[hider=Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield...]

As the war raged on in the distance a group of men in power armour idled around by the dropship meant to ferry them into battle, waiting for the word to deploy. Some were checking their gear, others were watching the battle unfold and one without any armour or weapons at all was lying on his back atop the roof of the transport, relaxing without a care in the world.

Dressed as casually as a civilian in blue jeans and a long black coat, Vincent Ryder seemed remarkably out of place among the battle hardened mercenaries around him, but with the power of Ki and the skill to use it, his strong right arm could deal as much damage as any firearm. The sleeve that would have covered it had been cut off at the shoulder to allow for complete freedom of movement, leaving the arm bare with its black flame like tattoos on full display. Having become accustomed to the noises of battle, Vincent was on the verge of dozing off until the call finally came.

"All right ladies, time to get to work!" the leader of the mercenaries bellowed out. He was a large black man equipped with the same type of power armour as the rest of his men, but instead of a gun he had an energy sword in his hand and grenades in place of ammunition. "Looks like the big dogs have come to play, so move your asses and mount up!"

Without a second's pause, the men of Diamond Company snapped into action and climbed aboard. Only Vincent took his sweet time as the last one to embark, rolling off the shuttle and following the others with an annoyed sigh. "What the fuck, sir. I was just about to take a nap."

"Stow it Ryder, you can have your beauty sleep later," the leader replied before pressing a stud behind his ear and reporting in, "HQ, this is Captain Eli Reynolds. Diamond Company is good to go, how copy... roger that, we're moving out."

With those words, the dropship lifted into the sky and flew off towards the battlefield, carrying the Vaimese answer to the Knights of Belisio... However, just before they could make it to their destination, a beam of purple light suddenly appeared from nowhere and cut through the transport, spilling all of its occupants to the earth below in trails of fire. At almost the exact same time, a Belisian shuttle was suffering a similar fate on the other side of the front lines.[/hider]
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"Damnation!" Roland yelled as he watched Emmet's shuttle plummet from the sky and crash down behind enemy lines. This was not a good start to the plan, but then again few plans ever survived contact with the enemy. It was all down to the flow of combat now.

With his eyes scanning the battlefield, the Knight Commander took stock of his surroundings as he analysed the situation, trying to discern some sense from the chaos. Not too far away, he saw the Knight called Jaxon and his protégé, Nym, fighting against the enemy. Jaxon caving in a mage's skull with brute force as was his style and Nym loosing arrow after arrow from her bow with varying results. Definitely some room for improvement there.

Some distance behind were the Spectres, just arriving and yet to disembark. One of them had raised a telekinetic barrier to protect the shuttle, though it was not in any immediate danger on the ground. [i]Of course they would be more concerned about looking after their own,[/i] Roland thought disapprovingly. After all, who else would? They had their uses to be sure, but to be around them was simply unwise. Too many horror stories, too many of them real... and Roland had his own to share. Better to point them at the enemy and be done with it.

Turning his attention back to the fighting, Roland was surprised or rather astonished to see that one of the Battlemages had flung himself into the fray, fighting alongside the Knights with a ring of blades flying around him. The Steel Mage Isaac, judging from his fighting style and long black coat. When he too had noticed the downed shuttle after dispatching several enemy soldiers, he took off after it jumping like a flea and it was then that Roland knew he had to follow suit. The site of the crash was as good of a rallying point as any other and moreover, he would not be shown up by a mage!

"Who is your commanding officer here?" Roland asked the soldiers around him.

"No idea, sir," one of them replied whilst reloading his weapon.

"Then you're it. Make sure you hold the line here at all costs while I lead the assault." Then with sword raised, the Old Lion roared, "Knights and Battlemages on me! Rally at the crash site!"

Focusing Ki into his legs and feet, Roland dashed across the battlefield in a whirlwind sprint, speeding by like a flash of lightning. As he ran, he noticed a ball of blue and orange flame sailing through the air from the rear before expanding into an almighty explosion among the enemies converging on the crash site. The old Knight had to look away from the sheer brightness of it as he skidded to a stop, taking a moment to wait for it to subside before looking up again. Sure enough, he could see that Isaac had beaten him to the objective and there beside the remains of the shuttle was Emmet, alive and well.

"Sir Emmet Dukes, you have the devil's luck," Roland said as he approached, stepping around the bodies of fallen enemy soldiers. 

Not a heartbeat later, the Knight known as 'Zombie' arrived, coming to a complete stop after what must have been a mad dash for miles. Junia Menarini was a sight to behold in her Hepius power armour, covered in blood and gore, but more noticeable to Roland were the odd spots in the stains where plate and most likely flesh alike had regenerated from wounds received. Life threatening were it not for her abilities, but then again it was also what made her an asset.

"Good of you to join us as well," Roland said to her. "I apologize for the change in plans, I can see you have had a hard time of it. Did you manage to take out the enemy's elite unit?"

As if in response, a voice bellowed out in the distance, "Double pay to whoever kills the fucker that wrecked our ride!"

"That money's mine!" another called out and then they appeared. The men of Diamond Company. Scorched, scratched up and mad as hell.

Like demons, they zipped around on jet boosters with guns ablaze. One of them was unarmed and unarmoured, keeping up with the movements of his fellows by simply running on his own two feet; whilst another had a sword in one hand and a bouquet of grenades in the other. A gift for the Knights of Belisio which he promptly threw before closing the distance and then all hell broke loose.

"To arms!" Roland yelled as he leaped back to avoid the explosions, only to end up clashing blades with the mercenary captain.

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[b]You have encountered a challenging foe. All actions towards Vincent Ryder and Eli Reynolds must be open ended for the duration of this battle.[/b][/centre]