movement.”
“No, Sirena can monitor what she’s doing,” said Nero. “It’s very important that we remainundetected. Our job here is to guard Dr Smith in case the people who’ve stolen Whiplash arrive.”
“It’s lucky those crooks don’t know about us,” said Hercules. “Nero could crack that code in minutes. They wouldn’t need Dr Smith’s help.”
“Speaking of help…” said Nero. He scuttled across the desk to where Dr Smith had left her tablet covered in calculations. With one of his pincers, he deleted a “3” in the middle of the screen and changed it to a “2”.
“There,” he said. “The formula works correctly now.”
“She’s coming back,” said Sirena.
The SWARM robots retreated to their hiding places.
Dr Smith came in, sipping from a steaming mug. Sitting down at the desk, she ran a finger along the lines of calculations she’d written.
“Ah!” she said to herself. “It does work. I was right all along.” She picked up the pen and went back to work, clicking open a fresh page and scribbling rapidly across it.
Moments later, Sirena’s ultra-sensitive antennae picked up movement outside the house.
“Perhaps it’s just a visitor,” transmitted Hercules.
“I don’t think so,” said Sirena. “There are … four life forms approaching from the east. That’s across the back garden. Ordinary visitors wouldn’t come that way.”
Dr Smith carried on working. She’d heard nothing outside, and the robots’ transmissions were imperceptible to the human ear.
“Let’s get out there,” said Sabre.
“Wait,” said Nero. “We mustn’t take action unless we’re sure they’re hostile. Our orders are clear.”
Sirena’s antennae waved slowly. The life forms had stopped moving. She was detecting tiny vibrations and sounds. “They’re at the back door now,” she said. “I think they may be picking the lock.”
“That’s enough for me,” said Sabre. “They’re hostile.”
He dropped down from the ceiling and headed for the kitchen.
“Attack mode,” said Nero. “Prepare to disable intruders.”
As they crept through the back door, Bullmanand his men switched on signal jammers sewn into their combat jackets.
Suddenly, the SWARM robots felt a slight smothering sensation.
“What’s that weird feeling in my sensors?” said Hercules.
“They’re blocking all outgoing transmissions,” said Nero. “They must be jamming all signals in case Dr Smith has got a personal alarm system. Sirena, try to alert the human SWARM agents waiting as backup in the village!”
“Too late,” said Sirena. “Contact lost.”
“We’re on our own,” said Nero.
“But we are still managing to communicate with each other,” said Hercules.
“We’re close enough to each other for our high-band frequencies to get through,” said Nero.
Suddenly, the study door flew open. Bullman rushed in, followed by Fraser and two others.
Dr Smith swung around, her eyes wide with fright. “What’s going on?” she demanded.
Sabre immediately darted across the study. Nero and Hercules paused for a moment, their programming confused by the signal jammers.Then they also sped towards the intruders.
Sirena had already made a positive identification of both Bullman and Fraser. She fluttered rapidly, taking sensor readings.
Bullman grabbed hold of Dr Smith, one of his arms gripped tightly around her throat. With a sharp cry, she jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow. He let go with a yelp of pain. She spun around and punched him across the jaw. He flew back into the nearest bookcase, toppling books on to him.
“Get out my house, the lot of you!” she cried.
The SWARM robots held off for a few seconds, surprised by Dr Smith’s fierce response. But the four intruders recovered quickly and overpowered her.
“Contact with HQ lost,” said Nero. “Proceed without orders. Calculation of probabilities indicates we should repel the intruders but not disable them. If we can
“No, Sirena can monitor what she’s doing,” said Nero. “It’s very important that we remainundetected. Our job here is to guard Dr Smith in case the people who’ve stolen Whiplash arrive.”
“It’s lucky those crooks don’t know about us,” said Hercules. “Nero could crack that code in minutes. They wouldn’t need Dr Smith’s help.”
“Speaking of help…” said Nero. He scuttled across the desk to where Dr Smith had left her tablet covered in calculations. With one of his pincers, he deleted a “3” in the middle of the screen and changed it to a “2”.
“There,” he said. “The formula works correctly now.”
“She’s coming back,” said Sirena.
The SWARM robots retreated to their hiding places.
Dr Smith came in, sipping from a steaming mug. Sitting down at the desk, she ran a finger along the lines of calculations she’d written.
“Ah!” she said to herself. “It does work. I was right all along.” She picked up the pen and went back to work, clicking open a fresh page and scribbling rapidly across it.
Moments later, Sirena’s ultra-sensitive antennae picked up movement outside the house.
“Perhaps it’s just a visitor,” transmitted Hercules.
“I don’t think so,” said Sirena. “There are … four life forms approaching from the east. That’s across the back garden. Ordinary visitors wouldn’t come that way.”
Dr Smith carried on working. She’d heard nothing outside, and the robots’ transmissions were imperceptible to the human ear.
“Let’s get out there,” said Sabre.
“Wait,” said Nero. “We mustn’t take action unless we’re sure they’re hostile. Our orders are clear.”
Sirena’s antennae waved slowly. The life forms had stopped moving. She was detecting tiny vibrations and sounds. “They’re at the back door now,” she said. “I think they may be picking the lock.”
“That’s enough for me,” said Sabre. “They’re hostile.”
He dropped down from the ceiling and headed for the kitchen.
“Attack mode,” said Nero. “Prepare to disable intruders.”
As they crept through the back door, Bullmanand his men switched on signal jammers sewn into their combat jackets.
Suddenly, the SWARM robots felt a slight smothering sensation.
“What’s that weird feeling in my sensors?” said Hercules.
“They’re blocking all outgoing transmissions,” said Nero. “They must be jamming all signals in case Dr Smith has got a personal alarm system. Sirena, try to alert the human SWARM agents waiting as backup in the village!”
“Too late,” said Sirena. “Contact lost.”
“We’re on our own,” said Nero.
“But we are still managing to communicate with each other,” said Hercules.
“We’re close enough to each other for our high-band frequencies to get through,” said Nero.
Suddenly, the study door flew open. Bullman rushed in, followed by Fraser and two others.
Dr Smith swung around, her eyes wide with fright. “What’s going on?” she demanded.
Sabre immediately darted across the study. Nero and Hercules paused for a moment, their programming confused by the signal jammers.Then they also sped towards the intruders.
Sirena had already made a positive identification of both Bullman and Fraser. She fluttered rapidly, taking sensor readings.
Bullman grabbed hold of Dr Smith, one of his arms gripped tightly around her throat. With a sharp cry, she jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow. He let go with a yelp of pain. She spun around and punched him across the jaw. He flew back into the nearest bookcase, toppling books on to him.
“Get out my house, the lot of you!” she cried.
The SWARM robots held off for a few seconds, surprised by Dr Smith’s fierce response. But the four intruders recovered quickly and overpowered her.
“Contact with HQ lost,” said Nero. “Proceed without orders. Calculation of probabilities indicates we should repel the intruders but not disable them. If we can
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