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==Overview==
Led by the revered [[Tau Commander|Commander]] [[Shadowsun]], the Fifth Sphere was launched into the [[Startide Nexus]], sometime after the [[Great Rift]]'s creation, when contact was made with Commander [[Surestrike]] and the remnants of the [[Fourth Sphere of Expansion]]. When Shadowsun and her forces emerged from the Startide Nexus, they were greeted by the survivors of the Fourth Sphere and welcomed to the area of space they had named the [[Nem'yar Atoll]]. Shadowsun then integrated the remnants of the Fourth Sphere into her forces and began expanding the size of the Nem'yar Atoll's domain{{Fn|1a}}. However this expansion was brought to a halt several months later, when a massive [[Death Guard]] armada appeared within the Nem'yar Atoll and began moving towards the Startide Nexus. Though caught by surprise, Shadowsun quickly rallied her forces against the [[Chaos]] invaders and is now engaged in a [[Battle of the Startide Nexus|desperate battle]] to prevent the Death Guard from reaching the Startide Nexus and gaining a pathway to the heartlands of the T'au Empire.{{Fn|1b}}
The Fifth Sphere has continued on, battling the [[Orks]] of the [[Ful'na]] Nebulae as well as scattered [[Tyranid]] [[Hive Fleet]] remnants. Due to the calamities consuming the Imperium in the aftermath of the [[Great Rift]]'s formation, little has been seen of the [[Imperium]]. However nearby Imperial worlds were rapidly colonized with a violent eagerness on the part of the former commanders of the Fourth that saw mass purges uncharacteristic of the Tau. Prisoners were massacred and [[Auxiliaries]] were intentionally sacrificed in battle. The [[Massacre of the Dul'un Lakes]] and the [[Eight Days of Infamy]] are the most famous episodes from this controversy. Eventually, Shadowsun and the [[Ethereal Council]] disciplined the Fourth Sphere commanders with a ritual punishment known as the [[Malk'la]] before they were returned to the ranks or sent back to the empire for re-assimilation. After a massacre and bloody [[Kroot]] uprising upon the colony of [[Ky'san]], all auxiliaries were removed from contingents of Fourth Sphere Tau.{{Fn|1}}
