Topic: Dal'yth 15th "Night Watch" [warning classified pictures present]

[Shas'Oink]

++++CLASSIFIED IMPERIAL RECORD++++

Commit to: Imperial Record
EST 18/2006 Inquisitoria 018/102-1145/2006
Crossfile To: Aliens; Eastern Fringe; Tau; Expansion
Input Date: 1644998M41
Input Clearance: Inquisitor Long
Author: Agent Luis / Agent Eddie
Thought For The Day: Know Thine Enemy


THE DAL’YTH 15th [NIGHT WATCH]

The 15th Dal’yth hunter cadre have become one of the Tau Empires most notorious, not least of all for their incredibly rigorous training program which strains the recruits physical, mental and psychological abilities. On average, eight out of every ten recruits are weeded out, the failures enlisted into other cadres. Shas’O’Aru’al, a student of Commander Puretide, was chosen specifically to command the 15th which Puretide founded as one of his elite cadres. Aru’al, also a close friend of Shadowsun, had learnt much from Puretide and had grasped his determination and tactical finesse, He would lead the 15th on numerous dangerous missions. Initially, they suffered a series of morale denting defeats and fatalities and critics questioned their capabilities, withdrawing them from front line duty back to Dal’yth Prime. As if by luck, because following this the Imperium struck out at the border worlds annihilating many of the Tau forces and pushing towards Dal’yth during the Damocles Gulf Crusade. Having outmatched the Tau fleets the Imperium reached Dal’yth Prime and began planetfall. Puretide took personal command of the Tau forces during the crusade and once on Dal’yth Prime instructed Aru’al on his pivotal tasks.

Aru’al mustered his cadre and travelled deep behind enemy lines. From there he would be given an almost free reign over the battlezone, the eyes and ears of the Tau forces sending forward stealth and pathfinder teams to light up targets and record enemy movements. Once the Imperial advance had progressed, the 15th turned to a more aggressive posture and hit headquarters, supply stations and convoy routes with devastating raids, disrupting the enemy ability to conduct a war at the front and hitting the enemy where they thought they were safe. An astonishing three quarters of their engagements took place under the cover of darkness with a speed and efficiency that the Imperial Guard feared, earning the 15th the nickname “Night watch” from their Imperial counterparts. With their actions and daring raids having profound effects on the outcome of the campaign their critics were silenced.

Once events at Taros began to unveil, the 15th were called in by Shas’O’R’myr. The Taros Command discussed in great length how they would combat the Imperial threat and it seems apparent that the influence of Aru’al was great. Just as he had done during the Damocles Gulf Crusade the 15th were to conduct surveillance missions, gathering intelligence and marking targets before calling in other cadres to quickly engage them. As the conflict developed they would carry out raids on enemy supply routes, which eventually starved Imperial forces of fuel and water. Operating from deep inside the desert they were able to move unmolested in the shadow of the great Imperial army. Even as the enemy were landing, the “Night watch” had in place teams of spotters recording all the details of the enemy forces. In the end, the deployment of the “Night watch” ensured victory on Taros and secured it as yet another world in the Tau Empire.

Despite continual successes, many commanders see Aru’al as an arrogant individual and believe Shas’O’Aru’al is embittered by being overlooked and scrutinised by the high command on T’au. Some claim this started even before the 15th were recalled to Dal’yth Prime and was fuelled by the appointment of O’Shaserra. Many cite the fact that the 15th carry the symbol of Dal’yth and not that of T’au, although the Ethereals claim this was an honour bestowed upon the cadre for their heroic actions during the fighting on Dal’yth Prime. Aru’al remains quiet, denying all allegations against him and O’Shaserra claims he is a devout and trusted warrior of the greater good. 



Fire Warriors of the Dal'yth 15th on exercise. Note the Dal'yth symbol displayed on the left shoulder guard. These warriors are of an unidentified unit.


Shas'ui Hri'dal leads his team in targeting whilst on exercise on Dal'yth Prime. Hri'dal recognised as a high priority target.


XV88 warriors in training. The heavy suits of the Night watch are notably different to other commonly encoutered variants. They are all fitted with advanced stabilising systems to provide mobility. The different profile can also make their identification more difficult for Imperial units.


Battlesuit warriors training on Dal'yth Prime.


A lone Battlesuit operator carrying out insertion training. Note the enhanced "night camo" which appears to be a personalised variant.


An XV8 warrior carrying out field tests of an as of yet unidentified weapon.


Night watch XV15 teams in training. The Dal'yth 15th make more extensive use of XV15 teams than any other encountered cadre.


A rare sighting of a Night watch sniper team. Note that the 15th appear to make use of small pathfinder teams as opposed to the commonly encountered sniper drones.


The Night watch have reluctantly introduced allies into their ranks. It appears that such auxiliary units are only used where absolutely necessary. This Kroot pack has been affiliated with the Night watch since the Damocles crusade. Since then, it appears that the 15th have also inducted traitorous human soldiers for protracted fighting and large scale engagements.


Night watch skimmers.


A rare sighting of a Dal'yth pattern Devilfish Gunship. The Night watch appear to make almost exlcusive use of this rare variant, first developed at the closing stages of the Damocles Crusade.


++++++
Further investigations underway.

[Inq. Khan]

VERY nice oink
Inspiring stuff for a new cadre builder such as me.
Did you undercoat with white or black (Im also doing a light colored armor scheme)?
Also like the idea of the lone XV8 "ninja" in suitable camo for his role.

Once again good stuff, now back to my Cadre I go.

[Shas'Oink]

hehe... i undercoated my models black... but then gave them a shadow grey drybrush and a black ink wash before painting the armour. if you look closely you will see that the "black" parts are actually a smokey blue. hard to tell unless you look at two models at different stages next to each other.

the "ninja suit" is actually just not finished...  but it makes sense! lol. he has the smokey blue colouring done so far... take a look at the sniper team for just an undercoated model to see the difference.

[Locarno]

The sniper squad is a very nice touch, I thought.

[Granite Slam]

   I'm loving them, I was going to post on them last night but I couldn't get what I wanted to say written down correctly. Still can't for that matter. I particularly like the shiny-shiny overall look of them, is it good lighting, good photography, good highlighting or all three? I still can't decide. Certainly very different from the way I paint most minis (think more John Blanche).
   The background fluff is also good and I know it is based upon your initial games with Tau as well as the release of the IA Taros Campaign book. All in all it makes me want to get the background of mine sorted out and to finish the repaint (going slowly).

   Good job all around.

-S

[Mr Wall]

The painting is great, top work

But I truely love the background.  Inspired, great stuff!!!!

[Jinx ShadowSong]

I also use Shas'la snipers instead of Sniper Drones, though my spotter is converted from the actual spotter of the drones team with the hand of the tank commander and a the tank commander head.

And I like the way that the commander seems slightly rebellious with the whole dal'yth badge thing. The XV88 is pretty cool too... and damn I wish I could use that Dal'yth pattern. After all, I'm a Dal'yth commander too, you know?

[Shas'Oink]

yea, ive made an entire twisting background around my shas'o. he's rather embittered about the whole affair really... i've tied it into a friends Tau army (for which i also wrote the background)... His force is from T'au and it appears that the ethereals of high command there have instructed his cadre to "oversee" the 15th. in an unprecedented move it turns out that his T'au 101st (a rapid response mechanised cadre) are now ALWAYS in the same contingent as the 15th!

more on this later though! 

[BANDlT]

sorry guys, noobie at work. did you make that cadre, or is it a real one and you just painted it. thanks

[Shas'Oink]

heh.. lol, no its a fictional cadre with fictional characters. to my knowledge it has not appeared in ANY GW or FW background. although if you have read the taros campaign book i tie the night watch in as one of the forward stealth cadres which carried out reconnaisance missions in the early stages and raids on imperial convoys as the campaign progressed.

i often find it is a good thing to steer your background through "official" background as it makes things a little easier and provides you with a kind of timeline and location for your cadre. although my cadre was present at the damocles gulf crusade, and at Taros, they were not present on Medusa V...

there are quite a few small snipets of background that you can do this with. it doesnt have to be something as detailed and extensive as the Taros Campaign book! one neat trick is to take note of other army books, which often state fighting against different enemies in different places.

[BANDlT]

so basically, i can say i made my own cadre- color scheme ect.?

[Shas'Oink]

Yes! thats the whole point really!

cadres from the same sept may still even have different colour schemes... the unifying feature my simply be the sept colour...

bear in mind, that the tau are not like the marines for instance... a cadre will have snow camo, desert camo, city camo etc... which will be used dependant upon where they fight!

[The GrimSqueaker]

although my cadre was present at the damocles gulf crusade, and at Taros, they were not present on Medusa V... 

No one should have been present on Medusa and, from the fan boi fluff published at the time by GW, those that were present should be on trial for war crimes against the Tau military code.

[Shas'Oink]

which is exactly one of the reasons they werent there (one of many)... though the chief one was that my alaitoc force the "wings of alaitoc".. were one of th emain protagonists....

though im rather shamed in that the tau managed to destroy my revenant titan and were able to scavenge parts of it for study..    (though how much the tau can do with psycho-reactive materials is questionable!)

[Shas'Oink]

++++CLASSIFIED IMPERIAL RECORD++++

Commit to: Imperial Record
EST 18/2006 Inquisitoria 018/102-1145/2007
Crossfile To: Aliens; Eastern Fringe; Tau; Expansion
Input Clearance: Inquisitor Long
Author: Agent Luis
Thought For The Day: Everyone pushes a falling fence

Find enclosed a record data sheet with the acquired information regarding the organisation of the Dal'yth 15th.

[Myung]

Oink your fiction is fantastic. Great looking army too there mate.


I wouldn't worry about the Tau being able to make anything that uses Wraithbone anytime soon!  But speaking of the Revenant where are the finished pics?

[Kishvier]

Dude, your figures look great and your story thing is cool.  Try putting those pics on the Painting message Board.

[Elessar Telemnar (gone)]

very nice
veeerrrryyy niiiice
The painting looks great, so smooth and seemless.
Your fiction is fantasic aswell, fits in with other fluff regarding thigns like the battle for Dal'yth Prime.

altogether well done,
Telemnar