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"We engaged and destroyed the enemy column in accordance with mission parameters. No, I received no such orders to disengage and fall back, shas’o. Perhaps there was some form of atmospheric interference."

— Communication from Sub-Commander El'Myamoto to Commander O'Fai
Pathfinder Darkstrider

Sub-Commander Darkstrider, an unconventional T'au Pathfinder

Darkstrider, also known as El'Myamoto in the T'au Lexicon, is an unconventional T'au Pathfinder officer of the rank of shas'el or "sub-commander" who has refused several promotions in order to remain with his Pathfinder comrades.

Darkstrider excels in attacking from unexpected angles and using every element of the battlefield to his advantage. Though unpopular with many T'au Commanders for his borderline insubordination -- a trait unthinkable amid the traditionalist ranks of the Fire Caste -- Darkstrider always gets results. From Gal'yth and Nep'tan to the bloody fields of the Zeist Campaign, he has led his warriors into the most deadly situations, always bringing them back alive and victorious.

No matter the foe, Darkstrider uses his Structural Analyser and vast battlefield experience to spot their hidden weaknesses, then coordinates an audacious strike that will exterminate them wholesale. It is this talent for observation and improvisation, coupled with Darkstrider's obvious courage, that has made him a favourite of O'Shaserra herself.

Despite his many heroics, there is something unsettling about Sub-Commander El'Myamoto. Although all of the Fire Caste regard him as a cunning tactician and a warrior to be reckoned with, his unconventional methods and disregard for proper protocol have stirred up much trouble and made many internal enemies within his caste.

History[]

It began when Myamoto, a shas'ui born on T'au, passed his Trial by Fire. Scorning the honour of donning a battlesuit to join the Crisis Teams, he was next offered the opportunity to join the Stealth Teams -- a formation noted for its unorthodox methods. This choice too, Myamoto derided, preferring to return to the Pathfinder Teams with which he had first served.

Time and again, Myamoto led his team into the most deadly of situations, but always escaped, bringing glory to his cadre. It was he that shut down the strange mechanisms of the Necrons on the moons of Gal'yth, and he who hunted down the tri-headed beast that terrorised the mining colonies of Nep'tan. During the Great Wars of Confederation, when the grim leader earned the name "Darkstrider," he infiltrated Ork camps and used Marker Lights to pick out components of Gargants under construction. It was his team that set the homing beacon on Warlord Gruzzguts' mechanical armour.

Yet for all his heroics, Darkstrider always spurned offers to command, preferring instead to lead raiding missions and terror attacks behind enemy lines.

Tradition is everything to the Fire Caste, and their adherence to the Code of Fire demands, above all things, respect for Ethereals, military rank and more experienced warriors. Through declined promotions and subtle inflections when speaking to his superiors, Myamoto regularly walks the fine line near insubordination -- nearly unheard of in the Fire Caste.

Some T'au Commanders refuse to work with Darkstrider, claiming that he refuses counsel. Yet others, most notably Commander Shadowsun herself, value the sly tactics and obvious bravery of Darkstrider.

Gifted with a prototype Structural Analyser, Darkstrider has recently returned from his successes against the Space Marines in the Zeist Campaign. His is not the way of the armoured battlesuit, but his ability to tie up more valuable forces and then slip away has contributed to a string of victories that none can deny.

Battle of Mu'gulath Bay[]

Sub-Commander Darkstrider took great part in the Battle of Mu'gulath Bay during the Third Sphere Expansion. He was instrumental in locating and eliminating an Imperial Vindicare Assassin whose mission was to kill Commander Farsight, who had arrived unexpectedly to aid the T'au Empire in its defence of its newest sept of Mugulath Bay from an Imperial counterattack, yet Darkstrider's deed was not an easy one.

Several kilometres away from the assassin's position, but closing steadily, T'au trackers were on the Vindicare's trail. Sub-Commander El'Myamoto motioned for his Pathfinders to follow. A few solar days previously, something had flashed up on the periphery of his prototype Structural Analyser, something altogether disquieting. On a hunch, Darkstrider had followed the trail, tracking the unique signature.

Doubts that he and his Pathfinders were chasing phantoms were put to rest when they came across the first victims -- another team of Pathfinders, all slain with fully charged Pulse Carbines. They had not fired a single shot as they were slain. More dead marked the trail.

This foe had penetrated the T'au defence lines with ease and displayed marksmanship beyond that which the T'au could achieve even with their superlative Artificial Intelligence targeting assistance. That the path had led him straight towards the Farsight Enclaves made Darkstrider suspicious. Was this enemy an Imperial agent, or could it be a T'au from amongst the traitorous exiles who had abandoned the Greater Good?

Darkstrider and his Pathfinder Team wove through the ruins of the old refinery. Twice, they ran afoul of the ongoing battles, once using their Marker Lights to aid Crisis Teams in destroying a squad of White Scars on roaring bikes. Now, the ghost signal was close, but the Structural Analyser could not pinpoint the exact position. Sweeping the ruins with his gaze, Darkstrider marked the tallest structure. That was where he would position himself. With hand signals, he set his team in motion.

Even from his perch far up in the ruins, the Vindicare felt the air rush of the landing Orca dropship. Within moments, the red-armoured battlesuits began appearing. When his mission target was sighted, the Vindicare fired two swift shots. The first was with Shieldbreaker ammunition -- a shot that passed through Farsight's force field and destroyed his Shield Generator, the device imploding with a flash. Without that protection, the second shot would penetrate the T'au Commander's armour, exploding his head.

Battle of Gargoyle Spire[]

Darkstider vs Vindicare Hitman

Darkstrider confronts the Vindicare Assassin who sought to kill Commander Farsight during the Battle of Mu'gulath Bay.

After a bodyguard intercepted that second shot on his mission target, the Vindicare master sniper had found himself under siege. With an uplifted Shield Generator, Commander Bravestorm had covered Farsight, while the rest of his bodyguard, The Eight, formed a crimson wall before their esteemed leader. The remaining T'au returned fire upon the sniper.

Calmly, the Vindicare Assassin loosed killing shot after killing shot into the red-armoured T'au swarming below. A Strike Team of Fire Warriors attempted to run to cover, each dropping dead so quickly it looked like some macabre chain reaction. Next, an XV8 Crisis Team were shot as they blasted upwards, the full-thrust jump jets sending the dead careening wildly.

While incoming fire cracked around him, the Vindicare squeezed the trigger, shifted aim, and squeezed again. A Riptide fell to its knees and did not move again. As soon as the Vindicare calculated that he would not get another shot on his true target, he was running. He leapt, tumbling in a diving roll upon another rooftop. His mid-jump volley caused both pilots of a swooping Piranha to slump, their hovercraft spinning to a fiery death below.

Seeing an escape path, the Vindicare moved over rooftops, killing as he went. Darkstrider's ambush was fast -- his perfectly positioned Pathfinders sent out a hail of pulse fire. With AI guidance, the shot patterns anticipated the lightning-quick Vindicare.

Struck multiple times, the Imperial Assassin's long rifle was blasted out of his hands. It wasn't the wounds that disoriented the Vindicare, but Darkstrider's perfectly timed Photon Grenade. The multi-spectrum light explosion erupted as the Vindicare drew and fired his Exitus Pistol. Six Pathfinders dropped, but Darkstrider was only wounded.

Firing his own Pulse Carbine from the hip, the T'au seared holes in his foe, advancing until he was blasting away at point-blank range. He didn't stop shooting for a long time until the Human Assassin was long dead.

Wargear[]

  • Structural Analyser - This device utilises a new type of sensor to scan for the most critical enemy weak points and then feeds that information back into the targeting computers of all nearby T'au assets.

Sources[]

  • Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pg. 63
  • Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition), pg. 82
  • Codex: T'au Empire (8th Edition), pg. 50
  • War Zone Damocles: Mont'ka, pp. 253-257
T'au Empire Forces
Command EtherealT'au CommanderCadre Fireblade
Troops Fire Warrior (Fire Warrior Strike TeamFire Warrior Breacher Team) • PathfinderDrone Squadron
Battlesuits XV02 Pilot BattlesuitXV8 Crisis Battlesuit (XV8-02 Crisis Iridium BattlesuitXV81 Crisis BattlesuitXV84 Crisis BattlesuitXV85 Enforcer BattlesuitXV86 Coldstar BattlesuitXV89 Crisis BattlesuitXV88 Broadside Battlesuit) • Stealthsuits (XV15 StealthsuitXV22 StealthsuitXV25 StealthsuitXV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit) • XV46 Vanguard Void BattlesuitXV9 Hazard Battlesuit • Class 10 Battlesuits (XV104 Riptide BattlesuitXV107 R'varna BattlesuitXV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit) • KV128 StormsurgeKX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour
Grav-Vehicles DevilfishDrone HarbingerHammerheadSky RaySwordfishTX-4 PiranhaTX-42 PiranhaTetra
Aircraft BarracudaMantaOrcaRazorsharkDX-6 Remora Drone Stealth FighterSun SharkTiger SharkTiger Shark AX-1-0
T'au Auxiliaries Kroot ShaperKroot Carnivore SquadKroot HoundKrootoxKnarlocGreat KnarlocVespid StingwingsGue'vesa
Notable T'au Aun'VaAun'ShiCommander FarsightCommander PuretideCommander KaisCommander ShadowsunCommander SurestrikeSub-Commander DarkstriderShas'el LushaShas'la T'au KaisShas'la LongstrikeCommander Arra'konCommander BravestormCommander BrightswordCommander Sha'vastosSub-Commander TorchstarHonour-Shas'Vre O'VesaShas'vre Ob'lotai 9-0
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