PHOBOS, ANTARES I SYSTEM - What began as a routine supply operation has evolved into a full-blown crisis for Antares Initiative settlers as Kombucha supplies reached critical lows across multiple systems, sources confirmed yesterday.

The Market Disruptor, in all their glory.¹

The shortage has been traced to major producer Copious Commercial, whose CEO recently halted production after welcoming a new colonist to their personal habitat. The colonist, reportedly measuring only 50 centimeters in length and weighing less than 4 kilograms, has completely disrupted the company’s operations despite occupying minimal physical space.

“The universal KOM supply chain doesn’t care about your personal life choices,” stated Antares Colonial Administrator Yuma Krell, visibly agitated while sipping water instead of her customary Kombucha. “Some of our settlers haven’t had their gut flora properly balanced in fourteen days. Fourteen. Days.”

The infant colonist, who has yet to obtain proper identification credentials or APEX console licensing, reportedly commands round-the-clock attention and has caused Copious to operate at less than 12% efficiency. This dramatic productivity drop has sent Kombucha prices soaring to 1,100 AIC per unit, up from the previously stable 950 AIC.

“We planned to scold her properly for interrupting universal KOM supply,” explained Copious CEO, who was visibly exhausted during our interview. “But frankly, the paperwork required to formally reprimand someone without an APEX ID is just overwhelming right now.”

Local economists predict the crisis may worsen before resolving, with some settlers resorting to black market alternatives of questionable origin. Reports of homemade fermentation experiments have already resulted in three minor habitat pressure breaches and one significant atmospheric contamination event on Deimos.

Other corporations have sensed opportunity in the shortage. Megacorp representative Stonk announced plans to expand production facilities, stating, “We’re adding fermentation equipment to assist with the shortage,” before being interrupted by multiple messages on their PDA from desperate buyers.

Relief may eventually come through technology adjustments rather than increased production. “The EDC/IDC changes could provide some relief to the HER market,” noted one economic analyst. “Since the overwhelming pressure on KOM is really coming from the herb inputs, once that’s stabilized, we could see prices drop below 1,000 AIC again.”

In the meantime, the Antares Initiative has officially changed the infant colonist’s designation from “bundle of joy” to “market disruptor” in all administrative records.

At press time, several corporations were reportedly developing spreadsheets to determine at precisely what price point KOM becomes no longer cost-effective for SET-heavy production lines.