Any Landing... is the first episode in Captain Shack's Story line and is the first long episode in the Group Survival series.
Plot[]
After a recap of events in episode 1, we see Captain Shack, still in his seat on the doomed ship's bridge. The ship's AI advises him that firing the reaction control system (RCS) at full power will cause major damage. The captain has disabled the thruster safeties and is able to use the last of the hydrogen onboard to pull the hull segment out of its death dive. Despite his euphoria, it's only just enough to put the wreck in a far shallower dive. The AI shuts down after enabling Recovery Mode; the hull touches down shortly thereafter, canted at a nearly 60 degree angle on its starboard side.
After verifying the air is safe to breathe, Shack unseals his helmet and begins to take stock of the situation. The crashed command section of the hull dug a massive trench through the planet's surface on its way down. After surveying the main portion of the wreckage, he begins surveying its back trail to see what came off in the crash. Along the way, he encounters two batteries -- disabled but still maintaining a charge -- before he reaches a section of the ship that has an R-5 drone pinned under it.
Clearing away the wreckage, he's able to boot up the drone, but extracating it is a time-consuming and dangerous task. By the end of the day, he manages to free the drone, which appears to be fully operational. Shack orders the unit to follow along, with the hopes of perhaps salvaging what's left of the ship's files and AI.
Unfortunately, getting back into and moving around the wreck is an issue. After not gaining entry himself, he sends R-5 in to get ship's status report. In the process of doing so, the wreckage shifts. Fortunately, the hole through the starboard portion of the bridge remains, allowing R-5 to gain access to the interior to start the download. Preserving the ship's AI core requires nearly 80% of R-5's total onboard storage capacity.
That task complete, Shack begins to record a log -- eventually -- outlining his situation and explaining how the hull section managed to land somewhat intact, and his hopes that what's left of the ship's AI could control the R-5 unit for him.
Survival requires Shack regain access to the bridge to recharge his suit, but he's also able to download blueprints and plan a way for gaining access to the assembler and other parts of the wreck. Fortunately enough parts are left over to craft a few solar panels and other items necessary to survive by the end of the day.