As I was trying to come down off the high of a flood of faith energy, the strange creatures reached our position.

Suddenly, all I could hear was a zap, crackle, hum of the field gun unleashing hundreds of beams of light. All of the Guardsmen eagerly watching the barricade and the devastation of the weird beings in the tunnel. They wanted the enemy to get through so they could fight up close.

A minute passed and the barrels of the field gun were glowing a dull orange. Soon the weapon would have to stop.

Two squads of the Guardsmen flanked the "lascannon", bayonets already affixed to their "lasrifles". They didn't shuffle, fidget, or make any unnecessary noise. They waited for the gun to stop, so they could fight and die for their Emperor.

Disappointment greeted them, the flood of twisted flesh and warped had stopped. Their emotions were flash bulb bright in my new sense of the world.

The lascannon went quiet.

My mind was already racing to order my thoughts, and I took some time to ponder this empathetic ability.

Jim's or my own emotions were heavy complex things, John's were hidden and obscured. The troops from New Lordaeron had simple, clear, but deep feelings. Hmm. Why could I sense my own emotions?

A sudden burst of dizziness as I tried to latch on to own feelings. Nope, let's save exploring that for another time.

From the Imperials the only being that possessed an emotional quality similar to mine or Jim's was Marshall 999. Though his were more focused, a sense of directed fury and pain. Helifern's were faint things barely noticeable, however there was a sense of something getting in the way of them.

The rest of the Guardsmen though, if I had to put it into words, seemed like addicts. Everything dialed up, but somehow it was all reined in.

Thinking back, despite the outward expression of rage on the faces of the strange creatures, there was no sense of emotion at all. How could that be?

Helifern was already using his mechadendrites to disassemble several of the scorched corpses for study. He used a variety of instruments to examine the pieces. He called out in Lingua-technis "Initial study indicates Heretek, and the possible presence of Scrap Code. However, there is something different about these readings. I recommend immediate incineration of the tainted remains and limited contact with the subjects. Further safe analysis would require a Sanctified Temple to the Omnissiah. "

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I still had no clue why I could understand the binary based language.

I had the first of the new Probes start scanning the bodies. Then of course the lascannon. I was looking forward to modifying the weapon. The lasweapons in general could be an excellent step in the development of our armaments.

Just as we started to move away from the barricade, we could hear the screeches of more of those creatures approaching.

I shook my head, "We don't have time for this." I was beyond annoyed at this point, every plan I made got derailed or sidetracked by outside influences. How do you account for the unknown?

"We could leave it to these men." Raynor suggested. John was nodding beside him.

That was a... good idea.

The Imperials were born and bred for war. It was all they knew. I had been trying to think of someway to use them, or limit them, to keep them under control. This swarm of odd beings was an excellent target, and something useful.

"Marshall 999, would you be willing to make this your focus?"

The Marshall snapped to attention, crisps and precise. "Of course, Emperor. If you command it, it shall be done."

That was a heavy fucking burden. Could I handle this? I really had no desire to be a leader of any kind, never mind an Emperor. I only started taking command of the troops, because it seemed the best way to achieve the long term goal of saving this world.

No, I was doing it again. I was finding ways to shift responsibility. To try to avoid blame. Everything all of these folks did, was ultimately on me. They wouldn't be here without me.

Sure, I wouldn't be here without the Company. I was absolutely certain that, there was no way in hell, they were going to accept their part in all of this.

So it was on me. I had to lead, because there was no one else. I should be thankful that many of the folks I brought here were good at helping me be a better leader.

With that firmly in mind, I turned to face the Marshall directly.

"Marshall, destroy this threat. Do everything in your power to keep this from spilling onto the surface. I will send you supplies and the means to sustain yourselves as soon as I get back to New Lordaeron. Send me reports on any major changes, otherwise I'm leaving this in your hands."

"We will not fail, Emperor!" He snapped a salute. He marched off to start giving orders to his troops.

I wanted to sigh, but I held it in. The men deserved better than that. I was going to have to figure out how to become worthy of such devotion. I certainly wasn't now.

I turned to Jim and John, "We are going to call in the MRAP. Hit a target with the chaingun. If all goes well, we won't have to even get out. Once the quest is complete, we head home."

They shared a look.

"Hoss, you don't have to hurry. We have time, and we only get stronger the longer we work."

"I know that, Jim. I know, but something is wrong. Something we missed. It's not just these monsters down here; something has been messed up, but it's only with this new class that I can sense it." My glaze turned back to the tunnels we had just abandoned.

"Can you tell what it might be?" John asked. Nice of him not to question my sanity. I know I was.

"No, not yet. I think these powers are still too new to get that kind of information." Somehow I knew these premonitions would get clear with advancement in this new Class.

The lascannon started another round of clearing the tunnel.

Where was the creatures' pain?