image [https://i.postimg.cc/wMQcG6Z0/cygnus-pom-berserk.png]

The rover rumbled steadily across the alien terrain, its reinforced tires crunching over sand and brittle rock. ARI's voice piped in over the comms, directing the team as they neared their first destination: a vehicle that came down in one of the oversided drop pods. The pod's outline was distinctly recognizable in the distance, despite being partially buried in the sand.

Maximilian leaned forward and looked out of the window, trying to assess the condition of the vehicle on approach.

"Looks intact enough, but it appears a storm has been here first" he said. "I'll handle this one. ARI, assist with the unloading."

"Understood," ARI replied, and two drones detached from the four that were clamped to the rover's roof to hover over the site. Their mechanical arms extended, beginning to dig and assess the buried pod.

Maximilian sealed his helmet and disembarked, his compact assault rifle slung over his shoulder as he made his way toward the stranded vehicle. "You can head toward the next waypoint," he instructed to the rover. "I will catch up."

The remaining three exchanged glances but said nothing as Pom kicked the rover into gear, leaving Maximilian and the drones behind. His eyes followed Maximilian's silhouette through the rearview mirror.

The rover's cabin settled into an uneasy quiet as the rover made its way over gravel-rich terrain. Eventually, Pom broke the silence. "I don't like him," he said bluntly, his tone sharp enough to cut through the hum of the engine.

Mei looked up from her screen. "Maximilian?"

"Yeah." Pom replied, his voice barely hiding the irritation. "He's smooth, too smooth. People like him just know the right thing to say to get others to follow them. It's always the same type of fudtukkers who rise to the top—always have, always will."

Mei frowned. "That's a bit harsh. Maximilian has worked just as hard as us. And he's efficient."

"That's what he wants you to think," Pom shot back, his eyes narrowing as he leaned forward. "Look I'm no officer or anything, but I have seen my fair share of people like him. Even the midscaler managerial corp clerks are like that. They make you feel like they're in charge because they're confident, but it's just how they act to keep power. And we dumb basebags fall for it, 'cause they make you believe they know better. But look at where following people like that's gotten us: topscalers running everything and gorging themselves on the stuff we produce, like they've been doing for generations."

Mei tilted her head, considering his words. "You're not wrong. Even back on Earth, before the UEC, leadership was often hereditary. Nobility ruled, then the corponations' elite... Now it has just evolved into what you call corpocratic topscalers. People just gravitate toward those who appear strong, even when that strength might be a façade."

Pom's face twisted in confusion. "Nobility? What's that? The UEC didn't care to give me advanced history or anything."

"Nobility," Mei explained, "was a system of hereditary leadership. Power and landownership was passed down through family lines, often justified by divine right or tradition. The lords, kings and noblemen, well, they ruled for centuries in some places, even if they weren't necessarily competent. It was about maintaining power within the same families."

Pom scoffed. "What's the difference between that and topscaler families? It's the same thing, right?"

Mei gave him a faint smile. "Not much difference, honestly. The titles are different, the justification might change—corpocratic success instead of divine right—but what is really is about is preserving power for an elite few. People in those positions use their influence to maintain a system that gives them the legal or cultural justification to stay there."

Sigrid shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It is easy to think that way, but there is more to leadership than that. Elisa, for instance, is nothing like Maximilian. She is compassionate, but…"

"...she's not a strong leader," Pom interruped, earning a startled glance from Sigrid. He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, she's nice, probably too nice. But we are gonna need more than nice if we're gonna to survive here. Especially once we have a hundred people in the colony, and someone else decides they want to be in charge."

Mei looked thoughtful. "Elisa's compassion is what keeps us working together, but you're right, it's a weakness too. Maximilian’s the opposite—pragmatic to a fault. If it was him in charge, he'd have everyone locked into their roles, whether they liked it or not."

"That's what worries me," Pom said, tapping his fingers against the console. "People like Maximilian don't just lead; they manipulate. They convince you they're the only ones who can do the job, and you just nod and give in once or twice. Then, before you know it, they're running the show."

Sigrid sighed. "But what's the alternative? Someone has to lead. If we debate every issue, we won't get anything done."

Pom grumbled under his breath. "Maybe we wouldn't need someone to lead if shit wasn't always stacked for the same types of people! Topscalers, nobility, whatever you want to call them. It's probably genetic by now..."

Mei raised an eyebrow at him. "Genetic? That's a stretch."

Pom shook his head. "Think about it. The same families running things for millennia? Maybe it's in their blood to boss the rest of us around. Or maybe the rest of us are just wired to follow. Whatever. Same shitty outcome for me..."

The rover hit a small bump, jolting them slightly, and the conversation fell into silence. Outside, the vast expanse of alien desert stretched endlessly, broken only by jagged rock formations and shimmering heat waves on the horizon. The display in front of Mei pinged faintly, signaling they were nearing the next waypoint.

Sigrid finally broke the quiet. "Whether it's genetic or not, we have to make it work for everyone. Whether it is seven people or a hundred people, the last thing we need is a power struggle, and I think Maximilian knows this just as well. Elisa is our commander, and for now, she is holding us together. We should focus on getting these pods and keeping our colony alive."

Pom muttered something under his breath but didn't argue further. He turned to look at Mei.

"Are you okay," he asked, noticing that Mei's face had become pale.

"Yes. Don't worry," she smiled. "It's just the bumpy ride."

"I'll shut up and drive smoother," Pom answered, grinning as they approached the next drop off zone.

As they crested a hill, the terrain opened into a wide, rocky plateau. Dark boulders jutted out from the landscape, forming natural windbreaks that gave the area a sheltered quality. The ground was relatively flat, with large, stable-looking slabs of rock stretching in every direction.

"This is perfect," Pom said, slowing the rover to a stop. "Solid ground, and the rocks will protect the station from debris when the coriolis storms hit."

Sigrid nodded. "Agreed. The rock here is stable, and the position is optimal for solar exposure. We’re also on a slight elevation, so we’ll avoid sand build-up."

"ARI, confirm the site suitability," Mei said as she unmuted their comm channel, her voice slightly strained as she leaned against the seat, fiddling with her helmet’s temperature controls.

ARI’s drones swept the area before its voice responded over the comms. "Site confirmed as suitable for deployment. Beginning station assembly."

The two drones began their work as the crew disembarked. Each carried components of the recharge station, which had been secured in modular containers on the rover’s cargo rack. The drones worked in perfect synchronization, their movements smooth and deliberate.

Pom unfurled the main support base for the solar array, a sturdy circular frame designed to anchor into the rocky terrain. The drones lift up the petals of the flower-like array, carefully locking them into place around the central mast. One by one, the petals expanded outward, their surfaces shimmering with a thin layer of reflective photovoltaic material.

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"Look at that," Sigrid said, watching as the array began to take shape. "It’s like a blooming flower."

"Everything’s modular," Pom noted as he handed additional panels to ARI. "Makes it easier to repair if something goes wrong."

The group completed the array’s assembly, securing it with ground anchors that drilled deep into the rocky substrate before securing guy lines to the mast to protect it against the storms. Next, they moved up several stacks of of high-capacity cells. ARI's drone connected the array’s cables to the battery, while the second carefully aligned the recharge module for drones and ground vehicles.

Looking down from their vantage point, Pom saw a dust cloud approaching in the distance. "I guess Maximilian has finally caught up," he said.

The drones finished by calibrating the solar array. One extended a sensor wand to measure light intensity and adjust the angle of the panels, while the other secured the final connections to ensure power flow was steady.

“Station operational,” ARI announced. “Solar array efficiency is at 93 percent. Batteries are charging. Drone recharge module is ready for use.”

Mei leaned forward slightly, peering at the approaching toploader. Her helmet's cooling system was working overtime now, and she adjusted the settings again to drop the temperature further. Her cheeks felt warm, and a slight dizziness made her grip the console for stability.

"Mei, are you sure you're okay?" Sigrid asked, noticing her colleague's pallor.

"I'm fine," Mei said, though her voice lacked conviction. "Just… feeling the heat."

===

The team had been making steady progress. Maximilian had rejoined them after successfully recovering the first vehicle, his toploader's cargo compartment already brimming with industrial components, recovered cryopods and chemicals salvaged from the drop pods they had located. They had efficiently deployed three more charging stations along their route, their deployment routine operating with clockwork precision. Now, they were on their way to recover the second vehicle, which ARI had detected a short distance ahead.

"I’ll take this one," Sigrid said, climbing out of the rover and running in the direction of the vehicle pod. "You can handle the next site without me."

Mei responded over the comms link. "Stay safe, and keep us updated."

As the rover and Maximilian's toploader moved on, the team's spirits lifted slightly. Progress was tangible, and the colony's prospects improved with each recovered cargo unit and cryopod.

"What is that?" Mei suddenly said, pointing at the jagged structure that she had spotted on her screen. "ARI, go check it out!"

One of ARI's drones immediately detached and flew off in the indicated direction.

"It appears to be debris," Maximilian answered, as ARI's aerial footage streamed in. "Let's investigate."

As the team drew closer and crested a dune, the scale of the wreckage became apparent. Cavernous structures of twisted and scorched metal laid spread out over a stretch of sand no less than a kilometer across.

"These are the remnants of a part of the aft section of the Dolya," ARI concluded. "However, I can only account for 15 percent of the material. It must have broken up into a multitude of smaller segments upon re-entry."

The crew approached the nearest segment and peeked inside the husk of what once may have been a fuel storage pod, realizing its interior was swarming with golden beetles.

"Great," Pom muttered, slowing the rover to a crawl. "More of these things. Why can’t they just leave our stuff alone?"

The beetles were clustered around the pod, their iridescent carapaces gleaming in the harsh sunlight. They had broken open several of the sections and were busily hauling away scraps and small metallic objects, their thin legs scuttling in a frenzied rhythm.

Mei leaned forward, her face pale but focused. "They’re not even paying attention to us. It’s like they’re single-mindedly obsessed with the contents."

Maximilian spotted the remnants of a thruster housing. "I'll load that casing. We can recycle it for the high-temperature alloys it contains."

"Agreed," Mei nodded. "Good thinking."

Maximilian wasted no time, stepping out of his toploader and marching toward hunk of metal. He moved with calm efficiency, carefully avoiding the beetles as he loaded the cargo into his vehicle. The beetles barely registered his presence, continuing to scurry back and forth with their metallic prizes.

"What do you think they're doing with all this stuff?" Pom asked, watching the swarm. "Building a beetle city?"

"More like gathering resources for whatever ecosystem they’re a part of," Mei said, though her tone betrayed unease. "We're still missing too many pieces of this puzzle."

As the last container was loaded, the team paused to observe the beetles’ behavior. They watched as the swarm began to thin, the beetles trailing off in a single direction, each carrying a piece of loot. Pom followed their path with narrowed eyes, which led past the second segment of debris. Pom's heart sank to his stomach as he swallowed hard as he realized what was amongst the twisted metal.

"Those are cryopods..."

In the sand lay countless pods, their lights long gone cold and dark.

"No... No!" Pom cried out.

He leaped out of the rover, the others following cautiously. As they climbed over the debris, the grim reality became clear: a line of shattered cryopods, their covers cracked and sand-filled, lay scattered like tombstones. Inside some, the remains of long-dead colonists were visible, their skeletal forms frozen in time.

Maximilian approached with his usual stoic demeanor, but even his sharp gaze lingered on the tragedy before them. "They may have died thousands of years ago," he said. "They could not be saved."

Pom growled. "They were supposed to be here with us. Part of the colony."

His hands clenched into fists, and his jaw tight as he scanned the area. His eyes fell on a glimmer of movement nearby. Golden beetles, dozens of them, scuttled through the wreckage, their legs clicking against the metal as they rifled through the debris.

"Those bastards!" Pom snarled, his voice rising. "They're picking through their remains like scavengers!"

"Pom," Mei said cautiously, stepping closer, "we don't know what they’re doing. They might not even realize—"

"I don't care what they realize!" Pom interrupted, his voice trembling with anger. He turned to the rover, pointing at the mounted gun. "Mei, take them out! Blow those things to hell!"

Mei hesitated. "Pom, calm down. We need to think this through. If we start shooting, we could—"

Pom didn’t wait for her to finish. He ran back to the rover, grabbed his rifle from the rack, and leaped out, storming toward the beetles. His shouts echoed across the desert as he opened fire, the sharp cracks of his rifle startling the others.

"Pom, stop!" Mei shouted, panic in her voice as she followed him. "You'll provoke them!"

The golden beetles scattered at the sound of gunfire, their carapaces glinting in the sunlight as they scurried into the dunes. Pom pursued them relentlessly, firing shot after shot, the rage burning in his eyes.

Maximilian stepped forward, his tone icy. "Pom, stand down. Now."

Pom didn't respond, his focus entirely on the fleeing beetles. Mei finally activated the mounted gun, sending a burst of fire into the swarm. The sound roared across the landscape, shaking Pom from his fury. He stopped, breathing heavily, his rifle trembling in his hands.

"They were desecrating them," Pom muttered, his voice cracking. "Those colonists… they were people we loved. And those things were—"

Maximilian approached slowly, his tone firm but measured. "They're animals. They don't understand respect or desecration. You're not helping anyone by losing control."

Pom turned to face him, his expression raw. "We can't let them win. We can't let them take everything. What if... What if that was my wife..."

Maximilian's gaze was unflinching. "And we won't let them win. But you need to keep your head if we're going to survive this. Get back in the rover."

Pom hesitated, his shoulders slumping as the adrenaline began to wear off. He lowered his rifle and walked back to the vehicle in silence, the weight of the moment pressing heavily on him.

"We need to find out where they are going," Mei said.

"We don't need to do anything but resume our mission," Maximilian replied coldly.

"Mei is right," Pom speculated. "I want to see where those buggers are taking the stuff..."