Drop One

“Drop One. Drop Two. Drop Three. Drop Four!”

Four five hundred meter long cylinders separated from the hull of the ship. Ejecting from their forward moorings and craning outward and back from the slender ship the whole affair looked like a flower blossoming.

Hours later, well clear of the ship and their gravimeters defining down, they each issue several bursts to orient themselves longitudinally. Once aligned, container Two fires a steady thrust to degrade its orbit. Moments later Three, Four, and One do the same. As their orbits shrink they separate from each others. Several revolutions of the planet from now they will strike the surface nearly equidistant from each other and nearly along the equator.

I liked the opening line, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with it next. I guess I’m invading a planet here?

150 words on day 543