For information, the helicopters used in this chapter are based on the famous Bell UH-1. Those are still in use worldwide in the military and for search and rescue missions. Therefore, I am of the opinion that they could be suitable for this operation.
More information on the equipment used by the characters can be found at the end of this chapter.
Chapter 2 : Help is coming!
Southwest side of the Khaenri'ah island-(property of Celestia)
In this morning sun, the seagulls were flying peacefully.
One of them was preparing to go to the open sea and eat some delicious fish... Until a flock of five helicopters disturbed it.
"Mona, be careful, you almost injured a bird."
"Don't worry, Fischl. It managed to avoid us."
"This helicopter does not belong to us. Please try to not crash it."
"Aether is right. It is already a miracle that we managed to reach the island that rapidly."
Four people are inside the fast-moving vehicle.
The first one is a young man with blonde hair who finished it in a long braid. His left ear is adorned with an earring and he carries a white scarf around his neck. His outfit consisted of a tan tactical pant, a green shirt, and a tactical vest. Near his waist, a handgun was concealed in a holster.
The pilot was the second person involved. The woman wore black ribbons to tie her hair into two twintails and had grey eyes. Her attire consists of a navy short that goes to her knees, a black shirt, and a navy tactical jacket.
The third passenger was a blond girl who wears an eyepatch over her left eye, almost entirely covered by her bangs, as the third girl. The only eye she has that is visible is a light green one. Her skin is fair and her hair is blonde, which extends to the middle of her back. Her tactical pants were black and she wore a handgun that was holstered.
The last person was a man who had pale ash-gray hair, light tan skin, and bright green eyes. His attire consisted of a navy shirt and a cream-colored jacket with sleeves. Gloves, a yellow bandanna tied around his right arm, and goggles on his head were present on him. On his leather belt, a canteen was attached.
After reaching the cockpit, Aether glanced to the right. At the same speed, three other helicopters were flying. When he glanced to his left, he saw only one flying. It was the helicopter with Team Alpha where the person in charge of this rescue mission was.
The Iudex was successful in recruiting sixteen adventurers and setting up this operation in less than three days. The main objective of this mission was actually straightforward. The aim is to locate the survivors and bring them back home.
The teams were getting closer to the supposed landing location of the shipwreck survivors' raft. Once reached, they would gather them and bring them back to civilization. A majority of people believed that they should not be too far away and that the mission should not last for a long time. After all, there were no reasons for survivors to leave this area.
Particularly if there are injured among them.
However, if they were not there, then the rescue mission would simply split. Alpha and Bravo would head out to search for the survivors. Team Delta, which has three helicopters, will secure an area and establish a base there to facilitate searches.
Bennet was joined by Aether who exited the cockpit.
"Open the door."
"Got it! He unlocked the door and pulled it towards him.
A large forest occupied much of the island, which was quite magnificent. Despite this, Aether was still able to observe smaller rivers and various types of vegetation.
"I do really hope that they are at the landing zone. I do not fancy myself to look all around in this shit for days."
"See something interesting?" Fischl, or rather Bravo 4 for this operation, arrived beside him when he turned around. She was holding her marksman rifle in her hands. After examining the numerous trees and beaches for some time, she looked through the scope of her gun.
"Trees and sand... Again, and again." Nothing new has happened in the past ten minutes.
"Come on, Aether. Bennet, aka Bravo 3" appeared right to his other side and put his arm on his leader's shoulder. "Enjoy the sea breeze! It will do great on your lungs."
"The sea air is amazing, yes. Those castaways are lucky to be able to enjoy it for three days straight."
"Well, the holidays have come to an end. They must return to civilization and resume their everyday life."
"Poor of them. All of this happened because they wanted to avoid a storm. And now they are here, on lost a pebble in the sea.
"By the way Aether, -" said the last member of the team. "Can you provide us with more information about this VIP? I had trouble hearing during the briefing. The subject is the former princess of Fontaine. Right?" The young leader could feel all the eyes aboard staring at him, clearly wanting to know too. He sighed.
"Yes, that is correct. Furina de Fontaine was aboard this ship. Crown heiress of the Fontainian monarchy and last surviving member of the royal family. Fontaine's government is keen on her return home in good health. So, a bonus has been put make sure of that."
"A bonus? How much?"
"Five million of moras."
"Five million? For the team that find her?"
"No, five million for each adventurer of this mission." His teammate's eyes widened when they heard it. If Fontaine was prepared to pay 80 million to assure her safety. She must truly be valued.
"Remember, they stated that each of us would receive $50,000 for each survivor that is saved. Once this operation becomes widely known, it would be unfavorable if only Fontanians were rescued. We must save whoever we can."
"That's a lot of money for each passenger! With the upfront payment of 1 million of moras for each person, and another million at the end of the mission, along with bonuses. Those daily commissions truly pale in comparison. Isn't it?
"Can you tell me the total number of people aboard the ship?" Asked Fischl.
"A little less than a hundred crewmembers and about two hundred passengers... So approximately three hundred... Give or take."
Bennett heard this and showed a big smile. Fischl appeared to be very happy as well. Mona was probably happier than anyone else. When she heard the future prize, she lost control of the helicopter for a brief moment, which caused everyone to hustle.
"Team Bravo, can you tell me what's happening? Focus!"
The voice that rang out through their earpieces was none other than Kasim's. He was an experienced mercenary from the eremite and an active adventurer. He was appointed to take charge of this operation and personally guided team Alpha. Aether quickly responded
"Team Alpha, this is Bravo 1. Don't worry, everything is under control." He looked at Mona, who looked back at him and mouthed a silent "sorry" before focusing back on the control panel.
"I hope you do, Bravo." Aether glanced back at the island, but was only able to do so for a few minutes until a new voice came into the conversation:
"Here is Delta 1; the landing zone has been reached. "To that announcement, the three passengers looked out from the window and checked out.
The landing zone was located in a large bay. The presence of many trees was beneficial as it provided good protection against the wind from the sun. The beach had a reef nearby and the sand was clear. Even so, the blond adventurer was intrigued by something.
"It does not look very good." This zone was apparently reached by a large group of life rafts that were still lying around. Several of them had been cut down and used as temporary shelters, as he could see.
The real issue was the absence of anyone on the beach.
For a few moments, the adventurers remained stationary inside the helicopters. Checking the large camp from the security of their machines while flying. All of them were looking for any signs of life.
Then after a few minutes, the com came back to life.
"Team Bravo, descend and explore the area for clues. Team Delta is looking for a secure area where we can establish a base camp. Team Alpha will go to the north side to look around."
Subsequently, the force separated. The helicopter belonging to the first team turned right and began to accelerate towards the north. Meanwhile, the third team composed of three helicopters is heading towards the center of the island. Trying to find a suitable location.
Now that their allies had departed, Aether directed his team.
"Mona, we would appreciate it if you could take us down. We will check the camp." The pilot gave a nod before operating the chopper.
The team leader turned around and reached the rack located at the end of the flying machine. He grabbed his assault rifle, which was equipped with a mounted grenade launcher. He checked the weapon to see if anything was amiss. As soon as he was reassured, he grabbed a full magazine and loaded it. Bennet reached the rack and retrieved his personal weapon, a submachine gun. He also loaded it. They both joined Fischl, who was already equipped. They waited for their pilot to come down before going out.
"We land in, three, two, one… Now. "At this, they rushed to the ground in an instant. Their weapons are ready. They remained there for a short time, prepared to protect themselves in the event of an ambush.
However, nothing happened.
"Mona, shut the chopper, lock the door, and stay inside. Prepare the first aid kit in case there is a problem."
"On it." The door shut behind them. The trio is left to fend for themselves.
"Fischl, it would be great if you could keep an eye on us. Bennett with me." His friends nodded to confirm. Fischl hastened and climbed a tall rock formation, enabling her to monitor the camp.
Aether and Bennett began to explore the remaining living space of the survivor. Torch, small luggage, some equipment from life raft, several fireplaces with logs around them to serve as bench, metals and wood piece that surely came from the wreck and got washed ashore, clothing that were left to dry, makeshift tents from the rafts. Three cabins that were still being built were left unfinished.
But it was missing the most important. There was not a single castaway.
"Where are they?"
"I don't know." They kept checking the camp for a bit longer. Despite this, the initial search was completed quickly.
"From the size of this camp, we could say that between fifty and eighty people were staying here. With the possibility of a maximum of one hundred."
"One hundred? Weren't they supposed to be three times that number on the ship?" Aether confirmed with a single nod.
"Thus, it implies that there were hundreds of people who drowned. How is that possible? This company is well-known worldwide and its employees are considered to be true professionals. They would not have messed this much during an evacuation."
This thought was shared by Aether. He glanced at the ground and observed numerous footsteps heading towards the forest. He grabbed his com.
"Mona, it seems that we will need some eyes in the sky."
"On it, as for I, Mona Megistus see everything." Two minutes later, the door of the chopper opened and a drone flew out, flying high in the sky.
"Are you able to see anything?"
"Wait a minute. Here we have it. I see you. I got total control."
"Good, there are footsteps leading to the forest. Try to look there."
"On it! Looking up, Aether saw the drone moving towards the large vegetation.
"Aether! Bennett's shout drew his attention and he hurried to join him.
"What's going on?" The young man simply pointed something to him.
A tree.
A tree with stains of blood on it. The blonde adventurer moved closer to the tree and discovered something quite intriguing near it.
"A bolt." He grabbed it and was once again taken aback. "The tip has blood on it. Also, it seems that a substantial and lengthy object fell onto the ground next to it before being taken away… Something that resembles a body."
Both men quickly looked around to ensure that there were no dangers in the area.
"Fischl, do you copy?"
"Fischl here, everything is fine for me. What about you?"
"We found evidence that there was a fight, and that someone was wounded. So, take caution. Probable casualty too. We will keep looking around."
"Roger."
"Mona, could you please get in touch with the other teams? Tell them that the presence of hostiles is really likely."
"Ok!"
The duo checked the camp once again, but this time with more meticulousness. And, sure enough, they found more evidence of combat. Blood on a leaf, mark on the ground, broken branch, even knives on the ground.
"Those are used in life rafts. However, their blades are bent. The saws combat." The two knives were placed on one of the temporary chairs by Aether. Before heading to Bennet.
"Look at this." Bennett showed up with his discovery. A small revolver.
"It is not common for security agents on cruise ships to carry firearms. For emergencies, there is still a hidden cache of firearms that are kept away. In the event of a pirate attack on the ship, it would look like this. I do believe that during the evacuation they grabbed some of them in case of an attack." To confirm something, he opened the cylinder. He removed the cartridges.
"There are still two bullets left." After closing it, he put his new discovery in one of his back pockets.
"Aether! Bennet! Over here." Fischl contacted them and they rushed to reach her.
"Status?"
"Over there! On the northern side of the beach, there is something close to the reef." The two young men rushed to the location and found what captivated Fischl's attention.
"It's …It's a corpse." The odor was strong enough that they nearly vomited, but the experienced adventurers managed to reach it without vomiting.
"Ugh!"
Aether walked up to the body and examined him.
The body was that of a crew member, and his uniform was still present. Even though his clothes were ripped at the edges, their integrity was still intact. The person cannot be described as such.
"A blunt and heavy object has caused the face and skull to be smashed. Probably some sort of club. He has been hit multiple time." He turned to Bennet, who appeared to be very unwell by this sight.
"I do not like it. Multiple traces of fighting, including an arrow, blood, a gun, and knives. Lastly, a dead body. We must consider the possibility that none of the castaway are still alive."
"Really? to this extend?"
"Yes. Furthermore, something else is intriguing me."
"What is it?"
"Can you tell me where the bodies are? There has been a fight. In opposition to a group of dozens. And not a single body except for this one who have been taken by the water."
Bennett paused for a moment before replying.
"The bodies were taken back with them by them."
"Yes, I am of the same opinion. But why? To cover up?"
"This island is far from the populated area. It's no surprise that there are smugglers or other groups present here. Today, nobody would be here if the storm had not caused the ship to depart from its original itinerary. Moreover, those who are here would not have been disturb."
"Yeah. Probably." Mona's voice returned!
"The forest had multiple footprints that I found. They seem fresh. They are situated 200 meters from the forest's beginning."
"Okay Mona. Everybody. Gears up."
As the team gathered in the helicopter, three figures viewed them from the safety of the forest.
"Ika!"
"kundala!"
Far away from them. On a distant cliff. The chopper was observed by a person using binoculars. The individual shook its head before reaching for their pistol on their hip.
"And here we go again."
The equipment that the characters of Bravo Team are carrying can be found here.
Aether: SCAR-H+FN40GL/M9A3/Machete/Hunting knife/smoke grenades x2
Mona: UMP45/GLOCK19X/combat knife/frag grenades x2/smoke grenades x2
Bennett:HK-MP5/M32A1/HK-USP45/Combat knife
Fisch: HK-G28 (with scope) /HK-USP45/Claymore x 3/smoke grenade x1