Wild Blue
Posted on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 @ 3:43am by Major Cornelius Tremble & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Tue Dec 21st, 2021 @ 4:19am
1,109 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 12 - Risin' To Risa
Location: Airship Halcyon, Above Risa
Timeline: MD005 0830 hrs
The sun was edging over Risa’s atmosphere as the Halcyon floated above the pleasure planet, carrying those early risers that wanted to meet the sun rise on their own terms. Above the clouds, they could see the planet’s atmosphere touch space.
Six people were scheduled to dive into the atmosphere, with Neil and Jayna going first heading to the less inhabited section of Risa. Neil sat in a sling seat along the bulkhead of the Halcyon’s gondola, working his neck to ease some of the stress before adding the helmet. Dressed in a heated skin-suit with a tricorder vambrace strapped to his left forearm, he double checked through his gear then looked across the fuselage at Jayna. “Any second thoughts before we jump out of a perfectly good air-craft?”
She grinned. "None at all." She'd researched the jump and what to expect. The more she learned, the more eager she'd become to try it. Now it was just a matter of staying focused. Being too eager was just as dangerous as being too cautious, in her opinion. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Well, it probably won't be as exciting as a combat drop, but there is a certain charm to not being shot at," Neil grinned, ignoring a startled look from one of the other jumpers. "And it should be fun."
Sitting forward, he began running through the jump with her. "We'll be going first. Everyone else here is doing a normal jump within Risa's Mesosphere, or around 41 clicks. We're jumping in the Exosphere at around 10,000 clicks. The slide will give us a bit of momentum and push us clear of the Halcyon. We'll experience weightlessness for about a minute before deploying gravity chutes."
As jump master, Neil had worked all of this through with the Halcyon's crew and Risian authorities. "The gravity chutes will burn through and free fall will start at about 400 klicks and we'll burn through three more chutes, which will get us into the correct set for the landing zone. At 100 klicks, the last of the gravity chutes will burn out and we can use suit wings to fiddle around and enjoy the drop more. The wings will burn out at about five and a half klick and your velocity should have burned off from 1400 to 195 and you'll go into a free fall for about a minute and a half. Your main chute is dialed in to pop automatically.
His HUD lit up, giving him the three-minute warning. "LZ information is programmed into your helmet; I plan to splash down in the lagoon. There's a swim platform about 200 meters from the beach
Jayna nodded, taking it all in. Her eyes sparkled and a slow grin spread across her face as he spoke. This was going to be fun. She was glad he chose the 10,000 click option. "I'll follow you and the HUD." She was sure Neil would land where he planned. She just hoped she wouldn't be too far off. Then again, she expected to land somewhere in the lagoon; and if not, as long as she could see the island, she'd be fine. "Anything else I need to be aware of?"
Neil grinned and said, "All of the chutes, the jump suit and such are degradable. As they break away, the chutes will dissolve so as not to leave anything behind. Your last chute, suit and helmet will dissolve after contact with the water. It's both an environmental and safety issue. The inner goggles will remain for safety concerns."
His eyes took on a mischievous glint, "I did mention you should wear a swim suit or something under the exposure suit, yeah?"
She gave him a wicked grin. "We'll have to see, won't we?" She was, but that was beside the point. Jayna noticed one of the others gave her a double-take and she almost laughed. "Not having to haul your gear to shore will make it easier."
"It is a vacation, after all," Neil commented. "It's a bit novel not having a weapons load-load out or other kit, but that should make it fun." He double checked both of their equipment readouts. He double checked the visual indicators on both of their shoulders.
Satisfied, he shuffled over to the hatch and keyed in the opening sequence. The doors clam-shelled open and force fields activated forming a shielded platform for them to jump from.
A minute later, with all checks done, a yellow light appeared over the door and he turned and gave Jayna a thumbs up. "Ok, one minute. He pulled a lanyard from a thigh pocket and plugged it into the air-frames hatch and then stepped through the air barrier onto the platform. He was protected from the wind and cold, but his suit began heating up and expanding as it drew energy from the Halcyon. Neil pulled on his helmet, waited for the seal to activate as he pulled on the over gloves.
His HUD blinked yellow and he said, "Radio check. Thirty seconds, Jayna. Crowd in behind me and follow on after I clear the force field."
Excitement and a bit of trepidation bubbled inside her as her suit heated up and she put on her helmet and gloves, checking to be sure they were properly sealed. "Radio check." The HUD said she was good to go. Ten minutes wasn't very long, but she planned to enjoy every minute of it. She grinned at Neil. "Ready."
Neil's camera showed Jayna step out behind him, onto the platform and his HUD registered the door irising closed behind her. A timer began, showing fifteen seconds and he grinned in anticipation, feeling adrenaline flow.
"Ten seconds," he called out. His eyes searched out the curve of Risa's atmosphere and his eyes searching for nothing, really. Just taking in the planet. The kit they were wearing was super simple and the computer was monitoring everything and would signal him if something went wrong.
And then the counter wound down.
Halcyon'sgondola rotated slightly and the gravity bubble that was holding them to the platform, abruptly reversed. His half of the clam shell went first and the anti-gravity burst sent him hurtling toward Risa's surface.
Two seconds behind him, the gravity field reversed under Jayna and she plummeted after him.
A joint post by:
Major Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Commanding Officer, The Cure
Staff Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
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