Shadow Wars of the Age of Darkness?

Those who would look back upon the Age of Darkness and attempt to compile anything resembling a coherent accounting of its myriad wars, campaigns and battles know they are faced with an impossible task. For every central battle —Calth, Tallarn, Mars, Yarrant and Terra itself— there must have been a thousand smaller engagements. Wherever a scribe might care to look, there they will discover some sign that blood was shed upon the ground for the Traitor or Loyalist cause. Over time, these unhallowed battles reveal themselves to us through the scattered and fragmented accounts of witnesses, survivors and in some small number of cases, participants. Savant- historators refer to these many conflicts as 'shadow war'.

那些回看黑暗年代，并試圖編譯出對(duì)該時(shí)期無(wú)數(shù)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)、戰(zhàn)役和戰(zhàn)斗進(jìn)行連貫說(shuō)明的任何文獻(xiàn)的人們都知道自己面對(duì)的是一項(xiàng)不可能的任務(wù)。在每場(chǎng)主要戰(zhàn)斗發(fā)生時(shí)——比如發(fā)生在考斯、塔蘭、火星、雅蘭特和泰拉本土上的戰(zhàn)役，就必然會(huì)有一千場(chǎng)小型戰(zhàn)斗隨之而來(lái)。無(wú)論一名文史書吏看向哪里，他都會(huì)看到一些表明忠誠(chéng)派或叛軍們?cè)诖说卦⊙獖^戰(zhàn)過(guò)的跡象。隨著時(shí)間流逝，現(xiàn)在我們要通過(guò)零散且碎片化的報(bào)告來(lái)揭示這些不潔的戰(zhàn)斗——這些報(bào)告來(lái)自目擊者、幸存者，而且在少數(shù)情況下，甚至是來(lái)自親歷者。史學(xué)文員們稱這些數(shù)目繁多的沖突為“暗影戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)”

The shadow wars were fought not by conventional Legiones Astartes fighting units—companies, battalions and chapters, as part of a distinct and unbroken chain of command from Primarch all the way down to sergeant. Instead, they fought entirely apart from any structured authority or grand strategy.There was no single template for these forces and they are referred to in various accounts by a range of terms including 'irregular, 'non-doctrinal'?or simply 'orphaned".

進(jìn)行暗影戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的部隊(duì)并非傳統(tǒng)的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)作戰(zhàn)單位——他們不是連隊(duì)、戰(zhàn)斗營(yíng)和戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，不是作為從原體一直到軍士的獨(dú)立且連續(xù)的指揮鏈的一部分進(jìn)行運(yùn)作。相反，他們的戰(zhàn)斗完全脫離了任何結(jié)構(gòu)化的權(quán)威或大戰(zhàn)略。這些部隊(duì)并不遵循單一的模板，各種報(bào)告用一系列的術(shù)語(yǔ)來(lái)稱呼他們，其中包括“非常規(guī)部隊(duì)”、“無(wú)章法之軍”或簡(jiǎn)單的“孤兒部隊(duì)”。

游俠騎士

The Shattered Legions

破碎軍團(tuán)

Another form of unconventional or irregular Legiones Astartes formations were the so-called Shattered Legions'—a retroactive term applied to a broad range of forces and unlikely to have been used by the warriors themselves. The Shattered Legions forces were born?of the fiery crucible of the Isstvan V Dropsite massacre, where the treachery of?the second attack wave resulted in the nigh-total destruction of the Raven Guard, Salamanders and Iron Hands. Initial reports claimed the cataclysmic news that three Primarchs had fallen and that no more than seven Legionaries had escaped the slaughter, although thankfully these accounts were later proved felse. Nonetheless, these three Legions ceased to exist as coherent, operational military bodies and were forced to drastically adapt their organisation and their methods in order to remain functional in any way at all. In the aftermath of the massacre, bloody, scattered groups from all three Legions coalesced across an entire sector of space, driven by the hunter-killer forces of?the Sons of Horus and the Emperor's Children, the latter taking especial delight in running the survivors to ground and forcing them to bear witness to the totality of their defeat. Harried by their relentless foe,?the last of these remnant forces turned at bay and fought back, following the example of Shadrak Meduson of the Iron Hands Sorrgol Clan. By sheer force of will, Meduson forged disparate elements from these three Legions into an unbreakable alloys and for a time led a fierce-fought campaign of vengeance against the Traitors that drew on and combined the unique skills and experience of each element, and which cost the Warmaster's war effort dearly.

另一種非傳統(tǒng)或非常規(guī)的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)編隊(duì)是所謂的“破碎軍團(tuán)”——這是一個(gè)適用于廣泛部隊(duì)類型的追溯性術(shù)語(yǔ)，那些戰(zhàn)士們自己可能并不會(huì)如此自稱。破碎軍團(tuán)誕生于伊斯特萬(wàn)五號(hào)登陸點(diǎn)大屠殺的激烈惡戰(zhàn)中，第二波進(jìn)攻中的背叛行徑導(dǎo)致暗鴉守衛(wèi)、火蜥蜴和鋼鐵之手三個(gè)軍團(tuán)幾乎完全被摧毀。最初的報(bào)告帶給了帝國(guó)一個(gè)災(zāi)難性的消息：三位原體隕落，只有不到七名軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士逃過(guò)屠殺，所幸這些報(bào)告在之后被證明是虛假的。但盡管如此，這三個(gè)軍團(tuán)也不再是連貫且可被使用的軍事團(tuán)體，他們也被迫徹底調(diào)整自己的組織和作戰(zhàn)方法，以便用任何方式保持運(yùn)作。在大屠殺結(jié)束后，這些來(lái)自全部三個(gè)軍團(tuán)的鮮血淋漓、四分五裂的部隊(duì)聚集在整片太空區(qū)域中，遭到來(lái)自荷魯斯之子與帝皇之子軍團(tuán)的獵殺部隊(duì)圍追堵截，后者極其熱衷于將幸存者們徹底擊潰并迫使他們見證自己的全部失敗。最后的殘軍們不斷遭受著無(wú)情的敵人的殘酷襲擊折磨，他們效仿鋼鐵之手軍團(tuán)薩古爾氏族的沙達(dá)克 美杜森，背水一戰(zhàn)進(jìn)行反擊。美杜森憑借著純粹的意志力將來(lái)自三個(gè)軍團(tuán)的迥然不同的分隊(duì)鑄造為一支牢不可破的聯(lián)軍，他一度領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了一場(chǎng)對(duì)叛軍進(jìn)行復(fù)仇的激烈戰(zhàn)役，在此過(guò)程中，他吸取且合并了各個(gè)分隊(duì)獨(dú)一無(wú)二的技藝和經(jīng)驗(yàn)，極大地削減了戰(zhàn)帥的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)效果。

But it was not only the remnants of the three Legions that were betrayed at Isstvan V who fought in this manner. Across the entire Imperium and beyond, Legion elements cut off from their chains of?command were forced to adapt to circumstances or else perish in the all-consuming fires of war. Some detached Loyalist forces were able to break through the Traitors'?lines and join the mustering hosts of the Imperium. Others however found themselves isolated deep within enemy-held territory and too far behind enemy lines to make contact with allied forces. While many of?these small forces were never heard from again and their fates go unrecorded, others determined to act on their own cognisance. Leaders of?vision and character melded disparate Legion elements into highly effective forces and used them to prosecute the unseen shadow wars that raged across the galaxy, often unknown to the masters of either side of the civil war.

但以這種方式作戰(zhàn)的并非只有在伊斯特萬(wàn)五號(hào)慘遭背叛的三個(gè)軍團(tuán)的殘軍。在整個(gè)帝國(guó)境內(nèi)和境外，與自己的指揮鏈?zhǔn)ヂ?lián)系的軍團(tuán)分隊(duì)們都被迫適應(yīng)（新的）環(huán)境，否則就會(huì)在吞噬一切的戰(zhàn)火中滅亡。某些獨(dú)立的忠誠(chéng)派能夠突破叛軍的封鎖線，并且加入正在聚集的帝國(guó)部隊(duì)。其他的則發(fā)現(xiàn)自己被孤獨(dú)地困在了敵占區(qū)的腹地，他們位于敵軍防線過(guò)于后方的位置，以至于無(wú)法聯(lián)系上同盟部隊(duì)。在這些小型部隊(duì)中，有很多都再也未被人們聽說(shuō)過(guò)，他們的命運(yùn)也未被記錄，其他的則決定按自己認(rèn)知行動(dòng)。有遠(yuǎn)見和勇敢堅(jiān)毅的領(lǐng)袖們將不同的軍團(tuán)分隊(duì)融合成高效的部隊(duì)，并且利用這些部隊(duì)進(jìn)行了一場(chǎng)迅速蔓延至整個(gè)銀河的不可見的暗影戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，這些戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)通常并不被內(nèi)戰(zhàn)雙方的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)主導(dǎo)者們所知。

And neither was the formation of these Shattered Legion forces unique to those loyal to Terra. As the Age of Darkness progressed, many more found themselves acting alone, following the goals of their own Leaders, and at times these goals dififered from those of the chains of command that had once bound them. With the ebb and flow of war, Traitor forces too became isolated and, given the nature of certain of their Leaders, many Traitor units determined to act entirely according to their own drives and desires. Some resurrected ancient resentments against erstwhile brethren now turned to blood-foes and pursued vengeance for slights of honour thought long forgotten. Others became consumed by the forces they had unleashed upon Isstvan V, shedding reason and honour and reaving across the stars as if to vindicate, or perhaps to forget, their treachery with the blood of all those they branded enemy. At first, most Shattered Legion forces focused their actions on high-intensity attacks against strategic targets far behind enemy lines, often with the military objective of disrupting lines of communication, but with the true goal of exacting bloody revenge on a hated foe too powerful to defeat in open battle. Soon however, opposed Shattered Legion forces encountered one another, and the result was inevitable. A second civil war erupted between rival Shattered Legion groups, and whilst neither was in direct communication with their own side's high command, inevitably both sides determined to destroy their foes at all costs and in so doing serve the strategic interests of the Traitors or the Loyalists. Though it went largely unseen, this war was said to have been every bit as bitter and bloody as the Dropsite massacre, albeit fought not between vast Legions grinding one another to bloody ruin, but mixed bands of warriors sworn to exact retribution even at the cost of their own lives. The shadow wars would be fought warrior to warrior, the killing stroke delivered by the hand of the vengeful while staring the vanquished in the eye and damning his soul to a hell none would have invoked mere months earlier.

并不是所有的破碎軍團(tuán)編隊(duì)都忠誠(chéng)于泰拉。雖然黑暗年代推進(jìn)，有更多的部隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在獨(dú)立行動(dòng)，他們追隨著自己領(lǐng)袖的目標(biāo)，有時(shí)這些目標(biāo)與指揮鏈曾經(jīng)下達(dá)給他們的并不相同。隨著戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)潮起潮落，叛軍部隊(duì)也變得孤立，而且考慮到特定領(lǐng)袖的天性，許多叛軍部隊(duì)也決定完全按照自己的動(dòng)機(jī)和欲望行動(dòng)。一些人重新燃起了對(duì)昔日兄弟的仇恨，現(xiàn)在這種怨仇變成了血海深仇，他們?yōu)榱藠Z回被長(zhǎng)久遺忘的榮譽(yù)而進(jìn)行報(bào)復(fù)進(jìn)攻。其他人則是被自己從伊斯特萬(wàn)五號(hào)上釋放的力量所吞噬，它們拋棄理智和榮譽(yù)，在群星橫沖直撞，仿佛要用所有被他們標(biāo)記為敵人的對(duì)象的血來(lái)證明無(wú)罪，或者以此來(lái)忘卻他們的背叛行為。最初，破碎軍團(tuán)們都是專注于對(duì)遠(yuǎn)離敵軍前線的戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)發(fā)動(dòng)高烈度進(jìn)攻，他們的軍事目標(biāo)通常都是要擾亂對(duì)方的通訊路線，而真實(shí)目的則是要對(duì)這些過(guò)于強(qiáng)大以至于無(wú)法在公開戰(zhàn)斗中將之擊敗的敵人進(jìn)行血腥報(bào)復(fù)。但不久之后，相互敵對(duì)的破碎軍團(tuán)們就會(huì)遭遇彼此，這是難以避免的。敵對(duì)的破碎軍團(tuán)之間也爆發(fā)了次級(jí)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，交戰(zhàn)雙方也都未直接聯(lián)系己方的高級(jí)指揮部，雙方也都不可避免地決心要不惜一切代價(jià)摧毀敵人，這些戰(zhàn)役為叛軍或忠誠(chéng)派奪得了戰(zhàn)略利益。雖然在很大程度上都未被目睹，但據(jù)說(shuō)這些戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)就和登陸點(diǎn)大屠殺一樣痛苦和血腥，盡管這并非是龐大的軍團(tuán)之間血腥的相互毀滅，而是一群戰(zhàn)士組成的混合戰(zhàn)幫之間的殘酷廝殺——他們發(fā)誓哪怕付出自己生命也要進(jìn)行復(fù)仇。暗影戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)是戰(zhàn)士對(duì)戰(zhàn)士的搏斗，復(fù)仇之人們怒視著戰(zhàn)敗者們，詛咒對(duì)方的靈魂落入地獄，同時(shí)親手揮出致命一擊，而僅僅幾個(gè)月之前，還不曾有人如是做過(guò)。

Blackshields

黑盾

Perhaps the most extreme example of Legiones Astartes forces acting as irregular fighting units was to be found in the phenomenon?of the 'Blackshields'. Who first used the term or when is a matter of debate amongst our Order, but most doubt that the warriors in question described themselves as such. Evoking martial tradition of ancient times, a Blackshield was a warrior who had entirely denounced his parent Legion, or in some cases may never have known which Legion had in fact sired him. They often fought quite literally under a false banner, or one which bore no colour or badge at all so as to confuse or repudiate their allegiances or origins.

在作為非常規(guī)作戰(zhàn)單位行動(dòng)的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)部隊(duì)中，最為極端的案例或許存在于“黑盾”群體里。是誰(shuí)或者人們是何時(shí)首先使用了這個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)的問(wèn)題并不在我們修會(huì)的討論范圍之內(nèi)，但大多數(shù)人都懷疑這些被提及的戰(zhàn)士們是否會(huì)如是描述自己。黑盾喚起了我們對(duì)于古早時(shí)代軍事傳統(tǒng)的回憶，他們是徹底與自己的母軍團(tuán)決裂的戰(zhàn)士，在某些情況中，我們永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)得知他們實(shí)際上出身自哪個(gè)軍團(tuán)。他們通常會(huì)非常字面意義上地在虛假的戰(zhàn)旗，或一面完全沒有顏色或徽章的旗幟下作戰(zhàn)，這樣他們就能混淆或否認(rèn)自己的忠誠(chéng)對(duì)象或出身。

Groups of?Blackshields engaging in battle against both sides of the Horus Heresy have been traced as early as the war for the Coronid Deeps, where a number of Legionaries clad in black-painted battle plate and bearing no iconography other than the Terran Aquila were reported as fighting for the Loyalist cause, but entirely separate from the Loyalist chain of command. This force refused to respond to any attempts at communication and is presumed to have been swallowed up in the anarchy that was the Imperium's fighting withdrawal from the Coronid Deeps.

荷魯斯叛亂的交戰(zhàn)雙方都有成群的黑盾戰(zhàn)士參戰(zhàn)，這種情況已經(jīng)追溯到王冠深淵會(huì)戰(zhàn)時(shí)期，在這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)役中，有報(bào)告聲稱許多身披涂成黑色的動(dòng)力、只佩戴帝國(guó)天鷹圖章的軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士為忠誠(chéng)事業(yè)而戰(zhàn)，但他們完全獨(dú)立于忠誠(chéng)派的指揮鏈。這支部隊(duì)拒絕回應(yīng)任何通訊嘗試，我們推測(cè)：他們已經(jīng)被帝國(guó)撤出王冠深淵時(shí)所造成的混亂戰(zhàn)況吞沒了。

The phenomenon of the appearance of the many and varied Blackshield groups is but one mystery among countless others that surfaced during the Horus Heresy and one that continues to vex the Lords of Terra greatly, especialy as the troubling matter of?the status of the remaining Legiones Astartes and the judgement of certain splinter factions remains yet unresolved. Many different types of Blackshield existed, most defined by the circumstances of their formation. Some were Legionaries driven beyond even the trans-human limits gene- engineered into the Legiones Astartes and consumed by grief or insanity at the sheer scope of the Warmaster's betrayal. Many were so broken in mind and spirit, they no longer recognised or acknowledged the mastery of any lord and were determined to claim their own destiny even as the Imperium tore itself apart in bitter civil war.

有無(wú)數(shù)的謎團(tuán)在荷魯斯叛亂時(shí)期浮現(xiàn)出來(lái)，數(shù)量繁多且各式各樣的黑盾部隊(duì)的出現(xiàn)只是其中之一，但這一現(xiàn)象持續(xù)讓泰拉的領(lǐng)主們深感憂慮，尤其是剩余阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)的地位和某些分裂派系的判定問(wèn)題仍未解決的情況下。黑盾存在著許多不同的類別，大多數(shù)都要靠他們部隊(duì)的條件狀況來(lái)界定。其中某些人是軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士，接受了基因改造手術(shù)，各方面素質(zhì)突破了超人類限制，躋身為阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)的一員，戰(zhàn)帥叛亂的嚴(yán)重情況使他們被悲傷和失去理智所吞噬。許多人的精神意識(shí)是如此殘破，以至于即使帝國(guó)在激烈的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)中分崩離析，他們也拒絕認(rèn)可所有領(lǐng)主的統(tǒng)治，而是決定索求自己的命運(yùn)。

One of the few defining factors common across Blackshields groups was the fact that all had renounced their heritage and none considered themselves as belonging or beholden in any way to their Primarch or their erstwhile brethren. Most, though not all, obscured their colours in some way, some repainting their armour black, others scouring it to bare metal. At least one group scorched their armour in a fire rite redolent of certain feral world pyrolatory-cults, during which they repudiated their heritage and their heraldry, leaving their armour cinder black. Others adopted entirely new heraldry of their own invention, either on a warrior-by-wamor basis or by a strong-willed Leader imposing his vision on the entire band. Thus, by the middle years of?the Horus Heresy, Legiones Astartes forces bearing previously unseen colours were witnessed fighting across the entire galaxy.

黑盾群體中為數(shù)不多的共有決定性因素之一是所有人都放棄了他們的遺產(chǎn)，也沒有人覺得自己屬于他們的原體或他們的昔日兄弟。盡管并非全部如此，但大多數(shù)黑盾戰(zhàn)士都以某種方式讓自己的原有配色變得模糊不清，有些人重新將自己的動(dòng)力甲涂為黑色，其他人則是掛去顏色涂層，裸露出動(dòng)力甲的金屬本色。至少有一支黑盾部隊(duì)在一場(chǎng)散發(fā)著某些荒蠻世界烈焰崇拜色彩的火焰儀式中燒焦了他們的動(dòng)力甲，在此過(guò)程中，他們摒棄了自己的遺產(chǎn)和紋章，并讓他們的動(dòng)力甲成為了灰燼黑色。其他人則佩戴上了由他們自己虛構(gòu)而出的全新紋章，這可能是戰(zhàn)士們自行決定的，也可能是一位意志堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者將他的意愿強(qiáng)加于整個(gè)戰(zhàn)幫。于是，在荷魯斯叛亂中期，人們?cè)诒椴既y河的戰(zhàn)斗中目擊到了噴涂著前所未見配色的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)部隊(duì)。

As with the Shattered Legion forces, Blackshields were encountered on both sides of the war, and in many cases were fighting entirely for themselves. Some bore the eagle of Terra, while others wore the eye of the Warmaster, but others fought entirely for their own causes. None were part of?any coherent chain of command and while they might occasionally have been co-aligned with the strategic aims of one side or the other, they never followed or sought orders from outside forces or consciously coordinated battle plans with them. Many bands of Blackshields were later declared by edict of the Terran Council to be murderers and pirates concerned only with claiming their own domains beyond the sight of Emperor or Warmaster, as was the case with the so-called Company of the Sundered at Boras Minor. While some of these might have been attempting to rebuild something of what Horus had destroyed, others were concerned only with carving out their own petty empires and enslaving those who were too weak to oppose them, as occurred at the Truan Systems at the hands of the Nine Blades. Some believed themselves to be continuing the work of the Great Crusade, carving a swathe of blood and ash across the void in memory of a dream which had turned to nightmare with the Warmaster's betrayal at Isstvan.

就如同破碎軍團(tuán)那樣，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)雙方都曾遭遇過(guò)黑盾，而且他們?cè)诤芏嗲闆r中完全是為自己而戰(zhàn)。某些人佩戴著泰拉雄鷹，其他人則佩戴著戰(zhàn)帥之眼，還有一些則是完全為了自己的事業(yè)而戰(zhàn)。他們都并非某個(gè)連貫指揮鏈的一部分，盡管他們的戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)偶爾可能與忠誠(chéng)派或叛軍一致，但他們永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)遵守或?qū)で笸獠縿?shì)力的命令或有意識(shí)地與對(duì)方協(xié)調(diào)作戰(zhàn)計(jì)劃。很多黑盾戰(zhàn)幫在之后被泰拉議會(huì)的法令宣判為海盜或謀殺者——他們只關(guān)心如何在帝皇或戰(zhàn)帥未能注意的區(qū)域奪取自己的領(lǐng)地，就像?Boras Minor 世界上的所謂的分裂者連隊(duì)一樣。也有某些黑盾部隊(duì)已經(jīng)在試圖重建荷魯斯所毀滅的事物，其他黑盾則只關(guān)心開拓自己的微型帝國(guó)，并且奴役那些過(guò)于弱小以至于無(wú)力反抗他們的凡人，比如“九柄利刃”戰(zhàn)幫在Truan星系的所作所為。也有某些黑盾相信自己仍在推進(jìn)大遠(yuǎn)征，他們?cè)谔摽罩锌坛鲆坏栗r血與灰燼的痕跡，以此來(lái)紀(jì)念帝國(guó)曾經(jīng)的夢(mèng)想——荷魯斯在伊斯特萬(wàn)星系發(fā)動(dòng)的叛亂已經(jīng)將之轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榱素瑝?mèng)。

Many years of?laborious investigation reveal that few Blackshield groups numbered more than a thousand or so warriors, and in terms of assets, they were often severely limited indeed. Most had access to some form of warship, either a Legion vessel or a lesser void craft captured during the course of their formation. Legiones Astartes escort vessels and rapid strike cruisers provided a combination of assault vessel and base of operations, being large enough to transport the group and what vehicles and landing craft it possessed, and sufficiently potent in battle to support assaults against lightly defended, outlying target worlds. The crews of such vessel?were often bonded or indentured in some manner to their masters. Many were Legion serfs whose loyalties were simply transferred to their new lords, while others had willingly thrown in their lot with the outcasts or been forced to do so by cruel circumstance.

經(jīng)過(guò)數(shù)年的辛勤調(diào)查，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)幾乎沒有人數(shù)超過(guò)一千名戰(zhàn)士的黑盾部隊(duì)，事實(shí)上他們是武器裝備也非常有限。大多數(shù)黑盾部隊(duì)都擁有某種形式的戰(zhàn)艦，這些飛船是軍團(tuán)艦艇或者他們?cè)诮M建過(guò)程中俘獲的次級(jí)虛空艦船。阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)護(hù)衛(wèi)艦和快速打擊巡洋艦被證明是攻擊艦船與行動(dòng)基地的混合體，它們體積大到足夠運(yùn)輸一支部隊(duì)及其擁有的載具和登陸艇，而且在戰(zhàn)斗中足夠強(qiáng)大，足以支援對(duì)防御薄弱的外圍目標(biāo)世界的攻擊。此類船只的船員通常都以以某種方式與他們的主人保持著聯(lián)系或契約關(guān)系。很多船員都是轉(zhuǎn)而效忠了新主子的軍團(tuán)仆役，其他的則是自愿投入這些被遺棄者的事業(yè)、或者因殘酷的環(huán)境而被迫這樣做的凡人。

Whatever their origins, Blackshield groups were invariably led by individuals possessed of?a fierce presence and the drive to forge their own destiny, and to sweep others along with them in their quest. Some, such as Nuhmarak, the so-called Crippled King of the Void, were darkly brooding warrior-lords, bitterly resentful of the fate that had befallen the galaxy. Others enthusiastically embraced their new existence and relished the chance to prey upon those weaker than themselves and to take by force that which they considered their rightful due, as was the case when the Umbral Hundred scoured twelve entire systems in the southern marches of the Chomna sector throughout 011.M31.

無(wú)論他們?cè)醋院翁?，黑盾部?duì)都無(wú)一例外地由具有塑造自己命運(yùn)的強(qiáng)烈存在感和驅(qū)動(dòng)力的人物所領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，他們將其他人一并卷入自己追求命運(yùn)的征途。某些人是陰沉的戰(zhàn)士領(lǐng)主，他們痛恨降臨在銀河系的命運(yùn)，比如所謂“虛空毀滅之王”努馬拉克。其他人則熱情地?fù)肀麄兊男律矸?，盡情享受掠奪弱于自己的人們并強(qiáng)行奪取他們認(rèn)為應(yīng)得之物的機(jī)會(huì)，就像本影百人團(tuán)在整個(gè)011.M31時(shí)期向Chomna星區(qū)南邊行軍的過(guò)程中掃蕩了整整十二個(gè)星系那樣。

One particular sub-type of Blackshield is known of almost entirely through hearsay and myth, and our Order has struggled in vain to discover the full truth of their creation. These are the warriors who actively turned against their own and raised their weapons to oppose their Primarch and their erstwhile kin. None can say how many such groups existed, but certainly rumours abound of?Legiones Astartes rejecting their heritage and defacing once proudly-worn Legion icons. Even clad in black, the origins of such warriors might be discerned by careful observation, for each of the Legions utilised its own artificer-wrought and often highly idiosyncratic sub-patterns of Legiones Astartes battle plate that betrayed the origins of?the bearer.

有一類特殊的次級(jí)類型黑盾部隊(duì)幾乎完全是通過(guò)傳言和神話為人們所知，我們的修會(huì)也曾徒勞地努力探索關(guān)于他們誕生的全部真相。這些戰(zhàn)士們積極反抗自己的原體和昔日的血親兄弟，將自己的武器對(duì)準(zhǔn)了后者。沒人能說(shuō)出此類部隊(duì)都存在數(shù)量，但確實(shí)有傳言聲稱：有大量的軍團(tuán)阿斯塔特拒絕了自己的遺產(chǎn)，并且污損了他們?cè)?jīng)自豪佩戴著的軍團(tuán)圖章。盡管他們身披黑甲，但通過(guò)仔細(xì)的觀察，我們也可能依稀辨別出這些戰(zhàn)士們的來(lái)源——每個(gè)軍團(tuán)都使用了由自己的工匠制造的次級(jí)型號(hào)軍團(tuán)阿斯塔特動(dòng)力甲，這些次級(jí)型號(hào)動(dòng)力甲通常都極其特殊，會(huì)暴露出穿戴者的原始身份。

These forces and many more, from the unseen Knights-Errant, the vengeful Shattered Legion formations to the outcast Blackshields, fought throughout the Age of Darkness, sometimes adding their weight to one side or the other, at other times pursuing their own inexplicable goals. As with so much of that anarchic era, little went recorded and many accounts that were committed to record were destroyed in the flames of war consuming the entire Imperium. The greater number of the battles of the shadow wars may never be known, but their consequences will no doubt echo down the ages unheeded by mortal men, the fates of?some of the greatest heroes and villainous despots ever raised up from the hosts of?Mankind lost to the Age of?Darkness.

從不可見的游俠騎士、尋求復(fù)仇的破碎軍團(tuán)到被遺棄的黑盾部隊(duì)，他們和其他很多部隊(duì)都在整個(gè)黑暗年代中奮戰(zhàn)著。他們某些時(shí)候會(huì)加入到戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的某一方，其他時(shí)候則是追尋著自己令人費(fèi)解的目標(biāo)。但就像那個(gè)混亂年代的很多事情一樣，他們的事跡幾乎未被記錄下來(lái)，很多記錄了他們事跡的報(bào)告資料也毀于吞噬了整個(gè)帝國(guó)的戰(zhàn)火中。暗影戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的更多戰(zhàn)斗可能永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)為人所知，但毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，他們的功績(jī)會(huì)回響在這個(gè)被凡人所忽略的年代中，某些最偉大英雄與最邪惡暴君的命運(yùn)，都崛起于黑暗年代中迷失的人類群體中。