Malacostraca

**Dev. Status** | Concept

 **Key Features** | »» Metallic Claws»» Fibre Shell»» Folding Transportation Wheels»» Protruding Cameras (x2)»» Purple Pattern

*"Snap, Snip!"*

-  Malacostraca clamping its claws.
## Tactical Analysis

* **Conventional Position:** The sensors of the fast but lightly armoured Malacostraca let it scout and detect stealthed units, making it indispensible to any Protectorate force.

* **Unconventional Execution:** In its main form, the Malacostraca is crablike, and can instantly kill any infantry with a single swipe.

* **Steel-Belted Radials:** The Malacostraca's secondary ability transforms it into a small motorcycle-like vehicle, greatly boosting its speed but leaving it unable to attack.

* **Bad dog... uhh, crab... thing:** Like all Protectorate units, the Malacostraca cannot gain veterancy. Tank armour simply does not possess the same consistency of human flesh, making it harder for it to slice vehicles open. Its fragility makes the Malacostraca more suited for scouting, and thus should not be sent to frontlines.

## Criminal Investigation 018962, Falkland Islands

January 21, 1968

*"Lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are yours, now and forever. Amen."*

**Inspector**: *"Amen."*

**Constable**: *"The Captain is going to throw a fit if we do not get to the scene as soon as possible, Inspector."*

**Inspector**: *"Some Catholic you are."*

**Constable**: *"I am an Anglican. I have been deployed to Argentina as part of the Allied Counter Narcotics Division."*

**Inspector**: *"English? Great, just what we need in an international incident."*

**Constable**: *"The United Kingdom is severely disturbed by the amount of drug trafficking ongoing in South America. It is only natural that they send officers to help local law enforcement. Especially when a Protectorate may be affected."*

**Inspector**: *"And what part of that would mean that you would be assigned to the division investigating a murder on the Falkland Islands?"*

**Constable**: *"The part that says I am assigned as your liaison."*

The pair travel to the Falkland Islands by Riptide. A body was found adrift by a patrolling Hydrofoil in international waters between the Falkland Islands and Argentina. Since it is an international incident, the Allied Counter Narcotics Division has been given jurisdiction over the investigation.

**Inspector**: *"Is this the drug traffickers' latest and greatest?"*

**Peacekeeper**: *"Can’t say. When we found the body, we called the local police to see if anybody had filled a missing persons report. We got no answer, so we came into harbour to check the town. I have no idea what went on here, but it sure as hell was the work of some deranged maniac."*

**Inspector**: *"That it?"*

**Peacekeeper**: *"The Coroner arrived shortly before you, he told me to be sure you put on a hazard suit before you enter town."*

**Constable**: *"No way it could be that bad."*

**Peacekeeper**: *"With all due respect, ma'am, I don't think you heard me through this visor. It was a goddamn massacre in there. Just get a suit, put it on, and pray to god you can find the bastards who did this."*

They put on the suits and cross the pier into town. Blood covers the streets as all the trails lead into the town church. A Riot Agent sitting on the steps leads them into the building.

**Inspector**: *"It's for shit like this that I go to church every morning."*

**Constable**: *"No way our guys did...this."*

**Inspector**: *"Excuse me, are you the Coroner?"*

**Coroner'**: *"I am, and I know who you two are and the case you are tracking, but I am not ready to talk to you guys yet. I need more time here."*

**Inspector**: *"That’s not possible. We don't have time to wait. Let’s keep it simple. Just give us a few gut reactions...the first thing that comes to you."*

**Constable**: *"How many men do you think did this? Did they use a wood-chipper?"*

**Coroner**: *"Let me show you something. This here is one of the bodies that we found relatively intact."*

**Inspector**: *"What are we looking at?"*

**Coroner**: *"From what I can tell, cut marks. It looks like they used bolt cutters with jagged blades to cut the limbs off. Then they were dragged here and well...that pile over there can be anywhere from the an apartment building to the rest of the town. All the intact remains share these marks, including the dogs."*

**Inspector**: *"With all this blood, what about prints?"*

The Coroner stands up and motions the investigators to follow him. They leave the building and walk down main street. On the beach, they find small shifting tracks all with dried blood in the sand. They end halfway across the beach, for the high tide had wiped out the rest.