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The tremor deepens into a quake, fracturing the cavern. Alpha is forced to leap onto a precarious ledge, clinging to the $OIL sample. A guardian charges, shattering the ledge and sending Alpha plummeting into the depths. The last thing they see is the glow of the sample, slipping from their grasp.

Beta receives a partial transmission from Alpha’s damaged signal. The static-filled message conveys their discovery: the stable $OIL on Neralis and its potential to save Vethra. Beta, now armed with the Vethran facility’s data, realizes the truth: the planet’s collapse was the Vethrans’ doing, not $OIL’s inherent instability.

Determined, Beta constructs a makeshift transport using scavenged parts from Zenith Station and the Vethran facility. They set a course for Neralis, desperate to recover Alpha and the vital $OIL sample.

Super busy day, I apologize for the delayed release. Back to the story…


Beta lands on Neralis, their makeshift transport barely holding together. Scanning for Alpha’s signal, they follow faint traces into the cavern’s depths. Along the way, they encounter the biomechanical guardians, narrowly evading their attacks.

Alpha, now repaired using scavenged components from the ruins, uncovers more about the Vethrans. The recordings reveal that the “answer in the skies” was a failed colonization effort. The Vethrans attempted to adapt their biology using $OIL, but the experiment fractured their society, forcing many to abandon their civilization entirely.

As Beta descends, they find traces of Alpha’s path: footprints in the dust, deactivated guardians, and the glow of spilled $OIL. They call out, their voice echoing in the cavern.

In the heart of the cavern, Alpha hears Beta’s voice. They press onward, guided by the faint call. But as they draw closer, the cavern begins to collapse.