As they advanced toward the deposit, something kept nagging at Elio's mind, a subtle disquiet he couldn't quite place.
"Didn't they already check this area?" he asked, studying the terrain clean of cores. "The collection squad should have passed through here months ago."
His companion nodded, maintaining a steady pace. "I was in that squad. We checked every rock, every crevice, looking for loose cores." Her voice carried a strange undertone, almost imperceptible.
"And you never found the book?"
"Not at that time," she responded, her eyes scanning the horizon with an intensity that seemed slightly off. "But I asked them to return occasionally..."
They stopped near some rock formations. The deposit rose before them, its structure familiar yet always imposing. The afternoon light cast long shadows that seemed to dance across the crystalline surface.
"Strange," the girl murmured, frowning. "The collection squad should be waiting around here."
