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–Tanith First and Only – “Gaunt’s Ghosts” v1.0 “Men of Tanith! Do you want to live forever?” 4 6 points You may only include one Sergeant per every two Tanith Infantry/Veterans Squads in your Team. WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv Sergeant 3 3 3 3 1 3 2 8 5+ Vet Sergeant 3 4 3 3 1 3 2 8 5+ Options. First and Only was one of the first books published by Black Library and is the most read Warhammer 40,000 novel ever, an absolute classic. This story begins the saga of Colonel Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only that has since grown into a multi-novel epic. It all starts here.
- First and Only. First and Only is a military science fiction novel by Dan Abnett, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Published in 1999, it is the first novel in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, which, as of 2019, consists of 16 novels and multiple short stories, as well as two spin-off novels ( Titanicus and Double Eagle) and a companion book that acts as a mock history of the military campaign which forms the setting of the series.
- And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth.
This article is about the Novel by Dan Abnett; for the Imperial Guard Regiment, see Tanith First and Only. |
2002 cover version by Adrian Smith. | |
Author | Dan Abnett |
Publisher | Black Library |
Series | Gaunt's Ghosts |
Followed by | Ghostmaker |
Released | August 1999 |
Pages | 288 |
Collected in | The Founding |
Editions | 1999 softcover: ISBN 9781841541013 2002 softcover: ISBN 9781844161645 2010 ebook: ISBN 9780857870018 |
First and Only is the first novel in the Gaunt's Ghosts novel series by Dan Abnett. It was first published in August 1999.
It has the distinction of being the first novel published under Games Workshop's Black Library label; previous Warhammer 40,000 publications, such as Ian Watson's Inquisition War trilogy and novel Space Marine, were first published under the Heretic Tomes label.
The novel's dedication reads, 'To Nik, first and only.'
- 3Synopsis
- 4Notable Characters
- 4.2Imperial Guard
- 6See also
Cover Description
For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only – better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth. With enemies all around them and no one to trust, Gaunt and his men must find a way to save the warmaster and prevent the Sabbat Worlds Crusade from falling into anarchy – even if it means waging war on their supposed allies.
Summary
First and Only begins on the Forge world of Fortis Binary, where Colonel-CommissarIbram Gaunt leads the Tanith First and Only in disrupting an important Chaos ritual. The Ghosts later become involved in a plot by Lord High Militant GeneralDravere that has the potential to destroy the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Gaunt also faces the machinations of ColonelFlense of the Jantine Patricians, who carries a long held grudge against the Commissar.
Interspersed with this story are flashbacks to almost two decades earlier, which have a profound impact on the events of the present day.
Synopsis
| This page contains spoilers for: | First and Only (Novel) |
Part One: Nubila Reach
In the contested Sabbat Worldssector, two ImperialFaustus-class patrol interceptors are destroyed, but not before relaying a mysterious 'Vermillion'-level astropathic message..
A Memory: Darendara
![And And](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/9/97/Tanith_First.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100625002217)
Twenty years before, Cadet-CommissarIbram Gaunt is tasked with leading the final assault on a rebel fortification upon the world of Darendara; victory in this assault would mean victory in the campaign. With the aid of a hand-picked insertion squad, Cadet Gaunt succeeds in his mission, but is discomfited by the words of a captured enemy witch, who appears to utter a prediction to him of his future.
Part Two: Fortis Binary
The Tanith FirstImperial Guardregiment is embroiled in the last gasps of a bloody trench-war on the Forge world of Fortis Binary. With a slight forewarning from his adjutantBrin Milo (and his 'excellent hearing'), the commander of the unit - Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt - is able to rouse his men into beating off an assault on their position and in fact repelling and counter-attacking the enemy. Under orders to pursue, in the confusion of shellfire and the broken terrain, the Tanith 1st breaks up into disparate elements, with sizable clumps under various officers making their way into the enemy lines in the company of Guardsmen of the similarly advancing Vitrian Dragoons.
A Memory: Gylatus Decimus
Eighteen years earlier, Cadet-Commissar Gaunt is promoted to the office of full Commissar by the dying Commissar-GeneralDelane Oktar.
Part Three: Fortis Binary
On Fortis Binary, Gaunt manages to reunite his scattered regiment, and survive a night in enemy territory, despite various forms of unnerving attack. Leading his now unified multi-regiment force further inwards, Gaunt discovers an underground maglev train line running from Shriven rebel forward ammunition stores to the ammo dumps in the rear. Wasting no time, Gaunt orders his men down the line and into an attack posture. Upon reaching the end of the line, they crash into and annihilate a force of around 200 hundred Shriven, though the pair of Iron WarriorsChaos Space Marines present cause somewhat more of a problem. In the battle's aftermath, a mysterious stone monolith is discovered near the ammo dump, clearly part of a Chaos ritual building to completion. Upon discovering a map indicating that there were seven of these stones arranged to act as an uholy weapon, Gaunt realises he was warned about this event twenty years earlier by the witch on Darendara. Deciding to follow her utterances, he resists calls to blow up the monolith, and instead has it forcibly realigned. The effect on the Shriven is immediate, robbing them of their will to fight. At the same time, Gaunt has MajorRawne wire the ammo dump's contents together, setting off an explosion that tears the heart out of the enemy's central position. With this strike - destroying the Shriven redoubt before the Jantine Patricians armoured forces can assault it - the campaign is effectively won.
A Memory: Ignatius Cardinal
Twenty-eight years earlier, the twelve year-old Ibram Gaunt is assigned to the Schola Progenium on Ignatius Cardinal, after the death of his father. There, he meets fellow Scholar Vaynom Blenner, and they become friends. Gaunt proves to have a studious and pious bent, being able to recognise quotes from texts written by such august bodies as InquisitorRavenor.. but he appears consumed by the wish to discover how his father exactly died. That knowledge is classified.
Part Four: Pyrites
After the victory on Fortis Binary, the Tanith 1st are posted to the world of Pyrites for some rest and recuperation. Billeted in Cracia City, several of the Ghosts begin to get itchy feet. Learning that the 'cold zones' of the city are effectively lawless and that as Imperial soldiers they are banned from going there, numerous members of the regiment decide to investigate the areas for entertainment possibilities. At much the same time, Gaunt receives a message from an old friend, Fereyd, asking for his assistance. He heads to the meeting, another old friend - Vaynom Blenner - in tow.
The antics of the Ghosts in the Cold Zones start to heat things up when Major Rawne and his adjutant, Feygor, rip off a local gangster and start a moving gunfight. The pair are soon joined by ColonelColm Corbec, and are forced into making a stand in a deserted warehouse. There, in the shadows, the trio of Ghosts succeed in taking out some twenty pursuers with nary a scratch between them.
Gaunt's meeting does not go as he expected; his contact is not in fact Fereyd, but a man claiming to work for him as an agent of Navy Intelligence. The agent explains that there is a power struggle going on at the highest levels of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, one that threatens to derail the entire venture. Details pertaining to it - vermilion-coded details - were captured by Navy Intelligence astropaths and now exist on a single Dercius has some very unpleasant news for Ibram concerning his father..
Tanith First And Only Game
Part Five: En route to Menazoid
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The Sabbat Worlds Crusade moves on. The army the Ghosts belong to is placed in transport to the Menazoid Clasp. The Ghosts' previous Navy billet, the frigate Navarre, is reassigned, forcing them to travel on an Adeptus Mechanicus Mass Cargo Conveyance; the Absalom. The problem with this arrangement is that the Jantine Patricians are billeted on the same vessel, resulting in a series of raids and fights carried out between the two regiments, fights that result in injuries and even deaths. Also during the transit, Gaunt survives an assassination attempt thanks to the intervention of Milo and Corbec, his assassin revealed to be a psi-controlled puppet. This act motivates Gaunt into briefing the officers and NCOs of his regiment with what he knows about the alleged corruption in the Crusade high command - particularly how likely it is that Dravere is behind all this - and his possession of the Utorrent for mac lion.