The Adventures Of Miniator, Chapter 10 Captors And Captives
By Chris Whitley
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Chapter 10) Captors And Captives
When the shuddering of the Dino stopped, and Swing opened his eye, he saw from their hovering position that the world was not so different from the time they had left.
Miniator pulled back the joystick a little more, and the spaceship rose higher. Now they could see they were no longer above an island, for the landscaped stretched for miles in all directions. There were many active volcanoes, fiery and smoky. The vegetation looked lush and green.
Miniator raised the Dino ever higher, until below they could see many seas. And a far distant ocean. There were large flocks of flying dinosaurs, which they had seen in the films, many different sizes, that and sailed gracefully, over the land and seas.
'Pteranodons,' commented the computer, 'There are many species.'
Miniator began to move the ship towards the ocean. 'We should look for a safe place to land, computer. Any ideas?'
'Maybe it would be safer to find an open space, Captain, away from volcanoes, and put up the Protective Shield?'
'Yes, that sounds logical.'
Miniator accelerated the Dino, zooming closer to the ocean coast line, then followed it east, looking inland, until they found a small open flat plain. Miniator set the spaceship down a little distance from a forest.
'Computer, Protective Shield!'
'Hi Hi, Captain. Protective Shield in place!'
'Time for lunch I think, Swing!'
'Hi Hi, Captain!'
As Swing, and Miniator were finishing their meal, and making plans to venture out, the computer reported: 'Captain, I've detected several small flying craft coming in over the ocean to the East!'
'Have they detected us?'
'It doesn't appear so, Captain. They haven't changed their coarse. They are too far away to identify fully.'
Miniator and Swing made their way to the communication room, and watched the specks in the distance.
'Computer can you zoom the scope on one of them.?'
'Yes Captain,'
The view was now of a two winged silver machine.
'I have no record of this type in my database, Captain. Rather they are of unknown origin, or they could be very new, built within the tens years since we left Toolia. These machines are not build for intergalactic travel, they don't have the capacity for long flight. There must be a mother-ship, or they were built here on Earth, Captain!'
They watched the group of machines disappear over the horizon.
'I think we should carefully try to find out who they are and what they are doing here. Then decide whether to make contact.' said Miniator. 'But how to proceed without being detected... I think we should wait for further observation, then ascertain any regular fight paths, before edging closer.'
'Very well, Captain.'
'Swing, we could venture out a little, but we shouldn't go too far, we don't want to give away our presence to those ships. Computer keep us informed.'
Swing, in his Force Suit, and Miniator walked out of the Dino and made for the forest. Immediately they came aware of the many life forms. Many they recognized from the films, but many more were strange to them. Miniator began filming from the camera in his suit. Whenever a creature came towards them... Miniator flicked a switch on his suit that produced loud erratic noise, which drove them away... then from a distance Miniator detected first on his computer-suit and then spotted a large Tyrannosaurus Rex. Both Swing and Miniator stopped in their tracks, and watched as the creature prowled through the undergrowth. Swing noticed the intenseness of Miniator's expression... and heard him making very low little growls..., which he had never heard from him before. At one point the creature stopped and looked in their direction, and sniffed at the air. Neither Swing, nor Miniator moved a muscle, until the creature satisfied, moved on and out of sight.
They continued moving deeper into the forest, until they suddenly heard loud ear-splitting roars coming from the direction they a had come from. Miniator recognized the sound as Tyrannosaurus Rex distress calls,
They began moving toward the sound, Miniator would have liked to use his jet-pack, but the forest was too dense, and he didn't want to leave Swing alone. They soon found the Tyrannosaurus Rex they had seen earlier, and the reason for its distress. It was trapped in some kind of metal cage, each time it touched the metal grid there was a flash of light, and the creature recoiled and roared.
'What is that?' asked Swing, having never seen electricity.
'It is a trap set to capture the poor creature. The trap has the the power like that of lightening in a storm. Each time the creature touches the metal it receives a painful shock. We must free it, I cannot bear to leave it so. I can use the Atom Mixer... You stay here, Swing, when the creature is freed it could be very aggressive.'
Miniator approached the cage. When the creature saw him it began to roar loader, and charge the metal, receiving shock after shock. Miniator circled the cage and saw how the device had been sprung. It had been laid hidden among the vegetation and fixed with anchors deep in the earth. As the creature entered it must have broken some kind of electronic beam, triggering the device, which had sprung up around it. For transportation, he realized the whole thing could be lifted from above.
Miniator simply fired the Atom Mixer at a small control box... rearranging its molecules. Which opened one side of the cage. Then Miniator turned on his jet-pack and hovered above the trees, then watched as the creature, realizing there was a way out escaped, roared loudly and speedily disappeared into the undergrowth. Miniator quickly returned to Swing.
'Well done, Captain!'
'Oh, it was not difficult, Swing, the technology of the trap is pretty primitive. But we should try to find out what all this means.'
'Two of those, unidentified ships approaching your vicinity, Captain!' Reported the computer. Is action required?'
'No Computer, only keep close observation of their actions, and stand by! Returning to ship.'
Hi hi, Captain!'
'If they have anything to do with that trap,' said Miniator to Swing, 'they are probably able to monitor when it has been sprung. And have come to retrieve their victim. We should not be around when they find out it has been released. I would rather they remain in the dark to our presence...'
Back at the spaceship, Miniator and Swing sat around the computer screen. They were watching the two unidentified flying-crafts hovering above the trees, where Miniator estimated the trap was situated.
'Captain, I've infiltrated their communication system, They are speaking Koosian. Shall I put their communication with translation, on air?'
'Yes, in English so Swing can understand.'
In a muffed reception they listened to the flying-craft's transmissions.
Craft 1: 'Grip 99, Located unresponsive meat trap 400. Lowering laser-cable. Over!'
Craft 2: 'Read you, Grip 40... standing by!'
They saw a line descending from one of the crafts.
Craft 2 'Grip 40, I see your trap is empty, and it looks damaged. Over!'
Craft 1 'Grip 40 to Base. Report: Located unresponsive meat trap 400... Damaged and empty. 'Returning to Base. Over!'
Base: ''Read you grip 40. Over and Out!
They watched as both flying-craft headed out over the ocean, one with the empty square cage suspended under it.
Both Miniator and Swing sat in silence. Miniator was looking dismayed having heard Koosians referring to the traps as meat traps...
'Who are the Koosians?' asked Swing.
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