Salamanders quash Tau plans of Tyranteous invasion

With the Imperium fighting orks on Hylas and preoccupied with what the tau considered an uprising on Tyranteous, the tau high command in the Aleph Sector began to consider their options. Their long term strategy had been on hold for a while, but with the fall of Tarsis Major it was now becoming possible for the total isolation of the Zadoc subsector to become a reality. This, they hoped, would convince the powerful worlds of Zadoc, and particularly Libria, to join their cause.

The loss of Alphe and Betor to the tyranid menace had both positive and negative impacts on the tau strategy. on the plus side, the loss of food imports to Zadoc was causing widespread civil unrest, and the Imperium were responding by brutally forcing the inhabitants of Tyranteous to produce more goods, leading to a rebellion here. Both worlds would now be receptive to the messages of the greater good.

On the other hand the uprising had called more forces, especially the astartes to the area. In addition there was general concern that Nemesis, although it appeared to have passed coreward of the Tau interests, bypassing the Mabb Nebula and Tarsis, would return and attack the tau colonies directly.

The tau deliberated for a considerable amount of time before eventually giving the go ahead for an expedition to Tyranteous. The plan was to invade the agri-world while the Imperial forces were occupied at Hollydale, gather an army of disenchanted farmers behind them and hope the Imperium was too weak to interfere against a meaningful tau assault.

Unfortunately for the tau the Imperium was well aware of this plan. Whether through spying or a traitor in the tau midst, General Brooke had become aware of a military build up at Waystation 240, a barren system once thought to be inhabited but now a tau staging post. Brooke couldn't mount much in the way of a strike, but the Salamanders accepted the challenge and within days were in orbit around the tau base.

The tau were not expecting a pre-emptive assault, and their fleet was in transit collecting more forces when the Salamanders' strike cruiser arrived. Lead by captain Fafnir the Salamanders landed and drove rapidly for the centre of the tau base, the tau attempting to put space between themselves and their fast moving adversaries. There was nowhere to retreat to however, and despite maintaining mastery of the skies, the astartes forces ripped the tau apart in close quarter fighting, the strategy to get in close with their enemy working exceptionally well.

After devastating the tau base itself the Salamanders quickly evacuated, leaving a handful of destroyed vehicles behind but very few marine casualties. The tau base was ravaged, putting back the tau invasion plans by weeks and leading the tau high command to question once again their strategy for sustainable expansion in the Aleph Sector.