Space DogS

Nanobots

“The way looks clear.” whispered Gabbs from the corner of the intersecting corridors. A fibreoptic scope was peering around the corner attached to Gabbs’ helmet. This allowed Gabbs to look around the corner without getting her head blown off.

Gabbs retracted her scope back into her helmet. She reached for a sphere on her utility belt. “Watch where I deploy the mine. “ she said to her team waving the orb at waist height. She threw the orb down one of the corridors. The melted on impact and a green glow spread from the orb across the passageway. The green glow faded leaving behind a few glass spheres which were difficult to see if you did not know they were there.

The orb was manufactured by the British American Defence Corp (BADC) and consisted of microscopic robots that had a particular mechanical, electrical or chemical function. In this case created small mines activated by pressure. There are other flavours of mines and armaments: from pressure mines, electric shocks, robotic turrets and drones. The bots build the minimum outer shell and internal components. The lightness of the created article means they do not require much power to function. Strength is provided by a coating of diamond. The one downside is that flaws in the effectively ‘glued’ together manufacture means the articles deteriorate as soon as they are created and only last a few hours. Great for armaments, but not for creating replacement parts.

Gabbs gestured for one of the other members of the team to similarly throw orbs down the other corridor leaving two corridors free for a swift retreat. The team went down the corridor. Gabbs sprayed at points down the corridor. The ink was not visible to human eyes, but here helmet could make out the small sign. She placed another orb beneath the sign. This one was a pressure mine. She placed similar mines along both sides of the corridor at random intervals. Later when the team will be required to make a swift get away, any pursuers will be hampered by the pressure mines which would hurl them back the way they came. Explosive mines would affect both sides in such a race, so this was the best way to aid escape.

Gabbs and her team eventually got down to the bottom of the corridor. A security panel blinked besides the door. She used a smaller orb and pressed it against the panel. It melted and the nanobots made there way into the security panel. After a breath fizz of electricity, the panel went dead and the door opened.

The room was dark. Gabbs switched her helmet to infrared and could make out a number of crates and hidden around the warehouse a number of turrets.

“Hmmm. This is going to be more difficult than I thought.”