We rejoin our three soldiers of fortune on the planet's surface. There hasn't been much activity for them to police, so they have been working with some of the construction crews on the main complex dome. It is hard work but it beats sitting around their habitat all day doing nothing but drinking and playing cards. It has certainly helped them keep their bodies in shape. They are now three months into their six month contract. For the money they are making, they almost feel like thieves. But a contract is a contract. And they certainly need the money. One day, our three soldiers of fortune received a distress call from Mr. Steepledorf, the general manager of development on the planet. He's been doing some more exploring for possible mining sites and got stuck in a sandpit and couldn't get his rover out of it. Our guys drop what they are doing and high tail it over to their habitat and crank up Old Betsy, a term of endearment they have attached to the ancient land rover they inherited when they first arrived on the planet. They have used Old Betsy a number of times just to go out onto the planet on short exploratory trips, so they know she is reliable. After getting Mr. Steepledorf's coordinates, they speed out to rendevous with him and attempt a rescue. Luckily, Old Betsy has a track drive which is more suited to this type of sandy terrean. After hooking up a couple ropes to Mr. Steepledorf's rover, they apply the power and Old Betsy begins pulling. As they begin to make progress getting the rover to firmer ground, one of the sensors in Old Betsy starts clanging away. A ribbon of paper flies out of an ancient computer printer with the message 'Strange, alien power readings at coordinates ....x .....y. Investigate with extreme caution!' Renn was driving Old Betsy when the warning was delivered. He jumped out onto the ground and ran over to his partners. 'I just got the strangest message. One of those ancient computers in Old Betsy just cranked out this message. According to the coordinates, there is something out yonder that might be worth investigating.' 'Well, let's get Mr. Steepledorf out of this mess first!' said Tron. He was fast becoming the spokesman for the group, even though he was the last to join this triumvirate. He definately was the ones with the most brains which Renn and Zack have learned the hard way a couple times. They are beganning to accede to Tron's gut feelings and directions. Mr. Steepledorf got out of his rover and started walking toward them. They yelled at him about the message from Old Betsy. He didn't seem very curious and tells them he has to get back to the base. He requests a report on any findings. After three more attempts at the rescue, they finally succeeded in pulling the new rover onto solid ground. Mr. Steepledorf thanked them and grinned widely as he headed back to base. Now, what could possibly be out there thata way that would activate an ancient computer sensing mechanism after all these years? They all are scratching their heads as the climb back into Old Betsy and start driving to the indicated coordinates. 'It appears this signature energy source is just beyond that next little mountain range. We should be coming up on it in about half an hour, I would guess.' said Renn. 'Guess we'll find out pretty soon what it is.' Thank you for taking a peek! Your support is greatly appreciated!