A squad of former Astra Militarum troops who now serve the T'au Empire as Gue'vesa Auxiliaries.
The Gue'vesa (which literally means "Human Helper" in the T'au Lexicon) is the name the T'au have given to those Humans who have willingly joined the T'au Empire.
Many Gue'vesa now fight alongside the warriors of the T'au Fire Caste on behalf of the Greater Good as what are known as "Gue'vesa Auxiliaries." They even take up arms when required against their fellow Humans of the Imperium of Man.
Needless to say, Gue'vesa are considered the worst kind of Traitors to the Emperor of Mankind and are believed by the Ecclesiarchy to have been spiritually corrupted for willingly associating themselves with a xenos culture.
History[]
The Ethereal Caste of the T'au Empire understands that the best path to survival in the face of the Imperium of Man's colossal war machine lies in the peaceful absorption of Imperial worlds and assets wherever possible.
In pursuit of this objective, the T'au Water Caste has launched many diplomatic missions with varying degrees of success in turning Imperial citizens to the service of the Greater Good.
The T'au face steep opposition to this effort, as most Humans of the Imperium display a fierce hatred for all xenos and an abiding belief in the Human supremacist doctrines of the Imperial Creed.
Some of the Water Caste's initiatives have resulted in the smooth transition of an Imperial planet to a new allegiance to the T'au Empire, while others have unleashed the full wrath of the Imperium on the T'au.
Knowing every victory of diplomacy spares them a potentially costly military campaign, the Ethereals and Water Caste attempt to appeal to every level of Imperial society by emphasizing the many different aspects of the Greater Good. To broaden the appeal of membership in the T'au Empire, the T'au guarantee protection from Imperial retribution to rebellious planetary governors.
They also promise the nobility who control planetary commerce lucrative new sources of income and new technologies in the T'au Empire where they will be free from the Imperium's mandatory tithes and excessive bureaucracy.
The T'au also promise that all Humans will be allowed to enjoy the freedom of religion, so long as the practice of that faith does not conflict with the Greater Good. This is a freedom that is unimaginable on Imperial worlds, where rigid adherence to the Imperial Cult is always enforced.
Perhaps the most alluring aspect of the Greater Good to the common Imperial citizen is the belief that all those who contribute towards it have a meaningful and valued place within T'au society.
In place of the relatively low value the Imperium places on the individual Human life, the T'au seem to believe that everyone has a place, and everyone matters.
A perfect example of this process occurred during the Taros Campaign. When the desert Mining World of Taros was annexed by the T'au Empire, not only did the population of Taros not oppose the move since the world had developed an extremely lucrative trade in strategic ores with the T'au, but the Tarosian Planetary Defence Force actually fought against the Imperial forces sent to reclaim the world for the Emperor as Gue'vesa, shoulder to shoulder with their new T'au allies.
Many of the Gue'vesa can trace their origins back to the Damocles Gulf Crusade. When the first Imperial war against the T'au ground to a stalemate, the Imperial forces decided to retreat and redeploy their troops against a much more pressing threat in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy, namely the Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth.
However, the withdrawal was so fast that many troops of the Astra Militarum were simply abandoned in T'au-controlled regions of space. O'Shovah, or Commander Farsight as he is known in the Imperium, gave these Humans the option of joining the T'au Empire, an offer that most accepted.
They were treated well by the T'au and were even allowed to continue worshipping the God-Emperor and maintain their faith in the Imperial Cult, though this version of the faith was purged of the fanatic and xenophobic sentiments that were commonplace in the Imperium.
As time passed, these Humans and their children turned from being reluctant converts to enthusiastic believers in the Greater Good. They now hope to spread the Greater Good and what they view as the extraordinary benefits of the T'au Empire to all of their fellow Human beings across the galaxy.
Current Status[]
Gue'vesa are now a common sight in the T'au Empire, especially in the western portions of the empire in the Segmentum Ultima that borders Imperial space, and several can even be found on the T'au homeworld of T'au.
In general, the Gue'vesa are content with their lot in the T'au Empire and treated well under T'au rule, but still often worship the God-Emperor with a more moderate set of beliefs. These Humans maintain colonies in T'au space and are provided with advanced T'au technology to survive on the frontier.
They have some manufacturing capabilities and can produce things ranging from farming tools to copies of the standard Imperial pattern of the lasgun, which they use to defend themselves against the dangers to be found on newly-settled colony worlds.
The T'au have been known to show pictures of these Gue'vesa contently working in their new homes to other Imperial Humans, as proof of the many benefits awaiting any Imperial citizen who devotes themselves to the Greater Good.
In times of war, the T'au provide units of Gue'vesa with advanced T'au weaponry such as Pulse Rifles, Pulse Carbines, and other, more specialised T'au equipment. These Human troops then serve in the Fire Caste's Auxiliary.
These auxiliaries have become a respected part of the T'au military in the border regions of the T'au Empire, where they fill a tactical niche between the barbaric Kroot and the mainstay of T'au armies, the Fire Warrior teams.
However, not all Humans accept T'au rule willingly or eagerly the same way the population of Taros willingly joined the T'au Empire.
For example, many Humans on the T'au-controlled world of Kronus resented or outright resisted the T'au two hundred standard years after the world was initially conquered.
Human-on-T'au violence was not unknown, with a notable example being when a man stylising himself as an Imperial commissar murdered two Earth Caste workers in front of a mob of Humans and then incited them to riot.
Such people are not referred to as Gue'vesa by the T'au, instead receiving the derogatory name Gue'la, which translates simply as "Human."
Ranks[]
The term Gue'vesa'la is given to the standard Human troops of the line among the Gue'vesa Auxiliaries; their non-commissioned officers, equivalent to sergeants in the Astra Militarum, are known as Gue'vesa'ui. Their officers, such as Kalice Arkady, can attain the rank of Gue'vesa'vres, a rank whose name roughly means "trusted Human helpers".
Notable Gue'vesa Units[]
- Highlock Freemen - The Highlock Freemen were elite Gue'vesa Auxiliaries used by the military forces of the T'au Sept of Velk'Han in the Jericho Reach. They are hardy men and women raised from the world of Highlock IV, an abandoned Imperial colony that chose to join the T'au Empire after it expanded into the Jericho Reach. Coming from a high gravity world, the Freemen possess short and stocky builds but are heavily armed and armoured. They are often deployed by the T'au of the Reach as shock troops and line breakers to open holes in enemy infantry formations.
- Follaxian 113th Irregulars - The Follaxian 113th Irregulars were a company of the Astra Militarum whose Guardsmen almost entirely defected to the service of the T'au Empire. While serving the Imperium, the Irregulars aided several Inquisitors in their investigations, many of which dealt with combating Genestealer Cults. These assignments were always completed successfully under the command of Captain Kalice Arkady. However, Arkady eventually became disillusioned with the Imperium and its methods and later defected to the T'au Empire. In what was later considered a great dishonour and proved deeply detrimental to the morale of their homeworld of Follax, Arkady also succeeded in convincing 109 of the Irregulars' Guardsmen to join her, which was practically the entire complement of her company. This proved to be a potent propaganda coup for the T'au, but due to the Irregulars' combat expertise, they became highly valued assets who have since been dispersed across the space of the T'au Empire where their presence can serve as a model for other Humans considering joining the cause of the Greater Good.
Notable Gue'vesa[]
- Kalice Arkady - Arkady is a former captain of the Astra Militarum who commanded a company of the Follaxian 113th Irregulars and defected to the service of the T'au Empire. When she became disillusioned with the government of the Imperium and how it abused its own people she chose to join the T'au Empire and serve its Greater Good. In the process of defecting she also managed to take nearly her entire company with her. This was a major blow to the morale of Arkady's homeworld and ended a storied military career that had seen her earn the Order of the Adamant Tread, the Heart of the Crown on Syndythos and serve as the bearer of the Crimson Skull. However, Arkady's military experience and personality soon led her to rise through the ranks of the T'au Empire's Gue'vesa and saw her transferred to the Nem'yar Atoll. Once there, Arkady was stationed aboard the Suu'suamyth orbital shipyard and later attained the rank of Gue'vesa'vres, making her the highest-ranking Gue'vesa on the shipyard. This position allowed her to regularly meet with Suu'suamyth's ruling council, which she saw as a high honour. After sabotage on the shipyard led to numerous deaths, Arkady was tasked by the council to find the culprits. She was chosen both due to her experience and more importantly due to the fact that the council suspected the saboteurs were Humans. As she was also a trusted member of Suu'suamyth's population, the council hoped that Arkday's involvement in the investigation would soothe any tensions that might erupt between the T'au and Gue'vesa populations aboard the shipyard. Arkady was aided in the investigation by the Water Caste criminal investigator Por'ui Fi'rios Kau'kartyr, a novel situation for both of them. The pair began their investigation by tracking down where the culprits had gathered the parts needed for the various sabotage operations. Arkady sought the aid of one of her former sergeants, Treshom Lan, who owned a mechanical shop on the shipyard. Though Lan later told them he could not remember anyone inquiring about a specific part the two investigators mentioned, they both suspected Lan was lying. After they left Lan's shop, Kau'kartyr revealed that he had hidden a drone within Lan's shop and they listened as the former sergeant met with a secretive group. When the group later spoke of the havoc they had wrought, the two investigators realised they were the saboteurs and stormed Lan's shop with a squadron of Fire Warriors. To their horror, as well as Lan's, the saboteurs were in fact members of a Genestealer Cult. The cult's members attacked and fought ferociously, which forced Arkady and the others to slay them. Afterwards, Lan was taken into custody and admitted to aiding the saboteurs, in order to strike back at the T'au for their second-class treatment of Humans. Suu'suamyth's ruling council then met with Arkady and Kau'kartyr to congratulate them and told them the investigation was at an end. Both disagreed, however, and stated they had discovered the culprits' ringleader had arrived at the shipyard well after the first act of sabotage had occurred. This meant there had to be others involved, but the ruling council was firm in their assessment that all the saboteurs were dead. While the investigation was officially ended, both Arkady and Kau'kartyr agreed to continue looking for the other saboteurs. Arkady explained that though the T'au used their Kroot allies' heightened sensory abilities to detect the physiological changes caused by the Genestealer genetic taint in the Human body, they were not yet able to detect it in other alien species. This led the unlikely pair to determine what other non-Humans had transferred to Suu'suamyth just before the first act of sabotage occurred. Their subsequent investigation discovered that a group of Vespid matched their criteria and they moved on the area of the shipyard where the winged insectoids resided. With them went another squadron of Fire Warriors, but these troops proved inadequate to the task and the investigators were quickly surrounded. It was then revealed that the Vespid had been infected by a Genestealer who later evolved into a Genestealer Patriarch once it made it aboard the orbital shipyard with the aid of the infected Vespid. This Genestealer Patriarch had subsequently infected several other members of Suu'suamyth's population, including the Human saboteurs. Despite being outnumbered, the investigators and their allied Fire Warriors fought back, but the situation seemed grim until several XV25 Stealthsuits unexpectedly appeared and opened fire on the assembled Genestealer Cult and its Patriarch, saving the investigators and their Fire Warrior allies. With the aid of the Stealthsuits the Genestealer Cult was eliminated, but the investigators realised the appearance of the Stealthsuits meant that the council had ordered them to be followed. As they later learned while recuperating from their ordeal, the council had formally ended the investigation, but both they and the leaders of the Genestealer Cult had realised that due to Arkady's reputation, she would never stop searching for anyone else infected by the Genestealer taint. The cult had thus arranged a trap hoping to kill the Gue'vesa'vres to permanently end any chance of discovery, and the council in turn had allowed them to fall into the trap in order to use Arkady and her Water Caste ally as a lure to draw out the remaining cult members. While the council's tactic proved successful, both Arkady and Kau'kartyr resented having been tricked into serving as bait.
- Jeakim Slovaz - Slovaz was formerly an Imperial Guardsman in the 19th Brimlock Dragoons. He was listed as missing in action after the regiment was left behind in T'au space during the Damocles Gulf Crusade. The regiment surrendered after all its commissars (allegedly) died in combat. Decades later, Slovaz would front a T'au propaganda campaign describing the fair and humane treatment Human prisoners of war could expect to receive if they surrendered to the T'au military. He would later be branded Excommunicate Traitoris by the Imperium for heretical interaction with xenos.
Sources[]
- Codex: T'au Empire (8th Edition), pg. 28
- Courage and Honour (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Deathwatch: The Achilus Assault (RPG), pg. 126
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade (PC Game)
- Voice of Experience (Short Story) by J.C. Stearns
- White Dwarf 263 (UK), pg. 24
- Tau Human Auxiliaries (Archive of old Games Workshop UK website) by Andy Hoare
- Chapter Approved Tau Auxiliaires (Defunct Site)