Harvest of Ruawch

This article is about a battle in the /tg/ Heresy project, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40k universe.

The Harvest of Ruawch, also known as the Balngar System Incident, was an early encounter between forces of the Imperium of Mankind and the sinister Vetrovnak. The 410th Expedition Fleet was completely and mysteriously destroyed, along with the teeming population of the Balngar system.

The Harvest

The planet Ruawch was one dozens of worlds in the sprawling Balngar system which lay in the Ultima Segmentum. On its temperate surface it hosted the capital of a robust human society. In the past hundred or so years, Ruawch had managed to shake of the horrors of the Long Night and set itself to the task of re-colonizing the other life sustaining planets in her system. Though small, it was hardly insignificant due to the almost excessive abundance of resources within its many gas giants, asteroid belts, and black dwarf that lurked on the edge of Balngar's gravitational grip. Thus the Ruawchi found themselves in the path of the 410th Expedition fleet.

Lord Commander Alhaus Nitzkowski knew the Ruawchi's type. They talked big about preserving their sovereignty to the diplomats attached to the small scouting flotilla he had sent ahead but when the full might of the 410th arrived in their little system they would see how truly outmatched they were. They would go through the motions; first would come the bluster followed by the stalling before they would finally acquiesce to taking their rightful place within the Imperium of Man. The formula was designed to save face and the Lord Commander saw little reason not play along if it meant taking the system largely unmolested.

"My lord," the communications offer said right on cue just as Ruawch and its panoply of moons was coming into view without the aid of magnification. "We're being hailed by-."

The Lord Commander smirked and adjust his hat, wanting to look good for his moment. "About damn time. Patch them through officer."

"It's not from the Ruawchi Supreme Council my lord..."

"Then officer, who is it from?" He continued adjusting his hat for a moment before turning his attention to the Fleetmaster to his right. "What do you want to bet it's fools who don't know when to fold?"

The fleetmaster waved his hand with a smirk, signalling that only a fool would take such a bet as the communications officer turned around to face his superiors with a perplexed look on his creased face. "Truth be told sir, we don't even know where the signal is coming from let alone who is sending it."

Alhaus chuckled as he sat back down. "Ah so it's going to be that kind of game. Put them on then."

The screen filled with only static as a woman's voice with an implacably accented high gothic came over the line. "Imperial fleet, I am Admiral Naita Novaxa. This system is under the protection of the Vetrovnak Protectorate. You will retreat immediately-" The entire bridge became hushed as the array of monitors showed a gargantuan skeletal vessel bristling with tendrils easily large enough to swallow the entire fleet whole appear out of nowhere frighteningly close to the 410th's position, "-this is your only warning. Failure to comply will result in the commencement of pacification."

The Lord Commander locked gaze with the Fleetmaster; the both of their brows were knit tightly as they raced to think of what just happened. "It's possible that this is a ruse..." the Fleetmaster said at long last after several moments. "Something duping out sensors or a hologram. A ship of that size coming out of the void like that-it's ridiculous. It has to be."

If it is a ruse, Alhaus thought, then it's intent would be a bluff meant to intimidate the 410th into running. That of course would be reported right back to Terra and the more heavily armed expedition fleets lead by the mighty Astartes would come to correct this. The Ruawchi should know this as the diplomats were instructed to defiance had only one painfully clear response. Thus he concluded that there could only be one of two cases. One: it is a deception engineered by an third party, likely nonconformists who would refuse to go down without a fight anyway. Two: the impossibly large ship is real and it represents a threat to the Imperium's interest, one that would need to be destroyed.

In either case the only correct action was to open fire. In the first case the ruse would be exposed immediately. In the second case it would at best destroy the enemy, winning him a great deal of commendation for his bravery. At worst the entire 410th would perish to a superior foe but they would have the chance to gather valuable intelligence that could be passed on to inform the rest of the Imperium. "Fleetmaster, prepare for battle. The Imperium of Man does not falter without a fight."

Before the fleet master could so much as give his orders the bridge was suddenly plunged into abject darkness. It was only for the briefest of moments before back up systems came online and reports were being delivered. Somehow the mighty engines that powered the great flagship were just gone. One by one systems were reported as either gone or inoperable according to the sensors. In the minutes that followed reports from damage control teams reported that while the engines and main guns were there they were with frozen solid or had somehow inexplicably turned to stone despite the void shields that should have protected them.

"What... what is going on?" was the best that Lord Commander Alhaus Nitzkowski could muster. He sat in the red glow of the emergency lighting in the bridge trying to make sense of what had just happened, deaf to the chaotic reports coming in from all stations aboard the flagship of the 410th. No one had an answer and no one would as by the time he suddenly though to question the growing quiet on the bridge he felt himself lurch to the side on to the armrest.

He couldn't focus his eyes. Thinking was needless to say quite difficult but that wasn't about to stop him. There must be poison in the air, it was the only answer that made sense to him. He ignored the long list of reasons that there couldn't be poison in the air and tried to use the last few moments he had before everything faded to black to find an answer. He wouldn't.

Aftermath

When the Imperium of Man finally managed to send a ship to check up on the 410th after its long overdue scheduled report three months had elapsed. Upon arrival to the system they found it eerily quiet. The usual radio chatter was missing and the many shipping lanes that connected the planets were devoid of life. The only sign that a battle had taken place was the derelict remains of the 410th's flagship, though they would be completely unable to explain why the majority of it had simply been turned to stone. The rest of the fleet was no where to be found.

Ruawch and the other planets too were similarly missing all signs of human habitation yet the signs of struggle were minimal. To the dispatched team it was as if the entire population had suddenly been spirited away. Of the xenos they knew about the only rational conclusion - if it could be called rational at all - was that the Eldar were somehow responsible for this. In the end the Balngar system entered into the Imperium's hands but the mystery that befell it would forever haunt the brave settlers brought in to fill its emptied surface.