abstract
| - The Tau Empire launches many probes towards what the Tau have named the Forbidden Zone, the cluster of star systems beyond the far side of the Damocles Gulf in the Eastern Fringe, although few have ever returned. The strange eddies and unreadable energies that drift in that region doubtlessly damage or reroute a portion of those lost probes, but many more are destroyed by the Farsight Enclaves' orbital defence stations that blockade all entry, save only for their own voidships. Beyond that formidable ring of floating fortresses are the Farsight Enclaves themselves. Scans from those few Tau probes to successfully beam back signals reveal a string of heavily built-up worlds with large populations, including nodal cities expanded from colony domes and entire moonbases converted to manufacturing. When last seen trailing the Orks who were the target of his original military expedition into the wilds of the Damocles Gulf centuries ago, Farsight's Coalition bore the symbols of their Septs -- predominately Vior'la, but also Sa'cea, Tau'n and several others. When sighted generations later, these forces and fleets bore markings similar in design to those used by the Tau Empire, but in colours and patterns never sanctioned. Like any distant colony, much of the equipment and armour used by those within the Farsight Enclaves is slightly dated -- the equipment most prevalent at the time of Farsight's disappearance. There has been, however, unsettling evidence of classified technology and recent Tau prototypes present within the Enclaves. Time will tell whether this is the result of spycraft, theft or traitors to the Greater Good who have been aiding those within Farsight's domain.
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