Thumpertm (FAST)

“You are cold.”

The tunnel beyond the hatch was not in any schematic. It sloped downward, ribbed with conduits that pulsed with a low, arrhythmic hum—like a distant heartbeat. The air grew stale, then thin, forcing their suit regulators to whine. And then they heard it. ThumperTM

Then the machine spoke.

Kael froze. The sound was not sharp. It was deep, resonant, a subsonic punch that traveled up through the soles of their boots and settled in their jaws. “You are cold