The Conquest of the Void

The Great Crusade was the largest and most ambitious military endeavour ever undertaken by Mankind. It was a campaign fought on all fronts; from the ancient lost colonies of?human past to nightmarish alien worlds without number, from doomed expeditions to the galaxy's perilous core to missions cast out to the entropic darkness of the intergalactic horizon. As mighty and valiant as the hosts of the Emperor were, this epic undertaking would have been entirely impossible without the countless thousands of?Warp-capable vessels that transported hundreds of thousands of the Legiones Astartes and many millions of Imperial Army soldiers from one star's light to the next.

大遠(yuǎn)征是人類進(jìn)行過(guò)的規(guī)模最大也最具雄心的軍事行動(dòng)。這是一場(chǎng)在所有戰(zhàn)線上展開(kāi)的戰(zhàn)役：從人類往昔古老的失落殖民地，到毫無(wú)人煙的噩夢(mèng)般外星世界；從對(duì)于銀心地帶注定要失敗的危險(xiǎn)探索行動(dòng)，到在銀河系間的混亂黑暗地區(qū)執(zhí)行的任務(wù)。盡管帝皇的軍隊(duì)是如此強(qiáng)大和英勇，但如果沒(méi)有成千上萬(wàn)的能夠進(jìn)行亞空間旅行的艦船，這一史詩(shī)般的任務(wù)是完全不可能完成的：帝國(guó)需要用星艦把數(shù)十萬(wàn)阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士和數(shù)百萬(wàn)帝國(guó)軍士兵運(yùn)往一個(gè)又一個(gè)恒星系。

The Great Crusade saw a staggering array of vessels constructed, reclaimed or pressed into service. Some were used for a matter of?months before being declared obsolete or wearing out and degrading to destruction, quite apart from losses incurred in battle, while others gained a permanent place in the canon of?war, with successful designs endlessly copied and modified as the decades progressed. The first vessels to enter the service of the nascent Imperium were constructed in the orbital foundries of Terra, and later Mars and Saturn, under the scrutiny of the Emperor and the Forge-wrights of the Mechanicum, and indeed it was only that in alliance with Mars that the trans-solar expansion was possible in any meaningful way. This was further aided when at last the Satumyne Dominion, with its accomplished ship-masters, joined the Imperium after their alien overlords were overthrown, and as the Imperium expanded, many more great shipyards were added: Voss, Grulgarod, Lorin and Cypra Mundi, all grew to near rival Mars itself in ship production.

大遠(yuǎn)征見(jiàn)證了數(shù)量驚人的艦船被建造、回收和投入使用。某些艦船在被使用數(shù)個(gè)月后，帝國(guó)便宣布它們已被淘汰或出現(xiàn)磨損，將它們退役后拆解摧毀，完全未經(jīng)受過(guò)戰(zhàn)損；而其他艦船則在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)準(zhǔn)則中獲得了永久的地位，它們成功的設(shè)計(jì)也隨著數(shù)十年的發(fā)展被不斷復(fù)制和修改。新生的人類帝國(guó)投入使用的第一批艦船是在泰拉的軌道鑄造廠中建造而成的，之后火星和土星也在帝皇和機(jī)械神教鑄造技工的嚴(yán)格監(jiān)督下制造星艦。事實(shí)上，只有泰拉與火星結(jié)盟后，跨太陽(yáng)系擴(kuò)張才能以各種有意義的方式變得可能。在統(tǒng)治當(dāng)?shù)氐漠愋侨税灾鱾儽煌品螅列亲灾晤I(lǐng)和此地熟練的艦船主管們最終也加入進(jìn)了帝國(guó)，這進(jìn)一步協(xié)助了大遠(yuǎn)征的開(kāi)展。隨著帝國(guó)擴(kuò)張，更多偉大的造船廠也出現(xiàn)了：沃斯，Grulgarod, Lorin和Cypra Mundi,這些世界都發(fā)展出了幾乎能與火星相匹敵的造船能力。

Driven by the will of the Emperor, the first Expeditionary fleets pushed outwards into the galaxy. Preceding each great Expeditionary fleet of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of vessels often ranged smaller contingents of independent flotillas led by a class of?martial leader that would become known as the Rogue Traders Militant. Many of these individuals were former rulers of the numerous realms the Emperor had cast down first during the Unification Wars and later as the Great Crusade spread, formerly independent worlds. They were offered a stark choice—bend their knee before the Emperor and swear service to the Great Crusade, or die by his hand. Though many set pride before what they regarded as slavery, others chose service and took up the Emperor's warrant. There was a price, however. The Rogue Traders Militant were expected to scout ahead of the leading edge of the Great Crusade, accompanied by their own armies as well as whatever assets had been ceded them by the Emperor. Operating so far ahead of the Emperor's crusading armies, the Rogue Traders Militant could expect little or no aid should they encounter foes too powerful for them to overcome. After several decades penetrating the inky black of the void, many Rogue Trader Militant fleets appeared as ramshackle vagabonds, many of their ships taken from defeated enemies, sometimes including xenos vessels of entirely novel or esoteric form. They were forbidden to return to Terra, for in his wisdom the Emperor sought not just to rid himself of powerful rivals, but to ensure that even in their deaths they might serve Mankind. Many vanished alone and unheralded; slain, consumed or enslaved by nameless xenos abominations far from the light of Terra.

在帝皇意志的驅(qū)使下，第一批遠(yuǎn)征探索艦隊(duì)奔赴了浩瀚銀河。每支龐大的遠(yuǎn)征探索艦隊(duì)都包含數(shù)百艘艦船，有些時(shí)候甚至是數(shù)千艘；而且通常會(huì)有小型的獨(dú)立艦隊(duì)排列在前方為它們先導(dǎo)開(kāi)路，而率領(lǐng)這些獨(dú)立艦隊(duì)的軍事領(lǐng)袖們被后世稱為行商浪人。他們中的許多人都是帝皇在統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中推翻的眾多王國(guó)的前統(tǒng)治者，之后隨著大遠(yuǎn)征的推進(jìn)，許多獨(dú)立世界的前統(tǒng)治者也成為了行商浪人。他們要進(jìn)行一個(gè)殘酷的選擇：在帝皇面前屈膝下跪，發(fā)誓為大遠(yuǎn)征服務(wù)，或者被帝皇處死。盡管有很多人傲慢地拒絕了這種在他們看來(lái)是奴役的“恩賜”，其他人則接受了帝皇的授權(quán)書(shū)，選擇為帝國(guó)效勞。但他們也要付出代價(jià)。行商浪人被要求在大遠(yuǎn)征的前沿進(jìn)行偵查，陪同他們的是他們自己的私兵和帝皇轉(zhuǎn)讓給他們的任何資產(chǎn)。行商浪人們是在距離帝皇的遠(yuǎn)征軍隊(duì)極其遙遠(yuǎn)的區(qū)域行動(dòng)，如果遭遇了強(qiáng)大到無(wú)法戰(zhàn)勝的敵人，他們幾乎不能指望得到任何援助。在漆黑的虛空中穿行了數(shù)十年之后，許多行商浪人艦隊(duì)看起來(lái)就像破爛不堪的流浪船隊(duì)，許多艦船都是奪取自被擊敗的敵人，有時(shí)還包括型號(hào)完全與眾不同或怪異的異形艦船。他們被禁止返回泰拉，因?yàn)橛⒚鞯牡刍什粌H要剪除自己強(qiáng)大的對(duì)手，還要確保他們哪怕到死也仍能為人類服務(wù)。許多行商浪人都無(wú)聲無(wú)息地孤獨(dú)消失了：他們?cè)谶h(yuǎn)離泰拉（星炬）光芒的區(qū)域被無(wú)名的異形所殺戮、吞噬或奴役。

As the Imperium expanded, so too did its fleets. Countless long-lost wonders of?technology were recovered, some wrested from the dead hands of unwilling custodians, and others surrendered willingly as fitting tribute to the Master of Mankind. Some vessels were unique, constructed by methods even the most accomplished Adepts of Mars could not hope to replicate: the Terminus Est, the Nicor, the Mirabilis and Phalanx foremost among them. Other patterns and classes proved possible to reproduce and replicate, and before long the various arms of the Imperium's military acquired their own distinctive panoply of war ships. Those of the Legiones Astartes were often blunt of prow and slab-armoured, built to endure the withering storm of fire that accompanies a planetary invasion, their plasma furnace-hearts powering some of the most destructive weapons known to Mankind. But beyond these practical needs, each fleet favoured the nature of?its Legion, from the sable black marauders of the Raven Guard to the baroque crimson and gold battlecruisers ofthe Blood Angels to the brute functionality and unadorned steel of the Iron Warriors siege-barques.

帝國(guó)艦隊(duì)也在隨著帝國(guó)的疆域一同拓展。帝國(guó)回收了無(wú)數(shù)長(zhǎng)久遺失的科技奇跡，某些是從被殺死的不情愿守衛(wèi)者手中奪取的，其他的則是有自愿歸降者們作為合適的貢品獻(xiàn)給人類之主。某些艦船是獨(dú)一無(wú)二的，哪怕最為熟練的火星技師也無(wú)望復(fù)制它們的建造技術(shù)，終焉號(hào)、水怪號(hào)、神異號(hào)和山陣號(hào)是其中最為著名的。其他型號(hào)和級(jí)別的艦船被證明復(fù)制和再生產(chǎn)，而且不久之后，帝國(guó)軍隊(duì)的各兵種就擁有了自己獨(dú)特的戰(zhàn)艦裝備。阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)的戰(zhàn)艦通常有平寬船頭和厚重的裝甲板，能在星球入侵中承受風(fēng)暴般的火力進(jìn)攻，這些艦船的電漿爐心為人類已知的一些最具破壞性的武器提供動(dòng)力。但除了這些實(shí)際需求之外，每支阿斯塔特艦隊(duì)也都偏好符合軍團(tuán)特性的艦船，從暗鴉守衛(wèi)漆黑的掠奪艦，到圣血天使金紅配色的巴洛克風(fēng)格戰(zhàn)斗巡洋艦，再到鋼鐵勇士粗獷實(shí)用且不加雕飾的鋼鐵色攻城巨艦，莫不如是。

The ships of the Emperor's wider naval armadas were more diverse affairs, built for void supremacy. They ranged from stately battleships, multi-kilometre long engines of doom, their armour concentrated to the fore and their flanks replete with rank upon rank of broadside batteries, to lithe and deadly destroyers and stripped-bare Warp Runners, to watchful piquet frigates and lumbering star-fortresses. Beyond these were innumerable classes of transports, arks, conveyers and supply ships, the forge vessels of the Mechanicum and their own strange space-going engines of war.

帝皇更龐大的海軍艦隊(duì)的艦船則更為多樣化，它們是為奪取虛空霸權(quán)而建造的。它們范圍廣泛，從壯觀的戰(zhàn)列艦——它們是數(shù)千米長(zhǎng)的毀滅引擎，裝甲集中在前方，側(cè)翼布滿了一排又一排的舷側(cè)炮塔，到輕盈修長(zhǎng)但也致命的驅(qū)逐艦和缺乏裝甲的亞空間快船，再到警惕的哨戒護(hù)衛(wèi)艦和笨重的星堡，都包含在內(nèi)。除此之外還有無(wú)數(shù)種類的運(yùn)輸艦、方舟巨艦、貨船和補(bǔ)給船，以及機(jī)械神教的鑄造艦艇和他們自己擁有太空旅行能力的奇怪戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)引擎。

As the terrible extent of?the Warmaster's treachery unfolded, other disturbing characteristics revealed themselves slowly amid the vessels under the Traitors' command. Fell runes appeared upon the flanks of?the Warmaster's vessels and the barrels of their cannon were mutated or re-forged into gaping, fanged mouths. Viewports flickered with the fiery glimmer of the beyond and once true and solid forms became twisted into hideous mockeries of respected and familiar classes.

隨著戰(zhàn)帥的背叛的嚴(yán)重程度顯露出來(lái)，其他令人不安的特征也在叛軍指揮的艦艇中慢慢顯露出來(lái)。戰(zhàn)帥麾下的艦船側(cè)面船體上出現(xiàn)了墮落的符文，它們的艦炮炮口也變異或被重新鑄造成滿是尖牙的張開(kāi)的巨口，舷窗閃爍著自外而來(lái)熾熱的微光，曾經(jīng)真實(shí)而堅(jiān)實(shí)的形體也遭到了扭曲，變成了對(duì)于它們受人尊敬和相似的姐妹們的可怕的嘲弄。

As both sides girded themselves for full scale war after the terrifying events at Isstvan V, so the centres of production each controlled increased output exponentially. Demand was insatiable, and while the Emperor had once overseen the creation of the Imperium's fleets according to His own all-encompassing vision, following His return to Terra such matters were turned over to others. The Council of Terra made ever more strident demands on the Forge Worlds of the Mechanicum as the awful scope of the coming war became clear. To make matters worse, many Forge Worlds declared for the Warmaster, assets and materiels were co-opted or plundered for the armouries of the Traitors. Both sides had pressed into service every class of vessel at their disposal, from mighty and unique relics of the Dark Age of Technology to the newly-produced and often all but untested scions of newly established Forge Worlds. Before long, those warships unsuited to total war would be reduced to void-drifting nebulae of super-heated vapour and broken hulks, the tombs of all aboard, while those that survived would go on to fight in the greatest battles of the Horus Heresy and forge legends both bloody and glorious in their own right.

隨著雙方都在伊斯特萬(wàn)三號(hào)的恐怖事件之后做好了全面戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的準(zhǔn)備，每個(gè)生產(chǎn)中心也都因此控制著成倍增長(zhǎng)的產(chǎn)量。需求是無(wú)法滿足的，雖然皇帝曾經(jīng)根據(jù)自己的全面愿景監(jiān)督帝國(guó)艦隊(duì)的創(chuàng)建，但在他返回泰拉之后，這些事項(xiàng)被交給了其他人。隨著即將到來(lái)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的可怕程度變得清晰起來(lái)，泰拉議會(huì)對(duì)機(jī)械神教的鍛造世界提出了越來(lái)越過(guò)分的要求。但更糟的是，許多鑄造世界宣布效忠于戰(zhàn)帥，物資都被征用或掠奪以充實(shí)叛軍的武庫(kù)。雙方都將各個(gè)等級(jí)的艦船投入使用，從黑暗科技時(shí)代強(qiáng)大且獨(dú)一無(wú)二的遺物，到新建立的鑄造世界所提供的幾乎未經(jīng)過(guò)測(cè)試的新進(jìn)生產(chǎn)出的艦船。過(guò)不了多久，那些不適用于全面戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的戰(zhàn)艦就會(huì)淪為一團(tuán)由過(guò)熱蒸汽和破碎的船體組成的漂浮在虛空中的星云，所有船員也都葬身于此；而那些幸存下來(lái)的戰(zhàn)艦會(huì)繼續(xù)參與荷魯斯叛亂中那些最偉大的戰(zhàn)斗，憑借自己的力量鑄造出血腥而光榮的傳奇。