[Wargamer]

Ts'kiao is a major Tau Colony, established during the later stages of the Third Sphere expansion. Whilst not yet recognised as such, it is a Sept World for all intents and purposes.

The citing of Ts'kiao was the result of many Tau'cyr of planning by various Castes. Astrological mapping revealed that Ts'kiao was the most logical choice for establishing a gateway "above" the Tau Empire, situated as it is in a pocket of relatively empty space. Whilst other species made claim to the surrounding worlds, these were all ultimately made to accept the Tau's dominance in the region.

Planetary Conditions:
Ts'kiao has a highly varied ecosystem. Most of the planet is dry, arid grassland, broken up by oceans that never quite succeed in dividing the super-continent. The planet's surface is only 49% water. In the equatorial regions, the planet becomes a desert, save for the wide rivers that snake toward the Core Ocean in the south. Along these rivers, pockets of life emerge. These regions are home to a wide variety of multicoloured plants, almost all of which produce fruit, spores or sap that is poisonous or otherwise dangerous. As such, only minimal research stations, and Shas hostile-environment training facilities, are located in the deserts.

The planet's polar regions provide a stark contrast to the deadly equator. This region is home to vast woodlands and, whilst bitterly cold, is more than capable of supporting life. The polar colonies are made up primarily of Gue'vesa.

Ts'kiao is home to many alien ruins and other signs of previous colonisation. These are found primarily on the plains, and have been a source of great interest to Fio and Por explorers. Several of the ruins pre-date the Tau Empire by many centuries, and show signs of millennia of Human occupation, as well as contact with other races. Due to previous alien encounters, the Tau Empire has been careful to examine these ruins for any sign of Eldar or Necron technology, but whilst the older ruins defy identification, nothing as of yet indicates either of these races ever settled on the planet.

[size=8pt][i]Uniforms of the Ts'kaio Sept.
Top Left: Shas'Ui in Night Ops uniform. Top Right: Shas'La in Northern Forest uniform.
Bottom Left: Shas'Vre in Equatorial Forest uniform. Bottom Right: Shas'El in "Parade" uniform.
Centre: Proposed Sept Symbol to be employed upon promotion to full Sept World.[/size]

Surrounding Planets:
At present, there are three "Key Worlds" in the systems surrounding Ts'kiao, each of which is subject to varying degrees of attention, both civilian and military. There are also several "lesser" planets that will become subject to the attention of the appropriate Tau authorities once the key worlds are successfully established.

Vais'tol: Vais'tol is an ice planet consisting of virtually no solid land mass. A sentient species evolved on this planet, using ore from the sea bed brought up into the crust by volcanic activity to raise themselves to a black powder level of technology. Initially discovered by an Emissary class Starship and its diplomatic core, the vessel was lost for unknown reasons, and now no trace of the Vais'tol people can be found, and in their place tribes of Feral Orks now roam the ice. Several Hunter Cadres have set up base on the planet to purge the beasts, but for every tribe that is crushed, another appears. It is hypothesised that the Orks, and possibly the indigenous Vais'tol, are hiding in the hundreds of miles of ice caves beneath the surface. However, due to the extreme instability of these caves, the Shas'Ar'Tol is unwilling to send forces down to search them.

Kash'o'ka: An industrial world, Kash'o'ka was colonised by Humans millennia ago, and had devolved into barbarism by the time the Tau arrived. The planet was heavily polluted, and civil war was rife. The Tau found a world suffering unspeakably from famine, plague and the casualties of war. Though much has been done to restore order, the scars of the planet's past remain; entire cities lie in ruin, their populations still rotting in the streets, waiting for burial teams to collect them. The population at its zenith was estimated at 980 million. Current population is 145 million, including the Tau.

Due to heavy culture shock, xenophobia, genetic corruption and general lack of desirable traits, a sterilisation program was put in place, and the planet's Human population is slowly being removed in favour of healthier, more useful stock. As the average life expectancy of an indigenous Human is 43 Tau'cyr, the process should not take long.

B'myr'la: A world of dense forests and carnivorous beasts, B'myr'la is a Death World that would normally be left alone by the Tau. However, in addition to its abundant resources, the Tau found evidence of Eldar technology on the planet. The presence of the Eldar was confirmed when violent attacks began, with Eldar forces striking out of nowhere and enslaving entire expeditions. The Tau are determined to conquer the planet, and thus secure the 'Webway' the Eldar pirates rely upon. Only when the threat of these dark raiders is quashed can B'myr'la, Ts'kaio and the other worlds rest easy.

The Curse of Ts'kiao:
Aside from the outward dangers, Ts'kaio has become marked by inexplicable phenomena. The Gue'vesa chosen to help colonise the region call it "Beyond", and claim it is a region from which no man ever returns. Their fear is such that armed uprisings have taken place in some outlying settlements, requiring forceful retaliation by the Fire Caste.

Unfortunately, it would seem their fears are not unfounded. The Custodian-class Starship Vior'la Kaius J'kaara was plucked out of existence when attempting to answer a distress call of a Lar'shi under attack from Eldar raiders. No trace of the ship was ever found. This is not the only disappearance, but it is the most terrifying; to make a dozen colonists vanish is one thing, but one of the Tau's greatest warships is quite another. Tau Auxiliaries with psionic abilities report of a lingering sense of fear and terror, an inescapable shadow cast over the region. Whatever its meaning, the Tau have steeled themselves for battle, believing that these omens mark the coming of some great and terrible enemy. They are prepared, and they will not falter.


Parade Colours:
Below is a more detailed listing of the "Parade" uniform. This is the standard uniform of the Cadres deployed on Ts'kaio, and the surrounding planets. The matt-grey Pulse Rifle is the currently accepted weapon model used by the Tau on Ts'kaio and surrounding worlds - the orange and brown Pulse Rifle shown in other data entries is a default weapon colourisation based upon the T'au Cadres, and represents the Ts'kiao battledress uniforms at the time of colonisation.

Top Left: Shas'O Elsy'ier Shovah Lar'shi Mont'yr. O'Mont'yr favours training amidst the hazardous plant life of the equatorial regions, and like many Shas stationed there he wears the light blue combat fatigues under his dress uniform. Note also the unique shoulder pad design.

Top Centre: Shas'El battledress. Note that, as with all ranks of Shas, only the markings on the helm are used to designate rank. The terracotta shoulder is not used for rank purposes in the Battle Dress, though is in certain camouflage uniforms. All other markings are purely decorative.

Top Right: Shas'Vre uniform. The lack of any kind of decoration is unusual - though individual colourings are not required, nor discouraged, most Tau have some level of decoration. The lack of a terracotta "seal" indicates the Shas'vre is probably part of a Stealth Team.

Bottom Left: Shas'Ui combat fatigues. Once again, the terracotta shoulder designates a Battlesuit pilot.

Bottom Centre: a Team Leader of a Fire Warrior squad. This is indicated by his half-helm (Shas'Ui having full blue). A Battlesuit Team Leader, would have half-white half-black. White shoulder indicates line infantry.

Bottom Right: A Shas'La. Very few, if any Shas'La adorn their armour with personal decoration - the line warriors emphasise the importance of the squad, not the individual. Note that the Veteran Firewarrior Teams, such as those guarding the planet's Aun, typically have a full-red shoulder guard.

[Childofdelight]

very good read. Well thought out and applied. Simply put, i love the fluff you got going here. My only real gripe is with the color schemes. I love the 3 natural looking ones, but the bottom right, just looks a little tacky to be considered camoflage. It almost looks like a slaanesh influenced scheme, lots if wild and clashing colors. The other 3 are perfectly fine. Lastly tho, i do like your sept symbol except for one thing. It doesn't have the Tau circle anywhere in it. Every other sept symbol has that little circle, perhaps you could put it in the bottom section, so it wouldn't go against your top stripped area. That would be about my only suggestion.

[Circus Freak]

Childofdelight, while it might seem like a good point think about what you're saying. Just because it's a forest, doesn't mean it's green.

[scar face]

Are the tau done on bolter and chainsword?

[MalusHunter]

There is a Tau Fire Warrior painter on the Bolter & Chainsword site, yes.

[scar face]

Ah, so I presume these are done via that...

[MalusHunter]

It looks that way .

[Circus Freak]

They are indeed. I don't particularly like the Tau painter over at B&C. All the others look "textbook", but the Tau one looks more real and I don't think that suits a paint scheme tester.

[Hadhfang]

Originally Posted by Circus

They are indeed. I don't particularly like the Tau painter over at B&C. All the others look "textbook", but the Tau one looks more real and I don't think that suits a paint scheme tester.

I agree, Still it was wipped up for an April Fools joke, so it's not that bad.

[Circus Freak]

It was? Dispense more information