“Good work,” replied Brown. “We should be ready by then. I see Wake-field heading this way in the rover.” He glanced at his watch. “And the crabs should be turning again in another few seconds. Incidentally, Otto, do you still disagree with my suggestion to snare the lead biot?”
“Yes, David, I do. I think it’s an unnecessary risk. What little we do know suggests that the lead crab has the most capability. Why take a chance? Any biot would be an incredible treasure to carry back to Earth, particularly if it’s still functional. We can worry about the leader after we already have one in the bag.”
“Then I guess I’m outvoted on this one. Dr, Takagishi and Tabori both agree with you. So does General O’Toole. We’ll proceed with Plan B. The target biot will be number four, the back right biot as we approach from the rear.”
The rover carrying Wakefield and Sabatini arrived at the hut area at almost the same time as the helicopter. “Good job, men,” Dr. Brown said as Tabori and Yamanaka jumped down from the “copter. “Take a short breather, Janos. Then go over and make sure Turgenyev and the cable snare are both ready to go. I want you airborne in five minutes.
“All right,” Brown said, turning to the others, “this is it. Wilson, Takagishi, and des Jardins in the rover with Wakefield. Francesca, you come with me in the second helicopter with Hiro.”
Nicole started walking toward the rover but Francesca intercepted her. “Have you ever used one of these?” The Italian journalist extended a video camera the size of a small book.
“Once,” Nicole answered, studying the camera in Francesca’s hand, “eleven or twelve years ago. I recorded one of Dr. Delon’s brain operations. I guess—”
“Look,” interrupted Francesca, “I could use some help. I’m sorry I didn’t discuss it with you earlier, but I didn’t know — Anyway, I need another camera, one on the ground, especially now that we’re live on INN. I’m not asking for miracles. You’re the only one who—”
“What about Reggie?” Nicole replied. “He’s the other journalist.”
“Reggie won’t help,” Francesca said quickly. Dr. Brown called for her to come to the helicopter. “Will you do it, Nicole? Please? Or should I ask someone else?”
Why not? ran through Nicole’s mind. I have nothing else to do unless an emergency comes up. “ Sure,” she replied.
“Thanks a million,” Francesca shouted as she handed Nicole the camera and dashed off to the waiting helicopter.
“Well, well,” said Reggie Wilson as Nicole approached the rover with the camera cradled in her hands. “I see that our crew doctor has been recruited by the number one journalist. I hope you asked for the minimum wage.”
“Lighten up, Reggie,” Nicole replied. “It doesn’t bother me to help others when I have nothing specific to do myself.”
Wakefield switched on the rover and began to drive east toward the biots. The headquarters had been intentionally established in the area already “cleaned” by the crabs. The packed soil made progress very easy for the rover. They were within a hundred meters of the biots in less than three minutes. Overhead the two helicopters circled around the crabs.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Nicole called to Franceses on the rover transmitter.
“Try to move parallel to the biots!” Francesca answered. “You can probably run alongside, at least for some of the time. The most important moment is when Janos tries to close the snare.”
“We’re all ready here,” Tabori announced a few seconds later, “Just give the word.”
“Are we on the air?” Brown asked Francesca. She nodded her head. “All right,” he said to Janos. “Go ahead.”
From out of one of the helicopters came a long, thick cable with what looked like an inverted basket on the end. “Janos will try to center the snare on the target biot!” Wakefield explained to Nicole, “and let the sides drape naturally over the corner of the shell. Then he will increase the tension and pull the biot off the ground. We will cage the crab after we return it to the Beta campsite.”
“Let’s see what they look like from down there,” Nicole heard Francesca say. The rover was now right next to the biots. Nicole climbed out and jogged beside them. She was frightened at first. For some reason she had not expected them to be so large or so strange looking. Their metallic sheen reminded her of the cold exterior of many of the new buildings in Paris. As she ran along on the soil, the biots were only about two meters away from her. With the automatic focusing and framing of the camera, it was not difficult for Nicole to take the proper pictures.
“Don’t get in front of them,” Dr. Takagishi warned her. He didn’t need to worry. Nicole had not forgotten what they had done to that mound of metal.
“Your pictures are really very good,” Francesca’s voice boomed on the rover receiver. “Nicole, try to speed up to the lead biot and then fall back little by little, letting the camera pan across each of the ranks.” She waited while Nicole moved to the front of the biots. “Wow. That’s superb. Now I know why we brought an Olympic champion with us.”
On his first two attempts Janos missed with the snare. However, on the third try it landed perfectly on the number four crab’s back. The edges of the net or basket spread out to the limit of the shell. Nicole was starting to sweat. She had been running already for four minutes. “From now on,” Francesca said to her from the helicopter, “focus on the single target crab. Move up as close as you dare.”
Nicole reduced her distance from the closest biot to about a meter. She nearly slipped once and a cold chill swept over her. If I were to fall across their path, she thought, they “d make mincemeat out of me. Her camera was fixed on the right rear crab as Janos tightened the cables.
“Now!” he shouted. The snare, with the biot entrapped, began to rise off the ground. Everything happened very fast. The target biot used its scissor-like claws to snap through one of the metal threads of the snare. The other five biots came to a brief halt, for maybe one full second, and then immediately all attacked the snare with their claws. The metal net was completely shredded and the biot was freed in five seconds,
Nicole was amazed by what she was seeing. Despite her pounding heart she continued to film. The lead biot now sat down on the ground. The other five surrounded it in an extremely tight circle. Each of the biots attached one claw to the crab in the center and the other to its neighbor on the right. The formation was finished in less than five more seconds. The biots were locked and motionless.
Francesca was the first to speak. “Absolutely incredible,” she screamed in elation. “We just made the hair stand up on every human being on Earth.”
Nicole felt Richard Wakefield beside her. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“I think so,” she said. She was still shaking. The two of them glanced over at the biots. There was no movement.
“They’re in a huddle,” Reggie Wilson said from the rover. “The score is now Biots seven, Humans zero.”
“Since you are so convinced that there is no danger, I’ll agree to go ahead. But I must confess that I myself am nervous about another attempt. Those things clearly communicate with each other. And I don’t think they want to be captured.”
“Otto, Otto!” Dr. Brown replied. “This procedure is only a straightforward refinement of what we tried the first time. The line nexus will adhere to the shell of the crab and will wrap its thin cables tightly around the entire carapace. The other biots will not be able to use their claws. There will be no room between the line and the shell.”
“Admiral Heilmann, this is Dr. Takagishi.” There was definite concern in his voice as he spoke into the communicator. “I must register my strongest objection to proceeding with this hunt. We have seen already how little we understand about these creatures. As Wakefield said, our attempt to snare one of them has obviously triggered their main fault protection responses. We have no idea at all how they will react next.”