Thanks to Flake for editing!

Arctic 9 Intro, By Milles S. Fuller

The night sky was a blaze with electrical energy. Lightning struck, and thunder made even the synthetic steel walls shudder. From inside his safe perch, a lone wolf watched out across his land. All was clear. The jeeps were tied down, the shuttle was covered, and the hatches had been sealed for the night.

Even still, nights like these made the wolf shudder. Stories had been told of aboritions haunting the compound on stormy nights like this very one, though most attribute it to Shield Ghosting. The wolf still kept his rifle ready.

The night kept still, rain hammered against the window pain the wolf looked out of. A bolt of lightning struck the shield that surrounded the compound, arcing all over it. Less than a second later the sonic boom hit, making the window flex. The wolf jumped, nearly having a heart attack. He looked down onto the greens, and saw something that shook his soul. A figure, standing in the rain.

The silhouette just stood on the lawn, motion less. The wolf panicked, and hit the HAZ-MAT alarm. A screeching klaxon started up, followed by yellow rotating lights. The klaxon rose and fell, waking the rest of the personnel. The wolf rushed down the stairs, passing by confused guards, still arming them selves. He punched in his code at the front hatch, and the door hissed open, letting the sound of the torrent rush in.

He sprinted out onto the lawn, followed by 4 foxes and wolves. They surrounded the silhouette, who still stood motion less. "Get your hands in the air! This is an A.E.R.C. restricted base!" the wolf yelled. The figure did nothing. The wolf heard a cry behind him, a fox disappeared, followed by another. The other wolves simply fell to pieces, blood pouring out of their freshly severed limbs. The wolf spun around and opened fire at the figure, the rifle cracking rounds out as fast as they would cycle. They had no effect, the figure simply stood its ground.

Lightning flashed, lighting the seen bright as day. The wolf and figure just stood, yards apart, motionless. Then, the figure opened its eyes. They glowed a satanic red, fire leaked out of the sides, flowing up the side of its mangled face. The wolf blinked out of bewilderment. When his eyes re opened, the figure's muzzle was touching his. The figure gave an insane smile, blood started pouring out of its mouth, illuminated by flames running out from its throat. The wolf stuttered, stepping back. The figure reached back, then lunged forward, crushing the wolf's neck. He gasped for breath as the figure got his eyes as close as he could. The wolf had no choice but to stare into the flaming sphere. The figure grunted, then said in a gurgling, scratchy tone, "Welcome.... agh... to Arctic 9...!"