Star Trek: Oblivion

17 || Landing

"We are coming out of the  lower atmosphere." Chekov announced.

Captain Kirk nodded, activating the secondary stabilizers. The shuttle passed through a thick grey cloud. Snow pelted the window, bits of ice swirling in the frozen air. The scanners were having difficulty differentiating between the various densities shifting chaotically around them and their visuals were severely impaired. They were flying blind.

"Help me keep her steady." Captain Kirk said, trying to adjust the stabilizers as the shuttle began to shake.

"There is too much interference to get a clear read on the distance to the the surface." Chekov told the captain.

The shuttle trembled again. Captain Kirk took several deep breaths, his heart banging against his rib cage as he tried his best to navigate through the storm cloud. He tried to pretend be completely confident in what what he was doing, pretending that he totally had everything under control. More violent shudders ran through the ship, as if a giant hand had grabbed it and was shaking it like a rattle.

Chekov cursed in Russian as he attempted to reorient the primary and secondary stabilizers. He turned to the captain, trying to return his confident smile, but it was gone as soon as it touched his lips.

In the back of the shuttle, Bones grimaced, his knuckles going white as he clutched the seat straps for dear life.

"How you doing back there, Bones?" Kirk called out with a forced grin.

"Jim, I may have to kill you for this." He grumbled, wincing as the ship gave another series of violent shakes.

Kirk gripped the controls tightly. "Can you get anything on scanners yet? We need to know how close the surface is."

Chekov was frantically adjusting the controls. "Aye sir, I'm trying, I'm trying."

Another large shudder and the systems flickered. The constant monotonous hum of the engines suddenly cut out.

The shuttle dropped from the sky.

Alerts blared loudly, echoing loudly in the small space. Captain Kirk barked orders as he and Chekov frantically adjusted the controls, attempting stop the shuttle's descent. Suddenly the thick storm cloud broke for a moment, showing the large jagged surface of a mountain.  The shuttle slammed into the side of it at an angle, sliding across the slick snow coated surface and down a steep hill.

The metal groaned under the tremendous force, snow slammed against the small ship, coating the window with a dark layer of crystals. Long cracks snaked along the inside hull under the stress. The ship began to spin as it slid across the slick surface. The ground leveled out slightly and it seemed as if it would slow down on its own, but there was a large cracking noise and the shuttle slammed into the side of something solid.

Everything grew quiet. The blaring alarms seemed almost muted. The drone of the engines was replaced by the howling wind outside. Kirk groaned, prying his eyes open as he leaned against of his seat. Lights blinked on the console, indicating that at least some of the systems were still online.

Captain Kirk swore, rubbing his now aching neck. He looked over to Chekov who winced as he held his head in his hands. 

"You alright?"

Chekov replied, mumbling something before stopping when he realized he was speaking in Russian. "Aye keptin..." He pulled his hand away, grimacing as he saw that it was red with blood.

Kirk unfastened the straps holding him to the seat. "Everyone okay back there?" He called out.

"All good captain," Lieutenant Commander Giotto replied after a brief pause.