Searching.
Finding, they vibrate excitedly in place - and wait.
Temperate Command Center "LUOSTARI-JO GOGOMO," courtyard. Enormous dogs of ambiguous cybernetic pedigree howl. The pot-bellied Ealurian in crimson-lined cold-weather military gear, the crone all in fluffy black, and her cylindrical kameira crush across freshly fallen ice to a sled of weathered wood and woven rope.
With a wave of hand and a flick of bits, the crone launches the powerful dogs into motion. Barking excitedly at one another, they charge into driving sleet.
Down, down and around, they advance inexorably toward the frozen shore. The towering, gilded sheath of Loustari-Jo Gogomo, though gleaming, fades quickly into grey oblivion. As the sled draws near, the camera drones perk up, zoom about briefly, and chirp. The crone pets each of them in turn.]
Oh, you've found something, my lovelies!
[The cylindrical kameira pulls a heavy, circular metallic shovel-like tube from the sled, and approaches the spot identified by the drones. Carefully, he places the tube against the ice, and with slow determination crushes it down. Upon reaching an appropriate depth, he twists and shifts the metal, then withdraws it.
Returning to the sled, he extrudes a core of frozen muck.
Excitedly fastidious, the Ealurian darts gloved fingers through the sludge, separating decaying vegetation from more precious material. Hands on hips, the crone casts a disapproving glance at drifts of snow. Scooping some up in a palm, she manipulates it with one thumb.]
Oxidized tritanium dust! We won't produce a sufficient quantity of modified bacteria to isolate nearly enough before the partial melt. Redouble extraction of aquatic samples. We'll also want to improve our air filtration. The summer stench is going to be something else. How about the roots?
"Oh, yes, madam," chirps the Ealurian. "Wonderful, wonderful! I look forward to studying their cryogenic properties."
[The crone picks up a bulb.]
There's a lady I know, for whom all that glittered was once gold. Now, she tends her garden in a guarded cage. I wonder if she might have any interest in the roots of frozen Tekojarvi...
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