Before the Great Crusade, humanity was a broken race scattered across the galaxy at the mercy of?its own weaknesses and the predations of?other creatures which lurked amongst the unkind stars. Melkeji was one such fragment of humanity: a world on the trailing edge of the galactic rim which had retained many of the technological marvels of the lost Golden Age. Star docks ringed its orbit and moons, and electric light bathed its cities which rose in metal and stone from plains, mountains and blue sea shores. Winged craft skimmed its atmosphere, while gene grafts and bio-cleansing technologies allowed much of its population to live for many centuries. On the surface Melkeji was a jewel of light still burning in the night, but darkness coiled at the heart of this perfect realm.

人類在大遠(yuǎn)征之前是一個(gè)散落于銀河間的破碎種族，他們?nèi)斡勺约旱能浫鯏[布，遭受著冷酷群星間其他貪婪生物的獵捕。Melkeji就是這樣一個(gè)人類文明的碎片：這個(gè)世界位于銀河系緩慢旋轉(zhuǎn)的懸臂邊緣，保留了大量失落的黃金時(shí)代的技術(shù)奇跡。星球軌道和衛(wèi)星上環(huán)繞著星港，平原上、群山中和藍(lán)色的海岸邊矗立著用金屬和巖石搭建的城市沐浴在電力照明的光輝之中。有翼的飛行器從高空中掠過，而基因工程和生理凈化技術(shù)允許大多數(shù)人口存活數(shù)個(gè)世紀(jì)之久。表面上Melkeji依舊是夜空中熠熠生輝的璀璨珠寶，但實(shí)際上黑暗盤踞在這片完美國度的核心區(qū)域。

A parasitic alien race held control over Melkeji. Accounts describe these creatures as clouds of shattered black crystal when glimpsed without their hosts. Unable to exist outside of a biological sentient host, these nameless creatures ruled Melkeji through a class referred to as the Ascended. Wearing the faces of human men and women, the Ascended ran their domain with a single purpose guiding their every action: the maintenance of a pool of?future hosts. The Ascended hosts lasted little more than a year before they withered and died. When this happened, a new host would be drawn from the population at random. The chosen host would be fated, their every whim provided for until the moment when the creature took them. This had been the way for so long that to the humans of Melkeji it had become a sacred rite: their flesh offered up to renew their eternal rulers. Such was the Melkeji world's ingrained devotion to their parasitic masters, that when the Great Crusade found them, they rose up to resist the invaders who sought to free them.

某種寄生外星種族控制著Melkeji。報(bào)告描述稱這種生物在沒有宿主時(shí)看起來就如同一團(tuán)破碎的黑色水晶所構(gòu)成的云團(tuán)。這種無名的生物離開具有生物感知力的宿主就無法生存，它們通過一個(gè)被稱為降臨者的階級(jí)統(tǒng)治著Melkeji。降臨者們披著人類的外皮，他們統(tǒng)治著這片國度，而他們行動(dòng)的目標(biāo)只有一個(gè)：維持未來宿主的儲(chǔ)備資源。降臨者宿主們只能存活不到一年的時(shí)間，之后他們就會(huì)變得枯槁并死亡。當(dāng)這種情況發(fā)生時(shí)，一位新的宿主就要被從當(dāng)?shù)厝丝谥须S機(jī)選出。被選中的宿主將會(huì)是命中注定的，他們會(huì)被提供各種幻覺，直到這些生物帶走他們的那一刻。這種情況已經(jīng)極為長久了，以至于對(duì)Melkeji上的人類而言這已經(jīng)成為了一個(gè)神圣的儀式：他們獻(xiàn)上自己血肉，用于延續(xù)自己永恒的統(tǒng)治者們的壽命。Melkeji世界人民對(duì)于寄生體主子們的獻(xiàn)祭是如此的根深蒂固，以至于當(dāng)大遠(yuǎn)征的部隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)他們時(shí)，他們起來對(duì)抗這些試圖解放他們的“入侵者”。

First contact with Melkeji was made by a small Expeditionary fleet under the command of Grand Marshal Kulth. After encountering heavy resistance, the fleet withdrew with a small number of human captives. From these captives the nature of the Melkeji's enslavement became clear. Knowing that he could not capture the planet, Kulth sent a message into the Ether asking for aid. When that aid came, it was more than Kulth could have dared to hope for. Lorgar himself came to Melkeji with eight full chapters of his Legion. Having talked to the captives in person, Lord Aurelian is said to have given a single order: "Light the first fire'.

首次接觸Melkeji的帝國部隊(duì)是大元帥庫爾斯指揮的一支小型遠(yuǎn)征探索艦隊(duì)。在遭到了頑強(qiáng)的抵抗之后，艦隊(duì)帶著少量人類戰(zhàn)俘撤退。帝國從這些戰(zhàn)俘口中清楚得了解到了Melkeji遭受奴役的狀況。庫爾斯明白自己無法征服這個(gè)世界，他向亞空間中發(fā)出訊息以尋求援助，而到來的援助是大元帥遠(yuǎn)不敢期望的：珞珈本人率領(lǐng)軍團(tuán)中整整八個(gè)戰(zhàn)團(tuán)前來協(xié)助。據(jù)說在親自與俘虜交談過之后，奧雷利安尊主只下達(dá)了一條命令：“點(diǎn)亮初火。”

Perhaps out of fear that their cattle might one day turn on them, the Ascended dwelt in a chain of nine orbital cities far above the planet's surface. Layered with huge polished plates, the cities rose in the planet's night skies as the brightest of stars. The light of the Ascended had looked down on Melkeji for longer than any could remember, eternal and unchanging. The Word Bearers, ever aware of?the power of symbolism, changed that night sky. As the fifth Ascended city rose into the black dome of the night, it exploded with a light so bright that for several seconds the night was banished.

或許是害怕某一天他們的牲口會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)而對(duì)抗他們，降臨者們龜縮于遠(yuǎn)離星球表面的九座軌道城市中。軌道城市上堆疊了數(shù)層拋光裝甲板，它們宛如最明亮的晨星一般懸掛在星球的夜空中。降臨者的目光俯視Melkeji的歲月比任何人能記住的時(shí)間都要長久，這種注視永恒且不變。而意識(shí)到象征主義力量的懷言者們改變了這片夜空。隨著第十五座降臨者之城升入黑色墓穴般的夜空，它在強(qiáng)光中爆炸，火光是如此強(qiáng)烈，以至于黑夜都被驅(qū)散了數(shù)秒。

Approaching without power, the war barge Castigator had slid towards Melkeji from its system's edge. Unseen and silent, it had waited until it was deep behind the planet's sphere of defences. Then it had fired its payload, a nova shell and a cluster of melta and plasma-tipped torpedoes timed to strike at the same moment. When the Melkeji realised what was going on, a second sun was already heralding a new dawn and the death of its past. Its task complete, the Castigator turned and dove from the open void. As the Melkeji ships turned to chase it, Lorgar’s fleet met them. The void battle lasted a single hour, and at its end the Melkeji ships were scattered fragments of debris.

戰(zhàn)爭母艦“懲戒者號(hào)”從星系邊緣向著Melkeji無動(dòng)力滑行以接近這個(gè)世界，這艘戰(zhàn)艦不可見，也保持著緘默，她在等待著，直到深入了星球大氣，行駛到了星球防御圈后側(cè)。之后她發(fā)射了自己的載荷：一發(fā)新星炮和一組被設(shè)定好時(shí)間同時(shí)攻擊的熱熔與電漿彈頭的魚雷。當(dāng)Melkeji意識(shí)到正在發(fā)生什么之后，第二輪紅日已經(jīng)升起，標(biāo)志著新黎明的到來與往昔的逝去。懲戒者號(hào)完成了任務(wù)，她調(diào)轉(zhuǎn)方向潛回到開闊的虛空中，而轉(zhuǎn)向前去追逐她的Melkeji艦船則迎上了珞珈的艦隊(duì)。虛空戰(zhàn)只持續(xù)了一個(gè)小時(shí)，Melkeji艦船最終都被轟成了碎片。

The Word Bearers moved past the orbital cities to land on the planet's surface.Five thousand Word Bearers and 100,000 auxiliaries fell on the planet in a single drop. Even in the face of?such might, the Melkeji resisted. Several million died in the first hour of the engagement. Then, just as the defenders reached into their reserves of will, Lorgar attacked the remaining cities of the Ascended. Boarding companies in gunships punched through the turret fire and armour, and began to advance through the cities. Throughout the assault the Ascended called on their forces to resist, their voices reaching across the planet on signal waves. Lorgar made no move to stop the signals until his assault companies had reached the orbital cities’?reactors. Then, one after another, the Ascended?voices were silenced and a chain of explosions ringed the besieged world. Shielding their eyes, the people of Melkeji knew in a single moment that their masters were gone and that they were facing a power greater and more terrible than they could have dreamed of.?Most of the Melkeji surrendered at that moment, the rest a few days later. A decade after, Melkeji was a world faithful to the God Emperor. Half a century later, half a million of its sons and daughters came to Ultramar with the names of alien gods on their lips.

懷言者們?cè)竭^軌道城市直撲星球表面，5000名懷言者軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士和100000名輔助軍一次性空降到了星球上。即便面對(duì)如此雄兵，Melkeji依舊進(jìn)行抵抗，而在交戰(zhàn)的第一個(gè)小時(shí)就有數(shù)百萬人死亡。之后，隨著防御者們的意志撐到了極限，珞珈進(jìn)攻了剩余的降臨者之城。跳幫連隊(duì)乘坐著炮艇穿過炮塔火網(wǎng)和裝甲部隊(duì)，開始向城市前進(jìn)。在進(jìn)攻的整個(gè)過程中降臨者們都在號(hào)召他們的部隊(duì)進(jìn)行抵抗，他們的聲音通過信號(hào)波傳遍了整個(gè)星球。珞珈沒有動(dòng)手掐斷這些信號(hào)，直到攻擊連隊(duì)抵達(dá)了軌道城市的反應(yīng)堆。之后，降臨者們的聲音一個(gè)接一個(gè)地寂滅，一連串的爆炸懸掛在被圍困世界的夜空中。Melkeji的民眾護(hù)住自己的雙眼，他們明白自己的主子已經(jīng)完蛋了，他們同時(shí)所面對(duì)的是比夢(mèng)中見到的都更為偉大和恐怖的權(quán)能。絕大多數(shù)人都在這個(gè)時(shí)刻投降了，剩余的人則在幾天之后宣布投降。十年之后，Melkeji成為了信仰神皇的世界；而一個(gè)世紀(jì)之后，五十萬名Melkeji兒女高呼著外星神明的名諱前往奧特拉瑪。