My awareness returned slowly. Faint whispers, both foul and fair, were chasing me from the dream of endless brutal war. It was as if these vague sounds were from far away, but I her doubted they were real nor that I was meant to hear them. I reized that the dream as a warning about the nature of the people that would soon serve me. I really didn't enjoy what I was seeing.

  "In the name of the Emperor, BURN!" Screamed dour white haired women, fag tless demonic beings and their corrupted minions. Their ts and hymns were a bright call into the darkness of the void. Torrents of fmes poured forth from their ons purging the un filth from their worlds. Yet their obsessio that they were always but a step from falling into the same abyss as their enemies.

  "The Emperor protects!" ted tless masses ht eyed young men and women marg in unison towards a battle almost none would return from. The blood soaked fields that they marched towards had long been ed into crimson mud. turies worth of the sin, had their bones ground into powder from an unceasing struggle, by maes whispering to each other of days long lost.

  "In his glorious name, CHARGE!" Implored an imposing General, golden armor, his crag sword leading the way, as he stood abreast with his seemingly endless battle line of troops, surging forward toward a much rger mass of greehe savage looking being cried, "WAAAGH!" and ughing rushed to meet the humans, eager to begin the fight.

  "By the Emperor, not oep further, Xenos filth!" Decred a young boy holding a readied grenade, while trying to keep himself between his remaining family and an odd looking suit of power armor. A boxy rifle was leveled at the boy, while a clearly inhuman voice asked the child to sider the "Greater Good".

  More and more, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, then millions, then billions of voices softly reag out to... not to me, but a version of me that was unimaginably far away and vast beyond my ability to prehend. Golden light trickled into my mind from this e and I felt something buckle in me. I couldn't have poio where the ges were happeni, but I could feel them he less. The searing light burned with a fury and a purpose that I would have thought could never have existed, before now. This was the essence of the people I was about to inflict upon this world.

  I looked upon the horrors of a gaxy buried in endless war ah, and I thought that perhaps I was making a mistake. The voice of that immense Golden being disagreed, it cimed this was my birthright... my destiny. I didn't trust a word of it.

  My eyes snapped open in fear and anguish, as my BTC shook,

  [ You have received Faith energy. ]

  I felt something precious shatter inside me...

  [ Your Css Padin of Nature (???) has rejected you. Reason not given. Please return to the Town Hall to redeem your Css XP a another Css. ]

  Suddenly, all the points into Body and Cool that the Padin css had provided were simply gone. A horrid weakness creeped into me. A sug emptiness where those points used to be. I could barely keep my eyes open, never mind finish crawling out of the bed. It took a long time to adapt to my ate of agony, with everything inside me feeling jagged, raw, and broken. I tried casting Regrowth and though it did soothe the pain ainess for a few seds, the spell seemed uo help with the underlying issues.

  Slowly I focused on each muscle, tensing and releasing them until I could force them to move together. It if seems like I was calm, I assure you I wasn't. My frustratioo anger which led to a spiraling series of self incriminations. You just had to pick the fug Theme it warned you about. Fug dumbass. Admit it you thought the name was too cool to pass up.

  '...'

  Even my inner voice issed at me. I gritted my teeth and with all my effort, pushed up off the bed, and immediately regretted that decision. Everything spun and my legs felt like a couple of those paper straws, as they tried to support my weight. I had unsciously grabbed the bedframe to stabilize myself without even realizing it.

  I snarled, "Move you fug idiot." Thus began my epic 27 step jouro the kit area, time lost all meaning as one painful step blended into the . In the drive to get to food and water I fot myself only movement matters. My mouth was as dry as a desert and my stomach was as empty as the void between gaxies. I supposed it was a small mercy that no one was io see me like this.

  Thankfully, one of the Probes had moved some ration packs down here. I had been capable of even sidering what I would have done if there hadn't been any vittles down here. We certainly won't talk about how embarrassing a process eating was then. Or that I demolished two HQ ration packs before eveely beginning to feel the slightest bit better.

  Later, after I had returo some measure of normalcy, I made my awkward way to the lift chamber and turo the west to check the progress the Probes had made. Oh, they were already dohat was... awesome, now there was no excuse to wait. Ay 500 yard cubed space greeted me after I stumbled through a few hundred yards long hallway that was made up of more stairs than not. I had a hard time grasping the size the room until I saw it. I had no idea how they had kept the ceiling from colpsing, but it was an absolutely perfect cube, in so far as I could tell. The Probes were a blessing I probably didn't deserve. But I was beginning to believe that everyone should have their own Robo-Buddies.

  I sat o step into the giant room p. I now had sed and even third thoughts about this course of a. No, it was too te to turn baow. The damage had already been done. Let's see this through.

  I messaged Raynor and Mr. Wie down and grab the cube for me on their way. There was no way I was doing this alohey arrived a few mier, with the troops in tow. They had all doheir armor, which robably a good idea.

  Raynor handed me the cube, "You okay, Hoss? Looks like someone danced on yrave."

  "No, because I didn't take a deal, I've lost my Padin Css for now, and all the points it granted me. I'll be messed up until we return to New Lordaeron to get it sorted out." I khat the damage I had received was something I couldn't quantify right now. I could only hope that it could be sorted out soon.

  Mr. Wick growled. Looking for a target. That meant more to me than I would ever admit out loud.

  "No, it's my own damned fault. I think these guys are what we need, but they are going to be different. I get the impression that they e from a... gaxy full of unending war." I gestured wildly at myself. "This already has caused me problems because I have to bee someohat they would obey without question. Or they would kill us all in the name of their... God? Their Emperor? It's not a very clear idea, but yeah they will be intehey will likely believe I am their God or the agent of their God. As shitty as that is, don't disabuse them of that notion." I smashed my fist into my other hand. "They have no tolerano pity, no mercy. Expect truly grim, psychotic people that barely seem human anymore. Their first rea is usually going to be to destroy anything they don't uand." I let them see my . "We have to be very careful in how we utilize them, otherwise they just murder everyone and fttehing."

  "Hoss, are you sure you want t these bastards into this?" Raynor sounded worried. Hard to tell behind his skull facepte. If some of what I had seen in my dreams was accurate they'd feel right at home with that look.

  "Want? No. But I think we hem. Probably. Some part of me is certain that this will be the best ce to ge the nature of this mission. These people have fotten more about war then all the people on this world together have ever learned. We hat knowledge, even if they are hard to deal with."

  Mr. Wick grunted. A nonittal noise.

  "Alright, but I reserve the right to pin about this ter, when it blows up in your face." Jim really knew how to lighten a mood.

  "Our faces." I raised my eyebrow at him.

  "Sure, sure. Whatever you say." He was smirking behind his facepte, I was sure of it.

  I activated the damned cube.

  A rge crete megabunker appeared in the ter of the space. The bunker was rounded with nothing I'd call a window. Only a few slim slots to fire out of and even those had metal ptes ready to close them up at any moment. Rusted steel razor wire surrouhe base except for the heavily armored warehouse door. More razor wire blocked any form of climbing access to the roof. Several double headed eagle stencils decorated the building along with winged skulls. Why was the eagle double headed? Everything about this imposing structure screamed both effid impregrength. If there was a architectural style called Military Brutalism this would be a prime example of that style.

  Aire culture dedicated to nothing but war, and I was the moron who thought it would be a good idea t them here.

  The armored door slid upwards with a rumbling, squealing grinding sound. Five figures stepped out of the building, all of them armed and all of them ready to shoot anything they didn't like the look of. Thankfully they couldn't see us right now. Though that might bite us in the ass when we included them in the ally sele of the Pylons.

  The newers fell into a wedge, no audible words spokeweeheir as and movement spoke of long term familiarity. The leading figure was dressed in what might be mistaken for a bination of WWI and WWII German uniforms. A golden cuirass embossed with the same double headed eagle design under a almost steel grey great coat. A helmet decorated with a winged human skull framed perhaps the most disturbiure of their attire. An old fashioned looking, seemingly cloth gasmask with dark imperable lenses. A pistol of a design I didn't reize was sweeping the area while an ornate swlowing faintly with energy was held ready by their side.

  The two figures on the left were simirly uniformed though they cked the cuirass and instead had what looked like an almost normal, by my standards, pte carrier uheir great coats. The helmets there were less sweeping though they still dispyed a winged human skull. Their masks were also the same, except there was a hose running from them to something I couldn't see from this ahey had rifles of some kind, iingly the rifles were ected to a pa their backs by a couple of tubes.

  One of the figures on the right was robed in white wearing a rather rge and odd looking drical hat. There were all manner of wax seals pced on their robes and the skulls motif was repeated everywhere. They also had a gas mask, which really didn't go with their priestly vibes. Instead of a gun of some type they clutched a double headed eagle staff with one hand and had aome resting iher. A bizarre golden energy, not dissimir to what had seeped into me earlier surrouhem. Though I had the sense something was off with them.

  The st figure was the most odd, in this colle of oddities. A cyb of some kind was the obvious part of their strangeness. Their parts appeared to be a mishmash of meical arical pieces apparently thrown together at random. They wore red oil stained robes and had started ting in... modem, yup they sounded a lot like a modem from the days of dial up i. There were four meical limbs, of differing types, that sprouted from their bad two of those held ons. One on was a blocky looking assault rifle of some kind and the other was a vaguely simir rifle that glowed with ominous blue light.

  I didn't like the look of any of them. Something told me I'd like their personality even less. I sighed and added the leader to the exceptions list. They reacted predictably by shooting. The ser bolts didn't get through my shield, nor my panions, but I didn't want that to tinue. Seeing their shots had failed they charged.

  "Please stop. It makes it incredible difficult to have a versation." He froze. Just like that. Like an automaton. "Please keep your troops from attag, when I let them see us." The figure nodded in a meical fashion.

  I added the rest of the newers after the leader spoke softly to their fellows. The white robed figure quickly dropped to his knees and started ting in what sounded vaguely like Latin. The red robed figure also started ting in their modem nguage while also kneeling. Huh, ht. Fuck this was going to be a pain in the ass. While the other two soldiers lowered their ons slightly.

  The leader also after a moment of the two robed figures, also k. "My Emperor, Marshal 999 serves." The other two followed suit.

  "Watchmaster 5 serves."

  "Watchmaster 26 serves."

  They all ted in unison, "In life, war. Ih, peace. In life, shame. Ih, ato." They kept repeating those lines with the exact same iions over and over. I was more than a little bothered by this. There was a golden energy surrounding them small threads of it leading to me, other threads leading somewhere else.

  "Hoss, I don't uand a word they are saying." Raynor whispered to me.

  "They are praying, and it is every bit as grim as I feared." I whispered back. I wondered if I could do this. The golden energy tio rise from them and lihem more firmly to me, I could feel this new energy growing inside me. It was warm and terrible, it made me feel tall and powerful. It was good and it was horrible, I felt refreshed and like I was going to vomit. It didn't run ter to the Mana of Nature, or the energy of the Psifield. It mixed into them and made them more.

  "Please rise." Everything stopped for several seds and then my new followers rose. Again their motions were meical, too automatic, too precise. "Tell me what you know about why you are here." Better to get them to talk first, than to say something they didn't like a shot at.

  The priestly figure started talking, "Most Glorious Emperor, your prime self sent us here to protect you. You must be defended while you are vulnerable, to the predation of The Enemy. We were entrusted with this holy mission, instead of your more worthy sons because we were stationed by a pce suitable for transferring us. Your message said it would take too long for the Astartes to arrive." Even without uanding their home, that sounded like some grade A bullshit to me. This was the pany pying their games probably.

  "This made seo you?" There was no way, right? If there was ohing I was sure these people were not, it was na?ve.

  "Not at first, Most Holy One! I suspected the treachery of the Enemy. Insidious trickery is ever their way. However, your most Glorious Light filled us and no foul spawn of the could so fully imitate that Holy Power of your touch." Yeah, again even without the full picture, I pretty sure that wasn't true. But there was no way in hell I was going to say that out loud, certainly not anywhere hese fanatics.

  "Your name, and your mission?" I really didn't want to know. I wao leave.

  "I am, if it pleases you, Preacher Grais of the Adeptus Ministrorum, these Guardsmen sought my aid when the visions began. I humbly beg pardon, Holy Emperor, I killed many before uanding this was not the taint of Chaos. I have no excuse for my failure to perceive yreatest at first. The energy you radiate reveals your Truth." It's the Spanish fug Inquisition on crack. Shit. How was I supposed to respond to that level of rabid zealotry? I ged internally, I'd have to wing it. I didn't see any other options.

  "I five your overrea. So long as you uand we have no resources to waste here. Sy hout my express permission." Hopefully that would work. Maybe I could figure out a better way to muzzle these beasts ter.

  He bowed, "I obey, God Emperor."

  I turo the st figure, their red robes swaying as their meical limb seemed to quiver in delight. They started speaking modem at me, but in a straurn much like when I began to uand the Probes, I could prehend him.

  "This one is Magos Erraa 9 Helifern. Praise the Omnissiah, yister as oh the Mae-Spirits. Call upon me if you need aid." The voice was artificial, ft aionless. This person creeped me out the most. Something was truly wrong with them. Maybe it was that he was more mae than human. Perhaps it was the way he ushiromagic signals into the enviro. It was as if he were trying to access the Psifield somehow.

  "When I need you, I will be sure to inform you." My teeth itched just saying it. These broken people in front of me, freaked me the hell out.

  What had I done?