Teeny Tiny Stories

Rough Landing

Even with her reinforced plating, she could sense the burning pressure reaching dangerous levels as she rapidly descended through the atmosphere. Alarms and warnings flashed in every available area of her screen, each vying for her attention first. Some help they were in this situation.

Having previously used up the majority of her fuel, she knew she couldn't slow her fall to a safe degree. A crash was inevitable. Gripped in her hand was her creators coat, the cobalt blue beginning to burn away. Quickly she moved to cover it with her fists, hoping to preserve as much of it as possible. She thought she felt sad for a moment, it was unfortunate that she would die now when things were starting to take a turn for the better. Sadness wasn't an emotion she had experienced before, so she was unsure if that was what it really was. Was it even possible for her to feel such things?

Wind buffeted her metal form, tossing her about in the sky. It was a beautiful sight, the colors around her shifting from dark to light as she descend. She knew her creator would enjoy it, and would take in the view, especially if it were his last. He was odd that way.
Moving on from this observation, she scanned through her defense mechanisms, looking for something to improvise with. Unfortunately most of what was in her arsenal relied on fuel, which again was nearly gone.
Discarding this idea, she instead focused on calculating the outcome of the impending crash and the damage that would be inflicted. The upcoming situation looked bleak.
Moving her robotic form into what she foresaw as the most damage absorbing position, she prepared for the impact.

Breaking through the cloud cover, she could see in the distance what she presumed to be a city. She knew where she was now. The architecture was fairly unique to this planet, and her expansive database had plenty of information regarding it. Whether any of that knowledge would survive after the crash she was unsure of.
Her landing site however, was not among the towering buildings. What she saw to be a residential area grew closer. Its squat living structures packed close together, with a fair amount of life moving around within the spot.
With a strong burst, she released the last of her fuel in a powerful jet of steam. Lessening her decent by a fraction. Then the impact came; hitting the ground with enough force to crush the exoskeleton she resided in. Metal bent, glass shattered, sparks flew. She was sent skidding across the concrete, bouncing off a metal vehicle and sending dirt flying before coming to rest at the base of a thin pole.

Releasing herself from the internal console she used to control the exosuit, she crawled out of the broken chest-plate and tumbled down to the ground. Her tiny metal body landing among the broken glass on the concrete.
Beside her, in the open palm of the suit, lay the tattered and smoldering remains of the precious coat. Her final observation was how upset her creator would be to see his favorite coat in this condition. Her internal functions shut down in one singular flash of fading light, everything returning to the nothingness she was born from.