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Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
Gryphon
Charter Member
22422 posts |
Jul-15-09, 02:32 AM (EDT) |
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"frontispiece: Battle 06: Independence"
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It was Saturday, October 22. I don't know what the weather was like in Worcester, but where I happened to be just then, it was windy and cold, with gusts up to... oh, I don't know... 200 knots or thereabouts. I stood at the end of the Prince of Thebes' cargo ramp and checked my gear. Everything was right where it'd been when I checked it the minute before. I was as ready as I was ever going to be. I turned to the person next to me and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Thanks to my radio headset, didn't have to yell, though the plane's cargo cabin was full of the roar of wind and the drone of engines. The person I was speaking to had a headset too, but she didn't answer me verbally; she just tugged one of the straps of her harness a little tighter, then gave me a huge grin, her teeth and eyes glinting scarlet in the red glow of the get-ready light. Not for anything like the first time, I remarked to myself that my recently-acquired apprentice was a strange, strange child, and one who bore close watching. Fearlessness is a handy thing, but it can get a person into a world of trouble. I've done a lot of things in my life that weren't legal, but today I was breaking new ground. If taking a minor into a potential combat situation is reckless endangerment - and it is - I don't even want to think about what getting her there by jumping out of an airplane is. I sighed to myself and turned to look out and down. Silly, really. I couldn't see my target; A, by the time it would be visible from this doorway, I'd better not be standing there, and B, it was 0217 hours local time and there was nothing to see out there but night. Hitting a specific spot on what is, let's face it, an inconveniently big planet from a moving airplane is a tricky business. If your drop aircraft is off-course by just a little bit, or you jump at the wrong time, you miss. If your target is near water and that happens, you could end up taking a swim. If you find yourself parachuting among huge craggy mountains and that happens, you might find the ground a lot closer than you were expecting, or even, if you're very unlucky, ride your drop aircraft into a cliff. Nothing I could do about any of that, though. I'd just have to trust Zoner to get me to the right spot at the right time, and then it'd be my turn to do the rest. The light above the door turned green and, for a moment, I didn't have time to think any more. "Let's go," I said to Sakura, and then I flipped my visor shut and stepped into the night. Suddenly it was very quiet indeed. As I plummeted toward - I hoped - the Province of Alberta, I still didn't have time for a lot of rumination. While the icy wind snapped at my clothes and the glowing dial of the altimeter on my wrist wound down, I only had one stray thought: How did I get into this again? |
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version 3.3 © 2001
Eyrie Productions,
Unlimited
Benjamin
D. Hutchins
E P U (Colour)
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