| abstract | - The Y'vahra Battlesuit originates with the same Earth Caste engineer who designed the XV107 R'varna Battlesuit, Fio'O Ke'lshan Sho'Aun, infamous for his resistance to the will of the Ethereal council as much as his genius at weapons design. The Y'vahra represents a disturbing paradigm shift in the tactics of the pragmatic Ke'lshan Sept, in whom long years under near constant attack by alien forces has bred a stubborn pragmatism and siege mentality. The new XV109 is clearly a design intended to carry the fighting to the enemies of the Ke'lshan, perhaps marking a new stage of expansion on the Tau Empire's neglected eastern border. A wonder of Earth Caste engineering, the XV109 stands well over twice as tall as the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit, though its movements are more like those of its smaller cousins than the mechanical stiffness displayed by Imperial combat walkers with their crude servo-motors. While the Y'vahra is huge and bears a number of weapon and support systems, it is still a Tau Battlesuit -- worn and controlled by a lone warrior. As with all Tau Fire Caste warriors, the Fire Caste doctrine laid down in the Code of Fire instructs all warriors to fight closely together, with each member of a team doing his utmost to protect not just his comrades, but also nearby teams in his Cadre. With this training, Tau units can use overlapping fields of fire to provide all teams with mutual support on the battlefield in the case of enemy assaults. The XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit's greatest strength, much like the smaller XV9 Hazard Battlesuit, lies in superior short-ranged firepower. With a role focused primarily on long-ranged heavy fire support, the XV109 is easily able to bring its fearsome firepower to bear on infantry and vehicles, eliminating all but the most heavily armoured targets. The XV109 is also capable of operating in almost any tactical environment, including extreme low-light conditions where their advanced sensor arrays can be combined with a Blacksun Filter to allow for the accurate identification and targeting of enemies. However, despite the XV109 Y'vahra's obvious power, production of the new Battlesuit has proven slow -- the materials for its dense nano-crystalline alloy armour, called Fio'tak in the Tau Lexicon, are difficult to obtain and the sheer volume required ensures that the XV109 is a rare commodity in the Fire Caste. The honour of wearing such a mighty Battlesuit is only given to those who have nobly served their Commanders as Crisis Battlesuit Bodyguards, and these Fire Warriors are always of the honoured veteran rank of Shas'vre. XV109 Y'vahra pilots are chosen to don the greatest of Tau Battlesuits and fight for their Cadre mates; they are exemplar "sword saints" amongst their peers.
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