Work Text:
Sampling is a delicate art. RoverBot-7 (Designation: Daisy) is equipped with insulated tanks of dry ice for immediate cryo-immersion of harvested plant tissue. RNA in particular is quick to degrade.
RoverBot-7 is enthused about this newest sample. A mature, undamaged specimen on the cusp of strobilation! The whitecoats will be pleased.
Its return to base is T-25 minutes on its current trajectory.
27 minutes pass. It pauses to check calibrations and troubleshoot the navigation system. All functional. But only a wasteland surrounds it, fine sand piled high in evidence of a recent, violent dust storm.
Is there anybody out here?