Excavator Probe

The excavator probe is an article of alien technology used to rapidly break down matter into component form and whisk it away in a fashion that makes it look like it has simply vanished. Project Covenant has made extensive use of the probes in the construction of their underground bases, tunnels and conduits that sometimes span entire countries.

The probe itself is gleaming polished metal and is about the shape of a classic Tylenol capsule with a shallow concavity on either end. The probe measures about 15 inches in length with a circumference of about 18 inches (being just shy of six inches in diameter).

24 are on hand at Kjelstad Advanced Industries, and this is evidently part of a fixed stock; Project Covenant can make use of the devices, but they do not know how to replicate them yet 24 are also in the inventory of Draco's ship, so the Elma Resistance has access to a total of 48 of them.

In practice, each probe can excavate up to 1000 cubic feet (10'x10'x10') per hour; this means a six-inch diameter tunnel for power or utility lines could be channeled from New York City to Los Angeles by one probe in roughly 4 months at the rate of almost one mile an hour. With the 48 probes available to the resistance, it would take 11 hours to excavate a 10'x10' tunnel one mile in length (and only 7 hours for a 8'x8' tunnel). Excavation orders can be uploaded into the device, and from there, it will carry out its task, requiring only to be relocated periodically to maintain efficiency.