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After about an hour of off-roading had passed, you were all instructed to fully equip your hazmat suits. A little while after that, the car came to a full stop, and everyone climbed out to stretch their legs. When it was your turn, you noticed that everyone other than Koa was frozen in place.
You frowned in confusion and turned to stare at whatever had caught their attention, and you suddenly found yourself wearing the exact same dumbfounded expression.
Standing before you, a couple yards away, was what appeared to be a castle of glass. Towering crystal shards jutted up from the ground, pointing towards the sky and refracting the harsh sunlight as a kind of murky, rainbow color. The protrusions spread out in all directions, somehow creating a construct the size of a small town.
<span class="mu-g">“What is this…?”</span> Ana asked, sounding as if the sight had taken her breath away.
<span class="mu-r">“When the Torch self-destructed, he released enough concentrated nuclear energy to make the site of the Yucca Flats incident look like a kid had been playing with a firecracker.”</span> Koa explained. <span class="mu-r">“The resulting explosion glassed the sand surrounding him, creating the unofficial national monument you see before you today.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“This is incredible…”</span> you breathed, finding yourself inexplicably drawn to the unusual structure. Even the usually stoic Benga couldn’t deny its allure.
<span class="mu-r">“There’ll be time enough for sightseeing later.”</span> Koa interrupted. <span class="mu-r">“For now, we look for clues.”</span>
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Over the next few hours, you and the others searched the area around the crystalline structure for any signs of recent activity, as well as running tests on the material that composed it.
Prowler was eventually able to find trace amounts of Horton Cells within the crystal, but no Torch. You, Cat, Araña and Flint searched underground.
Well…it was more Flint, with his ability to bond with sand and shift it around his body. You and Cat mostly just used the alternate settings on your lenses to try and find the deceased android’s final resting place. But as you had all feared, you were unable to find the actual body.
At that point, it was pretty much up to Ana. Benga seemed to want to help, so Anastasia turned the investigation into a learning experience. You sat in on it as well, trying not to get in the way of either of them.
Watching the two of them work was a sight to behold. While she did, Ana told you about the time she spent learning from Bedouins in the Middle East, and how they taught her how to “read the sands”.
She tried teaching you how to spot subtle impressions in the sand, but you weren’t quite able to see what she saw before she pointed it out to you. Benga managed to impress her with what little knowledge and skill she possessed, and you found yourself working even harder to invoke a similar reaction from her.
>Roll 1d100, bo3!
