In medias res
Captain Deloso was riding shotgun in the front seat of a Zone Ranger APC, driving out on his squad's first official outing under his command. Beside him sat Thumper, a curious fellow command assigned to ship the team out on this excursion. He wasn't sure what the man's real name might be as pretty much everyone called him that; he could probably pull his file and find out if he retained the presence of mind to do so after the mission. The name had something to do with penchant for explosions, so the rumor went. He was a technical specialist, Arcane sub-focus. So called "Techno-Mage." By reputation, reliable, if eccentric, and good with repairs and able to drive or fly pretty much anything. Not a part of Deloso's unit, but rather indented serve for delivery to the mission area, and evac, if necessary.
Immediately behind him in the crew cab sat Jace Belleraphon, a Juicer, and Therun Dahl, officially the unit's intelligence officer, and second in command, though in reality, a Psi-Stalker. He'd been Coalition once, though the details on what made him turn coat were not exactly common knowledge. Got tired of hunting down critters he had more in common with than the Skull-heads, maybe?
At the rear of the cab, a massive wall of metal limbs and armor plates sat, taking up a bench intended for three human soldiers, readying his weapons as well. Four arms moved simultaneously over his gear, checking straps, securing plates, and arming weapons, all while eerily never moving his head. K-842 was a Borg; one of those with little enough human left to be worth the name. And this one seemed more willing than most to abandon the usual limitation of the human form; four arms, and an array of sensors and optics all around his head that allowed him to see what he was doing with all those arms without even having to shift his gaze.
In the cargo hold at the back, crouched down in the wide open space at the rear, was "Ace" Boomer. He was already suited up, even though the space in the vehicle was barely large enough for the man's massive power-armour suit, even doubled up as he was. Glitter-Boy. Toughest piece of metal you find anywhere on this blasted earth, and with some of the biggest and baddest firepower you could muster as well. Even relatively man-sized as it was, given another 4-5 feet of height and 2 tonnes of weight, of course, it was still more firepower than most giant robots three times its size. He'd lucked out to get one of those on his team; that kind of firepower could do a lot to turn the tide of any skirmish.
"Three minutes," Boomer's voice sounded over the coms, "You can see the storm up ahead."
First official assignment wasn't technically supposed to be until tomorrow; a recon trip through this same area. However, the last recon team failing to report in, failing to arrive back at Refuge at the scheduled hour, dusk, just a few hours back, and a lack of other teams prepped to do anything about it meant that his team was getting a dry run a little early.
Beyond the trees ahead, as the all-terrain Zone Ranger tore through grass and rocky outcrops with massive 6 foot wheels, you could see a bluish glow filling the night sky up ahead, another 5 klicks out or so. This was a Ley-Line nexus; a smaller one, but one of several within an hour's drive of Castle Refuge. Of course, Castle Refuge itself was on a nexus, a much bigger one, though whatever charm the builder's had worked into the place seemed to keep Rifts from opening there, and all but the worst Ley-Line storms at bay.
Ley Line storms were unpredictable. They could amplify magical energy, or use it all up, leaving nothing for magic users to manipulate. They could cause Rifts to form, or even stranger phenomenon, like swapping a portion of countryside with a similar sized bit from another dimension. If you happened to be in that chunk when it shifted? Too bad I guess. Better get used to your new home; shifts like that were generally permanent.
Mission Briefing was this, already shared with the team: Recon team for this area is overdue. They should have been back at refuge about 3 hours ago, and haven't been in radio contact in about 5 hours. A scout in a Titan Flying suit reported the lines near this nexus going crazy, visible even daylight. He didn't stick around, but stuck to his Flight plan, as ordered. However, he was pretty confident he was seeing the start of a storm brewing. Even without the recon team overdue, a Ley-Line storm this close to Castle refuge probably would have warranted a patrol anyway. Since Deloso had his team together anyway, having them do a meet a greet with their new CO... well, here they were.
"Be there in... about two minutes now. Damn, my skin is tingling."
Jace twiddled a knife in and out and between his fingers, flipping it and catching it and switching hands. Every once in a while a bump in the drive caused him to have to adjust his rhythm, but it didn't seem to phase him. Not much did.. Except the waiting... "Sir, with all due respect, my nerves are tingling and that storm looks like a bad dream come true. I would like to volunteer as point in this op."
Arsenio remains mostly calm during all this, taking in the situation as it occurs. Every now and then he shifts uncomfortably as he feels Therun sitting right behind him, but squashes that feeling down.
When Jace pipes up, he shakes his head.
"If we were going into a known combat zone, sure. But this is a recon op. K8, I want you up front; you have the best optics and can hold out against anything unexpected."
"Belleraphon and I will watch your back while Boomer and Dahr bring up the vanguard."
Not wanting to stir the pot with this new commander, Jace simply nodded. "Yes, sir." He was used to working on his own, but he also new the merits of maintaining order in a unit. He looked out the view-ports and tried to predict where the storm's lightning strikes would hit next. Sighing, he grabbed his rifle and adjusted the sights for overwatch.
"I should stay at least 40 feet behind the rest of the team, seeing as if I have to fire my Boom Gun, you do *NOT* want to be near me because of the noise."
...failing to arrive back at Refuge at the scheduled hour, dusk, just a few hours back...
Arsenio nods.
"Yeah, I'd prefer not being deafened myself."
"Belleraphon and I will watch your back while Boomer and Dahr bring up the vanguard."
Up until now, Therun had been fairly quiet, lost in his own thoughts. A couple of months ago, he would have been hunting people like his companions, bringing them in for interrogation or simply finding them so that HK squads could come in and mop things up. When his CO had ordered Therun to close those families in the building and burn it, no matter that they were dee-bees, whatever it was inside him that had kept him on a CS leash snapped. It had cost him though.
Now, the gashes were closed, although they would leave a couple of good-sized scars as a reminder, and the bruises were nearly gone along with the last of the broken bones Therun had had. Arsenio’s words snapped his attention back to the here and now.
”Roger that. I’ve got the six.” He patted his pocket with a smile. ”And I think I have my extra-heavy duty earplugs, just in case...”
K8 has a nervous habit of clicking his metal thumbs in the hooked tines of his chain sword. He thinks he is also humming with the rhythmic clicking, but the humming mostly stays in his brain, not making it to his vocoder system. Every once in a while it sounds like someone playing electric guitar deep inside his chest, but not at the moment.
"Commander is 5x5 on that point-recon request. Force-Recon is Swift-Silent-Deadly, at least until we need to be Swift-Loud-Deadly, aye Boomer?"
The APC crests a rise approaching the confluence of the storm. The air is glowing with a faint blue light even this far out, and after the relative dimness of the vehicle's cabin, it takes a few moments for eyes, as well as optics, to adjust to the sudden increase in ambient light. Any open coms also burst into static, as it appears someone has a short-range jamming signal powered up.
The scene ahead is one of confusion and chaos. The first thing to catch your notice is naturally the dragon, seeing as it is the size of a city bus and presently ON FIRE! It has some poor creature in one hand, flailing, and seemingly screaming at the contact with the dragon's flaming scales. However much pain he might be in, his suffering is cut short as the beast’s jaws clamp down on the upper half of its body, and rips the poor fellow in half.
A barrage of weapons fire erupts from half a dozen points nearby, including everything from lasers and railgun fire, to plasma and ion bursts that are much less likely to be effective against the creature's hide.
Scanning the scene for the other combatants you lay eyes on the smoking remains of another APC, probably a Mountaineer Mark II from the shape of the wreckage, which is what your missing patrol was driving. It is positioned at the base of the rocky outcropping on top of which the dragon is perched, near a short, wide opening in the rocks (probably about 6 ft tall by 30 ft wide). A dune-buggy style vehicle with a light railgun atop it races across the battleground from right to left, evidently trying to keep their distance while all the while peppering the outcrop with machinegun fire.
Here's what I'll name them so we can keep the actors straight:
Dragon-Hide
Dune-Buggy Driver
Dune Buggy Gunner (Light Rail Gun)
Combat Borg (Mini-Rail Gun)
Sampson
Heavy Weapon crew 1 (machinegun nest)
Heavy Weapon crew 2 (machinegun nest)
Ley-Line Armour
Merc
They use a lot of Fire, naturally, and are completely immune to fire and plasma weapons. The are naturally psionic, to a minor degree, but can develope more considerable psionic and magical abilities if they wish to.
Size 6, Acc/TS 10/50,
Toughness 32 (18), Crew 1+6
Weapons: TW P-Beam Cannon
Range: 150/300/600 Damage: 3d10 RoF: 1 AP:4
= 7 Hearts
= 7 Clubs
= 6 Spades
= 9 Spades
= 10 Clubs
= 3 Hearts
= Ace of Spades
= 10 Spades
= 4 Hearts
Group 1: Patrol Survivors and Mercs
Group 2: Players
Group 3: Dragon and Thumper
Group 1:
The gunman in the wrecked Mountaineer fires a burst of laser-fire targeting the dune-buggy, but he is a bit too slow, the beams impacting the ground behind it.
Dragon-Hide : Continues shouting something at some of the other mercs.
Dune-Buggy Driver: Driving
Dune Buggy Gunner:
Borg
Sampson
As the rocket approaches, Thumper changes direction smoothly so that the explosive hits at an oblique angle, instead of dead on. As it hits the car and explodes, it causes the whole vehicle to rattle and shudder. However, the armour plating seems to hold. Thumper seems to take the impact in stride, swiveling the wheel and shifting gears so fast that the ride is as smooth as glass again before you even have a chance to stop lurching in your seat-belt.
The two guys in the machinegun nest look up at the explosion, clearly taking note of your arrival on the scene. However, whatever they are putting together doesn't appear ready to fire yet.
The guy in the Ley-Line Armour swirls his hands, and the glowing air seems to swirl around him as he performs some kind of magic.
The last merc visible fires at the dragon, laying down a steady, but ultimately harmless, stream of laser fire.
Boomer says "Let me out here, I can target all enemies with my Boom gun from here. And I may draw some fire away from you."
Assuming that takes a non-Free action, that's all he'll do this round. If it's a Free action, he'll take this action to Dig In. Just let me know.
Boomer opens the cargo hatch and rolls out of the vehicle as Thumper slows it down for just a moment. Sliding to his feet, he orients himself on the enemy, and sinks in his pilons, preparing to fire.
"Thumper, are you going to bring us closer to those mercenaries, or should I also decamp? As the second toughest, I should get in among the line of mercenaries."
Reeling from the explosion of the rocket near their vehicle, Jace is ready to roll. Seeing Boomer setting up to fire that massive cannon got his feet moving. "Don't feel like dying in a tincan, sir!" He yells out to the captain as he draws his vibrosword and prepares to exit the vehicle. "Permission to slash up that caster?"
"Nine hostiles 100 meters ahead. They have our guys pinned down!" Arsenio calls out.
"They've got a Borg and a mage, some power armor, and are dug in. We need to take them out fast!"
"You might want to wait until we get just a little closer unless you're way faster than I think you are. If you think you can make it, go!"
"I'll take overwatch. If you guys think you have a shot, take it. Pile out as soon as we're within 50 meters!" he calls out to everyone in the APC.
"Wait, are we going. I didn't realize we were going. Who has a borg? I can't see anything through these sparkles..."
K8's body remains still, but his voice is enthusiastic.
"I'll get there, sir!" Jace rockets out of the vehicle and beelines right for the caster...
The Dragon roars from where it sits upon the top of the rocky hillock. Being peppered with both railgun and laser fire, the dragon tilts its head back a touch to protect its eyes. As the gunfire lets up, it rocks forward and lets loose a gob of fire towards the lone gunman.
While hit by the flames, the man dives for cover, and some frantic slapping at his burning cloak reveals that he is still very much alive.
Thumper hits the gas (or at least the Techno-Wizardry equivalent), and the Zone Ranger lurches forward. A little snazzy driving, and he fishtails the car into a position behind one of the larger outcroppings of rocks, with most of the 'Ranger behind cover.
He shouts out, "Watch your step gettin' out." Turning to Arsenio he says, "Where do you want me? I'm supposed to be insertion only, so by the regs I should pull back and wait for your call to exfil'. I can probably wait here unless they come around to flank, or start lobbing more ordinance at these boulders. If you need me to get closer to the dragon, I can try, but chances are you'll be walking home if I do."
Round 2
Androva comes to to the earsplittingly loud sound of a rapid pulse of railgun fire hitting and deflecting off the Mountaineer APC's armour plating. Her head hurts and there is blood dripping into her eye, and it takes her a second to realize she is hanging upside down by her seatbelt, as the mountaineer is for some reason lying on its roof. A quick glance around reveals dead and wounded amongst the team. One of the doors is massively caved in, and a tangle of scrap and body parts is all that remains of one of your patrol mates. Laser-fire sounds from outside. Only one eye working (the other blinded by blood), she thinks she can identify the shooter as Anders, by the boots and pant legs she can see. Of the others, who is still living, and who is dead is hard to tell. Rodrick was up top manning the gun when the APC was hit. Given the explosive impact, and the fact the vehicle is sitting on its roof, things don't look good in here.
The group's CO decided to investigate, and the Mountaineer crept in, moving with the terrain to get in close before being spotted. Scouts were deployed, and the situation was assessed. A group of scavengers was attacking a dragon rookery. Apparently, they had been tracking her, harrying her, while she was all the while desperate to lay her clutch. It was a relatively young adult, and this might be her first. Exhausted, she'd landed in the first place she though she could defend, and hurriedly dropped her clutch. A couple had not survived the hurried delivery. The scavs had apparently been trying to bait her and wear her down. They'd lured her away in order to get in and smash a couple of eggs. They'd made off with the dead hatchlings, dragging them off behind a Big Boss (basically an armoured quad). Since then, she'd refused to leave the rock, protecting the other eggs. The scavs were using hit and run tactics, and the range of their weapons to try and wear her down. If they could drive her off, they'd take the rest of the clutch. If they could kill her, they'd probably harvest her as well as the eggs.
The CO made the decision to move in. After some planning, a strategy was delivered, and while cover fire and distractions were put in place, the Mountaineer would move in and take up a defensive position near the cave entrance. The patrol would be noticed overdue soon, and this close to Castle Refuge, reinforcements might actually be able to make it in time to help. All the team would have to do was get in position and keep the scavs at bay.
No problem.
= 9 Hearts
= Queen Hearts
= 6 Diamonds
= 5 Clubs
= 2 Diamonds
= 2 Hearts
= 3 Clubs
= JOKER +2 on all actions and damage rolls.
= 2 Clubs
= 10 Diamonds
= Jack Diamonds
= Jack Hearts
= 7 Spades
= 4 Clubs
Androva mutters something unkind to herself as she unsnaps her seat belt, twisting to avoid landing on her head. She checks her gear and ensures that everything is at least present, if not in working order. Good news is, they probably think we're all dead. Bad news is, they're mostly right. She sighs heavily and tries to find a place where she can see more clearly what is going on outside. She absently wipes the blood from her eye.
Laser focused, like the blade he has drawn, Jace streamlines his run right for the caster, ready to slice him in two.
Jace charges forward and runs at the Mage, blade drawn. Diving towards his opponent, he thrusts his sword into him. The blade strikes true, though the man's armour deflects much of the hit, and prevents a lethal blow.
Thumper spins he seat over to the gunnery controls and not seeing the source of the rocket fires the PB Cannon at the Dune-Buggy
AP-4
Wha??
Jace charges forward and runs at the Mage, blade drawn. Diving towards his opponent, he thrusts his sword into him. The blade strikes true, though the man's armour deflects much of the hit, and prevents a lethal blow.
The Particle Beam from Thumper's Zone Ranger scores a solid hit on the dune buggy.
= Chassis - no additional effect.
= Chassis - no additional effect.
= Locomotion - reduce top speed by half.
= Skid
The dune buggy lurches as a tire bursts, and then swings wildly to the right as the front axle digs into the ground. The vehicle loses most, if not all of its momentum, and a somewhat panicked look crossed the face of the gunner as her realizes they are kind of sitting ducks.
"Go ahead and pull back." Arsenio tells Thumper. "No telling what they have, and I don't want to chance them blowing our only ride out."
That said, Arsenio hops out and takes a peek from above the boulders, trying to lay eyes on the 'Borg.
Once he does, he makes an almost comical "finger gun" gesture at it with his right hand, bracing it with his left, and lets loose three bolts of bright orange flame with a loud *CRACK*.
One shot hits dead on, but the recoil knocks the other two off course, banging Arsenio's hand against the rock.
"Dammit." he mutters to himself.
With the beginning of all the intensity, something inside Therun froze. His mind kept flashing back to all the fights he had been in for the Coalition, the anger he feltt through his service and finally the relief as he lay there, (he thought at least) mortally wounded for doing what was right.
His mind snapped back to the current moment, and he reacted by instinct. Seeing Jace running forward and engaging the mage, Therun followed the juicer knowing what magic could do.
As he ran forward, he pulled his pistol into one hand, and his sword into the other. Knowing he would be able to match the juicer’s speed, Therun leveled the pistol at the mage and fired as he ran, hoping that.at the very lest he would distract him a bit for Jace to get a better opening.
+ = 8 - 2 (2nd Action) - 2 (Range) = 4, a hit!
Therun's laser fire strikes the borg in the back as he continues to aim at the dragon with his Railgun. If he noticed being shot, he shows no outward sign.
Anders, the Patrolman outside the wrecked Tomorrow Legion Mountaineer, pops up from behind his cover again. Seeing the Dune Buggy pulled to a near halt, takes a short, aimed burst at the exposed driver.
The man yells in pain, and spills out of his seat and onto the ground and lies still.
The Dune Buggy gunner sees his driver tumble out, and frantically swings his mounted light railgun to fire back at the shooter.
=
At first a round impacts Anders' head, shearing it clear off; a second hits the body, starting to make it spin on the way down; until a third impact hits it square in the chest. Hydrostatic shock from a projectile going several times the speed of sound takes care of the rest, and the torso of the body ruptures, spraying the entire area with blood, bits of bone, and gore. A few flecks of blood even manage to hit Androva where she is laying inside the wreckage.
The lone Merc that was hit by the dragon's fire moments before, scrambles up and runs for cover behind a group of rocks. The rocks provide cover from the dragon, but not from the group approaching him from behind. Once in position, he finally looks around, and sees Jace standing with a bloody sword over the body of the mage. He brings his pulse rifle to shoulder and lets loose a burst at him.
Of the two men in the machine gun nest, one finishes up what he is doing, slaps the other on the shoulder, and then hits something on the ground and out of sight. The green force field flickers, and then vanishes. The second, swivels the mounted gun towards the dragon and lets loose. The destingtive roar of a Heavy Railgun sounds off, and the dragon is rocked back by the impacting fire.
The Sampson power armour raises its other arm, and lets loose another missile, targeting the aft end of the Zone Ranger, barely visible behind the rocks. It impacts the armour, but does not seem to penetrate.
The foe in the hide-like armour notices the party moving forward, and draws out a large sword from his back. Spiked blades, like claws or vambraces extend from each hand. He charges towards Jace with a Juicer's speed, sweeping the great Chainsword in a long arc towards him.
Hyperkinetic and his team had been on the trail of this particular Skurge of vampires for weeks. While it was true that Vampires ran free in more cities than not within the United States, and no one went out at night any longer, most of those were merely wild vampires. Ferals were dangerous, but disorganized and random. The real danger came from the intelligent vampires; the Vampire Lords. While the military couldn't seem to see it, and still treated the vampire attacks along the lines of a disease or contagion, Hyperkinetic's allies had seen through the chaos, to the pattern behind it all. New skurges seemed to appear at the worst possible times in places far away from supply lines, or behind what was considered "secure" territory. And every time the army came out with a new technique, or a new weapon intended to combat them, they could find no one of substance to use them on. Oh sure, they boasted massive numbers of feral kills, but even the least sane of the enemy seemed to be no where at hand every time the army attacked in force.
Worse was the fact they they replenished their numbers so quickly; it took years for a person to be born and grow, become educated and then train as a soldier, but all of that could be lost in an instant when taken by a skurge. Of course those taken were often far worse than dead; they would show up again, but as often as not now using all of the training and skills you had taught them to help counteract the offensives.
It seemed to be a losing battle. Countries all over the world had gone dark since the vampires came, with presumably no humans left with which to communicate. In the United States, both coasts were essentially lost, with only some parts of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas providing any sea access. The remaining human populations were being herded towards the great plains, as refugees ran as their cities fell. Inevitably there would be a few infected among them, and the victims of these lesser vampires would arise as ferals, without enough of their minds left to control their actions.
The team had tracked one of these theorized Vampire Lords across several states. From Chicago, to Indianapolis, to Louisville, and finally to St. Louis. Spectre said he could feel psychic emanations coming from these areas that were different than those of common vampires or ferals, and Wolfskin said they smelled different as well; somehow more human, but at the same time, somehow less human.
An encounter with some of them convinced the team they were on the right track. Vampires that didn't seem human at all, but almost alien, and then last night, one that had even seemed to use Magic! Heavenstar said it was magic, but somehow warped. Not driven by the force of life, like hers, but like a mirror image, powered by something not like death, but more like un-life.
The team was unwilling to give up after that, charging after the trail they left with a sense of desperation. If they could corner this super-vampire, this Vampire Lord they might actually score the first victory of any substance in this war. Was this vampire merely part of a new breed? The Vampire's equivalent to a General, or could it even be the mastermind behind the whole invasion?
The encounter with the vampire mage left Spectre too injured to accompany the group further, and he was left in a hospital in St. Louis. Daylight being their only real advantage, the team pressed on, Sol growing brighter by the hour as his fury increased, as though the sunlight shed by his solid-light body could burn up every vampire around, even those unseen.
The final confrontation took place miles South; near small town just over the Arkansas border. Lead Hill sounded like about the most unlikely place on the planet for an epic contest to unfold, but this is where it was happening, and where it was all starting to go wrong.
The vampires were holed up in a small farmhouse, and when the team attacked, they fled, leading them to a small rocky outcrop filled with pits and caves. Of course it was an ambush, and they had followed the bait right in. Heavenstar was struck with some sort of spell. The shadows from the ground and just risen up and swallowed her whole. A cage of un-light sprung up around Sol, screening him in a web of black beams so dark they almost appeared to glow, though they cast no light. Sol's own light dimmed, as though viewed through dark glass, as was often a good idea when he turned his wattage up, though even though he was dim, his form was beginning to fray at the edges, to blend out as he did sometimes when he was pouring everything he had into his light.
Dozens of vampires poured from the woods; hundreds. Hyperkinetic and Wolfskin worked together to try and keep their backs covered. Wolfskin was covered from head to toe in bites and gashes, the vampires slashing at him and tearing out pieces faster than even his body could regenerate.
Finally, Hyperkinetic saw something different; a vampire that was different. A solitary figure stood before a viscous looking alter within the cave mouth. It looked as though it was made of bones, but then, they might all be teeth. The thing twisted the eye as you looked at it. Upon that alter lay Heavenstar. Her eyes were open, but staring, dreaming, like those that got caught in the gaze of the mindful vampires, but that had never happened to her before - she was supposed to be immune.
The vampire himself was hard to see. He wore the shadows like a cloak, his face was hideously bestial, but almost handsome and somehow wise.
Hyperkinetic tore his eyes away from that face, almost too late. He had seen its eyes out of the corner his own. They felt like endless pools, like a black hole, pulling you towards them. Falling.
Hyperkinetic burst forward with speed, Wolfskin left for the moment to fend for himself. The Vampire Lord had a dagger. A curved thing, made of bronze. It swept up over Heaverstar's silent form. There was a circle of that unlight across the cavern floor, surrounding that eye-jarring alter. Hyperkinetic poured on speed getting reading to slam into the creature and drag him away from her. His foot crossed the circle. The unlight flashed.
***
Hyperkinetic comes to on his face and stomach, the whole world swimming. His head is pounding, and noises like cannons and gunfire echo through his mind. As he pulled himself to his feet he realized that the sounds were not in his head, but echoes of something going on outside the cave. Had the army shown up? Were they actually in the right place this time, and here to help them put down this threat?
The cave looked very different now. The alter and the ring of unlight was gone, but bones still covered the floor. Had he knocked the alter over? Blue light was everywhere; not the unlight like before, but something energetic and chaotic.
A voice pounded out in his mind, "What have you done!? Where is my kin? Where have you brought us child?"
Wrapped in shadows, a manlike form hovers near the cave entrance, flashes of light and explosions sounding outside. in his arms, the form of a woman is cradled to his chest, but lightly, as though she weighed nothing.
A flash of blue light blazes through the darkness, as a lightning bolt of pure ley energy lashes out, striking the rocky outcropping. The dragon, already stunned is thrown from its perch, landing roughly in the rocks near the wreckage of the Mountaineer. Androva feels the ground shudder as the beast hits nearby. A steady blue glow, brighter than the rest of the storm suffuses the rock, and light is pouring out of the cave mouth.
K-842 leaps from the transport with a childlike enthusiasm discordant with his massive metal and ceramic body. For just a moment, he considers attacking the dragon.
"WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ATTACKING THE DRAGON, RIGHT?! A dragon would be a great thing to fight!"
Fairly certain he should not be attacking the dragon, K8 stalks toward the other borg, slightly offended by the presence of another borg on the field of battle. He fires his railgun while moving across the battlefield before attacking with his chain sword.
Relying on pure speed, Hyperkinetic pours on everything in a bid to snatch the woman from the Skurge Master's grasp.
As the Rift begins fluctuating wildly, There is the sound of a sonic boom that echoes across the battlefield, a fraction of a moment before a purple and gold smear rockets out of the rift, arcs of electricity interacting wildly with the residual energy of the open Rift. Each time one energy smacks another, there is an audible *POP*, similar to that of a circuit in a circuit breaker popping.
Several hundred feet from the Rift, the shape stops on a dime, the blur snapping into focus as what appears to be a young man carrying a woman. The sudden stop sends a shower of debris shotgunning off into the distance in the same direction as the young man was running.
The young man wears an odd full-body jumpsuit, complete with hood that completely covers the head. He is holding a young woman, who appears to be in shock as she looks around.