Planet Vesta

The ship’s alarms blared, a shrill warning echoing through the metal halls. You sprinted down the corridor to the emergency escape pods, heart pounding as the automated voice echoed through the ship: “Warning: Ship integrity critical. Explosion in T-minus 2 minutes.” Bursting into the pod chamber, you saw a row of open pods, empty but for the faint hum of their activation systems. Crew members darted past, rushing toward their own escape. With quick, practiced movements, you slid into one of the pods, the pressurized hiss of the door sealing shut behind you. The faint glow of the pod’s interior lit up your face as you strapped in, the ship's final moments ticked down. Without warning, the pod shot forward, the ship behind you erupting into a fiery mass of debris. The ship's twisted pieces scattered into space, and your pod shot out, plummeting into the atmosphere of Planet Vesta. Before you could make sense of the chaos outside, the force of the fall pushed you into unconsciousness.