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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 5396276" data-attributes="member: 3285">Fear of Falling: Prologue30,000 FEET OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN—Agent Hammer had to shout over the roar of the SPIDER plane's engines.  They were all dressed in wet suits with parachutes strapped to their backs.  His voice was further muffled by a breathing mask each of them wore, a necessity during the pre-breathing period where their bloodstream was flooded with oxygen to flush the nitrogen from their systems. Microphones and earpieces within the masks helped somewhat, but Hammer still sounded like Darth Vader when he spoke."Alulu Island is located in the west central Pacific Ocean, about a thousand miles south of Japan between the Ryukyu Islands and the Bonin Islands just north of the Tropic of Cancer. It's an independent atoll not associated with any island chain. It's less than a mile in diameter from outer shore to outer shore, and is outside the domain of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.  It's under 'unofficial' protection of the British government. British missionaries maintain an outpost on the island, which also serves as a weather station. We also had an undercover agent working there who suddenly ceased all communications with home base.""Tsao's flying halfway across the world to get to this little island? Seems like an awful long way to fly to perform a ritual," said Caprice."Recently, a force of mercenaries assembled from the survivors of central African and Latin American campaigns descended upon the island. Shortly after this became known, all contact with the island was cut off. It is believed that Lt. Col. Feng Ho, commonly known as Mad Merc, is the organizer of this invasion. Guppy?"Guppy punched a few buttons on his cistron, no small feat with the gloves he was wearing.  An image of Ho flashed on their cistrons."In the aftermath of World War II, Ho was discharged from the Chinese Army after an incident in which many innocent civilians were killed. Since that time he has kept a very low profile.  Since then, he served as a mercenary in military actions around the world. We believe Cho Chu-Tsao flew to Alulu Island to rendezvous with Ho, and that Ho is responsible for silencing all communications.""Why don't we just—" began Jim-Bean.Hammer held up one hand.  "Before you recommend bombing the place with Jericho Jets, Majestic's not willing to intervene until reliable intelligence is received from the island. The primitive native population of something more than one hundred individuals who may be under forcible detention, and their lives as well as the lives of the missionaries may be jeopardized if military action is attempted.""What's a couple of hundred natives…" began Jim-Bean, but Hammer cut him off."We will be inserted via HALO drop as close as possible to the missionary outpost, where Agent Powers was last reported before he disappeared. You all remember your training, right?"They nodded.  Guppy had earned his HALO badge after the incident in Poland. "The weather's really rough," shouted the pilot over the intercom.  "I'm going to have to take the plane higher above the clouds."The plane rears upward and began the climb.  Out the window, the clouds engulfed them and then faded as the plane rose out of the cover. "I'll have to come back around…" began the pilot. His report was cut off by a flash of bright light below. "What was that?" asked Jim-Bean."It looks like…a nuclear blast—" was all Guppy got out before the lights failed. Everything stopped – watches, cistrons, nothing worked.  For a split second there was no noise but the shriek of the wind outside as the engines slowed to a stop."That was an EMP pulse," said Guppy, voice rising. Then the shockwave hit.  The plane bucked as it was lifted and tossed, almost as if it were surfing a huge wave. The co-pilot shouted over his shoulder.  "We lost all power! Nothing's working, not even emergency power! Everyone is going to have to bail. We'll have to jump from here!"Behind him, the sound of breaking glass signaled trouble. The pilot's eyeballs explode out of their sockets.  He screeched, clutching at his face. A ghoulish tittering and giggling mingled with agonized screams. The co-pilot stared in horror as the bloody outlines of a floating bag of protoplasmic mass became visible.The thing's body appeared much like a sickly green floating man-of-war jellyfish. It pulsed and rippled due to the tremendous amount of gas carried within it. Dangling from the floating body were a number of barbed tendrils, upon which were skewered the eyes of the pilot.The co-pilot scrambled for the door but whipping barbed tentacles snatched his arms.  There was a desperate split-second struggle where the co-pilot's manic strength held him within the frame of the doorway to the cockpit.  Then he was gone, shrieking and begging the thing not to take his eyes."What the hell is that?" asked Guppy.  Hammer drew his pistols, backing away from the cockpit door.  "I don't plan to find out.  We're going to have to jump."  He looked around at the other crew.  "All of us.  Get your parachutes.""But we're not equipped to jump from here—" began Agent Pope. There was a moment of weightlessness as the plane reached the apex of its trajectory.  "We're going down!" wailed Guppy.Then gravity returned, pressing them against the bulkhead.  Hammer shoved Guppy ahead of him.  "We don't have a choice.  Go!  GO!"Tentacles snaked through the doorway, probing.  Hammer fired shots, heedless of the damage to the fuselage.  The plane was going down anyway.The bullets had an effect.  The tentacles withdrew.Clambering down to the lower deck, Hammer nearly collided with Guppy.  "What's the hold up?""There's…a new problem." Hammer slid down the ladder to the cargo bay.  Tentacles snaked through the partially open bay door.  Pope and Caprice struggled to keep it closed. "Are there two of them?" asked Guppy.  "Or does it move that fast?""I need a spare parachute!" shouted Hammer."Spare parachute?" asked Agent Pope.  "Huck and Rudolph won't be using theirs, but they're up top—""Use mine," said Jim-Bean, shrugging his parachute off."But—" protested Guppy."No time!"  Hammer grabbed hold of the handles and shoved the parachute pack towards the opening.  "On my count, you open the door wide.""Are you nuts?" asked Caprice."Maybe.  One.  Two.  THREE!"Caprice and Pope let go of the door. It whipped open from the force of the thing outside and the change in air pressure.The eye thing was there, tittering, barbed tentacles waving.  Hammer idly noted that the thing had four eyeballs on its tendrils now. He kicked the parachute out into space and yanked hard on the pull cords at the same time. The parachute snapped open, slamming hard into the creature and billowing open.  The shrieking winds tore it away."Go!  Everyone go, NOW!"The other agents needed no further prodding, each jumping in turn. Just Hammer and Jim-Bean were left. Hammer turned to Jim-Bean.  "You're going to have to get a parachute from up top!""Don't worry about me!" said Jim-Bean with a smirk.  He shoved Hammer out into space.</blockquote>

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