Guise Sea, 100 km from the south coast of Amstell Continent, at altitude of 9000 feet.

1100, 7 Sept 2025

With advances in technology, flight routes could be planned in such a way as to avoid bad weather. But unfortunately, sometimes bad weather cheerfully appeared above the dropping zone.

From the ramp door of C-130J Super Hercules, Captain Kasino and Jumpmaster looked at the thick black cloud a few hundred meters below them, where lightning and rainstorms danced side by side.

Jumpmaster turned to Captain Kasino before saying, "No one in their right mind would jump down there."

While pointing to the cabin where 12 members of the Frogman Platoon were joking and trying to grab each other butt, Captain Kasino replied, "Do they look like people in their right mind?"

"Absolutely not."

"Exactly." Captain Kasino then walked over to the Frogmans before asking, "Who's ever done a combo scuba jump over a sea that's been hit by a rainstorm?"

Simultaneously, the Frogmans in the cabin raised their hands.

"Who has been struck by lightning during a free fall?"

Three Frogmans raised their hands and Captain Kasino immediately smiled.

"Well, my grandmother once said, anything that doesn't kill you will make you stronger. And if it kills you, then it will strengthen your parents. In short, whatever happens there is always a positive value in one or another way."

"""Aye-aye, Sir."""

"Good, now get ready for the jump."

As soon as the Frogmans started the preparations, Jumpmaster immediately took a deep breath, then radioed the pilot to coordinate the jump.

At the same time, Captain Kasino receives a radio call from Davy Jones.

[This is XO, Captain Kasino, do you copy?]

"Loud and clear, Sir."

[Captain, I just received a report from Poseidon that a rainstorm has hit the dropping zone. So I want to remind you, as on-site Team Leader you have the authority to cancel the mission.]

"Well, Blackstripe Sharks always avoid waters that had been hit by bad weather. So I think this rainstorm will give us an advantage, Sir."

[Yes, but can you bring all Frogmans back?]

"XO, you know I can't promise that."

After a long pause, Vex's voice was then heard again.

[Captain, it's your call, but I will take full responsibility for the result no matter what it is. So do your best.]

"Received and Understood, Sir."

Captain Kasino then turned to the Frogmans who were preparing for the jump. "Last chance, who wants to withdraw from the mission?"

The Frogmans looked at Captain Kasino for a moment, then shook their heads in unison.

- - - - -

The first preparation the frogman made was the medical check-up. Most people think that medical check-up was only applied to the HALO/HAHO jump which is carried out from an altitude above 10,000 feet. But actually, a free fall from an altitude of 8,000 feet also required a last-minute check-up from the flight surgeon.

Therefore, even though the mission only needed eight Frogmans, four additional Frogmans were included in the flight, as anticipation if one or more mission executors were declared unfit to do the jump by the flight surgeon.

But somehow, on this mission all of the Frogmans were declared fit. Individual equipment was then put on, and Frogmans who became backup personnel wholeheartedly helped their comrades who would execute the mission.

It was no secret that every member of the Frogman Platoon was a high-experts in complex techniques such as scuba and freefall. However, when the two skills were combined, the level of complexity will increase tenfold. Especially if the jump was done in bad weather.

That's why Captain Kasino didn't get tired of reminding his men.

"Even though we don't do HALO/HAHO so there is some equipment and procedures that can be passed, the scuba jump combo is still not a simple thing. So don't forget the triple checks."

"""Aye-aye, sir."""

A few minutes later, Captain Kasino and the seven Frogmans' bodies were filled with equipment. Starting from the headgear, the main parachute on the back, the spare parachute on the chest, to the weapon strapped to the side of the body.

For scuba suits, diving fins, altimeters, portable navigation devices, and several other pieces of equipment, all of them have been worn directly. While oxygen cylinders, breathing equipment, scooter divers, and explosives were packed into large bags placed in front of both feet.

After the triple check was done, the mission executor then walked to the ramp door with wide steps like a duck.

While looking deeply at Captain Kasino, Jumpmaster said, "It's still not too late to abort the mission."

"The only easy day was yesterday."

Captain Kasino's answer made the Jumpmaster sigh deeply. But he did not say anything further. A moment later, by following the Jumpmaster's signal, the eight Frogmans jumped out of the ramp door one by one.

- - - - -

As soon as he jumped out, the first thing that Captain Kasino did was stabilize his body, then orientate in which direction he had to go. In an instant, he knew that he was almost above his dropping coordinate. A sign of very deep coordination and skill from the Jumpmaster and the pilot.

Without wasting any time, Captain Kasino dived almost vertically, and the cold wind that hit his face grew stronger as he entered the rainstorm area. But he didn't slow down a bit, because the key to getting through the rainstorm was to pass it as quickly as possible.

It was precisely at an altitude of 200 meters that Captain Kasino opened his parachute. However, he didn't feel the jolt he should have, and the speed of his descent was also only slightly reduced.

One of the risks of jumping into a rainstorm area was, the parachute wouldn't deploy properly, and even though he's prepared for that risk, Captain Kasino still gets annoyed when he experienced it.

"Fuck!"

After looking at the parachute that was not fully blooming for a moment, Captain Kasino immediately activated the float on the large bag between his legs and released it. The large bag then slid down ahead of him.

Unfortunately, before he could release the main parachute and deploy the spare one, his feet had already touched the water.

SPLASH!!

A tidal wave devours Captain Kasino, and he must fight with all his might to escape the parachute and the strong current that drags him down. Luckily, the training and combat experience he underwent for years made his body as fit as a professional athlete with an unshakable mental attitude.

Once he arrived on the surface, Captain Kasino calmly took a breath and checked the situation around him. In the slightest, he didn't care about the bruises and pain from the heavy impact on the surface of the oceans. For Captain Kasino, as long as his body could still be used to complete the missions, then that means everything was fine.

Before long, Captain Kasino swiftly swam through the waves to the large bag containing his diving equipment, and while being played by the violent waves, he put on the oxygen cylinder and other scuba gear, then turned on the underwater scooter.

The strong impact when landing did make Captain Kasino lose his HK416A5, mag pouch, medic bag, and radio. Even so, he didn't bother.

"At least I can still carry out the mission," Captain Kasino muttered before setting his sights on the Underwater Scooter's main screen.

The Underwater Scooter or DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle) used by the Frogman Platoon was not only bigger in diameter, faster, able to dive deeper, and with longer range than the commercial variant, but it was also equipped with INS and network-centric which was connected to the P-8 Poseidon in charge of supplying intelligence for the mission.

On the Underwater Scooter's screen, eight blue dots stretch across an area of ​​3 km, each with a mission executor callsign. While 5 km in front of them scattered hundreds of green dots, formed a long column, and each dot was labeled with the type and class of a ship.

"The carrier ship is in the middle of the formation. So it will be some time before they arrive. I need to maintain my body temperature."

Captain Kasino then casually opened an MRE and enjoyed it in the middle of the violent wave, under a thick and dark rainstorm.

*****