Dos'van

The Tau colony world is a lush, verdant planet full of life

The planet of **Dos'van** lies on the Tau Empire's eastern border - on the opposite side of the Perdus Rift from the tau homeworld. The colony consists of its capital - Dos'van City - and numerous outlying villages. Dos'van has been neglected to a degree by the Empire's ruling Ethereal Council. Its inhabitants are descendants of tau from Tash'var Sept whose hardy disposition make them ideal frontiersmen. Their pragmatic worldview has enabled them to survive despite minimal support from T'au.

## History

### Prior Inhabitants

There are ruins around the world consisting of what appears to be proto-Gothic architecture. Due to the fact no remains associated with these ruins have been found, the colony's scientists have theorised that whoever these inhabitants were, they abandoned the world long ago. The ruins are estimated to be at least 15,950 *tau'cyr* (13,000 Terran years) old.

### Tau Era

Dos'van was settled during the Third Sphere of Expansion
Due to the military and political priorities associated with westward expansive efforts, resources which might otherwise have been used to improve and expand the colony into a fully-fledged Sept have been diverted to Tau holdings in and around the Damocles Gulf.

The tau arrived in mid-999.M41 and utilising footage from a survey drone which had arrived in high orbit years earlier, proceeded to the designated landing site.

A thriving metropolis has been established and population has grown at a slow and steady pace from the 30,000 original settlers.

The first year of the colony was a difficult time; they had sited the initial urban sprawl in the middle of a grassy plain frequented by herds of native grazers. Numerous super-predators who came to the plain to hunt these herds for food instead opted to eat the colonists. Eventually the Ethereal Aun'el Paluto ordered the Fire Caste to take proactive measures to curb the numbers of these creatures. Shas'o K'yen decided to draw on the teachings of *Kauyon* to tackle these beasts. Individual creatures would be selected and tracked via observer drones, studied for days on end so that the tau might learn their habits. K'yen would use small groups of Fire Warriors to bait a predator into attacking. The target would then be led into a prepared killzone covered by the coordinated arcs of multiple fire teams. In most cases all that was required was a single Pathfinder with a rail rifle to deliver the fatal shot. K'yen would often serve as the bait as he felt this was the most reliable way to test the efficacy of his tactics and positioning of his troops. In only a matter of weeks, the super-predator population in and around the settled plain began to plummet as the Fire Caste grew increasingly proficient at hunting them.

Once these beasts had been pushed back into the forests, Commander K'yen ordered the establishment of the sensor-outpost network covering the colony's northern and eastern limits. These bases are often equipped with Piranhas, Devilfish or Tetras to allow fast-response teams to locate any intruder quickly.

A handful of Kroot clans have been allowed to found settlements in the forests to the north-east. These are used as hunting stations by fire teams searching for prey; and the Kroot themselves thin out the wildlife in the area, further reducing the likelihood of fauna attacks on the colony.

For food, the colony relies on the farming of crop strains developed on Tash'var and T'au. Dos'van's Earth Caste have also established aquaculture facilities on the nearby lake to exploit local populations of fish and molluscs. Lastly, the Water Caste periodically send armed trade missions to the Kroot villages and camps nearby to barter for spare meat and pelts.

Despite being left to fend for themselves, the tau of Dos'van are completely loyal to the Empire and wholly committed to the Greater Good.

## Cleansing of Dos'van

Unbeknownst to the colonists, they had settled on a Tomb World. Whether the tau awakened the necrons through tampering with the artifacts they had dug up or if the robotic race on this planet were waking up of their own accord can only be speculated. Regardless, Fire Caste teams that came into contact with waking necrons at the digsites were destroyed to a man. By sheer luck, a drone managed to escape the communications deadzone and transmit the combat telemetry back to the Fire Caste headquarters in the colony. Aware of the threat, Commander K'yen put all his forces on alert.

The necrons have taken the offensive and breached the outskirts of Dos'van City. They assassinated Aun'Xi and routed the fire caste defenders. Bearing his grief and the body of his trusted friend aloft, K'yen retreated with only a few survivors. A new defence line has been set up at Unity spaceport to buy time for the civilian evacuation.

In their darkest hour, hope has arrived. Blazing Star forces have made landfall to secure Unity spaceport as a beachhead and begin evacuating civilians. Though grief-stricken with the loss of Aun'Xi, the defenders' resolve has been renewed.

## Notable Members

**Por'ui Tash'var Sul'an** - A Water Caste merchant who leads trade missions into the forests to barter with the kroot. He takes such opportunities to improve his proficiency in the kroot language. His tendency to talk at length can frustrate the fire warriors assigned to his escort detail.

**Shas'o Tash'var K'yen** - The overall commander of the colony's military forces.

**Aun'el Tash'var Paluto** - The resident Ethereal and former governor of Dos'van:- slain by the necrons.

## Military Forces

The Fire Caste stationed on Dos'van have had to make do with a limited pool of resources. The number of battlesuits they possess can be counted on one gue'la hand; the heaviest grav-tanks they possess are Devilfish transports and Piranhas. Nonetheless, the local military are a cohesive and well-coordinated fighting force. Their Commander, Shas'o Tash'var K'yen exhibits great aptitude in the *Kauyon* or 'Patient Hunter' metastrategy devised by Commander Puretide.

The local Kroot clans will answer the call to fight for the *Tau'va*.

Dos'van City also maintains squadrons of Razorshark atmospheric strike fighters at a nearby airfield. Their pilots are among the best in the empire. The colony's airforce is likely its greatest asset

## Settlement Layout

Situated in a plain bordered on its northern & eastern sides by dense forests; on its southern side by a large lake and on its western edge by a mountain range, the colony of Dos'van is a concentric circle with the main urban environment in the centre. The first ring contains a Fire Caste academy for training new recruits and a spaceport. The second ring has been left cleared to allow for future expansion of the settlement. The third ring contains the agricultural areas worked by the Earth Caste. The final ring holds the series of Fire Caste forts designed to protect the rest. The town, farms and forts are connected to one another by a network of roads which when viewed from above, map the concentric circle that the entire colony forms.

## Geography & Climate

Dos'van is a rich, fertile planet covered mostly in forests, ranging from pine in colder areas to tropical rainforests straddling the equator. There are a number of mountain ranges which limit the spread of warm, moist air from the oceans, creating windswept foothills and grass-filled plains. It has a similar climate to Earth before the Age of Terra with Dos'van City enjoying warm humid summers and wet winters, though the temperature rarely drops low enough to snow.

## Points of Interest

### Fire Caste bases

The Fire Caste established a ring of outposts connected by a network of sensor beacons which separates the inhabited plain from the wild forests to the north and east. The Fire Warriors' merciless culls of the carnivorous fauna made things safer. The Ethereal governor decided the perimeter should be maintained against future incursions.

The colony's Fire Caste recruits are sent to these bases to gain experience of field operations and to hone their skills against live targets.

### Western archaeological digsites

In the plains west & northwest of Dos'van City, a handful of alien trinkets were unearthed as land was readied for cultivation. Sporadic findings led groups of intrigued Earth Caste scientists into the foothills of a nearby mountain range. At several sites they have uncovered fossilised remains and technology of unknown design. Other sites have yielded still-standing pillars and edifices of never-before-seen material. One digsite has begun unearthing what appears to be a structure of substantial size.

A number of small-to-medium sized artifacts have been removed from the digsites to more substantial laboratories in Dos'van City where they can be more intensely studied.