The Au’vre’ti Flotilla is the Tau naval military contingent in the Sculptor system. It is under the command of Kor’el Dal’ta’ai, captain of the Yuk’e Or’nri, a Lar’shi’vr (Protector class) cruiser that serves as the flotilla’s command vessel.

The flotilla’s mission is to protect the newest addition to the Tau Empire, the Gue’vesa world of Na’yrm, known to the Imperium as Medea III, a planet-sized moon of Sculptor IV. The naval forces available are woefully inadequate for such a strategically minor intrusion into Imperium-held space. The main military advantage the flotilla currently holds is that Imperial forces are otherwise engaged.

As of  3 002 735.M41, the flotilla consists of:

1 x Lar’shi’vre (Protector class) Cruiser—The Tau Empire’s primary warship, the Protector lacks the armor or defensive armaments of its Imperial counterparts. Still, armed with railgun batteries, ion cannons, and gravitic-launched missiles, the vessel can go head-to-head in firepower with most Imperial cruisers.

2 x Kir’la (Warden class) Carrier Escort—A more advanced escort design than the Orca, the Warden is a formidable gunship designed to protect capital ships. Lacking Tau Etherdrives, however, the Warden lacks interstellar capability and must be towed through the Warp within the gravitic sheath of a larger Tau vessel.

4 x Kass’l (Orca class) Gunships—Armed with both a prow railgun and ion cannon, the Orca is equivalent in combat ability to an Imperial escort. Unlike its Gue’la counterparts, the Orca lacks interstellar capabilities and must be transported within the gravitic sheath of a larger Tau vessel.

[Postscript, 3 370 741.M41: Over the next five years, the Tau naval presence would expand exponentially to  a powerful fleet. Imperial naval forces also were reinforced, and several major naval battles occurred. As of today, Imperial and Tau naval forces endure an informal and uncomfortable armistice forced upon them by strategic threats elsewhere.]

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