Tales of the Stars

Chapter 5 - Impact

Titan – 10 hours earlier...

The CDV Britva fell from the sky of Titan, surrounded by the fires of re-entry. The planet's orange surface was slightly faded by a dense layer of fog. Garvrie was trying to slow the ship's descent using what was left of the ship's thrusters. The sky above them was lit up with dozens of miniature stars created by the enemy ships. As the re-entry flames began to fade, Garvrie heard a loud crashing sound.

"What the hell was that?" he asked through the comms, trying to keep a professional tone. The comms crackled from minor damages before Makar, the Britva's engineering officer, replied with a frantic tone.

"We just lost another thruster! Impact in 2 minutes!"

Garvrie was panicking with the controls, trying anything to slow their descent. Combat orbiters like the Britva were not meant to land on planets, and they certainly were not meant to crash into them from orbit. He could hear his breathing in his helmet, and his heartbeat felt like it was shaking his whole body. Out the cockpit's window, Garvrie could see the colony of Voda in the distance. To his dismay, he could also see another alien spaceship hovering above the colony.

Below him, Garvrie could see ravines and cliffs on the planet's surface. Suddenly, he got an idea. He turned his focus from slowing their descent to maneuvering and turned the ship so that it would land parallel to a steep hill.

"30 seconds to impact!" Makar called from his station.

"Everyone brace yourselves!" Garvrie called over the comms. A few seconds later, the ship crashed hard into the hillside and immediately flipped over due to its positioning. The cockpit split open as the ship flipped a second time and Garvrie was flung from his seat, soaring into the air outside.

Garvrie flipped over again and again through the sky before slamming into the hillside and bouncing into the air again from the low gravity. As he bounced a second time, he hit his head against the ground, making several cracks in his helmet. Air immediately began to leak out. Thinking quickly despite his panic, Garvrie drew his survival knife from his belt and plunged it into the ground as he landed a third time, anchoring him in place. He immediately regretted that decision as he looked up to see the battered CDV Britva rolling down the hill towards him. Garvrie ran to the side as fast as he could, diving out of the way of the crashing ship at the last second.

After narrowly escaping death, Garvrie tried to calm himself despite the oxygen leaking out of his helmet. Stowing his knife, Garvrie drew a sealing kit from his belt and pressed the device to the crack in his helmet. The cracks disappeared as they were filled with liquid sealant, saving him from the toxic atmosphere. With that problem solved, Garvrie began to chase after the ship, which finally stopped rolling a few seconds later. Garvrie ran the remaining distance to the ship, activating his helmet's short-range radio in the process.

"Is everyone ok?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"I'm still alive," said Isaak, the ship's drone operator.

"I think my leg is broken," said Makar. "I'm in the engine room with Darvik. He... didn't make it."

Garvrie hung his head and cursed under his breath.

"What about Tolya? Tolya, you there?" He received no response.

"I'll check on him," said Isaak.

"Good, I'll go get Makar. Isaak, make sure to grab supplies on the way."

Garvrie looked over the crashed ship. Several thrusters were missing on all sides and most of the guns were now holes in the ship's hull, which was heavily burned and partially melted. The Britva would never fly again.