Renthaya Grondgun stared at the broadside window with awe, as did many other of her crewmates as they saw the grand majesty of the alien ship hanging in the void near Au'Taal Prime. The ship they were on, a captured Imperial mining vessel called 'Done With It', was on final approach to Au'Taal Prime to unload their precious cargo of minerals and other raw resources mined from an unnamed barren world near the edge of the star system. It had taken them the better part of an Imperial Year or two to get there, fill their quota, and then get back, but their perseverance had paid off with a front-row view to history.
"Is that a new tau ship? It looks huge." A young bridge crew named Tom called out, only to shut up once a fair few stares went his way. "It's all sleek and stuff, and shiny."
"Looks like Eldar scum to me." An old veteran spat at the ground, touching an old scar that ran from his forehead, through his left eye, ending at the lower left jaw. "Those cursed xenos burned my homeworld clean while I watched from orbit. Left it a barren world, and then they just left. Didn't even give us survivors the courtesy of death. I hope the Emperor kills them all to the very last one."
"Max, old boy, give it a rest. We've all heard your stories a million times by now." A young man patted the old man on the back, which earned him a gaze full of murder. "But hearing it one more time certainly isn't going to kill anyone. Take it away, Max."
"Oh you're all laughing now. But you won't be laughing when they tear you limb from limb quicker than you can blink. You won't be laughing when they line up the heads of your commanding officers one after the other like a fucking totem while leaving the rest of us untouched. You won't be laughing when the Emperor's Angels themselves get gutted and ran through like an Underhive brothel and no one knows until the very next day. No, you won't be laughing at all ever again." Max's rant captivated everybody on the bridge, so much so that none of them noticed a proximity alert appear in one of the hololiths before shutting down shortly after.
A loud beeping noise came from the ship' command throne, taking everyone's attention to it and reminding Renthaya that she was, in fact, still on the job as Captain for the moment. Easing back into her seat, she shivered as a draft of cold air blew across her face, sterilized from its journey into the ship's bowels to be recycled of waste products and toxins. She pressed the flashing button and came face to face with the impassive face of one Kor'O D'Yanaan, the Air Caste Representative of Au'Taal's Elemental Council.
"To all ships around Au'Taal Prime not part of the Kor'vattra, halt all approach until you have received further instruction. Locate the nearest spaceport or orbital your ship is capable of docking with, and await further instruction. Any attempt of forced entry into the planet will be met with extreme force. This is an automated message on behalf of the Au'Taal Sept Elemental Council. For the Greater Good." Renthaya stared at the looping display projected from her command throne for several more seconds before shutting it down and massaging her suddenly throbbing temple.
It's always one thing or another. She thought as her dreams of going back home were delayed once more.
As with all Septs, Au'Taal has its own Protection Fleet or Kor'vattra in the T'au language. Its location deep in T'au space and numerous fortifications in space and on land meant that such a fleet do not see action often, and such would be the case in any other day. Today however, they were found wanting as the sheer size and durability of the alien ship intruding upon the star system meant that their attempts to destroy the assumed threat proved futile and a waste of resources. Though none of Au'Taal's Air Caste would dare voice or think of any dissent against their sacred duty to the Greater Good, many were outwardly relieved when the order came to cease hostilities and prepare instead to escort the alien ship on its ponderous journey to Au'Taal.
"So our revered masters have decided to try the hand of diplomacy after such a poor showing by the Protection Fleet." Captain Mirrorstrike softly whispered to himself as he saw the res of Au'Taal's fleets array themselves into an escort detail surrounding the alien ship on all sides except for its back. His own starship, a Defender-class, had taken the point of putting itself on an interception path between the alien ship and a Custodian-class Carrier.
"Incoming communications from Au'Taal Prime. It's from-" The golden symbol of the Ethereals flashed from the Water Caste' display, clearly seen to all. "-. Patching our ethereal masters through now." Slowly, like a vision from a dream, the sage figure of Aun'Eldi graced the eyes of everyone on the bridge.
"To what do we owe this honor, etheral majesty?" Captain Mirrorstrike bowed his head at the hologram.
"Captain Mirrorstrike. I will be brief. You have been reassigned to a new fleet under the command of Admiral Suresword. Further details will be sent by an envoy shuttle shortly." And just like that, the Master of the Au'Taal Sept was gone. Everyone on the bridge looked at each other before eventually settling their gaze on Captain Mirrorstrike, who seemed like a T'au turned into stone. His petrification was short-lived, as he regained his composure and soon barked orders to the other T'au, his face betraying nothing of the array of questions bubbling underneath his skin.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Similar scenes played throughout the rest of the Protection Fleet. At the end of this remobilization, about a third of the fleet detached itself from the escort convoy and moved out into the outermost planet of the Au'Taal system, where they restocked and rearmed as needed, then headed out and about, their destination unknown to all but a very select few.
All eyes that matter, however, were on Au'Taal Prime for now.
The entire assemblage of Au'Taal's Elemental Council sat in silence aboard Aun'Eldi's personal craft, an Emissary-Class Starship named 'The Peace Between Worlds'. The alien ship was now keeping apace with Au'Taal in its own orbit around the system's star, some ten thousand kilometers or so away from the planet. That it had chosen to halt its approach, and yet still ignored all hails did not bode well for a friendly first contact, but hope must still be kept for now. And in the event that violence proved inevitable, the Kor'vattra has set up an impressive trap all the same, diminished as it was.
Aun'Eldi could hear those around him busying themselves in various ways while they waited for him to awake. He was, to the outside observer, meditating upon his grav-throne, flanked as always by his two most trusted Ethereal guards, but in truth he was taking in the moment as it happened. High Admiral Nightstorm was relaying an anecdote about his younger days to a Water Caste biographer, getting off tangent several times to the exasperation of his captive audience.
High Commander Needlesight discussed battlesuit tactics with his fellow Fire Caste commanders, looking up field reports of engagements done against the Imperium's Titan Legions at the same time. High Planner Shadeguard was engrossed in the schematics of a device whose function escaped any comprehension for all save a fellow Earth Caste, and so Aun'Eldi made no effort to even try. High Ambassador Understone, perfectionist that he was in his job, was in the middle of memorizing once more every alien language the T'au had ever encountered, as well all of their recognized dialects and slangs.
Aun'Eldi felt pride in his heart swell at the sight of the Castes perfectly in unison as the Greater Good intended. It has taken many generations of careful breeding and education to come to this point, and now their abilities would be tested to the limit. We are to be silk hiding steel; graceful yet unbowed when struck. Aun'Eldi recalled the words of the great Aun'va when he was but a stripling, still studying the ways of the Ethereals on the sacred T'au homeworld.
Just as Aun'Eldi resolved to stop spying on his subjects and meditate properly while he still had the chance, loud gasps were heard all around the bridge. Right in front of the Peace Between Worlds, so close that one could touch it with an outstretched hand, was another alien ship, uncloaked from complete transparency to full visibility in just under a microdec. It was a much smaller craft than the Emissary-Class Starship, but still large enough that a head-on collision would prove fatal.
For the first time in his long life, Aun'Eldi was at a lost for words. And that moment of shock extended when an Air Caste console blinked with a request for open channels. The crew in question looked at his superior, who looked at hers, who looked at his, who then looked at the ship's captain, who looked at the High Admiral, who at last looked at Aun'Eldi. The ethereal faintly felt his head nod, and the chain of command snapped back to execute that command, leading to an open channel broadcast to the entire bridge, seemingly of random static at first.
And then-
"-t'Au?"
-there it was. The voice a poor pastiche of a true T'au, but unmistakably speaking in T'au Lexicon. Silence reigned for another dec before that same alien voice spoke again, saying that same word in a different tone, almost like a question. Immediately, this broke the spell that took hold of everyone on the bridge, their bodies moving according to the training ingrained into them over the years. Aun'Eldi gave the High Ambassador one look and the T'au hurried to the active Air Caste console with a speed his soft body was grossly unaccustomed to.
He, however, didn't start replying to the alien, who had now repeated itself for a third time with a tone considerably lower than before. The High Ambassador produced a datadisk from his person and inserted it into the proper slot, gently patting the Air Caste in charge of said console to do his part. With practiced ease, he went over the holographic displays and terminal, several packets of data were sent over to the alien ship, carrying with it a veritable wealth of information, more than enough for an intelligent mind or two to put together and discover the key to communicating with the T'au. Several tense minutes passed in which everyone held their breath, then the comms channel buzzed once more with the telltale sign of an incoming signal.
"Testing, can you hear me clearly now? Your data package was most helpful in helping us translate your language. Thank you very much for that." The alien voice now spoke in near-flawless T'au, even enunciating certain things the way some T'au from certain Septs did. "Unfortunately, I don't think our systems are compatible enough to send visual data at an acceptable resolution. Would you be amenable to a face-to-face meeting, T'au?"
"My name is Aun'Eldi, the Ethereal Voice of Au'Taal, and we would be most amenable to such a meeting. To whom am I speaking to?" The ethereal spoke up, standing up from his command throne and towering over everyone.
"Aun'Eldi. Yes, names. My deepest apologies for not introducing myself first. I am the Mentat, the Head of Science of the Ascentron Circurrency." The T'au at last had a name to the new alien race that had caused them so much trouble recently. Every Water Caste on the bridge, as well some of the T'au Auxiliaries, were busy recording every moment of this historic interaction, preserving it for posterity. "Shall we meet in your ship or in ours? Either choice is acceptable."
"Let us meet in an orbital instead. We will lead the way." Aun'Eldi replied, letting his eyes rest on the ship's captain, who began charting a course to the closest orbital capable of receiving the Peace Between Worlds and its new tagalong.
"Splendid. I'll see you soon." The Mentat ended the comms link and the Ascentron ship began to move up and back away from the Peace Between Worlds. It moved with uncanny agility and speed, settling in at the Emissary-Class Starship's starboard side. In the distance loomed the Ascentron' Mothership, still as silent and inscrutable as ever.
