With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Ah. Not doubt the brainboy has realised something's up, then. Benefit of being a smart little git. No-one pays attention to you you until you come out with a correction for some misapplied assumption or erroneous formula. Then they get all shocked...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

A Hair Squig, for reference. Basically a tick with a giant tail of hair-like filaments. Because Orks and Gretchin aren't the only things that grow from their fungoid sacs.

...I wish I could remember the first P'Aul segment, so I could check the dates. Just so used to the main Paragon SI segments taking place in relatively short chronological order, that others talking about years or decades in a setting feels weird.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, or simply provide an awareness of danger...

I mean, if they wanted him destroyed... It'd be easier out here, where they could just drop a magna-fusion warhead on their work site.

Ah, Ork slang... Such a simple yet complex language.

Nice try, but I don't think he's going to be distracted by a little indulgent bit of word play...

...Or not.

And yet, this is largely a joke that only works in English. Not that Ork language isn't that far off, right down to the 'mugs other languages for interestin' vocabulary' thing...

...Do you want Tyranids getting their hive-mind clutches on Ork DNA? Bad enough they may have worked out Biovores from them.

...Aw, who are you kidding? They'd have a scrap with anyone within reach. You know that.

And given the average length of a Tau lifespan, even if Ethereals are long-lived... Sooner or later, someone new will be sitting in the fancy hover-chair and wearing the big hat before long.

Ah, right. I suppose he hasn't really been... Certified. Has he?

Ah, Power Rings are awesome, especially when you need a good, private heart-to-heart with a friend.

...Though where could he go that an Ork wouldn't just crump him as a 'mouthy snotling'? And forget about Human space...

Or prejudiced. Some Tau do remember significant campaigns against Orks. (And yes, not all of those listed on that link are against Orks. But there are many.)

Showing off examples of 'friendly' Orks and Daemons as a propaganda thing? Seems a bit... Foolhardy?

Then again, the Farsight Enclaves have their own issues, not least of which is their leader's connection to an ancient artifact, possibly of Eldar origin...

And being banished would probably be a death sentence, even at this stage. Faultless is still a young and weak entity, and likely easy prey to anything lurking within the Warp.

And even that was a one-off piece of technology, constructed largely by the Emperor... Sadly, he never got to work out mass-production before Horus' little hissy fit...

Indeed.

Or the Yoof runs away, and hooks up with other teenage rebel Orks and forms a Stormboy mob... Going about all disciplined and parading about in shiny boots and neat uniforms.

Got to admit, it lightened the mood, didn't it? So it worked.

Hey, it almost worked for Captain-General 'Kitt-

...Understood.

Ah, the old 'Going Boldly... And Coming Boldly.' trope at play, eh?

I bet the Eldar took one look at his Avarice-driven metaphysical structure, shuddered bone-deep and quietly agreed to pretend not to see him, huh?

And honestly, Eldar are not all that physically attractive to humans either, if you read deeper. Imagine a human, witth oddly stretched out proportions, with oddly-different movements, facial features and so on... They should hit humans deep in the uncanny valley.

...And that's a Craftworld Eldar. Imagine how much worse a Drukarhi's interest would be, without all the Asuryani's cultural restraint.

Well, that discussion went into strange and embarrassing places. Though if P'Aul does have a little bit of blueberry fever, I can't fault him. One of those base-level human needs, after all. Still, it is an interesting and concerning point about what would happen to beings like Gremlin or Faultless if the Tau leadership took issue with their little xenology projects.

 

Thank you, corrected.

 

It's adorable that he thinks you can circumvent Slaanesh's hold with a null field.

Because you can't.

And even if it were possible, you would likely need the null equivalent of an Alpha Plus. Not some cheap knock off Tau machinery.

By which he means the Tau tried to take an Exodite world and got utterly stomped.

And by "as well as can be expected" he likely means the Eldar told the Tau that anything Tau that found itself in the same system as the Craftworld would be obliterated and then ignored anything else the Tau said.

Because it is functionally impossible for the Tau to actually defeat even the weakest of Craftworlds due to their ships displacer systems making them completely untargetable to Tau ships.

 

If it helps, I think the first segment is Warlantern 40,000, with the date of
"0 086 936.M41
Or thereabouts
Probably."

There are several references to precise dates being not necessarily a thing. See:
From Warlantern 40,000, second part
"0 086 936.M41
Inasmuch as it matters
I wonder how the tau dating system works?"

And Warlantern 40,000, third part
"0 086 936.M41
And a bit
Seriously, did the Emperor abolish minutes or something?"

The next times given as
Kaising the Joint (part 1) - 6 013 937.M41
Kaising the Joint (part 2) - 6 232 937.M41
Kaising the Joint (part 3) - 6 233 937.M41
Kaising the Joint (part 4) - 6 234 937.M41
Kaising the Joint (part 5) - 6 246 937.M41

And then this bunch goes:
Xenopsychology (part 1) - 6 558 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 2) - 6 558 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 3) - 6 558 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 4) - 6 561 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 5) - 6 561 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 6) - 6 561 937.M41
Xenopsychology (part 7) - 6 563 938.M41
Xenopsychology (part 8) - 6 563 941.M41

 

Theres also the issue that if they do attack the Nids, you’d be pitting two inexhaustible, escalating forces against each other.

 

Neither are inexhaustible. Tyranids eating a world will prevent orks reappearing, and individual hive fleets can and have been wiped out.

 

Orks produce biomass ex nihilo when given sufficient combat and Nids can replenish their numbers with that biomass. I’m not saying every interaction would lead to runaway escalation, but there is that one sector where Nids and Orks have been fighting for over a decade, getting stronger and more numerous. Probably most fights would end with one defeating the other, but the risk of additional hotspots like that is still significant, regardless of the probability.

 

I'd like a reference for that. Orks get bigger, yes, but I don't remember anything saying that they don't have to eat to gain that mass.

 

Unless the writer just says they have something that lets them overcome that, like in every 40k book. Because the entire franchise is rule of cool and making things up as they go. Otherwise, there’s no way a single chapter of space marines (1000 guys at most) could actually take on and beat a Tyranid invasion of millions of bioforms.

Paul in Tau space might have helped them figure out how to beat some Eldar defenses. More ridiculous things have happened in 40k.

IIRC Ork lifeforms can breakdown inorganic soil and rocks into chemicals better suited to organic life, while they are growing in the ground. I think in some of the lore, entire worlds were turned from barren rock into ones that could be candidates to become agriworlds.

So with that in mind, some people think a Tyranid/Ork war ona planet would be an unending nightmare. The Orks would create biomass without end and the Tyranids would give the Orks the war they crave without end.

 

Ah, the new devourer. I miss 50k.

 

Paul shouldn't have the ability to beat Eldar displacer fields.

They are partially warp magic based.

Not even Dark Age of Technology humanity or the Necrons could reliably beat Eldar displacer fields. So that tells you how high the bar is.

 

There have been multiple instances in the books of imperial forces hitting craftworlds with ship weapons and then sending boarding forces. Including one where psytitans were deployed in the great crusade.

 

There's always the old fashioned 'carpet bomb space, you're bound to hit them eventually' option..it's displacement and holofields, their actual defenses on impact aren't anything special.

like most things in 40k, through enough bullets/dice at it, and anything will die eventually.

 

Why not start out with Farsight? From the little I am aware, Farsight's Conclave is perfect to promote.

 

I'm rather surprised he seems to think he can achieve victory for the Tau.

I was under the impression the Tau are basically playing in the kiddie pool thinking they're hot shit when the only reason they're still around is because the other factions are busy with bigger, more important conflicts. That if the Imperium seriously went after them they'd be wiped out pretty easily, but events seem to conspire to prevent that from happening.

Like how they were first encountered as primitives and an oh so convenient warp storm cut them off from the rest of the galaxy, and when it dissipated they weren't primitive anymore. Or how there was one moment where the Imperium was actually gearing up to exterminate them but a Tyranid attack just happened to take place at just the right time and place that the Imperial forces earmarked for crushing the Tau had no choice but to go fight the Nids instead. Even interrupted by the Nids, this was seen as a grand campaign by the Tau but a minor skirmish at best by the Imperium. The difference in scale is just that damn big.

Like, everything I know about the Tau suggest that they're really only still around because of authorial fiat. And, well, I guess they're a popular enough faction to not get the Squats treatment.

And jumping ship to the Farsight Enclave would basically be the same problems but worse, because the Enclave is even smaller.

 

All of which relies on the use of Psykers.

You are 100% right.

The Tau are the big joke of the Warhammer 40k franchise. And only survive because everyone else in the setting has more important things to do then bother with a tiny little empire made up of a couple dozen systems.

Truthfully however? This Paul's actions should have changed that calculation and set the Eldar, Imperium, and Chaos to wanting to wipe out the Tau.

 

Basically true.

The thing is, the things distracting the Imperium aren't likely to stop. Ever. Those hive fleets aren't going anywhere.

The Tau are the minor xeno culture who rolled natural 20s whereas many of their contemporaries were exterminated.

Mostly, because they're not the ones he ran into first. They're also even smaller than the main Tau Empire.

 

Completely wrong.

The Imperium very much does bother. Just not equally. But then. The Tau have never run into a forge world before.

What you fail to being up here is that those distractions are constantly being weighed against the Tau.

And it's actually super borderline for various groups deciding that the Tau are the bigger distraction and wiping them out.

Or in the case of Chaos, decide the Tau are the perfect smorgus board and show up with scrap code generators to corrupt their entire civilization.

 

But T'au don't even have tits. They do have a vagina nose though, is P'ol interested in facefucking the fish?

 

I suppose a tsundere scientist is close enough to his usual ‘bad girl’ type. And in the grimdarkness someone a little more wholesome than an assassin is appropriate.

To add to this: What you need to remember about 40k is the sheer scale and distance.
Yes the Imperium could crush the Tau with trivial ease if they could gather all their forces together. Except that even with no distractions or other commitments or internal friction and impeded by nothing but simple logistics it would still take centuries to gather all those forces.
And that applies to pretty much everyone. If every Ork got together they could destroy anywhere in the galaxy, from Terror to Medrengard. If all the hive fleets hit the same place nothing could withstand it. And so on.

The Tau are extremely weak in absolute terms. However because they are concentrated in a very small area their local forces are broadly equal to everyone else’s local forces.
And then they got an Orange Lantern to tip the scales.

 

Tau women have tits...

Have you not seen the art? Because it's pretty blatant.

 

Yes... In a human factory, the 'drones' would be servitors, or simply an endless parade of barely-skilled workers trained to do the one thing their station requires and nothing else... And honestly, that is the sort of thing that contributed to the Faultless One's birth in the first place...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Though mechanical methods inevitably end up breaking down, requiring repairs that lower the rate of production... The Imperium doesn't bother with advanced options because it's cheaper and easier to set a new worker in place once the previous collapses of exhaustion.

So, some improvements, but not where it counts. I'm sure P'Aul could continue to work with her on that...

There's the rub with their system. It requires smarter, better-trained workers. And it would be counter-productive to train ten thousand people to do the job of one...

And this is how the Imperium can have trillions of citizens... Which leads to their logic of 'oh, some worker died on the line? Just shove another into their place.'

I bet that's a bit of culture shock for those relocated. I wonder if agoraphobia is common. When all your life, you've been able to look up and see the underside of the next level of the city above you... The open sky must be terrifying.

Such is the life of the low-born in the Imperium. Where sending a child off to be experimented on is a better fate than them joinging you in the factories and likely dying young of accident or disease, or seeing them joining a gang and getting killed by some stimmed-out lunatic in a back alley.

Optimistic of you. Still, Faultless may well not even comprehend what eh sees, to some degree, if it's too different to their experience.

Within limits, of course, I expect. Probably no articles too... Potentially distressing for them. And no doubt skewed to present the Tau in a good light.

And it's telling that they asked that. It shows they aren't completely naive.

I bet you will...

Though I bet she did feel a little on edge in there. Not knowing if something she said would set Faultless off...

Yeah, Daemons in battle are not particularly nice. Though I bet the footage of Slaaneshi demons is heavily censored.

To be fair, the only daemons we usually see are those used in battle. It is a wargame universe, after all. I can't imagine there aren't lesser daemons who exists solely to perform the lowliest duties. Cleaning skulls for the Skull Throne of Khorne, for example, or gathering up samples of Nurgle's latest clever plague. But they'd be utter rubbish in-game...

Admittedly, in the same way a party popper compares to Tsar Bomba...

Ah, Ephreal Stern's origin? Yes, quite a world of difference there...

Well, she does have a point. In this case, it's really a case of defining Faultless by what they are not, than what they're similar to.

Though with extreme caution, eh?

True. Those seen on the tabletop (albeit rarely these days) are merely the most suited to combat... There are many more races barely mentioned in the background. And even that list favours the combat-oriented...

Such is the nature of their society. If a race can serve the Greater Good by staying far away and just sending stuff, then let them do so...

She's learning. Well done for working that one out.

Heh. I half expected him to make a lame excuse and transition away...

On the physical side, a Power Ring works wonders for matters of physical compatibility...

There's a reason their combat gear features lots of mechanical and sensory assistance. And why they prefer ranged combat to melee. It comes from supposedly having evolved from a prey species. Or at least something a little more ungulate than us ground-apes.

Just... No jokes about 'forehead vaginas' or anything of the like. That would be in bad taste.

Oooh, sassy. This lady isn't impressed by your glowy tricks, P'Aul. Better be ready to put some work in.

So, Relationship sub-plot unlocked. I suppose that's one good thing to come out of this whole mess. A pity we might not see them for a while, depending on Mr Zoat's muse. Though it looks like she's a little more interested in this side-plot, looking at the chapter index. Still, sooner or later, we're going to have to get back to the Paragon or Renegade...

 

Is WH40k Paul going to take part in Crisis of Infinite Pauls in his own personal future? To get idea how to make OL Rings and maybe share some techs?

 

Way to raise a guy's hopes up only to let them down.

 

"His attention"

"am an expert"

 

Thank you, corrected.

 

I know almost nothing about the lore, but when I looked it up on the wiki, it said there were only two official illustrations of a tau female, one looks more 'human female' and the other looked more like the tau males. I could be completely wrong about that, but I'm pretty certain that's what I read.

The only biological reason (that I can think) for them to have breasts would be if they nurse their young, and I've no clue if they do.

 

"rather than a complete reliance on the consumption of nutrients in the form of food, Orks have a primitive and basic ability to photosynthesise. This would give them a tremendous advantage over other races as they can reduce their supply lines to ammunition and fuel and all the other parts of war, but without the need to transport perishable goods. The blood of an Ork is also interesting, in that it contains countless distinct fungal organisms and has a chlorophyll high content, with trace elements of carbon and copper."

Orkoid physiology - Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum

Might not be true. But it's popular enough that the misconception could have spread pretty far.

 

I'm going with this.

That would let them produce sugar using matter already in their body. It wouldn't let them increase their mass.