Reconnaissance In Force (Imperium)

Clacky blinks slowly, as the atmosphere across the market cools from heated active combat to one of suspicion, clean up and negotiation. The air tastes much less like blood and tin, but the overriding emotions pouring from Maddie and Beth have the psyker feeling rather sombre.

In the wake of incredible violence, there are those who remark it is notably quiet.

This of course is only true in contrast.

Before. gunfire roared and engines strained.

Now screams of the wounded, of the dying.

In contrast, not so loud at all. But perhaps infinitely more terrible, depending on your mood.


For the soldiers of Recon force Kragg, almost all of them had come through alive. Did the Cadian lieutenant know he had followed his orders to the best of his ability? Or did he count himself to blame for the dead that he had not been able to save? Time would tell.

A destroyed Leman Russ, a downed Valkyrie and a heavily damaged Bellicosa, and yet they had carried the day.

Time in some ways would speed up, over the next hours. The heavily armed Skitarii of cohort Andromache helped secure the area, and would lend what medical aid they could with their supplies to both guard and civilian. Andromache had received similar instructions to Krast, after all. Albeit to her it was worded as a request from the Guard Command, rather than a direct order. Orders would be passed down that for all intents and purposes, it was to be considered an unfortunate misunderstanding between Imperial Authorities and the local civilian populace. The fog of war, poor circumstance, etc.

Of course, the downed Manta would be destroyed, but the Guard could wait a few hours to ensure the civilians had vacated the quarry proper before striking it with a Lance from Orbit. The ramifications of the battle would have far reaching consequences for both the Guard and the T'au forces. Some would believe the Guard had massacred a camp, despite all evidence to the contrary, others that the T'au opened fire solely on civilians with no thought of engaging military targets. Rumors would spread as was their wont. But perhaps most importantly, harm was kept to a surprising minimum, all things considered.

For sanity's sake, command instructions after the fact indicate that the only Civilians with any traitorous knowledge were the Camp leader and the head of Camp Security. They, and they alone, knew of the Manta that sheltered the camp, and since they were dead, the command structure of the Imperial Guard saw no need to pursue the matter further. Most people knew this was probably a lie. A middle-aged woman and an old veteran couldn't possibly have covered up the vessel by themselves. But then, perhaps there was mercy in the lie. Imperial Law mandated death for a variety of crimes large and small, and most of the Marketeers had committed at least a few for likely knowing they took shelter beneath a foul piece of Xenotech. But Guard command also didn't want to be known for destroying a civilian encampment, no matter the reasons. So the matter was left to the official line, and considered closed.



((Thank you, one and all for participating in the Board's first admin-run plot thread. We greatly appreciate your dedication, inspiration and writing skills brought to bear in this weaving of a collaborative story. Please note, any character that participated in the thread gains a Significant Milestone! (which is like a Minor one, but better) We anticipate at least one or two small "after-action" threads popping up, depending on desire. And we intend to incorporate any potential outcomes into the greater story of Haven's Garden and the Haven System at large.

I intend this to be the final "big" admin update for the thread. You are all welcome to continue posting of course, if you want to continue any scenes, etc. If you need responses from NPC's, I can provide those on an as-needed basis.

Once again, thank you. Ya'll are awesome.))