Gue'sha Tio'ves

A Gue'sha'la of the J'affa Sept

The **Gue'sha Tio'ves** are one of the primary fighting forces of the J'affa Sept in the Thet'a Enclave. As a largely unsupported and depleted Sept, the Tau of the J'affa Sept have placed greater emphasis on their auxiliary forces, granting their human allies greater access to Tau technology and integrating them more closely into the forces of the Sept's fire caste. To reflect this greater trust and integration, they have been given the name "Gue'sha" (human warriors) over the term "Gue'vesa" (human helpers) which is seen within the Tau Empire itself.

## History

During the disastrous Fourth Sphere expansion, which saw the gathered Tau forces swept away to another part of the galaxy, a group of vessels found themselves separated from the main fleet and scattered across the vast void of space. Most of these unfortunate stragglers were hunted down and destroyed by Imperial forces or marauding xenos, but a few vessels stumbled across an undiscovered habitable system in void space. Cut off from the empire and unable to return, they decided to stay put and establish colonies in this system. This force was severely weakened, with most of their heavy military equipment destroyed, but they possessed several colony ships and factory vessels, so they were able to start rebuilding slowly.

The colonies were in an extremely precarious position at first, even a small Imperial battlegroup would have been sufficient to destroy them. Thus the Tau began to put out feelers, to seek out allies to strengthen their position. Their water caste envoys were able to charm some nearby human worlds and set up trade routes, supplying the fledgling Sept with materials and goods, as well as a steady stream of Gue'la workers seeking a new life.

As the Tau evaluated their position and began planning their defensive and offensive operations to secure their footing, it became rapidly clear that they did not have the manpower for any kind of serious operations. Since the Sept had a sizeable contingent of Gue'la, it was decided that they would lean on these forces to bolster their strength, and entrust them with greater access to Tau equipment. To offset the greater risk, each La'rua (squad) is lead by a Tau Shas'ui to oversee them rather than a human sergeant.

## Organisation

Each Gue'sha Tio've is organised much like it's Tau equivalent, being made up of several Kau'ui (Cadres) of soldiers and their supporting vehicles. Each Cadre is a self sufficient entity, allowing the Tio've to be broken down easily if required. Each Cadre contains approximately 100 soldiers, armoured vehicles, dropships and support staff.

### Ranks

* **Shas'o** - Tau commander, in charge of the overall Tio've.
* **Shas'el** - Tau commander, in charge of one of the Cadres.
* **Gue'sha'el** - Human Captain equivalent. In J'affa Gue'sha units they serve as second in command to one of the Tau Shas'els.
* **Shas'vre** - Tau deputy commander, in charge of several squads.
* **Gue'sha'vre** - Human Lieutenant equivalent. In J'affa Gue'sha units they serve as second in command to one of the Tau Shas'vres.
* **Shas'ui** - Tau squad leader, commands a squad of nine Gue'sha.
* **Gue'sha'ui** - Human Sergeant equivalent. In J'affa Gue'sha units they serve as second in command to the Tau Shas'ui.
* **Gue'sha'la** - Human soldier.

## Equipment

### Standard Kit

The standard kit for a J'affa Gue'sha is as follows:

* **Pulse rifle or carbine and powercells (Lasrifles are also seen amongst rear-echelon formations). The weapons have been modified to suit the different ergonomics of human hands.**
* **Pulse pistol and powercells**
* **Bayonet/combat knife**
* **8 photon grenades**
* **Helmet** - Locally produced variant which is similar to Cadian Kasrkin helmets. It incorporates sensors, target-trackers, air quality monitors, and communications uplinks similar to those of a Fire Warrior.
* **Uniform** - Constructed of a composite nanocular thread woven into a microscopic super-dense mesh of fibres that help prevent projectile punctures and penetration by bladed weapons, whilst remaining flexible. They are chemically treated to retard flames and the effects of most irritant gases or chemicals.
* **Combat armour** - Constructed from Armaplas much like it's Imperial equivalent, this is a locally produced variant which is similar to Cadian carapace armour.
* **Respirator**
* **Poor weather gear**
* **Rucksack**
* **Basic toolkit**
* **1 weeks food and water rations**
* **Blanket and sleeping bag**
* **Rechargeable lamp-pack**
* **Grooming kit**
* **Ident tags**