The two guards lagged behind Dwell and the third, with Angel flying over the whole group, as they walked through the colony, passing other colonists and several metal buildings. The guards kept their guns trained on Dwell and the third, and the civilians the group passed all gave nervous looks.
"You can put your guns down," Dwell said absently. "If we had wanted to kill you, we already would have."
That only made the guards grip their weapons even tighter, training their scopes on Dwell. From above, Angel sighed. "Please, we aren't here to hurt you, you see?" she said to them.
The guards seemed unsure, not lowering their weapons. "It's fine," the third said to no one in particular. "Their suspicion is warranted, leave them alone."
"Why did they give you rifles and not railguns?" Dwell asked as they walked. "Wouldn't they have been better in case you encountered a hostile High Drone?"
The two guards exchanged a look, still suspicious of the drones. Despite that, the guard to the third's left spoke up. "None of your kind have ever ventured this far through the tunnel to make it to us. We're supposed to just be posted there, equipped only to kill what we might reasonably expect to come out of this end of the tunnel. In practice, that's just the occasional ind."
Dwell just nodded, not replying.
"We're here," one of the guards said.
Angel dropped down to the rock, kicking up a bit of dust. They had stopped before a metal building that was a few stories tall, making it taller than all the other buildings around. Also unlike the other buildings, this one had no windows on the bottom floor. One of the guards opened the door and entered, beckoning the group to follow. The three drones filed in, with the other guard remaining outside and standing guard at the door.
The room they entered consisted of a large metal table, and several metal chairs. One of them was occupied by a man with a slightly older face than the guards. He wore a blue uniform, contrasting the brown jackets that the guards had been wearing, and was staring down at a piece of paper on the table.
"General," the guard said.
The man looked up, and, only just now noticing the drones, opened his eyes wide, pressing himself back into his chair.
The guard continued. "These three spilled out of the tunnel. They did not attack or put up any resistance. I doubt they're going to hurt you."
After a moment, the man relaxed, leaning forward and sizing up the drones. "What brings them to our side of the world, then?"
"Well," the guard said, "they claimed..." He paused, licking his lips and taking a deep breath.
"They claimed, that they might have the power to end our sacrifices to The Beast."