Early in the morning, they left the airport for the safehouse in the coordinates sent by Doctor Aslan. Akiko was driving the van traversing the deserted streets of this small country with a population of less than 1 million.
The house located at the secluded part of the island and tucked away from other houses. They didn't know who own such luxurious house in that remote place. Someone was waiting for them, opened the gates and took the van straight back to the airport. Doctor Aslan apparently was well connected as well.
Andalas carefully examined the small plane with a capacity of 6 people. He nodded to Cecilia and Akiko. The two boarded the plane before Andalas started the engine.
The sea was very calm. Perfect weather for takeoff for an amphibious plane. The plane was quite sophisticated with a modified landing plate that could handle large waves.
The plane took off smoothly. Andalas turned off the plane's transponder and turned on the stealth mode to avoid being caught by radar. They were on a secret mission, so being undetectable was indispensable.
Andalas directed the plane's navigation to the coordinates on Cecilia's X-One. If the coordinates were correct and there were not many changes, then the estimated travel time was about 1.5 hours. Akiko was slightly nervous. She was worried that some Hantaa 05 crews were carriers of Mollivirus sibericum. Or maybe someone had been infected.
No one was talking in the cockpit. This was an important mission for them. If Doctor Aslan was forced to resign from his position, the mission to mitigate this extraordinary disaster would be in jeopardy.
With his position, Doctor Aslan could mobilize numerous assests to support the mission. Pandora, the MS-BA-30 team, and the supporting infrastructure had made it this far because of the outstanding contribution of Doctor Aslan.
Andalas flew the plane as low as possible. Even though the transponder was turned off, this plane could be detected by radar when flying high.
Cecilia tapped Andalas's shoulder while showing a small red dot on the screen of her X-One. Andalas nodded and moved the steering wheel towards the point position.
This time it was Akiko who patted Andalas's cheek. Her hand pointed at a small black silhouette in the distance. The plane was getting closer to Hantaa 05. But suddenly Andalas made an unexpected maneuver by turning sharply to the left and landed the aircraft at sea level. Cecilia and Akiko were stunned.
The whaling ship was still quite far away. Why did Andalas land here?
Andalas signaled them to stay quiet. The plane's engines had been turned off. Since the weather was very good with only light winds, the waves were almost completely absent.
Andalas pointed at two small dots approaching Hantaa 05 on Cecilia's screen. It was followed by a large dot and another small dot in the distance.
Akiko understood why they had to land farther away. Apparently Hantaa 05 was being approached by two small boats or speedboats. The bigger dot was certainly a big ship. While the small dot around the big ship must be a helicopter in the sky.
The three of them did not expect that. They had no idea whether it was OWC or the Organization, but clearly their opponents got there first.
"Akiko, do you have a satellite phone number on Hantaa 05? We can't reach them on the public frequency. We'll get caught." Andalas turned to Akiko who was immediately busy opening her gadget.
"Call them. Tell them to hold on the best they can to prevent the attackers from boarding the ship. We're approaching to help them." Andalas pulled a small lever on the plane's panel. The small trunk on the tail of the plane opened and a large inflatable boat slid into the sea.
The boat was still tied to the bottom mast of the plane. Andalas got off the plane and stepped on the landing plate. He pulled the boat closer and cut the rope, hopped in, started the engine and signaled for Cecilia and Akiko to jump onto the boat.
Akiko gestured to Andalas to hold it. She was trying to call Captain Hikaru.
"Bring the golf bag that's in your backseat Akiko!" Andalas shouted.
"Hello Hikaru san! This is Doctor Akiko! You are being surrounded by 2 small ships and 1 large ship and a helicopter. Don't let them get on Hantaa 05 before us!" Akiko shouted to compensate the roar from the rubber boat engine.
"Got it Doctor! We will use the water canons on all sides of the ship. Where are you?" Captain Hikaru's reply was heard, Akiko deliberately turned on the speaker.
"Good! The three of us will slide in a rubber boat from 45 degrees direction!" Akiko hung up the phone then got down into the rubber boat while dragging the golf bag.
After the two women boarded the boat with the rather heavy golf bag, Andalas started the boat at maximum speed. They were racing against time.
Akiko unzipped the golf bag. Inside were several short-barreled assault rifles along with magazines and some hand grenades and several pistols. Akiko was somewhat astonished. When did Andalas prepare all this? But her surprise was short-lived. It must had been provided by Doctor Aslan.
Akiko armed herself and prepared weapons for Andalas. He handed Cecilia a pair of FN pistols and gave brief tips on how to handle it.
Andalas used his binoculars. The two speedboats with five crews each were getting closer and Hantaa 05 was seen firing its high-pressure water cannons. The helicopter kept its distance by circling around Hantaa 05. The impact of the water cannon on the propeller could potentially send the helicopter crashing into the sea.
The inflatable boat driven by Andalas maneuvered over to avoid both speedboats. Several gunshots were heard. One was directed to Hantaa 05 and others toward them. They've been flagged by the attackers!
Andalas used all his skills to zig zag at high speed. This rubber boat was not as big as a speedboat, so it was very agile in the water. They approached the stern of the Hantaa 05.
Captain Hikaru who was monitoring from the bridge saw two speedboats with armed men kept firing at his ship. The water cannons functioned hydraulically, so they could be controlled from the wheelhouse. Several of the bridge's windows were shattered by the bullets.
The circling helicopter started spewing bullets.
Captain Hikaru was keeping an eye on the position of Hantaa 05. He had already seen an inflatable boat with three people approaching while returning fire from two speedboats which were starting to disperse.
Captain Hikaru must be careful not to let the water cannon or the ship hull hit the rubber boat that was maneuvering.
Hantaa 05 was under precarious condition. From a distance, Captain Hikaru saw a large ship also approaching. His eyes narrowed for a moment to identify what kind of ship it was. Kusottare! It's a destroyer!