Behind the pilot’s and copilot’s chairs was a large screen, displaying a colored map of Mexico, along with Gilgamesh’s location, a red dot on the map. A red line designated the flight path Gilgamesh had taken to arrive. On either side of the screen sat the pilot and copilot chairs. Outside the angled windshields, I could see the green of the forest. A large deck allowed room for standing in front of the screen, and several jump seats had been built into the walls. In all, the bridge was probably twice as big as Odin’s cockpit.
I entered the conference room. A long, stainless steel table sat in the middle, and eight chairs sat around it, bolted to the floor. A flat screen, currently was off, was mounted to one of the walls. Three packs were lined up on the table.
Parachutes, I thought.
“Sit,” Ashton said. “We have much to go over.”
His tone was stern and businesslike. He was probably still upset about our decision, but what was done was done. The fact that he was here meant he wasn’t completely against the idea.
Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
“I took the time to refresh myself on how to do this,” Ashton said, indicating the parachutes. “Lucky for all of us, before Ragnarok fell, I was an experienced skydiver. My wife and I did it fairly often. There is not much to it, but it can be dangerous; especially for you all, who are lacking in experience. You will need to listen carefully, because there is not much time. The longer we wait to do this, the more danger Anna is in, and the more risky the operation becomes.
“Today, you will learn something that should take many weeks to accomplish. You will each learn to drop solo, and be proficient in all the steps, not only ensure a safe landing, but to also land in a precise location of your choosing. Adding to this difficulty, you will be doing this at night, and will very likely be under enemy fire.”
None of us said anything at Ashton’s preamble. We were all listening, intent on what he was going to say next.
“The parachutes I have chosen are all dark. This was will make them difficult to see at night, although of course, it’s very probable that once you open the main canopy at an altitude of 2,500 feet, you will be seen, shot, and killed. To avoid this as much as possible, we will practice as much as we can today — if all goes well, we will have as much as three trial runs. During these trials, you will learn how, and when, to deploy your parachute, how to steer yourself in the direction you want to go using the toggles, and, if all goes well, learn how to steer proficiently enough to hit a precise location. And hopefully, you will learn enough during daylight to do this under the cloak of darkness.”
Makara leaned forward. “We will really be ready by tonight?”
Ashton looked at her blankly. “This is the group’s decision. It is not my recommendation, but it is not too late for you all to back out now. In fact, I encourage it.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said. “We’re going to get Anna out of there, whatever it takes.”
Samuel and Makara nodded in agreement.
“Humph. As I thought.” Ashton reached for the packs, pushing one toward each of us. “I took the liberty of packing everything myself. Packing the chutes takes a while, so I have brought enough spares so that I don’t have to repack them after each jump. That means we have twelve chutes to work from — three each for your training, and the three dark ones for when your drop comes tonight. Normally, the first step would be preparation, but since I have already done that, you won’t have to worry about it. Everything has already been prepped for you.
“You will be dropped from an altitude of ten thousand feet. You will spend about 45 seconds of that time in freefall. After 45 seconds, you will deploy what is called a pilot chute, located in what’s called the drogue, from an altitude of about 2,500 feet. The drogue is located at the bottom of the container, here.” Ashton tapped a small pouch at the bottom of the backpack. “You pull the pilot chute out, like so…” Ashton pulled it out. It was surprisingly small. “It will catch the wind and inflate.”
“How is that thing supposed to slow us down?” I asked. “It’s so small.”
“This is not the main canopy itself,” Ashton answered. “The pilot chute will rise above, pulling on an attached piece called the bridle. The bridle is connected to the pin, which, once pulled, will let loose the main canopy itself from the deployment bag. When the pin is pulled, it lets out the risers, which connect the lines to the main canopy. The tension on the lines will cause the main canopy to inflate. There is also a piece of equipment attached to the canopy called a slider, which will automatically slide down the lines and prevent the canopy from inflating too quickly. At this point, the canopy should be out and working fine. You will look up to check that this is the case. If all is well, then you can grab the toggles with your hands. Pulling the left toggle will veer you left — pulling the right toggle will veer you right. Pulling both will slow you down, and you want to do that before landing.”
“What if the chute doesn’t come out, or becomes tangled in the lines or something?” Makara asked.
“There are two main safeguards against that,” Ashton said. “There is a reserve chute in case the first one doesn’t deploy correctly. In order to deploy it, you must release your main canopy, which is done by pulling the release handle located on the right shoulder strap, here…” Ashton touched it. It was a series of three rings. “Pulling the release will cut away the lines on both risers simultaneously, sending you in freefall again. At that point, the reserve should deploy automatically.”
“Should?” Makara asked.
“Yes,” Ashton said. “Should. The chance is small that both chutes wouldn’t deploy, but that is unlikely. By doing this, you are assuming the risks.”
“You said there was another safeguard,” Samuel said.
“Yes,” Ashton said. “There is also a piece of equipment called the AAD — or automatic activation device. It is basically a computer that monitors air pressure and other factors. If your chute is not deployed by the time you reach 750 feet, the AAD will automatically deploy it for you.”
“Why wouldn’t any of us deploy the chute to begin with?” Makara asked.
“There could be many reasons — maybe you get hit by another skydiver and lose control. Maybe you lose consciousness for some reason. It’s not likely, but there is a chance. Just another safeguard.”
Either way, I was glad that there were checks in place. Hearing Ashton describe the entire process was a lot better than trying to figure it out for ourselves, and likely getting killed in the process. Rescuing Anna seemed more tangible than ever. We were really doing this. By tonight, we’d be flying over the settlement, dropping in, and finding Anna. We could all be together again as early as tonight.