Two drone pods sat on the ice like fat beetles, one orange, one green, both drilling toward the same lucky vein. Inside the orange shack, Priya watched her bore-counter tick eleven meters ahead of Theo's. Then both screens flickered turquoise. Far below the crust, something deep in the ocean was glowing back at the drills.

Priya didn't stop. She was ahead, and ahead meant the bonus. She pushed her drill harder toward the glow. The turquoise light pulsed brighter and faster, almost like a heartbeat, and a low hum started rattling the shack walls.