"Madeye... our best pilot, and eighty million of my brothers... eighty million brothers who had only just glimpsed hope, only just tasted roast meat..."
He could not go on. He covered his face in anguish.
Eighty million!
The number made every T'au officer present gasp. Qingliu felt the world spin around him and nearly lost his footing.
They knew the Gretchin had suffered heavy losses, but they had never imagined losses on this scale! It meant that this force, newly welcomed into the greater good's family, had been all but crippled!
The muscles in Suisxing's face twitched uncontrollably. As a commander, he understood the weight behind that number better than anyone. Eighty million lives, reduced to ashes within an hour to carry out a single tactic of his.
That responsibility weighed as heavily as a mountain.
"Mr. Gretchin." Suisxing stepped forward, his voice low and firm. "Madeye was a true warrior. Every Freedom Fighter who fell in this battle was a hero of the greater good. Their names will be carved into the T'au Empire's monument to its heroes, alongside our greatest fallen warriors of the Fire Caste."
"We will never forget this blood debt, this sacrifice. I, Suisxing, swear upon my personal honor and the honor of the Fire Caste that the Tyranids must pay for this! We will stand with you until they have been utterly eradicated from this planet!"
It was a promise. An immensely weighty promise from one of the T'au Empire's finest commanders.
Liu Zhipeng slowly lowered his hands. Tears glimmered in his eyes, but more than anything, they held a mad resolve kindled by the flames of vengeance.
"Pay..." he murmured. "Yes... pay..."
He raised his head, swept his gaze over Suisxing and Qingliu, and said, each word deliberate, "Commander, honored diplomat. We... have