text: There were whispers in the rain that day, mixing with the smells of fuel, salt spray, and exhaust on the flight deck. I was walking among my Marines as we waited, grey clouds mingled slowly overhead. Bulldog dropships were idling, finishing their preflight checks a few dozen meters away, and in the distance the coast of CON 7 loomed. This was to be the last of it, but there were rumors among the strike group. Rumors with no thread of truth I could find, but somehow persisted. “EQUIPMENT CHECKS! I swear to God if somebody’s suit or chute fails, I will have your ass after you bury yourself in the dirt.” There were some laughs, but I could tell their minds were somewhere else, and they knew I knew. “Sir what’s the good word?” a Corporal asked. “About?” I answered, watching the Bulldog’s marshallers, waiting for them to signal us to board. The Corporal continued undeterred, “Some new tech sir, everyone’s talking about it. No one’s seen it. Word is, the Splints are *scared*.” I remember I was about to tell him that the Splints had every reason to be scared, without some shiny new toy on the field. They had URE Marines to worry about, but then the signal came, “NINTH COMPANY!! LOAD UP!!” Minutes later we were strapped in, buckets on, and breaking deck as the Bulldogs launched and accelerated for the coast. Flying low over the water, the heads-up display on my visor pinged. A time to go clock started counting down as we approached our drop point. An INSC strong hold that was coordinating resistance fighters fleeing East into the highlands. We were to drop on top of it, secure it, and retransmit any actionable intel back to the strike group. If we managed to take and hold it. “ONE MINUTE!” The ramp dropped and I check that my rifle’s charge pack was secure before latching the weapon to my suit. Green status lights from my Marines lit up on my visor. Here we go. “THIRTY SECONDS!” I clenched my teeth and waited for the order. Eyes focused on the open door less than two meters away. The drop master gave me a thumbs up, smiled, and waved me forward. He was happy, there wasn’t any anti-aircraft fire today. Five seconds. The drop master flashed a green light in my face and pointed out the door. I didn’t have to think. I just leapt and my suit acted. Immediately stabilizing in the high-speed slipstream, before deploying its airbrakes. Broadcasting my position to the rest of them as I fell. Our objective was marked and stood apart from the terrain, half-buried in the dirt to conceal its profile. My chute deployed at 150 meters along with the last of the airbrakes when the first shots came up to meet us. Only small arms, the landing was smooth. Once I was sure all my boots were upright on the dirt, we went to work. *Fast.* Within fifteen minutes we had the small base secured with no friendlies killed, and only a handful wounded. I finished sending the encrypted transmission back to higher when I was called back up to the surface. “Captain, we’ve been made. Coming from the North, and lots of them!” I looked across the flat terrain and increased the visor magnification to its maximum. The private wasn’t lying. There were dozens of light vehicles, filled with infantry heading our way. “Spread out and dig in, I’ll make the call,” I switched off our local comm net and called for air support as the company scrambled to get into what little cover there was. I felt relief when the acknowledgement came back, confirming that fast movers were being re-tasked from the South. They came overhead and tipped in from thousands of meters above. I waited to see the weapons release, but it never happened. Confused, I watched our saviors break off, streaking back the way they had come. I remember sitting up to watch the Splints close the distance. Then the Earth shook, knocking me on my ass. The shockwave passed over as I lay on the steps down into the base, before struggling to my feet. Dust and dirt hung in the air. “All clear sir. The Splints are...gone.” The data had been transmitted, our mission was complete, and we were going to live. Sitting up, I popped the seal on my helmet and stared at the red dirt caked on my boots, breathing deep. My name is Captain Mafferty and that was my last drop of the Unification.