[i]Sling loading.[/i]

Kazue hated that term, among other things. She had the fortune of having only done the maneuver only a handful of times during her time with the Japanese special forces, and all of them were simply training and refresher courses. There had been plenty of experienced personnel on hand to oversee the operation and to call things off the moment they felt that things were even slightly going wrong. Even then, she had disliked being in the vehicle being sling-loaded. Would it not have been safer to load the crew up into the helicopter, then carrying the vehicle by sling-loading? It did not take long for Kazue to find out that, yes, it would have been safer, but she was part of the special forces; safety was a privilege, not a right.

She ignored what Bird said - she had barely done any fighting during the raid - and simply looked at the floor of the boat, fighting back the butterflies in her stomach that buzzed every time the boat rocked due to the wind. Glancing up, she saw Geoffrey seated quite comfortable near the rear of the boat, one arm resting on the hull and the other cradling his rifle, which rested butt-first in between his legs. She scowled, how could he look so relaxed while here she was, one violent gust away from pissing herself. "Having fun?" She asked, no small amount of disdain in her voice.

Geoffrey chuckled slightly, incensing Kazue even further. Was he laughing at her? "Sling-loading is how the Guards travel," He replied, referring to his time in the Singapore Armed Forces. Strangely, Kazue noticed that he never spoke about the unit he last served with, always about the Guards, which he had only served in for a mere ten months. "Ever sat in a sling-loaded Spider LSV? No doors to block your fall, shift too much to one side and you'd be in for a painful drop. Add that to the Chinooks usually flying as fast as the engines would allow and it wasn't uncommon for first-timers to throw up the minute the wheels left the ground."

He paused and looked over the side of the boat. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he looked back to Kazue. "At least if you fall overboard here, you'd just be landing in water."

"Don't make me shoot you," Kazue snapped and tightened her grip on the ropes that lined the hull. The ride could not be over soon enough, and she found herself looking forward to finally being able to throw her weight into a fight. She needed to shoot something, maybe that would be enough to make herself feel better about herself after feeling like a frightened schoolgirl.

"Just relax," Geoffrey said and leaned back against the hull. Kazue nearly shouted out in alarm as his head went over the side, but she caught herself just in time. "Close your eyes, focus on something else and this will all be over before you know it."

Kazue scowled once again. That was certainly easier said than done.

"So, they call you Bird?" She heard Adelaida say, trying to make conversation with one of Osprey's members. "How was things on your end of the mission?"

The last thing Kazue wanted to hear was about the mission which she did absolutely nothing in, so she shifted her attention towards Wei Jie for a split second before realizing that it was a waste of time. The Chinaman was never in a sociable mood during missions. He would be more than willing to speak casually when off-duty, but during a mission he was all business. True enough, Wei Jie sat in the boat with his eyes looking forward and down and did not move an inch from his position.

Sighing, Kazue wondered what Firdaus was up to. The friendly Malaysian had taken out his parang - basically a large machete - and was polishing it with a torn rag. A few of Osprey's members looked at him with curious gazes. Much like Kazue, they were probably unused to seeing someone carrying such a big bladed weapon. Combat knives and bayonets, that was what Kazue was used to. Machetes were strictly a jungle-only piece of equipment, not something you carried around everywhere. 

It did not take long for Firdaus to notice the eyes on him and he looked up. "I like it," He explained simply. "Hacks limbs as easily as branches. Nothing scares the shit out of person as effectively as having them see their buddies being cut to pieces." For emphasis, he waved the weapon lazily in front of him. 

Kazue just thanked the heavens that she had yet to see him use it. She could already envision to grievous wounds the parang was capable of inflicting.

"Nearly there," Wei Jie reported suddenly after a couple more minutes of silence. "Falcon, don't bother stopping. Just get us low enough to touch the water. We'll handle it from there." He looked behind him at Geoffrey. "Geoffrey, get the engine running. Firdaus," He paused as he looked for the person nearest to the rope at the front. Kazue could see the hesitation in his body language as he noticed that it was a member of Osprey, and although Kazue could understand - commanding someone from another squad without consulting the person's commander was seen as a sign of disrespect - she could not say she felt the same. Wojtek had given out orders to Virus before, after all.

"Thor," Wei Jie continued. "Both of you, standby at the ropes. The minute the boat hits the water, I want them released. We are not wasting any time."

"Falcon copies. Descending now." The pilot reported, and Kazue could feel the whole boat shift as they began to lose altitude at a rapid pace, much to her displeasure. It took all her discipline to simply not throw up. The boat's engine growled as Geoffrey revved it up. Everyone else got into their positions, holding on to something in anticipation of the bumpy landing. All the while, Wei Jie looked over the side to gauge their remaining distance.

There was a slight bump as the boat finally touched the water, and almost immediately it started moving forward. As planned, the ropes were disengaged and the boat surged forward. Kazue at last let out a relieved breath. Now this was something she was comfortable with.