"If you wanna bring it to my station I'll have a look." Enki greeted the others as he passed.
Approaching the workstation one could see shelves littered with human trinkets. Enkara didn't understand his fascination with trivial objects but kept this thought locked in his subconscious. Enki gestured at a metallic table nearby.
After placing it down neatly Enkara retreated to let Enki work. The blaster on the table is a dark pewter color. When Enki ran his hand over the weapon it went crystal clear. One could see three tubes intertwined through the center and a small crystal at the barrel.
The tube down the center possessed a pulsing yellow liquid, on the left was a luminescent green liquid and the final tube contained a similar blue one. Each of the tubes halted a centimeter before the barrel where they could mix into chemical reactions.
'Sure enough, everything seems fine, but I should check just to be safe.'
Enki's hand hovered over the handle as its shape adjusted, and he took aim at a nearby wall. One could see two chambers on each side, and they opened up releasing a red mist. Organic targets resembling humanoids appeared from a nearby chamber. They began charging forward in unison towards Enki.
A purple liquid filled up the barrel and resonated with the crystal. Emitting from the barrel was a purple beam that disintegrated the targets. Enki shouldered the rifle and continued firing as more targets approached.
With a simple thought, the chamber was cleared as it went green. The next three shots enveloped the target in a glowing aura. It caused them to convulse briefly before falling to the ground comatose. All the researchers stopped to admire Enki's ability.
"You should consider that schedule now." Enki returned Enkara's weapon.
'I may not understand his hobbies, but I can't deny his value.'
It was an hour till the merger, and Enki sat in a recliner scavenged from the humans. He tapped the bobblehead on his desk before motioning his hand towards the wall. A screen appeared before Enki as he leaned back in comfort.
A dropship appeared on the screen and positioned itself over the sun. From the bottom of the ship dropped drones in a triangle formation. Each of them was being controlled telepathically by Enki.
'No need to rush this.' Enki glanced at a corner of the screen.
A separate screen appeared that was intercepting tv from local broadcasting. The channels rapidly changed till Enki found a western movie. He would occasionally check on the progress of the drones, but he was more interested in the showdown scene.
'The materials may be ineffective, but the weapon's appearance is flawless. I could synthesize one, but It's not the same. Like I have the time to look for one.' Enki sighed as Cameron's group came into focus.
"How are you feeling?" Megan investigated.
"Since the kidnapping, I don't get hot anymore," Cameron replied.
"Lucky you." Jordan patted his shoulder to pass the joint.
"Not a smart idea for hiking." Megan scolded Jordan.
"He's the one who sparked it, and if you didn't want us smoking why did you buy some?" Jordan retorted.
"You know why! Besides you spent half of it on junk food." Megan crossed her arms.
"Just don't eat any of it," Jordan cautioned.
"Did you forget the part where I paid for it?" Megan blocked Jordan's path.
Their arguing ended abruptly as Cameron raised his hand. They crouched down and started to get nervous by his serious expression. The drones circling above them halted, and Enki thought they were exposed.
'No way he could see them.' Enki prepared to pull them back.
Cameron lifted a nearby rock and hurled it towards the side of the mountain. After a loud crack, they saw a herd of bighorn sheep racing up the mountain. Jordan stood up to examine the damage and distance. They approached the point of impact and saw a large ram with a hole in it.
"With an arm like that you could've gone pro," Jordan told Cameron.
"You know I'm not a big fan of sports," Cameron replied while retrieving his knife.
"You enjoy UFT," Megan turned away from the ram.
"Fighting is different," Cameron began skinning the kill.
"It's the prefight rituals too." Jordan got storage ready for the meat.
'Sitting on the couch with an ice-cold beer would be amazing right now.' Jordan imagined the taste.
"I still can't believe you do this." Megan stepped away from the odor.
"Hypocrite. You eat meat all the time you know." Jordan argued.
"That's not what I mean! I just couldn't put my hands in that." Megan glanced back.
'How will he clean up after?'
"I'm gonna push up the ridge and set up camp. If we're lucky we can find some water from the summit." Megan announced.
"Just don't wander too far," Cameron stated.
Not wanting to risk a missing group member Jordan tagged along. While Cameron was cleaning his kill the drones were zooming in. They were able to focus upon his eyes, but it didn't narrow their search any.
Their drones were struggling to scan Cameron from this distance, but Enki moved them gradually. By the time they were close enough to scan him efficiently Cameron's eyes reverted to brown. Now that his body was reading normal the drones returned to their position.
They only managed to pick up a slight reading when Cameron hurled the rock. It was enough to prove a new lifeform, but the data didn't reflect Cameron's significance. Their superiors weren't the type to tolerate incomplete data.
Approaching them with their word alone would likely result in punishment for simply wasting their time. The research teams were debating ways to induce readings, but no one could agree on a method. Enki tried to focus on his show, but their chatter was overwhelming.
"It's separated from his companions, and we have the coordinates."
"So he can flare up, and leave us stranded?"
"Drop the interceptor, and direct it to his companions."
"The anomaly did occur to protect them in the first place."
"You're not wrong, but we've lost enough equipment this cycle."
"I have a plan, but we'll need to initiate launch early," Enki stated.
"You heard the man. Everyone to your stations." Aria relayed.