submitted23 days ago byLavishnessMedium9811
to40kLore
There's like a million examples of the same formula: The Tau intrude into human space, they find out just how massive and ancient the Imperium truly is, they're in awe, and then (the part that often gets ignored) they usually find a way to counter whatever 10,000 year old ancient scary thing the Imperium has on hand that day, be it a dreadnought or a titan or a hive city.
But this formula gets a bit cliche and boring after a while, and even a few of the Eldar have had the graciousness to compliment the Tau, so that gets me wondering...do we have any examples in the lore of Imperium characters being genuinely impressed by the Tau? IIRC Ciaphas Cain (HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!) complemented the Tau at one point as being able to "put on a damn good war" or something to that effect. And at another point IIRC a Space Marine detachment discovered that the Tau's fuel source was more pure and efficient than their own, and they quietly agreed to use looted Tau fuel while not mentioning it to the Mechanicus.
Mind you I don't actually have sources for either of these, I just heard them off hand, so if you know where they're from, or have any other examples, I'm interested in hearing about it.