I realise I've not posted a lot of late. Apologies.

This is the follow-up to the Resistance uncovering 329 and Kaśnyk and his squads attempting to prevent them. I'll be honest, not totally satisfied with this, but constructive criticism welcome.

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LV-426. The white-red-white livery of 2nd Company. Not a rescue bird but a retrieval asset. The paint was scratched, worn by desert grit, but unmistakable. Even before it touched down, the survivors of Kasnyk's squad were already moving, dragging themselves upright, rifles slung, eyes sunken. No one spoke. The ramp hissed open.

Kasnyk stood apart from the others, his greatcoat stiff with grit and dried blood. He waited until the rest had climbed aboard. The wind caught at the hem of his coat as he paused at the threshold, eyes scanning the desert once more at the gaping vault entrance behind them, the scorched earth where PDF troopers had fallen, and somewhere beneath it all, the thing they'd failed to recover. He stepped inside.

The cabin was spartan. Bare racks. Jump-seats bolted to the sides. A single data-terminal flickered to life as the co-pilot keyed it.

No greetings nor debrief. The turbofans never stopped.

Kasnyk sat without a word, pulling the dataslate from his coat. He thumbed it active, fingers moving with practised precision.

Engagement Zone: Vault 17A Hostiles: Irregular, structured. Command signals: present. Asset loss: 3 squads. Cause: Heavy armour. Designation: Unconfirmed pattern. Hull marking 329. Behaviour: Independent acquisition. Targeted PDF units. No allied coordination.

He hesitated at the last entry.

Believed allegiance: Insurgent.

He added a line.

Note: Asset exhibited selective targeting. No known Imperial response signature.

He checked it twice. Cross-referenced what he could. He still didn’t like the gaps.

When the slate was done, he stood, crossed the cabin to the co-pilot, and handed it over. The man took it, glanced once at the header, then looked back at Kasnyk.

"Transmit this immediately," Kasnyk said. "Begin immediate relay to Sector Command. Classification of asset loss, Irregular engagement, Evidence of organised insurgency."

The co-pilot gave a short nod and plugged the slate into the relay port. The screen blinked red, then amber, then steady green.

Kasnyk didn’t return to his seat. He stood at the open hatch, one hand on the frame as the Valkyrie lifted, engines roaring. Below, the desert peeled away. Dunes, and stone, and smoke. The sun threw long shadows over the cratered landscape. He stared down at the vault until it was just a black smudge, swallowed by dust.

The hatch closed with a mechanical hiss.

Kasnyk didn’t blink. He replayed, in his mind, the moment the beast opened fire and how he had no control over its actions.