Drop Troopers Pt 1

It was a normal morning on the space station, or at least as much of a normal as there ever could be in space. Being assigned to the 1st Shock Assault Drop Trooper Battalion, or 1st SADT, was already hard enough, however having to be deployed to space was even harder. Taylor Hazzard rolled out of her bunk and looked out of the viewport at the Earth below still in awe of the views which she was able to see every day. "Hey Lola! what are you looking at!?" A Hispanic voice could be heard from outside of the semi-private bunk which she was assigned. "You see this view every 90 minutes, surely it must be old by now? When we get back planet side, me Abuela is going to make us some street tacos like they do in Mexico City. Are you in?" Taylor, still waking up and not having had her first cup of coffee of the morning let out a large yawn.

"Just like every time you ask me that question Mendez, my answer is always going to be yes. I haven't had street Tacos in ages." She tied her hair into a pony tail and slid into her station uniform. She opened up her laptop and waited while her computer connected to the station's internal communications network before opening her calendar program. "There isn't much on today's schedule," she began as she also started her email. "Just be sure to get in some exercise in today. Space is detrimental after all."

"Yes Ma'am." Corporal Ignacio Lopez rendered a small two finger salute, more reminiscent of the ones the Boy Scouts of old once used. It was not intended so much to render common military courtesy, but more so to signal to her that he had heard her but had no real intention of following her suggestion to do some extra exercise than what was required by the regulations put forth by the Marine Corp for Drop Troopers. The computer's email system was being surprisingly fast for being two thousand miles above the planet's surface. She looked out her small window again at the Earth. The station was less than ten minutes away from crossing over the terminator into nightfall over Europe. Her computer made a quiet chirp indicating a new item had been added to her calendar. This was her first tour of duty in orbit and it had been a very dull six months. She only had a few more days, less than a week before the recovery shuttle was scheduled to bring her, her company, and the other two companies on board back to Earth and also bring in their replacements. The words STAFF MEETING 0800 appeared on her computer screen in large letters.

"Why 0800? The Colonel always does this when he had his command staff participate in late night PT. Ughh." The smell of the station's mess hall had finally made it's way into her quarters. Being that she was the companies Executive Officer, she did have several perks on board the station. She was able to choose her own quarters and largely make her own schedule, which she took ample advantage of. She picked up a cup of cold coffee which was sitting on the lamp stand by her bunk, took a sip and immediately spat it out. "Ewww, gross, its cold," she said.

Taylor's quarters were small like everyone else's on board, however she was not required to share the room with another person unlike the junior officer snd enlisted personnel. She was however, forced to share a kitchenette and a bathroom with one other individual. "Everything okay Tay?" asked a woman's voice from inside the kitchenette.

"All good here Jess, just some ice cold coffee from last night." Jessica Newhall poked her head out of the kitchenette. Her auburn hair a disheveled mess from having just woken up moments ago. Her hazel eyes gazed at Taylor's face as she spoke.

"You sure? I can put a new pot on." Jessica stood in front of the sink washing some of the dishes from their dinner last night. "you know," she continued, "at the staff meeting today, we should bring up the topic of block leave. Most of the platoon leaders were asked about it while you were out the last two weeks with the Flu." Taylor walked into the kitchenette still looking like death from her bout with the Flu. She stopped and and Embraces Jessica before she opened the refrigerator and snatched an energy drink. "Tay, we talked about this when I became the company commander."

" I know, but we're also partners, and I wanted to give my partner a morning hug. Besides we technically don't start our duty till the staff meeting anyways." Jessica sighed in resignation before returning the embrace.

"I'm making you some new fresh coffee." Taylor looked at her, opened the can drank the twenty four ounce energy drink in one nonstop gulp. Jessica gave her a look of horror, shock, surprise and disgust all at one. "On second thought, let's go get breakfast." Taylor gave her a thumbs up.

The hallways of the station were cramped. The space station became fully operational in two thousand and thirty seven after four years of construction. Now some four years later, somehow an Air Force Captain is the executive officer for a bunch of marines under the command of a Naval Lieutenant Commander. The two officers made their way to the mess hall. It was more crowded than usual, with several hundred Drop Troopers from the carious companies on board the station all enjoying their morning meal. After taking what was technically food onto their trays, the pair found a couple of seats next to the battalion commander, Marine Corp Colonel Samuel Keys, and the deputy commander Major Jacob Caldwell.

Colonel Keys was an older Marine. At the age of fifty, he had been in the Marine Corp for over thirty years. This was his fourth command and was supposed to be his last before his retirement. According to the service record Taylor had read, he enlisted in the Corp right out of High School in two thousand and eight. He received his commission in two thousand and twelve during Operation Enduring Freedom. Major Caldwell's record however was surprisingly sparse. He was a West Point graduate and prior tank commander. His only other assignment was to the Seventh Armored Division, Third Company at Fort Knox. There was however, a notable mention which detailed how he received the Distinguished Service Cross for actions he tool during the Fourth Battle of Fallujah. "Newhall, Hazzard," Keys said without missing a beat while putting a spoonful of food in his mouth. "You both sleep well?" Taylor looked up from her bowl of cereal.

"I slept alright all things considered."

"Good." he smiled and took a bite of the cheese grits which remained in his bowl. Somehow during their short conversation, he had almost finished eating his bowl of grits "Have your Troopers ensure their gear is."

"Sir, There is an urgent communique from the Pentagon!" came a voice from behind the Major. Everyone turned and looked and saw naval Lieutenant Campos from Charlie Company. She, like LCDR Jessica Newhall was previously a Hospital Corpsman before earing a commission during the Second Afghanistan War. Lt Campos stood waiting for the Colonel respond. She gave both women a smile which Taylor took as approval of her and Jessica's decision to stay partners.

"Thank you Lt. Campos, Commander, Major, Captain," the Colonel said standing up. He turned around and jogged out of the mess hall to the SCIF.

"I guess this means the staff meeting is canceled then." Major Caldwell just stared into the emptiness which was his coffee mug as he spoke. There was a hollowness in his voice, which Taylor took as one of resigned depression. One of the many dangers of these long deployments in space was the restrictions which were placed on normal day to day life. On top of having to conform to the general requirements of a standard deployment in the U.S. Military, every person on board the station had to also conform to the general safe practices of astronauts. Both of those combined tended to give a sense of depression to people who already weren't the greatest in social interactions. With this is mind the fledgling Drop Trooper Division within the Marine Corp had put out guidelines to all the battalion commanders to do whatever possible to include everyone on the station at events. "Commander, Captain." With that the Major stood up and walked out of the mess hall.

"Well, I guess it's us girls then," said Campos as she sat down in the same chair which Colonel Keys was previously in. "So," she continued "when is the big day?" Both Taylor and Jessica blushed with Jessica lightly kicking Campos in the shin. "Owww, okay I get it. Not yet." The three of them conversed for several more minutes watching the comings and goings of the various Drop Troopers enter and leave the mess hall.

"Well, I guess it's time that we get to work. Wouldn't you agree Commander?" asked Taylor.

"Yeah I guess so," replied Jessica. "See you at lunch?" She had a sly grin on her face while asking knowing the answer before she even asked.

"Oh you know it."

"All Company Commanders and Executive Officers, please report to the SCIF. All Company Commanders and Executive Officers, please report to the SCIF. All other Drop Troopers man your stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill." The voice over the intercom system continued to repeat the announcement and the drop lights changed from their normal light blue to red. Klaxon's blared and the station was alive with activity.

If the space station was small and claustrophobic, then the SCIF was even worse. The room was crowded. A total of fifteen individuals, two from each Company in the battalion were present along with Colonel Keys and Major Caldwell. "Everyone," Keys began "as of zero five hundred hours eastern, the Pentagon has placed the entire Corps on Alert Status Alpha. The Chinese People's Liberation Army has amassed thousands of soldiers, tanks, ships and aircraft in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan." Keys continued to speak as several of the other company commanders murmured to each other and amongst themselves, forming plans upon plans on how to combat the PLA. Finally someone spoke up.

"Does this mean we are going to drop?" asked Jessica? Keys looked at her with an expression which needed no explanation. She had gotten her answer, and it was a resounding yes.

"Yes Commander, that means we are going to drop. Right now, every company is having their specific area of responsibility, A.O.R, uploaded into the command suite of your M97 Special Operations Battle Armor." Everyone in the room shifted uneasily as Keys spoke. The room darkened as a screen was lowered from the ceiling,

"This is the Straits of Taiwan," said Major Caldwell. Jessica leaned over and took Taylor's hand, giving it a squeeze and interlacing their fingers while listening to the briefing. Major Caldwell spoke for the better part of an hour about the tactical position and strength of the Chinese force. The vast majority of his portion of the briefing was, in Taylor's mind, useless. All she needed to know was if there was going to be any back up which she could expect and how long she needed to hold out for once planeside. Taylor squeezed Jessica's hand in response and continued to listen to the briefing.

The drop bay was alive with activity when the Marines of Bravo Company began arriving with their gear. Every Drop Pod had maintenance technicians performing pre-flight checks, weapons system loading, even fueling operations to ensure that the vehicles were able to be launched at a moment's notice. From the entrance of the hangar, the entire inner ring of the station was visible. When the Pentagon stood up the Drop Trooper program, it was envisioned that the entire armed forces would one day be inserted into combat zones from space. At least, this is what Congress was sold and so the United States Drop Troop Division was created as a special division under command of the Marine Corps. Anyone who joined earned the title of Marine upon completion of the twenty week course.

However, due to cost overruns with the construction of the three orbital platforms, and issues with developing the M97 armor system, the Pentagon had scaled the program down from a whole division, to regimental size. In total there was than two thousand Drop Troops spread across five battalions. This hangar was, when devoid of maintenance equipment, capable of holding an entire company of Marines and their pods. "We have a rouge engine start!" a tech yelled. The sound of the rocket motor filled the entire hangar bay. The emergency alarm began sounding and the depressurization lights and timer came to life as the emergency evacuation system was brought online automatically.

"I can't get out!" yelled a tech named Jacob Jones. This was, like the majority of the station, his first rotation in space. Mendez was almost at the exit way when he heard Jones's yell for help.

"Make a hole!, you! Pull a rebreather!" Mendez shouted and pointed to Staff Sargent Palofox. It was standard procedure for everyone in the hangar to leave if there was a rouge engine start. In this case, someone's life was at risk and there was something Ignacio Mendez could do about it. He sealed his helmet, making it air tight as did Palofox. Both ran with a rebreather to assist Jones out of the pod before it was jettisoned into orbit. Mendez activated the armors Movement Assistance function, increasing his speed by an astonishing seventy five percent. The micro servos in the armor's legs groaned and after a moment hummed like a well oiled engine.

The air in the hangar was dangerously thin. In fact it had almost been completely evacuated by the time Mendez had reached Jones. Mendez saw what was keeping the poor tech pinned to the command couch in the Drop Pod. It was a panel which had come loose when the rocket motor roared to life. He wasn't sure what Jones was working on, but whatever it was, it didn't matter. Mendez pulled the panel off, shearing the bolts clean out of their sockets. "Hey, hey Jones. You there? Jones?" There was no response. Mendez checked Jones's pulse. It was erratic and he wasn't breathing. "Where is that rebreather!" Mendez yelled into his comms.

"Right behind you." Ssgt. Palofox placed the rebreather over Jones's face, picked him up in a fireman's carry and ran towards the hangar exit.

"I'm right here," Mendez muttered to himself. he scanned the interior of the command center, located the emergency shutdown override switch and pulled it. The engine flooded itself with fuel, smothering the combustion chamber leaving no space for the oxidizer to fill in and create the explosive reaction which powered the engine. The station's computer recognized the pod was no longer going to need to be jettisoned and re-pressurized the hangar.

"Wha? What Happened? I almost died," Jones said in a groggy voice after regaining consciousness. As he began to sit up a team of medics rounded the corner.

"Once the medic's give you a look over, I want you to go see Major Holliday." Jones nodded, but had a glazed look on his face, as if he was about to loose consciousness again. " I gave you an order Airman!" shouted Palofox. The sound of the order being barked through the suits speakers was enough to bring Jones too once more.

"It's okay sarge," one of the medics said without turning around. "He's going to be fine. Just some oxygen deprivation, nothing a little time off won't fix." The two medics took Airman Jones out from the hangar area and began heading towards the station's infirmary. It wasn't that far up spin, only about a kilometer, however at times it felt longer.

It wasn't long before Taylor and Jessica entered the hangar bay and found where their company was congregating. "Hey, Lola! how long are we going to to just stand here? I hate being in M97's with nothing to shoot at!" asked Mendez. Several of the other Marines gave obligatory nods and yes's to the end of Mendez's statement.

"Hey, listen guys," Jessica began, "I'm sure it won't be long until we drop. Based on the intel we received at the briefing it will be sometime in the next day or so. So until then..." She was cur off by the sound of the alarm klaxons.

"All Marines, man your pods, this is not a drill, again All Marines man your pods. Hot Drop in less than 5 minutes." The voice was that of Colonel Keys. The announcement played on repeat every thirty seconds, each one with the time till drop decreasing as needed.

"All right, ladies and gents, this is it. It is the real deal!" Jessica said over her company coms. Everyone in Bravo Company scrambled to their pods. "Hazzard, my pod for a moment." Taylor sprinted over to Jessica's Drop Pod. There was less than four minutes remaining till it was time to drop.

"What's up?"

"This isn't how I had planned this and definitely not how I wanted to ask it." Taylor's helmet was not on and Jessica could see a tear slide down her face. She took her helmet off. Taylor put a finger over Jessica's mouth making her stop before she said anything.

"Before you ask, Yes. A million times yes." The two embraced. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Neither of the ladies, at this moment cared if anyone saw them break military professionalism. Neither of them cared about anything, other than this brief moment in time where they decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

"When this is all over, I'll resign my commission."

"We can talk about this after we both make it back. Taylor Hazzard straightened up, gave her new fiancé a quick kiss on the cheek and rendered a salute. "Good Hunting Commander." She waited for Jessica to return the salute.

"Good hunting Captain. I'll see you in a just a few." Taylor rand off to her Drop Pod. Tears were flowing down her left cheek as she put her helmet on. She entered the quick start commands upon climbing into the command couch. Seconds turned to minutes, and the last remaining minutes turned in what felt like hours until the hangar doors opened and all Captain Taylor Hazzard saw on the internal view screen was a picture she had hung up of the two of them in their last vacation to the Florida Keys together. She took the picture down and slid it into a side pocket on her armor and rechecked her helmet's HUD systems. "All Platoons report in" Commander Newhall said over the platoon commander coms.

"First platoon all green, ready for re-entry" Hazzard said over the radio. She looked over the status of everyone's heat shields in her platoon. All of them were in the green. Her main engine kicked in sending her stomach into her chest. On the primary display, a predicted re-entry map showed a map of the island of Taiwan with a zoomed in area code named Kansas Beach.