New Arrivals

Description: The back of a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, currently in the air at 25,000 feet about six miles out from Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and in addition, VWAT. It's carrying a number of other supplies with it destined for another military base, mostly large cargo boxes filled with munitions, rations, and a few vehicles, but the Night Nine members on board were allowed to hitch a ride in the back with said cargo since VWAT was in the same direction as the Boeing's original destination.

Spoiler:

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The loud hum of the planes engine and the rattling of the various cargo was a common occurrence during these trips, especially on such a large aircraft, and it annoyed nearly everyone their first few times on board. Luckily, the only ones currently here were veteran members and most, to her knowledge, herself included, had already learned to drowned-out the horrid noise of annoyance a long time ago. She had partially regretted the fact that they couldn't have hitched a ride on something more preferred, like an MV-22, but she wasn't one to complain; she had learned to make due and adapt long ago.

Dressed in her standard civilian and off-duty attire, Keira was seated in one of the many chairs that lined the walls of the gigantic metal beast they were currently hitching a ride in, which was the one closest to the back exit, where she was casually munching on one of the MRE's she had brought along for the trip. She had already eaten the main course and side-dish, which was chicken breast filled with rib meat. Tasty, but she had now moved on to the dessert; a HOOAH! Bar which was tucked into the packet. It tasted better than most people would give an MRE meal credit for, being an apple-cinnamon in flavor, along with having a powdered beverage mix which turned out to be a fruit flavored drink.

Overall, this was her lunch for the day, as was it the lunch for many other soldiers worldwide. In other words, it was a common experience that she and many others had dealt with many times, and like everyone else in the military life, she had long since gotten used to it.

Along this trip she was allowed to bring her standard equipment; a few changes of clothes, her weaponry and tactical gear, and the essentials - such as toothpaste and a toothbrush - along with her, all of which were security and neatly situated in a black duffle bag that was currently at her feet, tidily slid under her seat. Continuing to munch away at her snack bar and her energy drink, Keira paid little mind to the situation regarding the cargo or the other members of Night Nine who were currently riding along with her, letting them go about what ever business they chose. She would simply enjoy her meal - showcased by eery trademarked smile - until it would be time to HALO jump out the back end.

It was really the only way to exit the plane without it landing, and seeing as the pilots were on a tight schedule with their current delivery, and it was already nice of them to have offered a ride to begin with. It's not like she could expect them to actually try to land it and then take off again, so she'd make due. Keira had made sure that everyone, along with herself, was currently equipped with the proper gear for the jump long before takeoff. It would be an interesting arrival, that was for sure.

Jensen, dressed in his standard combat gear with his mask pulled down below his face to facilitate eating, was eating his own lunch that consisted of a pack of MRE spaghetti as the entree. It wasn't his favorite MRE, or anyone else he knew, but he wasn't one to waste food needlessly. His ears barely registered the dull roar of the massive engines and sounds of the battlefield below didn't bother him as much either. Of course the battlefield below didn't really exist. He had been on so many of these things throughout his military career the turbulence, the shitty seats, and the noise had little effect on him, even mastered the art of sleeping sitting straight up.

It didn't take him long before he finished off the last of the spaghetti and ripped into the box of applesauce. He immediately turned it up and began drinking the liquidy substance that had little resemblance to applesauce. It didn't take long for applesauce to disappear down his gullet and for the box to join the entree pack in the trash pile at his feet. The next thing to come out of the MRE box was an energy bar and a large packet of strawberry milkshake powder. He tucked in energy bar into his vest before pulling the top off the milkshake powder. Pulling out a bottle of water he had brought along for the trip, he added some to the packet and shook it until the milkshake was well shook. He took a drink from it savoring the deliciousness of the strawberry before passing it to the next guy on the bench, Aiden.

After handing off the milkshake, he began rearranging the stuff in his ILBE pack. Most of it was spare gear like MREs, batteries, ammunition, and medical supplies. Being considered MIA still meant that he didn't like leaving the base lest his cover was blown by some kid who followed the MIA list which meant he didn't have much need for civilian clothes. Unlike Keira who had her weapon secured in the duffelbag at her feet, Jensen had his M27 on a one point sling around his right arm and neck. He hoped it wouldn't be long before the drop zone was in range.

Aiden shifted in his seat trying to somehow find a way to sit comfortably. In all of his years in the military and being shipped about in planes just like this one he'd never grown accustomed to how damn uncomfortable it was. He'd already eaten his lunch earlier in the flight which had consisted of a Beef Ravioli MRE with a pound cake for dessert. At the moment he was passing the time snacking on the crackers and cheese spread that he'd gotten with the MRE taking smalls sips of the bottle of water he'd been given. He'd gotten a tea bag along with his MRE but years of eating these things had already taught him quite well to steer clear of it.

He glanced over at the guy sitting next to him as he felt someone tap his arm. He looked down at what was sitting in his hand and accepted the milkshake packet. "Thanks." Aiden said taking a drink from it. He doubted Jensen could hear him over the constant hum coming from the plane's engines. Glancing towards the loading ramp of the plane he let out a short sigh. Sometime he wondered why they couldn't just land the plane like normal people. But if Keira wanted to jump it meant they were gonna jump. Regardless of anyone's minor objections. He couldn't help but remember the incident in Costa Rica before he'd joined N9 where he'd ended up getting caught up in a tree after a HALO jump. That definitely had not done any favors for his views on this kind of insertion.

He glanced down at the pack sitting between his legs. He looked around for anything that might catch his interest but found nothing. He reached down into his bag and pulled out a pair of night vision goggles. He turned them on to test their functionality and spared a quick glance through the eye pieces wincing as the light within them was quite bright. "Okay that works..." Aiden muttered switching off the piece of equipment and placing it back in his pack. He glanced down the bench at Keira who seemed to be in the middle of enjoying her dessert "Boss!? If you don't mind my asking! Who the hell are these VWAT guys we heard about in our briefing and why do they need our help!?" Aiden called over the hum of the engines.

He'd never heard of VWAT before all he knew about them was that they were based in Virginia and they were jumping out of a plane to help them.

Happily munching down the last bit of her HOOAH! bar, Keira took a quick swig of her fruit drink before crumpling the wrapper and placing it inside a pocket on her duffle bag. Neatness was something she made a point to keep, she had military standards, after all, even if other members of her unit were less sanitary, so simply throwing her trash at the floor of the plane was an act she was going to avoid.

Full from her make-shift MRE lunch, Keira sat the half-empty bottle in her lap and leaned back in her seat, resting her head against the wall; her eyes falling shut. Sleeping in such uncomfortable positions was a hard thing to learn, and by all means she had mastered the craft, but she had no intention of drifting off into dream land at the moment. She was currently going over various information in her head, more precisely information she was told about VWAT.

It was an amusing briefing to be sure, but it was short and didn't yield much information. However, the mention of "unnatural" forces left something to be desired. The fact that an entire organization was devoted to dealing with "unnatural" threats lended credibility to their work, and war had many aspects that needed to be covered. Regardless, what kind of unnatural enemies they would be dealing with would be found out soon enough.

It was around this time she caught wind of Aiden's voice from down the way, inquiring about the very thing she was thinking of. It was understandable that he was curious, and it wasn't much of a briefing to begin with, so her knowledge about it was just as limited as theirs. Luckily, she did some of her own research into the matter before they left. 

Keira shrugged with a light-hearted sigh as she looked toward him, her half-smile still on her lips as she spoke. "They're a special organization with Top Secret level's of security, on par with our own unit in terms of secrecy. Strictly need-to-know and directly off the books, everything's black barred about them." She leaned her head back against the wall again and closed her eyes, "Only those at the very top of the pecking order know of it's existence; the President, Vice-president, high ranking generals at the pentagon, and possibly a few members of congress. It's currently run by a man named Director Steeler, who'll most likely be personally briefing us after we land."

Pausing a moment from his loading his mags to listen to his commander's explanation, Jensen smiled. He had seen enough black barred units in his life to know it's never what it seems. These are probably the guys that investigate UFOs or some other bullshit. Quicker to relocate N9 to a non-SF position than disavow the whole unit and work up new identities for the lot. He shook his head with a inaudible laugh as he went back to loading the new rounds he was issued. They seemed to be lighter than the normal green tips he used. Must be some kind of experimental ammunition.

"Maybe they are wanting us to field test some new gear for them. These rounds," he tossed one to Keira, "feel lighter than the normal steel core penetrators I usually use. Probably use the same amount of propellant too. Should perform better than the standard 6.8mms I use. I still think they are the guys that hunt down aliens that have come to rape our women and probe our cows."

He loaded the last round into the magazine before slipping it back into his ILBE pack. He looked at the watch that was on the bottom of his wrist before sliding the magazine out of his rifle and making sure the chamber was devoid of any round before closing the bolt and sliding the magazine back in. He knew better than to jump with a live round in the chamber. People have lost feet and lives ofter stuff like that. Plus it wasn't like they were jumping into a hot-zone, were they.

"So, ma'am, whats the word on the reception we will receive down there? Not a lot of people like people dressed in black and oxygen masks jumping onto their roof from thirty k in the air."

Aiden listened to Keira's brief explanation about the people they were going to be operating with. "Okay so what I'm getting from this is we're working for a bunch of cloak and dagger types then?" Aiden said as he took another drink from the milkshake that Jensen had given him. "Doesn't sound much different from us..." Aiden muttered shrugging as he took another sip from the milkshake before offering the rest back to Jensen. As Jensen began to talk about them perhaps being there to field test new equipment he reached into his pack and pulled out a magazine of his own ammunition. He'd wondered why his magazines felt a bit lighter than usual. He took a closer look at the rounds sitting in the magazines he'd been issued.

With a shrug he slipped the magazine back into his pack he'd test these new rounds out when they got on the ground. He wasn't going to use these damn things if they did anything to negatively effect his accuracy. "As long as those probes stay away from my ass. I don't give a damn who these people are." Aiden said shaking his head. He just finished recovering from a previous operation that he'd gone on which involved him taking a 9mm round to the ass from some Asshole in Somalia. It wasn't exactly a crippling injury but it still hurt like hell.

He heard Jensen talk to Keira about the reception that could be expected on the ground. "As long as they aren't shoot first ask questions later anything is fine for me. They could throw confetti and have cake for all I care..." Aiden muttered to himself. Personally he wanted to see the look on whoever was down their's faces when they jumped out of a damn plane but still it left one question to be asked. He leaned forward to glance down the line towards Keira "Speaking of jumping...Why exactly are we jumping out of a plane 30,000 feet in the air instead of landing like normal people, I mean I've heard of making an entrance but I'm kinda with Newgate on this one people don't exactly enjoy people sky diving onto their helipad." Aiden said.

The N9 commander casually caught the round Jensen had tossed her, giving it a quick glance over in the process. It was different ammunition, this was true, but it didn't really matter nor did she really care. Accuracy was maintained and utilized through practice of the individual, not the rounds or weaponry they used. She was a living example of this very truth, regardless of what anyone's personal opinion was.

She casually tossed the round across the gap between them and back to Jensen after listening to both of their concerns, a small shrug touching her shoulders as she did the action, her half-smile still ever-present, a trait - reinforced by her dead green eyes - that would make what came out of her mouth next seem rather terrifying.

"So long as the rounds do their job when I pull the trigger, then what does it matter who we'll be shooting them with?"

She took another casual swig of her fruit drink after she finished, then sat it back in her lap with another sigh, tossing a quick glance down the row toward the fourth member of their party; who was currently sleeping. She shrugged it off as well and put her mind back on the topic at hand, though it never digressed in the slightest to begin with.

Truth be told, she was rather curious what all this fuss was about, but it was only an interest at a surface level. After all, there was no point in trying to guess answers to questions that you would be told said answers to if you waited a bit longer.

Patience was a virtue.

Her trademark smirk widened just a tiny bit at the mention of her comrades concern over their entrance, and about how they'd be greeted in the process - particularly "the shoot first and ask questions later," remark, causing her to chuckle a bit. "Let's give them the benefit of a doubt and say they would know better than to be that stupid." After all, opening fire on four of the best soldiers in the entire United States Military would be a deathwish for anyone, regardless of who they were or how many soldiers they possessed. In her mind, it'd be best not to wipe out entire organization that belonged to the United States, but on the bright side; the Organization technically didn't exist, so they would have committed no crime at all if it did come to that.

She casually lifted her slender index finger and pointed toward the cargo they were riding along with, using it as a small demonstration to answer the rest of their concerns. "We're cargo just like that, only we're bound for a different destination. Landing the plane would FUBAR the already tight schedule this plane is on. That's why we'll be HALO'ing our way out. In short, we're hitchhikers along for the ride. So enjoy it while it lasts; we'll be free falling soon enough."

Jensen deftly caught the round in the air as it was tossed back to him. He slid the round in one of the many velcro pants pockets before zipping his bag closed. Unlike a lot of the people in N9, Jensen wasn't afraid of his commander, though that may be because he was still the newest member of N9 but not scared of her in the slightest. He had seen far worse things than the killing ability of his commander. He listened as his supposedly scary commander reply to their questions.

"They should do their job more efficiently with this lighter round. It'll be faster and have less drop at range."

He turned his attention to X-Ray/Holmes,

"Just because you get cavity searched every time you go to an airport doesn't mean an alien wants to do it to you too."

Jensen tightened the retention system on his glasses as he listened to the commander move to a different subject. He watches as her dead smile widened a bit as she spoke. It was true. Anyone who tried to kill them would most likely sprout a few more holes in the chest and face before they even got a round off.

"I don't have a problem dropping thirty k, ma'am," he said of the loud hum of the engines, "nor do I have a problem dropping in on people unexpected like. Hell, you know me ma'am. If it's anything crazy, death-defying, or just plain stupid I'm the first one to sign up."

After speaking he looked at the members of N9 in the back of the cargo plane. They had seen his worst when they pulled him out of Iran after being a POW for 13 months. It was why they picked him to replace the ninth member of the group. Even after being tortured, beaten, starved, and beaten and tortured some more, Jensen had managed to kill his guards, get intelligence on other black sites, and escape from the Iranians all while carrying a nearly dead CIA agent and sporting that awesome beard he still wore on his face.

Just to his left, an empty seat, he heard one of his former comrades scream at him to help him. He knew what he would see if he looked over. A Marine missing a leg and blood pulling on the plating beneath him. Beneath the beard and the tactical glasses, his face has become as emotionless as his commander's. It was one of the reasons he always wore something over his eyes and kept the beard. It hid the fact that he felt nothing.

He pulled the charging handle of the M27 back, chambering a round, and slapped the bolt release locking a round in the chamber of the firearm.

"Just in case they are that stupid," he said as he flipped the safety off.

Aiden held his middle finger up towards Jensen as he mentioned his bad luck regarding his ass. "Screw you Jensen." Aiden said jokingly not bothering to look towards his squad mate. He sighed attempting to settle into his seat a bit better with no luck. He glanced at Jensen as he heard the familiar sound of a weapon being loaded he smirked "You know I'm pretty sure they told us not to do that in the pre-flight announcement." Aiden said. He couldn't really blame him though anyone who decided to shoot at them wouldn't live long enough to regret their decision.

It wasn't overconfidence or ego that gave him this mindset it was a fact he was sure of. N9 had participated in operations that other Special Forces would call suicidal only to have N9 dispatched to take care of it without a casualty sustained. He glanced down the line at Jensen and Keira and frowned. Both of them had their demons in their past he sighed glancing back towards the ramp of the plane at the red light glowing beside the door control. Hearing what the two people seated beside him had gone through made him wonder what he could have ended up like. He knew that Keira's mind had gotten a bit screwed up during N9 Selection it didn't show clearly to most people except for those around her the most. Which mainly consisted of other members of N9.

Jensen was a harder nut to crack mainly because he hadn't served with the guy as long as he'd stuck around with Keira. Jensen was the newest member of N9 and in most Special Forces units he'd basically be counted as the FNG. But something about how he carried himself and what he'd seen made Aiden feel more like the FNG when he talked to him. "Fuck sake I hate these seats..." Aiden muttered adjusting himself once more in his seat trying to get comfortable. He'd said the statement more to pull his own mind away from his previous thoughts. He sighed closing his eyes attempting to mimic his sleeping squad-mates actions. As he shut his eyes he let his mind wander to his family.

He thought about his daughter Jodie who was probably at this time being brought to Kindergarten by his wife Jasmine. If there was one thing he hated about N9 is was that he was usually away from his family. "Guess it comes with trying to maintain a family in the military..." Aiden muttered to himself as he crossed his arms. His family really didn't mind him being away but it didn't mean they didn't miss him and that he didn't miss them.

(post is meh...had a bit of trouble writing.)

Peaceful tranquility possessed Mac as he felt such serenity upon closing his eyelids and obscuring his optical feed from his eyeballs to his brain, as to perceive visual of his surrounding through a process known as seeing. Something obscured through another process known as sleeping, something that gave him ample time to gather and collect his thoughts within REM or was it RAM sleep? He wasn't really that good with thinking through the terminologies pertaining to the fatigue elimination sequence of the human body. What was it he was here for again? Oh right, the jump, and into some base, some top secret agency that deals with situations that otherwise no other people can. Sounds just like the kind of gig N9 deals with rather perfectly. Not that he thought those things while being asleep, rather thinking fondly of maybe getting a girl back home, instead of wasting his time daydreaming about it.

Seating his hindquarters upon a seat, he wore his typical civilian wear, with glasses with some straps in place to hold it close by, a casual white shirt, his ballistic resistant vest, his weapons, parachute bag, and the rest of whatever he needs crammed into his cargo pants pockets, and his armaments worn on him, as he needs to be ready whenever need be.

Whilst the bunch talked and debated about that organization, whatever faction it was, VWAT, among other matters that Zulu could not even notice, for he was asleep, complete with drool trailing out of his mouth, snoring quite loudly to add too, he did settle in nicely into the chair. Resting his face unto his duffel bag that he carried with his effects, that he propped up vertically against his lap. He was at this point, either used to the airplane's sounds, or was just used to sleeping in discomfort, both of which rung true as he slept in much louder environments, so to say that this was the worst is not true.

Whatever the case, he'll be ready, probably, maybe, who knows? When they reach their target anyways. For now, to enjoy his bliss while he can.

Keira simply shook her head at the banter between the two, shrugging it off and allowing any opportunity she had for a sarcastic comment to slip away. Their time for idle chit-chat was coming to an end, after all. Taking one last swig from her fruit drink before giving a quick glance toward the flashy red light near the door and then toward their sleeping member, she casually tossed the empty bottle across the seating toward Marion to wake him up.

A crude way to wake someone up, but by no means harsh. She assumed he would get the message that it was time to head out, and that his nap was over.

Lifting both arms above her head to casually stretch, she rose from her seat and bent backwards to further the action, allowing several popping noises to emit from her back, followed by the popping on her neck with a few quick turns. A wave of relief washed over her as the pops signaled the release of stress that had taken residence in her joints from the crude and hard seating, before bending down to retrieve her duffle bag.

Upon retrieving the carry on luggage she had tucked away and returning to a standing, upright position, Keira would lazily move the index finger of her right hand around in a circle after pointing toward the ceiling, signalling for everyone to grab whatever loose gear they had brought along and get ready, as they were about to make the twenty-five K HALO jump to their destination.  

"Alright, it's time to head out. Everyone form up and check your gear."

She spoke as she moved toward the back exit of the plane, which only took a few steps since she was positioned closest to it, and took her place next to the opening module. Considering they were already equipped and wearing the proper gear, so they needn't worry about the low oxygen this high up - the cold, however, was different story, and all of the heat that they currently had the luxury of was about to be sucked out like a vacuum.

Casually punching the large button, the large back door of the plan slowly began to open, lowering itself into a steep ramp that led into the vast emptiness below. The heat was sucked, replaced by the cold and sudden wind the filled the cargo area.

Giving a quick glance back to make sure everyone was ready to make the jump, Keira quickly flashed a few hand-signals commonly used in sign language to portray a message of, "Let's go get acquainted, shall we? Last one down buy's the entire unit dinner." to avoid talking over the heavy winds, and then casually flung herself off the ramp with her gear in tow without warning into the wide blue sky to plummet toward the earth below.

Exit ---> VWAT's Rooftop Helipad (Will continue and describe fall in said topic).

With another glance at his watch, Jensen followed Keira's lead and stood up.  Instead of doing the workout routine Keira did, Jensen set to work putting his pack in the harness to keep it from plummeting to the ground and pretty much destroying it.  Before placing the oxygen mask and helmet on his head, Jensen pulled his glasses off his face revealing his dark eyes for a split second before the helmet was placed over his head.  Taking a few testing breaths to make sure his oxygen system was working, he held a thumbs up sign when he saw it was.  Unlike normal oxygen masks pilots wore, these had no radio function so they had no way to communicate on the way down other than hand signs.  He slid the glasses into a zipped pouch on his bag.

As soon as the ramp opened, Jensen's heart skipped a beat like he was seeing a loved one for the first time in years.  He could fill the adrenaline being pumped through his system as his unseen face became a shit eating grin.  He loved this sort of stuff.  The sudden influx of air launched his trash out opening and he smiled.

He looked at Aiden and signed "I like steaks," before running down the ramp and doing a backflip off.  He started laughing as he felt the force of the wind take him and hold him aloft in the sky.  Adrenaline dominated his system as he felt his heart beat in his ears.  At this height, if he didn't have goggles, his eyes would have frozen and in forty seconds he would pass out from the lack of oxygen.  The blue sky was his home away from home and he was going to show her what he could do.

---> Exit

Aiden got up and picked up his pack stretching his back out a bit working out the tension that had built up during their trip. "Finally we're getting off this damn thing..." Aiden muttered glad that his bottom and back were finally free from having to sit on the uncomfortable benches. By the time he'd secured his pack to his own harness Keira had jumped. He'd just managed to see catch a glance of Keira's hand signs just before she jumped and felt his heart drop into his stomach. "Oh come on, Are you kidding me!?" Aiden complained. He secured his oxygen mask and helmet and took a few breaths to ensure it was working properly and walked toward the ramp. He stopped for a moment and glanced back still seeing Zulu dozing off in his chair. Part of him wanted to jump and see how long it took for Zulu to realize they'd made the jump already. But the other side told him to wake his squad mate up.

He glanced at Jensen as he prepared to jump and frowned at the handsigns he saw. There was no way in hell he was paying for dinner again he knew how much Keira and Jensen ate and even if he did make a good enough paycheck to get by he was not about to feed those two a full meal. He moved towards the ramp as Jensen jumped but glanced back at Zulu for a brief moment. He groaned in annoyance as the devil and the angel on his shoulders fought it out arguing like an old married couple.

Aiden sighed as the angel sitting on his shoulder won the argument as he walked over to where Zulu was and slapped him on the shoulder. "Yo time to jump sleeping beauty!" Aiden called through his oxygen mask gripping his squad mate's shoulder and shaking him awake before heading over to the edge of the ramp doing one last check of his equipment. He took a deep breath from his oxygen looking down into the clouds whipping by below him. "Here we go!" Aiden called to no one in particular before letting himself fall forward. He let out a unmanly yelp as his foot caught on the ramp of the plane causing him to somersault through the air screaming in panic as he righted his free fall to match that of the others.

"I hate fucking falling!!" Aiden yelled as he fell.

-----> Exit

Twice assailed and spurred to wakefulness, that truthfully the first time the bottle that had knocked him on his figure had actually brought him to wake. His eyes open and his spectacles glaring with light that obscured it. He was aware that time, just slow about his ass on jumping, it was SUCH a pain in the ass, having to do this through a jump when he didn't have to. To begin with, he HATED jumping his ass off the airplane, because it was a drag. Oh woe is him, having to go through ALL that effort JUST to get to that base, when they could've just taken a car there, which is more reliable, AND more expedient, or maybe a chopper if they were in a hurry. But NOOO, it HAD to be a drop of all things. Such a pain.

Groaning to wakefulness, he rubbed his temple as if he was in a stupor, as much as he'd have loved to get his hands on some booze, despite his years long abstinence from the devil's finery. Ah well, he was already strapped in anyways to his equipment, in the scenario that he would find himself HAVING to jump and not enough time to prepare, and stuff. And he had to jump anyways. Good thing he wore his long sleeved shirt today particularly, and his gloves as well.

So yeah, he got up, after getting slapped on the shoulder and shaken silly like a ragdoll, since he was ALREADY WOKEN UP by Keir-- his leader, right, he forgot, he wasn't supposed to think that. When he got up, the bottle dropped and rolled towards the open part of the airplane.

"Yeah yeah yeah, already awake the first prodding." He sighed, slapping on his mask, strapping it into place, and the helmet as well, fastening his parachute harness just in case, securing all his effects hastily, as he followed Aiden out. Leaping out as he maintained his bearings, diving rather and using economical movements to hasten his descent downward into the abyss that is the vast space before him.

[EXIT]