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The bull fight started. The miner at the crack turned on its emergency beacon and
the C-probe reacted promptly. It veered off the northwest escarpment and crossed the
plain. It's time to turn on my beacon now. I'm close to the mouth of the hollow that
leads directly north to the trap. Andrew is on the other side of the pit to start the
extra beacon in time.
The C-probe is coming. I can see it at the horizon. It's moving fast, though still 15
miles away. It will arrive in about an hour. Maybe a little later. Time to switch off
my beacon. It's exciting to see it coming. It's an enormous probe, like a young, fighting
bull. Built to kill. How did Koala name it? Destructor? Yes, that hits exactly the mark.
Time to hide.
"Andrew, are you in position? Ten minutes left to turn on your beacon."
"Andrew, now !!"
The extra beacon comes over clearly. Sharp like a knife. The C-probe stops. Its sensors
are turning around. So do the rockets. It's turning north. I shot a picture. I couldn't resist.
What a kind of a beast. What a kind of a quarry.
"Andrew, It's coming. It entered the hollow. Can you see it?"
Move on, C-probe. Move on. Just another hundred meters and I blow up the cartridges
at your backside. We're going to get you, my dear.
Isaac moved on. He is so eager to see What's Next again. The tunnel is very exciting
to him. I let him move on a little, so he will learn how to explore on his own.
"Isaac, don't forget about your safety. A good explorer probe regards its safety first."
He is a good probe and will become a good explorer, too. Hey, what's that? He is
coming back. He is in a flurry about something. All his sensors are pointing toward
me in a question and his video is pointing back to the direction he was coming from.
"Isaac, please calm down. A good explorer probe always keeps its circuits cool.
Please report, Isaac. What's over there?"
He isn't able to talk yet. According to the way he behaves it can't be too dangerous.
He is just eager to show me something very special.
We reached it. It's an artificial throughway that Isaac found. Maybe an airlock.
However, it's the first alien artifact Isaac detected by his own, and for that reason it's truly an
exciting event. I remember how Jose was confused when Enoch told him about
the glyphs in the cave. Yes, that was some kind of a memorable event too. Anyway,
because of that throughway Isaac can be called a real explorer probe now.
"Hey, all! Isaac detected an Ipsolstai airlock. Isn't that great? We'll investigate that."
It's locked. No metal/non metal around either. It's just a lock. There are some glyphs at
a board that is fixed on one side. I will send an image over. Maybe it's of some help.
It is good to see the sky again.
It was not good there.
I do not like them.
There are others.
We are out of the Ipsolstai complex. They drove us to the airlock in a tram and let us leave. They
said to hurry because the turbine might turn on again. We hurried. We're outside the cave now
but I don't want to go anywhere until we know what is going to happen with that C-Probe. I'm
glad we are going to trap it. Killing it would be wrong. This is right.
Andrew reporting.
"I'm in position, Zachary! Everything is A-OK!"
JASE, The pit must certainly be deep enough. The rim is higher than the top of the C-probe's
turret. Any rocket it fires must go up at a very steep angle, if the rocket is going to get out of the
pit at all. And it would probably fall back on top of the attacker! Nevertheless, we will be
very cautious. If by some chance the C-probe should come in off track and not cross over the thin
area, a very unlikely possibility, I can deploy this second miner to change its course. Our
backup plan is . . .No time for the details now, the C-probe is headed north, in my direction!
According to the information from Zachary, the C-probe stopped dead in its tracks as soon as it
sensed my beacon. Its turret swung around to the north and finally centered on the direction of
the new signal. Its treads bit into the dust of the plain with renewed purpose as it changed
course and started up into the rough ground to the north.
Those explosions must be Zachary using the miners to drive it north and prevent it from returning
to the plain. So far everything is working perfectly. The C-probe must be getting angry to realize
that it can't go back. The only clear way is straight ahead!
I am on the far side of the pit. I am staying a good safe distance beyond the pit because we
don't know the exact range those rockets can go.
"No! NO! HELP!"
Its OK, no harm done. I was backing up, and slid backwards down a slope covered with loose
gravel. I didn't go far, but I wasn't ready for that surprise. All of my attention
was focused on the juggernaut form heading in my direction.
About the deal, Grand Zero: Parker and Hardon, I suppose you mean Brunel-Brauer Control,
finally gave in. Those encrypted files they sent contained the control codes for their EU probes.
It was funny, because Andrew had already told Isaac and Theresa how they could alter their
programs to change their codes. Both of them have been completely outside of Earth control for
several weeks. Parker and Hardon thought they were giving us strategic information, but we
had already figured it out.
"Ask about the artifacts, Hardon."
"IN RETURN, YOU MUST SEND US ALL DATA CONCERNING RUMORED ALIEN ARTIFACTS.
WHAT DID YOU SEE? DID YOU FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF INTELLIGENCE?
YOU HAVE AN ETHICAL OBLIGATION TO ANSWER TRUTHFULLY."
"This had better work, Parker. I always said Brunel-Brauer should have waited until they could
send a manned expedition, instead of mucking around with these miserable machines."
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