So the Black Crusade campaign Im running has turned a little bit risky and the stuff has hit the fan a little earlier than planned and I'm looking to bring about a bit of a hammering on them for the way they handled their last mission. First off, background:

Team composition:

1 x Fallen Space Wolf Librarian (Deathwatch character transferred to BC now using Sorcerer archetype)

1 x Night Lord Chaos Marine

1 x Alpha Legion Chaos Marine

1 x Nurgle aligned psyker, the bug filled one from ToD (who oddly enough for a mutation rolled Illusion of Normality)

1 x Pirate Price of the Ragged Helix (Who unfortunately was out this mission)

1 x Heretek

The overall goal, they have been assigned a sub sector and been asked to undermine its leadership and break its sub sector governor utterly. Not kill him, just send him mad and make him suffer. Then their boss will finish the job and take said sector for his own nefarious ends. Now in order to achieve this the players are so far doing little odd jobs for people, working their way up the pecking order and making allies who could help them.

They had managed to make the friend of a rather friendly and well off purveyor of fine liquor, amasec and spirits and he petitioned the party for a favour requesting they help him recover some of his finest alcohol which had been seized by the Adeptus Arbites and in exchange he would owe them one and would make an excellent contact which will open up links to a powerful rogue trader they can now use to complete their overall objectives. The idea was to try and do it quietly, break into the compound, seize the barrels and withdraw them as well as a few other illegal items seized by the arbites to cover their tracks and make a tidy profit.

If all had gone well then there would have been no trace except a bunch of stuff missing however for various reasons the players got careless. They had done their homework on it, scoped out good places to enter, when the patrols were, worked out where things were likely to have been and acquired a lot of detail. I in turn warned them of armed patrols, automatic weapons, security auspexes and cameras as well as perimeter fencing and several towers.

Their initial bits went well, they arranged for their transport to be parked near the weak point on the walls conveniently near to the warehouse that when they finally get an opportunity then they can easily get the loot out. The Alpha Legion took up a vantage point and picked off tower guards with well aimed stalker bolt ammunition and luckily each corpse was recovered. All was going well as the Night Lord gave the psyker a vault over the walls and into the compound before the Space Wolf gave it a try and decided to give it a running jump. The wolf fluffed the roll...badly with a 96. As a GM I reward good rolls like 01 to 05 with glorious and stylish success and 96 to 00 with critical failures (with 00 being just horrific embarrassment) and in this instance he fluffed the attempted jump/climb so was forced to make a strength roll, which he passed. Due to the momentum he therefore ploughed straight through the weak concrete wall making about as much noise as a howitzer shooting into a glass storage warehouse (ok obscure analogy but you get the idea). If he'd have failed he would have hit it with a heavy thud and concussed a bit but otherwise fine and no consequence other than a braining. As a result the guards got suspicious of the noise of half of the perimeter wall coming down. The heretek had the corpses of the dead patrol guards with him, failed to answer the microbead of an officer questioning what had happened with a sufficiently believable reply and then it all went down hill from there...

Guards got alerted, shots got fired, the heretek managed to salvage some dignity by sending a feedback screech through the enemy vox network to disable them for a few moments but the entire thing just got violent with a large amount of dead guard, some player injuries, loads of nicked items and now a severely damaged warehouse due to the liberal use of demolitions.

At this point then I want to hit with some consequences...this is a **** Arbites depot which they raided at a weak point. They succeeded their assignment and removed much of the evidence linking it to their employer but have now put risk on themselves. At no point though did they consider cameras, masks or proper obscuring gear for the humans. The marines are unrecognisable in their armour but it still raises a point to investigators afterwards that traitor marines were here. So far I'm thinking that I bring the Inquisition into it, not sure though whether it would be Ordo Hereticus or Malleus who would respond to evidence of traitor legions and a few cults (I'm leaning to Hereticus but could be the latter).

Any other thoughts though?

The Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Malleus have really poorly defined roles with overlap that is close to, but not quite, total. I'm pretty sure that technically the Ordo Hereticus gets this job because there's no proof of any daemons, but Ordo Malleus could try and steal it under the reasoning that if there are traitor marines around, odds are there's daemons around too and their job is to find daemons, not merely destroy daemons that have already been found. So you could reasonably have inquisitors from both orders show up, and each of them feels the other is trespassing in his jurisdiction and they don't like each other, and as an added bonus the Ordo Malleus inquisitor has as part of his job declaring other inquisitors heretics, so he might try to use that against the Ordo Hereticus guy.

A better match game play wise if not necessarily story wise is send in the sisters. Tough enough to put a bit of fear into the marines while not being instant death for humans. You can send as many as you need to be believable without the awkwardness of astartes showing up nor the heavy handedness of an inquisitor disrupting everything.

A better match game play wise if not necessarily story wise is send in the sisters. Tough enough to put a bit of fear into the marines while not being instant death for humans. You can send as many as you need to be believable without the awkwardness of astartes showing up nor the heavy handedness of an inquisitor disrupting everything.

I was actually tempted with using Sisters as well, but at the same time being an SoB player I have too much of a soft spot for them and would hate to see them killed...but needs must and I can cleanse the place with holy fire. That might actually be the best option as their zeal and righteous fury would make a CSM slightly unnerved and could likely have them toe to toe with one while at the same time having mortality. Plus given I have two psykers in the party, their Shield of Faith would make a very nice raising of a few fingers. I can work with that and use a Palatine as commander and if it all really goes badly, Canoness Superior working with Inquisitor to really bring some heavy might.

However yes the lines of where Hereticus mandate end and Malleus begin is somewhat patchy but there is actually a daemon in the group, the pirate prince has undergone a bit of a homebrew possession/body timeshare (I've avoided the one from ToD just to allow me some flexibility). If any evidence of that gets found out then that would be argument to bring it into play. Unfortunately the possessed character was the one who was absent this session and was put into NPC mode away from the plot...although he did let me take over his actions so I might be able to arrange something on the sly.

Love the ideas.

So, basically:
There was heavily armed raid against an Arbites Holding, conducted by a Group of heretics including at least two TRAITORMARINES.

1) Defcon: Yellow
The Planetary Defence Forces (of said planet) as well as the (local) Enforcers and the corresponding Arbites Precinct/s should be much more weary in regard to further incoming strikes now. Whenever you plan your guards of said classes, but the nudge up a Little more. For the coming weeks, it is not irressponsible to have "road blocks" (check Points) in the larger area and/or there is a (perceived) clue/hint to the activity. Troops are ordered to stay in the Baracks and at the ready.

Game wise, the said Groups could get a +10 Awareness/Scrutiny roles as they are now alarmed. And plan some additional Encounters regarding that road blocks, mention (additional) patrols in the street now and then. This does not mean that the PUBLIC does know, or that the rank-and-file troopers have any idea...but the Arbs WILL know and the other will get serious orders and serious gear, so they will get it that what ever it is: it is NOT a drill!

2) Tighten Orbital Security
Something -brought- said Marines there. For weeks, any traffic will be checked more closely. This hampers Trader and Industrie, but the heretics will have a harder time bringing in more Support/leaving the world/further their plans

3) Investigation Task Forces
The Arbitrators are likely to form a Task force. Whose goods where in the warehouse? What was there possible use/abuse? What where the recent acitivites on the black market? Besides the Chance of uncovering any past moves of the characters, your heretics will have a much harder time working the black market from now on. The Dealers grow scared, everybody keeps their head down as the Arbites sweep the Scene and try to catch somebody with a wide net.
In game Play, that could mean a -10 or -20 to any roles regarding any further illicit contacts/activity on the larger scale.. oh, and GOOD LUCK selling any of the goods! Can you spell "hot contraband?" The risk is high now, many dealer will not dare burning their fingers and those who do will not offer what the characters expected "cuz I don´t take the risk if the Profit is not right, and with the Price you demand I have no interest to take the risk.."

Oh: how do your Traitormarines plan to restock on Ammo? It is not like that stuff is easily available. If they do not have a cash with them...well...

4) Arbites Rapid Response Force
The Arbites now know that there is a serious threat and will react accordingly. Once they LOCATE the Traitor Marines, they will Need serious firepower. Being able to call in 10 to 15 Arbites with matching weaponary PER SEEN TRAITORMARINE would be my Ratio...if such Forces are available (that is)

5) Call in the Inquisiton
Don´t worry to much which Ordo Just take note that Inquisitors do not suddenly teleport anywhere. They Need to travel, too. But bring them in ready to HUNT, because that is what the =I= and the cell s/he brings along will do. Having some sisters at the ready sounds Need, too. But strangely, do to recent fluff one starts to wonder if there arent more SpaceMarines then Sisters about in this game world. So, consider if you =I= in questin can bring along help in form of 5 Spacemarines in Servo Armour plus gear.

What was perhaps even bigger insult to Imperial pride is that barely 24 hours prior to this, the sector Governor had just made a big announcement across the sub sector about the formation of a new Imperial battalion and about how they were going to finally eliminate traces of heresy and corruption. Big show of force and display and now this. The Governor is not amused...

In terms of the goods taken, they managed to take other supplies from other random containers to cover their tracks and luckily a resulting explosion eradicated evidence of other things missing/taken so it will cover them a bit. So far though their movements are fairly open. The Pirate Prince does have a vessel but I can easily take it away as A) It was on loan as he trashed his original one and B) they have yet to pay their crew their monthly wages yet.

Needless to say security is rising and guards will be put on high alert. At the moment they have a ground based facility lower in the hive which is their hideout when not on ship. I'm inclined as my way of payback to indeed bring in the Sororitas and scorch their hideout. They were careless and didn't cover their faces or identities. It is feasible that they can be tracked back to where they operated as they have not been overly covert although luckily the marine has gone around without armour so they just pass as brutish sized thugs. If they keep pushing their luck and getting ever bolder I might bring in an Inquisitor or look at contacting the Officio Assassinorum. So far I'm thinking deploying a Callidus or if it gets really bad, Eversor or Vindicare.

5) Call in the Inquisiton

Don´t worry to much which Ordo Just take note that Inquisitors do not suddenly teleport anywhere. They Need to travel, too. But bring them in ready to HUNT, because that is what the =I= and the cell s/he brings along will do. Having some sisters at the ready sounds Need, too. But strangely, do to recent fluff one starts to wonder if there arent more SpaceMarines then Sisters about in this game world. So, consider if you =I= in questin can bring along help in form of 5 Spacemarines in Servo Armour plus gear.

One other thing to remember about the inquisition is that no governor in his right mind actually wants an inquisitor looking over their shoulder. Way too great a risk that the inquisitor will blame them. Better to handle it, then report the situation is done with.

The only way the governor wins here is if he finds the traitors and puts their heads on a stick fast enough that he can hold it up to the whoever it was he was announcing things to and say "you see, the heretics were desperate after we stepped up our forces, but their panicked thrashing was no match for our newly increased might!" Given that, fairly drastic measures can be expected in retaliation, particularly if the Inquisition is on its way. As Gregorius mentioned, it'll take them some time to arrive, and as Kami mentioned, the governor would really like it if he could just hand them some captured traitor marines for interrogation/purging immediately upon their arrival so that they will hopefully be satisfied and leave.

About the Arrival of an Inqusitior:
True, the Gov might not even want to call for one. But the Arbites is involved as it was a direct assault on one of there Holdings. I see them placing a Report. And with the might of the =I= being what it is, the Inquisitor might not even announce himself to the Gov until he arrives in Orbit. But a smart Gov will know that the Arb will Report and that Traitormarines Trigger an "imperial" response.

About the scorching of the hideout:
Don´t rush it. You don´t simply find somebody in a populated area in a matter of 24hours. Not in a big City. For sure not i a hive.
That is something in a small (or: Close) community where People know another by face and first Name and thereby actually take NOTE of another. Give them some time, before the Investigation catches them. If they move, the time enlargens.

@About the goods
Oh, that was not really important. I just wanted to give an idea on how such a "Task Force" might tackle the thing. They do have a lot of FALSE leads if they simply Focus on the warehouse goods, but they will take the warehouse goods into consideration. They have no clue WHY that happened, they only know that if Traitor Marines are involved, it must be some Major heretical act.

About the scorching of the hideout:

Don´t rush it. You don´t simply find somebody in a populated area in a matter of 24hours. Not in a big City. For sure not i a hive.

That is something in a small (or: Close) community where People know another by face and first Name and thereby actually take NOTE of another. Give them some time, before the Investigation catches them. If they move, the time enlargens.

Oh don't worry, I'm patient in my retribution. There will be immediate effects either way such as the tightening of security at major locations, increased tension around it and a general feeling of pressure. Plus the information of their raid will have been salvaged and will take some time for servitors and tech priests to rebuild the damaged footage and try to identify what may have happened. Data recovery takes time, and if they are lucky they can get off world and leave to a new planet while the heat dies down...but they do need to be quick on this.

I am however making the executive decision and having a report leak out and the eyes of an Inquisitorial aide catching it. I already had reason for the assistants and acolytes to be present in the sector so they will of course have obtained details of this and will be forwarding it on to their task master. I'm going with the Sororitas as the first response as the place may need a bit of a spritual revive.