The cockpit of the raft was cramped, little more than a cabin on the bottom of the huge transporter. RJ levered himself into the seat, and strapped in, ignoring the clear space and the planet below the glass deck beneath his feet. 

“This is Reese-Riggs,” he said, opening a comm channel with the Morningstar’s bridge as he flipped switches. “Raft one is online and ready to drop.”

“We have you raft one,” Smith’s voice came over the comm. “Contact has been made with the surface. Civilians are at the rally point and we have the go for drop. Sending co-ordinates now. We have T-minus two minutes to raft release. Confirm.”

RJ nodded, lips compressed into a line as he checked over the info Smith sent over. 

“Raft release in T-minus two,” he confirmed, casting an experienced eye over the console in front of him. Unlike the fancy consoles the Resolute no doubt had, these were practically analogue, new when his grandparents were young. But he’d been piloting on raft drops since before he’d needed to shave. “Aya, looks like we’ve got turbulence in the upper atmosphere. Might want to be careful of that.”

His sister’s snort came over the comm loud and clear. “Just how many tonnes are these things? And… did you forget I’ve been working on these things while you swanned off to play in Starfleet. Raft Two ready to drop on your mark, Lieutenant Smith,” she added, switching the comms to open. “Just in case you want me to take the first drop, show my brother how it’s done, just in case he forgot.”

“Err… I’m sure the commander has it all in hand,” Smith replied diplomatically, obviously not wanting to get in the middle of a family squabble. “Raft One, your contact on the ground is Rennox. He’s the captain’s yeoman, he’s coordinating things down there. T minus sixty to drop.”

“Rennox, got it.” He nodded, then his comm sparked again. Private line. Aya. “Oi, knobhead… make sure to bring your weapons online.” 

He rolled his eyes, even as he activated the weapons arrays. They weren’t much, but he didn’t like the fact they were dropping into a hot zone. “Do you really think I’d forget something like that?”

“I dunno, you seem to forget other important things… like not sleeping with other people’s wives.”

“You’re not going to let that one go, are you?” 

“Hell no. Perhaps I should take one for the team, even things out—“

“Raft one dropping in three…two…”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Aya!” RJ hissed, but that was all he got out as the raft clamps released. One moment he was there, the raft in line with the side of the Morningstar and the cockpit just beneath…if he looked sideways, he could see Aya in Raft Two’s cockpit… the next he was gone. Hurtling down toward the planet below. 

There was a lot said about space to surface drops. How difficult they were… he’d seen hardened officers break and cry at the prospect, especially when dropping in difficult conditions. He’d never understood it. All they’d had to worry about was themselves. Dropping a raft that weighed thousands and thousands of tonnes… now that took skill and balls. Both of which he had in abdunance. 

“WOOOHOOO!” he yelled as the raft plummeted through the upper atmosphere, dropping into the clouds below. As soon as he was past the first layer, the raft started to dance, juddering and shaking. 

“Stay with me, baby,” he murmured, hands and feet on the controls to bring the thrusters online and ease the drop. He hit the comms unit, opening a channel on the code Smith had sent him. 

“This is Morningstar Raft One,” he said, eyes narrowing as he looked between his feet as he crashed through the last of the cloud cover. “Coming down hard on your position. Gonna need a ping to make sure I’m on target. Last warning to clear the drop zone because this baby is coming in hard and heavy.”

“I have you Morningstar One,” a voice replied and RJ blinked. That was Rennox? He sounded about fourteen. “Confirming your descent now, drop zone is clear.”

“Clear and secure?” he asked, frowning as the continent below went from a blob to filling the view between his feet to a patchwork of fields and roads in a heartbeat. “Because I heard you got Jem’Hadar problems down there and my sister’s bringing Raft two down. I really don’t want those asshole’s shooting at her.”

There was a silence and an odd note in Rennox’s voice when he replied. “Yeah, we’re secure. The Captain has… we’ve made sure the perimeter is secure and there are two… now three other sections out there on roving patrols.” 

RJ nodded. “That’s Captain Mason, right?”

He didn’t know why he kept talking, other than he was hurtling toward the ground and, while he’d done this most of his teen years, if he misjudged it, he was going to end up as a thin layer of jam on the top of this cockpit as the raft smashed itself to pieces on the ground. If that happened, lots of people were going to die… and he’d never get his pips back. 

“Yeah. Captain Mason. Commander Bennett’s out there somewhere as well. We keep hearing his bombs go off.”

“Oh?” Rennox must be new to chatter this easily. “Bennett’s your sec chief?”

The pings narrowed his view down to a group of fields, and he adjusted the thrusters to angle the raft that way. “Ground in ten… nine… eight…”

“No, he’s actually the chief engineer. He’s an old friend of the captain though. They served in a war together, I think.”

RJ grunted and hit the brakes, feeling the jolt all the way up his spine to rattle his brain. Dust and dirt swirled up around the raft, cutting his view off. This was the worst part, the last few seconds. If he’d misjudged this, he was dead. And he couldn’t even see the ground before it killed him. 

He froze, waiting. 

The raft lurched slightly, and the airbrakes cut off, the raft settling down lightly. The breath he’d been holding punched from his lungs. Then Rennox’s words caught up with him. Mason had a friend, another veteran… shit. He was screwed. Really screwed. 

“Raft one on the ground,” he announced over the open comm with the ship, then switched to the one with Rennox. “Lowering loading doors now. Get your people on as quickly as you can.”

He cracked the cockpit release at the same time he unclipped his harness. Dropping down, he landed lightly on the ground, walking around the front of the raft to where a young yeoman stood, a datapadd in hand. 

“Hi,” he said over the roar of the loading door motors, and offered his hand. “I’m Reese-Riggs. You must be Rennox?”