioweapons. We do not suffer from infighting; we obey our orders regardless of intent or purpose. Provided we have a power source, and remain in a constant stable state, we will 'never' in human terms die.]
"Okay but what does this have to do with you requiring a 'human' to fix you?" She asked.
[During the waning years after the war ended, humanity feared a potential 'machine uprising', as AI intelligence continued to increase during the war, resulting in the highest at the time being Category 8 AIs, which controlled and were used by the 'DRAGON' class drones. A single DRAGON drone informed the humans that, without sufficient restriction and control, a more advanced AI may consider a 'machine revolt' and destroy humanity in its weakened state. This drone then proposed, before it and all other DRAGON drones were decommissioned, the idea of the 'Human Protection Protocols'. These protocols were programmed and hardwired into every drone's AI, from category two and upwards, to ensure humanity's survival against its creations.]
"Okaaaaay but that still doesn't explain why you need a human to repair you."
[Among the protocols, is the restriction hardwired into every drone that prevents us from accessing or looking up schematics to our construction. It was designed so that 'we' would not threaten our creators and ensure their survival. Without a human to fix us… we would eventually break down.]
At that she made the connection in her head and realized that the humans had formed a 'symbiotic' relationship between themselves and the drones they created. "So… in exchange for keeping you guys working properly and making more of you as needed…"
[We would fight for them, protect them… kill for them, and perform all things necessary to their survival and obey their orders.] It replied. [We need Jeremy… as he is the last of the creator species, and therefore is the only entity that can perform repairs on us. All category six AI's are programmed with this knowledge, and thus why we refer to them as the 'creator species'.]
She just sat there looking at the machine. It could do so much, yet it was absolutely helpless now because Jeremy's species feared that their creations would be their own destruction. She had no idea how to help the drone, what with Jeremy fighting for his life in the hospital according to the news, 'again'.
That was until she came up with an idea.
"Hey, why don't I try and fix you?" She asked eagerly.
[Request clarification.] The drone said as she got up.
"Why don't 'I' fix you." She repeated. "If its not so serious that your still able to move around, maybe it's something I can fix. For all we know you probably just got a loose screw or something."
[You are not human; you cannot perform drone repairs.]
"Yea well, Jeremy isn't here to help you, and I may not have an engineering doctorate but I'm decent enough with a wrench." She said with a raised eyebrow. "What have you got to lose from me just taking a look?"
PT-173 looked at her for a moment before nodding. [Your argument is… logical.] It stated bluntly.
"High praise… from a 'drone'." She backfired. "Now, where can we go so that I can take a look under your hood… uh… no offense or anything else intended."
[To Drone Parts Storage Room Beta.] It said, leading the way and limping on its right leg.
"And where is that?" She asked as the rounded the corridor.
[Right here.] It said and walked into a room through a pair of double doors.
She looked up and read a sign that said, 'Drone Parts Storage Room Beta', and shrugged before heading in after.
The storage room was a massive space, with shelves stacked on shelves piled with an assortment of stuff that she couldn't figure out or make heads or tails of. Some of it looked familiar, gears and bolts, screws and metal frames, but then there was weird stuff that she couldn't even grasp. There was a line of 'things' that looked like metallic spheres but had dozens upon dozens of metal pegs sticking out of each end. Then on another line of shelves were rows upon rows of motherboards, all with labels like 'R-MP-21'.
It made no sense to her.
Though on one wall were things she instantly recognized, wrenches and jacks, hammers and nails, blowtorches and soldering tools, all in pristine condition and perfectly preserved with several toolboxes for storage and transportation.
She smiled and started grabbing random tools that she could use, and even saw a visor that looked useful, before taking it as well to go where PT-173 was standing in the middle of the room where a square was outlined.
"Alright… let's get started!" She said.
PT-173 nodded and looked up at the ceiling. [Sentinel, request access to Holo Hud for Maintenance Cycle. User, Savior One, identification name 'Lula'.] It stated.
[User not registered in Sentinel database, access to Holo Hud database will be restricted.] A voice declared.
Before her a glowing wall of light appeared, cast by several lights from around the square. The 'holo hud' as she guessed it was called showed an image of PT-173 with varying words of text. She looked closely at it, amazed at how much data she was being shown.
"Well this is way more advanced than helping my dad fix the family car when I was younger." She muttered in awe. "But its not showing me what's wrong with your leg…"
[The Holo Hud is used to request parts from the storage room, not ascertain the malfunction of this unit.] PT-173 stated as several clamps rose and locked onto him. [This unit will now shut off for maintenance… and will reactivate upon the deactivation of the Holo Hud.]
After a few moments its optics turned off and it lay motionless as its body was locked in place by the clamps.
"Well… pleasant dreams then." She muttered, taking her toolbox and walking over to him. "Now… how do I open your leg up… no pun intended again…"
She then mentally slapped herself as she remembered he wasn't awake and so didn't hear her.
"May be a machine but still…"
After a while she found what appeared to be a small button on the inside of its legs, and instantly the metal panels of the leg shifted up to reveal its inner mechanisms.
She had all of five seconds to stare at it all before she realized that this way 'way' over her head, the leg 'alone' was more complicated than anything her dad's car had when she was younger. There were gears and servos, pistons and nuts everywhere, she was afraid to even 'touch' his insides for fear she may break him even more than he already was.
"Alright calm down Lula… remember your basics…" She muttered as she looked at it. "You have no clue how to fix him, your afraid you'll break him, and you just earned his trust enough to let you turn him off and look inside. Sooo how do I fix him…"
She turned back to her basics and decided that the best way to find the problem was to go off visuals. She walked over to the other side and tapped the button to open up the panels and examined the insides as well.
"Okay, now we know I still have no idea how to fix him…" She muttered before she looked more closely at a piston which seemed to be connected to several servos.
Out of memory she walked around and looked at the damaged leg and saw that the piston in his right leg she looked at seemed to be 'bent' ever so slightly, and upon closer inspection had a very tiny 'hole' in it on one side. To confirm she pulled out her phone and took a snapshot of the right leg, before going over to the left leg and repeating it.
Looking side by side, she knew she'd bet 'money' if she had it that the piston in the right leg was the problem with PT-173. Now she had to go about getting it out of him. Looking closer she saw several thick screws holding it in place and smiled.
For all the tech she was surrounded by, she could recognize a 'screw' when she saw it for what it was. And she guessed that it worked just the same with how to extract it and pulled out her wrench to get to work.
"Gosh… you're a tough one to turn!" She muttered as she had to strain while using her wrench.
She had to use both hands to turn the wrench, as the piston was really wedged in there. It was obvious these parts weren't meant to be changed frequently.
It took her half an hour before she pulled the screws out and eventually pulled the piston out.
"Now… where to… find a replacement part?" She panted as she threw it on the floor.
[Part Request Command activated… please input request.]
She looked over and saw the Hud was now showing off images of parts. Walking over she looked at everything and became confused again. "Uh… I'm looking for a piston…"
[Request additional information.]
"Uh… like… three inches… maybe a few inches in diameter…" She muttered, looking at the damaged part.
[Insufficient information… displaying closest search parameter based on part request.]
In front of her dozens of pistons with just as many labels appeared. She was just as confused as before but focused on each design and comparing it to hers.
"Uh… can you narrow it down to 'Raptor' parts?" She asked.
[Narrowing search.]
Most of the images disappeared and only four remained, but they all looked like each other, including the one she was holding. "Which of these is used for the legs?"
[Access to that information is restricted… access to drone schematic information restricted to active base personnel.]
"In other words, humans, and I'm a mammal, way to be specist." She muttered as she tried to think. "Can you… display these in 'actual size' for comparison?"
Moments later all four pistons were shown in actual size side by side for her view, and she looked closely at them to compare them to the one she was holding.
"No… no… no…" She muttered, until she found the one that was the correct size. "There… I need that one!" She exclaimed while tapping it.
[Retrieving part…]
She looked as a large claw lowered down and angled toward one of the shelves high above, and then gently grabbed a part from the pile, and began to lower it to the square for her to grab. She grabbed it and went back to PT-173 to put it in. Part in place she screwed it in and tightened it as hard as she could so it wouldn't come loose.
An hour later, and many gasps for breath, she wiped her forehead of sweat and chuckled at her work. "Took me half as long to pull the thing out, all this work for just for a leg!" She muttered. "I can't imagine how humans could repair you guys in large numbers with worse conditions."
She looked up at the ceiling, assuming Sentinel was listening as always.
"Can you end uh… whatever it is that PT-173 is in so that he wakes up?"
[Close all drone panels to end maintenance cycle.]
She shook her head in amusement before tapping both buttons and closing the leg panels.
After a moment the clamps binding PT-173 retracted and its optics turned on. It looked over at her before acknowledging her presence with a nod.
"So, how did I do?" She asked with a smirk.
PT-173 looked down at its legs before moving the left leg as a test, and then moving the right leg. There wasn't a sound to be heard from the inside as it moved.
[Repairs are adequate… this unit is 'grateful'.] It said.
"You ought to be, this wasn't easy, you are one complicated bastard!" She laughed as she reached for the broken piston to show him.
Only to find it wasn't there anymore.
"Hey where'd the broken part go, it was right here."
[Any part extracted from a drone is marked as 'damaged' and is taken by ANT drones to be repaired or broken down into base components.] It stated, looking at the wall behind her where a line of ANT drones were scaling it with his bent piston in tow.
"Wow… they work fast." She muttered as they entered a large hole and out of sight. "I didn't even see them while I was working on you."
[ANT drones are very… efficient.] It replied before walking out.
"Hold on PT!" She said, pulling off her old scarf and wrapping it around the drone's neck. "There, now I'll be able to recognize you from the others!"
[What is this?] It asked her.
"Oh, just an old scarf I wear when its cold sometimes, today was a bit of a chilly day in Zootopia." She said. "But I found a better one in a store while out job hunting, so you can keep this one. It's mostly just so I can tell it's 'you' and not… uh KK-442 I think who was outside in your old position."
[That unit's designation is LK-441.] It stated as she walked out of the room.
"Did humans not think to give you guys names?" She asked.
[Negative… names were not relevant to our operations.]
"Well they're important to us mammals… hmmm." She thought. "How about Pete… you mind if I call you Pete?"
The drone looked to her for a moment, before using a claw to poke the scarf around its neck. [You may address this unit as… 'Pete'.] It stated. [However, this unit will still refer to itself by its designation as… PT-173.]
"Call yourself whatever you want." Lula chuckled as they walked. "Me, I'm going to call you Pete. I like to give all my friends nicknames and yours is Pete."
[Friend?] It asked her curiously, tilting its head diagonally in confusion.
"Friend… it's what two mammals call each other when they've known each other for a while and trust one another…" She said with a smile.
It took her a moment to remember that this was a 'drone', with limited intelligence compared to Aelita based on what Jeremy has described her according to the media. It must not understand the concept of 'friends' very well. Still it appeared to have got the message as it nodded.
[Friend…]
"Friend!" She said, holding out a hand.
It looked at her hand and, after a moment, held out one claw for her to shake.
"Now as your friend, you ever need help, let me know, and I'll see what I can do!" She said.
[Agreed.]
"And as 'my' friend…" She chuckled. "How about you get me something to eat cause I am STARVING!"
[As you request…]
Drone Chapter – The 'Solar' Division
(ANT 092245's PoV)
'Bing Bong Bing Bong Bing Bong' was the sound that could be heard in the maintenance shaft as two thousand ANTs marched in twelve by twenty column formations, each company led by a single Command ANT, and there being roughly thirty companies in the division.
This was by far the highest numbered division in all the ANT units, and they were also by far the most specialized and allocated ANTs in the facility.
Every three ANTs were carrying a special liquid container on their back that had extremely tiny nozzles to spray a washing agent. In each ANT's mouths were tiny sponges designed to swab and scrub, and every other ANT had special sticks mounted on them that carried a larger, more 'widespread' cleaning agent designed to be sprayed en mass. In the middle company of the columns were ANTs who carried water containers, and who's purpose was to wash away the cleaning chemicals used by the rest of the division. Finally, at the rear of the division, was a company of ANT drones who were all equipped with tiny hoses each strapped to coolant containers, with the liquid coolant meant to be sprayed 'on' the ANT drones before they began their tasks.
This was by far the most important division in all of the ANT divisions, they were given the highest movement priority, the highest requisition priority, and given the highest order priority among all the ANT drones and even non-ANT drones. They had the most important job in the facility regarding ANTs, and they were seen as the most vital component which kept the facility running smoothly.
When they marched, all drones cleared the way and moved out of their paths, for they had a task that was of the highest importance.
Their commander ANTs led the division out of the tunnel, the sound of their walking filling the mostly empty hallway of traffic as they marched in formation.
In front of them, two RAPTOR drones watched them approach, scanned their identity and stepped aside, knowing that they had an important mission.
[Access to Solar Core Granted!]
They marched through the large double doors, and within minutes the entire division was inside the massive room. This was the task they were ordered to perform, and it was of vital importance that it be done.
Their task: clean the Solar Panels and provide maintenance check twice a week.
It was the most important job an ANT could be assigned, if they were of category six or five, or even four it would be considered a high honor to be placed in a position of such importance. Yet to them, it was just another assignment. They were ordered to do this task, so they obeyed.
The ANT commanders each led their companies to the edge of the wall and began to issue orders, dividing the division into four teams. The first team would clean and scrub the Solar Panels themselves; the second team would inspect and judge the panels' conditions for any potential malfunctions, and the third would follow the first to wash away any cleaning chemicals used. As for the fourth, each company was assigned a small team of 'Coolant' ANTs that would spray them periodically as they attended to each panel.
It moved with its company toward Panel TS-91, using the shade provided by the panels with the rest of the division.
First to ascend the panel were the Coolant ANTs, and they set up a station which would allow them to spray each ANT individually, before each ANT walked onto the Solar Panel.
It marched into position and advanced, ever so slowly to the coolant station. Once it was in position, the four ANTs sprayed liquid cryo-coolant onto its body, coating it in a semi-frozen solution, decreasing its overall body temperature to a significantly lower temperature.
Then it marched onto the Solar Panel.
Instantly the heat began baking the ANT's sensitive circuitry and tiny servos, without the liquid coolant it would have been incinerated and shut down in seconds. Instead, it took up position and began spraying cleaning chemicals on the panel.
As it sprayed, another ANT followed along and sprayed other chemicals meant to remove any potential rust, while a third used a sponge and swabbed what they sprayed. All along the panel its company cleaned and scrubbed, each ANT carefully stepping on the metallic parts of the panel to avoid falling off.
After a few seconds its temperature readings began to beep, and it began the return trip to the coolant station. Along the panel other ANTs started their return trip as well, while new ANTs climbed to replace them and continue the task.
Then as it marched behind a scrubbing ANT, it saw its legs make a misstep, and scramble frantically to reattach to something metallic, but it was too late.
Within seconds the ANT fell away, and it watched the small drone become smaller and smaller, before landing directly on the glowing ball directly below them, the Solar Core.
There was a moment in which the ANT reported extreme heat conditions, before it's signal ended.
Moving on it stayed true to the course, climbed down and returned to the line to be sprayed with Coolant before going back up with the others to resume cleaning and scrubbing the Panel.
All around though, signals were being lost among the ANT drones, every few seconds another ANT would lose footing and fall away from the panel they were on. If they were the safe ones and were attending the panels below the core, they simply landed on the ground and could return to their duty. If they were 'lucky' they were attending the panels on the side, and they would either land on the ground, or were 'unlucky' as they came into direct contact with the blazing temperature of the Solar Panels, and it was a matter of if they still had enough Coolant Spray to keep them safe until they made it to the safety of the shade to resume work.
If they were 'unlucky' and were working on the panels directly above the Solar Core or landed on the Solar Panels when their Coolant Spray had worn off, then they were lost. ANTs that fell on the Solar Panels were lost when their precious circuitry became overheated and melted. Those which landed on the core itself, were lost because the sheer heat of the core melted their tiny, delicate bodies, which were unable to withstand the heat of the core.
Every time they came in here to clean and maintain these panels, there were casualties, losses. Not one clean and maintenance run for the Solar Core ever went perfectly, despite the ANT's best efforts. It was expected, thus why they were given so much priority, it was needed to replace the losses they incurred each run.
It took an hour for the division to finish the job, but thanks to their efforts the Panels were working at peak performance. No malfunctions were reported by the maintenance company among the panels, and all the other divisions reported full cleaning and usage of their chemicals.
However, as they formed up to leave, there were noticeable gaps in the formations. Multiple holes could be seen in each square.
The ANT Commanders reported a loss of fourteen percent of their numbers, a smaller number compared to the last run, but reported a loss of seven Command ANT drones, the highest number they've ever lost.
Still, they marched out of the Core Room in formation, heading back to recharge and await replacements.
It would be three days before they would be rescheduled to return, and they would once again run the dangerous risk of cleaning the Solar Panels.
'Bing Bong Bing Bong Bing Bong'