Beach Sand flash fiction

 Jenna says, "There should be island scanners, I think. And satellite surveillance, and airborne drones."

     "Airborne drones, sir? And scanners?"

     We've not heard of or seen any tracking devices in more than a week. I'd rather we put our energies into something better than mere electronic gadgets."

     "Scanners and drones would imply military, that's been their limit for decades."

     "The mainframes operate all the time, the Xradio spectrum doesn't require time in any form. Aren't you forgetting something?"

     "Oh, I'm sure whatever we need will come to us. It's just, it's almost noon now, and Suzi's charge session isn't finished yet. The next flyby is at one o'clock. You said they come once a week, didn't you?"

     "Yes, but that doesn't mean they're coming today, or even tomorrow for that matter. 

     "We weren't prepared for this. We thought of everything but this.  But now we have to do whatever it takes. The price is too high."

     Cooper says, "There should be a better way to deal with her brand of artificial intelligence, I think."

     "Did you expect this?"

     "Nobody expected her type of lasers."

     "Nobody?"