**Chapter 18: **
The alert klaxons blared across the Garden Prime outpost just as the second supply shuttle cleared the landing pad. Sabrina wiped sweat from her brow and stared at the tactical display. Two weeks. That was all the time they'd had before the planet decided to fight back.
"Veil flare confirmed," Luna's voice cut through the comms from orbit. "It's bigger than the models predicted. Spore clouds forming at the eastern ridge. Vine systems are accelerating growth by three hundred percent."
Sabrina didn't waste time on curses. She grabbed her gear vest and headed for the motor pool. "All teams, emergency protocol. Secure the domes.
Get the kids into the central shelter." Her boots pounded against the reinforced plating as she ran. The air already tasted different—thicker, charged with the sharp tang of alien pollen.
