Alrick’s stomach seemed to climb up in his throat as he looked over the edge of the platform. He then quickly stepped back.
Wessex
had eight space elevators that transported people and cargo from the space
docks to the planetary surface. The platform at the 50-kilometer level was used,
among other things, for high altitude base jumping. While escape pods on
warships used near a planet, did end up with a parachute landing, the main purpose
of this exercise was to test the courage of the cadets of section 4523.
Alrick and Bill had donned their
space suits and helped each other to put on their parachutes. They then
followed Chief Allen out onto the jump platform.
“Don’t trip,” Cadet Onkwani Bailey
had joked over the radio. Alrick and Bill had exchanged glances before peering
over the edge, then hastily stepping back.
“It’s a long way down,” the section
joker added helpfully.
“Belay that nonsense,” Chief Allen
said forcefully, “This is dangerous enough without your wiseass remarks Bailey.
Now what is the terminal velocity of a free jumper from this platform?”
“About 420 meters per second,” Bill
Jenkins answered.
“Correct,” the Chief said. “And how
long will the free fall be?”
“About 5 minutes,” Alrick answered.
“Right,” the Chief said before
turning to Bailey. “And wiseass, what happens if you don’t hook on the static
line for your drogue chute?”
“You go into s spin, pass out, and splat on the ground like strawberry jam,”
the normally jovial cadet said grimly.
“Also correct,” Chief Allen said, “So,
everyone hold up your right hand which SHOULD be holding your static line clip.”
The cadets did so.
“Good,” the Chief said. “Now line up
next to the safety railing in class rank.”
That
put Cadet West at the head of the line, Alrick third, with Bill Jenkins right
behind him. Alrick tried not to look over the railing at the planet below, not
wanting to psych himself out. But the view was too glorious to ignore. The thin
blue arch of the atmosphere separating the black of space from the blue, white,
green and brown of a living world.
“Now
hook your static line to the wire running along the safety rail,” Chief Allen
said. “Now stand there while I give you one last check.”
He
did so, then stepped to the other side of the gap in the safety railing and
hooked on there.
“I
will jump after you,” he said. “Now one at a time you are going to step up to
the gap in the railing and jump through as you have been trained. Understood!”
“Yes
Master Chief,” the cadets chorused over the radio.
“Cadet
Number One,” the Chief ordered. “Step forward. Jump!”
The
line of cadets shuffled forward as the Chief called out “Cadet Number Two. Step
forward. Jump!” then number three and it was Alrick’s turn. “Cadet Number Four.
Step forward. Jump!”
Alrick
stepped up to the gap in the railing and dove forward off the platform. A
second later he felt the tug, first of the static line, then of the opening drogue.
He was looking down at the vastness of Wessex as he fell. The air was so thin that
the only sound was his breathing and the Chief counting off the rest of the
section’s jumps.
The
speed meter on his heads-up display showed his velocity increasing by 9.8
meters per second every second. The Chief ordered the last cadet to drop, then announced
his own jump. Then the only sound Alrick heard was his own breathing as the elevator
cable streaked beside him slowly moving away under the force of his jump. After
about 43 seconds, Alrick’s speed had maxed out at 421 meters per second.
Shortly
thereafter he passed through 40,000 meters. The view was still magnificent and amazement
warred with terror as Alrick monitored his fall. The blackness of space slowly seemed
to rise above him and the planet grew closer. The arch of the planet turned into
a plane below him. He fell through a thin layer of clouds. Then, 5 minutes and
10 seconds into his fall he popped his chute at 1,000 meters.
He was jerked violently by the shock
of opening. Then he was hanging in the sky, falling more slowly towards the
ground. The elevator cable was about two kilometers away. Three minutes later,
the ground rushed towards him and his feet and knees ready he rolled to his
side and came to his feet with a whoop of joy.
He began gathering his chute with a broad
grin on his face as Bill Jenkins landed a short distance away. He unlatched his
helmet and took it off as he watched the last few members of the section land,
in between slapping hands and hugging his already landed section mates. Chief
Allen landed last and led the section from the landing zone. As they reached
the spacesuit and maintenance building, the next section 4524 was popping their
chutes above them.
The cadets of Alrick’s section
turned over their parachutes for maintenance before removing their space suits
and inspecting them for any sign of damage or excessive ware, chatting
excitedly as they worked. After tagging any potential defects, the cadets
packed their suits in the provided carry bags and carried them outside to where
a bus awaited them. At the transient barracks, they found the travel bags with their
uniforms and toiletries that they had sent down the day before.
For once they were allowed to
luxuriate in the shower, Chief Allen must have given them at least five minutes
before he announced that, “farmers need water for irrigation too, don’t hog it
all yourselves.” The boys dressed in
their most formal, black tee shirt and black shorts both with HMS George
Drewry printed on them, uniform. They then fell in, in front of the barracks.
Cadet West brought them to attention and put them through the dress right maneuver.
“Stand at ease,” Chief Allen
ordered. “We are going to march over to the Mess where you will be allowed to
use the club facilities where you will be issued your first beer ration and
allowed recreation until 20:00 hours. If you want to graduate this program and
become midshipmen, you will be polite and well mannered to all the staff.”
“Section, Left Face,” the Chief
bellowed. “Forward, March!”
They arrived at the Mess Hall about
8 minutes later, just as the other three sections, 4522, 4524, and 4525 marched
up. The club section was a partitioned area with long tables and benches, a bar
against one wall and a serving table on the other. The cadets were allowed to
order what they like from the menu and received one beer each.
Alrick
ordered a burger and fries and ended up sitting will Bill Jenkins and Sally White,
eating, nursing their beers, and talking about the future. The six months of
Basic Midshipman’s School was drawing to a close and they would soon be posted
to one of the system defenses forces.
“I am hoping to be posted back to
Darwin,” Sally said. “Our SDF is not that large, but we do have a pair of
System Defense Ships and four System Defense Frigates.” She had to raise her
voice to be heard over a group of cadets on the far side of the hall who
started singing. “I am hoping to be assigned to one of them,” she continued. “That
way I might get a second home leave before I am assigned to the fleet.”
“Yeh,” Bill said. “I want to be
assigned to the SDF here on Wessex for the same reason.” Alrick nodded his head
in agreement. “Fortunately,” Bill said, “Wessex has the largest SDF in the Commonwealth,
so it is likely to happen. Though..” He had to stop as the singers roared out
the next verse.
“The risers swung around his neck,
connectors cracked his dome,” the singers belted out. “Suspension lines were
tied in knots around his skinny bones.”
The three friends looked at each other,
decided the future could wait, picked up their beers and moved over to the
singers, joining in on the chorus. “Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory,
gory, what a hell of way to die. Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die. He
ain't gonna jump no more!”
