SENJO<br/><br/>Alone of all non-debilitating physical trauma and physical stresses and impacts, the sensation of freefall has an effect on me. The manufactured 'blood' that pumps through my system is thinner in consistency than human blood. In freefall it rushes up into my head to the extent that I sense the pressure and experience a slight dizziness and aggravated buzzing and clicking in the tubes of my ears. Drops comprise an extended or attenuated period of freefall for a variety of factors - planet mass, orbital altitude, weather systems, geography, tactical considerations. An extended freefall can make me nauseous, a fact I keep to myself. If the marines of my unit found out I suffered such a weakness I do not doubt some would react negatively or voice concerns about my reliability.<br/><br/>When the ship dropped I leaned forward and rested my head in my palms, my hands being on my knees, something civilian aviation safety specialists called the crash posture, though I did not quite put my head between my knees and place my hands on my neck. Keeping my head in a downwards facing aspect reduced the dizziness and nausea.<br/><br/>Within thirty seconds the Cheyenne dropship had hit the atmosphere of planetoid LV-1875 and the UD-4L entered a more horizontal flight attitude. I sat upright and stared expressionlessly ahead letting the buffets of air turbulence run through my frame. I passed the time to the DZ by trying to calculate the force of the storm by accounting for the roll, pitch and yaw of the Cheyenne against its weight.<br/><br/>It was a severe storm, with wind speeds in excess of ninety knots and numerous low pressure pockets the dropship would lurch into. Typical features of a young atmosphere.<br/><br/>Another reason I refrained from making eye contact during the drop was that in past drops with Kilo Platoon I had taken up the same posture. It was predictable that the joke quickly went around the marines that the 'synth is kissing her ass goodbye'.<br/><br/>The ship possessed no ventral portholes, it was an outer-orbital craft and hull integrity was a vital consideration. Around the Leftenant's command seat a bank of monitors gave external views from cameras. As we descended out of the clouds a dark windswept landscape was revealed with many large outcrops of rock, the horizon being occluded by the mist and swirled rain clouds.<br/><br/>The engine note climbed, the nose pitched higher and the pilot brought us to a hover before reducing pitch and settling down to a heavy landing on what felt like a slight left-downward slope.<br/><br/>I unbuckled and readied my pulse rifle.<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/KiloPlatoon_09.jpg)<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/KiloPlatoon_10.jpg)<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/KiloPlatoon_11.jpg)<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/KiloPlatoon_12.jpg)<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/KiloPlatoon_14.jpg)