You awake many hours later in a small cottage, laid on a comfortable bed stuffed with feathers and hay. A fire softly crackles across the room. You have been stripped of your uniform, dressed only in a soft cotton shirt with an open neck and a pair of peasant woolen trousers. The clothes remind you of what you had worn at home, and for a moment, you believe that the past two weeks had been only a terrible dream. Then, you spy your dogtags dangling on the edge of the headboard above you.

"'Bout time you woke up, sonny," came a gravelly voice to your right. A fat old man sat at a round table in the center of the room, a game of regicide set up in front of him, the fellow apparently playing a match - and seemingly losing - against himself. "Found you laid down inna middle of me yard, I did. Lucky fer you - who knows what woulda picked at ya if I hadn't come along. 'Ow are you feelin'?" He looks at you, awaiting your answer with a worried expression.

>>14126043

"Like shit.

How long was I asleep?"

>>14126043

"LIKE THE GLORY OF THE EMPEROR IS FLOWING THROUGH ME!" with complete seriousness.

>>14126063

While you do feel a little better, having been able to rest in a proper bed, you still feel pretty terrible.  As you move yourself to sit up in the bed, you are hit by a wave of nausea.  You are able to see, however, that the cottage is very small, and furnishings are few.  The table at which the man sat has three chairs, one of them occupied by himself.  Opposite you is a second bed.  A fireplace crackles, lit nearby, a large pot over the dancing flame.  There is also a chest of drawers.  You are able to spy your lasgun and satchel leaned against the wall by the door.

"Not too long," the old man laughs.  "You been layin' in that bed there a day and a half er so, sleepin' and mumblin' with all kinds of tossin' 'n turnin'.  Bad dreams?  I know how that is, fer sure."

He goes quiet then, sniffing once to break the silence, and then he gets up to stir the contents of the pot.

Jeez, do you guys need a written god damn invitation at the end of every post?

OP, get up to make sure he didn't nick any of our stuff from our satchel. Creepy old hermit....

>>14126243

You manage to stand and walk over to your belongings. Everything seems to be accounted for. You note the absence of some of your bandage, and then you realize that the old man had changed your head bandage for you. The only thing that appears to be missing is your uniform.

"Didn't expect to see you on yer feet so soon," says the man, when he notices you are up. "The girls washed yer uniform for ya. It's hangin' outside to dry. Somethin' to eat?" He is holding a bowl as he stirs the stew in the pot with a ladle.

>>14126326

"Thats... very kind of you sir. Do you have any news of the battle? Is our line holding against the Tau?"

>>14126326
Give the girls our ration bars as a thanks (if we didn't eat them ourselves)

>>14126346

Your question seems to silence the man. He continues to stir the stew with his back to you. Eventually, he clears his throat and makes you a bowl. "Don't get much news out here, I'm afraid. I only hear about such things when supplies are delivered, and that don't happen too often these days, things bein' the way they are and all," he replies, setting the bowl on the table and grabbing a spoon for you. "Our man is supposed to make a delivery today. You might be able to hear some news then."

>>14126361

You ate the bars yourself, but you don't think they'd appreciate the gift even if you still had any. You wouldn't give corpse starch even to your worst enemy.

>>14126413

Eat up. Ask when the delivery person will be coming around.

"I can't thank you enough for your help. Can I at least know your name?"

>>14126440
Do we have any chocolate or something similar then? Something a hermit like him wouldn't have an abundance of.
The man saved our life.

>>14126469

You take your spoon and dig in. You can't remember the last time you'd eaten something so good. The bowl is emptied far too soon, and you soak up what is left of the thick broth with an absorbent cut of bread. "Well. Yer hungry! That's a good sign," the man comments with a laugh.

"Nah, it ain't nothin' - you don't need to thank me. The name is Henris. Sergeant Major Henris, I once was," he says, his pride apparent in his voice. "Tyrfa is a prize world, don't you know? Some prize, huh? Liberated it from the greenskins decades ago. Thought all the fightin' was over then."

>>14126577

Well, sounds like we can't do much until we get the news from the delivery later on. Is there anything else of note here in the house where we are?

>>14126490

The man notices you scrounging through your satchel, and arches a brow as he watches you expectantly. You manage to produce a small bit of chocolate that'd been with your meal the last time you'd eaten a proper ration. You'd been saving it for a special occasion, and you couldn't think of an occasion more special than this. You lay it on the table. "Don't have much of a stomach for chocolate," the man comments, "but the girls would probably like to split it. Whenever they get back."

>>14126632

You are weighing whether or not you should ask for another bowl of stew when the door suddenly opens and two young girls with another old man enter. The old man seems slightly hunched, with salt and pepper hair, and he is carrying a leather bag by his side. One of the girls is quite small and blonde, and hides behind the leg of the man when she sees you. The other seems about your age, with red hair. "He's awake!" the older one seems pleased to find.

"Aye. These are my daughters, Castella 'n Carrea, and the village doctor, Mathis, too," says Henris, motioning to them while looking at you. "He used to be a medic in me platoon. If there's anything wrong with you, he'll find it."

The doctor walks over to you and sets his bag on the table. He looks down at you with his hands on his hips, examining you with bespectacled eyes. His face is scowling and humorless. "What happened here?" he asks, pointing to the bandage with one hand that, you note, seems terribly burned.

Don't really know what to say to that ...

"I don't really know but feels like I've been run over by several companies ..."?

>>14126742
>>14126361
>>14126490

Henris stands and goes over to the pot to get some stew for the girls. He asks the doctor if he'd like any, but he shakes his head. Looking disappointed in his answer, the old man produces stew for two and lays the bowls on the table. The girls eat with less fervor. Despite their choice of living conditions, they seemed well fed, perhaps even a bit on the plump side. The smaller one notices the bar of chocolate on the table, and looks at you wordlessly, head tilted to one side.

>>14126865
I agree, would make more sense if you wrote things we could more easily answer to. We don't know what happened. Are we supposed to make something up? I thought you're the one who makes the background and we just move around in your setting.

>>14126869
Smile and push the chocolate towards her. Tell her "this is chocolate, for the two of you. Thank you for washing my uniform." Then look at the old man and say with a smile, "maybe you better eat it after finishing your meal."

>>14126946
btw. afk for about half an hour.
interested in how this goes on

>>14126946
>>14126877
Yeah i second this.
Also i am picturing the younger daughter as Newt from Aliens.

>>14126865

The doctor frowns disapproval and then leans towards you, stripping away a bit of the bandage carefully, but not carefully enough so that you feel no pain from this action. "Looks like you took a hit," he replies. "Yes... just a glancing blow, however." He opens his bag and produces a bit of disinfectant, and with this he begins to clean the wound. "This needs to be cleaned properly," he says, in a tone you find oddly condescending, as he works.

"Where are you 'eaded, anyway, son?" Henris asks from the corner of the room. "Yer trying to find yer mates, right? I could direct you towards the nearest Guard fortress, if you'd like. Could set you up with me old map 'n compass, too."

>>14126946

The small girl grins widely and snatches up the chocolate bar. Taking no heed to your suggestion, she peels back the wrapper and snaps it in half, giving the other half to her sister. "Chocolate?" the older one asks with a raised brow. "It's been awhile! The Tau representatives hardly ever bring anything good."

Henris turns away from the window in shock, eyes darting between you and his daughter. She realizes what she has said, and her eyes widen, her hands moving to her mouth.

>>14127021
Looks like we might need to reject their offer to stay and get the fuck out.
In any case, we are not killing these people just because they are collaborating with Tau.

>>14127021

agreed

Also, concerned as I am for my own safety, I'm probably also a threat to theirs. I plan on leaving ASAP, with or without their approval or knowledge

>>14127113

Henris steps towards you as you stand up. "Now, you see 'ere, young man," he says in a threatening tone. He clearly did not trust how quickly you have risen to your feet. "We won this planet for the Imperium, and what do they do? Nothin' - they haven't spoken to us since. If the Tau want to come in and claim it as their territory, keeping us safe and givin' us supplies, that's all fine 'n good by me. We don't want any trouble from you."

The girls cease in their feeding, staring up at you with fear in their eyes. The doctor, as though oblivious to the entire situation, commands you to keep still so he could fix you up with fresh bandages.

"Looks like our guest wants to leave, so girls - grab his things," Henis commands, and the older one scurries out the door.

>>14127235
I want to keep an eye on the girls if they leave the hut, can't have 'em alerting anybody. "Casually" follow them out maybe?

What are we, heretics? Everyone grab your uplifting primers! Xeno lovers are no better than FUKKEN XENOS themselves! You have a lasrifle, time to use it!

Kill the men, leave the women, bless the children. If the women fight back, go ahead and kill them too.

>>14127270


nooo first use him to get back to the base!! remain somewhat friendly and thankfull for their help - but clearly show that you're disgusted

"Fuckit, you believe in the so called 'greater good'?"

>>14127269

Pushing the doctor away from you, you walk carefully from the hut, keeping your eyes on the old Guard Sergeant. Before you leave, you pick up your lasgun and satchel from next to the door. You notice that he seems to tense when you pick it up, but other than that, he does nothing. He doesn't seem to have any more words. You walk outside, and the door slams shut behind you.

You are temporarily blinded by the bright light overhead. In front of you, you see a small village made up of a number of wooden huts. No one else seems to be around, though you can see smoke rising from the chimney of each. You can see the soldier's redheaded daughter around the side of the house, tearing clothes down from the clothesline - among them, your uniform and greatcoat.

>>14127319
+ check your ammo, maybe put it next to the fire to heat the cells.
That'd tell him that you're suspicious

>>14127270
No.

At the very least, we need to wait for the Tau representative to come by and kill HIM. This is just so foul I have to question the loyalty of every last one of you!

>>14127319
>>14127338

You are already outside, so you decide you'd best deal with the matter of your uniform, first.

Keep being friendly to the girls. Tell them mankind is not ment to be slaves for xenos scum. It's their decission to make but the easy way of not putting up any resistance often leads to worse results than fighting for mankind and the god-emperor. Ask some subtle questions to find out when the tau representative would come back and how far they are leaning towards taking part in the so-called 'greater good'.

>>14127333
Ask the daughter if anyone else in the village knows I'm here/ when the tau resupply will arrive. I'm trying to be brief and serious but not threatening. Help her gather my laundry to show my sense of haste.

>>14127396

You walk over to the clothesline to assist her in gathering the laundry. The young woman seems surprised to see you, and is clearly attempting to hide her sense of fear and suspicion towards you. "No," she replies. "I mean, the doctor's wife knows we have a visitor, but, she doesn't know that you are with the Imperial Guard, sir," she explains hurriedly. "And the supplies were supposed to arrive at noon, but it's well past that
now."

>>14127395

You ask how she feels about the Tau. She frowns and shrugs her shoulders. "I've never seen much of the Imperium. I know it's bad, but the Tau are helpful. We used to have barely anything before they came along, and now we're barely ever hungry."

>>14127454

I'm suspicious about the delay! Maybe they already know I'm there. Don't say much but briefly mention that they'd appear friendly until the village embraces the "greater good" whereupon they'll most likely become slave workers for the Tau. Seem indifferent and say, "well it's your choice. It's your choice whether you believe me or not, too ... I've seen what they are able to do to humans ..."

>>14127524

She pauses in her work and looks at you. "Is what you are saying true?" she asks in a hushed tone. "What do they do, exactly?"

If the offer still stands, I'd like the old mans' map and compass, he offered to point me in the direction of the fort, so perhaps it's still holding. If not, being a tau slave is a choice I don't understand and I cant judge them for it.

>>14127577
I tell her about human auxiliary troops of the Tau that where made to fight against us. "It's wrong that the Tau make these man fight their own kind."

>>14127629
Yeah let's get the map and compass and let's head to the fortress.Promise them that you won't tell your superiors about the village if they won't tell Tau about us.

>>14127673

She looks shocked to hear this! "You aren't lying, are you?" she asks, still speaking in hushed tones. Biting her lip in clear nervousness, she looks around, and then she shoves your greatcoat and tunic towards you all balled in a bundle. With the laundry basket at her side, she walks back towards the cottage, disappearing inside. You are alone again. You fold your tunic and place it inside your satchel, and then you put on your coat. You feel better to be dressed in your uniform again.

>>14127706

You walk back up to the house and enter. Henris turns from the table and narrows his eyes at you. "I gathered up some things for you," he says, motioning to the table. The map and compass, as promised, with the location of the fortress circled in red. He also filled a canteen for you, and laid with all of this a wrapped bundle. "Food," he explained. "So as you don't go hungry."

You notice the older daughter put the laundry basket down on top of the chest of drawers, and then slip back outside.

>>14127779
we slip back outside?
or we notice the girl slip back outside?

>>14127808

You are still standing in the cottage. The girl went back outside.

Make sure everything's there; if anything's missing, the commissar'll give us a flogging, and I wouldn't put it past these collaborators to get us in trouble when we finally reach friendlies. After all, these guys served in the Guard before, and I doubt they've so easily forgotten the punishments for failing to follow regs.

>>14127779
Thank the man for saving your life, take his gifts and leave.
Head to the fortress.Avoid main roads that lead out of village in case we meet more inhabitants.

>>14127779
yeah, I thank him and tell him that I have respect for him, being a veteran. And that I hope not to see him forced to fight as auxiliary soldiers for the Tau.

>>14127871

You take all of the items from the table and add them to your satchel. It all seems to be there. You've used quite a bit of the supplies from your medical kit, however. You say your farewells and you thank the man for all his help. He promises that he'd never seen you, and you promise the same. You take your leave.

Once outside, you take a few moments to orientate yourself with the map and the compass. As you begin to leave, you hear a small voice. "I don't want to be a slave." You turn your head to see the redheaded daughter standing there, a coat thrown over her peasant dress and a bag by her side. "Please, can I come with you?"

>>14127947
I expected this.

>>14127969

The Emperor demands more named characters.

>>14127947
>mfw I succesfully made her believe the Tau ARE bad after all! (all my posts made her change her mind) yeah sure, be a slave of the emperor.

I tell her "I'm not sure if you want this." I take a look around the village. "You seem to have a peacefull life out here. Everything will be ok once the Imperium won." She sure doesn't want to fall into the war machinery of the empire, but you hesitate to say so ...

>>14128019
also: my face when

>>14128019

She stands firm in her resolve. "This village and these swamps are all that I know," she replies. "If the Imperium be so great, I would very much like to see it. Besides, you will need a guide, will you not?" She spies the map in your hand. "I've never been that far, but I know what to watch for when it comes to danger, and there are many dangers in these swamps."

What will her father think if she just disappears without a word? Won't he send the Tau after us?
If we tell him that she is leaving with us, I doubt he will let her go.
Can she really survive out there, even with us by her side? And what will he tell our superiors when we finally get to them? She's a civilian, I mean she will be useless to IG.

>>14128132

You lean towards the woman. You'd met a lot of mean bastards in your short time as an Imperial Guardsman, and now, you attempt to emulate one. You look her in the eye and tell her sternly that she will not follow you and risk compromising you. She shrinks away from you and suddenly looks quite small. You point towards her cottage, and tell her to go to her father before you go to him and tell him what she had in mind. Afterwards, you push towards the woman and walk into the woods.

that's all for now. I felt like this installment was rather weak, but I'm not at my best.

Achievement Unlocked: I Work Alone!

>>14128164
I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

We gathered some intelligence - not enough, I'd say.

And we spared an innocent girl from getting into the meatgrinder / machinery of the imperium. Maybe she'll learn that the Tau aren't so bad after all, once we've thrown countless body into the war until the Tau won.

She'll hate us, but for now she has some healthy distrust and will question what is happening around her. What is true, what is a lie.