The drop down to the surface was hectic, at best. At worst, it was a downright terrifying first experience. The initial excitement lasted through the loading of the pod, past the humming of conveyer belts and the massive [I]WHUNK[/I] as the pod fired down towards the service. Wolf felt his blood boiling with anticipation as they picked up speed; then, in a single second, all of the excitement was replaced by fear, as the first barrage of acid blasts hit the shell of the pod.

Wolf was suddenly aware of the heat in the pod around him. It was not from inside, this time, but it was from the outside, leaking through after the long burn through the upper atmosphere. The violent jolt had just as easily jolted Wolf to the grim pseudo-reality around him – in his mind, he knew it was only a simulation, yet the danger was all too real. It was something he had never quite fully experienced before. There was little he could do to help Richard – the Englishman had access to almost all of the controls, and was handling them rather adeptly. Wolf kept his face grim, closing his eyes in preparation for the impact. He steeled himself, ignoring Richard’s cursing and shouting, until… 

[I]WHOOM![/I] The pod slammed into the ground, sending earth and stone in all directions. The doors blasted open, followed closely by blasts of shrapnel. In seconds, there was a 20-meter-wide space clear of hostiles – and plenty of room to go crazy. Wolf stepped out of the pod, and as terrifying as the DEMON was, the Helios had its own presence on the battlefield. The remnants of GHOST engineering became apparent as heat vents all across the gold-and red carapace opened, expelling jets of flame. For a moment, the Helios was wreathed in astral fire, appearing more of living flame than metal. 

Wolf punched the air in front of him, ejecting an empty shell from his machine gun, before dropping into his ready stance. The other two pods had already dropped, and now the saurids were closing in. “Team Rapid, both members accounted for. Engaging!” Even before he finished, the Helios was leaping into the air, the thrusters all along the frame roaring to life as they propelled him into the air. He twisted, firing a triple-set of missiles from his shoulder, clearing his landing zone, before landing in a shower of heat and fire. It was a fraction of a second; he fired a pair of shotgun shells into the creatures and laid down a volley of machine-gun fire, all the while moving with the slashing DEMON. He was dimly aware of the other A.W.E.’s efforts to combat the saurids, but they were only a direction to move. He thought he could faintly hear humming in the background, but it was only a distraction.

He was in the raw heat of combat now.