Welch had failed once already in his attempt to capture the xenos controlled sector. Possession of the manufactorum was vitally important as the xenos had repurposed it to provide their own forces with munitions. Recapturing it would, of coarse, deny them that resource while supplying his own forces with much needed ammunition; however it was the location that was critical, control of this sector would provide a front from which further operations against important strongholds would be conducted against the enemy. Dolgath realized a second frontal assault against the heavily fortified position would be fruitless, yet Welch was intent on taking it by brute force. Dolgath had something more devious in mind…
“Your hammer failed!” Welch exclaimed as he paced back and forth in front of the vast viewport through which the sphere of the planet glowed below like a precious jewel ripe for the taking.
“Yes, the tides of battle can be unpredictable…” Dolgath responded from his chair, lost in thought.
“Is that all you can say?” Welch spat.
“Guile…” Dolgath said.
“Guile, what does that mean?” Welch asked.
“The Tau are a guileless race, as far as I can tell. They expect another frontal assault, so let’s give it to them.”
Welch pause in anticipation.
“A night deployment, as if we plan to attack their fortifications at dawn, only we will not be attacking their fortifications at all, we will be attacking the utility and resource feeds to the manufactorum. Without those feeds the facilities will be useless to them and they will take the pragmatic course and abandon them,” Dolgath concluded.
The Kabal of the Rancid Blade 