For The Emperor, page 29
[35] A decision which, on the face of it, seems remarkably perverse, given Cain’s manifest character flaws. However, it’s a decision his subsequent career triumphantly vindicates. We can only speculate how he would have fared if directed into some other branch of Imperial service, such as the Navy, or, Emperor help us, the Arbites.
[36] Which was, of course, the whole point...
[37] In hindsight, these were clearly the precursors of Hive Fleets Kraken and Leviathan, the bulk of which had still to be detected at this time.
[38] These dreams would appear to refer obliquely to some of Cain’s earlier experiences. The last one in particular can certainly be matched to a specific incident recorded elsewhere in the archive, although the others are a little more problematic. He had encountered both necrons and tyranids on more than one occasion prior to this date.
[39] Coming from Cain, that’s a real compliment.
[40] An old expression about pots and kettles springs to mind at this point, as well as the saying about taking one to know one...
[41] He is speaking figuratively here, the tolling of the Black Bell of Terra being a well-known soldier’s euphemism for death in action. I hardly think he would have expected such an accolade in actual fact!
[42] Cain’s sense of direction underground was indeed remarkably good, as I had the opportunity to observe a number of times, a fact which adds some plausibility to his claim to have been native to a hive world. Although it should be noted that he could become as lost as anyone else on occasion, particularly when under fire or attempting to move closer to the enemy, a minor discrepancy over which I have tended to give him the benefit of the doubt.
[43] Again, I can vouch from personal experience that Cain did have an almost uncanny ability to disentangle sounds from echoes in a confined space, his estimates of their sources being remarkably accurate in most cases.
[44] To understand an enemy, you have to understand how they think; and language, according to the magos of the Ordo Diologus, shapes perception. Accordingly, many inquisitors of the Ordo Xenos take the time to learn the languages of the species they expect to encounter in the course of their duties. Without wishing to appear immodest, I can claim reasonable fluency in the most common forms of the tau and eldar tongues, and communicate quite effectively in orkish (which is not that impressive an accomplishment, to be honest, as this particular ‘language’ consists largely of gestures and blows to the head.)
[45] Presumably of his past encounters with the necrons.
[46] Difficult, but not impossible. Although kroot mercenaries are generally associated with the tau, and their homeworld appears to be a tau fiefdom, there have been sufficient reports of kroot fighting alongside other races to raise the possibility that they may not be quite so faithful servants as their patrons appear to believe. It’s not entirely beyond the bounds of possibility that this particular one found employment on a backwater human world somewhere, or, more likely, had been part of a temporary alliance with Imperial forces against a mutual foe.
[47] Generally rendered into Gothic as ‘pathfinders,’ these are reconnaissance specialists roughly equivalent to Imperial Guard storm-troopers or the forward observers normally attached to an artillery battery. Cain would no doubt have had some pertinent observations on the topic had he been able to speak to them.
[48] And why should we, when we can call on our own Astartes chapters for that kind of thing?
[49] I suspect this isn’t entirely true; I’ve certainly known him to be woken by nightmares on several occasions.
[50] Subsequent study of the city records leads me to believe we were in one of the primary distribution centres of the water purification system. Like many examples of technology from the early days of settlement on human worlds, it had apparently been functioning undisturbed for several millennia, and would no doubt have continued to do so indefinitely if we hadn’t started blowing holes in it shortly thereafter.
[51] For a rather more accurate and informed analysis of kroot psychology, see Zigmund’s Warriors of Pech: The Savage Sophisticates, which is readily available from the restricted stacks of any Ordo Xenos libram.
[52] A space hulk which drifted into the Corolian Gap in 928; Cain was liaising with the Astartes Chapter in question at the time, as a member of the Brigade command staff, and went in with the Imperial Guard unit detailed to mop up after the initial Astartes assault.
[53] A common symptom of shock. Hardly surprising under the circumstances...
[54] As I said before, he seemed to be suffering from shock for some time after we lost our companions. He was, however, remarkably robust, and recovered far more quickly than I would have believed possible; no doubt the many perils he’d faced and escaped before had inured him to some extent to psychological traumas most men would have found incapacitating.
[55] He assumes correctly; right then I needed a warrior with me, not a basket case.
[56] I would just like to point out here that this is a perfectly normal reaction to severe stress, which can in no way be interpreted as irresponsible behaviour under the circumstances.
[57] Something of an exaggeration, but widely believed nevertheless.
[58] The displacer field, as those of you who’ve used one can no doubt attest, will readily teleport you out of immediate danger. Unfortunately, you rematerialise moving at the same speed and in the same direction as when the field activates, and, as Cain points out, I was diving for a gun on the floor at the time. And it was a stupid place to put a table in any case.
[59] A little vague, but substantially accurate. Tau tacticians tend to take the long view, withdrawing to regroup whenever they meet stronger resistance than they were expecting, or, as in this case, the situation proves to be more complex than anticipated.
[60] Like Radicals with an agenda, or Ordo Malleus fanatics looking for daemon-fodder for their next crusade. Not my department, thank the Emperor.
Sandy Mitchell, For The Emperor
