I like both joule's and Grand Zero's proposals, and I think that we need to implement both. But we need to tell the probes about Brace first, let the chips fall where they may, assess any damage, THEN go after the command codes.
If the probes take the news of Brace's demise poorly, especially as a cumulative effect of "serial abandonment", we can attempt to soothe them by relating some personal stories of persistence in the face of continued adversity. In essence, we need them to adopt a philosophy of "C'est la vie" [Look Macmarts! I spoke French!] when dealing with "bad things." But overall, I don't think that they will react poorly to the news, especially with the way joule has framed it.
Just dropping my $0.02.
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