My cot felt like it was covered in silken sheets and fluffy pillows when I laid down. I was exhausted beyond reason. Those mutant screams really did a number on my head. But before I could go to sleep, I wanted to allocate my stat points. But where to put them? My will stat was woefully underpowered already and I had a feeling that it was one of the main reasons that the mutant screeching affected me so badly. More agility had worked well for my ability to handle my Lasgun more efficiently

Strength would only serve me well in melee, and there were other, more specialized units that could handle that. Luck was still my highest stat and I saw no reason to fiddle with that just yet. I also wondered just how that stat worked, If it directly influenced the world or if it was more subtle than that.

Perception was fairly high, all things considered. I opened the stat screen and began spending my stat points.

HUMAN. LEVEL 3.

STAT POINTS REMAINING: 0

ALIGNMENT: FAITHFUL IMPERIAL.

LITANIES: 19

AUGMENTATIONS: NONE

LEVEL: 293/2400

STRENGTH: 9

AGILITY: 9

PERCEPTION: 10

WILL: 9

LUCK: 16

SKILLS

FEATS

ABILITIES

All finished, I laid back down and reflected on my alignment. It had changed the wording, presumably to a lower rank. But why? I turned over on the cot when I realized what must be the reason. I had not prayed to the Emperor since saying goodbye to Nela. "Well, it can't hurt to try," I thought to myself as I rose from the cot and kneeled in front of it as I began praying.

"Adore the Immortal Emperor, Praise the Immortal Emperor

for he is our Protector. For his Undying Rule.

Admire the Immortal Emperor, Hail the Immortal Emperor

For His Sacrifice to Mankind. For He Is The Lord and Master.

Exalt the Immortal Emperor, Worship The Immortal Emperor

For His Strict Guidance. For Without Him We Are Nothing.

Revere the Immortal Emperor

For His Undying Guard.

Venerate the Immortal Emperor

For His Holy Wisdom.

Honor the Immortal Emperor

For his Eternal Strength.

Glorify the Immortal Emperor

For His all-seeing Vision."

When I was finished I felt... better. I could not describe it, even if I wanted to, but I simply felt better. The headache from the mutant screeching had also receded a bit during my prayer. Satisfied, I laid down on the cot again and drifted off. Blissful sleep.

_________________________

I was woken up all too soon by a sharp whistle and I rolled off the cot with all the grace and finesse of a drunken rhino rampaging through a porcelain store. Picking myself up from the floor and grabbing the Laspistol I kept under my cot, I looked around in confusion.

"Clumsy. But good instincts!" Came a sharp voice that sounded familiar. "Light your way in the darkness with the pyres of burning heretics," I mumbled drowsily. Where did that come from?

I located the source of the voice and stared at the young commissar from Karrik that had been in charge of the Ogryns. I threw the Laspistol on my cot and made the Imperial Aquila in front of my chest. "Ave Imperator, Commissar!" I barked, hoping my quick reaction would be enough to spare me from the famous commissar temper.

"Ave Imperator, trooper. Get up and follow me!" He said before turning around and waking out of the barracks with purpose. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my Lasgun and backpack, and hurried after him. When I came outside, I could see several dozen PDF troopers waiting in formation and I hurried over to them and took my place in the formation. The commissar who had stopped in front of them said nothing, but that only made me feel relief.

When a Commissar had nothing to say, the chances of being executed for "morale improvement reasons" dropped drastically. I started mumbling my morning prayers to myself, determined to see if it affected the Alignment stat. Besides, it never hurt to show devotion in the face of a commissar.

"Troopers! You have been tasked with assisting the 39th Krieg siege army in their assault on the hive city with the mission of establishing a bridgehead for us to launch further campaigns from! Gather your gear and move out! Emperor protects!"

"EMPEROR PROTECTS!" We all called out in response before we took stock of our gear and some of the troopers ran off to get their missing pieces. The redhead from earlier was making her way toward me and I had no excuse to not talk to her.

"You have been avoiding me!" She said when she came close enough for me to hear her. I could not deny that, but it just seemed rude to agree with her.

"Not on purpose" I hastily said. "The officers have been on my ass ever since I arrived and my duties have kept me busy-" My rambling was stopped as she stepped into my private sphere, almost pressing herself against me as she did

"It's okay, outworlder, I like the hunt!" She said with a mischievous smile as she traced a finger along my chin.

Her brashness made me flustered and I had no idea what to do with myself. She smirked at me before walking away with a seductive sway to her hips and I could not help but stare. about 15 meters away, she turned her head to see me staring and smiled to herself as she kept walking.

I was ripped out of my thoughts by a slap to the back of the head and one of the other troopers was looking at me like I was crazy. "By holy Terra, how did you manage to get her attention?" He groaned.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I had always been stupid when it came to social interaction.

"Are you blind or stupid? Every guy in 3 companies is praying to the Emperor that she will find them interesting. But she casts her gaze on the only idiot who is not only not showing any interest in here, but is so clueless that he barely sees it! By the Throne, how did I end up with such idiot fellow troopers?" He threw his hands up as he spoke and walked away at the end of his little tirade. His words made me take a good look around and in the eyes of my fellow troopers, I saw nothing but envy.

I had no more time to think about things as the order to move out rang across the formation and we all started moving out soon after. We were headed towards the Krieg part of the line. I was excited to see if they were as formidable as the Lore from my world made them sound. I was also scared that they might be exactly like the lore back home painted them full-blown suicidal lunatics that considered death in service to the Emperor to not only be their right but their sole purpose in life, on account of the history of Krieg.

The only planet in the Imperium that can be asked to deliver a battalion of men and send 2 siege armies because they are eager to die for the Emperor. Also, the only planet in the Imperium that were exceeding the tithe is not seen as a warning that heresy is taking place.

The further we made it into the Krieg position of the trenches, the more the signs of individuality disappeared in favor of the brutal efficiency that Krieg was known for. I saw the PDF officers talking to what I assumed were Krieg officers, hard as it was to tell. The only difference between Krieg soldiers and officers seemed to be the hat.

We walked past endless rows of the beloved "thudd guns"* that the Krieg soldiers had a strange fondness for, several basilisks**, and even a few of the mighty earth-shaker cannons***., all of them being moved into position to provide heavy artillery bombardment before and during the assault.

We were designated a trench barracks and we made ourselves comfortable. Nothing to do now but wait for the attack to begin.

__________________

I slowly woke up the next day, the constant sound of artillery having moved closer and grown more intense. I got up and moved out of the barracks. When I entered the trench, I was met with the back of several of the Krieg soldiers, all of them watching the hive in the distance as they looked over the edge of the trench. A sudden burst of stubber fire from the empty ground between us and the hive, caused 2 of them to drop where they stood. The other Krieg soldiers barely reacted beyond moving a little closer together to make up for the uncovered part of the trench.

The only noise they made was the constant gasmask noises of filtering air. One of them whirled around and stared at me for a second before turning back to watch the hive in the distance.

I will never forget the look of that gasmask covered face. It was like staring at a vision of death