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Incursion - Prologue
? ?Colonel Devrik Smyke watched the progress of the forward Sentinel squadron through his monocular as they approached the outskirts of Neo-Grass Farm #272, one of the many plantations that produced the vast quantities of food Xerxus VI was known for. ?Hectares and hectares of the tall grain surrounded his armoured column and spread out as far as his assisted eye could see, lush waves of green, soon to be harvested to feed the hungry worlds of the sector.
? ?Xerxus VI was an important world, its agricultural products filled the mouths of a score of planets, and so, despite being far from any active war zones, the Imperial Guard maintained a strong garrisoned presence. ?Being assigned to stand watch over farmers and fields was certainly not the most difficult billet a soldier could draw, but Commissar Rothschild made sure no man shirked his duty nor grew lax in his diligence, particularly the Colonel. ?Still, one could always expect to be well fed, and the stingwine season was soon to begin; life was good despite the drills and spit-and-polish, though some action might be just the thing needed to spice up the lives of his soldiers.
? ?Seven days ago the Master Magus Biologos had reported that some of the local farmers had spotted some unusual, perhaps Xenos, activity in the forested hills north of the Takaanar Ridge, the long geographic boundary that marked the northern edge of the great plains of grain. ?Ork raiders were an occasional threat to the planet, green-skinned invaders dropping out of the sky in their smoke belching vessels to steal refined metal and farm equipment. ?By the Emperor, how those Orks loved tractors, the Colonel thought. ?
? ?An Aquilla Lander had been dispatched to investigate the extent of the danger, but had gone down due to unusual atmospheric conditions and the crew lost as it crossed the Ridge. ?Four days ago contact with Farm #272 had been abruptly cut off and the Planetary Governor had thought it prudent to send some well armoured reconnaissance into the area to discover what kind of trouble the farmers had gotten into. ?The Colonel had mounted up his men and tanks and set out to provide some answers and assistance.
? ?Something terrible had certainly befallen the settlement, while most of the grain silos were intact; several of the residential and technical buildings were in ruins. ?As he set his monocular to maximum magnification, he could make out that the tumbled structures seemed strangely pitted and melted: something very unusual was going on.
? ?The Colonel opened a comm-link to the forward Sentinels. "Stay on your guard Corporal, something is definitely amiss," he informed them. "Get off the road and approach the main buildings through the fields, stay out of sight."
? ?Something still did not sit well with the Colonel and he scanned the distant ruins again, looking for some clue as the scout walkers disappeared into the green sea of swaying grass. ?Two things struck him in quick succession. ?One, there was no smoke. ?Buildings lay in ruin, tumbled down and destroyed, but there were no fires, nothing burned, and there seemed few things Orks liked better than burning things. ?Orks had not caused this destruction. ?Second, as noon had approached, the winds from the south had calmed, the air still and the sky almost cloudless, yet, the grass still swayed. ?The vast fields that surrounded his men moved and undulated with a strange vigorous life, as if reaching for the sky, as if reaching for them? as if hungry for them?
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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer
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