An unholy alliance

[Railgun Convention]

This is a setup piece of fluff I've been pondering for years, regarding my alliance of Tau and Space Marines. I haven't done much with fluff construction before, though, so don't expect a masterpiece on my first try!



+++TRANSMISSION INTERCEPTION+++
+++Sender: Unidentified outpost on edge of Ras'nak system. Scans indicate Tau technology detected.+++
+++Destination: Ras'nak III Orbital communications platform.+++
***UNSCRAMBLING***
***TRANSLATING***
***UNSCRAMBLING***
***COHERENT MESSAGE CREATED. MESSAGE FOLLOWS***

Deep Warp translations detected. Small fleet of Human ships detected. Analysis indicates that ships are of strike cruiser class. Battle stations sounded. Probes deployed. Awaiting further analysis.

***MESSAGE ENDS***



Shas'O Au'Taal Suam'Ka was relaxing. Specifically, he was relaxing on a long chair that a recent trader had given him as a gift. It seemed to be a bed with an armrest on one side, or a sofa missing half its back. Whatever it was, it was damn comfortable, which made the alert all the more irritating.

Suam'Ka swung himself off his new centerpiece and slapped the control panel projecting from his desk. "What," he demanded of the commander that popped in his eyepiece, "requires disturbance during my one cycle of Do Not Disturb?"

"It's the Vipers, sir. They're here." Another overlay appeared on the eyepiece, indicating the newly arrived vessels.

"Wha- how did they get so close without announcing themselves?"

"Direct warp translation, sir. You've got about an hour to get up here."

"Then stop talking and prep me a shuttle. And make sure we have the right translation programs this time." Suam'Ka terminated the link. Judging by the increased noise outside, the speeder that would take him to the starport was already waiting for him. Damned efficient, that Tau was.



Commander Heskey of the Blue Vipers 5th Company stepped out of the gunmetal shuttle into an alarmingly bright world. He wondered for a moment whether he'd stepped into the hospital wing instead of the third hangar bay, but then his eyes adjusted and told him this was indeed the latter. He also noticed a small delegation of blueskins approaching from another shuttle.

Suam'Ka spun up the translation program and started to speak. "Commander, what brings you to this otherwise silent area of space?"

"A strategic alliance, Flamefist," replied the Space Marine. "It appears our chapter master has had a change of heart, and has sent me to negotiate."

O'Suam'Ka was surprised, but recovered quickly. "And what of your armourers, your AdMech? What is their position on this?"

"They don't have one. They don't particularly care who we test their creations on, and the sector is flaring up with hostiles. Four companies have already been deployed, and the rest are being recollected."

"So a simple power for power exchange, then."

"Indeed." The Space Marine paused. "Loathe as I am to ask it, our Chapter Master has a request for a technology exchange."

The Tau delegation stopped walking and started arguing amongst itself. Heskey's bodyguards looked at each other in disbelief, but their protests were quashed when Heskey raised a hand. "I know this is unprecedented, but the fact of the matter is, your shielding technology is far easier to reproduce than ours is, hence the events of our previous engagements."

O'Suam'Ka spent a moment in consideration. "This would not be my domain to impose on. A technology exchange would have to be handled by the Earth caste, and you'll have to find something to impress El'Mesme, which is near impossible at the best of times..." He trailed off, then resumed walking, forcing the rest of the group to scramble to keep up, the Tau group still in quiet but heated discussion. Heskey noticed that two of them, one stocky Earth caste member and the blueskin that appeared to be second to Flamefist, both female so far as he could tell, were leading the debate, and the rest seemed to align themselves with one or the other.

Finally, the group reached what appeared to be a briefing room, which was surprisingly dark given that the rest of the place wouldn't look out of place in a human medical facility. The room wasn't particularly big, containing but a few seats and a projector sphere, but it did have a roof window into deep space. It also looked rather dusty.

O'Suam'ka kicked the sphere, which shed a layer of dust and activated. "Apologies for the state of the room, Commander, but it was the only one in this station available at short notice. El'Jakara, the lights, please."

The second in command went to a panel on the wall and started prodding buttons. Blast doors covered the window, and what little light the room had went out, save the projector.

Heskey handed O'Suam'ka a data slate. "Seeing as we both knew this alliance would work anyway, Zoltan took the liberty of planning out some positions where we need the extra firepower, and where we can redirect both ourselves and the Imperial Guard from, should it be necessary."

"Excellent." The Tau placed the data slate on the pedestal next to the sphere. After taking a moment to build itself an interface, the projection recalibrated to show the nearby area of Tau and Imperial border space. The image included a collection of red and blue spots, as well as labelled arrows that indicated force projections of hostile forces. Right now, a lot of arrows and red spots were focussed on a single solar system, not far from either Ras'nak or the Blue Vipers' home system.

The second in command, El'Jakara, paced up to the sphere. "Well, that's not ominous," she muttered. "You have Orks coming in force from the galactic west, Warp incursions on the second planet, and- "

"And a Raider force striking against all of the above. Which would be fine if it weren't making the Ork problem worse through working them up." Suam'Ka stepped back, as Jakara brought up a list of uncommitted Tau forces in the area.

Heskey stepped back in. "We also have worrying reports that Genestealer cults are starting to appear on Boroth V. Two companies have already been dispatched to contain them, but if the Tyranid fleets get there soon, we are going to need reinforcements fast." The blue-armoured Marine reached into the nebula of stars and tapped a system; the map zoomed in to show that system and the ones in its immediate vicinity. "And this area is starting to look like an 8-point star with all the demonic incursions, so it won't be long before something big happens in the middle."

O'Suam'Ka stepped up. "Right then. We'd better get this over with."

[BigToof]

A good start!
I like the fluff, especially the Tau commander who looks like he's going to be a lot of fun.
If this can be transitioned to the tabletop, I demand batreps!

Best,
-BT