''For the Emperor'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

military fiction Military fiction is a genre of fiction, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life. Classes of military fiction Types of military fiction include: * War novels, including written military fiction * ...

novel written by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author Alex Stewart under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Sandy Mitchell, first published by

Black Library The Black Library is a division of Games Workshop (formerly a part of BL Publishing) which is devoted to publishing List of Black Library novels, novels and audiobooks (and has previously produced art books, background books, and graphic novels) ...

in 2003 in paperback form. The novel has since been re-printed in hardback and in several other languages, including French. It is the first title in the Ciaphas Cain series of novels, taking place within the canon of

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...

. It follows the eponymous Ciaphas Cain, a Commissar in service to the Imperial Guard's Valhallan 597th Regiment. The story is presented in the form of Cain's personal

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

s, occasionally interrupted by Inquisitor Amberly Vail's humorous comments in the form of various anecdotes and commentaries, helping to provide additional information for the reader as Cain himself is an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unr ...

. Other characters' perspectives are also provided, such as extracts from Sulla's (a Guardswoman of the 597th) own memoirs and official Imperial texts.

Plot

Commissar Ciaphas Cain, a famed member of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

, and his aide-de-camp Gunner First Class Jurgen are transferred to the Valhallan 296th-301st, a composite Guard unit in transit aboard a spaceship, formed from the remnants of the Valhallan 296th and 301st Regiments after both sustained grievous losses. He is introduced to Colonel Kasteen and Major Broklaw, the highest-ranking officers from both regiments. Cain discovers that tensions between the members of the two regiments are rising rapidly due to clashing centuries-old traditions. The tension comes to a head when a riot breaks out in a mess hall, with multiple casualties within the both regiments and the ship's crew. With some luck and wit, Cain manages to defuse the situation, placating the angered ship crew and forging new unity between the Guardsmen of the Valhallan 597th, formed from the merger of the 296th and 301st. Members of the 597th responsible for the riot are sentenced to undertake

suicide mission A suicide mission is a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks such as kamikaze and suicide bombings, whose perpetrators actively commit s ...

s in the future. Some time later, the 597th are assigned to the backwater planet of Gravalax as a show of force since the planet's locals have begun to defect to the

Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

, a race of expansionist aliens. At a diplomatic event organised by Planetary Governor Grice, a Tau diplomat is assassinated, causing tensions to rise. Nearly immediately after, conflict breaks out across the capital, with civilian rioters and Planetary Defence Force troops fighting against and on the side of both Imperial and Tau forces. Cain and Lord General Zyvan are able to discover the presence of a conspiracy on Gravalax to initiate conflict between the Tau and the Imperium to unknown ends. During an operation to suppress the chaos, Cain and the convicted members of the 597th are recruited by Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Amberly Vail to go on a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

mission to the underground depths of Gravalax's capital city to uncover the conspiracy, where they join forces with a Tau unit. Underground, they encounter a Genestealer Cult, confirming Vail's suspicions. Kelp, one of the convicted Guardsmen, attempts to

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

Cain, but is killed by Jurgen. Another, Trebek, is killed after being shot in the chest by Genestealer cultists. Two of the convicted, Holenbi and Velade, are separated from the rest in an intense firefight. However, Jurgen is able to kill the leader of the Genestealer cultists, the Patriarch, throwing the remaining cultists into chaos, thus giving the group the chance to escape above-ground into Grice's palace. Grice shoots and kills Sorel, the last convicted Guardsman. He reveals himself as another Genestealer cultist and the assassin of the Tau diplomat, and engages the group in combat. Vail lands the killing blow, and the group is evacuated by the 597th. After the battle, a dazed Holenbi and Velade are retrieved by a search team with little memory of their time separated from Cain, but Cain summarily executes them both with his sidearm. He uses a knife to remove a Genestealer implant in Holenbi's body, with Vail explaining to a sickened Kasteen and Sulla that both had been infected by Genestealers, made obvious by their disappearance, disorientation and missing memory after combat against Genestealers. Kasteen orders their bodies incinerated. Cain and Vail observe Tau soldiers exhibiting the symptoms of Genestealer infection being led away. Soon after, the Tau mysteriously leave Gravalax behind, returning Gravalax to Imperial hands. Vail and Cain discuss the incident over a meal, where they discuss the ongoing extermination of local Genestealer cults; she also reveals Jurgen's nature as a psychic blank to Cain. The two toast to their friendship, and Vail promises to keep in touch with Cain.

References

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Bibliography

Stewart, Alex. ''For the Emperor: A Ciaphas Cain Novel.'' Black Library, 2003. 2003 British novels 2003 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Warhammer 40,000 novels