The ground shook with each step from the towering cloud giant. It's glowing red eyes scanning the countryside in search of its prey. The prey in question happened to be a small hunting party of three humans armed with an assortment of rifles accompanied by a battle-wizard versed in the use of fire spells. The leader of the squad was a veteran of the Dark Moon War who the squad referred to as Bones for the tattoo that he bore on his left forearm. He didn't take it personally, although he never took anything personally, work was work what more was there to it? If they wanted to call him Toad it wouldn't change his quarter portion none so why bother arguing about it.
In truth Bendak, for that was his real name, did care what they called him but both his time in the army and his need for money kept him docile. Casually he checked the ammunition belt running out of his minigun as well as the grenades along his belt, everything in perfect condition. "So...Are we waiting here all day or are we going to complete the bounty?" Said Gunner the squad's dedicated close range firearms expert. Bendak shook his head at the younger adventurer, "Have you never been on a mission with a battle-wizard? They need their time. And trust me, you want her to be prepared."
The battle-wizard in question dipped her head slightly towards Bendak as she continued to prepare her spells for the skirmish ahead. "Settle down Gunner. If you're not careful you will completely negate the use of this chameleon netting and I spent a pretty penny on it let me tell you." The fourth human muttered at the excited squad member as he unloaded and reloaded his sniper rifle for the second time since they had set up camp at the top of the cliffs above the cloud giant's cave.
Another ten minutes passed and the squad found ways to keep themselves both quiet and occupied, a difficult task for even Bendak. Finally the battle-wizard closed her spellbook with finality. "Alright, I am ready for the combat to come." She said prompting Bones and Gunner to duck out of the chameleon netting and, while crouching, make their way down the cliff to the plains below where they would draw the giant so it would be in the open for Mettai and Kio. The path down from the top of the cliff was covered in gravel but Gunner and Bones had made the walk nearly a dozen times in the weeks leading up to the actual ambush so they knew where to place their feet. The giant was none the wiser having turned to his meal of freshly caught deer which his was cooking over an open fire. The frontline duo made their way through the waist high grass, running in a direction that put them onto the opposite side of the fire from the giant. Once in position Bones sent an alert via his phone to Mettai who responded by firing a perfectly placed sniper bullet right into the neck of the giant who roared in pain before stumbling forward slightly into the fire scattering the red coals as he reached for his club with one hand as his other clutched his throat.
Immediately Bones and Gunner opened fire, Bones with his minigun and Gunner with a pair of fully automatic pistols. Both were firing incendiary rounds into the chest of the giant doing their best to keep him focused on them. A roaring ball of fire erupted from the bonfire before them striking the giant in the face adding to his shouts of agony as he began lumbering around the bonfire towards the pair of attackers on the ground with him. Bones whistled to Gunner and the two of them immediately split up so that one of them would always be flanking the target while the other drew his attention. As they began moving into position another crack split the air and the giant was struck again by their sniper's bullet.
The giant was now in swinging range and Bones had to drop his minigun so he could roll out of the way of the fifteen foot club which if he had been a split second slower it would have sent him tumbling a dozen or more feet away. As he drew his handgun and started running for the cover of the cliffs he felt a faint buzzing in the back of his head. "What do they want now." Bones thought to himself as he tapped his left jaw twice quickly to answer the phonecall. "What. I am extremely busy right now." He nearly growled through the line as he unloaded a full clip into the back of the giant.
"Well Mr. Starog we have a mission for you that precedes anything that you could possibly be doing. We are sending a shuttle for you even as we speak. There's a job for you. In the core of Noct'Dogma." The voice buzzed in his head, the buzzing in his skull was replaced however by the roaring of engines overhead and a large beam of light shone down on the giant. "You people wouldn't know the meaning of a subtle mission if it snuck into your house and slapped you in the face." Bones muttered as he began punching a long series of numbers into his wrist computer so that he could be teleported into the vessel.
"Bones! What's going on!? Where are you going?" Shouted Gunner as he ran away from the very angry giant. "You had a contract! You can't leave us!"
"Will they be a problem? Do you wish for us to neutralize them?" The voice buzzed again.
Bones' eyes met Gunner's and he saw the anger in them. "Yeah. If you don't I have a feeling they might survive and cause trouble later on." He said before pressing the activation key and the demolecularization began, in a few short seconds he would be reconstructed in the starship above.
"As you wish." The voice responded a split second before the turbo lasers on the hull of the ship powered on, within five seconds they would be armed and a few seconds after that the squad would cease to exist on this or any other planet.
"Farewell companions." Bones shouted so that the pair on the cliff could hear him as well. "May you journey safely to Valhalla!" The last thing Bones saw before he completely disintegrated was the confused face of Gunner and then black.