Episode 3: Stranded

Harris leaves Bowman and Ngaio at the alien ruins and heads back to recover Six-Toad. Halfway there, Harris gets a better idea and returns to Francis. At Francis, Harris sends the Marksman on an autopilot journey to Blessed City where it will turn right, head east, then turn right again and head south back to the temple. He goes to the Martian Belle only to discover that it's been impounded and locked up because its license was revoked on Ares. He breaks in but he can't start the engines. They're disabled and wired to alert the authorities in case they've been tampered with.

Harris devises a plan. He arranges a late-night meeting with Mr. Popo at Mr. Popo's hotel room. Harris tells Mr. Popo that he will help the crime lord recover the proof that McCarron is a robot if Mr. Popo will loan him a mechanic to disable the impound lock. Mr. Popo didn't have access to a mechanic, but he could loan him the money to pay off the impound fee. Harris agrees, then realizes that the impound office won't open until the next morning, and he's in a hurry. Mr. Popo then says he'd be willing to give Harris a ride anywhere he needs to go. Harris calls the deal off. Mr. Popo signals to his men who close in around Harris in an attempt to taser him and bind him. Harris resists the taser and begins to fight to flee. The situation is grim, 6-on-1. After a scuffle and some re-directed taser shots, one of the thugs violates orders to catch Harris alive and fires his pistol. Harris runs and leaps off the balcony, crashing through an awning and into a fountain below. He's followed by the thug with the gun, and the commotion draws the attention of two passing constables. Harris flees into the city towards the docks and boardwalks and manages to lose his pursuers in the night.

Meanwhile, back at the Diggie ruins, Bowman shows Ngaio around and tells her what he knows about the Diggies. Ngaio discovers that the exterior of the mega-structure is lined with clear nodules that capture sunlight and close up at night. She nearly cracks a rib after a fall while climbing down to inspect them. She's rescued with Bowman's help.

That night, sleeping on top of their sleeping bags, they wake up to discover that they've sunken half into the floor and are stuck! They try several things, and eventually come upon a means of escape when they learn that thinking "like a Diggie" loosens the floor material, allowing them to make their ways out. The rest of the night, they sleep on top of the crates of supplies left by earlier archeaological teams.

In the morning, the Marksman returns without its pilot to the large chamber inside the ruins. Bowman and Ngaio are momentarily confused until an Aresian interceptor descends into the chamber. They've been made! They scramble to load their supplies and the stolen evidence onto the Marksman to try to escape.

TO BE CONTINUED...