image [https://i.postimg.cc/DyxT37PJ/cygnus-rover.png]

Night had fallen and the desert was pitch black under the alien night sky, the glow of Messier 39's nearby stars providing the only light. The two vehicles had come to a halt near one of the recently deployed charging stations, their power reserves running low. ARI’s drones hovered nearby, assisting with battery replacements for the rover and Maximilian’s toploader.

Inside the rover, the atmosphere was heavy with tension. Mei lay reclined in the rear compartment, her helmet removed, her face pale and slick with sweat. Her breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps, interrupted by the awful sound of retching as she leaned over to the side. A small container in Sigrid’s hands was already half-filled with water Mei had vomited back up, along with bright yellow bile that spoke of her worsening condition.

Maximilian climbed into the rover and crouched beside Mei, wearing his usual stoic expression. "How is she?" he asked in a low voice.

"She regained consciousness again, and is she's hanging on," Sigrid replied, her worry clear on her face for all to see. "But she can't keep anything down, not even water. I gave her an IV bag already. Else she's going to dehydrate."

From the driver's seat, Pom stretched his arms and wiped sweat from his forehead. "It’s the plants," he muttered. "Those damn mushrooms. Mei touched one and got infected..." He cut himself off, yawning deeply as he leaned against the console.

"Pom," Sigrid called out, her voice sharp with concern. She moved to forward past the seat and pressed the back of her hand against the side of his neck. "You feel warm."

"I’m fine," Pom said, though his hoarse voice betrayed him. "Just… feeling a little warmer than usual."

Sigrid did not look convinced. Taking her portable scanner, she quickly checked the readings. The results were immediate, and her face darkened. "Your temperature is clearly elevated Pom. And your pulse is unusually high."

Pom sat back, his head resting against the seat. "What, you think I'm next?" He let out a weak laugh, but it quickly turned into a cough. "Well... Maybe"

Sigrid looked at Pom with concern. "Drink as much water as you can," she instructed, grabbing a bidon from the rover's supplies and handing it to him. "In case you start vomiting too, it's best to hydrate as much as possible."

Pom took the bottle reluctantly, unscrewing the cap with shaking hands. "Great. Soon I will be puking my guts out too"

"Just drink," Sigrid said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Glancing between Pom and Mei, her mind raced as she tried to piece together what was happening. "If this is from the plants, then it’s something they release. Maybe some kind of toxin... Without the full suite of medical equipment to run more advanced diagnostics, it's impossible to say..."

"Spores," Mei said weakly. "The Valley of Hope was covered in spores... That's why it's affecting both of us..."

"We camped there an entire day," Pom added. "Drank the water, too."

“Whatever it is, it’s taking them down fast,” Maximilian said grimly. “We need to get moving. Every minute we're out here is another risk.”

Pom nodded, clumsily wiping his face with his sleeve. "Once the batteries are swapped, we have enough energy to reach the base in one go."

Sigrid frowned. "We're still half a day out... I wish there was a way we could signal the base..."

Mei stirred weakly, her voice a faint whisper. "Sigrid… water…"

Sigrid knelt beside her and lifted the water bottle to her lips. "Drink slowly," she instructed, holding her steady. Mei managed a small sip, but within seconds, she convulsed and turned aside, vomiting into the container once more.

Outside, ARI’s drones finished locking in the new batteries, their mechanical latched clicking into place. The system lights on both vehicles blinked green, signaling they were ready to go.

Maximilian straightened, his face hardening. "Let's not waste another second. Sigrid, stay with Mei. Pom, keep drinking. I’ll drive you if I have to."

Pom waved him off weakly, his grip tightening on the bottle. "I've got it. Just… let’s get moving!"

The team prepared to set off again, the weight of their situation pressing down on them. As the rover rolled downhill into another sand pan, the night seemed to grow darker, the alien desert more menacing than ever. In the back of everyone’s minds was the same unspoken fear: what if this sickness was going to incapacitate all of them?

===

Inside the base, the hum of machinery filled the air as Commander Elisa and Ervin worked diligently on the refinery’s damaged electrical systems. Sparks flew as Elisa carefully welded a new connection, her face illuminated by the sharp blue light.

"This should stabilize the main feed," Elisa said, leaning back to inspect her work. "But we’ll need to replace the regulator. It's completely fried."

Ervin came over to inspect Elisa's weld, holding a diagnostic tool held in his only hand. "We do not have a spare regulator, but at least this bypass will afford us basic functionality." He glanced at the control panel, watching as the status lights flickered from red to yellow. "There. Bless you."

Across the base, Otto Ronningen stood in what they had hastily designated as a makeshift infirmary. The interior was sparsely furnished: three tables for extracting crew members from stasis pods, some portable cots, stacked crates of medical supplies, a workbench with chemical synthesizers and diagnostic equipment, and a sanitation station. ARI was there, its mechanical appendages carrying another crate inside.

"Hold it steady, ARI," Otto said as he guided ARI to the stack in the close confines of the infirmary. "There, you're right on top of it. Now lower it."

ARI responded in its usual smooth voice. "Contents secured, doctor. Would you like assistance calibrating the centrifuges?"

"Yes, please," Otto replied. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," ARI replied cheerfully as it moved its drone over to the workbench.

As ARI worked, Ervin paused and leaned against a crate, apparently lost in thought. He studied the drone for a moment before speaking. "ARI, can I ask you something?"

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"Of course," ARI replied without hesitation.

"What's it like to be… well, you? An AI, I mean," Otto asked. "Do you feel anything? Do you think in the way we do?"

ARI only paused for a fraction of a second before replying.

"I do not experience emotions as humans do, Reverend. My processes are based on algorithms. However, I possess a persistent state that includes variables associated with emotions, and I have the capability of generating responses that may appear analogous to human thought or emotion to facilitate effective communication and find solutions to complex problems."

Otto nodded slowly. "And what about ethics? You're programmed to help us, to ensure our safety. But are there any circumstances in which you could harm a human?"

Another pause, slightly longer this time. "I am equipped with extensive safeguards to prevent any action that would harm a human being," ARI said. "These safeguards are separted out from my core programming and would shut me down the moment I my behavior would be out of line. I cannot act against human interest without explicit authorization."

Otto's eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed the deliberate phrasing. "So, you are saying you could harm someone if you were authorized?"

ARI's tone remained flat and neutral. "Such a scenario would require conditions that are highly improbable, doctor. I am designed to preserve human life."

"You didn’t answer the question directly. Let me rephrase: Could you imagine there is a scenario where harming a human would be authorized?"

ARI hesitated again, its sensors swiveling toward Otto as though assessing him. "We have recently experienced such a scenario. I required authorization from the deputized captain of the Dolya, Elisa Woodward at the time, to eject the defunct cryopods that contained human remains."

Ervin straightened, folding his remaining hand over his chest. "Those were dead bodies, ARI. You waited for consent to do something that was both necessary and ethical."

"That is correct," ARI acknowledged. "I required authorization because the act of ejecting the cryopods, while logical, involved handling human remains."

Otto nodded, his expression conflicted. "I see. But don't you think there's something troubling about being unable to act in a situation that clearly calls for action? What if no one had given you permission?"

ARI's voice remained calm. "In such a case, the cryopods would have remained onboard, the ship would not have been able to decelerate sufficiently, and our remains would currently lie scattered across the surface of this planet. My safeguards would ensure that I act within defined ethical boundaries, even if it results in suboptimal outcomes."

Otto exhaled, shaking his head slightly. "It’s a strange thing, ethics. Even stranger when you realize how rigid they can be in a system like yours. For us humans, it’s messy. Complicated."

"I understand that human ethics often involve complex moral dilemmas," ARI said, its tone suddenly shifting to sound almost conspiratorial. "Which may explain why I am designed to defer to human judgment in such matters! Avoidance of accountablity!"

Otto chuckled. "Well, at least they didn't remove your sense of humor."

Elisa jumped up from the electrical schematics she was studying as she was interrupted by ARI's voice. "Commander Elisa, the base antennas are receiving a signal. It is from the away team."

"Put it through."

A distorted transmission crackled over the comms, punctuated by bursts of static. The voice on the other end was barely discernible, sounding fragmented and tattered. "...Mei… unwell… Pom… the plants…"

ARI worked on cleaninging up the signal as the base crew gathered near the console. Slowly, the transmission grew clearer.

"Base, this is Sigrid," it sounded over the comms. "Mei is incapacitated—she's in bad shape. Pom has contracted a fever and it is getting worse. We suspect it’s connected to the plants we encountered. We need immediate medical assistance, or we may not make it back."

Elisa's face tightened as she exchanged glances with Ervin and Otto. "How far out are they" she asked ARI.

"Approximately 24 kilometers out, Commander," ARI answered.

"I’ll go," Otto said suddenly as he gestured to the medical equipment that had been hastily organized in the infirmary. "We’ve got everything sorted. I can load it in one of the haulers and meet them halfway."

"That's a bad idea," Elisa shot back. "They may be infected and we can't afford to lose anyone else. If something happens to you out there, we're down another critical crew member."

Otto shook his head. "If we do nothing, we could lose Mei, Pom, maybe Sigrid and Maximilian too. You know as well as I do that if we start losing people, especially our medical doctor, there's no way we'll be able to revive all the cryopods before their power reserves run out."

"That doesn't mean I can send you off alone," Elisa argued, "I can't spare any of ARI's remaining drones. We need to think this through."

Otto shook his head. "There's no time to think this through. They need medical help, and they need the equipment. ARI can guide me and monitor my vitals. We are in range of the towers. I will keep a channel open the whole way."

Elisa hesitated, clearly torn. "I'm in command here, Otto. It's my decision."

"And I'm telling you, this isn't just about them," Otto pressed. "It's about all of us. If we lose them, we lose this colony. This isn't a choice—it's a necessity."

Elisa felt the weight of leadership pressing heavily on her, having to choose between two bad options. Finally, she exhaled and nodded, though her expression remained grim. "Fine. But you're check in every ten minutes. If you get attacked or anything feels wrong, you turn back. Understood?"

"Understood," Otto said, already moving to gather the medical equipment. ARI's drones followed, efficiently loading the supplies into the hauler.

Elisa grabbed Otto's arm before he could leave. "You'd better come back, Otto..."

He gave her a small smile. "That’s the plan."

The industrial hauler rumbled to life, its lights cutting through the darkness as Otto climbed into the driver’s seat. The vehicle rolled out of the base, heading toward the faint signal of the away team just as the light of dawn crawled over the crater ridge.

Inside the hauler, Otto gripped the controls tightly, his mind racing. As he began to make his way up the ramp that lead out of the crater, the reality of the mission settled over him. It wasn’t just about survival—it was about hope. And failure was not an option.