report: blood on the streets

The surveyor was on a dangerous mission. He was heading into deep parts of Stacksburg, secret parts, in order to open them up to make a lot more money for everyone, or so they said. So it was suspicious when the Rhino transporting him, his guide Yakov and his 5-man Guard squad broke down a kilometre from anyone. There were no Arbites to meet them and escort them through this dangerous section of the city. The Sergeant was howling for backup but none ever showed up. The surveyor had been to alien worlds. He was wearing the finest armour a semi-private citizen could quasi-legally obtain. Nothing could go wrong.

In analyzing the comms logs from the Sergeant, I’ve been able to determine that it was the surveyor’s idea to leave the broken down tank. Yakov wouldn’t hear of going without more bodies between him and the shadowy attackers he’d heard rumours of. A man was dispatched and rounded up the gang known as Brom’s Brute Squad to help them through.

The Brute Squad had been taking a beating recently, and had a couple of new members as replacements. They spread out, leaving the Guardsmen to be the last line of defense for the surveyor. And they marched. Straight into an ambush.

The Claws of Ra’Gesh had been waiting for them. It’s said that they can remain motionless in one spot for weeks at a time, so who knows how long this had been planned. But they hadn’t planned on so many others being there at the same time though luck or strategy it would be hard to say.

The Pan-Africanists launched their attack just after the African Killas. They were on opposing sides of the Claws and blasted away in a sort of pincer movement. Adolph Smith of the AK’s threw himself into combat with a number of young rats, while the man called Reynold tried to speed through the area using his grapnel. He was quickly pounced on by a sprinting Rat, which took him apart in short order and stole the sack of credits he’d had on him (it seems the Killas were on their way home from a robbery and had just stumbled across the ambush in progress).

The Pan-Africanists were pinning down a few of the mighty Rat warriors, but two of their numbers went down and they fled the scene of battle, objectives unmet. The Killas also ran, but not until after they caused some disruption to the Claws and the Brutes.

In the end a Ratskin warrior launched himself in an amazing diving charge at Yakov as the Imperial team slowly made its way past a cubefarm. The rat was piled upon by Guardsmen and Van Saars who eventually took the savage out, but severe casualties were inflicted.

By the time the surveyor reached a major crossroad, he was standing with only two men, the Brute Squad had deserted them. The Ratskins held their nerve and quickly dispatched the three, great warcries going up that were heard all through the Stacks.

The big question everyone is asking is where was Marshall Gordian? Why were the Enforcers nowhere to be found? He’s been holed up in the Courthouse since Sergeants Bullox and Montoy were returned. You have to wonder what sort of infernal deal he made to get those officers back.

Actually, you don’t have to wonder a lot.

I’ve heard that Brom is complaining fiercely about how he was pulled into an unworkable situation. No one hears much from the AK’s.

As I understand it, the surveyor’s corpse was looted, the power armour ripped into component parts according to the whims of the dark rattish gods. His head was sent uphive as a warning. The head’s bearer was skinned alive before his body was tossed back below the Wall. There is word that the Pan-Africanists are looking for trophies the Rats may have taken from this fight. Their purposes are unclear.

Is this how things have always been or are things devolving as much as they seem? I fear for what awaits us.

-KRJ