07:31:45 GMT - August 23, 2010 - Above the Atlantic Ocean
The morning sun shone into the aircraft as it rose over the ocean, illuminating the passengers of the carrier from the darkness they were in. Even from the warmth of the sun, the ambiance in the air killed the temperature.
"Fifteen minutes to destination. Traveling into alien airspace now."
Sitting against the wall separating the cargo hold with the pilots area was Solid Snake, the most acclaimed warrior the United States had to offer against terrorist threats. A year prior, however, he was nearly sentenced to death or the rest of his life in imprisonment for his supposed terrorist actions along with his partner from the Shadow Moses incident, code-named Otacon, fighting against the reproduction of a frighteningly powerful weapon series named Metal Gear. However, the trial ended with a supreme code of honor by the CIA. Either he cooperated with their orders, or he would be executed.
"Brief me on the mission, I am still unsure whether this is the real thing or some crappy internet hoax." Snake sat up on the bench and reached into his pocket, pulling a cigarette from the pack and lighting it before listening in to the Marine sitting across from him with all of the information.
"Our satellites have picked up mysterious signals from a rural area in England, specifically a castle far from the nearest town. According to the patterns, we have seen a similarity in them compared to tests of Metal Gear REX and RAY. That itself is why we need to send you down there to check it out, to search every corner of that area for clues. If you by any chance notice the weapon itself or the supplies that were transported and stored in the castle, immediately report it here and we'll contact HQ. Also take pictures of it if you can with the digital camera we have supplied."
"Can't say this is the first time I've done something like this.." Snake sighed and inhaled from his cigarette deep before exhaling. "I can't ever become used to this either. You know I'm not the governments personal exterminator of their problems." He examined the other passengers, who kept their glances away from him. "Couldn't the President have formally contacted the Prime Minister about this?"
The same man who briefed him spoke up. "He denies our claims of a nuclear weapon being developed in the area, and refuses to check in on it. Our course of action in this situation is to check for ourselves what's going on."
"Will there be back-up available in case of an emergency?"
One of the other passengers, who was a veteran military tactician, shook his head. "We cannot afford to give away our presence in the area just yet, so after deployment we need to move out of the area for the time being. When the time comes, we will return for you if the situation is nominal. In any other case, we cannot move back into the area at the time. All you need to do is stay quiet, and don't get caught."
Snake couldn't help but laugh, finishing off his cigarette and flicking the butt out of the open hatch. "That's what I try and excel at, but it doesn't help that my only weapon is a 9mm for this mission. I might need to quiet a few people during the course of it, and I prefer that over CQC."
He didn't receive a response, but he figured what the answer would be in advance. "Well..what support will I be receiving by codec?"
Several glances moved to his direction now. "You will be able to contact the mission advisor, our on-board medic, military tactician, as well as your comrade by codec. However, we don't recommend using it often, as the signals might be heard by..other ears." Snake's eyes widened at the mention of the word comrade. "Otacon? He's available to speak with as well? Isn't he still in solitary confinement?"
"We knew you both had experience working together on missions to solve problems you come across, so we decided it'd be best if we took him out for now to at least assist you under our supervision." A small grin appeared on Snake's face. "The nerd hasn't let me down yet."
"5 minutes until departure. Prepare for your jump." Feeling slightly more optimistic from the news, Snake slipped on his parachute and strapped back on all of his gear. The advisor spoke up once more. "We need to do a parachute jump, simply because we cannot risk a landing. To reach us by codec, call 145.50 to reach me. The medic can be reached by 145.80, and the tactician is at 156.20. Otacon can now be reached at 169.15."
Snake stepped toward the exit, taking the warming air into his lungs before exhaling the last fumes from the cigarette. "30 seconds to deploy. Prepare for acceleration 5 seconds after deploy." As the final adjustments were made and the oxygen mask was fitted onto him, Snake felt like he was reliving the stories he had heard in the records of the CIA about Big Boss and operation Virtuous Mission. In a way, it was nostalgic, but it also filled him with a sense of dread that he may share the same future if luck wasn't on his side.
"Three..two..one. Depart!" After a slight nod to the adviser, Snake leapt from the open hatch and free-fell to the forests below. On the way down, he was able to spot a large castle surrounded by a lake about 2 miles from his landing point. "There it is.."
Halfway down, he deployed his parachute and attempted to manipulate the wind so it would blow him right to the castle to save the time of moving through the forest. Thankfully, the wind was in the right direction, and moved him at the correct speed to reach the front of the castle without problems.
However, a sudden chill filled him when he examined the surroundings. A feeling of uneasiness filled the forests below him, and a dark ambiance filled with air. He could feel from his gut instinct that something was up in this area, and it wasn't just some drug scandal.
When he was close enough, Snake detached the parachute and landed roughly onto the long grass, breaking his fall slightly.
Upon examination, the only way into the castle was apparently from underneath, taking a small ferry into the moat to get into a port underneath the castle. It seemed unguarded, so infiltrating should've been cake. Though before anything, Snake needed to contact Otacon about the situation.
He hid in the shadow of one of the gates next to the waters edge as he kneeled to use the codec. Radioing in, all he received at first was static. "If this was a cheap joke, I'm gonna personally castrate that advisor." After a few seconds, however, the static finally ended and a familiar voice filled his mind, bringing a sense of comfort into Snake. "Snake, it's you! Finally!"
"Otacon, we'll have to catch up later about what's happened the past year. Have you been informed about my current mission at all yet?" Otacon sounded more optimistic than Snake would have expected from someone who had been in a military prison for war crimes.
"I learned all there is to know yesterday, so I'll be able to help you in many aspects. Take extreme caution in this mission however, Snake..there have been several reports in the past of strange happenings there, that can't necessarily be explained..be careful, and don't get yourself in trouble."
"I'll try not to, especially after what happened last time. I want this mission done with as quickly as possible, crossing my fingers that this is just something bogus so I can actually relax, with retirement also an option." Otacon laughed before responding, making the convo seem like the old days. "The legendary Solid Snake, retiring already? I'd doubt the government would allow that without putting a bullet to your head for you to take a permanent vacation!"
"Right..maybe during this mission I can figure some way to get out of this mess, I'll be sure to get you out of there as well. Imprisoning you isn't any use to them, so I'll formally take you off their hands." Listening close, Otacon seemed to give a sigh of relief from those words. "I'll be looking forward to it."
"Alright..I'll infiltrate the castle now, we'll just have to see what's going on here. I'll contact you if anything comes up." Otacon sighed lightly. "Good luck, Snake.." Turning the codec off, Snake arose from his position and examined the lakeside for one of the boats the owners prepared for the guests. "Apparently having visitors wasn't a priority when they designed this place.."
Tied to one of the trees jutting out of the water, surprisingly, was a small canoe. It seemed like this wouldn't be the type of transportation the owners would be adequate with the visitors needing to use to reach a grand castle, but it would do. "Almost as if someone planted it there for me."
Wading through knee-deep water, he reached the withered canoe, which contained simply an oar along with several various insects. Squishing a few bugs to be a bit more comfortable, Snake rowed to the castle, an ambiance filling into his mind as the morning sun faded and he reached the docks of this mysterious new place.