# Shadows, Secrets, and the Greater Good



## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

*How ironic it is that as fast as we spread progress and hope throughout the galaxy, the Tyranids spread death and despair. Only united can we hope to stand against them​*- Aun’shui, Ethereal of the Tau Empire​

++Excerpts from the Vior’la Library of Battle:

The setting is the Fuish’Or Sept on the Northern Border of the mighty Tau Empire. The year, by human standards, is 751, M41. Fuish’Or is a small Tau world that was settled during the Second Expansion era and was a major agri-world; being a larger producer of Shuto’Kals (a form of plasma used in Tau weaponry). However, in the year 800 M41 a large Imperial fleet fell upon the planet and quickly secured the capital settlement. However, the Tau defenders put up a staunch defense and the war ground into a stalemate with both sides taking excessive casualties from trench warfare. To the Ethereals back on Tau, the attack seemed much unobserved, random to say the least, and therefore required an answer. They dispatched one of their own; a commander by the name of Aun’o Vior’la Sui’na who’s reputation had been won upon the battlefield against the humans in the recent expansion. Upon arriving in system, Aun’o Vior’la’s forces ran into a serious engagement in which a majority of his forces were wiped out. Now, with what is left of his force, Aun’o Vior’la orbits Fuish’Or and plans his next move in uncovering the mystery behind the mysterious attack. 

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As Shas ‘Tui moved along the hallway he marveled at the work of the Air Caste. He had been called to Aun’o Vior’la’s command ship, The Fire’s Wrath (as translated) for a military briefing. He walked into the briefing chamber, where a lot of his fellow Tau had already assembled. A familiar voice called out to him, “Shas ‘Tui, come here my friend.” Shas’o Ganje’tsu moved towards him and sat himself down in the chair next to him. 
“So my friend, are you ready for this operation, even after the catastrophic battle that we had earlier.” Shas’o Ganje had always been a good friend and the two fo them had gone from battlefield to battlefield, killing enemies in the name of the Greater Good. He was going to reply when suddenly Aun’o Vior’la entered the room and everyone went to arms(Tau version of attention). The massive hologram machine purred and produced a 4D image of Fuish’Or. The commander placed himself in the center of the hologram and used a laser pointer to mark key targets as he begins his brief.

“Fellow Fire Cast commanders, I welcome you in the name of the Greater Good that we might better understand the situation around us here. You are all well aware of the situation this planet is in, as given by your earlier information packets. Now I will explain the actual situation and what I plan to do. I was sent by my brothers, the Great Ethereals, to uncover the truth as to why the barbaric humans would launch such an unprovoked attack upon our great empire. I think my tacticians from the Earth and Water Castes have deciphered part of the riddle here,” and a red dot appeared over a large crater in the northern reaches of the planet.

“This crater seems to be nothing but natural, but upon second inspection we noticed that the humans have actually got a massive underground excavation going on. This is being conducted by the humans Earth Caste called………,” the commander reached over to a drone and looked quickly at the screen.

“Ah yes, the Mechanicus. Least to say this seems to be very important, for no other area of the planet is as heavily fortified, even the space port. They seem to have donated massive amounts of resources to this project, and I personally believe that they are looking for, or trying to recover, something of extreme importance. As such, we cannot allow this to happen, and we must find out what it is they seek.” He paused, taking in a deep breath and shuffling his hooves.

“Therefore, we shall launch a preemptive strike upon this site and take it over. However, we must do this quickly for another; more grave threat is upon us.” Again, he had the drone zoom the map out to the surrounding systems where a red tendril was moving from the eastern area of the map. 

“This is a remnant of the Y’he (Tyranid) fleet known as Naga. A portion of it has broken off and is moving at good speed towards the planet. Therefore, as the highest ranking cadre here, I have already ordered the evacuation of the civilian population and soon the military forces. However, while this is going on, we will launch our attack, and take over the facility. That concludes my briefing; return to your men and prepare them for the upcoming campaign. May the Greater Good guide you.” Aun’o Vior’la had the drone shut down and left the room. All the commanders file out and started to return to their respective areas/ships. Shas’o Genje gave his farewell and disappeared down the corridor. Tui moved from the room and boarded a shuttle for his own craft that carried his battle suit regiment. This going to be one tough fight, but he was more concern with why both humans and Y’he would care about such an insignificant planet. This was going to get very interesting.


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## the_unchanged (Nov 17, 2009)

I really like the scope and idea of this. 

The detail is excellent. 

My only fault is that it could do with a read through, there are some full stops where there shouldn't be and some sentences just dont read right. 

I do like this, I will be following this. 

Have a rep. :victory:


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

nice, thanks, yeah, I gotta patch it up alittle. I'm basing this on the RPG I'm doing, so in a sense, its a living story that could go either way. I just touch it up and make it presentable, hehehe!!!


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

(The indepth thought from the commander, let me know your thoughts)


Sui’na looked out the viewport on the side of the drop ship as it descended into the lower atmosphere and towards the crater. He thought about all the brave soldiers who were ready to give their lives in service for the Greater Good and thought about the sacrifices some of them wound be making this day. The ultimate sacrifice, he thought, is it so necessary for such a simple task that seems to be petty in face of much more challenging and lethal odds for us. Many things swirled through his mind over and over until the voice of his aid took him out of his state of mind.

“Aun Vior’la Sui’na, we are ready to make ground insertion, and your HQ has already been prepared. Intelligence shows that the enemy is aware of our presence, but doesn’t seem too aware of our actual strategy, sir.” Sui’na looked at him with concerned eyes.

“So the element of surprise is almost gone completely.” He closed his eyes and said sadly, “I was hoping to get more of our men in place but I guess it cannot be helped.” He worried about all his troopers, for unlike man Tau commanders whose only concern was the completion of the overall objective; he cared about brining as many of his men home and victory. If too many were sacrifice, then why does any gain matter.

But it didn’t matter for the moment because a thump announced they had made ground level and were ready to disembark. Strolling down the ramp holding his head high and his sword swung strongly across his back, he walked a couple of feet over to where the tactical hologram was standing, and a tent readied with all many of surveillance equipment in place. The hologram showed the crater and little moving ships, each detailed down to a fine point thanks to Tau holoscanner technology. 

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got,” he said as he leaned into the hologram and let the machine project a 360 degree image in his head………………………………………………………..


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