h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*improbably enough, underneath Red Dog and Garius*
*struggles to get free*

Help! I can't breathe! I've got fondue up my nose!

*aghast at the stupidity if the IIEM - while learning to talk, it clearly hasn't learnt to think yet*

*four arms extract to unfold and pull down a big bag of water-proof SEP material over the IIEM to stop it from squirting various liquids in all directions*

*notices that the various liquids spilled all over the place are now someone else's problem*

*for some reason, this specific SEP field doesn't seem to cover humanoids*

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!

*heads for the Red Dog/GL/Asteriod Lil mess with all four arms stretched out to grab them*

*trapped as the filling in a Lil-Garius sandwich can do nothing about the oncoming Bot*

Oh Oh !

*from her vantage point in the rafters*

This is going to be interesting.

Really! Do you think it can take on all three of them at once?

I expect it's an infinity capacity bot.

*imagines being cleaned together with Garius and Red Dog inside the bot and begins struggling so hard that the entire human sandwich slides near a table*

*grabs hold of the table leg*

*Watches with interest*

*has been standing at the entrance to the cafe, near the bots*

*now tosses a bolt of plasma at the cleaning bot, trying to fry its circuits*

*turns to the bots* Why aren't you HELPING??? Didn't Eleven send you with us to HELP??

*grabs hold of the table leg as well and attempts to shove Garius towards the Bot*

Sorry ole Buddy but it's either me or thee and I'd like to hang onto my fur - I'm very attached to it

Red Dog, I at least apologize when I make puns....

*Affy sets his OmeGauntlet to Snowzar set for five minutes, takes aim, and fires at the Cleaning Bot from the rafters*

Wish it wouldn't keep moving....if it'd just stand still for a few seconds then one of us might be able to get close enough to jump at it, open its access panel, push the exact three buttons in the correct sequence, pull the right switch, and get out of the way before it realizes what's happening.

Okay, maybe we wouldn't have the time, but it could happen.

*sensors detect incoming bolt of plasma*



*one of the arms quickly lifts up the garbage bin lid which is so polished inside that it looks like a mirror*

*Will the lid stop the plasma bolt or even cause it to ricochet? And if so, in which direction?*

ZZZZZZZZZZZZT!

*meanwhile, the other three arms start tugging at one researche each, trying to pull apart the human sandwich*

VRRRRRR!

*Red Dog's actions bring Lil closer to the table, and she hooks an elbow round the leg*

*sees the plasma bolt ricochet toward the rafters*

*ducks*

Yo! Not good!

*The plasma bolt singes the ends of Witty's hair but otherwise passes her leaving her unharmed.*

*ducks more by accident than design as she was ferckling n her pockets at the time*

Do you fancy a Witty?

*Hides as best he can*

No thanks, Caer. Not at the moment, anyway. I'm sure I'll want one once things calm down a bit, though.

What is up with those bots? Do you think they are in cahoots with the cleaning bot?

*feels his tail being grabbed by one of the Bot's arms and in panic grabs hold of one of Lil's feet as he starts to be pulled out of the sandwich of bodies*

*clings to the table with all her might*

*the table legs make a horrid noise as they are pulled across the floor*

*desperately trying to think of a way to beat the bot while absentmindedly brushing some cheese fondue off her left sleeve*

*thinking aloud*

In the good old days, we'd drop a towel over its sensors from a point immediately above the bot's head - it seemed to have a blind spot there - and then we'd drop down out of the rafters, quickly push it back into the closet with joined efforts, and slam the door shut...

*looks at door-less closet*

*sighs*

Guess that won't work this time - unless we can find some other place to push it into?

*looks around*