The Ranger's bridge.
"What? You're saying the control cores disappeared?" The two captains stared in disbelief at the officer delivering the report.
"Yes! We examined them carefully, and the control cores of these Miniature Robots... are all missing!" The reporting officer found it equally unbelievable.
He then waved a hand, bringing up a three-dimensional hologram of a Miniature Robot.
"After a thorough scan, we've found that the technology in these robots is, how should I put it... extremely ordinary! There is nothing special about their materials, either. They're inferior even to our products from over a century ago. We can safely say we've completely analyzed their structure and manufacturing principles.
"But strangely, we found no communications equipment inside them-not even anything that might serve that purpose! Also, please look here..." The officer pointed to a recess in the center of the robot's head.
"We believe this originally housed a control core, but now... it's gone! The control cores inside every robot have disappeared in exactly the same way.
"There are no signs of self-destruction, nor any residue from it. The control cores have vanished completely, as though they evaporated..."
Both captains frowned deeply.
This was far too strange!
No communications equipment? And the control cores had mysteriously disappeared?
Could such a tiny chip have served as both a control core and a communications device?!
What a joke! An advanced civilization with that technology ought to be able to obliterate them with a single shot! Why would it bother playing cavalry games with them here?
"Additionally, after analyzing certain behavioral traits of these robots, our sociologists made another startling discovery!" the officer continued.
The Ranger was a relatively unusual class of vessel in the Gemini Civilization. Designed for lengthy interstellar travel and independent deployments, it emphasized speed and all-round performance. With