Acid Burns

monitor.
"Hey, Illyana. What's up?" Dannion Kortter spoke without looking up from the
"Not much," she replied as the door closed behind her. "Me, you, nine eggheads,
eleven fake ecosystems, and a whole lot of nothing going on. Just the way I like it."
As if on cue, Dannion's entire console lit up, and a scratchy transmission sounded
over the comms.
"Raynolds to base. Are we expecting a storm out here?"
Dan opened the channel. "This is base, Raynolds." He scanned the worklog rota. "I've
got you in biosphere three, the slug and sap dome under the mountain. What's the
problem?"
"It's like the lights just went out. But I checked the forecast before I left base, and there
was no sign of storms or bad fronts rolling in. Can you double-check?"
"Sure thing, hold on." Dan called up the day's forecast and real-time patterns. "You
should be clear and dry. Could it be the mountain shadow? We're closing on two in the
afternoon. If the sun's going down on the other side..."
clouds?"
"I'm out here twice a week, for God's sake. I know when it gets dark."
Illyana leaned over Dannion's shoulder. "Raynolds, this is Jorres. Is it definitely
"How would I know? I'm in the slug dome, can't see a thing through the geodesic
screens. And the light's getting worse in here by the second. I'm heading back to the console
room before I need a flashlight to KRZRRZKRZKRZZZKKKK."
The ground shook.
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