ВЕРНУТЬСЯ В РАЗДЕЛ

Tallarn Rough Riders on dawn patrol in the Phyyra Heights. Their Mukaaii mounts were superbly adapted to desert conditions,
allowing them to range far further afield that horse-mounted squadrons.

The defeat of Operation Comet sent Lord Commander Gustavus' High Command into a fury of distressed action. The war on Taros had taken a turn for the worse, perhaps a fatal turn. The failure of the airborne operation had wide reaching effects, most immediately within the command structure of 4621st Army.

On board the Righteous Power. Commissar-General Mordrea Van Horcic arrived to see Gustavus, interrupting a Navy briefing meeting with his insistent demands to be allowed to see the Lord Commander immediately. The sentries on the door tried to bar his path, but the Commissar would not be delayed. Threatening to have any man who got in his way arrested. Van Horcic barged in. The briefing was suspended. Imperial Navy officer scurried from the room to avoid the Commissar-General's wrath. Gustavus sat impassively whilst the Commissar-General delivered instructions for the removal of the staff of 4621st army. They had failed in their duty to the Emperor, and whilst losses were acceptable, failure was not. The surface campaign had become a shambles and Taros was slipping from the Emperor's grasp. Lord Marshal De Stael was to be replaced, by the Commissar-General himself.

Unknown to the Commissar-General, Gustavus had been well aware of the situation long before Van Horcic made his dramatic entrance. One of Colonel Scheja's informers had leaked the news of Van Horcic's intentions, and the Lord Commander was prepared. Gustavus knew that Commissar Van Horcic was well within his rights to take command of the failing operation but Marshal De Stael had been a loyal and dutiful servant of the Imperial Guard and deserved better than the summary execution that now awaited him at the hands of Van Horcic.

That morning, Colonel Scheja had been dispatched to the surface with secret orders for De Stael. It informed the Lord Marshal that he was to be relieved of his command, and that he faced two stark choices. Turn himself over as a prisoner to Colonel Scheja, who would accompany him to the brig onboard the Righteous Power to await trial, or, take command of a front line platoon and lead an immediate counter-attack against the Tau, from which he should not return. Exhausted from his work and stung by the defeat of Operation Comet, De Stael removed his spectacles and asked Colonel Scheja to await his decision outside, he would be just a few moments. In the cramped corridor of the Leviathon command vehicle Scheja waited patiently. The dim hum of the Leviathon's generators was broken by the sudden discharge of a laspistol from within the office. Rather than face execution or be disgraced  and  condemned  to a Penal Regiment, Lord Marshal De Stael had found his own solution and taken he only way out which kept his martial honour intact.

The arrival of Commissar-General Van Horcic and his aides saw much of the other top brass of 4621st Army arrested. In a day of turmoil and confusion six  officers were executed after resisting arrest. 62 other officers and aides would be given a chance to die well in the service of the Emperor, after being transported to a Penal Reaiment. Ater his purge Commissar-General Van Horcic was now in supreme command of all Imperial Guard and Departmento Munitorum operations on Taros. It was his task to salvage something from the faltering campaign, if only as many men and as much material as possible.

The turmoil amongst the High Command did little to help the fiahting men on the ground. The supply situation was critical. Losses to dehydration were now far exceeding those in combat. Without new water supplies fast the remaining regiments would soon disintegrate. When Van Horcic oversaw his first briefing, reports from all the regimental commanders stressed that without new supplies their regiments could not last more than another week, ten days at the most. Any sudden Tau attack might shatter them completely.

Van Horcic first order was to shorten the over-stretched supply lines. It would mean a retreat, but better that than total destruction. At the moment it was taking a Trojan and fuel trailer on average three days to reach the front line, all the time risking a gauntlet of roving Stealth teams and strafing Barracudas. The trails worn through the desert that passed as supply routes were now lined with the burnt-out and rusting hulks of Trojans and trailers, evidence of the Tau's strategy of attacking the support elements.

All the regimental commanders were given licence to withdraw back towards the landing zone. Equipment that could not be moved must be abandoned and destroyed. Rough Rider squadron, were ordered to slaughter their animals to conserve water. Next Van Horcic summoned Fleet Admiral Kotto and informed him that his fleet would be required to find new transports and escort a new series of convoys into the Taros system, carrying more water, fuel and new replacement equipment, especially aircraft for the fighter squadrons. Should these fail to arrive, the Admiral would also be replaced. The ultimatum was simple, break the Tau blockade, or face a firing squad.

Seriously wounded and then taken prisoner by the Tau, General Scykava of the 23rd Elysian Drop Troop regiment was the highest ranking Imperial officer capture during the Taros campaign. His regiment had been all but annihilated at hydro-processing plant 23-30, but he survived. Because of his rank, the General was singled out from the other prisoners, given medical treatment on his shattered arm and transported under guard to the headquarters of the Tau supreme commander on Taros,  Shas'o R'myr. Tau operations were being conducted from a compact command complex situated in old mine workings underneath a nondescript cluster of old mine buildings just west of Tarokeen. The bloodied and dusty General was led down to meet his nemesis. Within waited the Shas'o, alongside him stood his advisor in long priestly robes. Another civilian, a diplomat or negotiator, was also present to act as an interpretor, as were three wary bodyguards eyeing the human General closely.

The Shas'o commended Syckava on his regiment's courage and bravery, but he must now realise that the war on Taros was lost. He assured the General that Taros would soon be part of the Tau empire. After questioning the General about the Imperial Guard's remaining strength, and their future intentions (all questions which the General stoically refused to answer), the Ethereal asked if the General if would act as an emissary to his superiors. The Ethereal had an ultimatum for the Gue'la. a ceasefire offer to end the bloodshed and allow the humans to withdraw unmolested, if they disarmed. The Tau would allow transport ships free access to Taros to evacuate their soldiers and personnel under the ceasefire agreement, as long as the largest war ships withdrew from the system. The Ethereal also offered to turn over the renegade Planetary Govenor Aulis, whom they had under close guard, in a prisoner swap for all the Tau captives the Emperor's forces were holding.

In return for his assistance the General would be assured a new position commanding the human auxilaries now under the Tau's control on Taros. With the Emperor's forces defeated the post of Commander of the Taros Garrison' would be his for life, an honoured position with all the attendant wealth and status human commanders seemed to crave - if he helped the Tau now.

General Syckava flatly refused the Ethereals offer. To act as an emissary and offer terms to his higher commanders would turn him into a traitor to his Emperor. He would not be a messenger and broker a ceasefire, even if it bought him a future life of luxury. If the Tau wanted the Emperor's forces off Taros, they would have to eject them. He finished by assuring the Tau commanders, "We will fight you every step of the way."

Rebuffed, the Shas'o sent the General back to rejoin the other prisoners. There would be no swift end to the war. It was a lapse in security that would cost the Tau dearly. The other prisoners were divided up and sent as new labour to distant mines. Despite his severe wound, all the time he had been a prisoner General Syckava had been observing, taking-in details. As a high-ranking officer he had had access to maps and secret information about Taros and the overall campaign plan that the other prisoners had not. He would put that knowledge to good use. From his observations he had a good estimate of the location of the Tau command post, and from his transport's flight path a good idea of which mine he was en-route to. General Syckava had been a loyal servant of the Imperium all his life, he was still one, and he would not lie down whilst the Tau completed their ultimate victory. He planned to escape, or die in the attempt.

Gathering a small group of Elysian prisoners about him, men who were still loyal to their former commander, Syckava made a plan to escape from the mine and strike out for the nearest Imperial Guard lines.

He did not wait long to act. On the first night at the mine Syckava and five men overwhelmed three human guards, stole weapons and water canteens and struck out into the desert. The escapees split up to confuse pursuit. Using his inside knowledge Syckava headed westwards, to where he believed the 331st Tallarn regiment's lines were positioned.

The guards did not bother to organise any pursuit. There was nowhere to run, and without supplies nobody could survive the deserts for long. The escapees were dead men.

They were almost right. After three days under the merciless sun Syckava was on his last legs. Stumbling westwards, down to the dregs of his water, face and hands blistered by the heat he finally collapsed. By a last desperate act of will power, rather than lie down and die he scraped a vague outline of a large Imperial eagle into the sand, and prayed to the Emperor that somehow somebody would see it. Fate intervened, or perhaps the Emperor heard his prayers, because a Thunderbolt fighter on a reconnaissance sweep over the desert noticed the strange shape in the desert and swooped in for a closer look. There were no friendly forces operating in this sector. After his pass the pilot reported his sighting and a long-ranged infantry patrol from the 331st Tallarn regiment was diverted to take a closer look. The Desert Raiders squad found the unconscious General lying face down not far from his improvised sign. He was close to death. The squad called for a Valkyrie to evacuate the mysterious stranger and themselves. General Syckava had made it back to his own side. None of the other four escapees were ever found.

Recovering on an Ordo Hospitaller field-hospice pallet the General report his tale in full. By a combination of bravery, faith and blind luck he had survived. Now he reported everything that had happened including the location of the Tau headquarters he had visited. When Commissar-General Van Horcic received the new intelligence he realised it was an opportunity too good to miss. Here was information that could change the momentum of the war.

General Syckava later recalled the entire escapade, including his meeting with the Shas'o and Ethereal and his subsequent escape to Ordo Xenos interrogators, before undergoing pyscho-corrective surgery and being placed in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus for cybernetic enhancement. After his re-education, General Syckava entered service with Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Varius.

By a miracle the Emperor had delivered the location of the Tau supreme headquarters into Van Horcic's hands Now he planned to launch a strike that might change the outcome of the war in one blow. For the mission he would need the aid of Lord Commander Gustavus, Colonel Scheja and the Officio Assassinorum.

Gustavus agreed to the plan, on the concession that Van Horcic put the entire operation in the capable hands of Colonel Scheja. The Colonel would organise, plan and execute Operation Deathblow. His mission would be to wipe out the Tau commanders in one strike. Colonel Scheja used top secret codes to send a priority astro-telepathic message requesting that an Officio agent be dispatched to Taros. The instrument of Commander 'Longknife's' destruction would be a servant of the Eversor temple. The attack would be a suicidal assault. The agent was not expected to survive, neither were the Tau.

Armed with the location of the headquarters, Scheja planned his mission. It would involve two strike teams. Red team would be the assassin, dropped into the desert, then moving to the location, breaking in and destroying anything or anybody inside the headquarters. Blue team would be a hand picked platoon of Storm Troopers from 2378th Storm Trooper company. They would be flown in Valkyries to launch a diversionary attack. Under cover of the attack Red team would get close to its targets. The Storm Troopers would all be volunteers, because deep in enemy territory and attacking such a sensitive target this was likely to be way trip, do or die. Colonel Scheja asked to lead Blue team himself. Even the aircraft crewmen from 71st Tactical wing would be volunteers, because to reach the target area meant there would not be enough fuel for a return trip, instead Valkyries would have to be ditched in the desert. The crews would destroy their aircraft before striking out on foot. Each crewman would be issued a survival kit to get them back to Imperial lines, but it was still likely that Tau patrols would find them and pick them up.

Operation Deathblow would begin as soon as Red team arrived and could be prepared, programmed with target information, then deployed. Meanwhile, Scheja visited 2378th Storm Trooper company and gathered thirty volunteers.

At 684998.M41, as part of a fresh supply convoy, the transport Son of Jucha successfully avoided the Tau blockade and delivered its cargo of war materiel, fuel, and a special container, attended by four Adeptus Mechanicus Techpriests, to the Righteous Power. It was a bio-statis tank inside which, suspended in amniotic fluids, was one of the most dangerous weapons in the Imperium's massive arsenal, an Eversor assassin - a pyschopathic, one-man killing-machine. Once awoken the drug-induced killer would hunt its target remorselessly.   Preparations began Immediately. The Eversor was programmed via hypno-suggestion, detailing its mission, the location and its targets Once programming was complete the still slumbering Eversor was equipped with its weaponry; power sword neuro-gauntlet, executioner pistol with its poisonous needles. The new poison had been developed by the Eversor temple specifically to effect the Tau's nervous system; it killed in seconds. Finally the self-destruct mechanism surgically implanted into the assassin's chest was armed. Should the assassin's bio-readouts drop below a certain level then it would detonate, killing the assassin and anybody close by. Even in death the Eversor was lethal. All systems checked out. With a final litany from the Techpriest attendants the bio-statis tank was carefully inserted into a drop pod and launched into the deserts of Taros.

The drop pod made secret planetfall about 60 kms from the target. Whilst still in mid-air unseen lights inside the statis pod winked into life. The life-support systems began to breath life into the Eversor trapped within. Slowly a neuro-gauntleted hand flexed into a fist. Crashing undetected into the desert sands the drop pod cracked open. Fluids drained from the bio-tank, which then opened with a sudden hiss as remote restraining bolts exploded. Umbilical cords and sensors needles retracted from the figure within. As if animated from death, the assassin carefully step out into the sunlight. Pausing only to survey the surroundings for threats the Evesor set off across the sand, moving lithely at a cautious trot, keeping low to the ground, pistol always at the ready. Red team was closing on the target as planned, by nightfall he would have arrived.

That night Colonel Scheja's Storm Troopers were winging their way over the dark deserts, three Valkyries flying low, all lights blacked out. The men within had orders to attack the target with everything they could, and keeping pressing the attack for as long as possible. They were unaware that the real assault would be coming in the dark form of the Eversor assassin.

Skimming over the desert in darkness the Valkyries had escaped notice, until a drone controlled early warning sounded in the Tau headquarters. The surprised security teams rushed to man the defences. The three Valkyries swooped down, flared and hovered briefly as Storm Trooper squads leap clear, one trooper after another falling three of four metres before hitting the sand and rolling clear. Sporting their attackers in the darkness the Tau opened fire. Storm Troopers returned fire. The darkness was illuminated by the vivid flash of pulse rounds and tracers. Crouching low and pressing forwards the Storm Trooper braved the bullet whipped ground, faced by searing fire from pulse rifles as the defenders fought desperately to protect their leaders. The Valkyries blasted away, circled and swooped back down, multi-lasers blazing a trail of lights across the darkness, soaring overhead, engines roaring.

Colonel Scheja led his squad towards the buildings, dodging through pulse rifle fire to find cover behind the first. There he pulled a grenade from his harness, armed it, and flung it through an open window. He followed up the explosion with a burst of plasma pistol fire. His men surged in through the doors, capturing the building. Outside confusion, noise and a black-clad terror reigned in the night.

Passing like a black shadow, an unseen figure slipped quickly towards the compound. One Tau Fire Warrior looked up from reloading his rifle to be faced by a black figure with a deathly pale skull mask. Swift as a cat's strike, the assassin plunged the needle-like spikes of its gloved hand into the warriors neck. The Tau guard died in silent convulsions before he could react, nervous system shredded, eyeballs melting. Without a second glance the Eversor moved on. Driven by its thirst for violence and unhindered by the darkness, it soon fount the target entrance. As the battle raged about it, the Eversor placed a melta-charge on the doorway, set the timer and stepped back. As the charge detonated it bursting into a sudden sprint, slamming through the flaming, ruined doorway and springing down the ladder within. Inside the Tau were taken completely unawares. A sustained burst of needle pistol fire stitched two of the surprised aliens against the far wall, where they slumped, dead in an instant from the toxins coursing through their blood. The assassin rolled forwards, under the hasty return shots, and rose firing again. A third and fourth Tau crashed to the ground dead. Its magazine now empty the Eversor discarded his pistol. Moving along the low corridors two desperate defenders rushed the black-clad figure, who ducked low under their fire to sweep the first off its feet. It lunged forwards to impale a sixth through the stomach with its gleaming power-blade which had suddenly appeared in its hand as if by teleportation. The Eversor's attack was an orgy of swift destruction. Leaving its slaughtered victims gurgling wetly on the floor, the Eversor step through the next door, into the Tau command centre.

Within stood the slim, robed figure of the Ethereal and a two bodyguards. The Eversor sprang forwards, power sword in one hand, neuro gauntlet ready to strike on the other. For the Tau priest there was nowhere to run and no chance of escape. Without hesitating the assassin struck. Whip fast again the neuro-gauntlet slashed forwards and then back, cutting the bodyguards down, writhing in dreadful pain. Just the Ethereal remained, he backed away from his gore-spattered assailant.

At that instant more bodyguards burst into the control centre to rescue their revered leader. In a blaze of pulse fire the Eversor was hit, and knocked sprawling sideways by the impact. But the assassin only had eyes for his target. It reached out its deadly gloved hand to grab the Ethereal as he tried to dodge away. Tripped by the attack, the Ethereal cried out and fell. The wounded Eversor sprang onto him pinning the Ethereal to the floor like a great cat going the jugular. The bodyguards rushed in and fired again striking he Eversor square through the chest spraying blood across the walls and floor. The deathly skull mask gave a howl of pain and anguish as the Eversor's life-blood pumped away but with grim, hate-filled determination it hung onto the shrieking Ethereal. With its last rattling breath the Eversor almost seemed to be laughing.

The compound was rocked by a sudden explosion from within me control centre. From his position outside Colonel Sheja felt of the fireball rising from the door, then he ducked into cover as debris rained down about his men. The Tau paused to look back in horror and dismay. The command centre was an inferno, gouting flames and smoke everybody inside must be dead.

Colonel Scheja and his Storm Troopers fought on, but Tau reinforcements were on the way, and the fight did not last until dawn. Fighting hard to the last, the Colonel and his men were all killed - this time the attackers were offered no mercy by the vengeful Tau.

Operation Deathblow had been a suicidal mission, and it had almost worked. The Ethereal Aun'Vre, was dead, but Shas'o R'myr had survived. When the Eversor struck he had already been outside, personally leading his bodyguard squad against the Storm Troopers. Commander 'Longknife' had been wounded in the fighting, but he had not been inside the control room when the Eversor self-destructed. For the Tau this was only a small mercy in a night of terrible horror. The loss of their precious Ethereal sent the entire Taros Coalition force into shock and grief. For many days the Hunter cadres were stunned into inactivity by their loss. After the grief came a growing feeling of rage against the men who had plotted this heinous attack. It was an anger that swelled inside each Tau warrior into a vengeful wrath that the humans would soon feel the full weight of. There could be no mercy now, only vengeance. The new Tau battle-cry was no longer "For the greater good!", it was "For Aun'Vre".

After a week of stunned inactivity and grief the Tau turned their anger against the Imperial Guard regiments now falling back through the desert. Thier defensive operations were replaced by a new offensive, aimed at shattenng the Imperial Guard and ending the war swiftly.

Shas О R'myr set about reorganising his surviving Hunter Cadres for the offensive The Imperial forces had been severely weakened but they were not defeated yet.

With the Imperial Guard forces in no shape to fight back, the evacuation of all the Emperor's forces on Taros was ordered at 718998.M41 by Lord Commander Gustavus. The campaign had lasted just ninety days, since the first ships arriving in-system, but it had failed. Commissar-General Van Horcic was outraged by Gustavus decision, but recognized that he had no hope of victory. The order stood. All that was left for him to do was quickly salvage what forces he could before they lost everything.

With the Tau now on the offensive the withdrawl of the Tallarn regiments soon became a rout. With the threat of Tau and Kroot forces now breathing down their neck, whether imagined or real, the Imperial Guardsmen fell back pell-mell towards the landing zones. What had been an army was in danger of becoming a disorganised rabble. The desert became a dumping ground as Guardsmen abandoned their vehicles and equipment. Hundreds of Chimera and Leman Russ hulls littered the desert. Officers tried to impose order and keep their squads, platoons and companies together. Commissars warned that any man who had thrown away his weapon would be treated as a deserted and shot. Such rigid disciple helped, but still Guardsmen tossed away heavy weapons, mortar tubes, spare ammunition and grenades, anything that slowed them down. Long columns of marching men tramped south through the dry desert, there were very few vehicles still running now Rations and water canteens were the only prized item. Men rooted through the hulks of tanks and Chimeras in search of forgotten water cans and looted canteens from the dead of previous battles, shaking out the last few drops in desperation. Tormented by thirst the entire of X Соф streamed south over ground it had fought to win. It was a broken army, no longer capable of making a stand.

A target scan captures a Tau Shas'el as he directs his Hunter Cadre in the final attack.

With their enemy in full retreat the Tau could now extract the revenge they so desired. The Imperial Guard were easy pickings, and Barracudas and Tiger Sharks took off to further torment the retreating guardsmen. Orca's landed combat teams,  who  mercilessly ambushed the retreating Tallarn Guardsmen, slaughtering them and rounding up the survivors as prisoners. With the Tau now attacking, and word of ambushes spreading, the retreat soon became a rout. After four days it was a shambles. Some officers tried to organise rearguards to fight the Tau, to buy the escapees time. It was a hopeless gesture, and those ad-hoc rearguard units were wiped out in futile firefights. In the wake of the evacuation order, the Tau simply mopped up, taking thousands of men prisoner and marching them away to captivity. For many capture was better than death from thirst under the merciless sun. Some stragglers made it through - most did not. To all intents and purposes four Tallarn regiments had cease to exist. Of X Corp only the 331st Regiment had managed to make their withdrawal in good order, and thousands of them would be evacuated over the following days. The 114th Cadian regiment also fared well, with their Chimeras piled high with men they raced southwards as far as their fuel would carry them, before abandoning their vehicles and marching the rest of the way. Most of the regiment made it, if not many of their Chimeras. The remaining Titans of Legio Ignatum also returned intact and, on Tech Magus Volta direct orders, were quickly whisked away to safety.

A lucky few retreating units were quickly rescued. The surviving Valkyries of 23rd Elysian regiment were put to good use ferrying units back the landing zone. High-ranking officers, command units and Stormtrooper squads were given preference, but after these had all been rescued Tallarn infantry started to pile aboard the airborne carriers for a fast trip back to the landing zone. On arrival they joined the growing queues awaiting a chance to board a landing craft for the trip into orbit.

The first stragglers on foot started to arrive at the landing zones at 752998M41. The evacuation had been ongoing for eleven days, and much of the most important equipment and personnel had already been moved into orbit. The end was in sight, but the Tau had one last concerted attack to make.

If the retreat had been a shambles, the evacuation was chaos. Disorder ruled the landing grounds as crowds of desperate men, fearful of being left to the mercy of the Tau, clamoured to get aboard transports. Commissars and Storm Troopers fought a losing battle to keep order, threatening the crowds with loaded weapons, and shooting those who broke through their cordon. High-ranking officers were the first to board, along with important Administratum officials. Much space was taken up by equipment, which would be harder to replace than manpower.

In order to protect the landing zone the Raptors had been called upon again. Captain Orelius' Space Marines had deployed back onto Taros and thrown a defensive perimeter around the landing grounds. In many places, he occupied the defences erect by the Tallarn regiments when they landed.

At 769998.M41 dawn broke as a yellow molten orb over the mountains, forewarning of another blistering day. Soon the heat haze was shimmering across the desert as the Raptors sentries looked out across the sand. With the yellow dawn came the distinctive swept wing shapes of Tau Mantas, approaching low like great birds, to hover in the dusty heat-haze and disembark their Hunter Cadres. The Emperor's forces were beaten, but the Tau's thirst for revenge was so great that Shas'o R'myr ordered one last attack, directly against the landing grounds. Any who did not escape now would be stranded here forever. Standing between the Tau and the landing zone were the Space Marines.

As the Tau ferried in their forces and mustered for the attack the Space Marines reinforced their defences with what reserves Captains Orelius and Kaedes had, and braced themselves for one last battle. Their job was to buy time for the evacuating troops. If the Space Marines' defences broke then the landing grounds would soon be overrun as well. The longer the Raptors could hold, then the more men would escape Taros to fight another day.

The first thrust came from the east, supported by long ranged fire from Mantas hovering on the distant horizon, huge railgun rounds started to impact about the defensive positions, tossing rock and earth skywards. Following close behind, Hammerheads and Broadside battlesuits joined the fusillade, rounds slamming into the Space Marine positions. Fire Warriors and battlesuits, led by Shas'o R'myr himself, closed in and the pressure grew. Space Marine heavy weapons and Whirlwinds responded. The Tau closed to within 200 metres of the dug-in Space Marines, but there the attack faltered. Hammerheads and battlesuits were burning, and Tau corpses littered the sand as they retreated.

A second assault came from the west, in greater force. Again the railgun rounds slammed home, again the Raptors stood firm, fighting hard to hold back the tide. A Manta closed in, raking the entrenchments with volleys of missiles. Captain Kaedes committed his last reserves, a sally of sixth company Land Speeders swooped overhead racing out to attack the Manta at close range. The little skimmers dodged and weaved as heavy bolters rattled and multi-melta's roared. Three were destroyed in the battle, but the Manta withdrew rather than risk further damage. As his losses built, Captain Kaedes strode from dug-out to dug-out, directing counter fire and urging his hard-pressed battle brothers on, until a plasma blast which immolated a Predator tank also critically wounded him, peppering him in molten shrapnel. Kaedes was dragged to safety, his upper torso and right arm horribly mutilated by the intense heat. The Apothecary stabilized his valiant captain, whose super-human physique barely kept him alive. He would not fight again, but upon returning to the Chapter fortress his valour would earn him the honour of being interred in an armoured Dreadnought suit.

A Raptors' Land Raider engages the enemy during the final battle of the Taros Campaign. The Space Marines' rearguard action bought time for the last transports to reach orbit.

By mid-afternoon the Tau forces were spent. They had battered at the Space Marine positions, but failed to break them. Meanwhile the last landing crafts had been hurriedly loading their cargoes. With the sound of the battle reverberating all around them hordes of Guardsmen crowded into the holds. Once full the ramps were raised and the great loading doors rolled shut. Anybody not aboard now would be left behind on Taros for good.

The lift-off of the last landing ship freed Captain Orelius to order the evacuation of his own forces. They had stood as the shield between the Tau and the evacuation all day, at great cost, but as night fell the Thunderhawks deployed to lift the battle brothers dear. The War Talon awaited their return By the time the Raptors' evacuation operation was complete the remaining transports and their escorts were already retreating out of the system. The Raptors' battle barge would be the last ship to leave, bringing up the rear as the fleet made the warp-jump out of the Taros system. The Tau fleet did not pursue. New orders now stayed their hand. The prize was the Tau's. they had won Taros and expanded the empire. The campaign was over.

The war on Taros had cost the Imperial Guard in excess of five complete regiments. The 3rd and 12th Tallarn Armoured regiments had lost all their combat vehicles and much of their equipment. The survivors would be pooled together to reform an under-strength 3rd regiment, which could then be rebuilt. The 17th and 89th Tallarn regiments had ceased to exist as coherent forces during the retreat, most of their men were now Tau captives, condemned to labour in Taros' mines for the Greater Good. The remnants were given over to the 331st regiment, which had survived the campaign remarkably well. Now the 331st had its first campaign honour and a new core of veterans. It would go on to serve in other warzones. The 23rd Elysian Drop Troops had been all but annihilated during Operation Comet, although the regiment still retained over one hundred aircraft. The regiment would be reformed with a new recruitment of men from their homeworld, to rise and fight again. The 114th Cadian regiment had lost only several hundred men, but over 90% of its vehicles. It could be quickly re-equipped with new Chimeras mothballed as war reserves. It would soon be ready for redeployment to the Cadian Gate. Legio Ignatum lost one of its four Warhound Titans.

For the Imperium the death toll was large, and precise figures are not known. It was estimated at ten thousand killed in action and fifteen thousand wounded. As many as twenty thousand may have been captured by the Tau. Approximately three hundred and fifty tanks had been lost, over seven hundred Chimeras and two hundred artillery pieces. Aircraft losses totalled sixty eight out of seventy eight.

Fleet Admiral Koto's Taros Invasion fleet had lost the cruiser Hammer of Thrace, the light cruiser Cerebus and eight escorts. The battlecruiser Righteous Power was damaged, as was the Black Duke. Both would require work at Kar Duniash shipyards before returning to duty.

It was estimated that Shas'o R'myr commanded a Tau Coalition consisting of at least one hundred Hunter Cadres, a grand total of between eight and nine thousand Fire Warriors and maybe as many as five thousand Kroot allies. Added to this were in excess of eight thousand human traitors who fought in the Tau cause. Actual Tau numbers and losses remain unknown, but must have also numbered in the thousands. The Imperial fleet could confirm kills on one Custodian class carrier, the A'rho, and eight escort vessels.

Following their victory, the planet and its mineral resources were now firmly in Tau hands. Over the following years the Tau would increase their grip on Tros. Their young empire had been expanded, and ships from T'au and Dal'yth would soon be in orbit, loaded with alien colonists. Meanwhile the Imperium was powerless to strike back. Another invasion would require a far greater force than that sent to Taros under Lord Commander Gustavus, and it was just not possible at this time. There would be no second invasion for the foreseeable future. With T'ros secure, the Ethereal councillors on T'au shifted their gaze to the new borders of their Empire and eyed the next world for conquest...