Contqual had ever been a prosperous domain, considered by its citizens to be an earthly paradise far removed from the turmoil and ugliness of the rest of the universe. Alas contentment has?ever turned to complacency, and so it was at Contqual. Soon enough, that complacency begat decadence, and at last, decadence begat heresy.?

Contqual次星區(qū)曾是一片繁榮的區(qū)域，當?shù)鼐用褚曋疄檫h離宇宙其他地方的混亂和丑惡的塵世天堂?？上M足會變?yōu)榱俗载摚珻ontqual也未能脫俗。很快，自負招致了墮落，墮落最終惡化為了異端。

As best as can be determined, the corruption of Contqual began in late M41, when the high governor succumbed to the false promises of the Chaos God Slaanesh. Whether he did so knowingly was never discovered, and nor did it greatly matter. By the time his fecklessness?was discovered, the taint of Chaos had blossomed like a sickly rose. Feeding off the desires and weaknesses of those in power, it rippled through Contqual society, the perversions of the rich trickling down through social strata to infect the poor. Soon the six deadly seductions of Slaanesh held unbreakable sway on Contqual itself.?

基本可以確定Contqual的腐化開始于M41晚期，當時的次星區(qū)高級總督屈服于混沌神祇色孽的虛假承諾。我們無法查證他的行為是否是在明知故犯，但這并不是非常重要。當他軟弱無能的行徑被發(fā)現(xiàn)時，混沌污染的病態(tài)毒花已經(jīng)盛開了。混沌腐化以當權(quán)者的欲望和弱點為食，它在Contqual社會中泛濫，富人的變態(tài)行徑通過社會階層滲透到窮人身上。很快色孽的六種致命誘惑就對對 Contqual 社會本身產(chǎn)生了牢不可破的影響。

Formerly productive hive cities became fanes to twisted perversion and the rapacious quest for sensory excess at any price. Defence garrisons threw down their weapons and abandoned their posts in favour of bloody bacchanal, or else turned those weapons upon those they had once protected, as Astra Militarism officers appointed themselves the petty tyrants of their own twisted kingdoms. Imperial shrines and cathedrums echoed to the screams of excruciated clergy whose mortal forms were sustained far past their physical limits by foul warpcraft, so that their former flocks could torment them all the longer. Profane banners unfurled from the highest pins of Contqual's cities, obscene sheet?of flapping skin flensed from the bodies of donors willing and unwilling alike; they bore the sigils of Slaanesh embossed upon them in tainted inks and visceral fluids. Gunfire echoed through ruined hab-blocks as the last loyal defenders of Contqual were hunted down by packs of barely human cultists and the hellish entities they had rashly conjured into reality. Within a month, the entire sub-sector writhed with the corrupting essence of Chaos.?

曾經(jīng)欣欣向榮的巢城淪為了容納扭曲的變態(tài)行徑和不惜任何代價貪婪追求對感官過度刺激的混沌神殿。守備當?shù)氐鸟v軍也丟下武器，將職責(zé)拋諸腦后，享受著鮮血狂歡，也有其他人將武器對準了那些他們曾經(jīng)保護過的人們；星界軍的軍官們也自封為他們自己扭曲王國的口袋暴君。帝國圣堂和修道院中回蕩著受折磨的神職人員的嚎叫，他們的凡人形體被邪惡的亞空間造物維持得遠遠超過他們的生理極限，這樣一來他們以前的信眾就可以繼續(xù)折磨他們。褻瀆的旗幟從Contqual巢城最高的塔尖展開——混沌信徒從自愿或非自愿捐贈者的尸體上剝下皮膚，拍打平整，制成了這些穢褻的旗子；其上還用被污染的墨水與內(nèi)臟磨制的液體壓印了色孽的標志。槍聲回響在化為廢墟的大樓間，成群的凡人邪教徒和他們貿(mào)然釋放到現(xiàn)實宇宙中的兇惡存在獵捕著僅存的Contqual忠誠守軍。在一個月的時間內(nèi)，整個次星區(qū)就被混沌的腐化本質(zhì)所扭曲。

The task of cleansing Contqual fell to the Iron Hands, chiefly to the warriors of Clan Company Raukaan and a conclave of Librarians assembled in anticipation of daemonic sorceries. The battle-brothers embraced their duty with accustomed stoicism, but all felt the seed of wrath burning within. The scions of Medusa have ever loathed Slaanesh above the other Chaos powers, not just for Fulgrim's slaying of Ferrus Manus on the killing fields of Isstvan V. but because those who follow the Dark Prince practise abandon with as?much dedication as?the Iron Hands themselves pursue restraint.?

凈化Contqual的重任落到了鋼鐵之手戰(zhàn)團身上，主要由拉卡恩氏族連隊的戰(zhàn)士和一群為預(yù)測惡魔巫術(shù)而聚集起來的智庫們負責(zé)。戰(zhàn)斗兄弟們以慣常的堅忍態(tài)度接受了他們的職責(zé)，但他們也都能感受到怒火在胸中燃燒。美杜莎的子嗣們厭惡色孽勝過其他混沌神祇，這不僅是因為福格瑞姆在伊斯特萬五號的戰(zhàn)場上殺害了費魯斯 馬努斯，更是因為那些追隨黑暗王子的人所放棄的克制就像鐵手們所追求一樣多。

Thus, Clan Raukaan stormed the sub-sector, taking several planets before any form of resistance could be assembled. The sprawling pleasure cults that had overtaken society were ruthlessly wiped out, slaughtered while their pleas for mercy went unheard - the Iron Hands had no time for those who would let corruption take over their worlds. The death of every heretic and traitor only strengthened the Imperium. Yet for every planet scoured of Slaaneshi filth, another? shuddered in the grip of unbridled, unclean emotion. Such challenge could be met only with unflagging fortitude. Chanting the mantras of Ferrus Manus to ward off the temptations of false pleasures, Clan Raukaan marched mercilessly on.?

于是，拉卡恩氏族風(fēng)暴般地席卷了次星區(qū)，數(shù)個星球在能夠組織起任何形式的抵抗之前就被拿下了。盤踞在當?shù)厣鐣械乃奶幝拥臍g愉教派被無情地屠殺掃清，而他們的請求卻無人理會——鐵手沒有時間可以浪費在這些讓自己的世界墮入腐化的人們身上，所有異端分子和叛徒的死亡都只會增強帝國。然而，在一顆星球被沖刷掉色孽污穢的同時，都會有另一個星球在肆無忌憚的骯臟情緒中顫抖。只有憑借著不屈不撓的毅力才能迎接這樣的挑戰(zhàn)。拉卡恩氏族戰(zhàn)士們朗誦費魯斯·馬努斯的格語以抵御虛假歡愉的誘惑，毫不留情地繼續(xù)前進。

The pivotal battle came on the hive world of Shardenus, where a tear had appeared in the fabric of real space, opening a direct and hungry link to the war, Daemons poured through the rift to be welcomed and embraced by the twisted inhabitants of the planet. Once this was discovered by the Iron Hands, it served only to feed and inflame their righteous wrath.?

關(guān)鍵戰(zhàn)役發(fā)生在巢都世界Shardenus，此處的現(xiàn)實宇宙結(jié)構(gòu)出現(xiàn)了一條裂縫，向亞空間打開了一條直接而饑渴的連接通道，惡魔們通過裂隙涌入現(xiàn)實宇宙，星球上扭曲的居民們歡迎并擁抱了它們。發(fā)現(xiàn)這個世界令鐵手們的義憤怒火燃燒得更為劇烈。

By this time, the sons of Manus had been joined in duty by several regiments of the Astra Militarum, and even a handful of god-machines of the Adeptus Titanicus. Clan Raukaan took the god-machines' arrival as proof positive of the Omnissiah's favour, but did not allow themselves a moment of laxness.? Disdaining calls for caution from Militarism command, the Iron Hands launched an all-out assault on the bunker complexes of Shardenus Prime. Untold thousands of traitors and twisted mutants assailed the invaders, but the Iron Hands merely cursed their names and fought on. Daemons taunted the sons of Manus, hoping to goad them into additional rash action, but the Iron Hands remained committed to their purpose.?

此時，已經(jīng)有數(shù)個星界軍團前來幫助美杜莎的子嗣們分擔責(zé)任，甚至還有泰坦修會的數(shù)臺神之機械前來支援。拉卡恩氏族將神之機械的到來視作萬機神垂愛的積極證明，但他們不允許自己有片刻的懈怠。鐵手們對于星界軍指揮官保持謹慎的提醒不屑一顧，他們對Shardenus Prime的堡壘復(fù)合體建筑發(fā)動了全力進攻。數(shù)以千計的叛徒和扭曲的變種人進攻了這些入侵者，但鋼鐵之手們只是詛咒著他們的穢名，繼續(xù)作戰(zhàn)。惡魔們嘲弄著馬努斯的子嗣們，意圖刺激他們采取額外的魯莽行動，但鋼鐵之手們?nèi)匀恢铝τ谕瓿伤麄兊哪繕恕?/p>

Casualties were heavy, especially within the Militarum formations that advanced in Clan Raukaan's wake. But the Iron Hands never slowed and never yielded, meeting each fresh battle with redoubled determination. Spire by spire they cleaned Shardenus Prime, until their unremitting fury washed up against the walls of the capitol itself. In that desperate hour, treachery within the Militarum High Command saw Clan Raukaan abandoned by its supposed allies, but they simply did as Ferrus Manus would have done: cursed the weakness of lesser men and strode anew into the fire.?

帝國部隊傷亡嚴重，尤其是跟在拉卡恩氏族身后前進的星界軍編隊。但鋼鐵之手們從未減緩步伐也從未屈服，他們憑著加倍的決心迎戰(zhàn)每一次新的戰(zhàn)斗。星際戰(zhàn)士們清理了Shardenus Prime的一座又一座塔尖，直到他們的不懈憤怒對上了議會大廈的圍墻。在這個絕望的時間段里，星界軍高級指揮部內(nèi)發(fā)生了叛亂，拉卡恩氏族被他們所謂的盟友拋棄了，但鋼鐵之手們只是做了費魯斯 馬努斯在這種情況下將會采取的行為：他們咒罵了低等凡人的軟弱，再次沖向了戰(zhàn)火。

During a climactic battle to seal the warp rift, the architect of Contqual's horrors at last revealed himself: Julius Kaesoron, Fulgrim's right hand and slayer of countless loyal sons of Manus, First Captain Gabriel Santar amongst them. Now elevated in Slaanesh's sight as a loathsome Daemon Prince of terrifying power, Kaesoron toyed with the Iron Hands, boasting of his past deeds and taunting them with claims of Ferrus Manus' final words.?

在封印亞空間裂隙的戰(zhàn)斗高潮，Contqual恐怖慘劇的始作俑者最終親自現(xiàn)身：朱利烏斯 凱索隆，福格瑞姆的右手，他殺害了無數(shù)忠誠的馬努斯子嗣，其中就包括第一連長加伯利爾 桑塔?，F(xiàn)在，凱索隆在色孽的注視下被升格為了令人厭惡的惡魔王子，他手握恐怖的力量，玩弄著鋼鐵之手戰(zhàn)士們。他吹噓他過去的事跡，并用費魯斯·馬努斯的遺言來嘲弄鋼鐵之手們。

Yet Kaesoron had been so long in the warp that he had forgotten the fortitude of the sons of Manus, or else he was so blinded by his own dark brilliance that he grew careless in the moment of triumph. Thus, even as the Daemon crowed of victories past and yet to come, Chief Librarian Telach made the ultimate sacrifice, harnessing the power of his own unbending soul to collapse the warp rift, weakening Kaesoron's connection to his blasphemous patron and leaving him vulnerable to the righteous fury of the surviving Iron Hands.?

然而凱索隆浸泡在亞空間中的時間過久，以至于忘記了馬努斯之子們的英勇剛毅；或者說他是對于自己的黑暗榮耀（事跡）過于盲目自信，以至于在勝利的那一刻變得粗心大意。于是，當惡魔為過去和未來的勝利而歡呼時，首席智庫泰勒奇做出了最終犧牲，他駕馭自己不屈靈魂的力量，瓦解了亞空間裂隙，削弱了凱索隆與他那位褻瀆主子之間的聯(lián)系，這讓惡魔王子在幸存鐵手戰(zhàn)士們的正義怒火面前變得不堪一擊。

With the warp rift closed and the Daemons banished, Clan Raukaan were free to purge the world of Shardenus of all taint. Their judgement was exacting, their punishment uncompromising. Like reapers of ancient legend they strode through the ruined streets, driving mutants and madmen before them. They rooted out all lingering corruption, driving all suspected of heresy or contamination into the cleansing flames.?

隨著亞空間裂隙被關(guān)閉，惡魔被放逐，拉卡恩氏族得以自由地凈化Shardenus世界上的所有污穢。他們做出了嚴厲的審判，毫不妥協(xié)地懲罰敵人。他們?nèi)缤糯鷤髡f中的收割者們那般大步?jīng)_過被摧毀的街道，驅(qū)趕著面前的變種人和瘋子們。他們了鏟除一切揮之不去的腐敗，將所有疑似淪為異端和遭到亞空間污染的人驅(qū)逐進入凈化烈焰中。

No tally of the dead exists in Imperial records, for Clan Raukaan found little evidence of innocence on Shardenus, and proof of guilt all around the corpses were simply too numerous to count. The pyres burned for days, fed by an implacable advance that left no sector of Shardenus free of scrutiny. Those few who survived the purges carried with them tales of black-garbed executioners who slaughtered at will and had only unfeeling metal where their hearts should have lain.?

帝國記錄中并未記載死亡人數(shù)，因為拉卡恩氏族幾乎未在Shardenus上找到無辜者存在的證據(jù)，而尸體周圍的罪證簡直數(shù)不勝數(shù)。尸堆燃燒了數(shù)天，Shardenus上的所有區(qū)域都受到了審查，異端分子和叛徒被揪出并丟入火堆中。極少數(shù)從凈化中幸存下來的人們講述了這樣的故事：身披黑甲的儈子手們隨意進行著屠殺，他們心如鐵石，毫無人性。

After the scouring of Shardenus, the rest of the sub-sector was quickly forced into submission as these tales spread. One by one, worlds turned on their perverted overlords and begged for clemency from the vengeful Space Marines, but the Iron Hands were without pity for such callow folk. In the year of bloodshed that followed, fully a third of Contqual's population was deemed to be in the grip of the heretical cults, and Clan Raukaan executed every last one - a grim tally, but one far lesser than that inflicted on Shardenus, where the dead outnumbered the living many times over.?

在肅清了Shardenus之后，隨著這些故事的傳播，次星區(qū)的其他區(qū)域很快就被迫屈服。一個又一個的世界背棄了它們變態(tài)的霸主，乞求前來復(fù)仇的星際戰(zhàn)士們賜予仁慈寬恕，但鋼鐵之手對于這些幼稚愚蠢的愚民們毫無憐憫。在之后一年的血腥屠殺中，整整三分之一的Contqual人口被認為處于異端邪教的控制之下，拉卡恩氏族處決了最后一名異端分子——這是一個冷酷的數(shù)字，但遠好于?Shardenus上的情況，這個世界上死者的數(shù)量比生者的多出數(shù)倍。

The message was clear - to court damnation was to invite only complete and utter destruction. Not one survivor doubted that the Iron Hands stood ready to mete out punishment once more, should the slightest need arise.?

鋼鐵之手們傳遞了一條明確的信息——做出受詛咒的行徑只會引來徹底的毀滅。所有幸存者的相信：鋼鐵之手已經(jīng)準備好在任何有需要的時候再次進行懲罰。

In the years since, faith in the Emperor has blazed like never before over Contqual. Its cowed populace pray, praise and worship not for his beneficence, but for his mercy, out of hope that the warriors of Clan Raukaan will never have cause to return to finish what they began.?

從那以后的幾年里，對于皇帝的信仰在Contqual次星區(qū)以前所未有的速度盛行開來。膽怯的民眾們向帝皇祈禱、贊美和崇拜，但他們乞求的并非帝皇的恩惠，而是他的仁慈；他們希望拉卡恩氏族的戰(zhàn)士永遠不會得到任何回到此地完成他們開始的凈化懲戒任務(wù)的理由。