Kefka's place in the Empire *Spoilerisms*

[TheAbominatrix]

I believe Tina was there as a representation of power, especially considering the speech. She was their key to massive power, even moreso than the Magitek Knights.

As far as Ghestahl not wanting a maniac running around, he just could have had him killed. I think it was more likely that he saw a maniac as useful, one he could use and one who was dedicated to the Empire and the quest for power. I think a lot of people in the Empire would've balked at some of the worse things the Emporer wanted them to do, but Kefka not only did them, he did them with pleasure.

[-N-]

I thought they did refer to him as General Kefka once.

[NeoCracker]

I thought they did refer to him as General Kefka once.

So did I, and lets not forget he led the attack against Narshe.

[KoShiatar]

Kefka was NOT a general. Ever. He was some kind of lower-ranking officer. So he had command over soldiers but Leo had command over him. As such, he was in charge of dispatches, so yes, he served as a kind of ambassador to Figaro. He obviously has been there many times before, because the one who welcomes him in Figaro says: "Sir Kefka! Today what in the world...."
Immediately after that, Edgar calls him "Magitek　warrior (魔導士 madoushi , in the original. I'm not sure how this could be translated so I'll go along with Woosley.) at the service of Emperor Gastra", which means that probably his role involved being under Gastra's direct command.

When you sneak into the Empire camp with Shadow and Mash/Sabin pretty early in the game, you overhear two soldiers saying that Kefka is planning to have Leo slain and to become general in his place. So you get to know for sure that he was not a general; as far as we know only Celes and Leo were called as that (shougun). Kefka never becomes a General because when he finally kills Leo he immediately goes on to being a demigod thanks to the power of the Three Warrior Gods, and destroys the world right away.

Finally, Kefka and Celes are both madoushi, Magitek warriors, infused with the power of Magic at an early age. The difference is that Kefca was infused before Celes and the technique wasn't perfected yet, so something snapped inside his mind. Cid himself explains you this when you meet him at the banquet in Vector.
On the Floating Continent, Gastra tells Celes: "Come here. You alone are special. I'll give Kefka and you the mission of spawning a new breed in order to create Gastra's Magitek Empire!" So you understand they were exactly the same kind of being.
Yes, Celes did know Kefka from before the game. In the slave circlet flashback scene, we can see Celes, Tina and Cid next to Gastra being acclaimed by the soldiers. However, we are never told how they were going along before the game. Probably not well at all, since Celes, when the soldiers torture her right before you save her, says something about the wrong methods of the Empire, methids that we know Kefka fully approves of.

P.S. Sorry if this contains mistakes, I did not have the time to revise it.

Edit: All of this is taken from the Japanese script. Not Woosley's.

[feioncastor]

So did I, and lets not forget he led the attack against Narshe.

On the contrary, a soldier does once say "If he becomes a general, I'm going home", which indicates that he is not a general.

And I don't know that the move against Narshe was an attack. It was more of an investigation and an attempt to retrieve the esper there. You'd send more people if it was an actual invasion/attack. You wouldn't send Kefka and a handful of troops. Look at the preparation they went to before attacking Doma. They set up a huge base outside the castle, planned for a while, and then attacked.

[TheAbominatrix]

I'm pretty sure they were in the middle of a siege at Doma. They didnt wait it out because they could, they did so because they had to, possibly even after failed attempts to take the castle. Doma has a very easily defended castle, and taking it would be no small task.

And though the events at Narshe were not an attack on the town, they were clearly going in with the expectation of battle.