round 19 Cmdr Alucard Vess: Free falling

[+ Trellis Vondaryan]

((Dropship Neal Adams, Earth orbit))

Jumpmaster: One minute to jump!  On your feet!

::As one, the marine unit rose to their feet.  Well, a marine unit and one Starfleet Commander.  Ever the thrill seeker, Alucard had called in a favor with an old friend of his and joined this platoon during a night orbital jump exercise.::

::The gear was heavy.  In addition to a field pack, weapon, and parachute, each jumper carried an expendable heatshield.  All told, each man and woman carried nearly their equal in gear.  This made the hold of the Neal Adams a very cramped space.  The jumpmaster held up a hand and made a fist.::

Jumpmaster: Thirty seconds!

::The deck vibrated as the platoon turned in unison to the opening ramp at the rear of the hold.  Beyond the blue shimmer of a forcefield they were treated to the blue and green curve of Earth far below.  It was deceptively small, and ALucard knew it would soon be growing much, much larger.::

Jumpmaster: Rows one and three jump!

Alucard was in row three.::

::He shuffled along behind the Marine in front of him until he faced the permeable force field.  His helmet seemed to amplify the sound of his own pulse until that seemed to be all he heard.  He took one deep breath, held it, and allowed himself to tilt forward.::

::It was like someone had put a thick pillow over the world.  Before, his world had been full of sound.  The clunk of boots on the deck, orders being shouted across the hold.  Now, even the comm chatter seemed to have been muffled, and Alucard was left with his own breathing as he soared toward the big marble below.::

::He free-fell for several minutes.  It was an absolutely amazing experience to watch the clouds drifting below, and the lights of the low orbit satellites and ships blinking as they zipped by.  Soon though, he had to activate his boot rockets to establish control prior to re-entry.  His descent flattened out into something akin to a logarithmic curve as he brought his flight path to a shallower angle.::

::Ahead was a familiar sight.  The USS Gorkon in all of her glory.  Like a ballet dancer she gracefully sailed above the planet below, the rake of her struts and saucer always giving the impression of forward motion. He’d seen that sight many a time from the [...]pit of a shuttle, but from the little bubble of protection that was his jumpsuit she looked much bigger.::

::He tipped his ankles to change his flight path, when was he going to have another chance like this?  As he got closer, he applied reverse thrust and slowed down, falling behind the platoon slightly.  He cruised across the forward section of the saucer, so close that he was able to reach out and touch it.::

::The eyes of some of the ships inhabitants grew huge as he flew by their windows.  He waved to some as he went, but mostly he just kept his arms wide, like some sort of cosmic angel, and flew on.  The Gorkon was more than just a ship to him.  It was a home, and a friend.  Every scratch, every dent in the hull told a story as he passed.  There was where a bit of the hull had buckled when they'd rescued the Tharsis on their first mission.  And there, that was where they'd had to patch in some salvaged hull to replace a bit that had been lost during a fight with the alternate universe Dominon.  It had been painted since, but in his minds eye he could still see the miss matched metal.::

::All too soon, he’d crossed the ships midpoint just forward of the Bridge and continued on toward the his re-entry point.  Soon, he’d have to perform a roll and activate his shield.::

::But until then he’d just enjoy the fall.::

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Commander Alucard Vess
Unassigned
USS Gorkon
Deputy Facilitator – Featured Bio Team
C238601TB0
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