image [https://i.postimg.cc/Qdf41609/cygnus-monster.png]

The vehicles rumbled forward once more, but the air was thick with tension. The sight of the dead cryopods and Pom's outburst had shaken them all, a stark reminder of the stakes they faced in this hostile world. The team followed the trail of golden beetles at a safe distance, the rover and toploader moving slowly across the desert. As they neared the formation, the rocky spires gave way to a hidden grove nestled in the shadow of the cliffs. A faint red sheen emanated from within, and the familiar sight of the alien red plants greeted them.

"This isn't like the Valley of Hope," Mei noted, stepping out of the rover with caution. "Look at the crystals."

Amid the grove, small patches of crystalline formations sparkled in the light, their sharp edges refracting the sun’s rays. ARI’s drone swept the area, its camera zooming in on a cave entrance at the far side of the grove. Within the cave, faintly glowing crystals shimmered, their structures resembling the growths from the alien goo.

"What's that?" Sigrid's voice came through the comms as she approached the site in her vehicle, having caught up to the group. She gestured toward the red plants, whose caps and stalks bore bulbous, sac-like growths.

Mei knelt for a closer look, her eyes narrowing as she examined the sacs. "These look like they’re full of something," she murmured.

As she spoke, one of the sacs quivered and burst open with a soft pop, releasing a cluster of tiny golden beetles. The newborn creatures were smooth and unblemished, lacking the crystalline growths seen on their older counterparts. They scattered almost immediately, instinctively scurrying toward the cave.

"Well, that explains where the scuffing beetles come from," Pom said, stepping back quickly. "They’re hatched from these things."

The team watched in stunned silence as the newborn beetles disappeared into the cave. Inside, ARI’s drone captured images of their destination: piles of metallic objects arranged haphazardly among the crystal formations.

"They're collecting everything in there," ARI reported. "The cave appears to serve as a storage or nesting site for these creatures."

"Or both," Mei added, her voice hushed. "The crystals, the plants, the beetles—they’re all connected. But to what end?"

The air grew tense as the team absorbed the implications of what they were seeing. Mei felt a trickle of sweat roll down her temple, her helmet’s cooling system struggling to keep up. She adjusted the settings again, though the heat in her body seemed to grow regardless.

"We should collect samples," Sigrid suggested, her voice quiet. "But we need to be careful..."

"Mark the location and get out of here for now," Maximilian interrupted. "We to figure out what we're dealing with before making any moves inside that cave."

The quiet observation of the grove ended abruptly as a wave of movement rippled into the direction of the crew. The iridescent carapaces of countless beetles caught the light as they rushed from the cave en masse, their frenzied motion unmistakably aggressive. From the depths, a new, larger creature emerged—an enormous beetle-like grub, its pale, segmented body glistening with a viscous sheen. Six long legs flailed from its forward segment. Its head and body were armored, a mixture of heavy carapace and jagged crystalline outgrowths, and it moved with a terrifying combination of speed and bulk.

"Incoming!" Maximilian’s voice barked. "Back to the vehicles, now!"

The crew scrambled as the golden beetles surged toward them, the massive grub leading the charge. Maximilian jumped into his toploader, revving the engine as he prepared to maneuver. Mei and Pom darted back to the rover, Mei clutching at her side as she struggled to keep pace. Sigrid ran off to her own vehicle, barely making it in time.

"ARI, weapons online! Deploy drones!" Pom shouted as he climbed into the driver’s seat. Above the rover, a mounted turret gun swiveled to life, its targeting system tracking each individual in the clusters of beetles.

The beetles closed the distance quickly, their legs kicking up a cloud of sand as they swarmed. The first few leaped at the rover’s wheels, their sharp mandibles scraping against the reinforced material. Pom hit the throttle, jerking the vehicle forward just as ARI's drones opened fire.

Mei hit the fire controls and the rover's gun roared, sending a hail of high-velocity rounds into the oncoming swarm. Beetles exploded in bursts of golden shards and viscous goo, but for every one that fell, two more seemed to take its place.

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"Get us out of here, Pom!" Mei shouted, bracing herself as the rover jolted forward.

"I'm trying, but they're everywhere!" Pom growled, wrestling with the controls. The beetles swarmed around the rover, their relentless clattering against the hull like rain on a metal roof.

Maximilian's toploader was faring no better. The massive grub lunged at him, its jaws snapping shut inches from the vehicle's cab. He swerved hard, his toploader’s arm swinging out to slam the creature sideways. The grub tumbled briefly but quickly regained its balance, letting out a low, guttural screech that echoed across the grove.

"That thing’s after me," Maximilian said grimly. "Keep moving—I'll draw it off!"

"I do not have a clear line of fire," ARI answered. "If I shoot now, it is likely that I will hit the truck. Reprioritizing targets...", it said, as its drones blasted the beetles that had surrounded the rover, providing an opening to escape.

Pom stomped hard on the accelerator. The turret continued firing, providing brief moments of respite as it thinned the swarm that chased the rover. Mei grabbed her rifle, leaning out of the passenger side to take shots at the beetles that clung to the vehicle. Each shot sent a golden creature tumbling, its body breaking apart mid-air.

"These things don’t stop!" Sigrid shouted, trying to shake the beetles off her own vehicle.

"Hold on!" Pom yelled, spinning the rover in a sharp arc to throw off the swarm. Several beetles were flung to the ground, but the others swarmed closer, their determination undeterred.

In the distance, Maximilian’s toploader zigzagged through the rocky terrain, the massive grub in hot pursuit. The creature lunged again, its mandibles scraping against the toploader’s armored rear. Maximilian swung his vehicle’s arm once more, clipping the creature hard enough to send it reeling.

"Turret’s overheating!" Mei announced. "Firing rate reduced to avoid malfunction."

Pom cursed under his breath, his knuckles white against the steering controls. "We can’t hold them off forever. We need to make a break for it!"

"Agreed," Maximilian said, his voice strained. "Get to open ground and pick up speed. These things are quick, but they’ll give up if they can’t catch us."

"ARI, map the quickest route out of here!" Mei demanded, her voice tense but steady.

"Calculating," ARI replied, the drone's cameras swiveling to assess the terrain. "Head southwest. Minimal obstacles. Speed advised."

"Southwest it is!" Pom punched the accelerator, the rover lurching forward as the team clung to their seats. The beetles gave chase, their swarm spreading out like a golden tide. The turret spat a few more rounds, buying precious seconds as the rover picked up speed.

The grub roared again, its massive form bulldozing through the swarm as it tried to keep up. Maximilian maneuvered his toploader with practiced precision, narrowly avoiding another lunge from the creature’s flailing forelimbs. "I'll follow behind and keep this thing off you. Don't stop!"

The desert stretched out ahead, and the grove began to fade into the distance. The beetles clung to their pursuit for several agonizing minutes, but the vehicles' speed finally outpaced them. One by one, the swarm began to peel away, their relentless clattering fading into the hot, arid air.

Maximilian caught up moments later, his toploader battered but intact. The grub had abandoned the chase, retreating back to the grove, its guttural screeches echoing faintly.

The team drove in silence for a while, the adrenaline still pumping through their veins. Finally, Pom broke the quiet. "What the hell was that thing?"

Mei did not answer. Her face was pale, and she was heaving.

"Mei?", Pom asked.

"I’m fine," Mei replied weakly, her voice lacking its usual sharpness. She adjusted her helmet’s cooling system again, the hiss of air audible through the cabin. "Just… need a second. Heat is getting to me."

Pom glanced over, frowning. "Heat? We’ve been running on full cooling since we left the grove. You shouldn’t be overheating."

Mei didn't respond. Instead, her hand slipped from the console, and her head tilted forward, resting against the inside of her helmet. Her breathing became shallow and labored.

"Mei!" Pom shouted, stopping the rover and unbuckling his harness to reach over. He shook Mei gently, trying to rouse her, but there was no response.

"Something’s wrong," Pom muttered, panic creeping into his voice. He glanced back at Maximilian’s toploader through the rearview mirror. "Maximilian, Mei’s out cold. We need to turn back now."

Maximilian's voice came through the comms, calm but firm. "Understood. Forget the vehicles. Sigrid, leave yours behind and go check on her, now."

Sigrid hopped on board and pulled Mei into the back area. Fumbling around with her portable scanner, her hands shook as she worked to check Mei's vitals. "She’s running a fever—high. And her pulse is weak."

Pom tightened his grip on the steering controls, his knuckles white. "What the hell’s causing this? She was fine earlier."

"Was she?" Sigrid countered, glancing up. "She's been off all day. Maybe even before that."

"Focus on keeping her stable," Maximilian instructed. "We'll figure out the cause later. For now, get us home."

The rover’s engine roared as Pom accelerated once more, the desert rushing past in a blur. The silence in the cabin was punctuated only by Mei's ragged breathing and Sigrid's frantic attempts to keep her stable.

After a tense fifteen minutes, Sigrid spoke again, her voice trembling. "I don’t understand this. It’s like her body’s fighting something, but there’s no external wound, no sign of infection. I am no medic, but this doesn't make sense."

Pom glanced over his shoulder. "She touched one of those damn plants back at the base. What if—"

"I don't want to hear guesses!" Sigrid snapped, though her anger was born of fear. "Just drive!"

Pom gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on the horizon, his heart pounding. The sun seemed to bear down heavier, the heat oppressive even through the suit’s filters. He adjusted his helmet settings, but it didn’t seem to help.

Sweat trickled down his temple, and his head began to ache. At first, he thought it was just stress from the situation, but as the minutes ticked by, a wave of nausea rolled through him.

"Pom," Sigrid said sharply. "You’re swaying. What’s wrong?"

"I’m fine," Pom insisted, though his voice betrayed him. His hands felt clammy, and his vision blurred slightly at the edges. He tightened his grip on the wheel, willing himself to focus. "Just get Mei to base alive. That’s all that matters..."