Asbriong 8

The cabin really began to shake. Several of the crew shouted in alarm. Hable slacked his jaw to keep his teeth from rattling.

"What-"

Pol's voice drowned beneath an immediate snapping that ripped through the air like a saw. Several concussive sounds burst along the sides of the box, and the black snakelike ropes holding the chute were flung against the porthole windows. Two of the thick glass discs shattered upon impact, spraying everyone with crystal splinters and howling wind.

The vessel snagged upon the sky for a sickening moment, its momentum tilting into a spin.

This could kill them.

Hable pulled the nearest of the crew to man the column, then kicked off the wall in a weightless freefall within the box. Pulling himself aft, it was clear the chute had partially deployed and was now trailing the craft as they hurtled toward the midrock. Without it, they had no way to slow the approach.

With the ropes already winding tightly, there were mere seconds to make a decision.

He needed more time than that.