This is the fluff for my own Cadre, M'yen Shi's Rangers. It's a work in progress, and something I've been meaning to try and get the time to tell for the last year or two. Big thanks go to all the people who've helped in my project threads, as well as Doombringer for putting up with my various fluff questions, Xeones for his aid at my initial problems bridging from Imperial to Tau mindsets, and Spartan Tau and Wolfs16 for their own work and inspiration.

I will update this thread whenever I add a new section, and please feel free to add comments and critique as you feel! I'll have the second post be the actual story.. hopefully I'll figure out how to do Chapter links or something to aid in reading. I want your criticism! My goal is to have it as fluffy as possible within the bounds of what's in my own mind

Now, without further pomp, the first teaser section!

“Lieutenant, Tau forces under fire to the right!”

I heard the shout from Sergeant Collins and risked a glance, raising my head above the rubble before me. A unit of Fire Warriors was pinned on a rocky outcrop, Loyalist Guardsmen advancing towards them. The pulse fire was dwindling in volume over time; apparently they were either running low on ammo, their numbers were dropping, or both. Chatter over the headset vox-caster indicated the Loyalists were calling for armored support which was en route, either the Tau had to break out now or they were about to meet their maker at the hands of a Battle Cannon.

Sizing up the situation and the mere hundred yard dash for us to engage the Loyalists, I made a decision which would alter the course of my life. “Sergeant, ready a charge, we’re going to reinforce.”

The Sergeant grinned, evidently all the skulking around didn’t agree with him. “Aye, Sir! Squad, you heard the Ell-Tee! Ready to charge, three… two… one… Charge!”

The boys around us did their best, by the Throne. The Emperor of Man would be proud, if perhaps confused why one loyal to Him was leading arms against His own soldiers. The massed lasgun fire echoed around me as I took a few potshots with my hellpistol in my left hand, drawing the commandeered Officer’s sword I carried. The Tau evidently caught wind of what we were doing, as our advance was supported by a concentrated barrage of pulse fire from the hill. We took casualties like I knew we would, an inevitable consequence of running and screaming towards another guy when both sides were holding guns. I remember being annoyed at that, wondering if perhaps I had made the wrong decision being on this battered rock in the first place.

We managed to catch the Loyalists in our vice, gunning them down to the last. My men took positions in cover around the hill while I moved myself up to greet the Tau.

“Greetings, Shas’la! We thought you could use a hand up here,” I offered as I looked around for the one in charge. I spotted him about the time he began speaking.

“Greetings, Gue’vesa’ui,” he responded, obviously familiar enough with the Separatist uniforms to spot my Officer’s Insignia. “I am Ui’Eoro. Who might you be?”

I thought briefly for a moment of introducing myself properly, and quickly decided against it. Now was neither the time nor place for such introductions, especially as I wished to avoid a pulse round to the face. Instead I settled on a compromise, something I could still look myself in the mirror having said.

“I am Tristan Roi, commander of this platoon. You can call me Scraps,” I answered. “You’ve got to move, Imperial armor is on the way. You stay here you’ll be eating Leman Russ shells in a few minutes.”

Ui’Eoro shook his head, amazing that some gestures seemed to transcend species. That or he’d spent enough time around humans to catch a few things. “We cannot. There are wounded here who cannot run. We will not abandon our own, we must hold for the evacuation.”

I looked around, taking stock of their situation. A crashed troop carrier, a Devilfish, lay nearby. There was a wounded pilot as well as two injured troopers, then the bodies of a half dozen various warrior caste Tau. Standing were another seven, not counting Ui’Eoro. From the damaged weapons and expended ammo packs lying around I guessed they were down to their last couple of clips, having already raided ammo from the dead. This was going to be tricky.

“Lieutenant, incoming!”

The warning shout and the approaching whistle was enough for me to duck behind what cover was available, as the Tau around me did likewise. An explosion rocked the hillside, sending rocks flying through the air. The cries of a few wounded Separatists greeted my ears, reminding me that we were rapidly running out of time.

Ui’Eoro seemed unbothered by this, as he set down his pulse rifle and picked up a carbine from nearby. It was a markerlight equipped model, the distinction enough to make me realize we were holding over the ruins of a forward scout team, Pathfinders. He aimed it at the approaching Leman Russ, holding steady.

I grabbed the other remaining bit of the Pathfinders weaponry from the ground; Throne knows the corpse couldn’t use it. Thinking quickly I toggled the button to switch over to the markerlight as I aimed at the approaching armored behemoth. “Aim for the joint between the turret and the main hull,” I instructed. “With luck we’ll disable the cannon when your support arrives.”

Ui’Eoro looked over in surprise as I handled the weapon with ease and familiarity. He was surprised that I had any knowledge of Tau weaponry at all, and by rights I shouldn’t. The Separatists here only had knowledge that their revolt was backed by the Tau for a few months at most, and even then most hadn’t even seen their supporters until the last several days. Granted, I wasn’t from around here, nor could I explain the vast amount of knowledge that lay within my brain. Lies and masks, the story of my entire existence. Let him wonder why I could read the ammo indicator and know there were still 27 of its 50 shot capacity, the Tau warning words, or know how to toggle the markerlight to call in support fire from other units. There would be time for explaining later, assuming we survived.

M'yen Shi :
This was very well written! I got thrown for a curve with the Imperial separatists fighting on the Tau's side, and I like how it just kind of hit you that humans were fighting on both sides early on. That part stands out greatly, but I do have two comments past the initial praise:

• "Aye, sir! Squad, you heard the Lieutenant! Charge on three! One... two... three!" :: I'm sure it's probably just because I've been watching a lot of BSG lately, but this sentence just stuck out strangely for me. At first, it was the count-down, but reading through it again I feel that 'Lieutenant' should also be shortened. 'Ell-Tee' pops immediately to mind, but again that's probably due to BSG. Maybe 'Lieut', but of course I don't really have experience in this area, so maybe just ignore this small complaint.
• Ui'Eoro :: Stealing my characters, are we? And making the Tau a Pathfinder, no doubt! Seriously though, don't mind at all if this involves some of my forces, since they have been hankering from some action recently...¹

And that's it! Can't wait for the next installment!

1 :: I'm planning out another fluff piece right now, but it won't be posted for at least a month due to some Real Life^TM impending actions.

Very nice little piece... Roi seems to be taking everything a bit mildly, but I like his character. Looking forward to more.

Dead Tau make me sad...

Thank you! I was hoping it'd be a bit of a change being from a non-Tau perspective, but things should hopefully make more sense once I start getting things going.

Hunh.. that makes sense actually.. I'll ponder that in my head and see if I can find a way to shorten it If any active duty or retired military personnel know of a common usage nickname please let me know!

Doh, that's totally unintentional actually *grins* Shas'ui D'yanoi Eoro is the 'Ui of my EMP Commando team It was intended that his unit are just Fire Warriors over a crashed Devilfish of Pathfinders, but leaping into the middle like that I can see the confusion. I think that'll be alright though, the fine distinction isn't that important especially since it's from an outsider looking in at this point. We'll get more of the story from Eoro's viewpoint later too.

There's definitely a reason for his haphazard attitude, though much of his actual background is intended to not be mentioned formally.. Glad he's coming across well!

Ooh, now this is interesting! I like the style it is written in and I think it will be interesting to find out the main characters past. Your knowledge of Imperial structure should provide some nice background and help us see how the Tau interact with it.

There is one part of the story though that I'm not too sure on.


The "who might you be" part kind of throws me a bit. It sounds a little too informal, especially considering the way the Tau speaks in the rest of the story. He seems to speak very properly, not using contractions or slang. This informal question seems a little out of place, don't you think? To me, it would seem a bit more Tau-ish if he asked for his name, rank or serial number. Something to that effect. What do you think?

Oh and thanks for the mention earlier! I'm always happy to inspire. Keep up the good work!

A few minor edits have been made to the first section due to reader comments (and checking with one of my good friend's whose husband is an Air Force Engineer). Thank you for all the input!

For your reading pleasure here is the next section. At some point I'll try to figure out how to link them or get a central contents page or something.

*****

It had all began planet-side on Illsa Two. Reports had indicated that this relatively peaceful agricultural world in the Illsa system near the Sagitarrius Arm in the Segementum Ultima, past the Eastern Fringe, had begun to show a remarkable increase in productivity in a relatively short time frame, the equivalent of only a handful of Terran years. This would normally be of no large consequence; however there had also been rumors of a member of the Dark Mechanicus trafficking in technological secrets of the Arch-enemy in the relatively same area. Furthermore latest reports had indicated that one particular member of the Adeptus Ministorum, or the Ecclesiarchy as it is commonly called, had begun to acquire a large degree of popularity among the inhabitants of Illsa Two. Preacher Ignacius Fallus was approaching something of a cult figure on the world, with his rise in popularity occurring before the increase in productivity, however not so much so as to avoid suspicion. In addition, his own particular version of the Imperial Cult was beginning to rapidly spread throughout the system like wildfire.

Naturally I decided to investigate. There were too many slight coincidences for my comfort, and any legitimate possibility of a Divine Avatar was worth investigation. Leaving a message for my associates via our usual channels I obtained transportation to Illsa with one of the Rogue Traders of the region. Jharo Ulf, captain of the ship Visions of Solitude was a former acquaintance of mine. The name of his vessal being an ironic forecast of what was to come; he was able to deposit me upon the planet after relating what he himself had witnessed in his wanderings.

The natives of Illsa Two did indeed owe their increased productivity to technological improvement, displaying technology not found elsewhere in the Imperium. He had witnessed one or two of these new machines in use and did not recognize them, nor did they sound familiar in my own experience to the STC devices commonly used by frontier worlds. Jharo’s relation of the worlds of Preacher Fallus was equally as puzzling, of sermons referring to the God-Emperor as being the greatest good that had happened to humanity, and that serving his will was for the greater good of all. Nothing inherently against more traditional versions of the Imperial Creed, yet something still tickled the back of my mind. I was not one of the inherently powerfully gifted however I had long since learned to trust my instincts and the inherent power of suspicion.

This was all to change once I had arrived on the planet itself. Conditions on Illsa were remarkably pleasant, with the majority of the population being of relatively sound health and body, contributing to their Imperial Tithe and going about their lives in good order. Still something troubled me; conditions are seldom what they seem and that which appears idyllic often isn’t, particularly with various elements such as Genestealer Cults and subversive servants of the Arch-Enemy at work.

Closer observation of the good Preacher would be required, so I assumed the identity of an officer of the local Planetary Defense Force and then specifically manufactured orders for my transfer to the area around the good Preacher’s parish. There was definitely a rising discontent with the people’s lot in life, a belief that they were entitled to more than indentured servitude in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. I suspected a more planned subversive element would soon show itself, and while I waited I endeavored to put myself in good standing with the Preacher in hopes that when whatever plot it was came to light I could more easily observe his actions and discern if he was worth further investigation.

My suspicions seemed confirmed when perhaps a week after my insertion a full scale revolt began to occur, centered around none other than Preacher Fallus. Apparently he was now preaching that for the greater good of all the people of the Illsa system, the planet would have to leave the Imperium so that lives could be improved for the people themselves. I still wished to keep the preacher under observation, so when the PDF itself began to separate into loyalists and separatists, I ensured that the platoon under my own command joined the ranks of the separatists. It was in these first moments of the coming civil war that I joined forces with Sergeant Collins. Our forces were given orders to cull the population of some of the initial villages to raise arms against the Adeptus Arbites, so we arrived at where a small precinct was under siege to break them out. Instead we helped lead the rabble against the watchdogs, distributing arms and helping fortify the village.

I had made a statement that would ironically label me for the duration of the campaign. “I’m tired of living on nothing but scraps dropped from on high,” I had said. “I’m going to take these scraps and make a quilt out of them, by the Throne!” Naturally to keep the deception intact I had to play the part. Collins had laughed, dubbed me ‘Scraps’ and the name stuck. Lieutenant Scraps had joined the separatists and rapidly became one of the more trusted petty officers of the Preacher’s forces.

I had begun to hope that this trust would begin to allow me closer access to the Preacher himself when the bad news arrived. The Imperium had learned of the planets civil war by means of Astropath message and the word of the Planetary Governor, and the Imperial Guard had begun to land on Illsa Two. The campaign against a diminishing loyalist population had been successful, and the ranks of the separatists were swelling. Swelled enough that the loyalist guardsmen had to struggle to make headway over the first year, however we were still outmatched in terms of sheer manpower. It was then the true architects of the revolution began to show themselves. It was not cultists or servants of the Arch-Enemy at all. No, it was the Tau.

Technological improvements provided by the Tau had begun a trail towards prosperity and better living conditions for the masses. This led to belief that perhaps they would do better if Imperium were traded for Empire, if instead of one God-Emperor they instead served the collective Aun. Over the coming years of the war it struck me as ironic that in reality there was so little of a difference to the common man. He would still farm, still send the fruits of his labor off to feed the war machine of an overlord he would most likely never see, helping fight a war by proxy for a collection of planets that would outlast him, hoping to not get eaten by any variety of alien evils that would destroy him in an eye blink. In any event, it was becoming decidedly clear that there was no Divine Avatar at work here, merely various manipulations by the Tau and small moves from the Imperial Creed to the concept of the Greater Good. Unfortunately my own work in inserting myself into the separatist forces had been too successful, and I was now stuck in battle against loyalist forces more often than not as we moved from one safe haven to another. Ideals aside, keeping myself alive was my first priority. I had begun to think that with the aid of the Tau and their turning of the tide against the loyalist reinforcements that Illsa might become peaceful enough for me to get off world and resume investigations elsewhere. At least I thought so before the Space Marines arrived to bolster the numerous Regiments of the Imperial Guard.

Nice update! I wouldn't have guessed who "Scrapes'" originally was, so you kept the illusion well.

I'm curious to find out more, as you have left us with just enough detail to make it interesting. I didn't find anything that sounded strange or would need any clarifying, so well done!

I'm liking it a lot so far. There are a few grammatical/word choice things that bothered me, but I didn't have time to write them down. They didn't really hinder comprehension that much anyhow.

The only other thing I might suggest would be some kind of acknowledgment of the change of narration. The first section is present tense, while the second involves no current events, but are Scraps's ruminations on what brought him to where he is now. You could leave that as is and the section break would be enough to make the change in tense unproblematic. However, I think that making it explicit that such a change in tense is happening by fitting it into the story somehow would be better. Make the second section a journal entry or data recording or whatever that might be helpful for explaining where the section is coming from. It makes it much less of a "tell" and more of a "show" (or, it at least conceals the "tell" a bit more). As it stands I sort of wonder why our narrator is suddenly launching into exposition about his past; where is this situated in the story?

Keep it up.