..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## gray skies, swirling with soot. stony ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ground with no hints of vegetation. ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### below the surface are the mines, ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## spiraling down into the crust. small ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### compared to the caverns they eventually ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## reach and join with. the temperature is ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### higher down here, and the view is not ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## as monochrome: a green light beckons ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### from below. ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### long ago, there was a lifeform here. in ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## the center of the planetoid, something ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### dormant, waiting for a collision with ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## another body. but no planet was ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### reached, and over time, the seedling ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## became a sludge. ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## and elves came as miners, and the ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### sludge was bottled. ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ######################################## ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## # # ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### # ######¤#¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤#¤###### # ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## # # # # ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### # # ###¤†¤††††††††††††††††††††¤†¤### # # ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## # # # # # # ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### # # # the cargo ship is filled, # # # ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## @ # # prepared for launch, # # @ ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### † # # ignition sequence started # # † ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## : ¤ # hours ago. elves in the # ¤ : ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### : † ¤ passenger cabin, not yet ¤ † : ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## » : ¤ seated. but something is ¤ : » ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### » » @ wrong. there is something @ » » ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## . . † green around their mouths. † . . ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### . . : the sludge has been sampled, : . . ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## . . » entertained, and then » . . ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### . . . finally binged on. . . . ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## . . . . . . ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### . . . the engines are burning hot, . . . ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## and the ship accelerates ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### away. the elves have ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## strapped themselves in, and ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### are lying completely still, ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## like corpses. ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..
...»:†@¤## ##¤@†:»...
..»:†@¤### ###¤@†:»..