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Description
The high altitude carrier soared above the clouds in a low orbit above Mobius, out of sight of enemy surveillance, and out of range of any artillery that may pose a threat to it. In the cockpit, Farah-Se checked her coordinates. She was nearing the drop point. Farah-Se contacted Gien-Nu to tell her the news.
"Coming up on drop site. Payload delivery in 30 seconds. Have fun."
"Roger that," came Gien-Nu's reply.
Farah-Se punched a few buttons, opening the bomb bay doors. A green light lit up on her console, indicating that she was above the target area, and Farah-Se released her cargo.
"Drop pods released."

Two objects emerged from the belly of the carrier. Shaped like ugly metal teardrops, they plummeted towards the ground, quickly reaching terminal velocity. Inside one of the pods, Kiera closed her eyes and tried to keep her lunch down as it threatened to repeat on her. It was the first time she had traveled by drop pod, although 'travel' was a bit deceiving. Falling was a much more appropriate word. Strapped into a harness, she had no control over what was happening, and that frightened her the most. She had heard stories of drop pods malfunctioning, the retro thrusters designed to slow them for landing having failed, resulting in the pods being crushed upon impact with the ground. With her were four other members of the 14th Assault Platoon: Ali-Co, Miki-Ce, Seenas, and Meri-Sa. Both Seenas and Meri-Sa seemed to share Kiera's sense of trepidation. Ali-Co and Miki-Ce, however, acted differently. Ali-Co had managed to smuggle a small radio into the pod, and both of the veteran troopers were singing their lungs out as rock music filled the confines of the drop pod.
"I'm on a highway to Hell! Highway to Hell! I'm on a highway to Hell! Highway to Hell!…"
"Those two are crazy," Seenas said, craning his head around to look at Kiera.
Kiera simply nodded.

Why did it have to be a deep strike mission. Damn drop pod insertions… I hate them!
Kiara-Ne's bad mood grew worse as the 14th fell to earth. With her in her pod were Gien-Nu, Shackler, Zippa and Cyclan. Kiara-Ne's stomach turned somersaults as the pod rocked with turbulence, and she growled. Gien-Nu, despite looking a bit green, seemed to be coping with the drop, occupying herself with organizing the final tactical information they would need when they landed. Cyclan meanwhile looked nervous. Harnessed next to Zippa, he couldn't take his eyes off her hands. Small flames enveloped them, showing her nervousness at the drop, and eagerness to engage the enemy. Another patch of turbulence shook the drop pod, and the flames around Zippa's hands flared up. Cyclan worried that if Zippa got too jumpy, she might accidentally fry them all with her flames.

"What on Mobius was that?" Meri-Sa cried out as the drop pod shook violently.
Ali-Co laughed.
"Enemy artillery I'd say," she told the medic. "We're probably in range of their guns."
"Can they hit us?" Kiera asked
"Only if they're lucky," Ali-Co replied. "Hopefully we're falling too fast for them to get a lock on."

Kiara-Ne grit her teeth as the drop pod was tossed about. The muffled sounds of explosions could just be heard coming from outside.
"Status," she demanded of Gien-Nu.
The communications officer checked her readouts.
"Coming under enemy fire," she replied. "It's only going to get heavier from here, Ma'am."
"Ground support?"
"Syntar reports infiltration has been successful, and he's in position. Deimos has our armor support in place, and will link up once we've made landfall in T-minus 50 seconds."
"It's about time," Zippa growled. "I hate feeling this exposed."
"Alright," Kiara-Ne said "Everyone get ready for combat. Shackler?"
The sounds of snoring answered her, and Kiara-Ne sighed.
"Will someone wake up Shackler."
Cyclan nodded, and managed to elbow his fellow trooped, waking him up from his nap.
"Huh? What?"
Shackler looked about and yawned.
"We on the ground yet?" he asked
"30 seconds," Gien-Nu replied.
Shackler smiled, looking forward to the coming fight.

Ali-Co turned off the music as the information that they were about to land filtered through. With twenty seconds left before impact, the drop pod's retro thrusters burst into life, slowing the decent of the pods. The harnesses that held the members of the 14th reacted to the sudden deceleration, air pockets in them inflating slightly to help cushion the shock on the troopers. Kiera breathed a sigh of relief. There was a heavy thud, and the pod tilted suddenly as it crashed into the ground. A moment passed, and then the harnesses released, and the sides of the drop pod peeled open to allow the legionnaires to disembark.

Grabbing their weapons from the overhead compartments, the 14th charged forth. Kiara-Ne glanced across at the other drop pod, relived that they had also made it safely to the ground. Around the drop site, the enemy were in disarray with the assault platoon's violent arrival. As her troops fanned out to secure the area, Kiara-ne smiled. The enemy never knew what hit them...