El'Lusha
Shas’el T’au Lusha is a veteran Tau Commander.[1a]
Contents
History
Early in his career El'Lusha served under Commander O'Shi'ur during the Tau's effort to destroy the Tyranids that had invaded the Sept World of Fal'shia. While fighting the Tyranids, the position of the Fire Warriors under O'Shi'ur's command began to be overwhelmed and El'Lusha was one of those who pleaded with O'Shi'ur, to give the order to withdraw. O'Shi'ur refused and El'Lusha could do nothing as O'Shi'ur's legendary temper and stubbornness got the best of him and he charged after a Tyranid, that had dented his Crisis Battlesuit. When the Tyranids surrounded O'Shi'ur and tore him apart, El'Lusha and the surviving Fire Warriors withdrew.[1i]
Later in his career, El'Lusha would be one of several Commanders sent aboard the warship Or’es Tash’var[1a] to the Imperium planet Dolumar IV, after its Planetary Governor Meyloch Severus had the Ethereal Ko'vash captured from the nearby Tau Sept World of Kuu'lan[1d]. Serving under Commander O’Udas[1b], El'Lusha oversaw the Fire Warriors deployed by Orca Dropships to Lettica, a major city on Dolumar IV, including the Fire Warrior La'Kais, the son of O'Shi'ur, and his friends Ju and Y’hol. El'Lusha stayed aboard a Orca Dropship and communicated with the Fire Warriors as they battled 19th Glamorgian Regiment of the Imperial Guard defending the city, but was unable to tell them the Tau's attack on Lettica was just a feint to draw the Imperium's attention away from their real target[1a]. As the Fire Warriors began to be overwhelmed by the Imperial Guard, El'Lusha would command the withdrawal effort which saw the successful evacuation of many of them, including La'Kais and Ju.[1b]
Later O’Udas would tell the Fire Warriors that the attack had been a feint and their real target was the vast prison complex on Dolumar IV, where the Etheral Ko'vash was being held. La'Kais volunteered to infiltrate the prison, while the Tau attacked it, and El'Lusha would be in constant contact with him[1b] and would call down Orcas when La'Kais had not only freed Ko'vash, but many of the Fire Warriors taken prisoner in the attack on Lettica; including the wounded Y'hol who was thought to have been killed[1c]. Once they were all safely on board the Or’es Tash’var, the warship came under attack by the Battlefleet Ultima Primus intent on capturing the ship and Ko'vash. The Battlefleet launched a boarding attack on the warship and during the battle to repel the Imperium's forces El'Lusha guarded Ko'vash to make sure he came to no harm. The boarding attack was repelled[1d] and Tau reinforcements arrived which began to attack the outnumbered Battlefleet[1e], which along with the successful boarding of their flagship the Enduring Blade caused the Battlefleet to open peace talks with the Tau.[1f]
The subsequent developments saw Meyloch Severus revealed as a heretic, when he unleashed a Chaos warhost during the peace talks on the Enduring Blade and captured Ko'vash[1f]; which resulted in the Tau and Imperium working together, to defeat his plot to free the Lord of Change Tarkh’ax on Dolumar IV. During the battle El'Lusha wore a Crisis Battlesuit and led a squadron of Suits in attacking the Chaos forces[1g], until he received a message from the Or'es Tash'var stating that they had found the location of La'Kais, who had been feared dead during the attack on the Enduring Blade. El'Lusha led his squadron to La'Kais location, which was in a temple dedicated to the Ruinous Powers[1h], where Severus was keeping Ko'vash captive and was in the final stages of freeing Tarkh'ax. As he fought the various Chaos Space Marines defending the temple, El'Lusha contacted La'Kais as he began fighting Tarkh'ax, who had fully manifested in Severus' body; and had begun to break down under the pressure of the non-stop fighting he had done since he arrived on Dolumar IV. Adding to his misery was the death of Ko'vash, who had been killed during La'Kais rescue attempt, as well as his belief that he had strayed from the Greater Good and was not able to live up to his Father's legend.[1i]
Hearing this El'Lusha lashed out and told La'Kais that though O'Shi'ur was a great Commander, he was a flawed figure whose anger and stubbornness brought about his own death. He told La'Kais that as long he fought for the Greater Good, then it didn't matter how far he believed he had strayed. Hearing this snapped La'Kais out of his catatonic state and he destroyed the last of the Chaos shrines empowering Tarkh'ax, which allowed El'Lusha and his squadron to destroy the Lord of Change's body; when they entered the chamber the Daemon was located in, banishing it back to the Warp. Afterwards the Tau peacefully left Dolumar IV, to return to the Empire, and El'Lusha brought La'Kais' friends Ju and Y'hol to see him in the Or’es Tash’var's medical bay. They were left shocked and saddened to see La'kais had been left a broken former shell of himself, by his experience fighting on Dolumar IV; but El'Lusha deemed it important that they see the sacrifice La'Kais had given for the Greater Good.[1i]
Trivia
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Conflicting sources
In the Fire Warrior video game, El'Lusha does not aid La'Kais in his battle with the Lord of Change Tarkh'ax.[2]
Source
- 1: Fire Warrior (Novel) by Simon Spurrier
- 2: Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior — Campaign, Final Mission
