Mei and Helena sat in the medical bay, surrounded by rows of stasis pods. Mei was occupied reviewing the medical records of each colonist, trying to identify any potential issues that could arise during the awakening process. Helena was lost in thought, staring over the medical equipment as it was synthesizing chemicals.

“Do you ever think about what life will be like on the new planet?” Helena asked, breaking the silence.

Mei paused for a moment, considering the question. “Of course I do,” she finally replied. “It’s hard not to. We’re all in this together, trying to survive and build a new home for ourselves.”

“I know,” Helena said, a note of excitement creeping into her voice. “But have you thought about how we’ll structure our society? We have a clean slate, a chance to do things differently.”

Mei nodded, intrigued. “I’ve given it some thought, but I’d love to hear your ideas.”

“Well,” Helena said firmly. “Think of it this way. Most of us came onto this ship as little more than cattle. Expendable labor. But with so few of us left, the tables have turned. Even if we manage to wake up all of these pods, our labor will still be the most in-demand commodity, essential to our survival. We all have something to contribute, whether it’s knowledge, skills, or just a willingness to work hard. We should all have a say in how we live and work.”

Mei nodded again, considering Helena’s words. “I can see that the old company structure may not work in a small community, but what about when we need to make quick decisions in a crisis? Someone has to take charge.”

“Sure, but it doesn’t have to be one person,” Helena said. “We can form a council, made up of representatives from each group, not just the officers. They can work together to make decisions and solve problems.”

"Well, even as an officer, I see the merit of having a structure founded on consensus. What do you think, should we bring it up to captain Woodward at some point? She appears pretty approachable…"

"Not yet..." Helena answered. She turned back to the device in front of her. "The synthesis is nearly done. Come take a look at this, will you?"

Mei came over and looked at the ampules that were nearly full. As she leaned closer, Helena's voice turned to a whisper, drowned out by the whirring of the equipment.

"We're just a small team now, and our immediate survival is the most important. But Mei, think what comes next," she said quietly, her eyes turning towards the rows of cryo pods. "As the medical staff, we have a large say in who wakes first... What if..."

Mei glared back at Helena. "We need every person we can get! I'm not prepared to play favorites," she whispered.

Helena nodded in acknowledgement. "What if we start small? What if we focus on awakening the lower-ranked individuals first? Those who may be sympathetic to our cause, who may be willing to help us build a more equitable society. We can do it covertly, without raising suspicion from ARI. And then, once we have a larger group on our side, we can begin to push for change more openly."

Mei considered Helena's words, while looking at the rows of pods. Finally, she pulled away. "I think we should be focusing on present matters," she said.

Helena nodded, but Mei could see a spark of determination in her eyes. “You’re right. Survival is our top priority. But we can still plan for the future.”

With that, the two women continued their work, checking and double-checking the medical equipment and supplies, making sure everything was in order before packing everything up neatly and loading it into cargo pods. They knew that the success of the mission depended on their careful preparation, and they were determined to do their best to ensure that everything went smoothly.

As they worked, they could hear the distant rumble of the ship’s engines, a constant reminder that they were nearing the end of their journey and the challenges that lay ahead.

===

Kyreth had been trying to get some rest, but his brain wouldn't let him work. He was too busy thinking about the mission ahead and all of its problems that he didn’t notice when Doctor Otto stuck out a hand to reach over his console-like desk in front of the observation window overlooking the stars outside.

“Hey,” Kyreth said without turning around, as his eyes remained fixed on the bright white light of the local star, while one of ARI's drones floated right next to him like a big metal fish in the water. “How’s the crew looking?”

"Not good," the doctor replied. "We'll lose a few more in cryo, and even though we will get all the technicians to wake up as early as possible, it's still not enough."

"I can tell," Kyreth said with some sadness before continuing on his line of thought: "And what about fuel reserves? Most essential labour requires an energy input. I was reading that the cryo systems will require a good deal more energy once you land. You have any idea if we'll be able to get everything up and running in time?”

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"We're estimating around seven hundred days until self-sufficiency of basic consumables, energy, and synthesized methane fuel," Otto said with an air of calm confidence he couldn't quite manage himself, given the dire state their ship was currently at: “And then there are all kinds... things that can happen along the way. So I'm not going to say we'll have enough energy or fuel in time."

"I see...," Kyreth said.

Kyreth was not a man who worried much; his job required him to keep calm under pressure, but still - what if they could not get their industial base up? He could already see it in his mind: the cryo pods all filled with dying people... and then there were no supplies left for them either. Kyreth’s eyes began scanning around as he tried not to think about that too much; however they would soon have a chance at solving this problem, because after two hours of drifting through space without any destination in mind - ARI was now starting the descent preparations.

The ship’s loudspeaker came online: "Attention All Crew! Six hours until atmospheric entry... Final checklists! Everyone please strap yourselves into your vehicles. We will be going in hard and fast," Pom called out. "If you spot anything wrong, let ARI and me know as soon as possible!"

"Good luck to you, doctor," Kyreth said with a nod to Otto. "I’ll do my best to ensure the landing is a success. I'll get going now..."

"Thank you, and good luck to you too," Otto replied as he went back behind his console-like desk and closed it up while getting ready for their arrival at their destination. "We will be fine!" He called out to Kyreth, before turning off the power to their section, plunging them into darkness.

===

With a hard shock the lander emerged from the breakaway outer shell of the flaming drop pod and was now plowing its own way through the atmosphere.

"What? Why?" Helena Petrova screamed through her helmet comms over the roaring noise and the sudden shaking of the craft. Initially, she was glad to hear she’d been assigned to the landing craft instead of a basic drop pod, as that would increase her survival chances greatly. Now those odds seemed to be dwindling rapidly.

“Our descent was too steep! We had to pop out early!” Kyreth shouted back.

The sparse upper atmosphere still allowed Kyreth to gradually begin leveling out.

"Temperature is too high!" Helena shouted over the noise, which was now compounded by a cacophony of beeping instruments.

"Thanks for telling me!"

Kyreth fought against the controls, which were not responding well, as the lander rattled around them. The atmosphere blasted them like a billowing storm and surrounded them in bright light. Helena looked panic struck as the craft was rocked by a denser pocket of air, slamming them hard to the left.

"I think our wings are taking damage."

"Yes, I know!"

"Can't you do something?"

"What do you think I'm trying here?? You want to fly?"

"NO!"

Kyreth considered attempting to decelerate by steering the craft in a series of wide curves, but decided against it as it would generate additional strain and temperature on the control surfaces. At present speed, all he could do is make small corrections as the irregularities in the atmosphere tipped them.

"Would be handy to have a new glide path details to the target site. Just in case we don't explode."

"Right." Given something to do, Helena snapped out of her terror, regained focus and started looking at the navigation screen, but the heavy shaking made it difficult. “Not getting any heading from the instruments. Either something is fried or all that plasma is causing too much interference.”

“Guess we will have to-” Kyreth groaned, before the craft was rocked violently to the right. Something behind them banged and gave way. With a hissing noise, the cabin started to fill with smoke.

“Should I go seal that up?” Helena asked, already starting to unbuckle her safety harness.

“No! Stay in your seat,” Kyreth shouted back at Helena. “It’s just one of the pneumatic ducts. Can’t fix that now.”

Another loud bang sounded, and the smoke vanished in an instant, sucked out through a small gap in the hull, which widened as plating curled outwards and were sheared off.

“See, problem solved!”, Kyreth smirked in a normal voice, as the noise levels were suddenly reduced drastically.

“You’re finding this funny?” Helena snapped back.

“Not much else I can do...”

“Thanks anyway,” Helena said.

“For what?”

“For saving my life. Had I left my seat-”

Helena was unable to finish her sentence, as they were blasted by another pocket of air, one of the fuel tanks ruptured, and the lander disintegrated in a cloud of fiery debris that would for the most part burn up long before reaching the surface.