The calm and serene quiet of the forest a fair distance from the portal save for the chirping of a few birds was destroyed by the loud and rumbling heavy-duty hydrogen engine of a Pitbull currently cruising down a natural street made by the parting of trees. Its thick rubber tyres kicked up a large cloud of soil and rocks and grass as it sped through the undergrowth. Inside, some [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1VfYYKMDk]ancient music[/url] was blasting over the vehicle's stereo system as its driver floored the accelerator. Sergeant Caleb Everett, or known as Riot for his previous work as a riot officer on Circumstance had one hand on the wheel while the other tapped the vehicle's bulletproof polyglass perfectly in sync with the beat. "Ha ha! Now this is more like it!" He laughed, his helmet off and his ACAR-38 by his side. 

Corporal Arsen 'Quake' Calder couldn't agree more. "I'm so glad you dug these tunes out! It's the perfect song to blow stuff up!" He, of course, was his team's demolition expert who had an unhealthy obsession with gigantic explosions, and even now he was tossing a 47mm grenade up and down, a [url=http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/callofduty/images/a/a0/MDL_menu_icon_AW.png/revision/latest?cb=20150210211909]G15 SGL Grenade Launcher[/url] sitting on his lap. The launcher could launch self-propelled homing grenades a fair distance, and it was considered a game changer in firefights. 

Behind, a rather brooding Marine in typical Recon armour devoid of colour sat hugging his [url=http://i.imgur.com/yxXFz7J.jpg]SR2991 Railgun Sniper Rifle[/url]. Unlike conventional human-made weapons which relied on coil propulsion systems to launch projectiles, the SR2991 used a much more powerful rail propulsion system that could lob a .62 caliber round at a few kilometres per second up to eight kilometres. "It's alright. I would've preferred something quieter, but this'll do." Specialist Garvan 'Alley' Stillman commented. He wasn't exactly the most talkative, and was about to go back to his quiet contemplation when the Marine sitting next to him slapped his shoulder.

"Aw, come on, Alley. This reminds me of all the times I went on road trips with my dad!" Specialist Lance 'Fuse' Gannon said. He was the team's combat engineer, and he was the one who helped move everyone around on missions. As someone who was expected to run into hostiles a lot while constructing, he carried an [url=https://www.rpnation.com/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.rmory.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ascend_shotgun_scene.jpg&key=103351fe3266ebe3dd66bdf4b5f465b4bd7017e5548a91cd2dbe35935ad85806]AUTS-29 Automatic Utility Tactical Shotgun[/url]. The poor bastard on the other end normally expected a 10 gauge slug to the face. "It [i]is[/i] a whole new world, after all." Driving through an unknown forest in an unknown world with no idea where you're going?

Just another Tuesday for Strike Force Recon Team Hammer. 

They were the guys who scouted out enemy territory and sabotaged vital equipment, before disappearing like they weren't there. They were also deadly, with a mix of ranged and close combat. The music and vehicle continued, until something small dashed past the vehicle. "Whoa! Shit!" Riot swerved, but the Pitbull's accident prevention system prevented it from crashing. He took a breath and continued on. "Damn animals."

He wasn't laughing when a large beast suddenly crossed paths with the Pitbull. This caused him to slam the brakes, but it was too late. The creature felt the full impact of a 5.3 ton vehicle speeding at a few dozen kilometres an hour. The animal was flung a fair distance as the Pitbull veered off-course, and its passengers were rocked around before it finally came to a stop.

"What was that?" Riot coughed, slipping his helmet on and running out the door with his rifle out. Quake was the next to exit. "Dunno, man. Some kind of big cat." 

"What? Like a puma?" Fuse asked, exiting but standing next to the vehicle. Alley was the last to come out, and as soon as he did, he sighed. "That thing's too big to be a puma, jackass." He turned to survey the damage, and was pleased to know that the Pitbull's composite duratanium armour had taken the whole impact, and was barely dented save for maybe a broken headlight.

Up ahead, Riot was bent over the unmoving creature. He poked it with the tip of his gun, but received no response. Unsure of what to do, he activated his COMMs. "Uh, Command? This is Strike Force Recon Team Hammer. I've just crashed into some unidentified creature. Uh..." He inspected it, noticing its wings and tail for the first time. "Looks like a manticore from those old myths."

There was a pause for a few seconds. "[i]Hammer Team, please confirm.[/i]" Riot did so, spreading its wings and picking up its scorpion-like tail. "Command, creature has bat wings and a scorpion tail. Resembles a lion."

Another pause. "[i]Hammer Team, is the creature alive?[/i]"

"I'm not sure. Doesn't seem like it's breathing."

"[i]Copy that. Please take some samples when available. Command out.[/i]"

Riot sighed and took out his combat knife. "Well, here goes nothing."