As the shuttle made its rapid descent towards the battlefield, Liffis could feel the heady blend of fear, pain, hatred, anger and exhilaration radiating in waves from all the soldiers below, churning together into an almost narcotic like intoxication the closer they drew. No matter how many times he experienced it, Liffis could never quite seem to get used to it and it always took a great deal of effort to distinguish which parts of what he felt were his own sensations.
He felt the impact of a bullet ripping through his chest and looked down to reassure himself that it was not happening to him. Then came the raw grief of seeing a friend drop dead to the ground and he looked around at the other Spectres, reminding himself that he was not the soldier on the ground, firing his gun with rage in an attempt to avenge his fallen companion. Then came the sudden shock of an explosion and Liffis barely managed to restrain himself from flinging his own body into the side of the shuttle. That would have been embarrassing.
One by one, he addressed each of the intruding sensations until they faded into the background like white noise and he became aware of himself again. His own mind, his own thoughts whispering,
Peace. Serenity. Calm... Calm. Let all else be washed away by the Light and trouble me no more.Liffis breathed a sigh of relief as he had found his centre again, but there was something else. A feeling of... uncertainty? A change. Then terror. Sheer terror! And an almighty attempt to quash it. Were these emotions his own? No, Liffis realized as he looked around. They were someone else's. Someone nearby.
Then in a furtive voice, that someone spoke, "Knights… Mages… good people?”
Duncan, of course. The artificial human. Unique even among Spectres. Though he was young compared to the others, he had been a Spectre all his life and was thus technically the 'oldest' among the program. Still, as far as Liffis was aware, he himself was the oldest in terms of physical age and that made him an elder brother of sorts. A role he accepted readily as he responded to the young Spectre with a gentle smile, "Yes, they are good people."
Then the shuttle ramp dropped as the craft slowly touched down upon the ground, easing into position. The cacophony of battle instantly spilled in through the door and Liffis made sure he was the first one to stand outside on the ramp as the shuttle landed, raising his arms and throwing up a kinetic barrier to deflect any bullet, bomb or energy bolt sent their way.
"Let's get to work now and take care of each other out there. Light be with you all."