The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

I've read the Constitution, yes. Most of the rules seem like common sense but I'm not surprised if I missed something.
I also finished the entire TIANATDATPPC last night.

And, Alliance. I still lost in most of the Horde cities.

Certain Tyranid organisms can draw information out from brains, so it is possible that whichever Jedi got captured would give up all their skills to the Tyranids before it got processed. And at worst, the Tyranids would probably start experimenting with possible uses for the powers.

You'd start seeing Zoanthrope type units that are basically massive Force batteries, and the more powerful units like Tyrants would start displaying force sensitivity in general.

Though, in the particular case of the healing trance, they likely wouldn't care. Most Tyranid organisms are completely expendable, and time in a trance would be time not spent advancing and killing. The Hive Mind wouldn't bother on anything less than Tyrants.

She set a bad example, being all proud and aloof (until she got old and crazy and decided running off into the wilderness after her dumb kid was a great idea, for which I don't blame T). She never taught him how to deal with other people properly.

"Túrin, why are you watching your little sister like that? It's creepy. Just go play with her."

"Túrin, why are you hanging around old Sador so much? Surely there are kids your own age to interact with somewhere in this holding? Go socialize!"

"Túrin, I know you don't want to leave home, and neither do I, but sometimes we have to bow to wisdom and do what's best for others rather than please ourselves."

Right?

Re. Khîm and Mîm, I get the impression from CoH that Mîm turned traitor because he got jealous of the friendship of Túrin and Beleg. Speaking of which, I'm not sure what T ever did to deserve Beleg. Was he so pretty that Beleg fell for him, too? That just about explains it.

Maybe if he'd realized that Finduilas' feelings for him were the reason Gwindor cooled toward him, and made more intelligent decisions about Gwindor's advice. I mean, probably not, because he's a headstrong idiot, but maybe.

Will have to do more research into Ard-galen/Anfauglith, I guess. I do wonder what differences there are between CoH and the Silm.

I wonder if Tolkien didn't like Túrin so much as Túrin's story, which is a classical-feeling Oedipus Rex sort of tragedy with a dash of Romeo & Juliet thrown in at the end. And T did slay a dragon. Not too many people can say that.

Tolkien also really liked Beren & Lúthien, who have a much better (if still tragic) story.

Do Elves like depressing stories, or are these actually the least depressing from a really terrible Age?

~Neshomeh, rambling.

I don't think 'don't know about the Force = resist it' is a valid reading of the Vong; they were biologically immune to it, while there's (obviously!) no indication that the Tyranids are. So I think it would make for more interesting fiction to have them initially vulnerable to Jedi Battle Meditation (to steal a phrase)... but then, like you say, to adapt.

In this particular war (starting between the destruction of Alderaan and the destruction of the Death Star), Jedi would be scarce in the Alliance. Luke, Leia, Yoda... it's not like they'd go hunting for more in the midst of the Empire/Imperium war! (Well, maybe they would, at that...) But what they could get their claws on is one of those Chaos-corrupted Inquisitors I mentioned somewhere. So the result is the same.

Would the force-sensitive Tyranids be able to use abilities they hadn't seen? I mean, assume they never saw a Jedi healing trance - would they be able to intuit its existence, or would they have to be informed it was possible first? (The latter opens up interesting possibilities of rationing, but not if it dun't work. ^_^)

hS

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

Glad to have you onboard, Pasty Greens!

It takes a lot of courage to go back and confront the demons of your own past. I highly respect and value that, and look forward to seeing it.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

iLUEARMKAB0WIQTfllUBtaeNnRzzfmVK3+74uImA+wUCWeuLIwAKCRBK3+74uImA
+4GvAf9OG3+ZgeqHBgeni50kZsN1cdqPBj5rg9HtvPK3I5sbZTWgQORgOMWnqZQy
fgxGymr9HE0Ed+duBnPz4TRjHcWlAf4x66VLGgYQjXZgmkYNr24RekYGAXtII/Ec
cfWBFmMfimSAceEpA1GYG2CQ0YUfr5dbiVK8qHmKHW3jfGDFKNB2
=H+8c
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

While the idea that the Force could counter the Hive Mind is a good one, this underestimates the Tyranids' adaptability, which is their primary trait. For one, they would naturally resist the Force like the Vong did, because they don't understand that it exists. But as the fighting continued, they'd start to understand that a new type of ability was being used. It's at this point where things go bad for the Alliance, because the Tyranids would dedicate everything to feeding on a Jedi. And once they do, that Norn-Queen will start making force-sensitive Tyranids.

The usual risks of the Force would not apply to them. They have no emotions to feed the Dark Side, and their mental strength would allow them to channel those abilities even if they shouldn't be able to. Despite being soulless, they have enough mental power to brute force warp powers, so it is within their power.

Hullo newbie! Here, have some chocolate and don't worry, we don't bite... hopefully.

But there are records from the Burning Moon War and similar things (which occurred well prior to the setting) of Battlesuit pilots pushing their mechs to the absolute limit and getting them into orbit. If you built them for that purpose, then you'd absolutely be able to have jump-capable battlesuits. The Ghostkeel suit is already designed for stealth missions and rapid insertion - and yeah, it says quite a lot about both Tau adaptive stealth tech and the 40K setting in general that a thirty-foot giant robot armed to the teeth can be considered stealthy - and the central design's been around since the beginning of the Third Sphere Expansion, so giving it some really uprated vectored thrust arrays and a really low-rated hyperdrive (I'm fairly certain that Tau computing tech can handle it, given that it can handle bouncing off the surface of the Warp) so that they can get in, inflict a decapitation strike, and bug out with relative impunity.

I can even think of a proper designation: XV97-0 Knightguide Battlesuit. This name is a shortening of the phrase "Guide of heroes' strength", referring to both the suit's array of drone-controlled weaponry and also to the people commonly piloting it: the word in Tau is Re'b'el. =]

... I think ten years is long enough for the Rebels to convince the Tau of the viability of Ethereal-Jedi commando teams, no? :D It doesn't matter if the other Tau will lose it if you don't bring the army in the first place, and like theit cousins in Trek, the Rebels have no problem putting all their most important people on a ground mission.

I like the idea of cribbing Rebel power sources (though I'm not positive they're actually stronger), but why not take the next step and create jump-capable armour? Tie a combat suit that can survive atmospheric entry to a Clone Wars-era hyperspace ring, and you can jump your team directly from the home fleet to enemy ground. Admittedly they can't get back /out/, but as an infiltration tactic it's superb. And it's not like the Tau mind suicide missions for the Greater Good.

(Of course, that should also be possible in Star Wars proper, but no-one's that desperate I guess.)

hS

Hello, and welcome aBoard! For your newbie gift, take this plate of freshly-made SPaGhetti!

You've already answered all my usual questions save one: Have you read the Constitution?

Also! Alliance or Horde? My heart lies with the Alliance, but my guildies are all on the Horde side, so that's where I spend most of my time now.

.
.
.
.
.
*offers newbie a bowl of fruit punch*

Hullo there! Glad you found our lil' madhouse :D I'm Cipher, the local cheap comic relief. What about you? Pronouns? Favourite mission read so far (let's be honest, it's one of Iximaz's stuff, isn't it? She's amazeblogs! :D)

Hello! For the past few years, I've found strange enjoyment in bad fanfiction. To be specific, I quite like listening to it on YouTube. About four or five days ago, I was googling "Forbiden Fruit" again for God knows what reason and discovered the PPC wiki. The idea of going into a fic and killing the Sues inside is something that I've loved and the fact that the PPC exists is one of the most amazing things I have found. Since then, I have read a potentially alarming amount of the wiki, missions, and I'm currently making my way through the Original Series.
Harry Potter was part of my childhood, but Eragon was what got me really into the fantasy genre. Due to the parts of the internet that I tend to visit, I didn't learn that the Inheritance series is awful until very recently and I have since read the sporkings to try and disillusion myself. My childhood is founded on lies.
I started roleplaying before I knew what I was doing and as a result, the Mary-est of Sues was born. If I ever decide to try work up the guts to write for the PPC, my first order of business is to make my character go back in time and spork herself.

Fandoms of choice include Harry Potter, World of Warcraft (current roleplay medium), the Zamonia books by Walter Moers, Pretty Cure, and most of Inheritance.

Please don't hit me.

-That he did take for himself Anglachel the cursed blade, and by its evil brought about many deaths.

-That he did flee the realm of Doriath to escape judgement, though he ought to have trusted in the wisdom of Thingol.

-That by so doing did he cause the departure of Morwen and Nienor from that same realm, and bring about their loss.

-That he did take up with outlaws, and condone the killing of innocents who happened upon their lair; and that by this course was Khim son of Mim slain, and emnity wrought which brought to pass his own betrayal.

-That he did alter the pattern of war waged by Nargothrond the Fair, betraying its location and bringing about its fall.

-That he did seek to contend with the Worm of Morgoth, becoming bewitched and seeking not to save Finduilas the Radiant from her fate.

-That he held his name as secret, depriving his ensorcelled sister of the chance to recover her mind.

-That he did slay Brandir the Blameless, prince of Brethil, for speaking only the truth.

Notably, I don't hold him responsible for the things he did: the death of Saeros, the killing of Beleg, and his marriage to Nienor. Those have the feel of fate about them, twisted by Morgoth. But the rest? That's Turin's own choices, and I hold him full guilty.

I really don't understand why Tolkien liked him so. He's not a hero, or even an antihero - just a blundering oaf with a talent for breaking things. Philosopher@Large once said that she wrote Beren by thinking 'what /wouldn't/ Turin do?', and I think that sums him up perfectly. (Fight me.)

As for noticing women... well, if he'd recognised that Nellas even /existed/, his whole story goes away, since she was the witness that could have exonerated him. But I'm not sure noticing Finduilas would have helped any. He still would have taken Nargothrond to war, and it was Glaurung's gaze that led him to ignore her, not his own disregard.

The Anfauglith: well, dunes can be of things other than sand. What's the difference between sand and dessicated soil anyway? I see Tolkien does use the word 'sand' itself, but I still don't think it's what we'd think of (golden beaches and red deserts).

You're right about 'dun-coloured', though. Hmm... Ard-Galen could have been reddish clay or something, or founded on sandstone; either would have allowed a tan-grey colour dust to form. Given the lack of rainfall out there, there's probably only a few designs that would let it grow anyway, I bet we could narrow it down.

/Or/, Tolkien wrote the Nirnaeth before he ever concieved of Ard Galen, and never changed the 'desert' to account for its history. Y'know. Just saying.

hS

If all goes well, I'll be transferring to London South Bank University to study film. Super exciting... and super nerve-wracking.

Late to the party, as usual, but now I'm here! Who wants to talk about how Túrin could have averted his fate simply by noticing the beautiful Elven women throwing themselves at him left and right? {= D

(Also, hS, it kinda looks like the Anfauglith actually is sandy? O.o Still not a pretty desert, but there are definite mentions of sand and dunes and dun-colored gear blending in there. )

~Neshomeh

The Horus Heresy/Star Wars opening crawls. (Spoiler alerts are in effect for various Horus Heresy novels)


Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Turmoil has engulfed the Imperium of Man. The worship of the Emperor of Mankind as a god is in dispute.

Hoping to resolve the matter once and for all, the Emperor sends the Ultramarines to bombard the small Word Bearers planet of Khur.

While the Council of the Terra endlessly debates this alarming religion, Lorgar Aurelian has secretly dispatched his Word Bearers, the guardians of truth and the Word in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...."


Episode II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES

"There is unrest in the Council of Terra. Several Legions have declared their intentions to leave the Imperium.

This separatist movement, under the leadership of the Warmaster Horus Lupercal, has made it difficult for the limited number of Loyal Legions to maintain peace and order in the galaxy.

Primarch Corax, the Lord of the Raven Guard, is returning to the Emperor to ask for aid in rebuilding his shattered Legion...."


Episode III: REVENGE OF THE SIXTH

"War! The Empire is reeling from a revolt on Mars. There are heroes on both sides. Chaos is everywhere.

In a stunning move, the Thousand Sons Primarch, Magnus, has swept into the Imperial Palace and violated the Edict of Nikaea.

As the Thousand Sons Primarch flees back to his seat of power on Prospero, the Space Wolves begin a desperate mission to bring their brothers to heel...."


Episode IV: A NEW HOPE

"It is a period of civil war. Traitor Legions, striking from the shadows, have won their first victory against the Imperium of Man.

During the atrocities of Istvaan III, loyal members of the Traitor Legions managed to smuggle word of Horus's ultimate treachery out of the Istvaan system.

Pursued by Horus's sinister agents, Nathanial Garro races to Terra aboard his starship, the Eisenstein, custodian of the stolen plans that can save his people and restore freedom to the galaxy...."


Episode V: THE WORD BEARERS STRIKE BACK

"It is a dark time for the Imperium. Although the Furious Abyss has been destroyed, Traitor Legions have driven the Loyalist forces from their bases and pursued them across the galaxy.

Evading the snares of the Warmaster, a group of Legionaires led by Roboute Guilliman and Sanguinius has established a new Imperium in the remote system of Ultramar.

The evil Primarch, Lorgar Aurelian, obsessed with destroying the Ultramarines, has dispatched thousands of Word Bearers and World Eaters into the far reaches of space...."


Episode VI: RETURN OF THE PHOENICIAN

"Perturabo has laid waste to the Imperial Fist planet of Hydra Cordatus in an attempt to humble his brother Rogal Dorn and his Legion.

Little does Perturabo know that Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children has secretly begun planning the creation of an ultimate weapon, the Angel Exterminatus.

When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for Perturabo and his Iron Warriors...."



Can't think of a good one for Force Awakens, so I'm going to leave it there. Some of these clearly take place at the same time or even out of order, but so is the novel series. I recommend anyone partaking of these fictional movies start with 4-6 and then go back for 1-3, as is tradition.

-Phobos of the Vlka Fenryka

I always enjoy those. Plus, I really loved how much the Doctor was just dicking around with the tournament. =]

Welcome to Round Two

^_^

hS

They're called Norn-Queens, but putting a Jedi team up against one is... less than entirely viable. The reason for that is, well, d'you remember that "Who Would Win" battleship competition you did a while back? The one involving The Mighty Thor? Yeah. That again.

Norn-Queens are the single most important aspect of a Tyranid Biofleet. They're the ones who make everything - literally everything - from the tiniest Ripper to the greatest bioship. They're vast organisms on an unbelievable scale... and that's kind of why bioweapons don't tend to work against them. They're so big, and their consciousness and power so decentralized within their bodies, that by the time it's killed off one part, the rest has adapted to the infection and, well, it might start showing up in the Hive Fleet's spore bombs.

However, that idea of "look for a Queen to kill" is perfectly viable when it comes to the Hive Mind - Hive Tyrants and other beings of similar status effectively become relay nodes for the Hive Mind, and bumping them off severs the connection. There was even a special rule about the Tyranids back in the day called "SHOOT THE BIG ONES!". Spelled like that. =]

The Force acting as a counter to the Hive Mind is definitely an interesting idea, and budding Ethereal force users would definitely work well with that... but that involves putting Ethereals in the field. When Ethereals die, Tau... Tau go a bit nuts. There's also the fact that the Tyranids have a very weird effect on the Warp - while the Warp and the Force are two very different things, the effect of a Hive Fleet overrunning a world is like Alderaan on a grand scale.

On the plus side, we can protect everyone involved. One imagines that the power sources for hyperdrive engines are pretty potent, and if they can be scaled down for use in a starfighter then they can be scaled down for use in a battlesuit. This means that we can nab some of the cool stuff from the Fifth Sphere Expansion a little ahead of schedule - I'm especially thinking XV104 Riptides and XV109 Y'vahras, since anti-infantry and anti-horde weapons are prolly gonna be the order of the day when fighting the gribblies. There's also the fact that XV95 Ghostkeels we around by this point, and super-stealthy Class 9 battlesuits are a pretty good trick to have when it comes to infil/exfil and messing up Hive Tyrants.

It should also go without saying that I love the idea of the Hail of Flames getting turned by the Alpha Legion's human operatives infiltrating the Alliance and planting suggestions in the Hail's command echelons. Perhaps this is where the Tau start cloning their own species, at least in smaller batches, the better to guard against corruption and for spreading the joy and light of the Greater Good. =]

The Alpha Legion has the distinct advantage (in this instance) of not hanging out in the Eye of Terror, and therefore not really looking like Chaos Space Marines. I mean, Space Marines, absolutely, but if they could swing a 'we're a splinter group which has nothing to do with any of that' style of thing, it could still work.

Actually, it doesn't even need to be that complex: the Alphas have human operatives. Find one in a position to help the Rebel side of the Alliance, and they can work their way through until they get onto the Bugzapper. Though it does leave the Alliance in a better position, since they get to keep their fleet.

The difficulty with the Fallen Clone scenario is that the Alliance isn't really pitching itself against Chaos. I mean, granted that there's Chaos all over the place, but mostly they're going to be fighting the Imperium and the Empire. Unless...

... unless a Chaos faction deliberately sets out to turn them. Perhaps the turning point for the Alliance isn't a betrayal by a third party, but by the fall of the Hail of Flames at precisely the moment things seem to be going well (the capture of the Bugzapper). The Bugzapper is whisked away by the clones, and the Alliance fleet is torn apart by Chaos-infected clones running riot. What's left of it limps back to Coruscant, unable to make the journey all the way to the Fourth Sphere.

That separation leaves a ticking time-bomb in the Tau half of the Alliance: the Fourth Sphere doesn't know that the Hail of Flames is vulnerable to mass corruption. So they're fighting the Imperium and the 'Nids, while we watch and go 'but any moment all these soldiers could turn evil...'.

I think you underestimate the Rebels facing the Tyranids, though: they're quite a brave lot by and large, and in the old EU they faced the Vong (extra-galactic organic ships) and the Killiks (slightly less mindless Tyranids) without descending into absolute panic. Their primary strategies, depending on who exactly is on-site, will be 'look for a Queen to shoot' and 'design a bioweapon'. (The latter comes up a lot in the EUs, though not usually condoned by Our Heroes.)

Of course, the Tyranid Hive Mind doesn't have a Queen, so that won't work. The Force team (Luke, Yoda, Leia, and the Ethereals) might be able to pull off some kind of psychic damping effect, disrupting the Hive Mind locally...? It's worth a shot, at least!

hS

I mean, that's a fantastic plot, and I love it to bits, but it hinges on the Tau not having any knowledge of either the Ruinous Powers or their Astartes legions... and that's simply not true. The fact of it is that Tau souls barely even register as souls to the Chaos Gods. They have no psykers. They have no warp navigators. Even for the rapacious and ever-hungering gods of the Warp, they're just not worth the effort. However, the Tau have run into Chaos Space Marines on a number of occasions; while they might not recognise the Alpha Legion specifically, they know what a CSM looks like - specifically, what he looks like splattered over a wide area by railgun rounds. The big weakness is to psykers, actually - the Tau have basically zero defence against Warp powers, and the Rebels have exactly zero defence against it - and may well end up being turned against their cause by the machinations of Chaos. Hell, we could even have the initial clone troops turn to the Ruinous Powers and make the Alliance fight their own for a change, which sounds p cool, especially when you factor in just how many nasty mutations they could get their hands on. Jet Troopers with actual wings, Blurrg Troopers mounted on Beasts Of Nurgle, and maybe even a Clone Trooper Commander who became a Daemon Prince... cool, right?

Also, since this is set prior to the canonical Fifth Sphere Expansion, the problem isn't that you're going to be fighting Hive Fleet Leviathan. Instead, the Tau got to deal with Hive Fleet Gorgon (a splinter of Hive Fleet Behemoth), whose power I think we can upscale considerably considering their new advantages. Gorgon was canonically a Hive Fleet of exceptional adaptability, perhaps because of the Tau's own ability to adapt their technology to face new threats; Gorgon facing off against the Alliance would probably invest heavily in psyker units like Zoanthropes and stuff that could withstand barrages of pulse fire, like Pyrovores and Carnifexes - stuff that the Alliance has never really had to deal with en masse. Meanwhile, the Rebels look upon the Great Devourer with extremely brown pants; perhaps this pushes them closer to the Tau... or perhaps further away. Time will tell. =]

The story of the Tau-augmented Rebellion might be interesting. Their ultimate goal is no longer to bring down the Empire, because that would just let the Imperium take over, but to take control of it through subterfuge and cleverness... I have a feeling this might actually take them into the orbit of the Alpha Legion, who are apparently sneaky Chaos types that don't hang out in the Eye of Terror. Given that neither the Tau nor the Rebels have the knowledge base to immediately recognise a Traitor Legion, they could very well forge an alliance (which is in the interests of Chaos, since the Empire is proving a pain).

Over in the Milky Way, though, we've got 'Tau conquer everything easily' as one plot thread. When your weakness is 'numbers', and that gets negated, things get very boring. On the other hand, it looks like Hive Fleet Kraken arrives on the Tau frontier three years after 'Now', so that could work as a source of conflict.

Meanwhile, the Empire is firing Starkiller+Sun Crusher blasts into the Eye of Terror. What will that do? Options range from 'nothing' to 'destruction of one of more Chaos Gods' (^_~). Whatever happens, it'll provoke a response... but the Bugzapper (or whatever Palpy calls it) is a long way away. Chaos can't get there.

Hmm... except if the Alpha Legion is hanging out with the Rebel-Tau Alliance. The Alliance takes Coruscant with their help, then has to balance fighting off an Imperium assault at Kuat (the Imperial - now Alliance - shipyards) with hunting down Palpatine and the Bugzapper in the Outer Rim. They succeed at both... and then the Alpha Legion betrays them, taking both the Bugzapper and Palpatine directly into the Eye of Terror.

That puts Vader in charge of what's left of the Empire, and he's not one for sitting back when there's vengeance to be had. He's convinced he can resist the corruption of Chaos, so intends to head into their own realm to get his Master out/kill stuff. And he knows that the Eldar Webway can probably be used as back door into the Eye...

... and this is the point at which the Tyranids show up, I guess.

So, running down our list of galactic powers:

-Galactic Empire: dethroned, but still a major force. Fighting against both the Alliance and the Imperium to maintain its holdings, while also attempting to find a way into the Webway.

-Tau-Republic Alliance: expanding rapidly, but in trouble. The Alpha Legion took a chunk of the fleet with them when they betrayed them, so they're strictly weaker than both the Imperium and the Empire in the GFFA. Back in the Milky Way, the Fourth Sphere has just run headlong into the Tyranids, and is seriously numerically overwhelmed. A true merger of the two factions is being mooted.

-Imperium of Man: having a really bad day. They hold a huge slice of the GFFA, but nothing truly critical. Meanwhile, Cadia is still under the guns of the Imperial Navy, and the Fourth Sphere is cutting into their back-lines.

-Powers of Chaos: going well! While they suffered some key losses in the Bugzapper bombardment, they now have the Bugzapper itself, a sizeable hyper-capable fleet (assuming they can persuade the Alphas to hand it over), and a Sith Lord to set about corrupting. Of course, there is the annoying matter of that huge fleet outside the Eye of Terror...

-Tyranids: buzz buzz buzz. Who are these annoying white-armoured people who all look alike?

-Eldar, Dark Eldar: both staying out of things, but now there's a Dark Lord of the Sith and a bunch of Star Destroyers harassing them and asking for the keys. Ugh, the Mon-Keigh never learn, am I right?

Orks: WAAAGH!

hS

(Yeah, I was wrong about it stalling.)

Seriously, this is an amazing plot and it works really well and now I want to write it but there is so much other writing to do and also there is so much cool stuff that I know about the Tau but I know substantially less cool stuff about Star Wars and also I might be flailing a bit because this is SO COOL AAAAAAAA-

Also the dates you mention mean that this takes the place of the Fourth Sphere Expansion, which is now extremely successful instead of being lost in warp storms. Timelines R Fun! =]

... that Ron'nim refers to a clone as a being, while Sha'suam'kha'la refers to it as a soldier in the Hail of Flames.

Anyway, for this, you get more art!



1. The collision of two galaxies. The GFFA's rim materialises through the core of the Milky Way. This puts worlds like Mon Calamari, Yavin, Kashyyyk, and Mandalore directly in the path of...

2. ... the Imperium of Man's invasion force. The first system they encounter is the Sith world of Korriban, which convinces them that the GFFA is a hive of Chaos. They drive out the Rebel Alliance without even noticing them, then engage the Imperial Navy at Concord Dawn. Meanwhile...

3. ... the Rebels flee into the new galaxy, and run into the Tau. Mon Mothma forms an alliance, sharing aid and technology.

4. Emperor Palpatine tries a classic decapitation strike. His Death Star (which had just destroyed Alderaan when the galaxies merged) leaps into the Sol system and prepares to fire on Holy Terra. Unfortunately for Palpatine, the Imperium's fleet is just a bit bigger than the Rebel Alliance. Scratch one Death Star.

5. As part of their deal, the Rebels provide the Tau with information on cloning. A hyperdrive-enabled Tau/Rebel raid on Kamino provides them with samples of the tech, and they quickly get to work reverse-engineering it.

6. With the Imperium at a stalemate somewhere around the Hapes cluster, Palpatine turns his attention to something more serious. Reports have reached him of his Inquisitors being corrupted by a new aspect of the Force... something named Chaos.

7. Dagobah is a long way from the front lines, but Imperium ships are notoriously bad at ending up where they need to be. Ben Kenobi appears to Luke Skywalker, instructing him to head to the swamp planet, train there... and bring Yoda away from peril if he can.

(Not shown are the two Tau Ethereals who travelled with him, whose presence convinced Yoda to leave.)

8. The Imperials engage the forces of Chaos. Chaos wins (obviously). Palpatine begins pursuing other avenues of attack.

9. Ten years on, the Hail of Flames is complete. The first Tau clone army marches to war, split - by their alliance with the Rebellion - between their own expansion and the liberation of Imperium-held worlds in the GFFA such as Mon Calamari, Chandrila, and Bothawui.

10. The Imperial Navy bypasses Cadia and blockades the Eye of Terror. Using hit-and-run tactics honed over a decade of combat with the larger ships of Chaos and the Imperium, they maintain the blockade while Palpatine's new superweapon commences firing. Bolts of red flame emerge from hyperspace and plunge into the swirling Eye, each one with enough energy to destroy a star...

hS