Aboard the T'ros Sept fleetship, The Friendship Express previously named The Do'li
Var was bored. He had been sitting in the main chair of the Manta flagship for hours now staring at a cluster of stars with a single green dot positioned in the center of the screen. That dot was meant to be the Tau's salvation, but it hadn't gotten any closer in the past eight hours staring at it then before. The commander's helmet was, somewhere, on the floor and a grenade had fallen out of his belt at one point from all his moving around trying to get some comfort from the confounded chair. It would be rolling around, were the Tau ship not moving. They had gotten to a point wherein nobody needed to control the ship, no stars were close enough to need the ship to be altered in anyway, nor any planets the Tau would need to avoid in case of planetary defences. There was honestly? Fuck all out here.
No wonder Equestria had been spared from the war.
There were a couple Air Caste Pilots and Carriers sitting in place checking scanners and the ships general output from such a long journey without any plant based maintaince, though The Do'li, now called The Friendship Express, an idea put across by both Var's secondary Aloh and the only Gue'vesa on board, Sven. There was going to be a vote on it but many of the lower fire warriors didn't care and those who hadn't experienced Equestria yet had no idea on the implications such a name would out across. Many still referred it as the ship's original name but even Var did sometimes. In thought.
Nothing had happened in the bridge and Var was beginning to get tired to just decided to give up staring out the window and stood to go to his quarters. Naturally a load of seated cadets stood and saluted, and as the commander left he heard: "Shas'O leaving the bridge". Behind him from one of them. Var grunted but didn't say anything, they had been taught to do that but a few weeks back Var had gathered the renegades together to explain how due to the fact they had basically deserted the Tau Empire. That rankings weren't really a thing anymore. They weren't really fixed to the Tau laws anymore. A couple had protested about that. Var wasn't overly sure what it had been about, probably some younger cadets wanting to be in charge if Var no longer held rank. After a little speech from Aloh's tat whether we were part of the Taw army or not, that Var was still their leader. Var would be lying if he didn't say he was proud of how his second had stood up for him. But he'd never admit it.
Walking around the narrow corridors of a Manta always bewildered Var. The Manta ship, especially the flagship class. Was one of the largest ships in the galaxy, no where near the fire power of many, more designed for troop transport than full on space battles. Yet the corridors were some of the most cramped in the galaxy, Var had been aboard Terran ships many a time for many a reason and they have huge spaces for training and some of the more, dedicated, sept's of the humans had churches based on their man-god that took up most of the ship. The only large spaces the Tau got in a ship like this was the hanger, when it was empty. At the moment it had more battlesuits than actual Tau, double the amount of Tau who could pilot the things. Unfortunately Var's own XV8-05 battlesuit had been left on T'ros for repairs before the Tau's teleport to Equestria, and he had never picked it back up. Which was fine to him, he never liked the lighter battlesuits. Yeah he could maneuver a lot better. But the fact the -05 was 'lighter' meant simply that, it had lighter armour. Lighter weapons and if hit by a tank shell. Would just crumple like plastic. As if the thing had been put together by paint and bits of plastic as someones model to be shown on display. The original XV8's Var definitely preferred. Since he had gone through his first Trial by fire fairly early on in his career, he had slowly learnt how to pilot most Tau battlesuits. Besides the XV22, only given to commanders like 'Shadowsun, the bane of the Orks'. Well she hasn't killed a God. Chaos God. Minor or not. She just killed possibly the dumbest race in existence with enough shielding to last a life time of Ork fire. Var had never gotten used to the Riptide's either. They just felt, forced. Like they were made as a 'new' look to the Tau. He admitted they were effective. But not needed. The more the earth caste engineers worked the technology for battlesuits, something Tau have to go through numerous Trials to pilot. Mainly these new ones. There will be no infantry and just a lot of battlesuits. Which is all well and god for fire power. Until the enemy just bring in artillery or have a full force of anti-tank weaponry then there is no snipers or pathfinders or anything out on the field spotting potential threats. Just a lot of battlesuits clumped together with a couple fusion blasters. Var was certainly an old fashion fighter, he wasn't a veteran by name alone. But his tactics worked, and his men respected him for it. Enough to defect to Equestria and give up on the war.
"Commander?" Var heard. He blinked add noticed a helmeted fire warrior standing before him. The voice was strange, but not Tito level of strange.
"So-sorry?" Var muttered, blinking a few more times.
"Its just sir, you've been standing here for a bit now just staring and you're blocking the corridor slightly." The warrior said, then stepped back slightly as if Var was about to hit him.
"Oh, sorry Shas'la. I was just thinking. Its a bit dull on this ship and the boredom is getting to me." Var grunted, a fairly calm and social reaction for him. The fire warrior nodded and saluted.
"I know all to well commander. Well. I'll leave you to your thinking, just. Do it in your quarters if I may speak freely?" The warrior replied. He seemed nervous to be around Var.
"Is something wrong Shas'la?" Var asked. The Tau tilted his helmet for a second but then began.
"Well, its-. Its just the fact we have abandoned the greater good for some, ponies. Sir." The warrior replied.
"What's your name 'El?" Var asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ukos, sir." The warrior asked.
"Your name is 'Spoon'? Shas'El?" Var asked. The Tau nodded.
"My friends just call me Oz. Sir."
"Alright Ukos." Var replied, pausing for a second. "We are not abandoning The Greater Good, if anything we are spreading it. We shall set up a colony, a home. On the pony lands, and teach them the ways of the Tau, if they will allow us, spreading word of The Greater Good to them all. Their Aun's are kind and were incredibly helpful during our stay and I am sure they will allow us to follow whatever social norms we have. Such as The Greater Good. We are not abandoning our ways, never. We are abandoning the war to live in peace. And for that we are branded traitors." Var added. Oz nodded and didn't say anything for a while before reaching up to his helmet, he clicked it and the grey plated helm came of in his gloved hands. The warriors face was badly scarred from burns and one eye was completely gone.
"I once spoke out against an Ethereal, who believed anyone who would abandon the Tau would abandon all hope. I told him that surely if they were still spreading our ways, they would be part of us. Like the Gue'la, it was Aun'Vesaris I spoke out against." The young warrior muttered.
"The Burner of Terra." Var muttered, every Tau knew about him. The Ethereal who had been driven mad by his hatred for humans, whether they were part of the Empire or not. They were evil, and had to be destroyed. He did it the only way he knew, burning. After seeing his home get burnt by a group of Adepta Sororitas. Or Sisters of Battle, he became obsessed with fire. Burning any human defector who joined the sept's under his control. Campaigns with the humans were fought countless times on those worlds due to his treatment of humans. Eventually he was killed during The Siege of Yon'do. By a fire warrior apparently, or at least. By a Tau weapon.
"Exactly. This was my punishment, burning for being a Terra sympathizer. And then blinded on my left, my good side. For not seeing the true ways of the Tau." Oz said eventually, before putting his helmet back on.
"I believed him for a while. Hated him for it and wanted nothing more than his death, but I believed he was telling the truth. All those who stray are not Tau. But you stand here, determined to fly to Equestria and abandon all we know for some ponies. Yet you still spread our ways and still you are Tau. More so than many." Oz said once his helmet was on. Then saluted once more and walked past the commander and went into a room not far down the corridor. Var stood for a second but eventually went to his own room.
Var had managed to get in his room, take off his armour and lay down for a bit before he found himself asleep, then awaken by a call on the Communications Unit for the commander to come to the bridge. He quickly got dressed and rushed down the corridor, cabin doors left open as Tau also made their way to the front of the ship. Var quickly got there and saw many of the crew already there looking through the view port. More warriors and engineers drifting in by the second. In front of them, looking surprisingly like Ancient Terra (from what they had seen from books and archives), a planet loomed in the ships way. A bright, big sun floating behind the planet and the moon also floating high above the planet. The green dot was much bigger now, pointing straight forward on the planet. No interference. This wasn't a planet in the way. This was it.
This was Equestria.
This was.
.
Home.
