Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 10: Exfil Training

Vrrrr! The cargo bay trembled as the plane flew through a cumulous cloud. In his black Infiltrator, Suzuki ignored the tremors, instead fixing his gaze on his teammates. "Final drop, everyone. Let's make this count." With those words, he pushed a button on the wall, causing the bay doors to fall open. The cabin's pressure quickly dropped as trapped air violently rushed outside, pulling all they could with them.

Kachak! Everyone engaged their magboots (magnetic boots) to resist the pull. Aside from the first time when Suzuki teased them, every deployment used the rear bay door. They were more than used to the routine.

"Alright. In order of deployment. Jade, you're up first."

"Got it." Jade reduced the magnetic pull in her boots and then stepped forward. "Count me down."

Suzuki nodded, appreciative of Jade's confident gait. There was a stark difference between the girl here and the one two days ago. Jade was living proof that there was no more prominent confidence builder than constant, relentless practice. A brief flash in his HUD alerted Suzuki of their proximity to the first drop zone. He glanced at Jade. "All checks complete?"

Jade nodded as she patted the large RDK unit strapped to her back. "Just ran a third diagnostic check. There are no problems."

"Alright then. Power down."

Jade nodded, and the lights on her suit instantly turned off. Similarly, her magboots turned off, but she had already grabbed the wall for support.

"Drop in Three.... Two.... One.... Go!"

"See you on the flip side!" Jade shouted as she ran and then jumped out of the plane. Naturally, she would not hear any replies since her radio was switched off, but Suzuki's microphone picked up her voice.

"See you soon," reciprocated Suzuki before calling the rest forward. "We're next. Dropping in two. All checks complete?"

"All checks complete," they chorused in unison.

"Alright. Let's finish this."

***

While the rest prepared for their descent, Jade gulped as she plummeted through the clouds. The young woman's fear only surfaced momentarily before her brows furrowed with determination. She had done this many times already. There was nothing to be scared of.

Jade tucked her arms to her side, increasing her descent speed as she pierced through the clouds. Within seconds, she cut through the clouds and saw a mountain range lit by a structure with multiple satellites.

"Bingo." Jade widened her arms and legs to increase her wind resistance and slowed her rate of descent. While falling, she read the bioluminescent altimeter on her wrist. Once she reached an appropriate altitude, she pushed a button and wound a dial on the RDK. Compressed air from the RDK shot out of her suits, the pressure slowing her speed. But not all at once, else she could suffer internal injuries.

Still looking at her watch, Jade slowly increased the dial as she neared a mountain peak. The increasing pressure continuously arrested her speed until she reached equilibrium with the earth's gravity when she was only two meters off the ground. The floating Jade grinned triumphantly and then reduced the RDK's output, allowing her to right her stance as she fell like a leaf.

"Successful drop." Jade happily pronounced once her feet touched the ground. She detached the RDK and then said, "Power on." A familiar HUD inundated her sight as the Gladiator came online and completed its diagnostics checks.

"Diagnostics complete. All Systems Online."

"Thanks, Suzy." Jade thanked the suits in-built AI and then charged up the hill toward the communications base at the highest peak. For the practice session, Suzuki did not populate the base. He surmised practising the infiltration with their respective teams would be better.