The?Chapters of? the Adeptus Astartes, the Spate Marines, the finest and most deadly warriors in?the service of humanity. They are the Angels of Death, superhuman warriors who are the Imperium most able defenders and it's foremost weapons . Within?their ranks, however，?are a great many? divisions?and variants of character and form, from the Ultramarines，held up as paragons of all that the should be，?to the zealous fervour of the Black Templars and the avenging fury of the Blood Angels. There? are others, however，within the ranks of the thousand or so active loyal Chapters of the Space Marines whose tales，no less bloody or glorious, are of a darker hue. One such Chapter is the Minotaurs.

阿斯塔特修會，或者說星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)是為人類服役的戰(zhàn)士當(dāng)中最為優(yōu)秀和致命的。他們是死亡天使，這些超人戰(zhàn)士是帝國最有才能的防衛(wèi)者和最重要的武器。但他們也有著眾多的差異，特點和形式各不相同，從被奉阿斯塔特應(yīng)當(dāng)成為的典范的極限戰(zhàn)士，到滿懷狂熱的黑色圣堂與燃燒著復(fù)仇怒火的圣血天使。但在這一千個活躍的忠誠星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)中，也有些其他（種類）的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，他們的故事或血腥或榮耀，都帶著一種更為黑暗的色調(diào)。米諾陶就是這些戰(zhàn)團(tuán)之一。

The Minotaurs Enigma

米諾陶之秘

A Space?Marine Chapter of brutal repute within the Imperium,the Minotaurs have long been the brunt of suspicion and?acrimony by other Space Manne Chapter. Furthermore they are thought by some within the Ordo Hereticus to possess unknown ties to the High Lords of Terra that they find disquieting to say the least. Whlie much of the Minotaurs'?record going back over the last thousand years can be ascertained in outline by sifting through the myriad war reports and battle archives from across the imperium, their?history before this point is?not simply lost, but has been deliberately obscured and sealed under binding edicts even an Inqutsitor cannot readily undo Of circumvent .That there existed a Space Marine Chapter of the name?"Minotaurs"，created as part of the 21st?Founding is not widely contested, but wether or not they are the same Chapter as that ?bearing the name which took part in the suppression of ?the Macharian Heresy in the opening decades of the 41st Millennium?(and the same Chapter that would later go?on to ?play a crucial and bloody role in the Badab War)—that is not so certain.

在人類帝國中，米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)有著野蠻的惡名，他們在其他星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)懷疑和譏諷的對象中高居前列。另外，討逆修會中有某些成員認(rèn)為米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)和泰拉高領(lǐng)主之間有著某種未知聯(lián)系，而且他們發(fā)現(xiàn)這種聯(lián)系至少說得上是令人焦慮不安的。米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的大部分記錄可以追溯到過去的一千年，這些記錄可以通過瀏覽他們遍布帝國的無數(shù)戰(zhàn)爭報告和戰(zhàn)斗檔案來弄清輪廓概述。但他們在這個時間點之前的歷史不是簡單得遺失了，而是在某項哪怕連一位審判官也不能撤銷規(guī)避的約束性法令（的命令）下被刻意地隱匿和封印了。有一件事在很大程度上是毋庸置疑的：擁有“米諾陶”這個名稱的星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)是存在的，他們被創(chuàng)建于第二十一次建軍，但在第41千年最開始的幾十年中那個頂著“米諾陶”的名稱參與了鎮(zhèn)壓馬卡里昂叛亂的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)（同樣的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)之后將會在巴達(dá)布戰(zhàn)爭中充當(dāng)關(guān)鍵且血腥的角色）和他們是否是相同的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，人們不太確定。

Cursed Blood

被詛咒的血脈

From?the time of their creation. the Minotaurs of the 21st Founding rapidly?gained a reputation as a?force whose ferocity and fury on the battlefield?were all but unmatched, their Space Marines eschewing any form of?combat that did not allow them to rapidly get to grips with their? enemies. This highly autonomous, almost berserker, force was known for its ability to respond rapidly to the pleas and distress calls of besieged or invaded Imperial worlds, but was equally well known for refusing to form part of a wider strategic plan. Their presence was often announced in a war zone by the commencement of an all-out assault upon their chosen target without preamble or even much by way of reconnaissance, the Minotaurs hurling themselves at the enemy without heed of loss or cost. Their fury spent, they would then withdraw as Suddenly as they had arrived, whereas in?the same tactical situation?a more conventional Chapter might be expected to consolidate?its gains or pull back in preparation for a counterattack. Although the Minotaurs'?assaults more often than not left a smashed and disoriented enemy in their wake. Imperial commanders and other Space Manne Chapters found the Minotaurs too unpredictable and unreliable a force?to count on, preferring allies of more stable temperament. As time progressed, their tendency to shun the command of?others and their?erratic gene-seed tithe to?the Magos Invigila，?combined with the diverse curses that seemed to afflict?other Chapters of their Founding, raised much darker suspcions about the nature of the Minotaurs and the secrets they might?be hiding.

自創(chuàng)建伊始，誕生自第二十一次建軍的米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)便很快獲得了一種名聲：一支在戰(zhàn)場上擁有幾乎是無與倫比的狂暴與怒火的部隊，米諾陶星際戰(zhàn)士們規(guī)避任何不允許他們快速與敵人展開纏斗的戰(zhàn)斗形式。這支近乎狂戰(zhàn)士般的高度自主的部隊因其快速響應(yīng)遭到圍困或入侵的帝國世界的懇求和遇難呼救的能力而著稱，但也同樣因拒絕組成更廣泛的戰(zhàn)略計劃的一部分（的自行其是）而出名。他們在戰(zhàn)區(qū)中通常會這樣宣告自己的出場：米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)以對于他們選定的目標(biāo)進(jìn)行全軍突擊作為開場，這種突擊沒有預(yù)示、甚至都沒有太多的偵查方式，他們會毫不在意損失地向敵人猛沖。發(fā)泄完怒火之后，他們就會像抵達(dá)時那樣突然撤退，然而在同樣的戰(zhàn)術(shù)情況中，而更為常規(guī)的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)可能會希望鞏固戰(zhàn)果或者撤退以防備反擊，不過米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的突擊通常只會在身后留下一群被碾碎且迷失方向的敵人。帝國指揮官們和其他星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)發(fā)現(xiàn)米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)是一股過于不可預(yù)測且不可靠以至于不能指望的力量，他們還是偏好脾性更為沉穩(wěn)的盟友。

Such fragmentary records that now remain?show the Chapter's gene-seed branded as “Chimeric".?This, as blasphemous as it may now?seem, may have indicated that its origins were either from a prohibited source, mixed?or adulterated , or somehow tampered with genetically?during its creation. Secret experimentation of this kind is?known to have been carried out on a number of the scions?of?the 21st?Founding, and such annotations show that the Minotaurs were likely among those tampered with in some?way. The folly of such hubris by the Magos Biologis of the ?time was to prove the undoing ofmany of the Chapters birthed by the 21st?Founding as they succumbed either to spiralling psychological flaws, or worse，monstrous genetic deviation, leading to their disbandment or destructor in the following millennia. It is likely that the Minotaurs' barely?controled fury and their desire to shun those they should have called comrade was a result of some particular?curse?laid on them in?their?blood, but?whether their afflication?mastered them or they mastered it remains unknown. Regardless, from the mid?M38 onwards, the Minotaurs all?but?slipped from the Imperium's?records, their deeds and battle honours suppressed or expunged by a series of edicts and data-purges.

現(xiàn)存的零碎記錄顯示：該戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的基因種子被標(biāo)注為“嵌合體”。這些記錄可能暗示：米諾陶基因種子的起源可能就和（資料中）看起來的一樣褻瀆，它們要么是來自某個禁忌的來源，遭到了混合或摻雜；要么就是在創(chuàng)建過程中被以某種方式篡改了基因。生化賢者們當(dāng)時的這種傲慢愚行被證明是很多被創(chuàng)建于第21次建軍的星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的毀滅原因：他們要么屈從于不斷加劇的心理缺陷，要么情況更糟，出現(xiàn)了巨大的基因偏差。這導(dǎo)致他們在后續(xù)的一千年中遭到解散或是毀滅。可能米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)那幾乎不受控制的怒火和避開那些本應(yīng)被稱為戰(zhàn)友兄弟的人的欲望就是由血脈中某些具體的詛咒所導(dǎo)致的。但是他們的附屬（詛咒）掌控了他們，還是他們掌控了自己的附屬（詛咒），這個問題仍然是未知的。無論如何，從M38中葉之前，米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)就幾乎被從帝國的記錄中刪除了，他們的事跡和戰(zhàn)斗榮譽被一系列的法令和數(shù)據(jù)清除所壓制或廢除。

The Hammer of Terra

泰拉之錘

When the Minotaurs reappeared again millennia later, during the suppression of the Machanan Heresy, they were?a Chapter both familiar by their reputation and profoundly?changed. Still highly autonomous, the Minotaurs went they wiled but seemed far more content to operate within?the structure and command of the?imperial war machine?than??the Chapters distant history suggested. Both during the Macharian Heresy and on several other occasions since，?they have responded quickly and without question to a call?to arms from the High Lords, and this has been the case even?when that call has been to castigate, apprehend?or destroy formerly loyal Space Marines who have been declared?renegade or that have had suspected transgressions lodged against them.

當(dāng)米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)在一千年之后的鎮(zhèn)壓瑪卡里昂叛亂時期再次出現(xiàn)時，他們因其名聲而被（人們），但他們也發(fā)生了深刻的變化。他們依舊高度自主，根據(jù)自己的意愿行動，但相比于他們在過往遙遠(yuǎn)歷史中的表現(xiàn)，他們（現(xiàn)在）似乎更為愿意在帝國戰(zhàn)爭機器的結(jié)構(gòu)和指揮中運作。在瑪卡里昂叛亂和其他許多情況中，他們迅速且毫無質(zhì)疑地回應(yīng)了來自高領(lǐng)主們的參戰(zhàn)呼叫，哪怕高領(lǐng)主們是呼叫他們?nèi)徒?、逮捕或摧毀那些被宣判為變?jié)者、或被懷疑對于高領(lǐng)主們懷有違逆之心的前忠誠派星際戰(zhàn)士，情況也是如此。

Given this seeming preditection for testing themselves against their fellow Space Marines, it was perhaps then unsurprising that the Minotaurs would?appear during the Badab?War?responsing?to Legate Inquisitor Frain's request for aid for the Loyalist cause. The Astral Claws and other Secessionist?Chapters were certainly worthy foes by any estimation，and the Minotaurs' victories during the conflict, most notably their?defeat of the Lamenters?at Optera，were extremely important to the Badab?War's outcome. The Minotaurs gained several important victories during this time and the action for which their fame would spread far beyond the conflict, despite a deliberate suppression of the wars progress by the Inquisition, would be their wholesale defeat of the Lamenters Chapter in a close?quarters space battle in the Optera system in the closing days of 908 M41 .This latter triumph did much to laud the name of this grim and isolationist Chapter of the Space Marines to the Imperium at large, but has done little to salve the Chapters unquiet reputation with those with the wit to see beyond the veneration of the holy Adeptus Astartes espoused from the pulpits of the Ministorum across the Segmentum Solar.

考慮到米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)似乎有對抗他們的星際戰(zhàn)士兄弟來測試自己的偏好，他們回應(yīng)使節(jié)審判官弗萊恩支援忠誠派的要求，出現(xiàn)在巴達(dá)布戰(zhàn)爭中的行為也就不足為奇。以各種估計來看，星爪戰(zhàn)團(tuán)和其他分離主義者戰(zhàn)團(tuán)確實是相稱的敵手。米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)在沖突中取得了諸多勝利，其中最為矚目的是他們在Optera擊敗了慟哭者戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，這對于巴達(dá)布戰(zhàn)爭的結(jié)局極其重要。米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)在這一時期取得了很多重要的勝利，而且在908 M41的最后幾天中 ，他們于Optera星系中用一場近距離太空戰(zhàn)徹底擊敗了慟哭者戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，不考慮審判庭（事后）對于戰(zhàn)爭過程進(jìn)行了刻意（信息）壓制，這將會是一場讓他們的名聲遠(yuǎn)播到這次沖突之外的行動。之后的勝利在很大程度上向帝國贊揚了這個極端且孤立的星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，但并未怎么拯救他們那不佳的名聲——那些有著看穿對于神圣阿斯塔特修會的崇敬的智慧的人們在遍布太陽星域的國教論道壇中得到了擁護(hù)。

Chapter Organisation and Tactics

戰(zhàn)團(tuán)組織和戰(zhàn)術(shù)

In terms of broad organisation, the Minotaurs conform to both the structural and squad level patterns of the Codex Astartes, but at a tactical level differ significantly in their general approach to warfare. The Chapter prefers to operate as a whole, or at least with as few divisions of its forces as possible in any given theatre of war，concentrating and thereby maximising its destructive power. This is a strategy that has allowed the Minotaurs to excel at siegecraft and in?combat against monstrous opponents, which they can overwhelm by sheer weight of numbers if needs be。

在廣義組織的方面，米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)在結(jié)構(gòu)和小隊層次（單位）模式上都符合阿斯塔特圣典，但在戰(zhàn)術(shù)層次上，他們的一般戰(zhàn)斗方式與圣典有很大不同。米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)偏好于作為一個整體行動，或者在任何給定的戰(zhàn)區(qū)中，至少要盡可能少地拆分部隊，以集中和由此來最大化他們的毀滅性力量。這種戰(zhàn)略使得米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)在攻城戰(zhàn)和對付巨大恐怖的對手方面表現(xiàn)出色，倘若需要的話，他們能通過純粹的數(shù)量壓倒敵人。

Unlike most Space Manne Chapters,some of the Minotaurs'?key tactics are partly dependant on the use of superior attrition within a confined area of engagement, and the Chapter's commanders are perhaps less mindful of the fate of its individual battle-brothers than some, just so Iong?as victory is achieved. As well as a willingness to sacnfice their own flesh and blood to ensure the achievement of?their battle aims, the Minotaurs are aided in their chosen pattern of warfare by two significant factors. The first is their excellent supplies of heavy arms and war machinery and the second, and perhaps more important, is the Chapter's?markedly rapid influx of new battle-brothers to replace ongoing losses. The exact source of their war materiel has remained unconfirmed, but they have been observed to operate using large replenishable stockpiles of tanks and heavy armour, allowing the Chapter's?battle companies to ?make extensive use of Vindicators and Predators as tactical support vehicles. The Minotaurs battle-brothers in action evidence widespread access to extensive supplies of the advanced MKVIII power armour and void-modified Mklll suits of unknown provenance, as well as a wide diversity of arms and weaponry, including power blades of the finest quality and rare advanced Ryza pattern plasma weapons. Further indication of the superior range of their armoury can be gleaned from the observation that they commonly field the bulk of their 1st Company Veterans as Terminators in combat, again with widespread access to?rarer patterns of wargear such as the Tartaros and Arkonak Tatical Dreadnought Armour patterns, and wargear seldom found outside the ?hands of the honoured Chapters of the 1st?Founding, such as extensive squadrons of Storm Eagle gunships and ancient Spartan assault tanks.

不同于大多數(shù)星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，米諾陶的某些關(guān)鍵戰(zhàn)術(shù)在一定程度上取決于在有限的接觸區(qū)域內(nèi)對于超額減員（作戰(zhàn)方式）的使用，相比于某些星際戰(zhàn)士戰(zhàn)團(tuán)，米諾陶指揮官們可能更不在意個體戰(zhàn)斗兄弟的命運，主要能夠取得勝利的話。米諾陶戰(zhàn)團(tuán)愿意犧牲自己的血肉來確保戰(zhàn)斗目標(biāo)的達(dá)成，他們選擇這種戰(zhàn)斗方式是因為有兩個重要因素的協(xié)助。第一個是他們極佳的重型裝甲載具和戰(zhàn)爭機器供應(yīng)，第二個，可能也是更為重要的，是戰(zhàn)團(tuán)標(biāo)志性的用于彌補持續(xù)性損失的新任星際戰(zhàn)士快速涌入。米諾陶戰(zhàn)爭軍需的確切來源仍然未知，但他們被觀察到使用大量可補給的坦克和重型裝甲載具，這允許戰(zhàn)團(tuán)中的戰(zhàn)斗連把維護(hù)者坦克和捕食者坦克作為戰(zhàn)術(shù)支援載具大量使用。行動中的米諾陶戰(zhàn)斗兄弟被證明能夠廣泛獲得大量先進(jìn)的MKVIII動力甲和起源未知的虛空（作戰(zhàn)）改進(jìn)型Mklll動力甲補給，以及廣泛多樣的動力甲和武器，包括質(zhì)量最佳的動力劍和罕見先進(jìn)的瑞扎型電漿武器。他們的武器裝備優(yōu)越，進(jìn)一步的暗示包括戰(zhàn)團(tuán)第一連老兵們有大半在戰(zhàn)斗中身著終結(jié)者動力甲，而且能他們能廣泛獲得諸如冥府和阿考納克型戰(zhàn)術(shù)無畏動力甲等更為稀有的裝備型號，這些裝備——比如數(shù)個中隊的風(fēng)暴鷹炮艇和古老的斯巴達(dá)坦克只曾出現(xiàn)在過初次建軍中那些榮耀的戰(zhàn)團(tuán)手中。