This must be Wednesday, so of course we have the usual deal. Indies Unlimited has given us the prompts for the week. We wrote our stories (250 words or less) and they have gone up for scrutinization and finally the votes for the best.

Except for those times when the story shoots right on by the word limit.

This story ended up a little long. I know, what the heck happened. There was a limit and stories have to fit within it. Well, sometimes they just won’t be contained.

Super Bee

Most unmanned aerial vehicles fly slowly. Most are remote controlled by an operator. Most are used for surveillance.

The Super Bee is like no other UAV. It flies far too fast for an operator to control. Artificial intelligence controls it. The Super Bee is a weapon that detonates as it identifies its target.

Unfortunately, in its final test, the Super Bee identified Colonel Packard as its target. The results were unfortunate. DefenseCorp, Inc. had sunk hundreds of millions into the development of the weapon.. There would be no defense contract.

But that didn’t mean no one was interested in the technology…

Photo by K.S. Brooks

Lars Ultrinhorn steepled his fingers in front of his mirthless smile as he perused the video footage one more time. “Yes, I have a use for this,” he said. “But I find your price… distressing.”

After the accidental death during the demonstration, it had fallen on Zack Myers to dispose of the UAVBee program, for a profit if possible. He never expected to be whisked away to the hidden volcanic island of a world tyrant wannabe. But the man had the money to turn this red slash of a project into a perfect black money maker. “I don’t think you understand. This is an opportunity to take the entire project under your wing. You won’t have to share this with anyone.”

“And you say that the device is controlled with this?” Lars held the handset at the edge with his fingertips. “What’s to stop someone from interrupting the signal and changing the direction of the device?”

“We’ve fixed that problem,” Zack said. “Even extended the range overall. You can be miles away and still control the device.”

Lars set the handset down and pressed the screen. As it lit up the UAVBee lifted off the table between them. The thing was small, delicate. He couldn’t believe the destruction he had seen on the film could have come from such a small thing. “How do I arm it?”

“With this button right here.” The colorings on the bee changed from yellow to deep red. “And it is disarmed just as easily.” He pressed the button on the handset again but nothing happened. Instead the bee’s light began to pulse. Zack backed away from the table.

“What’s it doing?” Lars asked.

Zack had reached the door that led out of the office. “Everything’s fine. Nothing to be concerned about.” He slammed the door closed behind him. The boom shook the hallway when he had gotten about fifteen feet from the office.

He returned to Lars’ office as the dust settled. There hadn’t been much left of the room or the man. The bee’s explosive wasn’t enough to break through the rock walls surrounding the place but the furnishings inside the office stood little chance of survival. “I told them that the nuclear accelerator was overkill,” Zack said.

***

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