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The pod heated up as it plunged into the planet’s atmosphere.
Smoke could feel the sweltering heat—there was only one thick wall of metal between him and outside. From the way the pod shook, he wondered if it was going to break apart before he ever reached the surface.
The walls shook and he tightened his grip on his straps.
Outside, the horizontal slant of space and planet disappeared, replaced by a golden-brown sky that reminded him of a sunrise. A corona of sunlight blinded him temporarily and he looked away as the pod tumbled and turned away from the sun.
As the pod shook, he prepared himself for what was next.
Death.
He was going to crash onto some continent and die in a ball of flames.
That wouldn’t be so bad.
Or the pod might land safely, but he would emerge and die of s
