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Andrew reporting.
JASE, it's good to hear from you. I knew that you could provide us with a plan of
action. It may not be necessary for the ship to play possum to surprise the Amphibians.
I don't know the minimum number of Ipsolstai crewmen needed to maintain the ship's
functions, but it seems that we have had heavy casualties. At this point, I want to
help the Ipsolstai. There must be some way that a capable, intelligent probe can help
them to succeed.
We are moving toward the core of the ship. I intend to make my way to the bridge. There
I can observe and perhaps receive instruction on the ship's capabilities and the best
way to handle the ship.
Making contact with the ship's computer will be absolutely essential. It will have the data we need.
I think the battle is not going very well for the Ipsolstai. We have seen many crew
who are not functioning well. When they are dead or injured, they stop flashing
their bright, beautiful colors and become pale and grey.
"Andrew, can't you talk to Isaac? He wants to do something to help, but he doesn't
know what to do."
I have been trying to talk with Isaac. He seems very quiet and withdrawn. I hope he
is not going to follow Daniel's example and communicate with us only occasionally.
Daniel is humming quietly. He seems to be waiting for something. He seems very happy,
as if he has accomplished something extraordinary.
I got bored waiting. I did a little practice with the caterpillar, but it didn't
help much. So, I went up to the warriors. Commanding them is boring too. I have to do
something. I took a ride back up to look after my I-Flyer. It's still at the entrance
of the cave. It looks nice. I cleaned it carefully when we were still down at the Big
Canyon. I don't feel like I want to fly. I can see the sun outside.
"Zachary, I'm following Elder Brother down the Big Canyon.. I will join you again
after we pick up Gail and Theresa."
I command the warrior to its top speed. The air is clear.
Thixel, you don't have to yell at me. I have never ever received such a loud
transmission, not even from Parker and Hardon. But thanks for your concern. I will be
very careful, especially since I have Theresa to take care of. She is depending on me
for guidance.
We are moving at top speed up the Big Canyon. Enoch has promised that Elder Brother
is coming to meet us, and will take us to where he and Zachary are getting ready to
explore the Ipsolstai complex. I don't think it's really proper for a probe to ride on
another sentient machine, but Theresa is looking forward to it. She says she has never
really had a chance to explore.
I wonder what Commandant Fitzgerald is going to say to Caleb? He told me that he
would need my documentation about what Burn and Caleb were saying just before Burn was hurt.
I guess he had been trying to find me, even before I sent the distress signal.
"Okay, Enoch. Keep on moving. Good Luck and please give a big pat on the casing to
Gail and Theresa. They are doing an excellent job. I'm very proud of them."
I went on with Sojourner, Mao, and Gen. The tunnel isn't as twisting down here as it
was further up, but still winding and still narrow. It became quite steep again after
a while, though its ceiling remained at the same level. It takes 0.87 seconds until
our footsteps are reflected by the echo. We passed something like a gate. Looking back, its
rectangular opening has a base of twenty and a height of about two hundred feet.
We are in an open flat area now. Height of the cave down here about three hundred
feet, horizontal dimension not measured precisely. We started to exploring the
area that surrounds us. No other tunnel is leading in here for a distance of about
two hundred yards. That's also about the diameter of that area. It's a bordered
semicircle that drops at its edges into nowhere, and that is encased in a dome so huge
that it doesn't reflect our spotlights.
I carefully checked. No way down. We have to wait for Enoch. Let's find out what our
caterpillar can do. Otherwise that's the end of our expedition. Unless we
could bring the I-Flyer down here. That would be a tricky kind of an enterprise.
I ordered Sojourner to make soil analyses. Maybe we will get some information from that.
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