[Smayan Wilderness, 18:05]
It didn't take long for the four operators to get in the transport vehicle that will deliver them to the said area of operation. The vehicle of choice is a 4x4 Jungle Jeep with the roof made of dark fibers. It's the ideal choice of transportation in the wilderness of Smayan wet and moist natural environment. It rained a lot in the past few weeks and the muddy roads will only make the use of urban cars harder than it's supposed to.
Major Titus Thanatos is the one who sits on the driver seat, alongside him sits Sergeant Laura Sanders who is in charge for the navigation throughout the forest. Corporal Daniel Wolf and Private Adam Zimmer take the back seats that are seperated by the thick security glass, making it harder for them to listen to what the driver and the person in the front seat are saying. This looks like an opportunity for Laura to clarify something.
"You don't seem enthusiastic about this mission, Major," Laura asks while she takes a closer look on the map of the Smayan Wilderness. The road ahead of them leads deeper into the forest.
"What made you think that?," Titus answered the question back with another question, which made it seem like he wants to avoid question for some personal reason.
"Well, back in the camp, you tried to come up with any excuse to make Commander Orwell not to send you out on this mission," She explains as she put the map away in the drawer of the jeep, "You don't act like the usual, is everything ok?," she asked.
Major Thanatos keeps his mouth shut, focusing on the road ahead. Laura decided to not get on his nerve by keep asking questions. But after a short while, Titus speaks up quietly.
"Things happened. Back then," he sounds sad and remorseful. "I stayed in the military because I didn't know what I would do, when the continental war ended," he continues as the road gets messier and the street start to fill with muds. "It seems like I became better at the only thing I ever could: at killing people."
Laura looks at him confusedly. She wanted to say something but nothing could come out of her mouth.
"Catching thieves and arresting murderer is one thing. But to take one's life yourself? I think I have enough of that," Titus adds to his statement. "I just want peace."
"Why don't you retire?," Laura asks him curiously.
"The pay is good and I'm getting used to this life style. It has gotten to the point that civilian life style terrified me." Titus decides that it's time to switch topic. "Any clue on him?" He meant Laura's father who has been absent after the continental war. Some say he has been killed or missed in action.
"No, not yet," Laura said and she tilts her head toward the window. She noticed that what Titus said contradicted itself. Wanting to retire while civilian life terrifies him? She asked herself if she'd ever able to understand what's going on in his mind.
About her father, she almost gives up on the hope that he might still be alive somewhere in this world.
"They said, hope dies last," said Titus while looking over his almost-a-daughter. He was smiling a bit, which is rare for him. Laura was and is only the only who could bring out this side of him.
Laura didn't add much to his word, only smiles back.
A knock comes from behind driver seat, Corporal Daniel Wolf was knocking on the glass pane that was seperating driver, co driver seat and passenger seats. Laura opens the lid and asked him what was wrong.
"Sir, ma'am, I know this might be in appropiate to ask, but how much chance are there that we might get ambushed by the insurgents?" Daniel doesn't seem so scared, so Titus was wondering why the question, "Well, our friend here, doesn't seem so well," he added to it while pointing to Adam Zimmer, who has a terrified look at him.
Titus gives a sigh, before asking Adam "You knew what you were signing up to right?"
Adam nods his head slowly, "Yes but this was the only way to pay my family's debt. The pay is decent.. I was never much of fighter so I choose language course as field of specialization."
Money. An issue that everybody has nowadays, so it wasn't surprising that someone would sign up to the military for a quick cash. After all the Human won the war. Titus didn't say anything much afterward, he is just like Adam, although things were different back then. His sense of patriotism was strong, now he's just in for the money.
Daniel taps Adam's shoulder firmly. "It's gonna be alright, don't think too much about it. It's just someone's plane crash anyway. It's not like we're doing a raid in a village or something."
Adam thanks Daniel and recieved a bright grins as a replay.
"You said you were transfered from 404th Infrantry division of Ospium?," asks Laura curiously, since she was living in Oscington, a country south of Ospium. "I'm from Oscington, so we're practically neighbours."
Daniel is surprised. "I'm always jealous of all the warm beaches you have. Ospium has nothing but cold beaches, tall dark trees and lot and lot of snow. It's not even warm in the summer. It really sucks," Laura laughs, because it's all true. Oscington is like Ospium, but warm.
"At least you don't have to worry about drought in the hot days," She looks at Adam in the back mirror, "What about you Adam?"
"Huh? Uh, I'm from the U.A.N.," The U.A.N. stands for United Allied Nations, consisted of 4 different countries on the same continents: Athium, Eprium, Fobcay and Apria. It was one of the first continent to be settled by human. Athium is leading country in term of Finance and trading and so it became the administration place for the U.A.N.
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Eprium is the main military force of the U.A.N., most war machines and military personally were created and trained there mostly.
Fobcay is one of the main supplier between continents and it is known for marinal trade ways with its habour close to the neighbor state: Dreoland and Nascos.
Apria is considered to be a adademic city, most researches are conducted here, with its border close to the "Nocturnals" race of the East. They obverse their activity and also sometimes started expedition to the South Pole.
"Really? I'm from the U.A.N as well," said Titus, "Although I haven't visit it for years now. Y'know, work and stuff."
"Yes sir, I'm from Apria," Adam answered quietly, he wasn't sure if his comrades are going to make fun of him or not.
"Well well, who would have thought," Titus had a gut feeling that Adam must be from Apria, since he doesn't know where else in the U.A.N would offer Eastern language course, "Also you don't have to be formal with me when we're alone. It tends to work better if you treat me like a friend," Titus added to it.
"Alright, sir," Adam accepts the offer.
"You really didn't get it do you?," Titus started to laugh, "Stop 'yes sir', it really weirded me out. I'm still not used to it."
"Titus, there!," Laura pointed to the sky, where smoke can be seen. "That must be the crash site," she claimed while looking at the map, "Looks like there won't be another village for another few miles from the crash site."
Adam sighs in relieve. Daniel checks ammunition in his sub machine gun, some breaching charges he brought with him.
"Whoever was in that plane surely didn't have a good day today," Daniel jokes while checking his equipment, but nobody laughs.
Titus makes a turn to the right upward the hill. The way started to become tighter by the surrounding trees and the mud on the ground doesn't make it better. Once they are on the top of the hill, Titus decided to park the car.
"We gotta go by foot from here, the road is too slipperly and the car might not be able to turn around. Laura, check the distance," Titus commands his troops as he gets out from the Jeep with his rifle unlocked while he checks the surrounding, "Also don't sleep at work, newbies," he added to Adam and Daniel.
Laura checks the map again before putting it away. "Looks like it's downward this hill to the west, judging by the look of the smoke. I'd say around 1 mile."
Daniel and Adam gets out of the Jeep and cover the backside of the jeep. They look around and couldn't see anything suspicious.
"Backside clear!," affirmmed both of them.
"It's getting dark," mumbles Titus while he put on night vision goggle. So did the others in the squad.
They're silently approching the crash site quietly, everybody is tense, especially both Daniel and Adam. Who knows, they might step into a trap by the insurgents or something else. As they gets closer to the crash site, they could see small, somewhat outlandish looking aircraft. It doesn't look like it belongs to the Imperial Air Force. Adam is sure that this can't be the work of the Eastern Folk. This aircraft looks way too advance, even to the current technological high end in Apria. The size itself is bigger than a jet fighter.
"Adam, can you identify this thing?," Titus asks quietly.
"N..no. I don't think I ever saw something like this," Adam answered.
As they gets closer to the aircraft, Titus and Adam decided to inspect closer while Laura and Daniel checks the surrounding.
"What do you think it is?," Titus turns off the night vision and turns on rifle flash light instead. He knocks on the aircraft firmly. No reverb sound, which mean this is a solid material. "I don't think an aircraft with thick metal would be able to fly?"
Adam looks at the side of the aircraft and found an indescribeable texts on it.
"For sure, this is neither from the West of the East. I can't recall knowing this language exist."
Daniel called both of them and said that the inside of the aircraft was open and it is empty.
"Looks like it's a 2 seat vehicle. I'm not a tech expert, but damn I don't think the HQ computer is this advance," Daniel talks while looking inside the aircraft. It looks like your typical cockpit with lot and lot of display. Although no buttons so they couldn't decipher how this thing is operated. Next to the cockpit is a room with 2 huge tubes, enough to fit an adult human in it. The glass is broken and the floor is full of weird liquid. Titus kneels down, touch it and smell it.
"Ammoniak? No, I don't think I know this smell."
Laura walks inside the aircraft and told the squad that a blood trail has been found going deeper inside the forest.
"It's red.. So a human? Could be two humans," she noticed 2 footprints on the muddy ground, "It looks like they were carrying whoever was inside the aircraft. From the size of the shoe, I'd bet one person was female."
Adam starts to get an uneasy feeling. "Titus, should we go back and report the HQ?," and like that, it starts to rain heavily. This is a rainforest area after all.
"No, we keep investigating. Otherwise it would be a waste of time," said the former war hero and command the squad to follow him.
Laura doesn't like where this is going. A huge junk of metal shot down from the sky with tech we don't know about? she thought.
A small tap on his back was recieved from Daniel, "Hey now you got a story to tell your parents how your first day on the job went, cheer up," Then Daniel starts catching up with the others.
Adam takes a short glance at the aircraft one last time before he goes deeper into the forest like the rest of the team.
Not so long after, they arrived at a wooden house, with traditional Smayan looks to it, which would be the equivalent of a Ryokan to our world. There are lights coming out of the hut. Laura takes out the marksman rifle and scouts the surrounding of the house as she noticed an open air hot bath, a zen garden and a small pond with benches next to it. It looks like a luxury house. She can't recall seeing any of this on a map, maybe this is a secret hideout for the insurgents.
"See anything, Laura?," hiding in the bush, asks Titus quietly, pointing his rifle with 2x scope in the direction of the house.
"I see an open air bath, a pond. There are lights from the house... wait.. I see people inside, a man and a woman," she zoomed in her scope. "The woman is an Elf, Titus."
"An Elf? Are you sure?," Titus reaffirms what Laura claimed to see as an Elf.
"Positive, no doubt about that blond hair and long ears."
Titus feels uneasy and after a quiet while, he starts talking again. His nightmare is haunting him, "Whatever they do, don't open fire unless they attacked us first."
"What are we going to do?," Daniel inserted himself into the conversation.
"We're going to need you, Daniel. We'll breach the house and arrest these people. Then we will search the house for the injured pilots." This isn't the answer the team was hoping.
Adam is schocked that he is going to arrest people on the first day of the job. "But isn't that illeg-"
"No, you do what I tell you what to do. Laura, you stay here and keep an eye out," Titus refused to hear what other people wanted to say, "The rest comes with me."
Surely, there are peaceful ways to approch this, thought Adam before he submittingly obeys the order.
"Never trust an Elf, that's your today's lesson, Rookies," said Titus Thanatos before he starts heading to the house.
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