The canopy of the AREV darkened as the harsh Martian sun, just cresting the broken horizon, glared down at it. Massimo frowned through the tinted glass at the homestead that lay in the dune bowl below him. The wall generators were offline, and something had ripped several holes through the sandbag wall around the compound. From this angle he could even tell that the airlock had been blown out, causing the entire structure to depressurize. More and more, it seemed like a prospector couldn't go anywhere in the Core Sectors without running into these useless structures. He shrugged and pressed the release button for his scouts, perhaps they would get lucky and find something worthwhile for once.
By the time the small drones had navigated into the structure and began their work, the sun was making it's rapid way across the sky, bringing light to the small bowl that sheltered the abandoned building. As he waited for the report Massimo imagined the lives of the prospector that used to live here, and what may have happened to him. An irregular beeping drew him from his reverie and he panned his gaze across his controls. One of his scouts was reporting an unusual power source that it had detected in the homestead. He was manipulating the camera control on the scout when the comm screen flickered to life.
ATTENTION!attention!ATTENTION!attention
Central Trading notice to all prospectors. It has come to our attention that numerous bizarre artifacts have begun appearing in the prolific abandoned homesteads that litter our new home. All of these artifacts are similar in appearance, appearing to be a stone placard about the size of a playing card.
There are two types of these "cards". The first are a group of "Star" cards that come in a variety of colors. These "Star" will register as a weak power source to your scouts. It does not appear that these "Stars" serve any useful purpose to the common prospector. Rumors to the contrary, especially those of the implication that combining the "Stars" in various patterns will produce mysterious results, should be ignored. In an effort to learn more these mysterious artifacts, Central Trading is offering energy rewards to prospectors who turn in set batches of the various types of "Stars". Central Trading currently has confirmation of ten different colors of "Stars" that have been discovered.
The second type of "card" has a much more direct application. These artifacts are capable of overriding existing computer systems in very specific ways. Central Trading has confirmation of "cards" that produce such varied effects as overriding Homestead and Settlement defenses, seizing control of supply drones to allow prospectors to remain in the field instead of being returned to their homesteads at the recall, purifying existing ore cargo increase its value, and most remarkably to allow prospectors to be instantly transported across the entire surface of the Controlled Sectors.
Extreme caution should be exercised the the reclaimation and use of any of these items, and any new types should be reported to Central Trading immediately.
Messimo read over the notice twice before turning back to his scout drones. Now that he had an idea of what he might be looking at a sly smile stole across his features. The camera on the scout panned around and up, finally focusing on a shining white light source in the center of the living area of the homestead. The rectangular object hovered roughly a meter off the floor, spinning slowly. As he watched it, he could make out the star shaped crystal stone in the center of the rectangle. Periodically it would flash with a bright white light.
Cautiously he commanded the scout to snag the item in one of it's many appendages, and return it to the AREV. As he watched the unit make it's way across the sandy floor of the bowl outside of the homestead, he punched in a quick query to Central Trading to see what his newly found treasure was worth. He laughed sardonically as he heard the scout lock back into it's bay on the side of the AREV and his eyes roved over Central Trading's response. According to the message he would have to collect another one hundred and forty nine of the white cards before he could redeem them for one hundred free energy credits.
He shrugged mentally as he punched up his radar display, homing in the nearest homestead and started his vehicle in that direction. At least it made the abandoned and broke homesteads worth looking into again.
Across the Controlled Sectors other prospectors revved their engines in anticipation of this startling new development. High in the cloistered arcology of Central Trading, the comptrollers smiled and nodded to each other as several prospectors who had been thought dead and gone reported leaving their homesteads for the first time in weeks, eagerness tinging their voices as they prepared to be the first to discover new cards, especially those that would allow them to override the Ultimate defenses that shielded their rivals.
