Scattered Eagle Leg 4

Leg 4 — LGIR → LGKO Heraklion, Crete → Kos, Greece

A high-priority rescue transfer carrying recovered survivors northward while expanding search operations across the eastern Aegean.

First Extraction

The first survivor barely spoke.

Rescue crews carried him aboard wrapped in thermal blankets, his flight suit burned and torn from the ejection. Saltwater, exposure, and injuries had nearly killed him before mountain villagers found him hiding near an abandoned shepherd trail.

But before losing consciousness, he delivered critical information.

The squadron had been ambushed.

Unknown hostile aircraft had entered the operational zone during the storm.

Several pilots were forced eastward while attempting escape.

And at least one aircraft had gone down far beyond the original search perimeter.

The mission expanded immediately.

Flying toward Kos, the atmosphere aboard the aircraft transformed from rescue to urgency. Every minute now mattered because surviving pilots were likely moving while being actively hunted.

Somewhere across the islands, other rescue beacons still pulsed weakly against the static.

Waiting.