Bravos Trailblazer

I look all around me, trying to comprehend the scale of the disaster. Everything has been buried under snow, almost as far as the eye can see. Where the Alterers had cleared a path to climb the steep slope is now nothing more than a white carpet. But there isn't a moment to lose, so I start searching. I sink my probe into the frozen blanket and feel it go deep. Then I move forward a few steps and do it once more. Again, nothing. It's been over five minutes since we arrived, ten since the avalanche hit. And the minutes keep ticking away. I pierce the thick layer of packed snow again and suddenly feel some resistance. I take off my glove and use my fingers to whistle. Almost immediately, Chaghagan arrives at my side, shovel in hand and leaving deep furrows in the snow from his heavy steps. I show him where to dig, and then I continue with my assigned task.

The probe goes down again and again. I climb the slope and occasionally glance behind me. Chagha is digging. A few feet above our heads, the Axiom engineer's Alter Ego circles and beeps. Time seems to be standing still, yet also moving faster than grains of sand from a broken hourglass. Luckily for us, the Alter Ego had managed to drop beacons to indicate the approximate whereabouts of victims. Otherwise, their fate would have been sealed much earlier. Chagha finally digs something up. It looks like a small animal with white fur. Probably one of the region's local species. I clench my teeth to keep from cursing. I'd hoped we had found one of our own. Chaghagan takes the animal he's just freed, revealing another just underneath, which shakes itself off. I can't help smiling as I notice the Trailblazer's mop of pink hair, and I wonder what bet he lost to have had to dye it that color...

BASIRA