Time: 1755\

July 17, 2527\

Aboard the UNSC Excalibur

Well, that's a new one for me. I've heard of the phrase 'turning purple' in relation to peoples faces when they get angry, but I've never seen it before today. The Sergeant on duty today turned a lovely shade of violet when he learned I've never been in a drop-pod. Apparently it's something Corbulo is supposed to teach to anyone that is even considering becoming an ODST, but because of the attack, I was never trained.

When the NCO brought this to Eric's attention, they learned that there were several newer ODSTs in the same state I was in. With Covenant popping up all over the place, there was no time to focus on anything other than specialized training for all incoming marines, so those of us with no drop-pod training just fell through the cracks. At least, we did until now. Once the officers realized just how many of us were struggling to teach ourselves, they decided that training us would be a new priority, alongside screening new recruits to make sure they were up to date with everything they'd been taught.

Still, when Commander Faldon announced that we would be trained in the use, piloting, and maintenance of drop-pods, I'd assumed we would be receiving lessons. Turns out, the Sergeant in charge of teaching us was trained by the same people that had taught Chief Mendez, because his idea of 'teaching' was to put us in the pod, tell us which controls were used to fly the thing, and drop us. It was then that I learned something I'd previously been mostly unaware of.

I love to fall.

I mean, I'd known back in training that heights had never bothered me. And yes, the instructors had often complained about my tendency to jump off of places that I wasn't supposed to, but this was new. This was wonderful and exciting. Even though the pod is completely sealed, I could almost feel the wind in my hair as the ground grew closer every second. I'll admit, I laughed. Probably freaked out whatever ODST was listening in on my pod. And I know there were people listening, because all around me, I could see other pods suddenly deploying their parachutes. There were screams of fear from all over the COMs, but I noticed a couple other pods that were still falling, just like mine. Unless I was mistaken, they were the other new recruits that were handling the situation without terror.

I decided to try my luck with the controls and, taking a deep breath, grabbed hold and pulled them to the left. Sure enough, I shot to the left; I could feel everything shift and the pod groaned, forcing me to ease off. Noting that abrupt movements were apparently not recommended, I tried easing back instead. Again, the pod did as I directed. However, that was also the point when I realized the interior was getting hot. I'd been told about the tendency drop-pods had of catching fire during entry, giving rise to the nickname of Helljumper, but looking down and seeing flames curling about around my feet, kept at bay only by a thin piece of clear material was something else. The fear probably should have kicked in at that point, but it didn't. If anything, I just smiled all the wider and laughed again.

The other pods had started moving about as their occupants started experimenting, resulting in one or two close calls that resulted in at least one parachute being deployed. I was left alone, since I was far enough away from the cluster to avoid danger, but I did notice that instructions were being displayed on a screen. Considering they were drop coordinates, I started trying to work my pod into the requested position. Didn't manage to get all the way there before the Altitude Warning light started flashing and I had to trigger my own chute, and the impact was still very jarring and painful. Note to self, when landing, keep head pressed back against headrest as much as possible. Not doing so results in very bad headaches.

When the ODSTs came to pick me up, they told me that I'd gotten closest to the rendezvous location, and I'd been the only one insane enough to laugh. Honestly, that made me laugh again. Though Eric muttered that I would give him grey hairs in no time, which was also funny. I was pleased when the Sergeant said I showed the most promise of all the recruits, but that mood soured when I thought about how I'd gotten those reflexes and training over fear. Still, piloting drop-pods is a good skill to have. Maybe I can use it to scare my siblings. I can only hope, right?


Babble time: The song this chapter is based on is It's My Turn to Fly by The Urge.