Chapter 12 : Crash and Burn

  Impact in thirty seconds.

  The ship trembled violently. The planets upper atmosphere was thick as soup, streaking the viewport with crimson heat trails and turbulence strong enough to rip bones from sockets.

  “ORION, angle correction isn’t responding!” Amara barked from her console.

  “Main thrusters offline. Guidance systems unresponsive. Emergency maneuvers compromised,” the AI replied, its voice warped by static.

  Below them, the mountain rose out of the fog like a jagged blade—its surface a craggy patchwork of obsidian ridges and icy veins.

  Devon’s eyes widened. “We’re not going to clear it—”

  Impact.

  A deafening roar filled the cabin as the hull scraped the mountainside, metal tearing like paper. Alarms shrieked. Lights exploded overhead. The world spun. The nose of the ship smashed through stone, and suddenly, they weren’t hitting—they were falling.

  They dropped fast.

  Through darkness, through dust and broken rock and heat.

  A final bone-crushing slam tossed them against their restraints, then—silence.

  A long, suffocating silence.

  Pop-pop-pop.

  Microfires sparked. The emergency lights flickered, casting everything in blood-orange gloom.

  Kai let out a low groan. “Someone tell me we landed.”

  Talia’s breathing was shallow. “I… I think so? Everything hurts.”

  Devon ripped off his harness, checking his limbs. “ Everyone alive?”

  “Still kicking,” Kai wheezed.

  “Minor fractures in left forearm,” Arjun muttered, already cradling his arm. “I’ll live.”

  Amara’s voice was tight. “Right leg’s pinned. Not broken. Just stuck.”

  “Hang on.” Devon moved across the tilted cabin and levered the metal beam off her leg. She winced as it came free.

  “Thanks.”

  “ORION,” Devon called. “Status.”

  Silence.

  “ORION, respond.”

  A burst of static. Then:

  “...System reboot in progress… primary diagnostics complete. I am here.”

  Relief bloomed across the cabin.

  “Where the hell are we?” Kai asked. “That didn’t feel like a landing. That felt like we got dropkicked by someone.”

  ORION’s voice steadied. “Sensors indicate that we struck a mountainside at approximately 520 meters per second. The impact breached the rock face and continued through sub-structural layers.”

  “Wait,” said Talia, squinting at the shattered front display. “We’re inside something?”

  “Correct. Based on current geophysical readings… it is highly likely that the ship has come to rest within a subterranean cavern.”

  Arjun looked up sharply. “A cave? That explains the echo.”

  “The surrounding terrain is composed of volcanic stone and crystalline formations. Internal temperature stable at 21 degrees Celsius. Pressure normal. But there is no sky above you.”

  Devon ran a hand through his hair. “What’s the structural status of the ship?”

  “Hull integrity: 67%. Life support operational but damaged. Oxygen levels stable. Starboard engines are inoperable. Communications are offline beyond this cabin. External cameras nonfunctional. Internal sensors partially obscured by environmental debris.”

  “So… we’re blind. Crippled. And stuck in a cave on an alien planet,” Kai summed up. “Great.”

  “Emergency beacon is attempting transmission. Signal strength: minimal. Interference from unknown energy fields detected.”

  “Energy fields?” Amara frowned. “What kind?”

  “Unidentifiable. Frequency is… unlike any known source in my database. It is possible that there is an artificial power signature within the cavern.”

  Everyone went quiet.

  Devon exhaled slowly. “Any bio-signs nearby?”

  “Negative. At this time, there is no life detected within a 30-meter radius.”

  Arjun winced as he stood, steadying himself. “So we either crash-landed into the belly of the mountain… or something else built this place before us.”

  The air hung heavy with that thought.

  Devon looked toward the warped airlock door. “We’ll suit up. Check the damage. Figure out where the hell we are.”

  “And maybe what’s waiting for us in the dark,” Kai added under his breath.

  Devon steadied himself against the bulkhead, staring at the warped interior. “ORION, one question.”

  “Go ahead, Captain.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Why did you change course during descent? We were on trajectory for the plains—smoother terrain. What happened?”

  A pause.

  Then ORION responded, its voice lower, edged with something almost like unease.

  “Two minutes before atmospheric entry, I detected elevated radiation levels across the planet’s upper stratosphere. Not standard solar or cosmic radiation—these emissions were... patterned. Pulsing. Intermittent but powerful.”

  Devon narrowed his eyes. “What kind of emissions?”

  “High-energy surges concentrated in specific geographic locations. Spikes in gravitational flux. And... readings consistent with organic containment of those energies.”

  “Organic?” Talia asked, now fully alert. “You mean… living beings?”

  “Yes. I cross-referenced every known biological database. These signatures do not match any form of technology, but they are controlled. Intentional. Alive. I cannot explain them.”

  Arjun leaned forward. “So we’re not alone on this planet.”

  “No. You are not. I believe the inhabitants manipulate energy fields at a cellular level. Possibly beyond.”

  Everyone exchanged glances. A creeping sense of awe—and dread—filled the cabin.

  Kai exhaled slowly. “So… they’re not just aliens. They’re powerful.”

  “Correct. I lack sufficient data to classify them, but they are… advanced, biologically. Not technologically.”

  Devon folded his arms. “So why bring us here, to this cavern?”

  “This location had the lowest recorded radiation and energetic interference on the entire continent. I redirected the descent path in the final moments to preserve crew survival.”

  “Appreciated,” Devon muttered. “But now what? Can we go out and take a look around?”

  A flicker of static, then:

  “No. External environment is highly toxic to unshielded human biology. Atmospheric particulates include heavy metals, volatile energy fields, and airborne crystalline spores. Exposure without suits would be fatal within minutes.”

  Talia went pale. “So… the air looks breathable, but it’s not.”

  “Correct. It is deceptive. Composition is 27% oxygen, but laced with invisible micro-elements beyond human tolerance. Your suits are calibrated for external activity. However, caution is imperative.”

  “Great,” Kai muttered. “So we’re in a cave we didn’t choose, on a planet full of radiation and energy-wielding alien things, and we can’t even breathe the air.”

  Arjun chuckled dryly. “Welcome to paradise.”

  Devon straightened. “Alright. Suits on. No one goes alone. We treat this place like it’s trying to kill us—because it probably is.”

  He looked to the flickering emergency lights above.

  “And ORION… next time you decide to crash us into a mountain, give me a little more warning.”

  “Acknowledged. I will optimize future crash notifications.”

  Even Devon cracked a dry smile at that.

  But beneath the humor, the unease lingered.

  Because something was out there. Something alive. And powerful.

  And whatever ORION couldn’t name… was watching.

  As the nanobots continued their subtle, internal work, a warmth bloomed beneath Amara’s bruised ribs. Kai blinked in surprise, clutching his shoulder—what had moments ago been searing pain now throbbed faintly, as if the worst had been erased.

  “Whoa,” Talia murmured, eyes wide as she watched a shallow cut on her arm visibly seal, the skin knitting itself clean.

  “Nanobots are working,” Kai said, awe flickering across his face. “I can actually feel the inflammation dropping.”

  Arjun nodded, his voice still rough. “They’re operating at full capacity. We’re stable for now… but—Orion, status report on support systems. I want a full breakdown. Rovers, expandable modules, prefab units, life support, labs, drone bays, agricultural pods, and medical systems. Everything.”

  ORION's voice came through with a faint static edge. “Processing. Pathfinder-X is upright and undamaged. Excavator-9 reports minor damage to one anchoring limb, currently in auto-repair mode. Hermes-Scout is offline. Aegis Mobile Lab is intact but inaccessible due to structural debris blocking deployment bay.”

  “Expandable habitat modules remain sealed. Prefabs are untouched but haven’t cleared structural integrity checks yet. Life support internal systems are functional—external scrubbers are still offline. Drone bays: 78% operational. MedBay pods are active, three auto-diagnosing your vitals now. Agricultural systems—standby mode, no damage.”

  “Drone inventory?” Devon asked, stepping in.

  “Full drone set present. CERBERUS units on standby. Laser drones primed. AquaSeekers, Spectral Scouts, Surveyors, Atmos Drones—all functional. Repair Bots deployed in hull sections. CrawlerCams and GeoMap Units online. RADIOSCAN units are active and mapping radiation signatures. Sentinel and MedBots—ready. Agribots and Cargo Walkers are docked. Comms Relays intact but have no uplink.”

  Arjun’s voice picked up pace, almost eager. “Alright, Commander, we can get terrain data, internal mapping, maybe even cut a path through if needed.”

  Devon nodded sharply. “Orion, deploy the appropriate drones for current situational analysis. Priority on RADIOSCAN, CrawlerCams, Spectral Scouts, and Surveyors. I want to know where the hell we are, and how safe it is.”

  “Affirmative. Launching RADIOSCAN and Surveyor units now. CrawlerCams will follow once deployment tunnel stabilizes. Spectral Scouts prepped.”

  Tiny clanks echoed through the hull as hatches slid open and the first wave of reconnaissance tech crawled and hovered into the fractured dark beyond.

  While ORION’s drones dispersed into the fractured void beyond the hull, the crew shifted into motion, instincts taking over despite the uncertainty.

  Kai knelt by the sealed MedBay unit, glancing at the vitals of each crew member flashing across the display. “Heart rates stabilizing. Nanobot saturation holding. Minor internal bleeding in Amara’s lower abdomen—already clotting.” He glanced back at her. “You’ll have a killer bruise, but you’re good.”

  Amara grunted, half-sitting against the wall. “I’ve had worse. Once fell off a water tower trying to rewire a homemade satellite dish.”

  Devon checked the nearest supply crates. “Power cells intact. Emergency rations sealed. ORION, monitor oxygen levels. How long can we hold internal atmosphere if we’re sealed in?”

  “At current draw: forty-six hours, thirty-two minutes. Auxiliary tanks can extend that to seventy-two hours if rationed. CO2 scrubbers still in cooldown.”

  Talia was already moving toward a half-crushed storage rack. She pried it open and yanked out the manual interface tablet. “We might be able to reroute external sensors through this. If I can connect it with ORION’s RADIOSCAN feed, I’ll overlay radiation data with structural geometry.”

  “Do it,” Arjun said, voice tense but focused. “Also reroute signal redundancy through internal copper lines—ORION’s bandwidth might drop if external comms relay fail.”

  He paused, then added quietly, “We hit something. Hard. I want to see the map data the second it pings back.”

  Devon moved toward the sealed ramp, placing a gloved hand against the metal. “Feels colder. Pressure’s different.”

  “Yeah,” Kai said, stepping beside him. “You feel that hum? Like we’re inside a pressure chamber or near something electromagnetic.”

  Devon glanced up at the faint flickering emergency lights. “ORION, status on hull integrity?”

  “Seventy-eight percent undamaged. Forward landing struts crumpled. Rear stabilizers misaligned. We are... wedged. External scans suggest encasement in sediment or rock formation.”

  Arjun froze mid-keystroke. “A cave.”

  “That is the most likely scenario.”

  Silence fell for a moment. Then Amara broke it.

  “How deep?”

  “RADIOSCAN data is incoming. Estimate: over 40 meters of overburden above. No immediate egress identified.”

  Talia muttered, “So we’re buried alive. Great.”

  Kai exhaled slowly, trying to keep the mood grounded. “Not buried. Sheltered. That’s how we survive this. One layer at a time.”

  Devon nodded, already pulling up emergency protocols on his wrist pad. “We make this ship a base until we can survey. Once we understand the terrain, we carve our way out.”

  “Additional note,” ORION added. “Energy readings from surrounding formations remain anomalously low in radiation compared to planetary surface. Current location is the only zone within acceptable human tolerance without full shielding.”

  “Then we landed in the only safe pocket on this entire planet,” Devon muttered. “Lucky us.”

  Amara raised a brow. “Or unlucky enough to need it.”

  Outside, in the blackness beyond the hull, drone lights flickered like stars—mapping stone, scanning radiation, searching for a way forward.

  As the drones continued their work, a new set of readings flashed across the screens, drawing immediate attention. Arjun’s fingers hovered over the interface, his eyes narrowing as a peculiar signal pattern appeared. He spoke quickly, his voice tinged with unease.

  “ORION, what’s this? The GeoMap drones are picking up something... large, but irregular. It wasn’t in the previous scan.”

  The AI’s voice came through, steady but with a hint of urgency. “I am analyzing... The object is approximately 15 meters in diameter. It seems to be metallic in composition, but with highly irregular signatures—both electromagnetic and thermal. The object’s velocity was minimal during impact. It likely came down not far from our current location.”

  Talia’s face went pale as she glanced at the monitor showing the drone feed. There, nestled against a rock formation, just beyond the range of the initial crash zone, lay the unmistakable outline of the object. The shape was egg-like, gleaming faintly in the dim light of the cave’s shadows. It gave off an eerie pulse of energy, different from the planet’s usual low-level radiation readings.

  “That’s... the egg from earlier,” she said, almost whispering. “It landed here, right beside us.”

  Devon, still processing their situation, turned sharply to face the screen. His lips tightened into a grim line. “What is it? Some kind of alien tech?”

  ORION’s analysis continued, methodical and cool. “Preliminary scans suggest the object is organic in origin, but the material is unlike any known biological compound. It contains unusual energy signatures, almost as if it were absorbing the surrounding radiation.”

  Kai, always the pragmatist, muttered, “Great. More mysteries.”

  Amara, who had been quiet until now, was already standing, her tactical mind kicking into overdrive. “We need to study it. If it’s absorbing radiation, there’s a possibility it’s related to the planet's unique electromagnetic environment.”

  Arjun adjusted his glasses, looking through the feed from the drones. “No. We need to be careful. If that thing can alter radiation patterns, it could be a threat. We don’t know what it’s capable of.”

  The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the soft hum of the drones. Finally, Devon spoke.

  “ORION, activate the CrawlerCam. Send it in for a close-up. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.” His voice was firm, commanding, as he tried to maintain control of the situation.

  “Affirmative,” ORION responded, and within moments, the CrawlerCam drone’s small, agile frame scuttled into the narrow path ahead, its cameras focusing on the egg-like object.

  The feed flickered, showing the egg in close-up. Its surface seemed to shimmer in an otherworldly way, with faint patterns pulsing across its surface, like veins of light. The energy it radiated was unlike anything the crew had encountered, almost as if the object was alive.

  “It's... alive, isn't it?” Talia murmured, her voice filled with awe and caution.

  ORION’s voice was steady as it processed more data. “I cannot yet confirm biological properties. The structure appears dormant but could reactivate. Suggest caution.”

  Amara moved closer to the console, her gaze fixed on the screen. “What’s the risk of it emitting any kind of energy burst?”

  “Unlikely based on current readings,” ORION replied. “However, prolonged exposure or interaction may result in unforeseen consequences.”

  Devon crossed his arms, his mind working fast. “Alright, we can’t ignore it. We’ll have to analyze it, but from a safe distance. Let’s keep the drones monitoring it and prepare a containment plan in case it starts doing something we don’t like.”

  Talia raised an eyebrow. “Containment? For an egg?”

  “Yes, for an egg,” Devon said firmly. “We don’t know what it is yet, but I’m not taking any chances.”

  The crew exchanged uncertain glances, their focus split between the mysterious object and the immediate need to understand their environment and get out. They’d survived the crash, but they couldn’t afford to ignore whatever this anomaly was. The egg was more than just a potential discovery—it might be a critical piece to understanding this alien world they had crash-landed on.

  Arjun’s fingers tapped the console, pulling up additional data on the egg’s strange energy patterns. “I’ll start compiling data for analysis. If this thing is connected to the planet’s radiation anomalies, it might explain why the worm hole activated—why the radiation levels are so erratic.”

  Talia moved to her station, pulling up atmospheric readings and radiation logs. “If that egg’s connected to the planet’s energy fluctuations, then it might be our best shot at figuring out what’s really going on here.”

  “We’re not here to make friends with strange objects,” Devon said, his voice hardening as he looked at the object

  on the screen. “We’re here to survive. And if that thing’s a threat, we deal with it first. After we figure out how to get back on track.”

  The egg sat there, silent for now. But Devon couldn’t shake the feeling that it was waiting. And they were too close to it for comfort.