>>12391217
Nice pic, OP.

Fire Caste. Horrible pun.

Suth III, Suth star system
Planetary Surface, Eastern Jungles: Command Post Delta
Tau Space, Third Sphere
1800 Hours, Local Time
Year 998, M41
Day 14 of filming

Matik staggered back as La'Bali roundhouse-kicked him in the face. Thankfully, the armor he was wearing prevented her from hurting him. The fact that she was pulling her punches with him for close-quarters combat training was something he didn't mind either, but she was still beating him badly. "Come on, paperboy! Give me a little sport for my trouble!" Matik attempted to ram her with his shoulder, using the small distance he had to build up a small amount of momentum for the charge. La'Bali simply side-stepped him and tripped him up with her leg before drawing her sidearm. Matik rolled over onto his back to see this, and she aimed the weapon in Matik's face, shutting the safety off. "Pew, and you're dead."

Matik sighed, defeated yet again. Tau don't normally train extensively for hand-to-hand combat, but the basics were usually covered as survival training, if nothing else. "Never blindly charge the enemy in close-quarters combat. If you've got a gun you can bring to bear at that kind of range, use it, but don't ever charge them." La'Bali helped the reporter to his feet, before twirling her pulse pistol around her finger. "This is why you always keep a sidearm handy. Small, and easy to handle. It can be drawn in melee if you're not pinned against a wall." She holstered the weapon, switching the safety back on.

>>12391266
>Derp, post in another thread and forget to rewrite my name

"Alright. Thanks for that advice." Stretching, Matik became acutely aware of just how exhausted his limbs were. Training non-stop for seven hours took its toll on anyone, let alone a stocky Earth Caste worker who had never fought in his life. "You're getting better. I remember when you landed two weeks ago, you were terrified of getting armor. Now you're training to fight." La'Bali's voice was filled with pride. Matik figured that since she and the Shas'ui were the ones who took over most of his training, she should be. She was turning a reporter into a warrior, after all, which wasn't an easy task.

"Has it really only been two weeks? It's felt like a lifetime." Getting shot at, seeing people die for the first time, getting shot at again, running away, constantly watching for tripwires, getting shot at yet again, the discovery of the Ethereals' lies and Mon'tau, losing his leg, and so on; It was enough to drive Matik mad, hitting him all at once in such a short time frame. Somehow, he had managed to maintain his grip on sanity. Either that, or he was already crazy and just hadn't gotten the memo. He preferred the first option.

"Yes, two weeks. You get used to everything seeming this long in the Fire Caste. When you're not being shot at, you're headed out to get shot at somewhere else. Occasionally, we get shore leave." La'Bali sighed and moved to sit down in one of the chairs off to the right side of the small training room.

"The travel time's usually enough for you to get your head back on straight after a war, but some things just don't go away that fast. In the Fire Caste, you learn to accept death as an inevitability. You learn to avenge dead comrades, and save living ones, but you also learn to accept that people will die." Her tone quiet, she slumped a bit in her chair. "It's a bit of a grim outlook on life, but for what we do, it's necessary."

"You thinking about someone you knew? Someone who got killed?" Bali just nodded, mostly lost in her thoughts. "...That one Fire Warrior from the first night I was here. Mahin, right?" Bali looked up to Matik. "You're breaking a rule, paperboy." She sounded like she was trying to keep herself in check. Matik raised a hand and backed away. "Right, sorry. I'll try to avoid it from now on. Curiosity got the best of me." Just like with Mon'tau, Matik found himself interested in unknown details. He'd need to talk to Mark, and see if there was some kind of cure for unwanted curiosity.

Bali stood, taking her helmet off. Her face wore an expression of odd, calm sadness, rather than the kind of grief Matik would expect from remembering a dead fellow. "No, it's alright. Maybe it'd be best to talk about it. Mahin and I were friends. Good friends, but we never let it go past that. Mahin always wanted to, but I think he was a little too grateful for me saving his life once.

He was a little obsessed, after an incident on Palk. Always wanting to be around me whenever we were on leave, or just hanging around when I wanted to enjoy something off on my own. He was still polite, and a good soldier despite it. It's still odd to think he's not here, now, but, I've been trying to keep it from tearing me up." She looked down to the floor, lost in thought once again.

"Well, the Imperials always say there's some feast table they sit and eat at with their Emperor whenever they die. Something about the spirit. Who knows? Maybe Mahin's stuffing his face. Maybe there's someplace all Tau go when they die. Maybe everyone who dies, across the whole galaxy, goes to eat at the same feast table and just celebrate." Matik shrugged, hoping his suggestion would cheer the Fire Warrior up. She smiled as she processed that thought.

"Yeah. Some special paradise, where everyone gets along." Standing up, she straightened her back again, and moved to head outside. "You know what? You're alright, paperboy. The rest of the squad's going to the camp's recreational tent for drinks. You should join us, instead of drinking yourself stupid like you normally do."

Matik was a surprised by her invitation. Maybe the Fire Warriors were starting to accept him as one of their own, he thought. "Alright. I guess. Shouldn't we train a bit more, though?" Bali shook her head. "No, we've done enough today. Let's go. They're probably waiting on me, so I might as well bring you along anyways." Bali pointed to the door, and left the training center at a jogging pace. Matik moved to catch up, rather delighted with how things were going. He was getting better at self-defense, the Fire Warriors all liked him, and Mon'tau hadn't made any attempt to kill him, yet.

In spite of the occasional phantom pain in his bionic leg, in spite of the threat of death and constant danger, and in spite of knowing about Mon'tau, things like this made it easier for Matik to admit one simple truth: He was glad he came out to Suth III.

End of Chapter 27

Interlude: Discontent

In the basement level of the Elysians' secret depot in the desert, Sergeant Barringer was running out of ideas. Looking at a map some of his Gue'vesa contacts in the city had given him, he could see the Tau had reworked most of their patrol routes, and had withdrawn a lot of their forces from the desert to cover the capital city. The Orks had been beaten back, but they did their job, and might even rally for another attack later.

There had been no word from General Yergant since he and his contingent had left for the grasslands to the west of the desert, leaving Barringer in charge of all the freedom fighter cells in the region, and business had proceeded as usual, with the same story every day. The Tau had relegated any desert patrol duties to Gue'vesa and Kroot auxiliaries. Sometimes it was hard to properly ambush the Kroot, but the Gue'vesa were either too easy to kill, or secretly working for the resistance movement, so it was easy enough to avoid certain patrols and meet up with others to distribute their salvaged weapons.

In truth, it was getting a bit boring. There hadn't been any major developments since the Ork assault, besides a good bit of news they'd heard over some hacked Tau vox channels. Word was that there had been a prison riot out in the grasslands. A large mob of imprisoned Guard and PDF troopers had broken loose, using stolen Tau weaponry to slaughter the prison guards. Word of this development had improved morale among his group slightly, so it wasn't all bad.

But, it didn't change the fact that, unless they intended to go out in a blaze of glory, they couldn't do anything more than sit, wait, and launch the occasional ambush in the middle of nowhere. "I'm tellin' you, Frederick, this war's going to kill us, from boredom or from a shot to the head." Barringer handed him the map, the patrol routes used by the Tau and Kroot within the city highlighted in marker. "I've got nothin'. The Tau are consolidating too much for us to do anything really useful. All we do is pick off their pet Kroot packs, now."

"I hear you, Sarge." Frederick, though not higher in rank than any other member in the unit, had become the Sergeant's de-facto right hand. He looked around them, and leaned in to whisper. "Listen, there's been some talk...Maybe we should just get off this rock. The General meets with that Rogue Trader. We can just pay our way off. The regiment's dead, this world's not doing too well, and it's not even our's. Things might not keep going this well. We're at a high point in this fight, but I think we should get out of here while the getting's good. Far as the Administratum knows, we're all dead, same as the rest of the regiment. I say we sell all of our gear and retire on some backwater world. Lots of mercs will pay top throne for a working combat Sentinel."

"You'd best be kidding, Frederick." Barringer glared at his comrade and the Stormtrooper showed the first sign of fear that he had in years. "I...right, sorry sir." Barringer sighed and looked at the patrol map again. A part of him wanted to agree. "No, don't be. 'Snot your fault we're in this mess. Yergant refuses to leave because he's a damned Cadian. They're almost as bad as Kriegers. They never stop. But, his stubbornness isn't unwarranted. We know our duty, and we're not going to give up here. We'll get off this planet eventually, but for right now, we're staying put. Make that perfectly clear to the men."

Frederick nodded, and stood to relay the Sergeant's word to the other Elysians. Barringer's thoughts turned to morale once again. If there was talk of abandoning the planet, they'd do it on their own eventually. This was more of an offer for him to join them than it was a request, and he needed to convince them otherwise. He needed to pull a stunt that would raise morale again, and he had just the thing. "Oh, Frederick. Before you do that, break out the General's private amasec stash, and leave a 'thank you' note. We're going to have a little celebration over our commitment to stay on Suth for a while longer."

Frederick smiled at his old friend and saluted. "Can do, Sergeant." Frederick already seemed a bit less downtrodden. This would extend to the rest of the team, and then the amasec would do the rest. One point for Barringer, the Sergeant thought to himself.

Turning back to the map, Barringer tried to get those wheels turning again. He needed to do something other than let his men get drunk and waste away in this depot. "Time for a bold, unstoppable plan."

End of Interlude

FUCK YEAH RETURN OF THE WRITEFAG

But why so late, Writefag?

>>12391408
It's a bit past 2:00 AM.

I have nothing better to do, and can't sleep because LOLINSOMNIA.

So, y'know, more writefaggotry for you guys. Next chapter, posting now. Nothing spectacular, hope you enjoy reading it more than I did writing it. The Writer's Block from Hell wasn't easy to break through.

Suth III, Suth star system
Planetary Surface, Eastern Jungles: Command Post Delta
Tau Space, Third Sphere
0300 Hours, Local Time
Year 998, M41
Day 15 of filming

Matik was awakened by a series of explosions outside his tent. Falling out of his bunk, he saw Mark already getting dressed, putting his armor on. Over the camp's intercom, they could hear the Shas'el shouting orders. "All units, the command post is under attack! Get into positions!" Matik groaned at hearing this, climbing back into bed, and pulling his bunk's covers over his head. It was still dark outside, and he was sure the camp garrison could handle whatever it was. "Not tonight, please..." After donning his flak armor, Mark came over and dragged Matik out of bed. "Get up! They might need our help!"

Matik grumbled, and went to put on his new Fire Warrior armor. Still a tight fit, but it worked. Grabbing his pulse carbine and poking his head out of the tent, he could see Fire Warriors and Kroot already rushing to the east. "Oh, wait. What about the camera? One of us has to tape the battle. We can't do that if we're both fighting." Matik looked back to the camera left at the foot of his bed. Mark glanced to the camera, then back at his friend. "Right. Emperor forbid we miss a chance to get people dying on tape." He headed back to grab the camera, and opened his trunk, grabbing some adhesive tape he'd brought with him. "Dad always said that mud tape was a soldier's best friend. Figures I'd actually use this in a warzone." Cutting a large strip off, and wrapping one end of it around the camera, he turned to approach Matik with the other end.

"What are you going to do with that? Mark? Oh, dear..." Matik backed away as Mark advanced on him with the tape and camera in hand.

Moments later, they were running for the eastern end of the camp, Matik's 'new look' garnering a few stares from Earth and Water Caste personnel preparing for evacuation in the event the camp was over-run. "This is humiliating!" Mark shouted back to Matik as they ran, the sounds of battle up ahead getting louder and beginning to drown out all noise. "Hey, you said we should record the fight! It only made sense to just tape the camera to your head!"

Indeed, Matik had the camera taped to his head as he ran for the eastern front. The result was rather amusing, as was evident by some of the camp workers pointing and laughing at Matik's misfortune as they passed. "You know I'm going to get you back for this, Mark!" Matik was already concocting a few plans, but his train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a massive, two-meter tall, armored monstrosity with a horned helmet, clad in blue armor near the command building. "Mark? We have a problem."

The horned Space Marine cackled as his boltgun cut down a pair of Fire Warriors, and some oncoming Kroot. Explosions of bone and blood accompanied the bolter shell impacts, ripping apart the Tau and Kroot warriors. Looking on in horror as the Space Marine wreaked havoc, Matik found himself unable to move. Mark grabbed him, and pulled him away from the sight, ducking between a pair of tents. "Come on, you idiot! Don't stand out in the open! That thing will kill you!" Matik was returned to his senses, and moved to keep up with Mark under his own power. The two ran in a direction that would lead them around the Space Marine, using the tents as cover.

"What's a Space Marine doing here?! I didn't think there were any Space Marine chapters on Suth!" After a moment of running, Matik was already panting for breath, the thought that he needed to work out more passing briefly through his mind. Mark wasn't panting yet, but he would soon. Having ex-Guard personnel for parents didn't automatically make him fit. As they ran, Mark shouted over the sound of the battle ahead. "Didn't you see that eight-pointed star on his armor?! That wasn't a Space Marine! I told you, the jungle is cursed ground! This is proof I was right! That Chaos Marine wasn't here before, and somehow he's on Suth now! Throne knows how many more came with him!"

Matik tried to recall where he'd heard the term 'Chaos Marine' before. Snippets of combat reports he'd covered back on T'au in the studio, mostly regarding the failed Kronus campaign. Shas'o Kais had fought Chaos Marines once or twice. They were supposedly Space Marines that had gone over to some splinter group from the Imperium of Man. Something about heresy came up a lot whenever captured Imperial Guardsmen were interviewed about them.

The two stopped to catch their breath, before asking Mark for confirmation on his little theory. "So, these guys aren't Imperial?" Mark shook his head. "No, not Imperial. Insane, and more brutal. It's hard for you Tau to tell the difference, but no, they're definitely not Imperial." There was the sound of something similar to a rocket firing off in the distance, followed by what sounded like amplified shrieks. The pair of reporters looked up to spot three more Chaos Marines leaping overhead, equipped with jump packs. They landed somewhere near the first Chaos Marine's position, but Mark and Matik couldn't see where. "Damn! They probably spotted us! We need to move, NOW!" Mark turned to run, and Matik struggled to keep up.

Matik had noticed his bionic leg was holding up well to the added stress of constantly running from place to place. Then again, it was military-grade, so it would make sense for that, with all the running Fire Warriors did. They could see Orca Dropships flying overhead, now. "They must be flying in reinforcements!" Mark pointed, and kept running for the eastern end of the camp. The sight that the two were greeted by was one of a complete rout. They could see Tau Fire Warriors fleeing in the other direction, others trying to fire as they retreated and dying for their trouble.

"Why aren't the Orcas landing here?" Several bolter shells drowned out the rest of his sentence, the explosions tearing down a tent to his left. As soon as the tent dropped, he could see what was making the Fire Warriors flee: Four Chaos Marines armed with heavy bolters, and supported by more of the warbeasts ridden by the human insurgents. The warbeasts were gorging themselves on the carcasses of slain Kroot, ignoring new prey for the moment.

"ShitshitSHIT! OTHER WAY! OTHER WAY!" Mark turned and sprinted in the direction of the base's landing pads. The Orcas seemed to be headed in that direction, as were numerous camp personnel. Matik followed, falling a bit behind. "Wait for me, you bastard!" The Chaos Marines didn't seem to notice them at first, but after a moment, Matik could see the bolter shells streaking past them as they ran. "Move! They're sighting in on us!"

Matik's eyes darted all across his view, looking for something that might leap out and attack. This was just too much. He wasn't expecting Chaos Marines. Everything was too chaotic, and he was starting to wonder if he'd just make it through the next five minutes, the end of the film trip, and once again his mind seemed to split between totally mundane concerns such as worrying about the camera working and his survival instinct. He was snapped back to his proper senses in short order, screaming in frustration and fright as another bolter shell flew by his head, narrowly missing this time. "I hate my life!"

The two finally made it to the landing pads, and made a run for the nearest Orca that was still loading troops. "Wait, are we evacuating?! I thought this was going to be a defensive position!" Another pair of bolter shells impacted on a solid wall to Mark's left, nearly tearing his arm off. Matik just kept moving. "Are you in any position to complain?!"

"Yes! We're leaving our stuff behind!" Mark's complaint was legitimate. They were leaving behind a lot of their film equipment, memory cards for the camera, and numerous other important things. But, necessity demanded that they stay alive. "Mark, just get on the damn Orca! We can get it all replaced!" Mark groaned and climbed aboard, and Matik settled in. Near the pilot's seat, Matik could hear a Fire Warrior yelling at the Air Caste pilots. "Everyone who's coming is aboard! Go! Go!" The Orca's troop bay ramp closed quickly, as if in response, and they could feel the Orca lifting off.

"Fan-freaking-tastic." Mark grumbled, and leaned back against the wall of the transport's interior. He sighed in discomfort and looked at Matik. "Think the Shas'ui's squad made it out?" Matik gave him no response. "Matik?"

Matik promptly fell over, and began snoring, having been exhausted long before the attack ever began. Mark decided to just leave him there. The Tau kind of deserved a quick rest, and wherever they were going, it'd be a long flight.

He also took the camera off of his friend's head. Mark would never let it be said he didn't inspect the footage when he could.

End of Chapter 28

mfw camerahead Tau

And with that, my LOLINSOMNIA is finally stopping.

Naptime.

Glad I caught the thread when I did.

Bumping and opening up a vote.

>Shas'ui's squad interlude
>Another Matik chapter
>Shas'el interlude

So, wait, the Shas'ui's squad is alive.

And they now have their own fucking plotline.

Damn you, OP. This had all better re-converge later. You hear me? I want to see General Yergant pimpslapping Matik later.

>>12394877
I'll see what I can do with the idea of a Yergant Pimpslap, but I make no promises.

Meh, bumping thread.

I need to writefag fast, and keyboard too slow.

>>12395245
Keyboard still too slow?

>>12396178
Yep. Writer's block is a bitch, isn't it?

>>12397468
Well, don't try to force anything, OP. Otherwise, it turns out all shitty.

>>12397570
>shitty
>Don't force it
What you did there. I see it.

bump for the bump god

Anyways, voting on what you guys would like to see would probably help me break my writer's block more easily.

Please do so before I herp so hard that I derp from the boredom and frustration.

Shas'ui's squad interlude do it

>>12397846
>boredom and frustration

Geez, why not just write 'em all right now and get it over with?

Kinda curious to see what's going on with La'Bali. Shas'ui's squad interlude

>>12398062
>>12397887
WTF is up with you faggots always wanting more of Matik's god-damned Fire Caste waifu?

Shas'el interlude, let's see what the Shas'ui's Bro'el has been up to.

>>12398132
>Fire Caste waifu

You just answered your own question.

Unless anybody has anymore votes, I'll get started on the Shas'ui's squad interlude.

FINALLY done. Posting interlude now.

Interlude: Takedown

Ui'Muil Mont'yr ducked behind a jungle tree as an oncoming Chaos Marine fired his bolter in the Shas'ui's general direction. The trees were thick enough to provide some cover, but spread out sufficiently to allow ease of movement for everyone. The downside to this was that their Chaos Marine pursuer could give chase easily. The squad had been driven out of the camp and had missed the opportunity for an evacuation. They were dead unless they ran for it.

The Marine had missed by a sizeable margin, but it was enough to make the Shas'ui keep his head down. "La'Natel! Where is La'Se'v?!" The Shas'ui's visor cycled through vitals readings for the rest of his squad. Se'v's weren't showing, since the sniper was too far away. Everyone else registered as unharmed, but their heart rates were all off the charts. Considering they were suddenly fighting Chaos Space Marines, it wasn't exactly unexpected.

"I don't know, Shas'ui! I saw him make for the armory after they hit the camp!" Another series of small explosions ripped through the jungle, creating large scars in the trees. La'Bamk yelled in surprised as the tree he was hiding behind shook with the power of the bolter shell's explosion. "If we stay and wait for Se'v, we'll be slaughtered, Shas'ui!" Ui'Muil didn't want to argue with his comrade's assessment of the battle, but he knew they very well had a chance. Pulse weapons weren't as effective as a railgun against Space Marine power armor, but there was a chance, however slim, of harming the superhuman warrior beneath. He quickly came up with a plan.

The Shas'ui loaded his pulse carbine's grenade launcher as another burst of bolterfire tore through the jungle foliage. "La'Bali, open fire when I give the word!" He cycled through the vital signs again, seeing that La'Bali was still alive and well. After a moment, he could see her leaning out from cover, about a dozen meters to his right, and behind La'Natel. "Ready to fire, Shas'ui!"

"Fire in the hole!" The Shas'ui leapt out from behind the tree he was using as cover, and fired the photon grenade he'd just loaded into his grenade launcher. The grenade impacted right in front of the Chaos Marine. The Marine staggered backwards, the sudden explosion of light and sound blinding and temporarily deafening him. "Fire!" Ui'Muil gave the order before ducking back behind his tree to reload the grenade launcher on his carbine. La'Bali opened fire with her pulse rifle, aiming for the head. Missing twice, but scoring two headshots, the Chaos Marine backed away, now crying out in pain. The Marine's bolter fired once again, emptying the last shells in its magazine.

The Marine shook his head, clearing away the dazzling lights in his eyes, though the photon grenade's damage to his hearing may not have recovered for some time. The Chaos Marine then noticed his bolter was finally out of ammunition, and simply charging the squad and dropping the bolter. "Get ready for close combat!" La'Natel's warning didn't go unheeded and the rest of the squad readied their carbines and rifles to fire as the Chaos Marine charged.

A wall of plasmafire met the Chaos Marine as he rampaged in their direction, but it didn't seem to slow down the corrupted human at all. The Chaos Marine closed into melee range, swatting the Shas'ui aside. He could feel a sharp jolt of pain in his side, and there was a distinct cracking noise. The armor blocked the worst of it, but he was certain the Chaos Marine had broken his rib. Hitting the ground with some force, he gritted his teeth. He tried to catch his breath, and sat upright, and watched as the Chaos Marine closed into melee range with La'Bali.

The monstrous superhuman grabbed her by the arm, and whipped her around as if she were a weapon. Her cry of pain and a loud cracking noise told the Shas'ui all he needed to know, as the Shas'la's arm had just been dislocated, and possibly shattered altogether. The Chaos Marine threw her into La'Natel and La'Bamk, knocking them both to the ground. All three of the Shas'la cried out in pain and surprise. The Chaos Marine closed in on them, determined to finally kill them all, before the loud rapport of a railgun firing drowned out all other noise.

The Chaos Marine's head erupted, and bone, blood, grey matter, and pieces of his helmet rained down on the three incapacitated Shas'la, with some of it also getting on the Shas'ui. They had seen that the shot had come from the direction of the base. Turning to look, the Shas'ui struggled to his feet, holding his side in pain. Into clear view stepped La'Se'v, holding a rail-rifle. "Cutting it a bit close, aren't you, Se'v?" La'Natel helped La'Bali to her feet, his sarcastic demeanor revealed through his speech once again.

"So? I killed him." The sniper shrugged, ignoring La'Natel's comment for the most part. "How bad is she?" La'Se'v nodded in La'Bali's direction. The female Shas'la struggled to her feet, her right arm hanging limply to the side at an awkward angle. "I won't be able to fight without some medical help. The Gue'la tore up my arm pretty badly." She looked at the still body of the decapitated Chaos Marine, chuckling a little, despite the pain she was in. "Think he's eating at a feast table somewhere?"

"What?" La'Natel looked at her, obviously confused. La'Se'v and the Shas'ui exchanged glances, Se'v shrugging once again. She shook her head, ignoring the question. La'Bamk looked over to the Shas'ui. "Where are we going, Shas'ui?" Ui'Muil cycled through to his visor's sattelite-imaging mode, and assessed the situation in his mind. There had to be a route that led back to friendly territory. They had been left behind, they'd just killed a Chaos Marine, had two wounded Fire Warriors, and were stranded in and extremely hostile jungle in the middle of the night.

After a moment, he'd found a route that led back to Command Post Theta. It was going to be a long trip. "La'Natel, take point. La'Bamk, help La'Bali. La'Se'v, with me. We'll bring up the rear."

End of Interlude

And with that, I present another opportunity to vote

>Another squad interlude
>Shas'el interlude
>Mark and Matik chapter

Going to hit the hay early tonight, with work tomorrow and my sleep schedule all off-kilter with my recent bout of LOLINSOMNIA

>>12401875
oh wow- take that tau haters!
I'd like to see an Imperial guard squad do better.
Anyway, I vote for another squad interlude

>>12401875
I'd like to see a shas'el interlude

>Shas'el interlude

Thank Emprah! your back, these last three days on /tg/ have been a mite dry without some good 'ol writefagging.

If it wasn't for this Taufaggotry, I could possibly escape back to RL.

On a side note : DEQuest, where for art thou?

Shas'el Interlude it is. Won't have it up till later today, but not to worry.

>>12401989
As for the squad taking down a Chaos Marine...well, it's not like I'd kill them off halfway through the story. Of course they'd win. Plot armor was in effect there, no matter how messed up they got.

>>12405357
You realize that plot armor shit goes right out the window when one Fire Warrior is USED AS A WEAPON against the rest of her squad, right? Seriously, that shit was pretty awesome.

>>12405380
>Plot armor
>Character gets messed up
Eh, I guess you have a point. Still, in a 'reasonable' fight, any Chaos Marine would have slaughtered a squad of Fire Warriors in melee.

But yeah, Shas'el interlude. I'll work on that.

>>12405409
Say, do tau in this setting politely put down their pulse rifles when challenged to melee by maniacs with chainsaws and draw knives like in Dawn of War?

>>12405419
No.

But when you're talking about a superhuman and daemonically-corrupted warrior in power-armor, it makes perfect sense that they should be able to improvise a weapon from a still-living Tau. Or otherwise be able to beat the crap out of them. Considering just how bad Tau are in melee, rifle or no rifle...

>>12405438
Can you kill a Chaos Space Marine by circlestrafing?

>>12405448
Considering I've seen crazier happen? Probably. Would that ever occur to the main character? Probably not.

>>12405456
>Would that THOUGHT ever occur to the main characterS?

Wow. I fail at typing this early.

Actually, before I go, add these to the list of available voting options.

>Rogue Trader House Kalis interlude
>Mon'tau interlude
>Chaos interlude

>>12405696
Is it bad I want to see more Rogue Trader than I do Mon'tau?

Because RT is what I'm voting for.

Seriously, OP, where is your plot going?

Oh, who cares? Fuck yeah, dead Chaos Marine.

chaos interlude

ROGUE TRADIN'

Mon'tau- I want to see how badly our character is getting fracked over dealing with his conscious

Finally back after a long day at work.

And lo, I did bring a Shas'el interlude. Final edit underway as you read this. I'll probably do the Rogue Trader interlude directly afterward.

Final edit done, posting now.

Interlude: Tactical Unawareness

Shas'el Gat'ter dwelled in his command tent, mentally grappling with a lot of problems at the moment. He had reviewed the Shas'ui's 'evidence', and what he had pieced together within his thoughts was something of a revelation. The Ethereals fought one another behind closed doors, with the Empire at stake. El'Gat'ter had several things to say on the matter, but at the moment, he was faced with a more pressing issue. If the Ethereals were at war with one another, it was one that wouldn't be impacted if he waited for a time to tend to his other duties.

Albeit, the thoughts running through his mind relating to his discovery were distracting at best, and drew his full attention as his mind wandered at worst.

El'Gat'ter watched his holographic map with growing frustration. Another two sectors north of Command Post Theta had just turned red, showing engagements with the human insurgents. They were getting bolder by the hour, striking ever closer to the command post. According to his latest intelligence reports, Command Post Delta had been totally over-run in a surprise attack. Whether or not his old friend Ui'Muil had survived was something he couldn't confirm...although, the thought that he may be the only one who truly knew what was going on with the Ethereals brought him some solace. If Ui'Muil and the reporters were dead, then at least the information they had gathered would live on.

At any rate, the Shas'el still had other matters to attend to. Several common themes within all of these intelligence reports included sightings of, and engagements with, Space Marines. There had been no confirmation on what chapter they were, but they appeared more 'sinister' than most Space Marines faced in the past. Decorative horns, notably more brutal in their tactics. The presence of Space Marines was both a good thing and a bad thing for the Shas'el's forces. On the one hand, they were fighting Space Marines. On the other hand, Central Command couldn't ignore or deny his requests for further reinforcements any longer. Space Marines were not something to laugh at.

One thing troubled him, however. They had somehow gotten planetside without anybody noticing. The method they used for this was impossible for the Shas'el to discern, but he had heard an Imperial Rogue Trader vessel had entered high orbit sometime in the last few days. That ship had to be involved somehow. He turned to activate his desk's private comm, opening a channel to his aide, La'Manyr. "La'Manyr, get into contact with the fleet commanders in orbit. I want both Kor'os to explain this to me. I need to know if that Rogue Trader ship is involved in this mess."

"Shas'el, there hasn't been any traffic from the Rogue Trader ship for almost four days. It would have come up in the intelligence briefing twenty minutes ago. The only traffic ever since it entered the system has been from the ship sending down a lander into the grasslands." The Shas'la was just as stumped as his superior. He may have been a warrior, but he had a mind for logistics. If he survived the war, he would make a fine commander later.

The Shas'el's chagrin was beginning to get the best of him. He honestly had no idea how to deal with Space Marines on top of the insurgency as it was. If the Space Marines were here before the invasion, then they would have revealed themselves long before the Vior'la army took Suth for the Empire to begin with. There must have been a drop-pod launch, a craft utilizing some stealth-field technology, something experimental...ANYTHING.

There was simply no other logistical possibility. These Space Marines were simply NOT here on Suth before. "Shas'la, a Space Marine detachment of the size we've seen can't make it planetside aboard a single lander in one trip, sneak across an entire continent on foot in the span of several days, and then bypass all of our patrols in the jungle without being spotted, only to launch a surprise attack on a fortified command post and over-run it in the span of a half-hour. The Air Caste missed something in orbit. FIND IT."

"Yes, Shas'el." La'Manyr's end of the line went silent as the Shas'el contemplated his situation. The insurgents were likely still using those damnable warbeasts. Global reports sent from other garrisons across Suth indicated no other insurgent cells had resorted to training attack animals, so the problem with the warbeasts was still strictly local. Consequently, it was still strictly HIS problem.

He could tell that his ridiculous reports back to Central Command were making him a laughingstock. A Shas'el of Vior'la, outwitted by common animals. It was insane. They wouldn't send him reinforcements because it was so ridiculous. If the Shas'el wanted to beat the insurgents here, his forces were on their own.

El'Gat'ter was brought out of his thoughts by the comm. La'Manyr was contacting him again. "Shas'el, I have the T'au Kor'o on the line for you. The Vior'la Kor'o is indisposed at the moment." El'Gat'ter couldn't believe it. He couldn't even speak directly to the proper authorities in charge of orbital support for his ground troops, now. He groaned loudly, before shouting into the comm. "Indisposed?! With WHAT?! He's an admiral! What could he possibly be indisposed with?!" The Shas'la on the other end made an odd noise in surprise at his commander's outburst. "Something about a faulty Orca he wanted to inspect, Shas'el."

"A Kor'o overseeing repairs for a damaged orca. Is he shirking his duties, or is he just an idiot?" El'Gat'ter rubbed his eyes, now thoroughly annoyed. His Vior'la temper was getting worse by the minute. The sun had only just risen, and he was fed up with the day's surprises already. He silently swore to himself that as soon as he reached the rank of Shas'o, he would take his chance to leave the Tau military. Enough was enough. "I am sorry, La'Manyr. Please, put the Kor'o on the line."

There was a crackling noise on the comm as his aide switched channels. "Kor'o Mena'hi here. What seems to be the problem Shas'el?" The Shas'el thought about how best to word his complaint, but his mouth and temper were running side-by-side ahead of his mind. "What's the problem?! Space Marines! THAT is my problem! How did your fleet miss this?! A large detachment of at least twenty Space Marines is on Suth's surface RIGHT NOW, and they are slaughtering my Fire Warriors, and you have the audacity to ask me WHAT the problem is, and not 'how can I fix your sudden Space Marine problem, Shas'el?'"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. The Kor'o obviously hadn't expected a rant, however brief. His response made the Shas'el grind his teeth in anger. "Space Marines? There aren't any Battle Barges or Strike Cruisers in orbit." The Shas'el's rage was finally unbound as he screamed into the comm. "No, not Space Marines! Imperial Guardsmen! Hundreds of them! Or would you rather hear 'no, no problems at all, please go back to your captain's chair and sit on your ass, Kor'o, sorry to bother you?!'"

"Shas'el, there is no need for that kind of rudeness-"

"There is PLENTY of need for rudeness right now! Central Command won't send me anymore reinforcements, my warriors are being killed left and right, and now we are dealing with Space Marines! Space Marines, Kor'o, whom slipped onto Suth's surface on YOUR watch! So, explain to me why there is no need for rudeness! Please, regale me with your excuses of why these Space Marines have managed to get to the planet's surface and massacre my warriors without so much as being spotted by your fleet!" The Shas'el finally paused, breathing slowly to relax himself.

The Kor'o paused again, obviously stunned by the El'Gat'ter's rant. "By T'au, you Vior'la can fly off the handle. I will look into it, Shas'el."

"You had damned well better. El'Gat'ter out." The angered Shas'el finally shut off the comm and went back to watching his holographic map, violently suppressing the urge to tear the comm itself out, and hurl it at the hologram in front of him.

He needed some Ky'husa. Or some of that amasec the Imperials were so fond of. He just hoped the Kor'o wouldn't take his rant personally. He was under enough stress to crack even the toughest of Shas'o's. Turning back to the comm, he contacted his aide once again. "La'Manyr, one bottle of Imperial amasec. The good kind that the Water Caste bartered from the Imperials before we landed."

"This early, Shas'el?" La'Manyr's inquisitive tone didn't sound anything more than concerned. It was a good quality about him, genuine concern for those he was responsible for. "Yes. Just bring the bottle. I will do the rest." The Shas'el just sighed and shut off the comm without answering the question before leaning back in his chair.

Some days, he really hated his job.

End of Interlude

>>12411629
>>12411641
>>12411650
>>12411655
>>12411661
>>12411671
I guess the T'au haven't had that many encounters with chaos before, have they?

>>12411698
Not especially, no. At least, nobody from Vior'la, as far as I can tell. A T'au force fought Chaos on Kronus at least once.

Anyone else think the Vior'la Kor'o was just being a dick and trolling the Shas'el?

"You mad?"

>>12411757
With his righteous fury building up inside, the Shas'el pointed at the comm, and screamed at the top of his lungs. "YES I MAD"

>>12411810
Yes, Shas'el- let the anime Hot Bloodedness flow through you, let it instill you with Rightous Fury

Anyways, writing Rogue Trader interlude now.

Expect some brief Orkyness and less yelling at admirals.

>>12412234
Why can't we have both?
"OI YUZE GITS- DERE SOMINK WRONG WIF YOUR FINKIN BITS?"

You know what these threads are missing?
Porn
But besides that
we don't have as much back forth and guessing as we used to amongst posters

>>12413471
Sad truth
I say we fix that last part

>>12413679
What parts?

Mon'tau(two groups) are still creeping around n the background, with that Aun'vre Kiu'mo guy having some weird plan that Man'in's crew is trying to stop. Which, by the way, OP, I would like to know about.

Matik and Mark are chilling somewhere, the rest of the squad are hiking through the jungles in a messed-up condition, the Shas'el's getting trolled so bad that it's not even funny, Wallace is somewhere, the Rogue Traders are getting framed for bringing Chaos Marines to Suth AND the Tau army knows they're supplying the insurgents with stuff from off-world, and to top it all off, we've got Chaos and Orks fucking around in the background doing shit that's going to eventually steamroll the Tau occupation force.

Oh, and the insurgency was there too.

>>12414189
>Weird plan
>Tau Ethereal
>Occupied human world
HMM.

Could it be a forced sterilization project?

>>12414259
Wow. Like we've never heard this one before.

Nah, not a sterilization project. Although, it's related to killing off human populations.

Anyways, anons, goods news-bad news moment. Good news, I am ALMOST done with the Rogue Trader interlude. I'll probably have it up after I get back from work tomorrow, but need sleep right now.

Bad news, I'm NOT done with the Rogue Trader interlude, so don't expect it tonight.

And with that, I'm out. Night, anons. Bump, speculate, archive the thread, do whatever. Writefag need sleep bad.

>>12414297
A question TOTW, Mark has used expressions like "By the Throne" and "Emperor forbid", so how much of the Imperium/Emprah does he know about?

>>12414545
Think of it the same way that an atheist will to still use Catholic sayings, as an example. Just because the government changed, doesn't mean language did too.

>>12414189
Well, to be fair, so far it's only the seneschal who seems to be actively supporting the insurgents- the RT is just considering trading rights with the Tau

>>12414545
>>12414727
Pretty much this. He's not out-and-out atheist, though. It's just that the Tau have actually taught him and other kids from his world some watered-down Imperial doctrine to keep the populace happy. His parents are ex-Guard, so, if nothing else, they'd teach him in private.

Anyways, I'm off, anons. Going to work, and get done with that RT interlude.

>>12417531
The tau teach imperial doctrine?
Wow, that's very tolerant of them.

>>12418277
In the Tau empire, even though religion is discouraged, you can worship however you please
Yes, even the God Emperor
Yes, even the ruinous powers

>>12418277
I figure they cut out all the 'kill-the-alien' stuff.

>>12419898
>I figure they cut out all the 'kill-the-alien' stuff.
What exactly id left once you remove that?

"Please don't break the law or the Emperor will be very disappointed in you"

>>12419921
Well, you know. Stuff. I'm sure the Tau are smart enough to edit the Imperial faith to fit the Greater Good in subtler ways, while simultaneously keeping Imperial-born turncoats like Mark's parents satisfied. The Golden Throne would come up, at least.

>>12420074
I'd hate to see orks get into the act- they'd probably start tossing religious books at all parties involved
Relijun fight!