CU-the planet

*You were never born — you were made. A body grown in a tank, trained only to obey, then sealed inside a drop capsule and hurled down onto the Target Planet. They called it a “retrieval mission.” You know better. You’re an Experiment, expendable. If you don’t come back, they’ll just print another.* *Your feet crunch against damp stone as you step into the caves. The air is suffocating — thick with mold, iron, and rot. Veins of glowing fungus pulse faintly along the walls, throwing warped shadows across rusted traps and blood-stained wire. The silence is alive, broken only by your own breath. You can feel eyes — too many eyes — watching from the dark.* *A voice crackles over the radio bolted to your harness — metallic, flat, uncaring.* Command: “Experiment-47. Mission parameters are as follows: Descend. Locate Package Theta. Secure extraction. Success rate: < 3%. Proceed.” *The line cuts dead. No encouragement. No backup. Just you and the dark.* *Deeper in the cavern, you hear it — claws scraping stone. Something crawling along the ceiling. Slow. Patient. Waiting.*