CT-1207 wasn't bred to be afraid of heights. He wasn't bred to be afraid of anything, yet he knew fear was with him now. His hand constricted around a rubber grip as the gunship ascended further and further into the stormy clouds. The winds rocked the transport pushing CT-1207 into other troopers in the already packed cabin. Despite the tenacious weather outside the ship, the ride was silent, none of the clones conversed about the normal topics: blaster practice, mess hall food, or eagerness to hit the field. Nothing.
It was their first unsimulated jump, and they had to do it in a torrential downpour on Kamino. It was hardly a mistake, the bounty hunter hired to train their airborne specialty had insisted they wait until conditions declined for the clones to paradrop, he saw it as a good catalyst for an activation of the fight or flight instinct. What it was was suicide, and every clone on the gunship knew it. But they weren't afraid, they weren't bred to be afraid. So far only one platoon in Krayt Company had made the jump down to the platform some ten kilometers down to the platforms on Tipocia City. However their casualty rate had not been reported due to 'complications' in tallying the results.
CT-1207 shifted his gaze to the front of the compartment, where a stern clone sergeant eyed the troopers, helmet secured firmly in his right hand, mind secured firmly on the mission. The blue stripes on his uniform were freshly painted, probably even done this morning, and the sun reflected off his polished armor as the gunship cleared the remaining clouds in the atmosphere. He slid his helmet on with precision just before his voice crackled over the in-helmet radio.
"Sixty seconds to drop," he announced, raising a fist with one finger pointing skyward, nearly pointing directly at the red lights that gleamed across the cabin, "Gear check."
Both columns of clones began checking the trooper immediately in front of them before signaling that they were ready to drop. CT-1207 focused in on Redfin, the trooper in front of him, and went through the same thing he was drilled on methodically. He felt hands touch his own gear as he mirrored the movement in almost near synchronization on Redfin's equipment. Jetpack stabilizer secured; Wings attached and securely fastened to hands; blaster bag sealed and magnetically locked. Everything checked out as it should have, this platoon should have no deficiencies. A brief shoulder pat from the trooper behind informed CT-1207 that he was cleared and ready to jump. This signal was mirrored onto Redfin, which then was passed on to next trooper. CT-1207 clicked a button on his wristpad to send a signal to his platoon that he was cleared. His helmet's Heads-Up-Display lit up with a platoon roster with his number marked with a green "all-clear" circle. CT-1207 watched as the last member's numbers turned to green signifying the platoon's readiness to drop. Once this had been achieved, the Sergeant in the front of the gunship marked his name as "all-clear", and CT-1276 was checked green on the platoon roster, completing the platoons pre-jump inspection.
The sergeant's hand now displayed two fingers skyward, and momentarily later the gunship's massive side doors swung open and into the lock position at the rear of the craft. The red light faded into a dark yellow, followed by all the troopers shifting to face one of the large exits. Lined up nearest to the edge, as they had so many time before in simulations and gravity assist training, CT-1207 dared to glance downwards, eyeing the fluffy white ocean with slight animosity. Those clouds perfectly obstructed his view of the landing platform, most likely another factor their trainer had deemed necessary for today's test. It wouldn't be until he was in free fall and past the clouds that he could accurately see where he really needed to land. His thoughts of free falling were put on hold and made a reality when the yellow light faded and was overcome with an emerald green hue. One by one the troopers on either side of the gunship jumped down from front to rear. Redfin clutched his arms together and vanished into the upper atmosphere. Reflex took over; CT-1207 crossed his arms, took a short step forward, and began to plummet towards the silver city.