Because the combat freefall was conducted at night, the jumpers did not have to worry that the opposing side would detect their arrival and send Rider to welcome them. So the jump was executed from an altitude of 6000 feet. At this altitude, the jumpers did not need additional oxygen.

Even so, the jump remains a complex operation as the frogmen had to be ready to engage as soon as they landed. Therefore, the first six frogmen in charge of securing landing zones jumped with equipment as simple as possible. They also carried a limited ammunition to maintain their ability in maneuvering the parachutes.

Meanwhile, as versus contact broke out on Gekko-01, bowmen and ballista crews from other ships immediately realized that some frogmen were still hanging in the air, waiting to be shot down. Wasting no time, the bowmen and ballista crews filled the night sky with everything they had. And they were very good at it as they had been trained to shoot down Riders who dare to fly below an altitude of 900 feet.

‘That was too close!!’

Lieutenant Kidd’s heart skipped a few beats as a flight of arrows and ballista passed by only a few meters in front of his face. Without delay, he then adjusted his control. In an instant, the speed of his forward thrust spiked and Geko-01 rapidly became bigger. And finally, he managed to land safely right behind Captain Kasino's team

It was rather a rough and heavy landing, but Lieutenant Kidd managed to land on both of his feet. He then knelt behind Captain Kasino and put a bag full of loaded magazines, high-frag grenades, and flashbang next to his knee.

“Top, your ammo.”

“Thanks, right on time,” Captain Kasino replied as he inserted his last magazine, then continued to eliminate hostiles on the deck, especially the bowmen, as fast as he could.

As for Lieutenant Kidd, he waited for his team members to land while calmly observing the situation. After a single glance, he immediately concluded that the situation slowly went into an unwanted direction.

Two frogmen from Captain Kasino's team already had an arrow on their shoulder. Meanwhile, hostiles continued to pour out from cabin below the deck like a flood. At the same time, two cruisers next to Geko-01 had been successful in closing in their distance and laid a walkway as a means for their combatants to cross over.

And the worst part was that the wind was too strong. It swept away tear gas in the deck before it could give the desired effect on the next swarm of hostile. In short, no matter how fast Captain Kasino's team tried to eliminate the incoming hostile, their number kept increasing.

Then, suddenly a thundering cheer was heard from some distance. A sign that the effort to shoot down the 'hanging' frogmen bore one or some fruits. A moment later, command center sent an unwanted notification.

[Command to All Frogmen, be advised, we lost Third Team.]

. . . .

[Command to All Frogmen, I say again, we lost the whole third team.]

Even so, Lieutenant Kidd and Captain Kasino’s team did not panic or shock. There was nothing they could do to help the unfortunate Third Team. They have their own mission to carry out without delay.

Moreover, from the beginning they fully realized that their mission was not a picnic into a nice and friendly park.

One, some, or even all of the frogmen could be killed or wiped out by the opposing side. There was nothing surprising regarding the worst possible outcome. However, as long as they were still breathing, the frogmen would try to complete their objective at any cost.

And finally, all member of Lieutenant Kidd’s team safely landed. After they handed over their additional ammo-bags to Captain Kasino’s team, Lieutenant Kidd immediately said, “Top, second team is full house and ready for second phase.”

”Copy,” Captain Kasino replied calmly.

Lieutenant Kidd and his team then make a preparation for a fast rappelling. A moment later, under the covering fire from Captain Kasino's team, Lieutenant Kidd led his men rappelling down to Geko-01’s bridge. Their objective was to seize control of Geko-01's bridge.

---

As the frogmen who jumped last, Sergeant Murrel and his team had one small advantage. They could use IR Strobe attached on the shoulder of frogmen in front of them as a guidance. Of course, being the last jumper also had its own risk. They had to be ready to receive a nasty greeting from the opposing side when they were still hanging in the air.

From his position, Sergeant Murrel could saw how the first salvo of footbow and ballista almost hit Lieutenant Kidd’s team. The salvo just missed a few meters before Lieutenant Kidd's team's position. Fortunately, Lieutenant Kidd’s team managed to land on Geko-01's bridge before the second salvo was ready.

Unfortunately, Lieutenant Sullivan's team was not that lucky. The whole team entered the kill zone right when the second salvo was launched. As a result, rain of arrows and ballista bolts penetrated their body and their parachute. Then, they rapidly losing altitude as their parachute fly uncontrollably

Four frogmen landed on the water and immediately sank, dragged down by their parachute. Their IR Strobe blinked for a moment before slowly became faint and then gone. A sign that their body had reached the deepest part of the sea.

As for the other two frogmen, they crashed into a deck of a destroyer. They used their handgun to give a final fight. However, before they managed to insert a second magazine, arrows had rained down their body for a second time. The two frogmen immediately slumped to the deck and stopped moving, while the opposing side shouted a thundering cheers.

‘Rest in peace, Brothers,’ muttered Sergeant Murrel.

Fortunately, Sergeant Murrel and his team still had an altitude to slightly change their flight path. So they managed to avoid the killing zone and landed on Geko-01’s bridge before the opposing side’s footbowmen and ballista crew had the correct aim.

Once all of his team members landed, Sergeant Murrel immediately kneeled next to Captain Kasino. “Capt, Fourth Team is full house and good to go.”

“Can you take over Third Team’s objective?” asked Captain Kasino.

“We can.”

“Good.” Captain Kasino looked at Sergeant Murrel deeply as he continued, “Remember, we don’t have enough ammo to search the whole ship. So don’t let the HVT escape from the war strategy room.”

“Roger.”

“Go get them then. My team will try to open a path.”

“Aye Capt.”

Wasting no time, Sergeant Murrel’s team made a quick check for the rappeling line left by Lieutenant Kidd's team. After making sure everything was safe, they immediately attached it to a sling at their waist.

Then, Captain Kasino’s and three frogmen from First Team threw all of their flashbang and high-frag grenades. And while chaos descended on the Geko-01’s deck, Sergeant Murrel's team immediately jumped and rappelled down the 12 meters high bridge's wall.

On the way to the deck, Sergeant Murrel's team passed the bridge that was just raided by Lieutenant Kidd's team. It was only a glance, but Sergeant Murrel could see that the raid was success.

‘We have to hurry,' muttered Sergeant Murrel as his legs smoothly landed on the bridge's wall, and after a light kick his body continued to slide down to the deck.

Once they arrived on the deck, Sergeant Murrel and his team immediately reached out for their Scorpion Evo. However, most of the hostiles on the deck were seriously injured by high-frag grenade or were still affected by flashbang. Only a small numbers of swordsmen tried to approach Sergeant Murrel's team. With ease, Sergeant Murrel's team eliminated this small group.

Without delay, Sergeant Murrel’s team then continued their movement in formations of two pointmen, two strikers, and two rearguards. Initially, their objective was to secure the engine room. But fortunately, every team had already memorized Geko-01's structure as if it was their bedroom.

Without difficulty, Sergeant Murrel’s team found their way. Less than three minutes after they set foot on the deck, they already walked down the steps towards the main corridor connected to the war strategy room's main door. It was heavily guarded, but Sergeant Murrel’s team continued pressing forward with steady steps.

“Contact front!!” shouted one of the pointmen as he shifted the safety lever on his Scorpion Evo into semi-auto, followed by a series of well controlled squeeze to the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Ba-b-babababanng!!!

At a distance up to 27 meters, every special mission unit in TF Amethyst would be able to score a perfect headshot as easy as breathing. Platoon Frogmen was not an exception to this standard.

On earth, perhaps it was not considered as a special skill, as many other special mission units adopted similar standards. However, in front of oppositions who use sword and spear as their main weapon, inside a single line corridor, and with a proper distance to initiate the engagement, CQB skill would turn a shooter into a killing machine.

Then, as the two pointmen conducted their rapid massacre to the closest hostiles, Sergeant Murrel gave a hand signal to the second striker next to him. Without delay, the striker reached out for a flashbang from one of his pouches, swiftly took the safety pin, and then threw the flashbangs as far as possible while shouting, “Flash out!”

Blaaarrrr!

In an instant, hostiles in the far back dropped their weapon, and then fell to their knee as they clutched their head. With the combination of quick headshot and constant flashbang toss, Sergeant Murrel’s team suppressed and wiped out every resistance in the corridor unchallenged. It was like an afternoon walk in the park while leisurely sucking a lollipop.

*****