Taros Campaign - Prisoners: Seriously wounded and then taken prisoner by the Tau, General Syckava of the 23rd Elysian Drop Troop regiment was the highest ranking Imperial officer captured during the Taros Campaign. His regiment had been all but annihilated at Hydro-Processing Plant 23-30, but he survived. Because of his rank, the General was singled out from the other prisoners, given medical treatment on his shattered arm, and transported under guard to the headquarters of the Tau supreme commander on Taros, Shas'O R'myr. Tau operations were being conducted from a compact command complex situated in old mine workings underneath a nondescript cluster of old mine buildings just west of Tarokeen. The bloodied and dusty General was led down to meet his nemesis. Within waited the Shas'o, alongside him stood his advisor in long priestly robes. Another civilian, a diplomat or negotiator, was also present to act as an interpreter, as were three wary bodyguards eyeing the human General closely. The Shas'o commended Syckava on his regiment's courage and bravery, but impressed upon him that the war on Taros was lost. He assured the General that Taros would soon be part of the Tau Empire. After questioning the General about the Imperial Guard's remaining strength, and their future intentions (all questions which the General stoically refused to answer), the Ethereal asked if the General if would act as an emissary to his superiors. The Ethereal had an ultimatum for the Gue'la, a ceasefire offer to end the bloodshed and allow the humans to withdraw unmolested if they disarmed. The Tau would allow transport ships free access to Taros to evacuate their soldiers and personnel under the ceasefire agreement, as long as the largest war ships withdrew from the system. The Ethereal also offered to turn over the renegade Planetary Governor Aulis, whom they had under close guard, in a prisoner swap for all the Tau captives the Emperor's forces were holding. In return for his assistance the General would be assured a new position commanding the human auxiliaries now under the Tau's control on Taros. With the Emperor's forces defeated, the post of 'Commander of the Taros Garrison' would be his for life: an honoured position with all the attendant wealth and status human commanders seemed to crave - if he helped the Tau now. General Syckava flatly refused the Ethereal’s offer. To act as an emissary and offer terms to his higher commanders would turn him into a traitor to his Emperor. He would not be a messenger and broker a ceasefire, even if it bought him a future life of luxury. If the Tau wanted the Emperor's forces off Taros, they would have to eject them.Rebuffed, the Shas'o sent the General back to re-join the other prisoners. There would be no swift end to the war. It was a lapse in security that would cost the Tau dearly. The other prisoners were divided up and sent as new labour to distant mines. Despite his severe wound, all the time he had been prisoner General Syckava had been observing, taking in details. As a high-ranking officer, he had had access to maps and secret information about Taros and the overall campaign plan that the other prisoners had not. He would put that knowledge to good use. From his observations he had a good estimate of the location of the Tau command post, and from his transport's flight path a good idea of which mine he was en-route to. General Syckava had been a loyal servant of the Imperium all his life, he was still one, and he would not lie down whilst the Tau completed their ultimate victory. He planned to escape, or die in the attempt. Gathering a small group of Elysian prisoners about him, men who were still loyal to their former commander, Syckava made a plan to escape from the mine and strike out for the nearest Imperial Guard lines.He did not wait long to act. On the first night at the mine, Syckava and five men overwhelmed three human guards, stole weapons and water canteens, and struck out into the desert. The escapees split up to confuse pursuit. Using his inside knowledge, Syckava headed westwards to where he believed the 331st Tallarn regiment's lines were positioned. The guards did not bother to organise any pursuit. There was nowhere to run, and without supplies nobody could survive in the deserts for long. The escapees were dead men. They were almost right about this, for after three days under the merciless sun Syckava was on his last legs. Stumbling westwards, down to the last dregs of water, face and hands blistered by the heat, he finally collapsed. By a last desperate act of willpower, rather than lie down and die he scraped a vague outline of a large Imperial eagle into the sand, and prayed to the Emperor that somehow somebody would see it. Fate intervened, or perhaps the Emperor heard his prayers, because a Thunderbolt fighter on a reconnaissance sweep over the desert noticed the strange shape and swooped in for a closer look. There were no friendly forces operating in this sector. After his pass the pilot reported his sighting and a long-range infantry patrol from the 331st Tallarn regiment was diverted to take a close look. The Desert Raiders squad found the unconscious General lying face down not far from his improvised sign, close to death. The squad called for a Valkyrie to evacuate the mysterious stranger and themselves. General Syckava had made it back to his own side. None of the other five escapees were ever found.Recovering on an Ordo Hospitaller field hospice pallet, the General reported his tale in full. By a combination of bravery, faith and blind luck he had survived. Now he reported everything that had happened, including the location of the Tau headquarters he had visited. When Commissar-GeneralVan Horcic received the new intelligence, he realised it was an opportunity too good to miss. Here was information that could change the momentum of the war. General Syckava later recalled the entire escapade, including his meeting with the Shas'o and Ethereal and his subsequent escape to Ordo Xenos interrogators, before undergoing psycho-corrective surgery and being placed in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus for cybernetic enhancement. After his re-education, General Syckava entered service with Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Varius.