Tau claim Dnatha Prime

By mid 06.020M42 the Imperium were ready to launch their counter offensive on Dnatha. Supplied by fleets in the Hadron Expanse a new force of highly mobile airborne troops were deployed to the last remaining Imperial sectors on the main world in order to launch a lightning and highly mobile assault against the invading Tau armies. By now, Commander "Farsight" had arrived in support of Malkaor, and the Tau braced themselves for the imperial attack.

 

Knowing the strength of the enemies airborne quick response force; Commander Farsight had requisitioned an air asset of his own in the form of a tiger shark, ready to ambush the imperial aircraft when they arrived. It appeared suddenly striking swift and true; destroying both a vendetta and vulture gunship while also crippling a valkyrie with its immense firepower. The guard commander, recognising the threat immediately brought everything they had to bear against it. While they eventually brought it down, the Tau aircraft had bought Farsight's forces the time they needed to advance and take control of a critical building in the centre of the engagement, and they now prepared to dig in and fight it out from that strategic location.

 

The subsequent volley of Tau firepower was crippling, with a greater many shots landing on target due to the imperial aircrafts' need to remain stationary to be most accurate. Now the imperial commander, realizing the battle was almost certainly lost and believing escape was also unlikely, decided the best way they could serve the Emperor would be to take the life of commander Farsight. Robbing the Tau of such a commander would surely have an impact in future battles.

 

The elite scion plasma command squads descended from their one remaining aircraft and fired volley after volley of incredibly accurate fire into Farsight and his squad of bodyguards. When the smoke and fire cleared Farsight still stood, the bodies of his bodyguards dead at his feet. It seemed the guard had failed. The remaining guard attack force was quickly mopped up. Farsight dispatching the enemy warlord himself in close combat. As he turned to his forces with his blade raised in victory there was a sudden crack of thunder and Farsight collapsed, crashing into the dirt and sand.

 

A vindicare assassin whose presence in the battle had so far gone unnoticed, now made himself known, placing a well aimed shot into Farsight's back at the base of the neck. Farsight's second in command Malkaor immediately spotted the threat and using the speed of his coldstar battlesuit quickly dispatched the assassin with a strike from his fusion blades. While the Tau had succeeded in taking this important ground and crippling the enemy air force; Commander Farsight had been dealt a mortal blow and only time would tell if he would live.

 

The success of the Tau had broken the imperial capability to defend the remaining settlements on Dnatha Prime however. The garrison was quickly overrun and by 1906.020M42 the Tau had claimed another world for the Empire. Now they turned their attention to the next system in their expansion plans, the system of Palantir.