Internal Security Filing (Unpublished)
Protectorate Tag: HARLET / ORCHARD / CIVILIAN FIRST
Axis: I–II Linked Atoll
Filed By: Mira Kestrel (Resin-Tarrier, Orchard Works Crew)
Witness Status: Direct / Survived
Date Stamp: [Local Atoll Time — 3rd Nightwatch, Waxing Tide]
Delivery Method: Runner skiff → Reach relay → Goldtip Hold
NOTE FOR READERS: This statement contains allegations of murder, torture, and rape committed during a raid. I am writing what I saw and what the survivors reported to me immediately after. I am not embellishing it. I want names on paper so the sea can’t “forget.”
At approximately the second bell of 3rd Nightwatch, an unknown pirate crew breached the outer reef approach to Holdfast Orchard under heavy fog and false lantern signals. They boarded, stole supplies, torched three homes, murdered two Orchard civilians, and committed multiple acts of sexual violence against residents.
The attackers identified themselves—openly and repeatedly—as:
Primary Vessel: The Candy-Gallows (fast brigantine, modified cargo belly)
Support Craft: 2 longboats + 1 low-slung “reef-sled” skiff
Jolly Roger: A broken crown over a wide grin with missing teeth (painted white on black sailcloth)
Their captain was addressed as:
Male, baseline human, approx. late 20s to mid 30s.
Distinctive: shaved scalp except for a single braided topknot; gold tooth; pale scar line from ear to jaw; coat lined with coin-plates (audible clink when he walked).
Voice: calm, amused, spoke like he was delivering a toast.
Behavior: did not rush. Watched his crew commit violence like it was work being inspected.
Holdfast Orchard, west arc of the atoll ring, residential band between the resin pits and drying racks.
Key sites hit:
Netbridge Row (homes suspended over waterline)
South Resin Pits (tar barrels, sealant vats)
The Reed Chapel (dampener reeds hung to dry — also used as a shelter)
They did not reach the tether-pocket entrance to Axis II (thank the sea). They were moving toward it before the counter-response began.
I believe they entered by exploiting:
Fog cover (natural or assisted—can’t prove)
A false lantern line mimicking our safe approach markers
A fast longboat team that knew exactly where the lash-lines and bridge pins were
This last part matters: someone briefed them or they have raided engineered atolls before. They moved like they expected our layout.
Second bell: Dogs started barking, then stopped suddenly. (That’s when I knew it wasn’t a storm.)
Second bell + minutes: First screams from Netbridge Row. I ran from the resin pits toward the homes.
Third bell: I saw masked men with hooked boards and short swords forcing people out of their houses. Two archers posted on a rooftop beam.
Third bell + minutes: I heard Captain Renk’s voice clearly:
“Quick hands. Quiet mouths. The Orchard pays in fear tonight.”
Fourth bell: Fires started on three homes at Netbridge Row. A woman named Sella tried to run with her child and was struck down.
Fifth bell: The raiders began dragging people toward the Reed Chapel and the old hull-wall. Several survivors later reported rape occurred there and behind the tar racks while the crew laughed and kept watch. I did not witness the assaults directly in the dark, but I saw the dragging, the restraints, and the aftermath.
Sixth bell: A counter-team arrived (Orchard defenders + two Harlet-trained sentries on rotation). The attackers withdrew in an organized fashion, taking cargo and captives—until they lost control of the retreat.
Female, baseline human, tall, wiry. Hair in tight ropes. Wore a sailor’s coat with a strip of sailcloth as a sash—marked with tally slashes.
Carried a whistle and used it to signal turns and regroup points.
She was the one ordering the looting teams:
“Barrels first. Reeds second. Take the children last—quiet cargo.”
Male, heavy build, short neck, jaw tattooed in a chain pattern.
Used a club or ship’s belaying pin. Personally beat an older man named Rowe Tann until Rowe stopped moving.
When challenged, he shouted:
“No courts out here. No flags. No gods.”
Female, baseline human, pale eyes. Wore a half-mask and a necklace of fingerbones (or carved replicas—couldn’t confirm).
She carried a thin blade and kept cutting lash-lines, dropping bridges to isolate groups of civilians.
She taunted people like it was sport.
Two identical-looking men (brothers, maybe). Both wore canvas gloves blackened with tar.
They handled the theft: resin barrels, dampener reeds, spare hull timber, rope bundles, and food stores.
Confirmed from direct witness and immediate aftermath:
Murder: 2 dead (Sella of Netbridge Row; Rowe Tann of the tarrier line)
Arson: 3 homes burned; 1 storage shed ruined
Theft: resin barrels, reeds, timber, rope, dried provisions, small coin stores
Abduction: 3 taken (names below)
Sexual violence (rape): survivors reported multiple assaults during the raid
Abducted (taken alive):
Toma Eelwright (age 19, apprentice rigger)
Neri Moss (age 22, reed-worker)
“Little Bran” (age 13, messenger boy)
I am listing these names so they remain real.
11 resin barrels (sealant-grade)
dampener reed bundles (unknown exact count—at least 30)
rope stock (one full netbridge spool)
2 dock ladders
1 pearl-dampening slab cracked in half (likely from impact or being dropped)
This was not random piracy. It was targeted:
They wanted resin and dampener reeds specifically.
They tried to reach the Axis II tether-pocket.
They moved like they expected a response and had practiced exits.
Captain Renk acted like he was sending a message, not just taking goods.
Before withdrawing, he said (I heard him with my own ears):
“Tell your tall Civilian the Orchard bleeds like any other village. Gold doesn’t stop screams.”
I am a civilian. I don’t want revenge for the pleasure of it. I want safety, and I want the sea to learn consequences.
I formally request:
Immediate escort of survivors to the Lemon-Geranimum Reach for care and privacy.
A protected search for the abducted—quiet, fast, and merciless.
A posted warning across Epsilon lanes and privateer listening posts:
The Cracked Crown Crew raids civilian protectorates and commits rape.
A review of our approach markers and a purge of anyone selling charts.
If this crew is allowed to walk away clean, others will copy them.
One scrap of black sailcloth with the broken crown mark (torn off a longboat gunwale cover)
A gold tooth (found near the tar racks—might not be the captain’s; could be a trophy)
A list of survivors willing to give statements (names sealed until protected)
I have worked the Orchard since it was floating timber and hope. We don’t fly flags because flags invite war. We built this place to keep families fed and ships repaired and children alive.
They came anyway.
If Harlet truly protects, then let the world learn what that word means—because the Cracked Crown Crew thinks civilians are just cargo.
Filed, signed, and sealed:
Mira Kestrel
Resin-Tarrier, Holdfast Orchard Works Crew