T'au Commander

A Tau Commander is the name given by the Imperium in Low Gothic to the two highest ranks of the Tau Fire Caste -- Shas'o and Shas'el. All Tau Commanders possess the authority to lead a Hunter Cadre into combat. A Tau Commander is a hero of the Tau Empire -- he has dedicated his life utterly to the pursuit of the Greater Good. Each is wise and insightful, and an inspirational figure to his troops, whilst also being a battle-scarred warrior and a supremely dangerous foe to the enemies of the Tau. Tau Commanders maintain their heroic presence by piloting a sophisticated suit of battle armour known as a Tau Battlesuit, and whilst they may utilise similar weapons and wargear as their subordinates, their rank and importance often gives them access to more non-standard equipment, like different hard-wired Battlesuit Support Systems, Battlesuit wargear, and/or upgraded weapons systems. A Tau Commander is a fearsome adversary, a warrior that the enemies of the Tau Empire have learned to respect.

Path to Command
Serving as a Tau Commander is a position of great honour for Tau Fire Warriors. It is attained only after long years of progressing through the ranks of the Fire Caste, where aspirants must be schooled in all forms of warfare, ranging from the arts of subterfuge and ambush they learned in their service as Pathfinders and Stealthsuit team members, to the skills required to play the heavy support role of an XV88 Broadside Battlesuit pilot. However, it is only once a Fire Warrior has become skilled in the use of an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit in combat that they can truly rise up through the ranks. Th mantle of command is only earned once a Fire Warrior has attained the rank of Shas’vre and leads their own XV8 Crisis Battlesuit team. From there, they must continue to prove their worth in battle before being chosen to be part of another Tau Commander’s bodyguard. At that point, proof of accomplishment in not only the tactical, but also the strategic arts of war may earn the Commander’s approval and elevation from Shas’vre to the rank of Shas’el. Shas’el is the second highest rank within the Fire Caste, and for a Fire Warrior to have attained this rank is to become a Tau Commander and earn the right to lead their own Hunter Cadre. However, those Shas’el who have proven themselves worthy through repeated success in the field through displays of masterful leadership, are considered for promotion to the rank of Shas’o -- the highest rank one can attain in the Fire Caste. A Tau Commander of the grade of Shas’o will often lead multi-cadre operations and larger scale campaigns, and will form part of the Shas’ar’tol (Tau High Command) in the coordination of these affairs. Once a Shas’o has served long enough, he is given the choice to retire from active service and join a high council of advisors who can play a more active role in Tau politics and directing the affairs of the Tau Empire. Many Tau Commanders do not wish to play the political games so enjoyed by the Ethereals, however, and often continue to command the forces of the Fire Caste in the name of the Greater Good.

Role
A Tau Commander is a master of the ancient doctrines of the Fire Caste, which are founded in the martial philosophy and tribal wisdom of ancient T'au, the homeworld of the Tau species. They weigh the strengths and weaknesses of their own troops, and of their enemies, so that they may strike at the most opportune moment with overwhelming force to secure victory. Tau Commanders are also formidable warriors, frequently sporting scars, bionics and disfigurements earned in their career. According to their renown, they may be called upon to command anything from a Cadre to a full Command engaged upon an entire campaign. The number and size of his previous commands is reflected in the rings confining a Tau Commander's long scalp locks. Shas’el will often lead their own Hunter Cadres in attacks, participating from the front and directing their forces on the battlefield. Shas’o, however, will lead larger forces consisting of multiple Hunter Cadres, or even be put in command of all Fire Caste forces engaged in a planetary campaign of assault or defence. In these scenarios, a Shas’o will coordinate and formulate the overall strategic strategy. Whilst input from lesser Tau Commanders within his forces will always be considered, it is up to the Shas’o to make and implement the final tactical plan.

Tau Commanders are experienced in battle and at commanding Tau troops, and usually lead by example. Indeed, unlike the generals of many other intelligent races, Tau leaders do not observe the battle from miles behind the lines. Instead, Tau doctrine states that the Commander must be wherever he is needed, so that if necessary, he can lead from the very front. Under normal circumstances, a general would be in great danger so near the frontline, but the use of a Tau Battlesuit provides unprecedented levels of protection, prodigious firepower, and an array of secondary support systems that aid the Tau Commander in the command and control of the units he leads into battle. The use of a Battlesuit is combined with the fact that Tau Commanders are seasoned warriors and expert Battlesuit pilots, which makes them a skilled and fearsome opponent a fearsome at short ranges when they enter combat directly. Tau Commanders will also often be accompanied by Shield Drones that protect them from enemy attacks.

Whilst most Tau Commanders can lead Hunter Cadres that consist of a balance of the various assets available to the Fire Caste, there are some that often specialise in certain areas. For example, a Tau Commander of Shas’el rank with extensive experience in XV88 Broadside Battlesuit tactics and battlefield engagements against enemy heavy armour will often lead a formation of XV88s. Under the expert direction of their Shas’el Commander, the coordinated fire of the Broadsides’ Railguns can demolish even the most heavily armoured target with comparable ease.

As with most Tau Fire Warriors of the rank of Shas’vre or higher, Tau Commanders will often utilise an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit. However, due to a Tau Commander’s previous experience in combat, they will be given access to "special issue" weapons, Support Systems, wargear or even prototype Battlesuits. These unusual items will often be experimental in nature or hard for the Earth Caste to mass produce. As such a Tau Commander may be called upon to field-test these items. Many such pieces of equipment may be entirely unique, and only a Tau Commander can be entrusted with the use of them. Such items range from the special issue items in the Tau Battlesuit Armoury, to the experimental XV22 Stealthsuit and the XV9 Hazard Battlesuit.

Bodyguard
A Bodyguard Team of up to two Fire Warriors in XV8 Crisis Battlesuits may accompany a Shas’o or a Shas’el. These guardians will always be veterans of Shas'vre rank, experienced Fire Warriors long proven in battle. It is common for such Bodyguard Teams to be predominantly made up of the Commander’s kin or long-term friends from his time moving up in the ranks of the Fire Caste, and it is a great honour for the subordinate officers to be chosen for such a duty. The Bodyguard Team embodies the Tau philosophy of striving for the Greater Good at the expense of personal glory and these warriors are greatly respected by the rest of the units who serve under their Commander. Like a Tau Commander, Bodyguard Team members also have access to special issue items from the Battlesuit Armoury for use in combat. Together with the Tau Commander they protect, a Bodyguard Team forms an inspirational command unit and a powerful fighting force on the battlefield.

Notable Tau Commanders

 * Commander Shadowsun (Shas'O Shaserra) - Commander Shadowsun was the overall Tau Commander of all Tau Fire Caste forces during the Tau Empire’s Third Sphere Expansion. She was chosen to take on this role by the leading Ethereal Aun’Va himself, after Commander Farsight quit the Tau Empire to form the independent Farsight Enclaves. So far, she has led the Tau Empire to expand significantly and a string of success is accorded to her name. Commander O’Shaserra utilises a XV22 Stealthsuit rather than the standard XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.
 * Commander Farsight (Shas'O Vior'la Shovah Kais Mont'yr) - Commander Farsight was a former Tau Commander during the Tau's Second Sphere Expansion campaign. During that time, he served as the overall commander of Fire Caste forces across the entire Tau Empire. Now, Farsight leads his own break-away faction of Tau in an area beyond the bounds of Tau space that are known as the Farsight Enclaves. The reasons for his desertion are unclear, except that it occurred after the loss of all the Ethereals who had been present in his expeditionary force.
 * Commander Puretide - Commander Puretide was a Tau Commander who led the armies of the Dal’yth Sept to many victories during the Tau Empire’s Second Sphere Expansion campaign. Many of the Second Sphere Septs owe their very existence to the campaigns planned and carried out by this brilliant strategist and battlefield commander. After being grievously wounded towards the end of his life, Puretide became a hermit, committed to transmitting his accumulated wisdom and experiences concerning the arts of war to new generations of Tau warriors. He deeply wished that those who might learn to emulate his uniquely balanced style of warfare might continue his work on behalf of the Greater Good. Many Fire Warriors came to study under Puretide, though few, if any, proved capable of fully grasping his teachings. Many of his students went away understanding only one aspect of Puretide's teachings, and a number of different schools of thought based on these singular aspects of his knowledge came to centre on one of these individuals. Both Commander Farsight and Commander Shadowsun were once students of Puretide, and both took one aspect of his teachings and mastered it to the exclusion of the others. Some among the Fire Caste now suggest that the two Tau Commanders are opposites in other ways, as well, and that confrontation between their ideals in Tau society is ultimately inevitable.
 * Commander Brightsword (Shas'O Tash'var Ol'nan B'kak) - Commander Brightsword was a student of Commander Farsight’s and led Tau forces in the taking of the planet Nimbosa and then the Tau's defence against the Imperial invasion of that world which soon followed. Brightsword was considered to make use of more ruthless combat tactics than was the norm amongst the Fire Caste, and was eventually assassinated by members of the Imperial Guard's 13th Penal Legion.
 * Commander Flamewing (Shas'O Vior'la Suam Eldi)  - Commander Shas’O Vior’la Suam Eldi, or to give him his more commonly used Low Gothic title “Commander Flamewing”, is the leader of a Fire Caste Hunter Cadre currently operating on the outskirts of the Zurcon System of the Jericho Reach against the Tyranid threat. Flamewing is a comparatively young Tau Commander, yet he has seen more combat in the last standard year than many of his rank expect to experience in a lifetime.
 * Commander Longknife (Shas'O R'myr) - Commander Longknife was the Fire Caste’s commanding officer on Taros during the Taros Campaign. He did not lead a Cadre in the field, but was the supreme commander for an entire Fire Warrior Command, coordinating the entire campaign to take that desert Mining World and its precious mineral resources for the Tau Empire.
 * Shas'o Vesu'r Ra'lai - Commander Vesu’r R’alai has become a legend among the grim Fire Warriors of Ke’lshan, and is one of the Tau Empire’s most experienced Battlesuit pilots. It is his leadership and innovation that has successfully led the way in the controversial tactics associated with the new XV9 Close Support Armour, and he is a strong advocate for the Fire Caste adopting more ruthless tactics against the Tau Empire's growing legion of deadly foes. Shas’o Ra’Lai utilises an XV9 Hazard Battlesuit rather than the standard XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.
 * Shas'O Kais - Shas'O Kais was the Tau Commander who led Tau forces during the Dark Crusade. Whilst he was unsuccessful in securing the planet of Kronus for the Tau Empire, he survived the campaign. Shas’O Kais utilises an XV22 Stealthsuit rather than the standard XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.
 * Shas'O Or'es'Ka - Shas'O Or'es'Ka was the Tau Commander who led the Tau forces during the campaign to take the Kaurava System.  Whether he succeeded in his campaign is currently unknown. Shas'O Or'es'Ka utilises an XV22 Stealthsuit rather than the standard XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.