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¨¨~~†%%£## ##£%%†~~¨¨
¨¨¨~~†%%£# 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. #£%%†~~¨¨¨
¨¨~~†%%£## ##£%%†~~¨¨
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