The city had become a strange place. From far away it was obviously a city of the Imperium, built and lived in by humans. On a closer examination one can see the changes taking place. Neon signs sizzled in the dark, nighttime rain. Words and lights clamouring for attention, staking their claim on the busy streets. While most were in all manner of gothic dialects, a few were of obvious alien origin. The words of the Tau glowed in the night sky these days, quietly replacing the old signs. Behind the words were buildings, smooth round shapes of the Tau architecture planting themselves amongst the black, sharp edges of the old imperial buildings, like white mushrooms blooming in old, rotten wood splinters.
Beneath this contrast of old and new was the labyrinth of streets, alleys and tunnels. Even the clean, orderly Tau wouldn’t bother organizing this chaos. In these tunnels a man named Farsk was being dragged along. With a black bag over his head and a foggy memory, the only knowledge he was sure of was that his head
really hurt. He tried to struggle and shout, try and get his feet under him but his body was still weak. He gave up struggling when a fist landed in his side. It wasn’t the strongest punch, but a kidney shot was a kidney shot. Plus, he wasn’t in position to fight back. After a while Farsk heard a door open ahead of him. Once they passed through the door he was forced down into a chair and his arms zip-tide behind him. He wasn’t going anywhere.
After some more waiting the door opened and closed again. Someone pulled the bag off his head. Surrounding him was a group of armed Tau. Farsk never liked the Tau and he liked these ones less. They were lightly armoured in a black fabric with orange and white plates overtop. They all wore helmets, they always wore their helmets. You could never tell what they were thinking, these ones didn’t even make any noise. They just stared. The one at the door was obviously in charge. Where the others were mostly orange, this showed more white on his armour. He also had more gadgets, the boss always had more gadgets. Where most Tau helmets had a single lenses, this one had a vertical glass plate instead. In his hand he was analyzing a portable hologram. On his back was a complex rigging of fins, lights and buzzing noises. Farsk bet he could vox the next planet over with a setup like that.
The Tau in charge shut off his hologram and turned to look at him.
“Is your name ‘Farsk’?” The Tau seemed to turn his head slightly, as if he was reading a sign behind Farsk’s head.
Farsk looked around him and noticed his fliers stacked on top of some crates. They were his hobby, ‘Death to the xenos’, ‘for the Emperor’, the usual things a citizen of the Imperium should say.
“You know, if you wanted my signature, you just had to ask.” Farsk liked using sarcasm, always left Tau confused.
The Tau sighed and removed his helmet. Farsk was expecting anger or hate, you know, good old fashioned mutual xenophobia. Instead he just looked at Farsk like he was a problem he didn’t want to deal with. Like a screaming toddler or a drunk making a scene. Farsk was an obstacle that this Tau clearly thought should be someone else’s problem. Farsk hated this Tau the most.
“Despite your attempt at humour, your statement is accurate.” The Tau pulled a device from his belt and pointed it at Farsk’s face. A blue beam of light moved down his face, the device made a chirping noise when it was finished. “Your face is a ‘signature’ I suppose.” The Tau didn’t even bother to look at him. As the Tau put his helmet back on the others filed out of the room, seeming to move on some silent command. As the Tau stepped out the door Farsk called after him.
“That’s it, the best you’ve got is a beating and a picture? I’m not even close to talking flat face!” The Tau stopped at the door.
“I do not need to hear the wisdom of an idiot rabble-rouser.” The Tau looked at Farsk through his dead glass lens.
“Then why in the warp am I here?”
“Like you said, I wanted your signature.” With that, the Tau closed the door and left Farsk alone.
Farsk began to struggle, looking around him for a way out. If the xenos was stupid enough to leave him alone, he’d punish him for it. That was when lights blinked to life on the crates, first green then red. Then the crates started beeping. Farsk realized he wasn’t leaving this room.
Tragedy has struck the city today at the Goshan’ro hospital. A bomb has been detonated underneath the hospital killing dozens of innocent men, woman and children and wounding hundreds more. Fliers have been reported at the scene containing pro imperial slogans. Security footage shows a man entering the premises many times, days before the explosion. The man has been identified as a ‘Farsk Crovan’. Farsk has been charged on multiple accounts of possession and trafficking of restricted literature without license, disturbing the public and assault. The local law enforcement is asking for any information on the location of Farsk Crovan and any associates.
There has been much public outcry and accusation that the government has not done enough to protect the people from these acts of terrorism. This is only the latest in a series of increasing attacks from terrorist groups claiming to be ‘imperil loyalists’. Historically, their actions were limited the badlands where the military have been fighting an ongoing battle. Recent events have shown that not even our cities are safe.
In response to this, Tau emissaries have promised to increase military support to defend the citizens of this planet.
We will report any new information as it appears.
For the Greater Good.
