It is a rare occasion when a planet sees the deployment of more than a single Space Marine Company unto its surface, much less when an entire Chapter descends in their complete deadly glory unto a world. A thousand power armor-clad demigods of war, armed with the best humanity can realistically produce, turning their attention unto anything is enough to make many a force reconsider their very existence upon said planet.
When the Lamenters Space Marines shuttled unto Hymn within the Grace of the Hymns system, it was like a religious experience to the colonists below. Sure, fears had been growing and going around due to rapidly increasing disappearances. Still, even so, those numbers were only on the upper bound of what many would consider 'Tragic but Reality' in a new colony and not anything that would be considered a reason for the Angels of Death to deploy, much less in their entirety!
The Choir of Hymn disagreed.
Loudly.
When a man, himself searching for a missing child, had gone missing, most were concerned and gripped by growing fear, yet the man's friends quickly activated his tracker to find his location, hoping he had merely been injured or turned around in the darkness.
The tracker returned his location a few hundred meters underneath their feet.
Stunned eyes watched, numb minds tried to comprehend, and working intellects believed the tracker to be malfunctioning. It simply couldn't transmit from so deep below, so it
had to be faulty.
But then it moved across the world. Again. Again. Again. Over and over...and when the friends of the man looked at where the tracker had gone...
The Hymn Choir confirmed it within a day after being informed, not only did every dislocation of the tracker lead to another missing person, but there was someone...or some
thing using the powers of the Warp upon Hymn.
Undetected. Unknown. And completely without any trace...except one.
Whenever the Choir arrived at a location where a person went missing, there was a quiver in the Warp. A strum and a sigh. Something that whispered words...like a
song.
Regardless, traps were laid, and preparations were made, with the people of Hymn fighting an invisible struggle against a foe that would not be perceived.
And yet, with clever tactics and cleverer traps, the Choir stood at dusk atop a canyon. Their throats hummed a Melody of Fire, and a wretched creature of grey skin writhed in silent pain, its nearly 100-meter-long body contorting and squirming in its dying agony.
People thought it was the end.
It was not the end.
Because as the Choir listened to the dying soul of the creature beneath them, they heard
it.
A great waking far,
far beneath the ground.
Thus, they called the Lamenters.
Thus, the Lamenters answered. They were His Space Marines, the Bulwark against the Terror of the Galaxy, and the Defenders of Humanity. They had been called. They could do naught but answer in force.
And yet, as a Space Marine Chapter descended to bring battle and ruin upon wretched creatures of the Warp and Realspace, another,
very ill-time paper descended upon the desks of the High Council of the Glimmering Federation.
The Yeeni were asking for the right to colonize Grace of the Faith.
Is that colony sanctioned?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Yes.
(Colonize Grace of the Faith.)
[] No.
(Nothing happens.)
AN: So, short event over. Was short, eh?
But yeah, the TLDR of the thing was that if you had sent the boy into the cave, you would have gone down a rabbit hole over the next few days that led to you gaining an Archotech Displacement Engine at the cost of the planet getting its souls ripped apart...if you didn't vote to destroy it instead.
If you had made the guy who got eaten here go away instead of into danger, you would have gotten a good look at the creature with a new Melody unlocked.
As you chose to go into danger, you summoned the Lamenters to deal with the entire thing, calling down the wrath of the Emperor and Star Child upon a race of animals that basically feed on souls while also being sort-of fused to the Displacement Engine mentioned above, allowing them to teleport all over the place. It also saved you two Actions to deal with the problem yourself, as they are now busy exterminating these things for you with horrendous casualties! Yay!