chap 14

Ahhh yessss. More of our Little Medic. Let's watch him go through airborne training. Static jumps refer to jumping out of a plane with a tether line which automatically opens the chute of the jumper. The line is hooked on a slide inside the plane on the ceiling, with the jumpers sliding the line along it to the door, then they turn loose of it and jump out. When they hit the end of the line, it rips the chute pack open, and their chute deploys. The line stays attached to the plane. This serves to have all the chutes opening at the same time, so that the group is together in the sky, floating safely to the ground. It's a standard deployment technique used in several military groups. So now you know.. and Knowing is Half the Battle!

I hope everyone is still enjoying and thank you for reading! Please feel free to review or message!

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Lifeline stood in the back of the transport plane and tried very hard to not think about what he'd had for breakfast. He and the other eleven soldiers were standing and checking each other's parachute packs and straps. He swallowed and gave the routine tugs on Finnegan's straps. "You're good." He gave a shaky thumbs up.

Finnegan looked at him and gave a small smile to reassure him. "Don't look so terrified, Lifeline. It's just a training jump, you gotta qualify to jump out of perfectly good planes.. just in case later we need you to come parachuting in to rescue us. That's what your leg says.. rescue."

He nodded and took a deeper breath. "Yeah. Yeah.. I know. I just.. I don't think there's any real good reason I can give my body to leap out into open air. Just seems like a 'bad idea' to it."

"Yep, your hindbrain does have that tendency to scream about good sense at times like this." She turned and snugged her helmet down over the bandana covering her hair. "You might want to suck it up some so Uban will calm down. She's scared she's going to freeze up in front of her beloved Sergeant major."

It was a mark of how nervous he was that the term barely caused Lifeline to twitch. "I'll try. I just never really jumped out of a plane before.. this is my airborne training." Finnegan gave him a solid thump to his chest. "Thanks.. beat me up then push me out of a plane."

"Suck it up ya pogue." BeachHead came stalking through the group of jumpers. "Form up. I said.. FORM UP!" Everyone jumped and got in order. "Check the guy in front of you, check all the straps." He tugged at Uban's straps since she was the one in front. Slapping her shoulder, he yelled over the engine noise. "You're good. RIPCORD!!" The paratrooper came from the front, all grins. "I want you out as number six, get in the middle behind Evan." He squeezed into place and bumped Lifeline behind him so the medic had to back up some.

"Gimme some space, medic-man."

Beach moved up the line and stopped at Lifeline. "You ready? You look like yer about to puke.. you ain't gonna puke are you?"

"I'll try not to, Sergeant major." Lifeline swallowed and tried to meet Beach's gaze evenly and calmly.

"You do that." His head tilted up as the light began to flash red. "Five minutes.. form it up pogues.. snap on! Dang it Evan, keep yer hand on yer hook! You tangle up everyone else behind you and I'll yank yer butt off this team so fast yer head will SPIN!" Evan grabbed his strap and hung on. "Ya'll all slide those hooks along proper, just like trainin'. Regular as clockwork.. static jumps is the easiest jumps we can do. When I say go, you jump. When the guy in front of you jumps, you step up and you WAIT until I say go.. go it?"

There was a chorus of 'yes, sergeant major' from everyone, including Ripcord although he was grinning and looking entirely too happy about jumping out of a plane. Lifeline looked up and noticed Ripcord wasn't hooked to the static line and reached to tap his shoulder.

"You're not hooked on!" He pointed up to the line and Ripcord nodded at him. "No, you're not hooked on!"

"I'm not supposed to be! If something goes wrong, I'll be chasing whoever didn't have a chute open. I'll pull my chute manually.. same as Beach." Ripcord reached around to slap Lifeline's chest a couple times. "Good spotting it though."

There was a loud chime and BeachHead moved back up to the door. "Ready!!" Everyone straightened up and Lifeline took a firmer grip on the chute line and his stomach both. "Uban! Move up!" Beach undogged the hatch and swung it open. The loud clang and the sound of the air rushing past filled Lifeline's ears despite his helmet. "UBAN!! MOVE UP!"

Leaning out slightly, Lifeline saw Uban shaking her head. Beachhead scowled at her and waved her forward. "No.. no no.. I can't!"

Beach gritted his teeth. "Not the danged front man.. .Uban! Get yer butt up to this danged door NOW!" She staggered forward a few steps out of sheer habit of obeying him. "Get up to the door! You ain't washin' out now!"

She peered up at him fearfully. "Don't fail me Sergeant major!! I just.. I can't do it!"

"Yer gonna danged well jump outa this danged plane or Ah'm sendin' ya back where ya danged well came from!!" His anger made her scoot up to the door although she held a death grip on the static line. The light blinked and turned green and Beach snarled at it. "GREEN! READY UP!" He held a hand out to Uban. "Come on. Time to jump. Just like we practiced.. come on." She clutched the line tighter. "Leggo the line.. time to jump. Come on!" She shook her head frantically and Beach cursed loudly. "Come on.. let GO!" He held out his hand to her. "Trust me.. you'll do just fine.. but you gotta jump now."

She turned loose and reached out to take his hand. "Sergeant major... I.. I just.. "

He tilted his head and grinned. "You'll thank me on the ground.. " He yanked her forward and with a shove, she went out the door. He reached up to move her static line and motioned the next greenshirt forward. "GO!" He sent the next five out quickly so that Ripcord could jump. "Watch 'em... GO!" Ripcord enthusiastically threw himself out and then suddenly Lifeline was standing next to the door staring at a pair of hard annoyed brown eyes. "You ain't gonna stall out too, are you?"

"No Sergeant major!" He pushed his clip down into place and stepped to the door. Looking out at the thin clouds, he paused.

"Out ya go!" He felt the nudge and he bent his knees and pushed out. His arm wrenched painfully and he felt a powerful hand grab the strap across his ribs and yank him back in. "Ya gotta TURN LOOSE of yer static line!" Beach pried his clenched hand off the static line which had yanked him to a stop when he'd forgotten to turn it loose. "Hands across yer chest... do you remember how?"

"Yes Sergeant major." Colored bright red, Lifeline turned back to the door and waited.

"Go!"

He launched himself out, embarrassment covering all of his fear at least until he felt the nothingness supporting his body. He tensed himself up and counted to three and right on cue, his static line yanked and his chute tumbled free of the pack. He jerked around and finally one last giant Whump! and the chute opened up properly. He looked up and saw the open silk above his head and reached to take the steering lines.

Floating over open sky, looking down at the patchwork of the landscape far beneath him, Lifeline could only think of how he really should have chosen to stay on the ground to begin with. Peering around, he counted parachutes carefully and saw ten.. eleven if he included himself. After a moment, he spotted one that had been above him blocked by his own chute. So everyone was safely hanging in midair from thin scraps of silk sewn together by the lowest bidder for a government contract. He took a deep breath and tried to feel thrilled. He gave that up and tried to think of not puking at six thousand feet which is what his altimeter told him he was at.

He watched the others lower than him as they steered towards the landing zone. The lower he dropped, the more he dreaded the landing. The ground seemed to be rushing up at him. Lifeline wondered what happened to the delicate floating and drifting action he remembered the parachuting looking like when he was watching safely from the ground.

Oversteering sent him too far to the right, so he began working his way back over slowly, hoping he wasn't interfering with anyone above him. As he approached the ground, he could hear the loud shouts of triumph from a couple of the ones on the ground already. Uban's shrieks came from slightly further away as she went in for a landing too.

"Oh god.. oh god.. don't let me break both of my legs.." Lifeline took a few breaths. "Don't let me break EITHER of my legs!"

Tugging his straps, he slowed the fall as much as possible and swung his legs forward just like the training. The shock of hitting the ground startled him but he still reacted properly and managed to land and get his chute down. He began gathering it up and stowed it before BeachHead could land and begin bellowing at them all to get the chutes stowed away properly.

The Ranger had bright eyes and a jaunty walk that Lifeline rarely had seen before. The man was insane. Jumping out of perfectly good planes was crazy enough, but to enjoy it? Insane.

The gruff Ranger shouted with an amused tone in his voice. "Lifeline! You manage to drop without pukin' up on the way down?"

Lifeline nodded. "Yes Sergeant major."

"Good good. You'll be jumpin' like a pro in no time." He turned to shout across to the smaller figure hunched over her pack. "UBAN!! You survive that jump?"

She glared at him and clenched her fists. "You.. you BASTARD!! You threw me out of the plane!"

He chuckled. "Naw.. I just gave ya a little nudge towards the door."

Uban took a few steps towards him, her face getting red. "I was scared and you threw me out of the damned plane!!"

Lifeline watched the burly Ranger cross his arms and smirk at her. "Yeah? Would ya prefer I washed ya out? Next time, you'll jump by yourself. You'll see.. it gets easier."

Her face went dark and she launched at him. Lifeline scrambled over only to be waved off by Ripcord who stood nearby. The airman shook his head. "Let Beach take care of it." The medic watched Uban fly up and throw a powerful punch at Beach's head. The Ranger dodged just enough for it to miss and gave the woman a swat to her head which drove her into the grass. Uban was quick to her feet though and attacked again, landing ineffective kicks on BeachHead's thigh armor. Her strikes at his head and midsection were intercepted by powerful forearms that redirected the blows to the side. Every time she tried to tackle him, he simply drove her into the ground again.

Lifeline winced as she went facefirst into the grass again. She staggered up and spat dirt and bits of plant out and stood panting and glaring at Beach who crouched slightly waiting. She pointed at him.

"If you ever throw me out of a plane again... " She stalled out suddenly.. with nothing to use as a threat. "I'll...I'll..."

Ripcord spoke up. "You'll short-sheet his bed?" There was general laughter and she colored up. "Come on, Uban.. give it up."

She snarled instead, turning back to the amused Ranger. "Stupid backwoods hick!" and kicked a dirt clod at BeachHead and he was on top of her without warning, snatching her by the front of her harnessing and pinning her to the ground. She kicked a few times and ended up facedown in the dirt. Beach kept her pinned there with a knee in her back.

"Now... if'n yer done with yer little temper tantrum..." The instructor leaned over her to peer at the filthy angry face. "I'll overlook some piss and vinegar.. but there ain't gonna be no disrespectin' of yer instructors on my watch. Do ya get me?" She jerked trying to get loose and he leaned on her. Even with her own body armor, the crushing weight alone focused on the center of her back was painful and she finally nodded. "I don't hear ya..."

"Yes Sergeant major," she spat out. He lifted off of her and reached to pick her up by the back of her armor, setting her onto her feet and giving her a cursory brushing off. A heavy-handed pat on her back and he walked off, already yelling for people to gather their gear and get the packs ready for the run back to the pick up zone. Uban shook the bits of grass off herself and began to stuff the last of her gear into the various pockets and pouches of her pack.

Lifeline walked up. "You okay?"

She turned and shoved him roughly away. "Shut up."

He sighed. "I understand you're mad.."

Now she clenched her jaw and interrupted him. "You don't understand! You don't!" Grabbing up her things, she stalked off, swinging her pack onto her back and fastening the straps. Lifeline hefted his own heavy pack up and broke into a trot to catch up with the group as Beach harassed them into a line to head out.

The Ranger was in good humor all over again and ran herd on them, shouting loudly from the side. "Ya'll seem awfully perky to me.. I think that means ya'll need to run back to the pick up at double-time.. come on! Move it! Pick 'em up, n' put 'em down! Get movin!" The group struggled into a loping run and he grinned under his facemack. "There ya go... if'n ya'll get to the pick up site in a good enough time, I might even let ya'll ride in the truck back to base. Ya'll wanna lollygag along, and I'll know ya'll need to run back to base behind the danged truck... so what's it gonna be?"

Ripcord sped up a bit and everyone groaned and followed his lead. Beach happily loped alongside Lifeline and looked over at him. "You gonna make it?"

"I'll make it just fine, BeachHead." He took a deep breath and let it out. "You really shouldn't have thrown Uban out though.. won't you get into trouble for that?"

Beach grinned at him. "What? For a little shove in the right direction? Naw. If'n she'd gone splat.. yeah, I might have a few reports to fill out.. but I wouldn't have let her go splat." He gave a shrug. "She's too good to go and let her wash out just on accounta she's nervy 'bout jumpin' outa a plane. Can't let her go to waste."

Lifeline shook his head a bit. He was certain that in BeachHead's orderly universe, that made perfect sense. To him, they were all insane. He suddenly laughed softly at himself. He'd have to include himself in the insanity, since he was voluntarily subjecting himself not only to the physically demanding routines ordered by BeachHead.. but also the the insanity that was part of the GI Joe team in general and specifically to the craziness centered around treating the toughest group of military soldiers ever as a fairly unwanted medic that was at best considered a nuisance for wanting to at least splint their broken bones before they hared off on a new mission.

"We're all crazy."

Beach looked at him warily. "Well.. yeah. You'll get that." He looked up at the rest of the group. "You want to be the only guy running on the ground back to base? I'd pick up the pace. You might be a pocket-sized little pogue, but you'll just have to run twice as many steps if you keep draggin' ass back here instead of running proper."

Lifeline sucked it up and lengthened his stride further, beginning to feel his legs burning. "Got it.. I got it!" BeachHead's chuckle sounded a bit evil as the Ranger sped up to go harass some of the others instead of his favorite target in red.

"Come on you buncha whiny little snots! Get it goin'! That danged little medic is gonna outrun all of ya'll if'n you don't pick up the pace some! I wanna see assholes and elbows, people.. move!"

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Uban stood with Lifeline waiting patiently for her instructor to arrive. The medic was mostly puzzled as to why he'd been asked to meet with LowLight and Uban. She was up for a sniper position soon and LowLight had been ramping up all of her training. Lifeline was confused though, since he had no training session at all with LowLight, unless he counted LowLight getting to shoot at him during his obstacle course runs.

Uban was still being rather sulky over BeachHead shoving her out of the plane. Lifeline had finally figured out that she wasn't so much angry at being tossed out of an airplane... as wounded that Beach would do that to her. Doc spent half an afternoon explaining the emotional ties that occasionally formed with some of the greenshirts. No matter how much the instructor discouraged it, there would be the rare trainee that idealized him, despite his brutal training, despite his prickly personality. Sooner or later, they all learned better. Doc had found it all extremely amusing and told his second in command medic that he'd learn to spot them earlier on. Lifeline still felt rather bad for Uban, although she snapped angrily at anyone who tried to talk to her.

Lifeline sighed in relief when LowLight finally walked in. Uban stood at attention with him until the sniper waved her off. LowLight's calm mellow voice told them to relax.

"Private Uban, it's time to give you your final exam for sniping." LowLight's voice sounded almost amused as he turned to the medic. "I need you here to be a witness to me giving her the orders for her mission."

Lifeline looked from Uban to him. "Why me?"

"Because I can trust you not to leak the information to anyone, you're high enough in rank to matter, and we usually use one of the medical personnel as our failsafe. You don't have to 'do' anything at all, Lifeline. Just witness the orders, and keep your mouth shut." LowLight waited for him to acknowledge and then turned to Uban. "Alright... your mission, and your final exam to pass as a GreenShirt Sniper Qualified, is as follows..." He took a deep breath and handed over a rifle case. "This is a specially altered rifle. This is your weapon for the duration of this exercise. You will locate, approach, and then take out your target with at least one 'fatal' shot to the body. You may not shoot within the confines of the Pit's lower levels. Lower levels means anything below the ground level. Understand?"

Uban looked confused. "In the Pit? I'm supposed to shoot someone on base?"

LowLight smiled just a little bit. "It's a specially modified gun that shoots paint ammunition, called 'Simunition'. It is nearly as loud as your regular sniper rifle, has similar range, and I sighted it in myself to the same specifications as your regular rifle."

Now the greenie relaxed and nodded, getting serious. "Yes Sergeant! Who's the target?"

Now LowLight's smile widened slightly. "BeachHead." Lifeline twitched and watched Uban's face flash with a look of horror before she wiped it away and adopted a careless expression. "You will engage as a sniper mission, using concealment, taking the target out, and then you must get away without being caught. Complete this, and you'll receive your sniper tabs for GI Joe Greenshirt Brigade." She nodded and the sniper added. "If you get caught, you'll have to preform whatever punishments or beatings Beach decides on, although you will not receive any official sanctions nor will there be any reference to it in your file. Just a tip?" He watched her look at him. "Don't shoot him in the head, the Simunition can injure someone that way, it's not a regular paintgun... and don't shoot his armor. It won't count as a kill shot if you hit his armor and the paint sticks in the porous outer layer and he won't be able to clean it off. That cheeses Beach off worse than anything, so I'd avoid it."

"Got it, don't shoot him in the head, and make it a legitimate kill shot, don't get caught." She nodded grimly, but Lifeline could see the smug evilness in her eyes. She was going to enjoy her mission. He hummed softly. She'd enjoy it IF she didn't get busted.

He felt the need to speak up. "LowLight? Are you sure it's a good idea to sicc her on Beach? I mean... isn't there a better target that won't... umm.. murder everyone in sight the instant he gets shot with a paintgun?"

LowLight shrugged. "There's only three targets that she can impress me with by hitting successfully. She can go after BeachHead, because that Ranger is paranoid and constantly on alert for hostiles. She could go after SnakeEyes, because let's face it, a ninja is the hardest target ever. But also, no one in their right mind would ever shoot SnakeEyes with a paintgun.. and I don't want him coming after me for setting it up. That brings us back to BeachHead."

The sniper turned to leave and Lifeline stopped him. "Wait... you said three targets... that's only two. Who's the other target she could impress you by hitting?"

LowLight smirked. "Hawk."

Uban turned white and Lifeline nodded. "Yesss... so BeachHead it is. I hope he doesn't break any of your major bones, Uban."

"Oh.. he won't catch me." Uban slapped a clip of the special ammo into the rifle and smiled evilly. "He'll never know what hit him."

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End Chapter

Ooo, this seems like such a great idea. Let's shoot BeachHead with a super-paintball rifle. Yes. *rolling eyes* Simunition actually does exist, and once a rifle is modified slightly, it acts much like a extreme paintball type round. It's called a "marking round" and is used in training. No, you can't buy it for use at home, sorry. You can see it in action on the Military Channel's program "Special Ops Mission".