Disclaimer: Same as before.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier
Chapter Twenty-Five: Descent
Location: Armory/Equipment Bay, S.D.S Avenger
With his legs locked firmly into the medium-weight powered armor, Aidan was pretty limited in his movement, but that mattered little. His type of powered armor, tagged the Soldat, which meant Soldier in the Germanic language, was primarily intended for general-use. It was meant for heavy combat, but not to the extent of the Krieger, the heaviest armor available. The sensor suit he wore allowed him to synchronize with the armor, allowing him movement as well as a link that would help administer painkillers and other stimulants in case he was wounded.
After he locked his hands and arms into the armored gloves and gauntlets, the tech assigned to him helped lock the breastplate into place. Once that was locked and sealed, the tech plugged some wires into the suit and ran a diagnostic on it, to check for problems or damage. When he was through, he gave Aidan a thumbs-up. Aidan grabbed the helmet and cradled it in his left arm. He looked over to the other six men and women of his team, which were just finishing their suit-up procedures.
He walked over to the weapon rack and picked up a large, heavy rifle. He was unfamiliar with it, but before he could ask about it, Hawkins came up to him.
“That is an M-8 Gauss Rifle, sir,” he said.
“Gauss rifle?” Aidan inquired.
“It’s a relatively new weapon that uses a series of magnetic coils to launch a solid thirteen millimeter slug at hypersonic speeds,” he explained. “Good anti-armor weapon, although it only has eight shots per clip.”
Aidan let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”
He lifted the weapon, which although was heavy, it didn’t feel quite that way because of the suit’s enhanced strength. He picked up a heavy automatic pistol designed for use with powered armor and inserted it into the magnetic holster on his right hip. Due to it’s size, he would end up storing the gauss rifle in one of the several drop pods that would contain most of their equipment. Besides, the gauss rifle was best used against armored targets, such as battle armor. Using of on a standard foot soldier seemed a waste of ammo to him. That was why he was going in with a SA23G, a version of the Raptor assault rifle that had an integral three-round, pump-action thirty millimeter grenade launcher. After he had finished loading the gauss rifle and checking over his assault rifle, he looked over at Meia. She had just finished locking the armor into place. He knew this operation was going to test her, possibly to the limit of her abilities. It wasn’t everyday someone with little to no military training covertly dropped into hostile territory to recover a stolen fighter and destroy the facility it was housed in. He was sure that she would perform well, she had no other choice.
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Meia had just finished locking the last piece of her armor in place as a loud klaxon sounded throughout the ship. She’d been told that this was the signal that the ship was preparing to jump into the Solaris system. In spite of the warning, she couldn’t have prepared fully for what happened next. The universe seemed to expand around itself, and lights and sounds battered her senses. Suddenly, the universe snapped back into reality, and she took a step back and supported herself against a metal crate. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Aidan walk up to her, the sounds of his armored boots as they connected with the floor.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, her breathing still a little heavy after the effects of the jump. She pushed herself off of the crate and tried to take a step. Due to the slightly disorientating effects of the jump and the fact that she wasn’t totally used to the armor she was wearing, she stumbled. But she stopped before she fell, with an armored hand grasping her arm. Aidan helped pull her to her feet.
“Don’t worry, it happened to me the first time as well, the effects will wear off in a minute or so,” he said reassuringly. “I think it’s time to get your gear aboard the shuttle, we’ll be departing within the hour.”
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The shuttle, which was originally designed to haul cargo to and from ships and planets was absent of any of its normal cargo. Tonight, it held fourteen passengers with the sole purpose of carrying a covert military operation. The shuttle would enter the atmosphere of Solaris far from where their target was and the HALO jump from the craft to the designated landing zone approximately five kilometers from the target. The target was a large, weapons testing ground hidden within a mountain range. The garrison strength was unknown at this time, because of the lack of accurate intelligence.
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Meia stood in the bay of the shuttle, fully decked out in powered armor. The armor wasn’t a perfect fit, though that wasn’t a problem. She had gotten used to it, but the helmet gave her a slight problem. She felt very uncomfortable with the helmet on, as well as in the shuttle. It took her back to the painful memories of when she was forced to leave her parents behind as she was unwillingly taken onto the overly crowded ship. She fought the urge to just take off her helmet and throw it down. Her breathing was heavy, and her muscles were shaking, although the suit masked it. She calmed down a little bit as she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the faceless mask of a powered armor suit. She assumed it was Aidan, because he was the only one she knew.
“Major, we’ll be entering the atmosphere in about five minutes,” the shuttle pilot announced.
“Understood,” Aidan replied through his comm system.
Five minutes later, the shuttle started to vibrate from atmospheric entry. A few long moments later and the shuddering stopped. The shuttle had entered the atmosphere.
“Alright, listen up. Drop commences in ten minutes,” Aidan announced to everyone in the cargo bay. “Check your equipment.”
Each trooper went over his or her equipment and made sure it was ready to go. After that he slammed an armored fist on the large red button mounted on the side of the craft. Slowly, the rear hatch opened to reveal a dark, cloudy sky. The howling wind rushed in at high speeds, but everyone apparently didn’t notice. Once the drop pods that carried their equipment were deployed, it was their turn. Kemp’s team dropped first, one at a time, with Sergeant Kemp the last one out of the shuttle.
“Akida,” Aidan said, naming his team’s scout/spotter. “Go.”
Jumping out and away from the shuttle, Corporal Akida disappeared from view as he fell into the stormy sky. Following him was Lieutenant Julia Marks, then Steiner, Hawkins, and Deveroux. It was her turn to jump out now. She was a little apprehensive, if not a little fearful. She had never done this before.
“Go,” he commanded. She took a deep breath and jumped out of the craft. She went into the ‘spread eagle’ position dictated for this kind of jump. She felt the wind push against her as she rapidly fell through the atmosphere. A cold sweat broke out on her face as she checked the altimeter installed into her helmet. Suddenly, with a jerk, her first drogue parachute deployed, slowing her fall as it snapped her into an upright position. After fifteen seconds, explosive bolts fired, letting her drop free once more. Then another larger parachute deployed, cutting her rate of descent again.
After a painfully long minute, at which she stared at the ground, which showed up in the gray, green, and black of night vision. Then without warning, the chute blew off as well and deployed the final, steerable parachute. She used that to help steer into the designated landing zone. Once she was on the ground, she detached the parachute and let it flutter in the wind. Her entire body was shaking from the adrenaline that surged through her body. She swore she would never do that again, and would kill anyone who’d try and make her.
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As Aidan descended to the ground, he noticed that everyone landed in the designated LZ. He detached his parachute once he was on the ground. He spoke into the comm system built into the chin of his helmet. “Ghost Team, status report.”
After a few long moments, Sergeant Kemp’s voice sounded in his helmet. “This is Ghost One, everyone down and accounted for, as well as all of our equipment.”
“Good, tell your men to prepare to move out,” he said.
“Roger,” the Sergeant replied.
“Alright, Spectre Team, report,” he said.
“This is Spectre Two, I’m down and okay,” Lt. Marks reported.
“Spectre Three, ready to go, sir,” Steiner reported.
“Spectre Four, I’m ready,” Akida replied.
“Spectre Five, I’m ready to go, but I think I have to have a little ‘talk’ with whoever packed my parachute,” Hawkins replied with dry humor.
“Problems?” Aidan asked.
“No, sir, just a minor chute malfunction. I’m ready to rock,” Hawkins replied.
“Spectre Six, good to go,” Deveroux replied.
And finally, Meia replied. “Spectre Seven, ready.”
“Alright, gather up all of the equipment and prepare to move out, I want to be well away from here before sunrise,” Aidan commanded.
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“Colonel, we have a possible contact,” the tech at the radar station reported.
“Where?” Colonel James Odon asked. He was in overall command of the garrison at Weapons Testing Facility Beta.
“There was a small craft, probably a shuttle, located about ten kilometers from this facility,” the tech replied.
“How long was it there?” he asked, his voice that of one who was in charge.
“Only for about twenty seconds, then it disappeared off the radar.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” the Colonel muttered to himself. It was possible that it was a covert military force. He had to check it out. “I want several teams dispatched to the last known area of the craft to initiate a search.”
“Understood sir,” the tech replied.
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Chapter Twenty-Five complete. Sorry this didn’t have any combat in it. You can expect the next one to. Feedback appreciated, as always.