Tor'Vash'Por (3)

 Idris: ... Good evening welcome back to Tor'Vash'Por, I'm Idris Zhaan joining you now at the top of the hour. We begin with our top story tonight in the Penros system where Tau warships have engaged several pirate spacecraft above Penros VI. The action marks the first large scale space combat by Tau expeditionary forces in the system and represents a major escalation of the Penros conflict, our correspondent Farrier Seyburey has more now. 

(The cool white armoured prow of a Hero class starship sprawls across the bottom of view, arcing out towards an endless field of stars, with a massive rectangular gun barrel stretching into the cosmos even further)

Farrier (VO): The day the Tau coalition always knew would come... 

(The enormous gun fires in total noiselessness at some unseen target. As it does the stars in the distance ahead twist and swirl inwards towards the front of the ship, stretching out as the universe scrunches towards the gun muzzle. Almost immediately after the gun fires the starscape swims back to its normal state) 

Farrier (VO cont.): ... the Penros Coalition's first space combat. 

(Inside a vast cavernous rectangular launch bay, a Manta laden with enormous underwing missile pods sits poised for takeoff. Tiny figures scatter away from it to their flight deck stations before the machine lurches into life and tears off past the camera in a tremendous rush of speed) 

Farrier (VO Cont.): Tau fleet elements today undertaking routine anti-piracy operations in the vicinity of Penros VI came under attack from human warships under the command of Mont'au'Gue'la terrorist forces.. 

(Inside a vast cavernous rectangular launch bay, an SX-06 Barracuda with a bundle of missiles slung underneath races across the flight deck, roaring burning plumes of bright flame blasting from its engines, before rocketing off through the launch bay door and into deep space)

Farrier (VO Cont.): ..in what has become the first major space combat in the Penros System since the arrival of Tau expeditionary forces several weeks ago.. 

(The rear underside of a Manta sprawls across the top of view as we see a vast cavernous rectangular launch bay rapidly shoot back and downwards, followed by the vast launch bay entrance and enormous shape of an Explorer class starship falling into the distance as the Manta takes off and races away on its launch trajectory)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. The Tau flotilla, comprising of several escort ships and four capital starships including the expedition fleet's flagship, encountered six unidentified escort ships that refused to respond to hails and opened fire with torpedo strikes.. 

(Missile after missile after missile leaps upwards in a relentless stream of bright burning plumes of flame from a cluster of vertical launch cells on the massive flank of a Tau starship, which sprawls across the bottom of view and stretches into the distance)

Farrier (VO Cont.): ... The ships are believed to have been manned by Mont'au'Gue'la fighters belonging to one of the local terrorist groups active on Penros VII, but latest intelligence indicates a possible connection to the Word Bearers Gue'la terror group.. 

(Viewed in monochrome through a Tau weapon seeker, the distant shape of an Idolator class raider slowly begins to grow out from the centre of view, wiggling to and fro as the missile tracks to keep it in the centre of vision. A stream of flashes races forwards from the ship before sweeping up and over out of view. At once the Idolator rushes forward into the camera, zooming straight into a section of its hull before the image abruptly cuts)

Farrier (VO Cont.): ...While engaging the initial hostile ships the Tau formation came under attack from multiple capital warships of modified Imperial design, which materialised directly from warp space in support of the attacking Mont'au'Gue'la.. 

(Viewed in monochrome through a Tau gun camera, an Idolator class raider hangs in space, bright spheres of light radiating from its engines. A trio of small flashes zoom across the screen and straight into the middle of it. The ship is engulfed in a series of brilliant white flashes before snapping in half at the middle of the hull, a sea of glowing molten fragments spilling away from it in a fan pattern)

Farrier (VO Cont.): ..These ships made numerous small-scale etheric jumps over the course of the battle and Tau fleet analysts believe them to have been equipped with highly sophisticated warp drive and self-repair technology. Rumours that the warships were manned with or supplied by so-called etheric lifeforms remain unsubstantiated.. 

(A rugged stocky rocketship hangs in the middle of view as it hurtles through space at an oblique angle. Hideous dull red sigils are painted across its surface, and tiny lights can be seen from cabin windows aboard it. One by one, it slams into first one, then two then three passing cruise missiles, leaving a trail of debris pouring from gaping holes in its hull and cabins) 

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. The terrorist ships also made extensive use of manned suicide vehicles to intercept incoming Tau fire, succeeding in downing a large number of anti-ship missiles and tying up interceptor squadrons with an appalling loss of life. It is not yet known whether the suicide vehicles were carrying willing fighters, or civilian hostages forced into the line of death against their will..

(Viewed from above in monochrome through a Tau gun camera, an Idolater hangs in the void, silhouetted by spheres of light from its engines as it points away from view. A trio of small flashes zoom across the screen and into the port side of it. The ship is engulfed in a series of brilliant white flashes before spiraling out of control, breaking apart into a mess of debris and glowing molten fragments)

Farrier (VO Cont.): ..After a hard-fought engagement lasting eight decs, Tau fleet elements were forced to disengage and withdrew from the area in good order after inflicting considerable damage on the Mont'au'Gue'la terrorist forces.. 

(The huge form of a Merchant class starship hangs in the void, starlight occasionally curving around the perimeter of its gravitic shield. At once its forward gun turrets fire in a rippling pattern)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. Air Caste Command Penros has confirmed at least one Mont'au'Gue'la capital ship destroyed along with all of the initially detected escort ships in return for no Tau capital ship losses and only 5 escort ships reported downed.. 

(Viewed from above in monochrome through a Tau gun camera, the menacing form of a Chaos cruiser hangs in the cosmos. At once a series of brilliant white flashes ripple across its surface, tearing huge chunks from its hull in sprays of debris and molten fragments)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. The Tau admiralty strongly condemned the use of manned suicide vehicles and reckless disregard for life displayed by the Mont'au'Gue'la, while praising the discipline of its starship crews in timely use of emergency brace measures to avoid catastrophic losses, as well as the skill of its attack wing pilots in inflicting far greater damage on enemy shipping. 

(A Tau Air Caste pilot, holding his helmet in one hand by his waist, talks into a microphone held from just out of sight)

Tau Air Caste: Kor'Tau Y'eldi Ko'va[Our guys did really good out there today, really good. The Manta crews did a really great job on their bombing runs and landed some really good hits on the opposing starships. We inflicted crippling damage on a lot of them, but they had some really unusual capabilities that let them make lots of little warp-space jumps around us while repairing their hulls, so we only managed to destroy one of their capital ships for good. Still, I'm really pleased with how my guys performed out there today] 

(Farrier stands in a crisp white corridor of a Tau starship, star-strewn space visible in a large rectangular viewport behind him) 

Farrier: The Tau coalition leadership is putting a lot of focus on the discipline and coordination of their starship crews, going on well-timed emergency brace orders to avoid the worst damage while inflicting heavy losses on the Mont'au'Gue'la ships in return, but the fact remains that the Tau fleet was ultimately forced to retreat, and that's a cause for serious concern behind closed doors. Initial reports seem to indicate that the Tau flotilla was caught unprepared - they had adopted a wide search pattern to patrol for minor pirate threats, and that left their two main formations out of position to support each other and vulnerable to the Mont'au Gue'la ships concentrating on them piecemeal, with the Tau admiral giving the order to withdraw after the flotilla was in danger of being defeated in detail. In any case the outcome of this battle remains indecisive, on the one hand the Tau did manage to inflict greater damage than they received, but they also failed to contain the Mont'au'Gue'la incursion, and it is believed three highly dangerous cruiser-class warships remain at large in terrorist hands. 

(The frontal prow of an Emissary class starship sweeps across the bottom of view, a tiny point of light maintaining precise echelon formation ahead of it in the starry distance)

Farrier (VO): The remaining Mont'au'Gue'la warships are believed to have left the vicinity of Penros VI shortly after the engagement, and additional Tau ships arrived not long after to carry out search and rescue operations.. 

(The forward underside of a Manta sprawls across the top of view, the top of a Tau escape pod just visible at the bottom of view as the distant shape of an Emissary class starship draws closer)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. with sources from Air Caste Command Penros claiming the bulk of downed crew and pilots were successfully recovered.. 

(The massive form of a Messenger class starship powers across space, light pouring from its engines)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. Meanwhile remaining Tau Kor'vattra forces in the system have been placed on full alert.. 

(Nestled in a workstation, a Tau Air Caste diligently watches over the readout on the display screen of a sensor console)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. and extensive search operations are currently underway to hunt down the elusive Mont'au'Gue'la starships and neutralise them quickly before they can cause more harm.. 

(The huge form of a Merchant class starship powers forward through space, framed in a halo of light from its engines)

Farrier (VO Cont.): .. while additional Tau warships are being mobilised for the Penros system.. 

(Tau Earth Caste and drones scurry back and forth along a ruined starship corridor, replacing cables and welding panels and components back into place)

Farrier (VO Cont.): In the meantime, the race is on to get these wounded starships fully repaired, and back in the fight. From Penros System this is Farrier Seyburey, Tor'Vash'Por.

Idris: And joining us now to shed more light on the story we have Kor'El'Tau'n Shovah'Y'eldi'B'kyse, former Tau fleet commander and current instructor for the Leonov Naval Academy, on live feed, Kor'El just how concerned should we be about the Penros Expedition given this defeat in their first major space combat? 

Shovah: ..... Well Idris the first thing you need to understand here is that the coalition's situation in space is very different to what's happening on the ground at the moment. As we're all aware the expeditionary ground forces landed have been on the.. on the... the back foot, almost since the first Rotaa in system, but the expeditionary force's position in space has been formidable for the same time- 

Idris: Righ- 

Shovah (Cont.): -which is after all why the Gue'la fleet, why they abandoned the system almost immediately- 

Idris: Hang on hang on- 

Shovah (Cont.): after landing the Gue'la Imperial invasion force on Penros VII, after a few shows of force it was very apparent that they would have no hope of challenging the Kor'vattra forces deployed- 

Idris: OK but it's all well and good to say that the coalition fleet is this massive juggernaut of force, yet as we've clearly seen they've had their first real combat action in the system, and it ended in a failure for them. I mean they've already acknowledged losing five escort starships and being forced to retreat, so how capable can the Tau fleet in the Penros system really be? 

Shovah: Yes it's true they have suffered a setback here, but this is also only one relatively small operation in a wider campaign here, and I would say fixating on the outcome of this one specific engagement is going to be missing the... to be missing the... missing the... the trees... missing the trees for the forest... the forest for the trees rather. 

Idris: So you're saying there's a bigger picture here that we're missing? 

Shovah: Right, exactly, you need to account for the strategic situation and the strategic situation for the Penros coalition fleet right now is still very strong, yes they have taken losses but as bad as those losses might have been they are survivable. The capital ships that were damaged can be repaired, while the destroyed Mont'au'Gue'la starship cannot, and in the meantime the coalition fleet still heavily outnumbers these raiders and is still maintaining control over the Penros system. 

Idris: But what about the advanced technical characteristics displayed by these Mont'au'Gue'la warships, I mean they can clearly outmanouevre the Tau ships in battle, so what's to stop them from just doing that again and again? 

Shovah: Well nothing really, but as we've seen from this very engagement they're also not invincible, and our ships can catch and destroy them. And that goes back to my point, if the coalition fleet can continue to just catch and destroy even one of those starships every time they're encountered, that's a rate of loss that's unsustainable for these Mont'au'Gue'la, whereas with the logistics base behind the Penros Coalition we can sustain a few starships crippled here or a few escort ships lost there. 

Idris: So would you say then that you don't think there's any danger here for the Penros mission? 

Shovah: I wouldn't say that exactly, no. 

Idris: Alright so what would you say is the greatest concern facing the Penros Coalition fleet at the moment then? 

Shovah: Right now I would say that the biggest threat for the Kor'vattra in Penros is the strategic precedent. Up until now the fleet has been acting almost as a fleet-in-being, where you have this situation where the Kor'vattra is.. where it's almost that the THREAT of the fleet is more potent than it's combat power, like for instance where the threat of interdiction was enough to drive off the Imperial Gue'la invasion fleet from the system, and the Kor'vattra retreating from this engagement, it... it undermines that. 

Idris: So hang on, just before you were saying how strong the coalition's position in space was, and now you're saying this battle has weakened it? Which one is it here? 

Shovah: I would say the coalition's position in space is still strong, but now it's fragile. Up until now it's been able to command unchallenged control over Penros System space, and now that control has been challenged, and that sets a precedent for other forces to start making bolder actions, there's now concerns among the Kor'ar'tol for instance that the local Ores'la might start taking bolder actions against coalition space assets, and that Imperial Gue'la naval forces might return to the system in greater strength, and while all of these various powers don't necessarily pose a threat individually, if they all start attacking at the same time it could quickly see the Kor'vattra in the system overwhelmed. 

Idris: Alright so how would you suggest that the coalition might be able to rectify that issue? 

Shovah: Well the Kor'ar'tol is reinforcing the system and I think that's already a good move to make sure that we retain at least local space superiority over some of these potential adversaries, and especially that we outnumber them in ships and tonnage, and the local coalition command taking the initiative in tracking down these Mont'au'Gue'la warships is also a good move since they need to be neutralised quickly while the coalition fleet still has that advantage in numbers and logistics over them and has the luxury of focusing down on one threat at a time, so they're off to a good start already. Beyond that I think it's mostly going to be a matter of choosing their battles wherever possible, and trying to gain more leverage on the ground so that the Penros Coalition has more options for power projection beyond aerospace control. 

Idris: Right, now unfortunately we are just about to run out of time but one final thing I do want to ask you about Kor'El is what do you make of the suicide vehicles we've seen used by these terrorists here?

Shovah: I am sickened to my core, I cannot find any other.. any other words for it. It's already fairly well known that these Mont'au'Gue'la terrorists they don't normally have any regard for the sanctity of life, but deliberately putting hundreds if not thousands - and that's something we have to remember there, these vehicles, they're modified boarding torpedoes that they accommodate hundreds if not thousands on board - but deliberately putting all those hundreds if not thousands directly in the way of.. 

Idris: Kor'El-

Shovah (Cont.): .. ah, not one but many many incoming fusion missiles, this is just a total atrocity no matter how you put it, and I'm just ah... I'm just... ahhh... it's barely... it just doesn't comprehend just how a sentient spacefaring people.. 

Idris: Kor-

.. could not... not just take the option of that but, you know, willingly and gladly go along for it.. 

Idris: Kor'El I'm sorry-

Shovah (Cont.): .. as if purposefully killing that many people achieves any good purpose.. It's just horrifying, it's something out of our Mont'au. 

Idris: Alright Kor'El'Tau'n Shovah'Y'eldi'B'kyse I'm afraid I am going to have to leave it there as we are running out of time but thank you for joining us we are very grateful to have your expertise on the matter. 

Shovah: Thank you Idris.  

Idris: Meanwhile now Tau authorities are growing increasingly alarmed at escalating tensions in the Ferndel sub-sector. Imperial Gue'la forces have managed to repel an attack by Mont'au'Gue'la terrorists on the fourth moon of Sturges Maxima. The fighting has caused significant damage to the civilian settlements on the moon and represents a serious escalation in the region, correspondent Zara Abdi has more for us now. 

(We see a sweeping vista of lush rugged woodland. Thick black plumes of smoke rise from numerous points along the treeline. Automatic gunfire echoes across the landscape.) 

Zara (VO): Fierce fighting broke out today on Sturges Maxima's fourth moon, as Mont'au'Gue'la terrorists launched an attack on the ancient city of Ostroglamesh, a renowned cultural heritage site in the system.. 

(Explosions echo along a rugged tree-covered mountain valley) 

Zara (VO, Cont.): .. The armed group is believed to have been roughly Cadre sized and comprised of heavily armed Ores'la'Gue'la fighters, thought to former Imperial Astartes shock troops with links to the notorious Night Lords terror group.. 

(A sprawling woodland rushes past the view from the roof of a speeding ground-car, beneath a brilliant sunset. The gas giant of Sturges Maxima fills the upper sky. The sky is smudged with thick black funnels of smoke pouring up from beyond the tree line) 

Zara (VO Cont.): ..Sources indicate these fighters were equipped with a range of advanced Imperial weaponry including a number of heavy powered combat armour suits.. 

(In the dark of night, the black hulking shapes of Rhino APCs can be seen rolling through the deserted main street of an Imperial town)

Zara (VO Cont.): The armed group occupied the Ostroglamesh ruins at dawn, where they were met with a reinforced cadre-strength force of Imperial Astartes shock troops belonging to the elite Dark Angels Brigades of the Gue'la Imperial Army, supported by heavy combat walker.. 

(In a shaky view of pre-dawn darkness the silhouette of a Land Speeder can be made out, speeding across the countryside at the head of a plume of bright purple-blue flame)

Zara (VO Cont.) .. and light skimmer assets.. 

(In the midday sun a vast towering gothic palace of marble and alabaster adorned with Imperial iconography dominates the skyline of a small stone cityscape)

 

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Gue'la Imperial authorities are reporting that the Dark Angels Brigade force managed to decisively rout the Mont'au'Gue'la terrorists after a brutal nine hour battle.. 

(We see an entrance to the palace up close, filling the background with its ominous might. Tiny figures move up and down two vast sets of stone steps flanked by two colossal statues of grey stone, a roaring lion on the left and a tall proud-looking woman, clad in flowing robes and an archaic helmet holding a spear and shield, on the right)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. but sources indicate the Dark Angels shock troops suffered heavy losses in the fighting, with estimates claiming as high as a fifty percent casualty rate..  

(We see a still image of a large complex of white stone ruins nestled amongst lush green woodland threaded with roads and pathways, viewed from above. Craters, scorched ground and other signs of battle are everywhere. The view zooms in on a section of ground, focusing on the wrecked form of an archaic Imperial Dreadnought adorned with winged sword iconography. One leg has been blasted clean in half, and a series of jagged gaping holes have been punched across its rear engine block. 

Zara (VO Cont.): ..and the confirmed loss of at least one heavy combat walker, showing signs of catastrophic damage from heavy laser and automatic cannon impacts.. 

(Viewed from behind the windshield of a moving ground-car, a group of figures clad in black body armour, their faces concealed, patrol a distant checkpoint, slowly getting closer as the ground-car moves along a stretch of road through deep green forests. At once the ground-car stops at the sound of a series of crackling pops, the windshield cracks from an impact and the ground-car frantically turns around and drives back from whence it came)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Imperial officials have denied claims that so-called etheric lifeforms were present in the fighting and that they managed to overrun the ruined temple at the heart of the Ostroglamesh site. They have also refused to comment on speculation that the Ostroglamesh site has some form of undisclosed etheric resonance, although the ruins remain under strict quarantine by Imperial secret police elements..

(An Imperial settlement burns in the night, fire blazing from much of its buildings. The night sky is painted in a bloody red-orange glow)

 

Zara (VO Cont.): .. The aftermath of the battle has seen no end to the fighting, with remaining Mont'au'Gue'la terror cells launching a series of brutal reprisal attacks on outlying civilian settlements. Well over a dozen towns and villiages have been razed to the ground, and there are unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons being deployed against more still. 

(Zara walks along the street of a small village of Imperial buildings)

Zara: The threat of widespread use of weapons of mass destruction by the terrorist forces in the Sturges system is a very real threat for civilians on the ground - analysts in the Tau intelligence community believe there is credible evidence that the particular armed group active here is armed with a considerable stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, and it is thought that they would have no hesitation of deploying them against civilian targets to undermine resistance against them. These are ordinary human citizens now fearful for their lives, yet the Gue'la Imperial authorities have yet to make any public acknowledgement of the danger facing them, much less take any action at all to ensure their safety. 

(Plumes of thick black smoke rise from a ruined Imperial settlement)

Zara (VO): Instead Gue'la Imperial forces have launched a widespread and repressive crackdown on the civilian populace. Locals from around the Ostroglamesh region have reported Imperial Astartes shock troops sweeping through their towns and villiages and burning their homes to the ground.. 

(A stampede of humans clad in Imperial peasant attire flee in terror down a street from the sound of automatic gunfire a few blocks away)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Many have been killed by Imperial Astartes death squads, while many more have been abducted by Dark Angels Brigade fighters, never to be seen again.. 

(A long column of humans in ragged Imperial clothing trudge down a road through the countryside, clearly unkempt and weary. Some of them pull crude handcarts behind them loaded with goods, others simply hold a few boxes or cartons in their arms)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Streams of refugees are now a common sight among the countriside of the Ostroglamesh region, desperate for respite. 

(A hardy-looking human civilian aged in his mid 30s talks into a microphone held from just out of sight)

Local Civilian: They came to our town at night, they burned everything. They shot my brother and my nephew in the street, there was nothing left but bloody shreds of flesh. I do not understand what we have done wrong? 

(A distraught human villager in her mid 20s talks into a microphone held from just out of sight)

Local Villager: My children! My children! Why did they kill them, they were innocent! 

(A gnarled sun-kissed human elder in his mid-to-late 60s talks into a microphone held from just out of sight)

Local Elder: Every day we pray to the Emperor for Him to keep us safe! He sends us His angels, we are told his angels are beings of mercy for man, yet they come and destroy everything! They came for my wife, she disappeared! The Emperor's angels, the traitors, they are all the same! All the same! 

(Skimmer traffic moves back and forth past a large dome adorned with the Tau Empire insignia, nestled in the middle of a compound of gleaming futuristic structures)

Zara (VO): The Tau embassy mission in the Ferndel sub-sector has expressed strong alarm at the deteriorating situation, and Tau authorities are urging both sides to show restraint and avoid civilian casualties at all costs.. 

(Streams of skimmer traffic move past a massive dome adorned with the Tau Empire insignia, nestled in the middle of a dense bustling Tau city)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Despite increased calls for Tau peacekeepers in the region, Tau leadership remains hesitant to commit a larger military presence in the Ferndel sub-sector, and high-ranking Sept Councils are believed to be in heated debate over the subject.. 

(Masses of supplies, including large piles of full grain sacks, stacks of water and fuel tanks, and towering piles of cargo crates, are loaded into the open rear hatch of a large Tau cargo lander at a busy Tau starport)

Zara (VO Cont.): .. Tau officials have announced that plentiful humanitarian aid support is available for dispatch to the sub-sector at immediate notice should the local government request it.. 

(Imperial civilians are seen hard at work building up and reinforcing the buildings in their settlement. Some have had sandbags piled around them while others have their windows boarded shut)

 

Zara (VO Cont.): .. In the meantime the people of the Sturges System can only prepare for the worst, and wonder if the bloodshed will reach them next. From the fourth moon of Sturges Maxima I'm Zara Abdi, Tor'Vas'Por. 

Idris: And to talk more about this story correspondent Lindsay Black has prepared this for us, from the Tau Sept world of Dal'yth Prime. 

(Lindsay stands in front of a vast bustling Tau cityscape of gleaming white and grey. Orderly streams of skimmer traffic can be seen moving back and forth in the distance behind her) 

Lindsay: We've been told that local Sept Council leaders here are still going back and forth between both their counterparts in T'au and numerous allied governments including the Gue'vessa Federation, and it's believed that the Dal'yth Sept will be receiving delegations from T'au, Pech and the Gue'vessa Federation amongst numerous other alien representation to discuss possible action plans for the Ferndel situation. Now Tau leadership appears to still be very hesitant about direct military commitment to the Ferndel subsector, not least due to unstable situations in several other regions much closer to Tau space including the Penros sub-sector, and consensus seems to be that these other crises would need to at least be stabilised first given that any large scale mission to the Ferndel sub-sector would need to pass through a number of those other threatened regions of space first. 

The other factor at work here of course is that so far none of the local authorities in the Ferndel subsector have made any formal requests for Tau assistance, unlike in the Penros region where there was a very emphatic call for help, and Tau leaders seem to feel that as much as they would like to help their hands are tied as they don't want to directly violate galactic law unless they have no choice, which would require louder voices than the fairly low-level ones coming from the citizens on the ground. 

It's a very complex cosmopolitical situation, but the offices of the Tau Ethereal Caste have announced that they are greatly saddened at the pain of the civilians affected by this conflict, that their suffering is irreconcilable to the Tau'va, that's of course the greater good, and that they desperately hope to be able to do something more to help as soon as possible. 

Idris: Moving onto other news now and preparations are underway on Iris to host the upcoming All-Federation Leadership Summit. Delegations are underway from across the Gue'vessa Federation and are expected to discuss coordination in social welfare, interstellar trade and collective foreign policy plans, with top issues expected to be...

Flying stands

God I HATE flying stands.

Well ok maybe that's a bit too much of a generalisation. I only really hate having to deal with them for Battlefleet Gothic.

Anyway, I finished my second Emissary class starship, the Charlotte Wessels.

 Fun fact, I actually did ALL of the highlighting in one go, over the course of an entire night... and eventually staying up until 4:00 in the morning as a result (though, in my defence, that was largely due discovering a very long youtube series and attempting to watch it all in one fell swoop. I highlighted the model while waiting for the videos to load). I can be kind of hardcore like that sometimes.

This is, however old news. I would have posted about it much, much sooner, but as you might be able to guess from my introduction, I was waylaid by having to deal with the arch-nemesis of Battlefleet Gothic enthusiasts everywhere - flying stands. While cleaning the base of my non-flagship Merchant, the 'Kakapo Kross' (a conversion I invented consisting of four long metal pieces glued to the top of the flying stand's stem to stabilise the model on it) broke off, and I decided to use this opportunity to use a new technique I had learnt to stabilise the ship, cutting off the upper tip of the stem of the flying stand. The holes of a lot of Battlefleet Gothic capital ships (or at least the Tau ones) are too big for a normal unaltered flying stand to fit in, but cutting off the stand's upper tip and using the (much thicker) stem itself provides a much tighter fit. This works well enough for the Kor'O'vesh style ships, but ended up leading to the opposite problem on the Merchant - now it's hole was too small for the flying stem to fit at all. The solution I came up with was to simply shave the top of the stem down until it was the right size, but on my first attempt I ended up removing too much of the stem. You see, the Merchant class starship is a very back-heavy model - the Emissary class starships are too for that matter, but being made of resin they're light enough that it's not really much of a problem (a little bit of liquid green-stuff to the top of the stem is all it takes to solve it). The Merchant, however, is solid metal, and thus much heavier, so while it now fit on the reduced flying stand, it unerringly leaned upwards on it. After a long and frustrating series of see-sawing amounts of green-stuff, both solid and liquid, to try and rectify this, I eventually gave up and started over on a new flying stand, this time being lucky enough to only whittle off just the right amount to keep the ship level. So here she is, the first Merchant class starship I got (well technically second, the first one was badly miscast and this was the replacement), the Tantive IV. And just in time for the newly-released Star Wars trailer (and it's ridiculous new lightsaber), no less!

Kor'vattra Fleet K-42 

T'au'Il'fannor'V'ral'Myr'J'Kar'tyr 

Ship Name: T'au'Il'fannor'Vral'Myr'J'Kar'tyr

Gue'la Imperial Designation: Tantive IV

Class: Il'fannor (Merchant)

Configuration: Kel'shan standard

Mission Role: General-purpose Utility, Tactical engagement, Transport, Command and Control, Communications, Diplomatic Emissary, Blockade Runner

Serial Designation Code: T1316K47847O16

Sept of Origin: T'au

Notable Deployments:

- Smuggling of Hermia and Lysander Goshawk, along with their household attendants, following their defection to the Tau Empire

- Transport of clandestine weapons shipments to pro-Tau'va rebels in the Helveitios Cluster.

- Raid on Imperial port Sierra Aleph. 1 confirmed kill on enemy shipping, 3 unconfirmed, all mission objectives completed.

- Retrieval of design blueprints and technical specifications for Imperial Ramilies class starforts and research data on 'Blackstone' fortresses from Adeptus Mechanicus world Imperator Palatine

- Raid on Imperial convoy in the Locken sector. 2 confirmed kills on enemy shipping, 4 confirmed kills on cargo transports.

- Guidammerg relief operation (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Relief of Guidammerg)

- Ufa'Li'Sun'yi incident (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Ufa'Li'Sun'yi disaster, Ufa'Li'Sun'yi reconstruction program)

- Escort of convoy V-03 (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, V-03 incident, Y'he, Y'he Vanguard Swarm, Y'he activity, Zone of Silence, Eldar, Eldar pirate activity)

- Fleet action in Thespa system. 3 confirmed kills on enemy shipping, 9 unconfrimed (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Battle of Thespa, Thespa system, Grand Thespian Armada, Mont'au Gue'la, Mont'au Gue'la activity, Marc Baeth, Eldar, Eldar pirate activity)

- Re-enforcement of Fio'da (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Necron, Necron activity, Tomb World)

- First ATT Station incursion (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Shas'O'T'au Kais'ka'Eoro Da'Anuk, 42nd T'au Guards Cadre/Hunter Cadre Kais'Da'Anuk, ATT, Mont'au Gue'la, Mont'au entity, Etheric anomaly, Tzchael, Change incident, Embrace Change)

- Edge Expedition

- Defence of Tan'is. 1 confirmed kill on enemy shipping, 3 unconfirmed (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Gue'la, Gue'la fleet activity, Gue'la fleet actions, Destruction of Tan'is)

- Fleet action around Celestial Moon. 1 confirmed kill on enemy shipping, 4 unconfirmed (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Gue'la, Gue'la fleet activity, Gue'la Fleet actions, Battle of Celestial Moon, V-47)

- Second ATT Station incursion (Cross-reference: Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh, K-42, Shas'O'T'au Kais'ka'Eoro Da'Anuk, 42nd T'au Guards Cadre/Hunter Cadre Kais'Da'Anuk, ATT, Gue'la, Gue'la terror activity, Gue'la Inquisition, Jotunheim, Jotunheim raid, Vanaheimr, Taleghan, The Emperor Calls Turn Not Away Lest Ye Be Judged)

First Commander: Kor'el'T'au'Vral'Myr

Current Commander: Kor'el'T'au'J'Kar'tyr

Crew: 6,000 Kor, 3,000 Fio, 200 Por, 6 Shipboard Security Cadres, numerous assorted Kor'vessa

Powerplant: Hybrid Fusion/Nova system (4 Fusion reactors, 2 Nova reactors)

Propulsion: Standard Fusion Drive/Gravitic Field hybrid system

Defences: Class 2 multi-tier close-in point defence grid, including 4 mass drivers. Class 1 gravitic shield

Armament: Three light railcannon batteries (Total armament composition: 18 heavy railcannons in 6 2-railcannon turrets, 2 single railcannon turrets and 2 2-railcannon casemates in prow)

Docking Capacity: 2 Gravitic Hooks

Compliment: 2 Kass'l (Orca) class gunships

Status: Deployed to Warzone following extensive repairs

Overview: 

"Gue'la warship Athena this is the T'au'I'lfannor'Vral'Myr. We are a civilian merchant freighter transporting a standard shipment of ores, there is no cause for alarm. We have full authorisation from your authorities to be flying this trade route, and are currently departing Imperial space and entering an officially sanctioned non-militarised neutral zone as established by accords between our two peoples. We pose no threat to you. I respectfully request that you call off your pursuit, there is no need to board this ship for inspection. I repeat, there is no need to come aboard.

[closes communications channel]

Right, navigation prepare to plot an Etheric dive, try and get us closer to Tau space, but put us on a tangent vector, don't make it a linear transit, and make sure it's hard to track. Propulsion, get ready to divert all power into the Ether-drive, black-out the lights if you have to. Make it subtle though, don't tip off their sensors. Helm, prepare for Etheric translation on my mark. Fire control, prepare to target the cruiser, don't lock on or bring any turrets to bare, just plot some firing solutions, charge capacitors, and load the railcannons. Again, make sure they don't notice. Por'vre, if they come aboard stall them for as long as you can, and keep them away from the cargo hold at all costs. All Shipboard Security Cadres to standby positions, things could get violent. All hands prepare to jettison the cargo if needbe, if they find out what we're really carrying none of us will ever see the Empire again!"

- Kor'el'T'au'Vral'Myr, upon being hailed by the Imperial cruiser Athena 

First commanded by the Air Caste captain Kor'el'T'au'Vral'Myr, legendary for his cunning, deviousness and ability to complete even the most daring of missions, the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr, or Tantive IV as it is commonly identified as, has an infamous reputation amongst Imperial authorities on the Eastern Fringe for being a notorious blockade runner. Since it was first launched from the T'au shipyards the vessel has been a constant thorn in the side of the Imperium, regularly slipping into human controlled space and performing all manner of clandestine missions, including secret trade exchanges, smuggling operations, extraction of key defectors from hostile areas, discrete long-range observation, transmission of propaganda, transporting stolen technology or information and even raids and strikes on military targets, all before quietly making it's way back to the Tau Empire. Over the span of it's service history the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr and the crews serving aboard it have been accused of over 100 instances of illicit activity by Imperial authorities and suspected of numerous more (although little conclusive evidence has ever been found and thus most remain baseless), and on 35 occasions the ship has been pursued by Imperial Navy warships, but has managed to escape capture or destruction every time, albeit with varying amounts of damage.

The innocuous nature of the Il'fannor class starship often works to the advantage of the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr in it's escapades. The ship class tends to be remembered more as a cargo freighter than a warship, especially with the introduction of the Kor'O'vesh series of vessels and the widespread phasing out of Kor'vattra ships from active combat duty, and so inexperienced commanders are likely to believe that the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr genuinely is on a mundane civilian voyage, and can even cause those who are old hands to the Eastern Fringe to have a moment of hesitation that can mean the difference between escape and failure. Even if the ship is fully identified, the reputation Il'fannor class starships have for being under-gunned can make pursuers underestimate the weaponry the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr carries, although Imperial captains and admirals are quick to learn that it is the clever tricks and ploys that the ship's crew invariably proves to be adept at that are a greater strength of the vessel than it's firepower. The ubiquitousness of the Il'fannor in civilian merchant fleets also allows the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr to blend in seamlessly with nearby convoys or docked station traffic if it manages to give pursuers the slip, and the vessel carries a wide selection of alternate ident codes and identification signals to aid in such instances.

At the same time, the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr also possesses an impressive array of internal alterations. While it is by no means uncommon for Il'fannors to obtain a number of subtle alterations to their internal structure, this is especially pronounced in the case of the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr, and the ship's interior is thoroughly riddled with a mind-boggling number of hidden weapon and supply caches, concealed causeways, conduits and other passages, camouflaged entryways, secret compartments, covert observation systems and other such clandestine features. Many of them date back to the early Tau'cyr of the ship's service under Vral'Myr, but every subsequent commander has added their own set of secrets over their tenure. These alterations never cease to prove useful in the sort of missions the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr is often sent on, whether by giving the Shipboard Security Cadres on board a decisive edge in boarding actions or, much more commonly, allowing cargo or passengers to be hidden during inspections - after all, there is no need to risk the ship in a costly struggle if the enemy never finds out about it's true mission in the first place. Many of these features are further hidden through the use of various countermeasures and sensor-baffling materials, some of Tau manufacture and others obtained from alien sources.

The frequent incursions undertaken by the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr ensure that it's crew inevitably come to possess a wealth of knowledge regarding Imperial space around the Tau Empire, as well as an abundance of insight into Imperial fleet tactics and the capabilities of Imperial warships. This has made the ship an invaluable asset in the ongoing conflict with the Imperium, where such knowledge has proven decisive in several fleet engagements, but is even more useful outside of open battle. The crew's experience with the Gue'la has lead Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh to place the ship at the head of K-42's recently expanded raiding operations against the Imperial offensive, ranging deep into Imperial-held territory to strike at vulnerable supply convoys, fleet bases and other critical infrastructure. These actions have had an extraordinary impact, rendering many Imperial battlegroups unfit for combat or incapable of action due to a lack of supplies or maintenance and delayed or even halted repair efforts on a number of crippled ships and salvaged hulks, and has taken a considerable amount of pressure off the hard pressed Kor'vattra fleet in the face of the seemingly inexhaustible numbers of the Imperial Navy.

But the successes of the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr have not come without cost. The ship has recently been out of action for a considerable amount of time after it was nearly completely destroyed during an engagement with an Imperial fleet. Long range gunfire from Imperial capital ships inflicted immense damage on the vessel, which only barely managed to limp home, with little more than it's basic drives and navigation functional and the overwhelming majority of it's crew killed or injured. Such an instance illustrates a new shift in the tactical doctrine being employed by the Imperial fleets arrayed against K-42, with an increasing emphasis being placed on long-range gunnery after suffering heavy losses to the superior ordinance capabilities of the Tau. It remains to be seen how this will be effectively countered.

Nonetheless, the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr is once again fully operational, including an upgraded navigation system and grav-stabilisers, and the ship's crew has been re-enforced, the new additions being watched over by the hardened core of veteran survivors. With a combination of luck, cunning and skill, the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr should continue to confound the Imperium for some time yet. 

Crew Profiles: Key personnel 

Captain: Kor'el'T'au'J'Kar'tyr 

Throughout its history the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr has been commanded by captains with a reputation for being sly, and this tradition is more than maintained with the ship's latest captain, Kor'el'T'au'J'Kar'tyr. A quiet and reserved individual by nature, she has nonetheless proven to be an extremely intelligent and capable captain, having commanded the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr on a long string of successful sorties into Imperial space, and is widely regarded to be the most brilliant commander the ship has had since it was first commanded by Kor'el'T'au'Vral'Myr himself. Interestingly, it has been noted that while Vral'Myr's skill and cunning was always centred primarily around clever manoeuvres and devious ploys with the vessel itself, J'Kar'tyr's greatest ability is argued by many to instead be her talent for exploiting trade and diplomatic agreements, and any loopholes they may contain, as well as astute negotiations and diplomatic posturing - in these areas J'Kar'tyr's skill rivals that of many Por'ui and even some Por'vre. She is still fully able to make shrewd use of the ship under her command, as evidenced by both managing to slip the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr past nearly the entirety of Battlegroup Ventrue following an incursion into the Venetaris sub-sector, and her masterminding of the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr's brilliant escape from the Imperial capital ship Decimator above the desert world Tathicon IV.

While usually non-confrontational, and indeed somewhat elusive, Kor'el'T'au'J'Kar'tyr has been known at times to display a very different temprament. There have been a number of instances where the Kor'el has shown herself to be highly stubborn and opinionated, especially when confronted with moral dilemmas where she believes the appropriate course of action is not being taken. This has lead to conflicts between her and commanding officers in the past, and it is widely believed that this is one of the primary reasons that she was assigned a more prestigious posting on a Kor'O'vesh vessel despite her proven abilities. Nonetheless, command of the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr has proven to be the ideal role for her, and the more idealistic nature and pronounced moral compass of Kor'O'T'au Kais'Y'eldi'Aloh means that such instances of conflict are kept to a minimum (indeed reported incidents of critical dispute under Kais's command are lower than with any other admiral that she has served under), although this is helped considerably by the somewhat greater degree of autonomy J'Kar'tyr is often given being commander of a vessel traditionally employed as a blockade runner. As the missions she is usually assigned are often dangerous and frequently require her ship to operate deep in hostile territory away from any support besides the two Orca class gunships that the T’au’Il’fannor’Vral’Myr’J’Kar’tyr can transport, Kor'el'T'au'J'Kar'tyr has also come to be considerably more proficient at direct combat than many other Kor, frequently wielding a pulse carbine rather than the usual pulse pistol when required to use a personal weapon, and is by all accounts an excellent shot with it. Perhaps the most notable demonstration of this was when she engaged in a firefight with a boarding party of elite Tempestus Scions when they managed to uncover her location during a boarding action. While only inflicting a single casualty, J'Kar'tyr was able to keep the Imperial troops tied up long enough for a Shipboard Security Firewarrior team to properly eliminate them. 

Right then, now to paint up that Custodian I have. It is a magnificent model indeed, and painting it will easily be one of the greatest hobby challenges I have yet faced. Here goes...

Return to Battlefleet Gothic

So I'm taking a break from my Wood Elves at the moment and getting back to my big tabletop gaming love - Battlefleet Gothic. Last year for Christmas I showed off the first one of the Kor'O'vesh series of Tau ships I have that I painted, a Warden class gunship. The other day I finished painting up the other three of them. Now they stand complete as Cristina Squadron.

And here's also some pictures of my Messenger class starships, with a side order of background. Like the rest of the Kor'vattra series of Tau ships I have, I painted these ones a while ago, but have only just recently gotten around to photographing them.

Skether'qan class starship 

The smallest starship in Tau space capable of independent faster than light travel (though considerably larger than the Kass'l), the Skether'qan or Messenger class starship is rarely seen by observers and spacecraft enthusiasts, or indeed much of the Tau Empire's population not directly related to the operation of one. They are mostly found in deep space in the depths of the Empire between Septs, where they regulate and monitor data remotely and keep watch over shipping routes, and commonly act as a 'mobile waystation' relaying communications between Sept worlds. The class was originally designed to patrol the space around Sept worlds, guiding shipping or intercepting smugglers, and so while perhaps no longer common within its intended habitat, the Skether'qan does nonetheless excel at such roles commonly assigned to it.

Possessing only standard armoured hull plating and shielding for its size, the Skether'qan is not particularly intimidating by itself militarily. Its trio of light railcannons, which when combined are roughly equal in power to the deck guns of an Imperial Cobra class destroyer, are paltry for the primary armament of even an escort sized vessel, though the Skether'qan does possess a formidable close in point defence armament for a ship of its size. The Skether'qan, however, is not intended for direct ship-to-ship combat. The vessel's real strengths lie in its electronics and phenomenal speed. Much of the Skether'qan's mass is given over to the vessel's large and extremely powerful engines and gravitic drive, which makes the Skether'qan the fastest starship operated by the Tau - only Barracuda space superiority fighters can match a Skether'qan's top speed. The ship's gravitic drive, a development on the older model used in the Kir'qath, allows the vessel to travel immense distances for much longer periods of time without needing to recharge, giving the Skether'qan excellent operating range. The Skether'qan is also the only Tau vessel to possess advanced tracking systems, an extensive suite of sophisticated and state-of-the-art sensors, tracking equipment, communications centres, supercomputers and data storage and processing facilities normally only seen on orbital stations. These tracking systems are extremely valuable in fleet engagements, where they can be used to route this data to nearby Tau ships in the form of a direct data feed to the ships' turrets and weapon systems, making both their long-range railcannon fire and their close-in defence systems unerringly accurate, much to the shock of many Imperial admirals and captains facing Tau fleets with Skether'qan support. These tracking systems, placed on the highly mobile platform of the Skether'qan, also afford a Kor'O an immense wealth of situational awareness information, and a combination of the Skether'qan's speed, tracking systems, sensor suites and extended supply stores make it an excellent scout, with Skether'qans acting as the eyes and ears of the Kor'vattra in military actions. Indeed, it was a small flotilla of Skther'qans that first identified and then tracked and shadowed the Imperial response force to Nimbosa during the Tau annexation of that world, relaying the Gue'la fleet's progress to the Tau leadership, information that proved invaluable during the initial negotiations with the Imperium. The Skether'qan is also fast enough to intercept small fast shipping, and has enough firepower to at least threaten small light craft such as merchant transports, allowing the vessel to be used, in a pinch, as a commerce raider. A number of Skether'qans were used in this way to inflict significant losses on supply convoys during an Imperial incursion into the abandoned artefact world of Arthas Moloch.

There is, finally another, perhaps more sinister use for the Skether'qan class. Skether'qans are frequently used by the Tau Empire for covert insertion missions into hostile territory. While most of the Skether'qan's internal space is taken up by its engines and gravitic drive, tracking systems and the other necessities of a starship such as a bridge, stores for supplies and tools and living quarters for the 7 Kor, 2 Fio and 6 Shipboard Security Firewarriors that make up the vessel's crew (along with numerous drones of varying kinds), the Skether'qan does possess a modest cargo hold, enough to carry roughly 24 personnel and 2 vehicles of Devilfish size, allowing it to transport small forces across interstellar distances. Once near the destination, the Skether'qan is able to use its advanced tracking systems to detect holes in enemy patrol patterns and sensor grids, which the ship can then use its speed and small size to exploit. The Skether'qan's small size also enables it to land on planets if need-be, allowing it to touch down on the surface of a world to deliver its passengers, though they are more commonly deployed in a high-altitude pass using grav vehicles or jetpacks to allow the Skether'qan to escape more easilly. Such operations are commonly used to insert advance Pathfinder teams onto a world targeted for invasion so that they can reconnoitre potential landing sites, enemy concentrations, and other features and points of interest, but they are also used to deliver Stealth Teams and infiltration cadres, and it is rumoured they are used to deploy even more covert elements.

Like other Kor'vattra escorts such as the Kass'l and Kir'qath, Skether'qans and their crews are greatly respected by the Fire Caste, who often refer to the Messenger class as the Stealthsuit of the Kor'vattra, though vehicle crews will often instead liken them to the Tetra. There is much joking and friendly debate as to which comparison is 'correct'.

Much like the Air Caste itself in the greater Tau Empire, the Skether'qan class starship is an often unseen, but nonetheless vital, component in the Tau armada. 

Tau Covert Ops: Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams and the Saer'loq

While much of the Tau Empire's direct military might is well-known across the Eastern Fringe, much less is known about the various covert elements used by the Tau Empire. Two of the more common of these secretive special units are the Fire Caste Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams and the alien Saer'loq bounty hunters.

Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams

Not all veterans and heroes of the Tau Fire Caste go on to become battlesuit pilots and commanders. Many of the most skilled and experienced Firewarriors instead go on to become part of the Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams. A joint initiative between the Air and Fire Castes both working together for the Greater Good, Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams are one of the premier special forces units in the Tau Empire, consisting of small teams of exceptionally well-trained, highly-motivated and battle hardened Firewarriors outfitted with some of the best weaponry and equipment the empire can provide. In addition to the combat armour, photon and EMP grenades and pulse weaponry common to line Firewarrior teams, Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams have access to a mind-boggling number of special equipment including flamer attachments, flechette or frag grenades, decoy projectors, longshot pulse rifles, rail rifles, ion rifles, hard-wired support systems, personal shield generators, enhanced scopes and targeting systems, target priority programs, bionics, blacksun filters and even advanced infantry armour such as the XV-12, and much more besides. Team members will also often receive additional specialist training, ranging from standard training courses such as endurance or medical training, to more esoteric training such as advanced computer hacking or the study of alien technology and artefacts. Finally, Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams are also given cutting edge experimental equipment to field-test, such as anti-shield 'screen breaker' rail-rifle ammunition or immensely destructive nova charges.

Rather than being attached to Fire Caste formations, Special Insertion Thread Containment Teams are instead attached to Air Caste fleets, which provide transportation to their missions, which range from assassination and sabotage work, to support of indigenous movements sympathetic to the Tau'va, to abduction of key enemy personalities, retrieval of important objects or information, escort and protection of important personnel, counter-insurgency operations, and many more tasks besides. Once deployed, a Special Insertion Threat Containment Team can count on no additional support, their only link to the Tau Empire being a small number of secret communications channels known only to them and the fleet they're attached to - Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams are expected to complete their missions on their own, using a combination of skill, teamwork, cunning and high-tech weaponry and equipment to overcome whatever obstacles they encounter.

Overall the Special Insertion Threat Containment Team program has proven to be highly successful, managing to accomplish a number of high-stakes assignments. Special Insertion Teams dispatched to the world of New Hael managed to destroy a series of key military infrastructure targets without ever drawing attention to themselves, allowing human rebels wishing to join the Tau Empire to overthrow the Imperial regime and bring the system into the fold of the Greater Good. It was a Special Insertion Team that infiltrated into the Ork Infested world of August's Folly and landed the fatal shot on the Warlord Murguk, ending a potentially devastating WAAAAAGH before it began. When Hive Fleet Gorgon swept through the region now known as the Zone of Silence, a Special Insertion Team made planetfall on one of the worlds being consumed, before making their way through the endless swarms of Tyranids to collect and retrieve genetic samples and research data on Tyranid behaviour, before successfully extracting to deliver the information to the greater empire where it proved invaluable to Earth Caste science efforts. Perhaps even more notably, a number of Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams attached to Kor'vattra fleet K-42 served with distinction during the defence of one of the Tau Empire's most renowned academy stations against a number of assaults. In the aftermath of the second of these battles, instigated by Gue'la Imperial agents, a pair of Special Insertion Threat Containment Teams pursued the withdrawing Imperial forces and managed to infiltrate the damaged battlecruiser Jotunheim as it lay in dry-dock, before destroying all traces of the advanced shielding technology it had been outfitted with and erasing any information about it from the Imperial databases, ensuring that the technology could never be disseminated across the Imperium. Following this both teams managed to make their escapes in the saviour pods of the battlecruiser and the station it was docked with, before exfiltrating Imperial space and successfully returning to the Tau Empire.

Saer'loq Bounty Hunters

The Saer'loq are one of the many minor alien races and factions dotted across the Eastern Fringe. They control little territory, barely a couple of systems, but their technology is highly advanced. Saer'loq society is extremely individualistic, with most honour and credit going only into individual achievements, and Saer'loq warriors are fiercely competitive. As a result most Saer'loq military technology is geared towards the enhancement of single infantry, and includes advanced powered exoskeletons, advanced optics and targeting gear, personal jump-jets and a staggeringly wide range of both kinetic and energy weapons, and a large number of advanced close combat equipment. It is said that a single Saer'loq fighter fully equipped for combat is comparable to a soldier equipped with a battlesuit, and can face down small armies single-handedly. This is fortunate for the Saer'loq, as their population is small and grows slowly, and they have historically been surrounded by enemy powers, making such odds a necessity.

Because of the individualistic nature of Saer'loq culture, their initial response to first contact with the Tau was hostility, as the concept of working for the greater good of the collective at the expense of the individual was an alien concept to them, and shortly afterwards a short but highly violent war was fought between the Tau and the Saer'loq. Initially the Saer'loq did well, scoring decisive victories in a number of early battles, and quickly proved to be formidable adversaries to the Fire Caste. Saer'loq equipment and weaponry proved to be a close match for Tau technology, and Saer'loq warriors proved to be adept at hit-and-run raids, guerrilla attacks and brutal ambushes. However, the Saer'loq's own emphasis on individual achievement and thinking ultimately proved to be their undoing, leading them to have a tendency to win battles but loose the greater war. The collaborative thinking of experienced Tau commanders and a greater sense of larger overall schemes, the result of a lifetime spent serving the Greater Good, enabled Tau forces to gain considerable strategic advantages that eventually allowed them to win the war with the Saer'loq. Tau naval power proved decisive in this conflict, with Saer'loq space forces being severely underdeveloped and limited to little more than raiding actions with small ships, which were ultimately ineffective at stopping the supporting Tau fleets from blockading Saer'loq worlds and providing invaluable support to forces on the ground.

After their defeat, the Saer'loq were sufficiently impressed with the power the Tau had demonstrated and were quietly integrated into the empire, in exchange for military aid against many of their historical enemies. While Saer'loq fighters, or bounty hunters as they are more commonly called, are known to perform mercenary work for a number of powers on the Eastern Fringe, ever since their defeat they have served the Tau Empire as covert operatives, a task that makes the best use of their limited numbers, individual focus and high technology. Saer'loq strike cells are frequently smuggled onto worlds opposing the Tau, where they conduct a wide range of secret missions, and are reputed to be highly competent at performing them. They are particularly popular amongst many Tau leaders as they cannot be immediately traced back to the Tau Empire, especially due to their frequent mercenary contracts, thus allowing the Tau Empire to conduct clandestine operations while still maintaining an attractive image to other powers.