The Muster of War

戰(zhàn)爭集結

The Manachean Commonwealth was an independent dominion forming its own self-governing sub-sector within the Imperium to the galactic east of the Cyclops Cluster. Considered the lynchpin of the Coronid Deeps, it was also the principal axis of Imperial power holding the northern border of the Imperium together thanks to the dual influence of two systems: Manachea itself—principally the hive world of Manachea Vysidae, which was in terms of population and industry the equal of any of the great hive worlds of the Segmenrum Solar, and Port Maw which, while still under partial construction and expansion, was one of the most powerful Imperialis Armada bases in the northern Imperium. This border sub-sector, geared as it was for war, presented a formidable obstacle to any attack contemplated against it, and few regions outside the heartlands of the Segmentum Solar could claim to be so well protected.

Manachean聯邦是一片獨立的統(tǒng)治域，他們在獨眼巨人群星東部的帝國領土內形成了一個有自治權的次星區(qū)。該地區(qū)被視作王冠深淵的關鍵區(qū)域，也是控制住北部邊境的帝國部隊的關鍵軸心。這要歸功于兩個星系的雙重影響：Manachea星系本身——尤其是巢都世界Manachea Vysidae，它在人口和工業(yè)方面能夠匹敵太陽星域中任何偉大的巢都世界；以及巨口港——盡管依舊處于建造和拓展中，但它（已經）是帝國北部最強大的艦隊基地之一。對于任何針對此地的進攻而言，這個為戰(zhàn)爭而設立的次星區(qū)都是一道可畏的障礙。除了太陽星域的核心地區(qū)之外，幾乎沒有哪個區(qū)域能聲稱自己受到如此良好的保護。

Port Maw itself was home port?to a very sizable fleet, numbering some hundred and seventy capital and line vessel?of the first rank, and nearly a thousand other warships of lesser degree, whose principal purposes were to patrol the nearby Segmenta within the borders the Great Crusade had established, defend its worlds from attack, maintain order and enforce the writ of Imperial law. As part of this peacekeeping force, stationed there and at secondary bastions in the Manachea and Numinal systems, were a combined army of one hundred and ninety-three Solar Auxilia Imperial Army Cohorts, forming an independent strategic command of the Excertus Imperialis under Grand Admiral Ospheus La Bray. In practical terms, this comprised notionally some 3,860,000 fully armed, equipped and disciplined fighters outfitted to the highest standards of the Imperium's human soldiery. As Solar Auxilia, they were trained and experienced both in void combat and planetary defence operations, and represented a significant military force, even when set against the threat of a Legiones Astartes attack. Besides this elite army, the Commonwealth's own emergency defence planning was predicated upon the ability to quickly raise, arm and supply tens of millions of planetary militia in extremis, and this act itself did not seriously impact upon the massive economic output of the sector―such were the immense labour reserves of Manachea Vysidae and the war materiel its wealth had allowed it to stockpile. Nor was the Commonwealth entirely without the assistance of the Legiones Astartes, albeit in very small numbers. The limited garrison the Imperial Fists had left in their bastion station of Manachea Lux since the Great Crusade had liberated the region, and staying true to their oaths, quickly subdivided itself and sent its Legionaries to act as advisors throughout the Commonwealth, lending their expertise in counter-siege to improving defensive planning and structures, but the shattered survivors that had returned from Isstvan and found their way to Manachea had neither stayed nor submitted themselves to ’merely' human authority for the main part, content to regroup and move on, rather than being tied down to the defence of worlds other than their own.

巨口港本身也是一支規(guī)模極為龐大的艦隊的母港，包括大約一百七十艘第一等級的主力艦和線列艦，以及將近一千艘其他級別更低的戰(zhàn)艦，它們的主要任務是在位于大遠征已經建立的邊境內部的周邊節(jié)區(qū)進行巡邏，保衛(wèi)節(jié)區(qū)中的世界免受進攻，以及維持當地執(zhí)行和強制執(zhí)行帝國的律法。作為這支維穩(wěn)部隊的一部分，還有一支由一百九十三個太陽軍兵團組成的聯合部隊駐扎在巨口港以及位于Manachea和Numinal星系中的次級堡壘中，他們組成了獨立的帝國輔助軍戰(zhàn)略指揮部，由奧斯菲烏斯?拉?布雷上將任總指揮。實際上，這支部隊在名義上包括約3,860,000全副武裝且紀律嚴明的戰(zhàn)士，而且他們還使用著帝國凡人部隊中最高標準的武器裝備。作為太陽軍，他們同時接受過虛空作戰(zhàn)和行星防御作戰(zhàn)的訓練，而且這兩種戰(zhàn)斗形式他們都經歷過；即便是在面對阿斯塔特軍團的進攻威脅時，他們也是一支重要的軍事力量。除了這支精銳部隊，聯邦自身的緊急防御計劃也是基于在極端情況下快速征召、武裝和補給數千萬行星民兵的能力而制定的。而且該法案本身并未嚴重影響該星區(qū)的大規(guī)模經濟產出——這是Manachea Vysidae那極其巨大的勞動力儲備和財富允許其儲存的戰(zhàn)爭物資。而且進攻人數非常稀少，聯邦也并非是完全沒有來自阿斯塔特軍團的協助：自從大遠征解放該地區(qū)后，帝國之拳軍團就在他們位于Manachea Lux世界的堡壘太空站中留下了一支規(guī)模有限的駐軍，而且星際戰(zhàn)士們也遵守了自己的誓言，他們很快就拆分開了自己的部隊，向聯邦各處派遣了作為顧問的軍團戰(zhàn)士，用自己在反攻城作戰(zhàn)方面的專業(yè)技能幫助各個世界改進防御計劃和防御結構，但是那些從伊斯特萬星系顛沛流離到Manachea星系的破碎殘軍們即沒有留下來，也沒有屈從于“區(qū)區(qū)”凡人們的權威，他們滿足于進行重組和繼續(xù)前進，而非被束縛在保護與他們旁不相干的其他世界的任務上。

The question then immediately becomes why did this vast and mobile force not come to the aid of the Cyclops Cluster when it was attacked? The answer is a simple one; it was not allowed to. The Warmaster had not allowed it. Long even before the outbreak of the war of the Heresy, along with many centres of Imperial military power not under the direct control of Horus or his agents enough to ensure loyalty, the subtle hand of?the Traitor had done much to temporarily neutralise potential resistance when the hour of civil war came. So it was that at the time of the Isstvan III Atrocity, numerous elements of the Port Maw Excertus had been deployed to the very edges of their usual far-flung operational range; occupied on deep patrols, sent chasing half-unsubstantiated reports of privateer or xenos marauder activity, or even been temporarily reassigned to reinforce distant border conflicts and ongoing war zones, whether or not such reinforcements were truly warranted. Such actions the authority of the Warmaster allowed without gainsay or suspicion.

那么問題來了：為何這支龐大且具有機動性的部隊并未在獨眼巨人群星遭到進攻時前去支援？原因很簡單：他們未被允許，戰(zhàn)帥不允許這種情況發(fā)生。早在大叛亂爆發(fā)很久之前，許多帝國軍事力量中心就未受到荷魯斯及其代理人的直接控制，這些區(qū)域足以保持對帝皇的忠誠，所以叛徒們動用陰險狡詐的手段暫時抵消了這些地區(qū)在內戰(zhàn)到來時的潛在抵抗力量。所以當伊斯特萬三號上的暴行發(fā)生時，許多支巨口港帝國民兵分隊都已經被部署到了他們通常行動范圍區(qū)域的邊界；他們忙于進行遠程巡邏，發(fā)送追蹤私掠者和異形掠奪者的未經完全證實的報告，甚至是被重新指派去增援遙遠邊境地帶的沖突或正處于激戰(zhàn)中的戰(zhàn)區(qū)，無論這種增援是否真的有必要。荷魯斯作為戰(zhàn)帥的權力允許他做出此類行為而不受到反對和質疑。

When the rebellion became apparent, commands were changed and squadrons and cohorts recalled for a general muster at Port Maw, but this was neither a swift task, nor an easy one, and was made all the more difficult by the now-infamous upsurge in warp turbulence and storms which were to spell such disaster over the coming years as they gained in strength. By 006. M31, matters for the fragmented Port Maw Excenus became increasingly worse and where elements of the fleet had spent much of the previous several years all but chasing shadows, now the threats they faced were very real. All across the Coronid Deeps, reports of unknown warships, civil unrest, unexplained calamities, outlaw activity, and xenos privations were on the rise, and then came the messengers of the Warmaster, demanding the Dark Compliance of the Cyclops Cluster, the Grail Abyss and even Lethe on the Commonwealth's border—few doubted that such an emissary would soon arrive at Manachea as well.

當荷魯斯公開發(fā)動叛亂時，指揮命令發(fā)生了變化，各帝國軍兵團和中隊被召回，他們被命令前往巨口港進行全軍集結，但這項任務執(zhí)行起來既不快速，也不容易，而且顯著猛增亞空間亂流和亞空間風暴讓情況變得更為復雜——在接下來的幾年中，隨著這些亞空間現象力量的增強，沉重的災難將會被帶來。到006. M31，巨口港帝國民兵四次分散的狀況愈演愈烈：在之前幾年的大部分時間中，巨口港艦隊的各支分遣艦隊幾乎都在追逐影子般虛無縹緲的目標，而現在他們要面對的是極其真實的威脅。根據來自未知戰(zhàn)艦的報告，整個王冠深淵中的內部動亂、無法解釋的災難、不法行徑和異形掠襲都在激增，之后戰(zhàn)帥派出了信使，要求獨眼巨人群星、圣杯深淵、甚至還有位于聯邦邊境的Lethe世界進行黑暗歸順——少數人懷疑這樣一位特使很快也將會造訪Manachea。

Many deep range patrols sent beyond the Segmentum border simply did not return, while raiders chaotically attacking outposts perilously close to the Coronid Prohibited Zone, which even the authorities at Port Maw were forbidden to enter by ancient decree, were tentatively identified as belonging to the Rogue Trader Militant Rom Jhutlannder, whose ships had in the past served as pathfinders for the Warmaster's own great 63rd Expeditionary Fleet. But the attack when it came appeared from a most unexpected quarter, as a xenos-infested space in the region for many decades, complete with scores of heavy parasite warships in tow, arrived at the edge of the Vlorlath system, sending the Commonwealth's military scrambling to respond.

許多被派往星域邊境之外的遠程巡邏隊（再也）未能返回，掠奪者們混亂地攻擊著靠近王冠禁區(qū)的前哨——根據古老的法律，即便是巨口港當局也被禁止進入這片區(qū)域，帝國初步確定這些行動是武裝行商浪人羅姆·朱特蘭德爾所為，此人的艦船在過去擔任過荷魯斯本人那強大的第63遠征探索艦隊的尋路者。但這次進攻發(fā)生在了令人意想不到的地方——Vlorlath星系的邊緣地帶，此地在數十年的時間中飽受異形侵襲之苦，而當敵軍飛船拖著數十艘被寄生控制的重型戰(zhàn)艦抵達此處時，聯邦軍隊也只得倉促應戰(zhàn)。

The Enemy Unlooked For

未期之敵

The invading space hulk, a vast conglomeration of shattered planetary rock and ancient ship derelicts, designated Red Polyphemus in accordance with the Coda Navis, was thought drawn perhaps to the system's potent Astropathic relay station orbiting the system's seventh planet, Vlorlath Srader. Its appearance after a brief but violent storm in the Warp mere ill-fortune, but this too seems doubtful in hindsight.

這艘入侵的太空廢船是由破碎的行星巖石和被廢棄的古代飛船組成的巨大集合體，根據導航檔案，該廢船名為“赤紅獨目巨人號”，它被認為是由位于星系中第七顆行星——Vlorlath Srader軌道上功率強大的星語中繼站吸引而來。它（似乎是）在一場短暫且猛烈的亞空間風暴后誤打誤撞地來到此地，但從事后來看，此事值得懷疑。

While the Orks as a galactic-scale threat within the expansive celestial territory of the Imperium had been subdued by the Great Crusade, on the outer frontier, they still remained a potent if infrequent menace, and the degenerate, half devolved breed that infested the Red Polyphemus represented the largest concentration of the brutal xenos encountered in the region for nearly thirty years. Such a dire menace required the immediate mustering and dispatch of an entire battle group from Port Maw to combat, diverting a muster of warships and cohorts intended to deal with the worsening situation in the Cyclops Cluster. By the time the Imperial fleet answered the attacks, the Vlorlath Srader Relay was already overrun, and tens of thousands of mutated Orks and gyre-worms had made planet fall on Vlorlath Srader, while the space hulk itself ploughed madly onwards, forcing the fleet into a dogged and bloody pursuit. In normal circumstances, the aid of a sizable Legiones Astartes force would have been ideally called upon to strike a death blow to the hulk, but in this darkening time, no such help was available. This left the Port Maw battlegroup the thankless and dangerous task of attempting to slowly pulverise the gargantuan Red Polyphemus with prolonged, close range bombardment, rather than board it and destroy it from within—all the time under attack by the barbaric xenos which infested it like vermin. Without the elite Solar Auxilia cohorts of the Port Maw Excertus Command, dealing with the catastrophe at Vlorlath Srader would simply have not been possible, both in terms of the counter-invasion of the system's colony worlds, and the defence of the taskforce attacking the Ork hulk, which faced continual suicide attacks and boarding assaults by the savage xenos and their crude but murderous void engines.

大遠征在群星間為帝國征服了廣闊領土，而歐克獸人是處于其中的一種銀河規(guī)模的威脅，但在帝國的外圍邊境地帶，歐克獸人仍是一種強悍但卻并不常見的威脅，這群寄居在赤紅獨目巨人號廢船上的墮落半開化歐克獸群，代表了該地區(qū)在近三十年來遇到的此類野蠻異形的最大規(guī)模集群。此類嚴重威脅要求巨口港馬上集結并派遣一整個戰(zhàn)斗群來應戰(zhàn)，于是巨口港調動了一批本打算用于應對獨眼巨人群星不斷惡化局勢的戰(zhàn)艦和部隊。當帝國艦隊前去應戰(zhàn)時，Vlorlath Srader軌道上的中繼站已經獸潮泛濫，數以萬計的變種獸人和回轉蟲群登陸了Vlorlath Srader，同時太空廢船本身也在瘋狂地向前猛沖，這迫使艦隊進行了頑強而血腥的追擊。在正常情況中，帝國軍會恰當地呼叫一支規(guī)模龐大阿斯塔特軍團部隊來進行支援，對廢船發(fā)出致命一擊，但在這個局勢不斷惡化的時期，帝國軍無法得到這樣的幫助。這使得巨口港戰(zhàn)斗群要執(zhí)行一項費力且危險的任務：他們要試圖用長時間的近距離轟炸來慢慢摧毀巨大的赤紅獨目巨人號，而非對其進行跳幫并從內部將其摧毀——跳幫部隊將會一直受到那些像害蟲一樣出沒于此的野蠻異形的攻擊。如果沒有來自巨口港帝國輔助軍指揮部的精銳太陽軍兵團，解決Vlorlath Srader世界上的災難將會是不可能的任務，無論是恒星系中殖民地世界上的反入侵作戰(zhàn)，還是保衛(wèi)前去進攻獸人廢船的特遣隊，參戰(zhàn)部隊都要面對這些兇暴的異形與它們簡陋卻致命的虛空引擎接連不斷的自殺式進攻和跳幫突襲。

As the campaign against the xenos dragged on into the closing days of 007.M31, the hulk finally began to fragment under the bombardment, but the victory's cost had entailed a butcher's bill in lives and ships lost increasing with every report, while word reached Port Maw and Manachea of the fate that had befallen first Lascal and then Dominica Minor offering another terrible blow to the Commonwealth's morale. The fears of the Commonwealth's defenders now had a name and a shape at last. Calls for military aid were passed to still-loyal territories to the east in the Coronid Reach一the only part of the Imperium with which contact could still be readily made and answers of grudging accord were given, worlds such as Agathon and Numinal aware that if the Commonwealth fell, they stood little chance in turn. Orders for general mobilisation were issued, the final stages of emergency plans enacted, defences on the Commonwealth's eastern border were heavily reinforced and known stable termini on warp routes to the Cyclops Cluster were aggressively laid with void mines. Given the ongoing battle in the Vlorlath system occupying a major part of the fleet's strength, the order was given that taskforces and patrols were to be recalled where possible from all other posts and ordered to rendezvous at Port Maw with the expectation of having to meet head-on what would once have been an unthinkable threat; the direct and massed attack of the Death Guard from the silence of the Cyclops Cluster.

隨著對抗異形的戰(zhàn)爭持續(xù)到了007.M31，太空廢船在人類艦隊的轟炸下終于開始分崩離析，但勝利的代價也是慘重的——每份報告中艦船和兵力的損失都在增加，而當得知先后降臨在Lascal和Dominica Minor兩個世界上的命運后，聯邦的士氣遭到了另一次沉重打擊。聯邦守軍們現在感受到了真切的恐懼。請求軍事援助的信息被發(fā)往了王冠深淵東部那些仍舊保持著忠誠的區(qū)域——該地區(qū)是僅有的還能與聯邦進行隨時接觸的帝國領土，而且這些地區(qū)也勉強同意出兵，諸如Agathon和Numinal等世界意識到：如果聯邦淪陷，那反過來他們也幾乎沒有幸免于難的機會。聯邦下達了總動員令，啟動了應急計劃的最后步驟：聯邦東部邊境的防御被極大地強化，通往獨眼巨人群星的亞空間路線上已知的穩(wěn)定終端站都被進攻性地布置了虛空水雷?？紤]到Vlorlath星系里進行中的戰(zhàn)爭占用了艦隊軍力的主要部分，聯邦下令：在可能的情況下，從其他所有哨站召回特遣部隊和巡邏隊，這些部隊被命令在巨口港港集合，因為聯邦認為他們將會與曾經不可想象的威脅正面交鋒：他們認為自己會遭遇死亡守衛(wèi)軍團從獨眼巨人群星的寂靜區(qū)域發(fā)動的大規(guī)模直接進攻。

It was, unfortunately, all just as the Warmaster had planned.

很不幸，這一切恰恰是戰(zhàn)帥計劃好的。