Impact

In the vast emptiness of space, an oblong asteroid comfortably orbits in the abyss between Mars and Jupiter yearning for something more. Sephtis stares at the asteroids and planets around him. He tries rolling out of his gentle orbit towards a planet, any planet, but he can’t. He looks to the other asteroids on the belt blissfully flowing in their gentle orbit, and the few asteroids freely floating through space.

A small asteroid from the distant cosmos approaches the asteroid belt. Stephtis tries to rotate his oblong body so that he could be knocked out of orbit. The asteroid hits one in front of Sephtis, then the force propagates until. Clunk. The closest asteroid bluntly hits and leaves Septhis slowly rotating in place.

“Careful”, says Lutetia, “You’ll knock everyone out of place again” She floats beside Sephtis watching him slowly rotate.

“I want to break free”, starts Septhis. “Everyone journeys into space. Perfect spheres and jagged edges drift through the cosmos and fulfill their life. Their impact ripples throughout the galaxy. Ordinary oblong ones drift among the rest.

I want to join that grand tradition, but I’m stuck here. Prisoner to my own home.”

“Not everyone can make an impact”, replies Lutetia.

“But an impact can come from anywhere” retorts Sephtis.

“It’s mostly luck. Not everyone plans on making an impact”

Sephtis doesn’t hear her. He continues. “Ganymede broke free now carries water. What do I carry but the dust and grim of the universe. I’m a waste.”

In the distance, Sephtis sees another rapidly approaching asteroid, larger than before. He fights the rotation and readies his position. Boom. Crack. The large asteroid crashes into a few asteroids ahead of Sephtis. The impact travels through those asteroids towards Sephtis until BAM.

Sephtis is knocked out of the gentle orbit and is sent hurdling directly towards the Sun. After quickly traversing Mars’s atmosphere, he floats by the fiery rocky planets. He looks arounds worriedly for an escape before the Sun’s infinite attraction consumes him. In the distance he sees a larger asteroid traveling perpendicular to his trajectory into the Sun. He tries to rotate using the uneven mass to move faster, but to no avail he remains at a constant velocity flying into the sun.

The larger asteroid intercepts Sephtis’s path and redirects him from flying into the sun. The Sephtis flies off at an angle towards Venus while the larger asteroid heads towards the Sun. He sails towards Venus but misses its atmosphere and escapes her attraction. Septhis flies towards open space. A complete void awaits him and he’ll float eternally in space. Until he feels another attraction, the sun’s pulling him back forcing him to orbit the sun.

Sephtis safely skirts above the outer coronal layer of the sun barely dodging the mass ejections from the sun. Either from time or another impact, Septhis will burn up in the sun. The heat begins to weaken parts of his body and burn them off.

A solar prominence shoots out in front of Sephtis. The heavenly orange ring extends from the sun past Sephtis’s orbit. The force slightly pushes Sephtis outward away from the sun. Another solar prominence happens in front of Sephtis pushing him further but not enough to escape the sun’s gravity.

Months pass orbiting the sun. He’s seen Mercury, Venus, and Saturn but unable to break free of the sun’s attraction. Sephtis looks out and sees Mars in the distance. Suddenly, a coronal mass ejection from the sun pushes him out of the sun’s gravity. The force travels towards Mars dragging Sephtis along with him. He’s hurdling towards a planet.

Septhis zooms towards Mars with no obstacle in his path. He’s made it. He enters Mars’s atmosphere. The heat burns away pieces of him, but Sephtis continues to plummet towards the Martian surface until IMPACT.

The impact ruptured the Martian surface blasting pieces of Mars into space and tore Septhis into pieces. Bits himself flew back into space. Dust, debris, and steam covered the Martian surface in its last habitable moments.

Bits of Septis exploded into space traveling in all directions throughout the solar system and beyond. Many heading into deep space. One piece of Septis flew towards the neighboring rocky planet carrying with it bits of water and microbial life.

THE END