Best let the muscular older guy (is that Joseph Joestar from the 3rd JoJo series?) do the talking. I doubt armored giant rat people give the best impression, especially those familiar with the Skaven....armored? Letting 'Joseph' take care of the diplomacy I take stock of what I have with me and what I've become. Judging from my size, form and equipment I'm either a Skaven Stormvermin or Warlord. Probably the former but I don't think even high end warlords like Queek Headtaker were as heavily armored as I was. I was practically encased head to toe in spotless dull red armor that looked too well designed to be generic Skaven gear. At my feet lay a long halberd with a sinister looking blade on one end and a rather sharp spear point on the other glowing a dull green. Next to it was what was either a very long dagger or a short sword that also had a dull green sheen to it. Finally, strapped to my back was a large and thick triangular shaped shield.
As I observed my equipment, internally panicking at apparently having become a fighter archetype, my head began to hurt as memories flashed through my mind. Memories of marching in lockstep with legions of other armored rat-men, all of us piercing the sky with our screeching which gave way to inhuman roars as we eventually charged the lines of battered looking men. Memories of pure violence as claw, fang and blade struck flesh with the smell of blood and sweat thick in the air. Memories of beheading another 'ornately' armored rat-man and raising the bloody head high into the air as my - and his - underlings cheered my victory. Large cities and camps underneath the earth filled to the brim with sights of wonder, terror and horror all in one as screams, not all of them rat, echoing in the distance...and finally a flash of colors and pain. I watched as a Skaven Stormvermin screamed side-by-side with a young pudgy human - me, as I was mere minutes ago - as both heat and cold tore into the very fabrics of our being, a cacophony of voices laughing all around us as we were combined and transformed into a greater whole for whatever reason. Amusement? A higher person? Who knew? I most certainly didn't. All I knew was pain. Greater than I had ever felt in my entire life, bereft of the wave of comfort I usually associated with pain, nothing but pain.
As the memories faded, I became dimly aware that I had been screaming just as my 'old' self had been and was now curled up in a fetal position on the floor. Panting heavily, I slowly got up, bracing myself up against the wall. Looking at the others, who must have been staring at me like I was insane, I weakly 'smiled' and gave them a 'thumbs' - claw - up. "Just memories...memories of who this body belonged to before...all this." Catching my breath, I continued, "...A Stormvermin. This body use to belong to one. Then...'it' came. I don't know how to describe it, just this cosmic force I guess, tore out the very being of what that vermin used to be and placed me in here, in this body, before transforming it and making 'improvements'. God only knows why I - or any of you - are here." As I continued to take in deep breaths, I gingerly took the halberd in one hand as I used my tail to grab the short sword and stuck it in a hidden compartment within my armor. I was dimly aware I had no experience with doing any such thing before and chalked it up to the experience of this body's original occupant or a 'gift' from whatever brought me here.
"...Do the words Sufficient Velocity or Space Battles mean anything to you guys?" I asked. Partly to lighten my thoughts and partly as a hopeful stab in the dark. If these people were former SV or SB members, then they represented the last vestiges of my old life as I remembered it.
