The Beginning of?the End

終局的開(kāi)端

Now the assault on the World Eaters fief world is known to have entered a new and still more savage phase, heralded by the burning moon as it drew so close that the entire upper atmosphere appeared to have been set alight. The gun-clanners must have understood that their world was ending and they fought with ever more intense savagery, perhaps seeking not to avoid their fate but to embrace it. The ferocity of the mortal wasteland dwellers was as nothing to that of?the World Eaters however. Analysis of?surviving accounts of these battles, as well as studies of similar instances of?rapid indoctrination and implantation carried out elsewhere, suggests that the Legiones Astartes warriors the Iron Hands, Imperial Fists and Agathon Solar Auxilia faced were something utterly devolved from the Emperor's vision for his favoured warriors.

現(xiàn)在，對(duì)于吞世者封地世界的進(jìn)攻已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了一個(gè)全新也更為殘酷的階段；燃燒的月亮昭示了這一切，它離地面如此之近，以至于整個(gè)上層大氣都似乎被點(diǎn)燃了。槍炮氏族們必定是已經(jīng)明白了自己的世界正在走向終結(jié)，他們的戰(zhàn)斗變得越發(fā)野蠻——也許他們不是想逃避命而是想擁抱這種命運(yùn)。然而相比于吞世者，荒原居民們所表現(xiàn)出的兇惡不過(guò)是小巫見(jiàn)大巫。對(duì)于這些戰(zhàn)斗的殘存報(bào)告的分析，以及關(guān)于其他地區(qū)所發(fā)生的快速（思維）灌輸和植入的類似實(shí)例的研究表明：鋼鐵之手與帝國(guó)之拳阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士和Agathon太陽(yáng)軍所面對(duì)的生物完全背離了帝皇對(duì)于自己所鐘愛(ài)戰(zhàn)士的想象。

While a core of World Eaters Legion officers was evidently in command of the defences, the bulk of their warriors appeared to have been acting entirely beyond any control. Savage Legionaries clad in mismatched battle plate, by its distinctive features manufactured by the Crimson Brotherhood of Sarum, surged across the rad wastes bearing myriad esoteric short-ranged weaponry that could only have been the product of the fallen magi of Sarum. Such weaponry was unknown to the Loyalists in both form and function, and took a fearsome toll on their ranks. Yet the Iron Hands and Imperial Fists were all veterans of uncountable Compliance campaigns and were able to overcome these short-term losses and press onwards, adapting their tactics to meet this new and novel threat.

雖然一群吞世者軍團(tuán)的軍官們明顯是在指揮防御行動(dòng)，但他們麾下大部分戰(zhàn)士的行為似乎完全不受任何控制。這些披著錯(cuò)配動(dòng)力甲（其上帶著Sarum猩紅兄弟會(huì)制造物的獨(dú)特特征）的野蠻軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士們沖過(guò)輻射荒原，他們手中拿著各種各樣深?yuàn)W難懂的近程武器——這些兇器只可能是Sarum墮落賢者們的造物。忠誠(chéng)派不知道此類武器的形制和運(yùn)作（原理），這些武器讓他們的部隊(duì)遭受了可怕傷亡。然而參戰(zhàn)的鋼鐵之手和帝國(guó)之拳們也都是經(jīng)歷過(guò)無(wú)數(shù)歸順戰(zhàn)役的老兵，他們能夠克服短期損失，調(diào)整戰(zhàn)術(shù)來(lái)應(yīng)對(duì)這種奇異的新威脅。

Of all the phases of?the assault on Tredecimmia, accounts of the events of the sixth hour are by far the most incomplete. It is certain that the fighting reached a climax during this period and that both sides suffered and inflicted a fearsome death toll. The inexorable tide of battle appears to have flowed against the invaders at last, until the whole endeavour hung in the balance. Though the entire world was evidently doomed, the invaders'?objective in launching their attack, which had yet to be revealed, might now have failed. Strategic-savants have debated the exact nature of Autek Mor's objective for several years, but the events that followed were to prove that it was of the utmost importance to his long-term aims. So vital was that mission that it was worth the cost in blood and treasure the invaders were paying across Tredecimmia while the Iron' Father was apart from his force in the vaults beneath the macro silos.

在進(jìn)攻Tredecimmia城行動(dòng)的所有階段中，關(guān)于第六個(gè)小時(shí)中事件的報(bào)告是到目前為止最不完整的?？梢钥隙ǖ氖?，戰(zhàn)斗在這一期間達(dá)到了高潮，雙方都遭受和造成了可怕的陣亡損失。勢(shì)不可擋的戰(zhàn)斗浪潮似乎終于涌向了進(jìn)攻方，雙方不相上下、勝敗未定。雖然整個(gè)世界都顯然（注定）被毀滅，但進(jìn)攻方發(fā)動(dòng)攻勢(shì)的目的（這一點(diǎn)尚未被揭示）可能已經(jīng)失敗。戰(zhàn)略專家們討論奧塔克 摩爾目標(biāo)的具體本質(zhì)已有數(shù)年之久，但接下來(lái)發(fā)生的事件將會(huì)證明：這對(duì)他的長(zhǎng)期目標(biāo)至關(guān)重要。這項(xiàng)任務(wù)是如此的重要，以至于當(dāng)鐵父（本人）與自己的部隊(duì)分開(kāi)，前往巨型地下儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)下方的寶庫(kù)中時(shí)，進(jìn)攻部隊(duì)在Tredecimmia城各處付出的鮮血和（戰(zhàn)備）資源都是值得的。

Whatever Autek Mor was seeking in the subterranean vaults, his mission was clearly taking too long. As the burning moon waxed so large it now consumed the entire sky, the warriors fighting one another across the surface resigned themselves to their fate and redoubled their efforts to exact what vengeance they could before the end.

無(wú)論奧塔克 摩爾在地下倉(cāng)庫(kù)中尋找什么，他的任務(wù)顯然消耗了太長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。燃燒的月亮越發(fā)變大，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)龐大到吞噬了整個(gè)天空。地表各處相互廝殺的戰(zhàn)士們聽(tīng)天由命，他們加倍奮戰(zhàn)，要在終局到來(lái)前進(jìn)行復(fù)仇。

As the doom of?Bodt grew ever closer to hand, now the balance of death threatened to turn entirely against the Loyalists. A dozen Warhound Titans of Legio Audax charged out of the northern wastes, their vulkan mega-bolters scything down invader and defender alike as they bore down upon the macro silos as if drawn there by Autek Mor's presence. The Titans had evidently bypassed or simply overrun the northern interdiction forces, and all that stood between them and the silos were the massed Gorgon Terminator phalanxes of?Clan Morragul. Though possessed of the strongest armour and the most potent weapons, even such warriors as these could not stand for long against this foe. As the mission counter finally ran past the seven hour mark and the burning moon entered its terminal phase, all appeared lost.

隨著Bodt的末日愈加逼近，死亡的天平似乎也完全倒向了不利于忠誠(chéng)派的一側(cè)?；覡a群狼軍團(tuán)的十二臺(tái)戰(zhàn)犬泰坦沖出了北側(cè)荒原，他們仿佛是被奧塔克 摩爾的存在吸引到了這里，用火神巨型爆彈炮將攻守雙方一并掃倒。泰坦們顯然是繞過(guò)或者干脆擊潰了北側(cè)的截?fù)舨筷?duì)，它們和儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)直接唯一的屏障就是莫拉古氏族的戈耳工終結(jié)者們所組成的密集方陣。盡管這些戰(zhàn)士裝備了最強(qiáng)大的動(dòng)力甲和最強(qiáng)悍的武器，但哪怕是他們也無(wú)法在泰坦這樣的敵人面前堅(jiān)持太久。隨著任務(wù)計(jì)數(shù)器最終超過(guò)了七個(gè)小時(shí)，燃燒的月亮也進(jìn)入了它的最后階段，一切似乎都失敗了。

The Sundered Seal

解封

And then, Autek Mor emerged from the macro silos. The Clan-captain's eyes were said to have been "…alight with dark fire..,"and his hulking Terminator armour was"... rent and scored as if he had battled a thousand savage foes..."?His demeanour more malevolent than even it was before his descent. In one hand he bore his ancient paragon blade, its edge jagged from scores of nicks, and in the other his volkite charger, its induction coils aglow like red hot coals. It was the object that Autek Mor held in the grip of his back-mounted servo-arm?that gave witness to his true mission however 一 a stasis casket, its flanks etched with the arcane sigils of?the inner order of the Emperor's Terran gene-wrights, who under the guidance of?the Master of Mankind had brought into being the Primarchs and the entire Legiones Astartes.

這時(shí)，奧塔克 摩爾從巨型儲(chǔ)存庫(kù)中現(xiàn)身了。據(jù)說(shuō)這位氏族連長(zhǎng)眼中“…燃燒著黑暗的火焰…”，他龐大厚重的終結(jié)者動(dòng)力甲“…被撕裂和刮傷，仿佛他與一千名兇殘的敵人交戰(zhàn)過(guò)那般…”。摩爾的外表變得比前往地下之前更為兇惡，他一只手中握著自己古老的典范之刃——鋒刃上有著諸多缺口；另一只手中握著爆燃長(zhǎng)槍，武器的電磁感應(yīng)線圈如同紅熾的煤炭那般發(fā)著紅光。不過(guò)，摩爾裝在背部的伺服臂所緊握著的對(duì)象讓我們見(jiàn)證了他的真正任務(wù)——那是一個(gè)靜滯匣，其側(cè)面銘刻著帝皇的泰拉基因工匠們內(nèi)環(huán)修會(huì)的玄奧紋章——這群人在人類之主的指導(dǎo)下創(chuàng)造出了原體和完整的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)。

Autek Mor is known to have looked upon the destruction unleashed across Tredecimma and spoken a single word of?command. It was the order to withdraw and within moments it was being enacted. Mor and his attendant Gorgon Terminator squads were the first to depart, leaving the macro silos a twisted mass of burning wreckage as they fought their way clear to a point from which they could return to the Red Talon in the same manner they had arrived. Elsewhere, Iron Hands and Imperial Fists units that had deployed by drop pod hours before fell back to pre-arranged zones where the Storm Eagles and Thunderhawks of the orbital strike wings set down to carry them clear, the Fire Raptors and other gunships circling overhead and unleashing a storm of suppressive fire on the hordes of Traitors attempting to pursue. In?the south, the Solar Auxilia forces are known to have fought a disciplined and bold withdrawal back to their own heavy landers, and while in places the frenzied enemy forces overtook them, the greater number were soon being ferried to their vessels in orbit.

奧塔克 摩爾看了看忠誠(chéng)派在Tredecimma城各處釋放的破壞，他說(shuō)出了一個(gè)詞作為命令：撤退，部隊(duì)也很快便開(kāi)始執(zhí)行。摩爾和隨他而來(lái)的戈耳工終結(jié)者小隊(duì)們是首先離開(kāi)的，他們與敵軍激戰(zhàn)，清出了一條通往傳送點(diǎn)位的路——他們用同樣的方法從紅爪號(hào)上抵達(dá)了此處，身后巨大的儲(chǔ)存庫(kù)化為了一堆扭曲的燃燒殘骸。在其他地區(qū)，數(shù)小時(shí)前由空降艙部署的鋼鐵之手和帝國(guó)之拳單位們撤回到了事先布置好的區(qū)域，軌道進(jìn)攻編隊(duì)的雷鷹炮艇和風(fēng)暴鳥降落下來(lái)將他們從這里運(yùn)走，火猛禽和其他炮艇在上空盤旋，并對(duì)試圖進(jìn)行追擊的大批叛叛軍釋放出猛烈的壓制火力。在南部地區(qū)，太陽(yáng)軍們紀(jì)律嚴(yán)明且大膽地撤回到了自己的重型登陸艇，當(dāng)瘋狂的敵軍在某些地方追上了他們時(shí)，多數(shù)部隊(duì)都在被送往軌道中的艦船。

In the aftermath of the Loyalists' sudden withdrawal, the Traitors were bereft of foes, with the exception of those few who had been unable to depart and who resolved themselves to a bitterly fought last stand. In moments, the hordes turned their wrath upon their own and the battle lines were redrawn anew. At the last, the gun-clanners and the World Eaters fell upon one another in a seething mass of?muscle and blade, shot and flame which consumed Tredecimmia even as the very air itself burned with the heat of?the approaching moon. Hair set alight and the very cloth upon their backs igniting, the two factions, who between them had fought so many battles that the best of?the gun-clanners might one day join the World Eaters, locked together in the mutual berserker fury of?their final moments.

在忠誠(chéng)派們突然撤退后，除了極少數(shù)未能離開(kāi)和決心苦澀地奮戰(zhàn)到死的忠誠(chéng)派之外，叛軍們失去了（其他）敵人。頃刻間，成群的部隊(duì)將他們的憤怒轉(zhuǎn)移到自己身上，重新劃分出戰(zhàn)線。最終，槍炮氏族和吞世者們戰(zhàn)作一團(tuán)，甚至在即將墜落的月亮所釋放出的熱量燃燒了空氣時(shí)，雙方也在用肌肉、利刃、槍彈和火焰相互殺戮，戰(zhàn)火吞噬了Tredecimmia城。人們的頭發(fā)和身上的衣服全部被點(diǎn)燃，這兩個(gè)派系之間已經(jīng)進(jìn)行了如此之多的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，最優(yōu)秀的槍炮氏族成員可能有朝一日也會(huì)加入吞世者軍團(tuán)，而在生命的最后一刻，他們都在共有的狂暴憤怒中死死抓住對(duì)方。

Destroyer of?Worlds

世界的毀滅者

Finally, the burning moon struck. The apocalypse was witnessed by thousands of Loyalists as their vessels sped clear, and etched into the data-stacks of countless logic engines. The moon impacted the surface and a tsunami of flaming matter rapidly rushed outwards to encircle the entire globe. The surface buckled as the moon impacted, the greater planetary mass literally swallowing the smaller satellite with horrifyingly slow grace. In moments, the atmosphere was aflame and the already unstable crust was rent open by a thousand fractures, and volcanic eruptions exploded across the entire surface as the mantle below was swelled by the additional mass. By the time the moon was finally consumed not a single living being survived on the surface, the entire population, Traitor Legiones Astartes, Sarum Mechanicum, Legio Titanicus and gun clan alike burned to ashes and cast to the fiery winds.

最終，燃燒的月亮撞上了星球。在他們的艦船快速撤離時(shí)，數(shù)以千計(jì)的忠誠(chéng)派目睹了這番啟示錄般的情景，這一場(chǎng)面也被銘刻在了無(wú)數(shù)邏輯引擎的數(shù)據(jù)棧中。月亮撞擊了星球表面，燃燒物質(zhì)如海嘯迅速向外沖去，包裹了整個(gè)世界。頃刻間，星球的大氣燃燒起來(lái)，本來(lái)就不穩(wěn)定的地殼裂開(kāi)了上千條裂縫，額外的質(zhì)量擠壓下層地幔令其膨脹，導(dǎo)致整個(gè)地表都噴發(fā)出了巖漿。當(dāng)月球最終被吞噬的時(shí)候，Bodt表面已經(jīng)沒(méi)有生物存活下來(lái)，星球上的全部人口、阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)叛軍、Sarum機(jī)械神教成員、泰坦軍團(tuán)和槍炮氏族一并化為灰燼，被猛烈的焚風(fēng)卷走。

After the Apocalypse

末日之后

So much as has been recounted here is known to us, though the accounts from which this record has been compiled are not accepted by all of our Order. Nonetheless, the planet once known as Bodt is now lost to Mankind, its surface a shifting volcanic nightmare that by all estimates will not stabilise within the span of many centuries, and by some estimates may simply ultimately disintegrate, unable to hold its cohesion and torn?apart by the forces from within. It is clear from his actions in ordering the world's moon to be sent hurtling into Bodt that this was the outcome that Autek Mor intended, yet a question of still greater import remains unanswered. Why was the infamous Iron- Father prepared to risk the lives of so many of his warriors when in altering the orbit of?the moon he had already ensured the death of every Traitor on Bodt?

這里所敘述的便是我們所知曉的內(nèi)容，不過(guò)我們修會(huì)中也并非是所有人都接受該記錄所依據(jù)的那些報(bào)告。但盡管如此，人類還是已經(jīng)失去了那顆曾被稱為Bodt的星球，其表面成為了一個(gè)不斷變化的巖漿噩夢(mèng)，按所有人估計(jì)，它在很多個(gè)世紀(jì)的時(shí)間里都不會(huì)穩(wěn)定下來(lái)；而據(jù)某些人的估計(jì)，這顆星球會(huì)無(wú)法保持其凝聚性并被其內(nèi)部力量所撕裂，最終分崩離析。從他下令將Bodt的月亮猛擲向這顆星球的行動(dòng)中，我們可以明顯地看出：這就是奧塔克 摩爾想要的結(jié)果。然而一個(gè)更為重要的問(wèn)題仍未得到解答：既然在改變?cè)铝恋能壍罆r(shí)，摩爾就已經(jīng)確定Bodt上的所有叛軍都會(huì)死亡，那為何這位臭名昭著的鐵父要讓麾下如此之多的戰(zhàn)士冒著生命危險(xiǎn)去和敵軍交戰(zhàn)？

The answer can only lie with the object that Autek Mor recovered from the stasis vaults far beneath the macro silos of Tredecimmia. Of that descent into the darkness no account is known to exist, and given Mor's infamously grim mien, it is unlikely that any will ever be forthcoming from this survivor of?wars uncounted. All we may do is speculate as to the nature of the prize that Mor recovered from the vaults—stasis chambers which after all were suspected to contain myriad technological horrors wrought by the hands of madmen in the depths of Old Night, or conceived of inhuman minds far beyond the light of the Imperium's rule. To?some, the fact that Mor's prize bore the sigils of the gene-wrights of Terra is key, and hints at some long-term ambition to transform his Clan-company into something beyond the limits of its creation, how this will tally or conflict with the current processes of change some would impose on the shattered Legiones Astartes is another matter, and one whose speculation is beyond the remit of?this discourse. But if?history tells us anything in this matter it is that Autek Mor is not a warlord to underestimate, for like the tyrants of Old Night, his true power lies in the terrible secrets he holds, and his willingness to use them, he at whose hand entire worlds have burned.

答案只可能與奧塔克 摩爾從深埋在Tredecimmia城巨型儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)下方的靜滯倉(cāng)庫(kù)中回收的物件有關(guān)。已知關(guān)于他進(jìn)入那片地下黑暗空間的報(bào)告并不存在，而考慮到摩爾臭名昭著的冷酷舉止，我們也不太可能從那些經(jīng)歷了無(wú)數(shù)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的幸存者處得到任何信息。我們所能做的就是推測(cè)摩爾從地下倉(cāng)庫(kù)中找到的戰(zhàn)利品的性質(zhì)——畢竟，人們懷疑那些靜滯室中保存著舊夜時(shí)期的瘋子們所創(chuàng)造，或者是并非受到帝國(guó)統(tǒng)治的非人（物種）思維所構(gòu)思出的無(wú)數(shù)可怖技術(shù)造物。對(duì)某些人而言，摩爾的戰(zhàn)利品上帶有泰拉基因工匠的紋章這個(gè)事實(shí)是一條關(guān)鍵信息，并且暗示著他的某種長(zhǎng)期野心：將自己的氏族連隊(duì)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槟撤N超越了其造物限制的事物；至于這將會(huì)如何與某些強(qiáng)加給破碎的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)們的改變進(jìn)程相符合或發(fā)生矛盾，那就是另一個(gè)問(wèn)題了，而且對(duì)于該問(wèn)題的推測(cè)也超出了本文的討論范圍。不過(guò)歷史也告訴我們，奧塔克 摩爾是一個(gè)不可被低估的軍閥，如同舊夜時(shí)代中的暴君們那樣，他真正的力量在于自己掌握的可怕的秘密以及使用這些秘密的意愿；在他手中，整個(gè)世界都會(huì)被焚滅。