"Prepare for impact. All guns at the ready!" M'yen barked through his comm-link in the language of the Tau. He looked up warily and saw the balls of fire speeding towards the planets surface. Green in colour and bearing the insignia of something called 'The Aquilla' the balls crashed into the ground causing dust to explode into the air and blind all around him. M'yen could make out silhouettes emerging from the balls of fire the sounds of weaponry being fired filling the air. Slugs and bolts filled the air, criss-crossing the battlefield, emerging at the last second through the dust.
He crouched down into the trench the Earth Caste had dug out for his forces. They had made a good job. A Crisis suit was relatively exposed from the chest up, but the Fire Warriors clad in their ice blue armour were perfectly protected until they fired. If war was an art, the Earth Caste could make a canvas he could paint his masterpiece on
The dust was clearing and he saw the Broadsides moving into posistion and the Kroot Shaper marshalling his forces before attack. Across the field from him, about half a kilometre away he could see the Green Forms of Dark Angels Space Marines being led by a figure in armour of purest bone-white, a giant and arcane hammer in his right arm and a giant shield in the other. The white figure stopped and issued some commands signalling what he wanted with hand movements. M'yen couldn't make out, but having fought Space Marines before he knew what to expect.
"Shas'ui Bork'an Ess'an, mark the white suited commander. Kill the head and the body dies with it."
Ess'an's reply was swift, "It has been done."
M'yen blasted a flurry of shots from his Cyclone Missile Launcher, killing a marine instantly, the radiation so great it burned him to cinders where he was. Next to launch were his Missile Pods crushing one Marine and the other tearing through the chest of another, sending deep crimson blood everywhere mingled with bloodied bone and meat. M'yen wished it wasn't like this, if only their Emperor would submit to the will of the Ethereals and the Greater Good this bloodshed would not be nescessary. His fellow commander, Shas'el Bork'an Kal'el, who M'yen liked to think of as his apprentice was a young fiery hothead who was outstanding on the battlefield, his expert eye felling enemies in all manner of ways.
M'yen opened his comm-link to Kal'el, "Fall back at bit, the Broadsides are targetting the white-man near your posistion."
His baritone returned over the link, "Shame. I was really getting into this fight."
"Watch your words brother, you know Brightsword was cautioned by the Ethereals on T'au for his brutality in that gorge. I don't want our ways questioned."
"You're right again M'yen," was all he could reply as he began to float back to the trench system.
The Broadsides were in posistion and taking aim. Slugs the size of M'yen's head erupted violently from the Broadside's shoulder mounted railgun, causing the warrior to recoil violently. Such was the way of the Greater Good. The shot ripped through the white-man's armour, causing the giant's armour to be splintered as if it were paper. The green-men formed up around him in desperation to protect the grounded commander. How could he still be alive?
The battle around him was not going so well. His Hammerhead had been reduced to slag shortly after the enemy had made planetfall, and the Shaper with his Kroot were being engaged by Marines with odd-looking jetpacks. Uncouth, M'yen thought, but they don't have the technology we have.
His Ion-Cannoned Railgun was reaping a heavy toll on the green-men, slaughtering them in droves. Too late he saw the other tank and watched on in horror as the tank exploded spectacularily burning the crew memeber and his fellow warriors in the vicinity of the blast. He had won a great deal of battles, and lost a good few, the mark of a Commander in his posistion. The Ethereals had awarded his service on the planet Medusa V with a silver knife after holding back tens of thousands of Necronytr as his warriors fled the planet. Hundreds had fell that day, included his bodyguards. He was still deeply saddened by their passing.
The Kroot were engaged in a bloody melee, blood, bone, meat and broken pieces of armour littered the ground. Despite their heavy casualties, the Kroot were advancing on the fallen commander, but were meeting stiff resistance. He knew he could not hold on as his lines were faltering.
Ess'an's voice sounded over the comm-link. "I have a shot on the enemy's second in command. The commander is being airlifted away." M'yen looked up and saw the green ship landing about the commander. "May I take the shot sir?"
"Green Light to engage. Then fall back - we can't win this fight here."
"Understood."
M'yen looked around. He knew that ordering Ess'an to fall back was the only option, as he was not prepared to allow his men to die a pointless death in a last stand. He couldn't. He owed them that much.
"Firing, sir," Ess'an breathed, oblivious to the fact the enemy couldn't hear him.
His rail rifle slug burst from the barrel and M'yen heard it leaving the gun and the sound of it making impact as the green ship began to take off.
"Perfect shot Ess'an. Now get out of there!" M'yen roared.
"Affirmat---," Ess'an tried to say but a ripping sound drowned him out.
As
Ess'an had tried to creep away but one of the warriors from the green ship had fired and ripped his skull open, sending his brain everywhere. M'yen's last hope was now retreat.
He opened all channels on his comm-link. "All units, this is M'yen. Fall back. We can't win this fight. Fall back."

Great story, well written and a nice use of fluff. According to the last line, there will be more, good job!


Shas

Its actually a two part story, and i originally wrote it for my Space Marines' character returning to the Confederation of Angels. This is just the same battle from the Tau perspective. I may decide to expand on it, as we do the Tau to win it at some point - i only made them lose as it was a Space Marine post originally. I'll post the Space Marine one here if people want to read both halves and see what half they like best. What do you think?