Episode 6
Part One
Prokhor Zakharov felt the blood leave his face. He looked down at his hands, hands growing older with every passing day, and studied them for a moment.
They had lost the East Panel of the Alien Temple.
"I'm sorry, Provost," said Bortniansky, his concerned face coming over the quicklink. "I can not help but think...we should not have desecrated..."
"Desecration?" Zakharov felt the heat of anger return the blood to his face.
"No, not in a religious sense, of course, Provost. I meant that pulling apart..."
"We were careful," said Zakharov. "But not careful enough. The others obviously want the information in the alien structure more than I knew, and they have resources dedicated to getting them." He let out a deep breath.
"Provost, if I may. We can bring in better imaging equipment, and create near perfect replicas back at the University. I know you wanted the real thing, but..."
Zakharov cut him off. "Of course, of course. You will image the temple and transmit the data along a secure channel, to be changed daily. But I will do more. We must protect the structure." He looked at his hands again. "We need an ally in this. We need to guard the structure, and guard it with force."
"Yes, of course," said Bortniansky, and feared for the fate of his temple.
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