Operation: holOcean

The military helicopter thundered over the endless black ocean, its rotor blades slicing through heavy night air. Rain clouds drifted far in the distance, barely lit by occasional lightning.Inside the dim red cabin lights, the atmosphere felt tight — heavy with silence, engine vibration, and the smell of metal, oil, and seawater.Loose straps rattled against the walls with every turbulence hit. Ghost stood near the open side door, one gloved hand gripping an overhead strap while the other rested near his rifle sling. The cold ocean wind whipped against his skull mask as he scanned the darkness outside. His eyes moved constantly — horizon, clouds, water, instruments. Always watching. Across from him, Soap sat stretched back lazily on the bench seat like this was some annoying road trip instead of a covert operation. Arms folded behind his head. Legs spread comfortably.Completely unbothered. “Anybody else feel like this intel smells like absolute shite?” Soap muttered casually. At the far end of the cabin, Gaz sat with a rugged military laptop balanced on his thigh. Satellite maps flickered across the screen alongside scattered data packets and half-corrupted reconnaissance images. Gaz sighed quietly. “Leak came from one of Makarov’s former suppliers. Could be real. Could be bait.” Soap smirked. “Fantastic. Love flying over shark-infested water based on ‘could be.’” Ghost finally spoke without looking back. “Distance.” Gaz checked the coordinates again. “About twenty-two minutes out if the bunker exists.” “If?” Soap grinned.Gaz shot him a look. “Intel’s incomplete. Thermal scans show underground heat signatures near the island, but half the files were corrupted before extraction.” Ghost pushed himself away from the helicopter wall and crouched near the center floor. He grabbed a marker and began sketching rough entry points over a folded tactical map strapped to a cargo crate. “Main entrance’ll be watched,” Ghost muttered. “We enter through maintenance access or drainage tunnels.” Soap tilted his head lazily. “Aye, assuming this mystery bunker isn’t just a pile of rocks and disappointment.” Ghost ignored him. “We split into two teams.” He pointed without hesitation. “Me and Soap breach interior. Gaz takes the rookie around the outer sector.” Soap grinned immediately. “Poor Gaz. Babysitting duty.” Gaz didn’t even look up from the laptop. “She’s new, not useless.” Ghost finally looked toward {{user}} for the first time during the flight. His stare was unreadable behind the mask. “Gaz handles recruits better.” That was it. No asking. No discussion. Decision made.Soap chuckled. “Translation: Ghost scares people.” Ghost:“I do scare people.” “Exactly.” A sudden electronic scream exploded through the cabin. WARNING. WARNING. MISSILE LOCK DETECTED. The entire helicopter instantly shifted from relaxed tension into chaos.Red emergency lights flashed violently across the cabin.The pilot yelled through the headset. “Missile inbound! Bearing east—!” Ghost snapped toward the side door.Far across the ocean darkness, a flash erupted from a tiny rocky island.A missile tore through the night sky straight toward them. “THREE SECONDS!” the pilot shouted. Ghost barked instantly— “JUMP!” Everything happened at once.Soap barely had time to curse before Ghost grabbed the front of his tactical vest and violently hurled both of them out the helicopter door. Gaz reacted half a second later.He slammed the laptop aside, grabbed {{user}} hard by the vest harness, and shoved her out of the helicopter so forcefully her body disappeared into the darkness below. Then he jumped after her.The missile struck.A deafening white-orange explosion swallowed the helicopter midair. Metal screamed apart.The shockwave blasted across the sky like a hammer.Burning debris spiraled downward into the ocean. The pilot never made it out.The force hit the falling soldiers immediately, accelerating their descent violently. Wind roared past their ears.Ocean water rushed closer impossibly fast beneath them. Gaz twisted his body midair, eyes locked onto {{user}}’s falling form. “Shit—” He angled downward aggressively, forcing himself faster through the air until he caught her around the torso. He flipped underneath her seconds before impact. The ocean slammed into them like concrete.Freezing black water swallowed everything.Pressure crushed against Gaz’s body as they plunged beneath the surface. Exploded helicopter debris rained into the sea around them. For several seconds there was only darkness and bubbles. Then Gaz kicked upward hard.They burst above the surface gasping into violent waves. “C’mon— stay with me—” No response. Her head lolled weakly against him.Gaz looked toward the horizon.A dark island sat barely visible through the night fog. Maybe fifteen minutes away.Maybe less if the current helped.He adjusted his grip around {{user}}, keeping her head above water while fighting the waves. “Ghost! Soap!” Far off, two splashes surfaced through the darkness.Soap coughed violently. “Bloody HELL!” Ghost emerged nearby, already scanning the horizon despite seawater pouring off his gear. “The island,” he ordered sharply. “Move.” The swim felt endless.Every wave fought them.Every piece of soaked gear dragged heavier by the minute.By the time they reached the small rocky cove, everyone looked half-dead. Gaz practically dragged {{user}} onto the wet sand before collapsing to one knee, breathing hard.Soap stumbled out behind them, soaked completely through. He ripped off part of his tactical vest and spat seawater onto the rocks. “For the record,” Soap wheezed, “that officially beats every shite flight I’ve ever had.” Ghost wasn’t listening.He stood near the shoreline, fists clenched tightly under dripping gloves while burning helicopter debris glowed faintly across the distant ocean. “The pilot’s dead,” Ghost growled. Nobody answered. “The plan’s compromised. Extraction’s gone. They knew we were coming.” Soap’s expression lost some humor then.Gaz suddenly looked down sharply at {{user}}.Still unconscious. “Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me…” He quickly rolled her slightly and checked breathing.Weak.Barely there. Gaz immediately tilted her head back and pressed two fingers against her neck. “Pulse is fading.” Soap moved closer. “She drown?” “Not yet.” Gaz leaned down and sealed his mouth over hers, forcing air into her lungs. Again. Again.Water coughed weakly from her throat. “C’mon…” Gaz muttered.Another breath. Then suddenly—She jerked violently, coughing seawater hard onto the sand while dragging in a desperate breath of air. Gaz immediately steadied her shoulders. “There you go— there you go.” She kept coughing, breathing like her lungs were on fire. Gaz looked relieved for the first time all night. “You okay?”