592 Landfall (1/2)
A head burst out of the ocean's surface and the boy shook the water from his head sending drops of water glittering under the scorching sun. He heaved a small woven net made out of grass onboard the tiny catamaran canoe that was filled with his harvest of the day's shellfish and seaweed.
The boy climbed onboard his body lean and tan from the constant toil under the hot sun and paddled his way back to shore towards several huts made out of straw and wood at the bottom of a sheer cliff wall. That was the simple fishing village the boy grew up in.
He dragged his canoe up the white sandy beach and tied it off to a nearby tree before excitedly carried his catch of the day to a small dilapidated hut. ”Sis! Look what I have caught!”
The boy showed off his small net of seafood and placed it down on a wooden top before he sat down next to the straw bed where his sister was lying down covered in a thread thin blanket. He checked her forehead to see if she was feverish and smiled back at her. ”I will make some soup for you! Just wait!”
His sister gave a nod and the boy rushed off to prepare the fresh seafood he caught. After a while, the smell of cooked seafood filled the tiny hut as the boy stirred a pot of soup. Once the soup was done, he carefully tore out the meat from the shellfish into smaller and brought it over to his little sister and carefully fed her.
As he fed her, he told her made up tales of monsters and adventurers of the outside world. His sister listened to his tales excitedly and before long, she slipped back into sleep. The boy carefully wiped his sis's face clean before he went out again to the sea.
The boy had sought help with the village's only herbalist but no medicine seemed to work. The elders and village chief spoke of a rare magical pearl that could be found out in the deep waters that could cure a hundred different illness but no one has ever see such a pearl before.
Undaunted, the boy kept diving and searching for a cure for his little sister that was just five years younger than himself. As usual, he paddled out far into the ocean, around the bend of the cliffs and beyond the safe limits which the villagers warned him about, towards a reef shelf that he discovered a few weeks back.
The reef shelf jutted out of the ocean floor and the reef was teeming with life as it was never discovered by the other villagers. The reef provided rich harvests for the boy as he swam around the reef shelf. He avoided the darker areas as he knew that was not areas he could enter without endangering himself.
”What... is that?”
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The side cargo hatch groaned as it was lowered down. Almost instantly, Saphia and Rastraz both threw themselves off the edge of the lowered hatch and dropped like a stone into the ocean. Blue Thunder and the rest of the hangar crew poked their heads out of the hatch and watched the two dragons swimming in delight.
”Erm... sorry guys,” Blue Thunder mumbled an apology. ”I think they got too cooped up inside...”
Two crying screech came from his chest and he looked down onto his harness where two tiny dragonlings, one red and one blue were bobbing their heads up and down in excitement. Their tiny eyes still closed and they wagged their wings adorably. ”Abat at any moment. The crew having survived the End Zone, moved with professionalism and skill as they squeezed past each other in the narrow confines of the ship's passageway that was filled with supplies.
”Marines are to ready themselves for combat landings,” Blake turned to Major James who was standing over the map table. ”Secure the landing zone and prep the ground to receive supplies and construction of a forward operating base.”
”Yes, Sir!” Major James replied and he left the admiral's bridge to attend to his troops. Blake turned to Commander Peter who was the CAG of the Vengeance. ”Once the flight decks are cleared for operations, start launching birds into the air for recon and aerial coverage.”
Commander Peter nodded and he too left the bridge. Blake turned to the rest of the senior officers and department heads and said, ”All of you should know what to do next. Prepare your men, we have six hours before landfall.”
”Yes, Sir!”
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The massive grey object turned out to be some sort of massive ship that does not have any sails. The boy assumed it was some kind of steam ship and he waved excitedly at it. He had once seen an airship flying overhead the village but it was just only a tiny dot in the sky. His parents had pointed to it and told him about the flying vessel and he had dream for months of riding such an amazing flying ship.