# Doppleganger



## Sigmatus (Nov 22, 2009)

Commander Sunblade could not bring himself to feel satisfaction, even in the face of victory over the Imperium. Dawn was breaking over the shattered battlefield where the final defensive lines of the Imperial Guard had been broken. Here, as in dozens of other locations for kilometers in either direction, the Tau cadres had prevailed in the face of doggedly stubborn resistence and appalling casualties. Mandis Alpha had once again been claimed by the Tau Empire, and only pockets of unsupported Imperial forces remained. Even now, garrison forces were arriving from off planet to supplement Sunblade’s depleted fire caste. There would be no insurgency this time, and no repeat of the past decade’s tragedy. He would see to it.

His shas’la bodyguard marched at his side as Sunblade moved through the procession of saluting subordinates. He wore only robes denoting his rank and caste; his crisis suit suspended in a makeshift hangar for repairs. The shas’o inclined his head to his warriors as he passed them by, moving towards the captured Imperial bunker complex that now constituted his forward command. 

The air stank, reeking of burned ozone, rotting bodies, spilled blood and cauterized wounds. All of this, all of these loses were vindicated because the Greater Good had still ultimately been served. It was rare when such casualties amongst the Tau were deemed acceptable by the ethereal caste, but such was the importance of Mandis Alpha. Mandis Alpha was subdued, and the war criminal Andrick Caspian had been captured. 

Sunblade did not feel happiness over this, only a righteous knowledge that justice was going to be served. Caspian would not be executed. The shas’o knew that the ethereals would view that as a meaningless act of vengeance. No. Instead, Caspian would be taken back to Tau’n, and shut into a cell far removed from daylight. He would be treated with respect and dignity that he did not deserve. The colonel had led the planet into rebellion, killed Shas’el Strongwind, and had murdered countless thousands of Tau from all castes with an indiscriminate virus warhead attack. He was a terrorist.

The shas’o returned the salute of the fire warriors at the compound’s doors, and his entourage strode within. The air smelled no better in here. At his left and right, earth caste workers carried dead enemies out by their wrists and ankles. The battle detritus in the bunker complex was still fresh. It was here that Colonel Caspian had commanded his forces, and it was here that he had surrendered like the coward he was.

But still, he would be useful. From his captivity, Caspian would be steadily worn down by the water caste. Perhaps this would take years, but the Tau were nothing if not patient. Gradually, his irrational hatred of the Greater Good would be eroded away, and with time, he would become a valuable intelligence tool. He would live out his days providing insight on the Imperial mindset, divulging weapons secrets and long-term strategy. Eventually, it was inevitable that Caspian himself would serve the Greater Good. That would be true justice.

The winding, flickering corridors eventually led Sunblade to a small, perfectly square command node at the heart of the facility. Rows of cogitators and holographic displays of relevant battlegroup dispositions lined the walls, with a small bank in the center of the room. Imperial banners and propaganda slogans were being torn down, and streaking lines of blood led from dried pools at various points in the room towards the hallway, indicative of the dead command staff that had been dragged away. Sitting in the center of it all, looking dejected and defeated, was Colonel Andrick Caspian.

Sunblade fought down his anger at the sight of the usurper. From here, he could see that the colonel’s medals and pins of rank had been removed, and now he wore only a featureless set of carapace armor over a leather jerkin. His eyes were distant, and his olive-colored face scarred. The fleshy mass of a long scar ran up the side of his scalp, visible through Caspian’s close-cropped hair. He was bound to the steel chair in which he sat, a length of rope holding his wrists behind the back of the chair. 

The shas’o positioned himself before his hated foe, and halted. Tau and man regarded one another, commander to commander, eye to eye for long moments. It was Sunblade who spoke first.

“Do you know who I am?” The shas’o asked in gothic, his speech heavily accented.

Caspian squinted. “Tell me.”

“I am the one whose lifelong friend was murdered by savage rebels; your rebels, so many years ago. You have slain my people, slain noncombatants from a distance while you cowered in the depths of a ruined city. You are a villain, and now you are brought low.”

Caspian shifted in his chair, rolling his neck as though loosening the muscles, but said nothing.

“I am old, by Tau standards. My career had been long, and my mentors bid me to retire from combat. I could not have done so while you remained out of our clutches. Justice will be done to you. The Greater Good demands it. At last, I can quit the path of the fire caste in peace.”

“So,” Caspian said at last. “Who are you?”

Sunblade bit back a flare of anger. “You are more self-absorbed than I thought, colonel. I am Shas’o Sunblade.”

Caspian smiled, the skin on his face rippling. “Target confirmed. Terminating.” Sunblade squinted in confusion as the colonel’s skin began to bubble, shift and realign.

“What is this?” The shas’o wondered aloud, taking a step back. With an unnatural strength, the colonel snapped the bindings that held him immobile, and as he stood, his form shifted beyond recognition. Sunblade blinked. A mere second ago, Colonel Andrick Caspian stood before him. Now there was only the slender, black-latex clad and masked figure of a human female, a long ponytail of hair protruding form the top of her expressionless mask. 

Sunblade realized at once what had happened, recalling intelligence gathered about these creatures in a distant campaign. He and his cadres had been duped; before him stood a Callidus assassin.

The pulse rifles of his bodyguards leveled in the assassin’s direction, but she was no longer there. The lithe woman cartwheeled away behind the island of cogitator banks. Flashes of blue energy splashed into the machines, spraying sparks and molten metal in all directions as the weapons discharged. Within seconds, the assassin reappeared, somersaulting over the top of the cogitators and firing a small, odd looking pistol from the hip as she spun in mid-air.

No energy or rounds emanated from the pistol, only a dull, discordant humming. Three of the four bodyguards shuddered and screamed, dropping their weapons and clawing at their helmeted heads. The fourth seemed to shake off the neural shredder’s mental assault, raising his pulse rifle and tracking the darting killer.

The Callidus assassin landed, spinning out of the way of the pulses of energy screaming towards her and pivoted, roundhouse kicking the fire warrior in the back of the head. As he fell, a shimmering, unnatural blade sprung from her wrist and passed easily through the bodyguard’s helmet, punching into his head and killing him before he even hit the ground.

Shas’o Sunblade took a single step back, pulling his pulse pistol from his belt and firing a series of shots at the assassin. The first shot struck home, scoring a hideous burn across the assassin’s latex-clad arm and searing the flesh beneath. The assassin hissed, twisting out of the way of the remaining shots and lunging forward in a graceful ballet of death.

The phase sword tore into the shas’o’s chest, rupturing the venerable commander’s heart. Sunblade’s eyes rolled back, his hands clutching for the assassin’s arm, finding it was no longer there. As he sagged to his knees, a second sweep of the phase sword opened his throat.

The room was suddenly alive with a shouting fire warriors, leveling their pulse rifles at the blood-spattered, masked assassin. This time, she made no attempt to evade.

“Mission completed. Praise the Emperor.” She said to no one in particular, as her body was pulverized by white hot energy rounds.


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

great shit mate! I especially love the assassin! :drinks: +rep from me! Phase sword through the heart and throat, fucking awesome!

Commissar Ploss


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