Coming Ashore:

Anton was breathing heavily as he pulled back on the oars, pulling the small rowboat through the water towards their destination. He was grateful that the seas were calm today, as rough waters would have made his task that much harder. And though he could understand why they had to take a rowboat, he still couldn't help but feel a little bit bitter about being the one having to row.

Recently, ships passing through this area were being attacked by, strangely enough, natives. Natives that stole all their valuables and then disappeared. Naturally, such piracy could not go ignored, and it was the duty of the marines to put a stop to it. That was why Anton, along with two other marines, fellow marine commander Seiju, and the beautiful Alice, were assigned to investigate the island. Since bringing in a massive ship would cause too much of a stir, the three were to slip onto the island via rowboat. While he liked the fact that he wasn't being sent into this mission alone, he did wish his two comrades would help row.

With one final heave, the boat finally hit the shore, pushing somewhat into the sand before stopping. Finally, Anton could actually relax! The man let out a small sigh as he released the oars, rubbing his sore arms as he slowly climbed to his feet, stepping out into the shallow water and getting ready to pull the boat onto the shore to anchor it. As he did, he looked at the island in front of him. A nice, sandy beach, plenty of palm trees and flora deeper inland, this would have made the perfect place for a vacation if it weren't for the aggressive natives. Not to mention the dense flora would provide perfect places for an ambush.

Anton really wished he didn't scare himself with such thoughts as he started to pull on the boat. No sense in getting freaked out before the natives had a chance to do that themselves.