Tau retake western suburbs

Although a crisis had been averted for now the Alliance was still under heavy pressure to stabilise its position before commanders could even consider once again establishing a presence within the city boundaries of Praxis. Following their successes in the south the veteran special forces that had spearheaded the assault were swiftly ferried into the western suburbs by Orca dropship and once more inserted under cover of darkness. The area had been lost to Imperial forces only a week previously and Tau command hoped that the Imperial war machine would not yet have had time to entrench itself and turn the conflict to the brutal defensive meat grinder the humans seemed to favour so much.

For once it seemed the Alliance was in luck as the Stealth teams moved through the ruins unopposed by anything except roving patrols. Most of the picket forces were silently eliminated but as more failed to respond to vox Imperial commanders began to mobilise their forces and as the sun rose troops were finally sighted advancing through the streets.

The Tau's initial reaction was one of complete bafflement. Instead of the massed infantry formations they expected to meet they instead beheld men on horseback, armed with lances and wearing heavy armour like warriors from some pre-industrial age. The cavalrymen seemed completely unaware of the stealth teams concealed amidst the dense ruins and after reconfirming all available sensor data to make sure that this was not some form of bizarre trap the Tau sprang their ambush.

The first lines of cavalry were gunned down before they even knew they had encountered the enemy. As the remainder charged forward more fell but a few made it to the Tau lines, concealed cybernetic enhancements and a cocktail of combat drugs allowing them to shrug off anything but the most serious of wounds.

Those that made it fought with great valour and ferocity, laying about themselves with energy lances and power fists before the Tau battlesuits fired up their thrusters and fell back, leaving behind their dead and spitting fire into the last remnants of the charge. More cavalrymen turned up on the flanks but the initial charge had already been defeated and their approach was detected by concealed firesight marksmen. They were designated by invisible markerlight beams and the stealth teams quickly recalibrated their fire to face the new threat.

The Tau pushed forward to occupy vital strategic points without encountering further organised resistance. Although they had destroyed the main body of the attack the Tau had sustained casualties, including a might Ghostkeel battlesuit. Despite their appearance and mode of warfare it seemed the cavalrymen were not the primitives the Tau had first assumed. They also had to be constantly alert for lone survivors who would suddenly charge from the rubble and try to pick off key commanders. As the fighting subsided waiting mechanised formations once again moved in to secure the ground taken.

As Tau high command began pondering their next strikes news came in that the pathway leading through the Cicatrix to the Tau Empire had collapsed as mysteriously as it had appeared. It was clear things would have to be done the hard way if the Alliance were to realise its aims.