Drop

I glanced out the window of the rapidly descending transport, gazing out across the orange wastes that comprised the majority of the Southern continent of the planet Thega 3. Even from this altitude it was obvious that the harsh winds were taking a heavy toll on the invading UEE forces, as I watched another three transports were caught in a savage cross-wind and blown off course.
Pilots vainly attempted to wrestle the ancient, heavy machines back into a drop pattern. More still were simply perforated by the massive amounts of anti-air fire coming from the heavy flak batteries that the rebels had unearthed and wheeled into position.

I smiled grimly as a thought struck me; no matter how much fire that the rebels poured onto the incoming Earth fleet there would always be more of us to take the place of the lost. The legions were the arm of the Emperor and we were countless, ceaseless and without mercy. The rebels would fail; Thega 3 would be ours once again. It was only a matter of time.

Turning back to face the other side of the violently shaking transport I saw the rookie, this was his first drop and he was a mess. Sure he’d been in the sims at boot, we all had, but they never really prepared you for the real thing. The primary training program was based around ideal drop conditions; clear weather, air support and the drop zone having been bombed from high orbit by Fleet.

But Thega 3 wasn’t going according to plan.

The 3rd Fleet’s heavy cruiser, The Emperor’s Might had been destroyed through sabotage a few weeks earlier in the initial stages of the planetary siege, leaving only a few light barrack ships, the command and control ships and their fighter escorts as well as one Imperial Class frigate; The Vengeance. A fitting title considering what was happening now.

I finally managed to catch the quivering recruit’s attention and gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring nod of the head. Unfortunately my helmet obscured the gesture so I tapped the side of my head to tell him to turn his headset on. After fubling with the side of his helmet, the rookie finally managed to turn on his com line;

“Hey, Jenkins, you ok?” I asked, trying to hide my own nervousness,

The recruit gave a shaky nod, and replied; “Aye, sarge, I’m good to go!”. He gave me a shaky thumbs up just as the transport lurched violently, causing him to go yell and shut his eyes tightly.

Grinning to myself I turned my attention towards the other squad members; Fixer, Sawbones, Max… My gaze eventually lingered on Stammer. The old veteran was barely even phased by the landing and was busy checking his weapon over and over again; his OCD seemed to be getting the better of him this time.

I cursed as I realized that I’d have to spend half the mission looking after my own squad leader.