Chapter 01 Happy Solstice!

Adatahl awkwardly held the eyepiece of the binoculars over one of his massive eyes, squinting to get a good look through the aperture at the distant structure, illuminated by the eerie light of the surrounding ley lines. The narrow vision panned over the facility, getting a good look at the patrols perched on high gantries, and the landing pads surrounding the facility. Something in the air was tense, and it wasn't just the crackle of magic from the upcoming celestial alignment. He know the Coalition had scientists tracking these things, and perhaps they suspected it too.

He turned the binoculars with one of his upper arms, seeing if perhaps the other lens would offer a better view. It did not.

Turning, he slid back down the slope behind the ridge to where they had encamped, and set the binocs back on the tarp where the communal tools for keeping a lookout had been arrayed. He grunted as he disentangled himself from the tangle of netting they'd assembled for him, a rough ghille suit that would keep his shimmering golden scales from calling him out as a target for miles. Unarmed, armored only in a silvery cuirass, and having all the covert skills of a sixteenth-century cavalryman, he'd carefully followed the instructions and example of his more cautious cohorts, keeping himself under the canopy to conceal himself from air patrols, and keeping him on passive lookout. He understood the necessity - the facility there had enough firepower and personnel to contain a major breach, much less a small patrol like theirs - but it had taken his normal tranquility and added a small twist of sour impatience. He didn't dare put a wish that something would happen out into the world, but...

He stretched out wide, wings flaring out for a moment from his upper arms as he worked out the cramps. "Still no movement... Who's next?"

Lanval sits in a half lotus position with his eyes closed but his awareness open. He is a lithe fellow with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. His battered gray overcoat covers most of his body. From your time on the road, you know the coat has multiple inner and outer pockets filled with bric-a-brac from a dozen different dimensions. He has been reaching out with his senses to monitor the ley lines in this area.

"I am." Came the response from the nearby tree. Sun Li seemed to manifest from it, the mental illusion he had created over himself coming undone as gave the D-Bee a nod.

Sitting nearby with a pair of binoculars, Tao watches the Coalition building with a focused gaze. The man is dressed in light combat armor, built for mobility and capable of surviving a few shots of direct laser or solid projectile fire. A Wilk's Laser Pistol sat on his hip and a mono-knife was kept securely in a chest sheath. Both weapons were considered backup weapons compared to the man's true power; his mind.

Descended from Chinese-American ancestors, Tao kept his head shaved except for a soft, black mohawk that was left untouched to fall over. His facial hair was kept meticulous, every piece of equipment kept in top-notch shape and intricately clean to prevent malfunction. A mind melter, the colloquial term for his kind of psychic, were beloved soldiers and feared citizens. Capable of piercing even through alien minds and mastering multiple disciplines of psychic ability, he was sent as the infiltration specialist and psychic intelligence officer for their uniquely composed squad.

To whoever was captain of the team, there was more information; the man was previously working for Psyops for the Coalition before turning to the Tomorrow Legion after the Tolkeen War. Most of his background was blacked out and redacted but it was known that he spent nearly two weeks in interrogation before being cleared to join the Legion properly. Trained in assassination, psychic interrogation, biomancy, telekinesis, arcane and technical lore, the man was meant to disrupt the enemy and provide support by eliminating key personnel. His part in Tolkeen was entirely unknown but rumors were abound that the Legion had taken in someone with more blood on their hands than they could ever hold.

Cassiopeia "Cass" Canon leans on a tree, arms crossed. From their vantage point she could keep an eye on the rift and the forces that gathered nearby in their myriad rotations. It was a benefit of mankind that so many different, rival factions all kept this threat on high alert. She could see herself stationed here permanently, fighting the hordes of evil that might spew forth. But there were many other evils around the world, and she vowed to protect the innocent from evil, wherever she could.

Cass is 5'8", somewhat tall compared to human females, which she wasn't. She's ... similar, a d-bee of immaculate complexion so flawless she could have been carved from stone by a master then polished to a marble smooth finish. She's hefty, a bodybuilder's physique at odds with her youthful guise. She carries little in the way of armor or weapons, for those she manifests when required - cyberarmor and cybersword both her true badges of office as a Cyber-Knight. She does carry a sidearm for show -- it might even work.

"What did you see, Adatahl, even if it didn't move?"

He motioned to the scopes over to Sun Li as he made for the lookout post on the ridge. "No, they didn't work." He made a vague gesture at his own face, between both massive eyes, as if that would explain everything.

As he settled in the camp proper, his bottom two arms folded, while one spare held a branch overhead, allowing him to lean. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, seeing if he could glean any insight from the hours he'd been on post. "Conventional infantry patrols moving in and out of the upper level gantries. No external traffic in or out of the arch enclosure. No unusual air traffic, SAMAS and Jetbike staying mostly to their side of the river. No reinforcements or rotations today... so far." His cheeks tensed as he brushed a stray pine needle from his bracers, an expression akin to pursing his lips. "I think they're tense. Everyone's armor is buttoned up, nobody's throwing butts over the balcony. Tenser than normal, but who wouldn't be..." His wing motioned vaguely to the vast nexus of energy suffusing the air around them. "Day like this with a thing like that."

"Lanval, any fluctuations upon the leylines?" Sun Li asked as he settled onto his stomach and observed the facility from their perch. Their small number kept them from being detected but at any moment, the fortress could mobilize if they detected a threat. Thankfully, the most dangerous threat was the ever-shifting rift ahead of them.

"Trust me that when there is, I won't keep it to myself." Lanval grumbles before returning to his concentration to the ley lines around him. "There is so much power here already. I can't imagine what a surge will be like." Lanval smiles a bit at the thought of witnessing it.

Cass snorts. "A surge. Yeah, ask for trouble, why don't you? Probably a full scale Splugorth invasion." She shudders.

"It'd almost be more of a tragedy if the gateway opened somewhere pleasant on the solstice. I doubt anyone inside would appreciate the scenery." He gave a bit of a wistful sigh as he crouched down, carefully sitting on a tree stump. Relaxing levitation was out of the question. Even with the power suffusing the area, he was already concerned about raising the hackles of a psi-stalker patrol.

Cassiopeia summons her cyber-armor instinctually as the buffeting continues, but she hesitates on the sword, as, well, there's nothing to fight. Yet. She's strong and bolsters Lanval, steadying him against the forces swirling around them. Her eyes she keeps on the bunker and the blue energy discharge.

"It's happening! Prepare yourselves!" she yells over the disturbance. Prepare, but for what?

Lanval gratefully leans against Cass while keeping his senses on the scene before him. He reaches out with his magical senses trying to determine anything about the arcane energy before him.

The tree branch he was gripping ripped off in his hand. He narrowly avoided crashing full bodily into Cass, claws gripping into the ground as he rolled to his feet in the wake of the blast wave. He lunged forwards, a wing snapping up to shield himself from the drizzle of of reinforced concrete flecks that had reached their post.

As the dust began to settle, he lunged forwards, taking long strides up the ridge, calling out to Sun. He'd been in direct line of sight to the explosion, and might have been hurt... or perhaps, saw something they'd missed.

The brilliant explosion sends a shockwave of power, a torrent of wind following over him and his comrades. Being prone on the ground has its benefit as Sun Li covers his face as much as he can. He keeps the binoculars on his face even as he feels them bruise both skin and cartilidge. Information was too important and the reaction of what was left of the Coalition, as well as what could potentially emerge from the rift, needed to be seen.

"The rift has erupted. Multiple D-Bees assaulting the Coalition compound. Multiple flying combatants. These demonic forces have land and aerial forces and are engaged with the forces on site." Sun Li relays telepathically, the sounds of battle echoing even to their post. "It is my suggestion to wait until combat has ended on both sides before exploring the base. We have the cover of being scavengers and mercenaries and won't be risking the Tomorrow Legion's secrecy." The lives being lost down there didn't matter; they were the enemy now and if he could have two forces pitted against one another, it was for the best.

"Oh good, you're alive."

The huge D-Bee fell prone on ground next to the psychic, looking him over with an affirming nod. After giving him a once over for signs of injury from the explosion, he turned his gaze back towards the damaged outpost. His eyes widened as he focused his gaze on the distant horde of demons and gargoyles.

He was a fair match for a gargoyle in raw strength, probably two with his martial training. Three? Well, that was what war magicks were for, right? Force multiplication? Four, he could use the clear skies and room to maneuver to keep at bay. Five? Perhaps with good luck...

His heart sank as he took the tally. Even if there were a half dozen of him, there was no knowing if there was a warlock or witch among the opposition. And then, of course, the swarms of demons. His fists clenched tightly as he watched the forces square off, expressionless beak somehow looking tightly drawn as he reluctantly drew the same conclusion as Sun. He had no love of the Coalition, but the grim portent of watching scores of soldiers be torn apart by an otherworldly force enslaved by supernatural malice sat in his gut like a cold stone.

Cass grinds her teeth. "They're not going to hold." Her vows and oaths tear at each other, but above them all is self-control and following authority -- "to quietly observe the rift for any unusual activity today." She lets her cyber-armor fade out as the debris stops. The Coalition States and the Federation of Magic do not count as allies, and so she sits tight.

"Their defense is just."