At first the door began to open easily, for the first two cranks that is. As i saw the door begin to crack open, and fresher air from outside the interior of the ship replaced that of the slight smell of burning oils as the engines had burst some of the oil lines after having been damaged i took a deep breath of relief.
It was then i found out how much worse everything could get. The crank hit a stoping point. With just a sliver at the top of the bay door showing the slightest sliver of blue sky was all i could get. Either some sort of debris was outside blocking the door, or the door or frame had been bent in the crash landing. Either way this was my best way out.
I went as far as to go through the bag of tools i had in case of minor repairs to the interior systems was needed i could do that myself, inside i found my trusty crowbar and tried to pry open the door after releasing hydraulic pressure to the door to avoid any burst lines later but to no avail i couldnt get the door to budge open anyfurther.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly i prepared myself for the aweful news of the second and last way out not working either. The cargo bay door was the best option as it opened at the rear of the ship, with a thin small cargo hall for smaller goods, but the door doubled as a ramp to offload or load up things. The side door… it wasnt going to be good unless the ship burried itself at least 5 feet into the ground during the slide across the ground.
I carefully opened the door, my eyes closed just hoping the door at least opened. And sure enough it did. Feeling excited i opened my eyes only to feel incredibly disappointed.
The door opened and somehow some way my ship had stopped right next to a small canyon like river. It was about a 7 foot drop to a steep hill maybe another 8-10 feet into the ground where a gentle looking stream had carved its path over many millions of years. This was mostly possible due to the planet lacking techtonic plate activity like on earth. Sure there were a few quakes here and there, but given the planets core makeup, the richter scale would barely peak at 1.
This planet was incredibly stable which made it the perfect world for life to flourish. Most other habitable planets humanity had come across were like this. Earth seemed to be unique in that regard.
I stepped away from the door going to look for things i could use to make a ladder or something to help me get outside the ship and check the damage as well as get a propper view of the area around me.
Eventually i settled on using my spare bed sheets to rig up a decent length of rope, almost 18 or so feet. I tied one end to the sturdy hinges of the door, given that while the ship had pressure the door had to stay sealed while moving around in space, i knew it could easily support my weight.
Still in my slim space suit, i slowly climed down the makeshift rope, and at the bottom of it, i was maybe a foot or two off the ground still, but that was not unreasonable, letting go i gently slid down the last bit of the incline gently tapping my feet into the shallow water.