The black Drop Pod tore through the planet's thick clouds like a falling meteor, piercing the Atmosphere with a shrill howl.
Friction with the atmosphere heated the Drop Pod's shell to a blazing orange-red, leaving a stark trail of black smoke across the gray-yellow sky.
It plunged through layer after layer of clouds, their unhealthy gray-brown hue resembling bruised flesh. They churned outward under the Drop Pod's impact, like an enormous beast slowly stretching after being startled awake.
The Drop Pod continued its descent, breaking through the last thin layer of clouds as the ground below rapidly filled its field of view.
It was a desolate plain strewn with rubble and cracks. No sign of vegetation marked its gray-brown surface, only the occasional deep trench winding across it like a scar.
The Drop Pod's attitude control system activated at the last moment. Braking thrusters beneath it spewed searing flames, slowing its descent several dozen meters above the ground.
Then—
BOOM!!!
With a deafening crash, the Drop Pod slammed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and rubble that blotted out the sky.
A shock wave spread outward from the landing site, lifting dust and loose stones into a ring visible to the naked eye.
Within a second of landing, the Drop Pod's hatch blew open. Amid the hiss of hydraulics and valves, it fell outward and struck the ground, raising another wave of dust.
Then a figure stepped out of the Drop Pod.
Corax wore a suit of black, specially modified Power Armour. A light-absorbing matte coating covered its plates, making him almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye beneath the dim daylight.
He wore a specially designed beaked Helmet shaped like the head of a bird of prey. Its long, beak-like faceplate projected forward, and two