A low rumble echoed as the hourglass at the center of the sand ship suddenly righted itself inside its glass sphere, letting out a steady hum.
The hourglass began to vibrate at a high frequency inside the sphere. The vibration traveled down a transmission conduit to the bottom of the sand ship and into the ground below.
On the surface of the dune, ripples suddenly emanated from the point where the sand ship's base made contact. The ripples began to spread, traveling farther and farther.
Soon, these tiny ripples began to leap, vibrating the dune's surface into rows of tall, uniform pillars of sand.
The vibrations didn't stop. The pillars of sand seemed to be frozen in mid-air, but a closer look revealed the sand within them was still in constant motion.
The pillars grew taller, ring by ring, forming a rippling maze that encircled the sand ship.
At the center of this pillar-maze, the sand ship began to sink slowly into the shifting sands.
"Get ready."
"3, 2, 1…"
"Launch!"
