R.M.D. 569
From Luna Central Medical Roster;
Appropriated by Earth Interstellar Navy 2439.5 A.D. for 18th Expeditionary Fleet. R.M.D. 569: Doctor of Medicine. Robotic. Inception No. 569 on 2437.3 A.D.
Through the portholes of the shuttle I saw the 18th Expeditionary Fleet grow slowly larger, one hundred and thirty-eight silver needles that would take us in the direction of Core-Star 33 in the Orion Nebula M42. On arrival, and in the holy name of ‘Exploration’, the human members of the fleet would plunder the planets of whatever artefacts had been left by the dead alien civilisations of long ago.
We robots numbered a baker’s dozen of humanoid body types and stood jammed shoulder to shoulder behind the steel bars that separated us from the ‘humans-only’ part of the hold. None of us had b
