The Cemephon Expansion: One lost soul in particular

A silvery moon sat low in the sky.  It’s milk white orb sat close to distant dry hills that were bathed in the gold blue of the approaching dawn.  The towering form of a Tau Crisis suit stood amongst the tall dry yellow grass of the summer.  The white of the massive, but graceful, suit picked up the cobalt color of the dawn. A green robotic eye watched the dawn. It hadn’t been like the last time the Tau landed on Cemephon.  Obolois recalled the Honchop Horns bellowing as the massive invasion fleet had descended toward the ruins of New Boston.  He recalled the massive bombardment of the city from orbit.  Back then, almost a year ago now, the strike from space, followed by the massive landing was just as much of a message to the humans as an opening salvo to a war.  The message had been clear~ do not stand against this power.

Behind Obolis’ suit an army was gathering.  The last of several large drop ships slowly and quietly lifted from the field like balloons drifting away to the sky.  They left behind several thousand Fire Warriors, their transports and mountains of supplies for a long conflict.  He recalled that during the original invasion the conflict had not been as brilliant or as deadly or even a prestigious as the arrival.  The humans had had forced the Cemephon invasion into a waiting game, then into a war of attrition, and then into retreat.  Not this time Obolis thought to himself.  This time, Obolis swore, he would do it his way.  He had been overruled time and time again during the opening battle and then the wider campaign.  Now there was nobody to overrule him.

They were not lingering here.  Obolis turned toward the army behind him, fired his jet pack and dusted off the ground.  The fire warriors were quickly loading their supplies into hundreds of Devilfish transports.  As they became ready the transports, each with an escort of Crisis Suits and an assortment of skimmers, took off and departed for their various destinations.  He watched as his hunter teams took to the sky.  Dozens of teams moving off in the dawn light.  And as they became more distant they seemed to become as swarms of insects, some larger than others, all heading toward their various targets. This time the landing had been at night.  Under the cover of a comit’s radiation wake his army descended to the fields of Tralthus.  It was a much smaller army now, all that remained of the original Cemephon warfleet.  There were probably more veterans of the Cemephon Sphere in the pits of the Dark Eldar City than in this battle group.  But those that stood by him were veterans indeed.  They had fought on this ground though dozens and dozens of engagements.

Obolis’ suit coasted toward a hovering Pathfinder Devilfish.  As he approached a pair of heavy skimmers lifted from the ground scattering dust and battering the long grasses.  He joined the rest of the crisis suits in his team, three pair and him.  They formed up behind him and were joined by two pair of light scout skimmers.  The cadre of flyers all departed and moved toward the east.  Obolis cast a glance back toward the drop zone.  It was emptying now.  Few Tau were even on the ground.  A brace of transports circled the lonely drop zone.  There had been reports of Tau resistance on this world since he had left months ago.  In secret he sought to link up with those abandoned souls and strengthen their resistance.  To the humans it would appear that a guerilla war had just turned hot.  They would have no way of knowing that a new invasion was underway until half the world had slipped from their grip.

There was one lost soul in particular that he meant to find…