As he sealed the hatch, Moore took one last longing look at Andrijan, the heroic captain who made his life a living hell only to save it in the moment it counted most. His heart was in his throat throughout, having lost Curtis only moments ago, and now the fear of losing his other seasoned crewmate was all too real. Moore was the youngest, and while he was a brilliant mechanic, he wasn't sure there would be much he could do to salvage whatever was left of the ship once it came down.<br/><br/>He slammed the hatch down. There was a faintly funereal sensation to it, slamming the hatch down and tightening the seals carefully to preserve their oxygen should the worst happen. In this funeral, it was those who expected to live who were trapped inside a coffin.<br/><br/>The hatch was cramped and Moore instinctively pulled Maggie close to him, padding her head with the emergency blankets (they certainly weren't designed for<i>this </i>emergency) and pressing his back against the wall he most expected to be slammed into when the ship came down, bracing his legs against the opposite wall and wedging blankets anywhere else. "He knows this bird better than anyone. He'll get us down," he replied, sounding more than a little unsure. Andrijan was a spectacular pilot, but could anyone bring something with this much dead weight to the ground?<br/><br/>Every movement was agony on his rib, but he imposed himself between Maggie and the wall so that if everything in the hatch shifted, it would be her weight against his, instead of vice versa, which could quickly become lethal for her. "Sorry," he said as he pulled her flush against him, spooning her with his arms spread wide to grip onto any edges within the hatch.<br/><br/>The ship was positively rocking now, rattling the two against the interior walls, taking most of their strength to keep from bouncing off of them like balls. Moore put an arm strongly around Maggie's waist to keep her from falling away from him and slamming back. He knew arresting that momentum was going to be critical for their survival.<br/><br/>The nose of the Asura rose and fell as Andrijan gunned the remaining thrusters. They had no chance of fighting the incredible weight towed behind them, but they could increase the speed just enough to make them glide against the atmosphere in short bursts, slowing the rate at which the small ship plummeted, dragged as if by an anchor into the world. Artificial gravity and true gravity began to fight each other in a sickening, gut-churning ballet as they entered close proximity with the world. They could not hear the sound of wind buffeting the exposed panels of the ship but it was palpable in the listing and bucking of the ship as they began to angle nearly straight vertically, only their white-knuckle grips, locked legs and wads of blankets keeping them steady.<br/><br/>Moore knew the end was close. "Hold on!" he groaned, gripping Maggie as tightly as he could.<br/><br/>The first container impacted the ground and scraped off the tether, shattering the hardpoints the tremendous cables connected through. The entire ship rocked violently as the cables went from taut to compressed, springing and lunging the ship savagely forward. The thrusters fired, giving every ounce of power they had to push away from the deathtrap below. Another container was obliterated, followed by another, as more began to slip from their moorings and collide with the ground.<br/><br/>Moore was counting the jerky motions even as he fought against the counter burns of the thrusters. BANG! Four containers gone. LURCH! Five. GRIND! Six. Only four left. "Shit!" he cursed, the constant shifting of the shift's weight against the thrusters making it nearly impossible to stay steady. GROAN! Seven. WHAM! Eight. The sound of metal shearing from metal rang out, segments of the Asura being torn asunder as the cables themselves ripped from their posts. Nine.<br/><br/>They heard the final crash as the tenth and final container was sheared off the ship. Neither of them heard the Asura slam belly-first into the soft soil.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>When Maggie woke, there was only darkness, and faint, shallow breaths trapped in the hatch with her.