The Organisation and Structure of the Legio Custodes

The full details of the organisational structure, disposition and regulation of the Legio Custodes are shrouded in secrecy as befits an institution dedicated to ultimate security. Those outside its ranks, even though they operate close to the Terran Court and the highest levels of the Divisio Militaris, cannot hope to know more than a degree of detail which is purely observational, and likely barely scratches the surface of the no doubt byzantine Legio. What can be outwardly observed is contained here within this account, as are the various details and titles with which the Custodian Guard openly interacts with the other organs of the Imperiums power.

禁衛(wèi)軍團是致力于（保衛(wèi)帝國的）終極安全的機構(gòu)，他們的組織結(jié)構(gòu)、戰(zhàn)爭配置和規(guī)章制度的全部細節(jié)至今仍處于保密狀態(tài)中。盡管他們的運作與泰拉議會和軍務(wù)庭級別最高的官員們有著密切聯(lián)系，但任何外人有希望了解到的細節(jié)也就僅僅是他們所觀察到的那些，而他們所觀察到的信息，可能都幾乎沒有觸及到這支體系無疑錯綜復(fù)雜的軍團的表面。下文包含了我們能夠從禁衛(wèi)軍團的外表所觀察到的信息，以及禁軍衛(wèi)士與帝國其他職權(quán)機構(gòu)公開互動時所展現(xiàn)出的各種細節(jié)和頭銜。

The first mystery that outsiders must cope with is that of identity. The Custodian Guard are themselves it would seem effectively ageless and as unchanging as granite, and just as impenetrable to outsiders. They each profess to a given name, often a compound drawn from the lore of Ancient Terras roll of kings and tyrants, gods and legends. Whether or not this represents some humour or deliberate irony on the Emperors part?given the Legio's role is something that it is perhaps unwise to speculate on. Such true names they knew as part of their birth and origin are likely obliterated by the process of their creation, but the myths that have grown up around the Legio Custodes have long held that each Custodian Guard garners over his centuries a long list of additional names and titles grated purely by the Emperor for their deeds, history and character. Such names are held as a secret of their Order and never betrayed to others, though some myths would have it this roll of honour is graven hidden upon their golden armour or even etched microscopically into their very bones.

外人必須面對的第一個謎團是禁軍們的身份。禁軍衛(wèi)士們似乎是永生不老而且像花崗巖一般無所變化的，這是外人們無法理解的。他們每個人都自稱有一個被給定的名字，通常是一個從古代泰拉的國王、僭主、眾神和傳奇人物的傳說故事中提取而出的混合物。考慮到禁衛(wèi)軍團的角色職責(zé)，推測這是否表明了帝皇的某種幽默或刻意諷刺是不明智的。與他們的出身有所關(guān)聯(lián)的真實姓名可能被他們的創(chuàng)造過程（從記憶中）抹消了，但圍繞禁衛(wèi)軍團而產(chǎn)生發(fā)展出的神話長期以來一直認為：在他們數(shù)個世紀(jì)的服役生涯中，每位禁軍衛(wèi)士都會被帝皇賜予一長串額外的名稱和頭銜，以此來表明他們的事跡、歷史和性格。這些名字是禁軍們保守的秘密，從未暴露給其他人過，不過在某些神話中，這些榮譽會被銘刻在他們金色的甲胄上，甚至是微雕在他們的每塊骨頭上。

In terms of structural organisation, it is apparent that the Legio Custodes is unique unto itself in terms of form, offering little in common with the rest of the Imperiums agency of warfare such as the Imperials Auxilia or the Legiones Astartes. This is only fitting as the Legio Custodes, like other elements of the so called 'Talons of the Emperor', can be more accurately described as a paramilitary rather than a strategic force, neither geared nor equipped towards the fighting or winning of wars, but to its duties of protection and where needs be, execution.

在指揮結(jié)構(gòu)方面，禁衛(wèi)軍團似乎在形式上是獨一無二的，他們與諸如帝國輔助軍和阿斯塔特軍團之類的帝國其他戰(zhàn)爭機構(gòu)之間幾乎沒有相同點。這一點僅適用于禁衛(wèi)軍團，就像其他被稱為“帝皇之爪”的部隊一樣，他們可以被更準(zhǔn)確地描述為準(zhǔn)軍事力量而不是戰(zhàn)略力量，他們進行武裝不是為了作戰(zhàn)或贏取戰(zhàn)爭，而是為了執(zhí)行自己保護要員的職責(zé)，并在需要時執(zhí)行處決任務(wù)。

Command Structure & Tactical Disposition?

指揮結(jié)構(gòu)與戰(zhàn)術(shù)安排

The overall command of the Legio Custodes of course lies within the purview of the Emperor directly, but serving as the head of the Order is a single officer; the CaptainGeneral. Since any can remember or record, this role and dire responsibility has been held by a single man, Constantin Valdor, or as he is sometimes known The First of the Ten Thousand. He is a puissant warrior and a being of supernatural stature and gravitas, such that many have likened him to one of the Primarchs of the Space Marine Legions, and though while this is doubtless hyperbole, records of his existence predate any of the Primarchs?creation.

禁衛(wèi)軍團的總指揮權(quán)當(dāng)然是由帝皇本人直接掌握，不過擔(dān)任首席指揮的只有一名軍官：禁軍統(tǒng)帥。在所有人的記憶和記錄中，這一職責(zé)和這份艱巨任務(wù)的都是由一個人承擔(dān)——康斯坦丁 瓦爾多，某些時候他也被稱為萬夫團之首。他是一位強大的戰(zhàn)士，擁有超自然的身材和威嚴(yán)氣質(zhì)，很多人將他比擬為星際戰(zhàn)士軍團的原體，盡管這無疑是夸大其詞，但早在任何原體被創(chuàng)造出來之前，關(guān)于他存在的記錄就已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了。

Below the absolute authority of the CaptainGeneral lies the Custodian Tribunate; a senior cadre of perhaps ten in number, forming the Legio Custodes, council of war and policy. This body has the incomparable privilege of providing their services as counsel to the Emperor Himself should He so desire it, and in the matters of the security of the Imperial Palace's inner sanctums and the person of the Emperor, no higher authority exists.

居于禁軍統(tǒng)帥絕對權(quán)威之下的禁軍保民官們，這個大概包含十名高級軍官的中層核心組成了禁衛(wèi)軍團的戰(zhàn)爭與行政議會。這個團體擁有某些無與倫比的特權(quán)：如果帝皇愿意的話，他們可以為帝皇本人提供顧問服務(wù)。而且在關(guān)于帝國宮內(nèi)庭圣所安保和帝皇本人人身安全的問題上，他們擁有最高的權(quán)力。

In rank below the Tribunes of the Legio Custodes can be found the Custodian Prefectorate and the Shield Captains. The distinction between the two, not apparent entirely to outsiders, is one perhaps of seniority and function, with the title of Prefect accorded as a reward of veterancy and favour in service by the Emperor, while the rank of Shield Captain indicates an active field command over a particular detachment or deployment. Below these ranks, the Custodians seem to be peers as in the manner of a warrior caste or aristocracy, rather than links in the more familiar chain of command found elsewhere in the Imperiums armed forces. Their functional titles adapt to their chosen role and panoply of war in whichever command they have been included, with the following broad distinctions applied in communication with external forces on a tactical level, their titles drawn from various ancient sources.

保民官之下是盾衛(wèi)連長和執(zhí)政官。兩者之間的區(qū)別對于外人來說并不完全明顯，可能只是資歷和職能有所不同。執(zhí)政官是獎賞給那些經(jīng)驗豐富且深受帝皇寵幸的軍官們的頭銜，盾衛(wèi)連長則負責(zé)對特定的分隊或（戰(zhàn)略）部署進行積極的戰(zhàn)場指揮。在他們之下的禁軍們似乎更像是某種戰(zhàn)士氏族或貴族，而非與我們在帝國其他武裝力量中能找到的更為熟悉的指揮鏈有所聯(lián)系。無論出于怎樣的指揮中，他們的職能頭銜適應(yīng)他們所選擇的角色和全套戰(zhàn)爭裝備，當(dāng)他們在戰(zhàn)術(shù)層面上與外部力量進行交流時，會用到下文這些分類廣泛的部隊類別，他們的頭銜都有各種古老的來源。

The Hykanatoi

銳健軍

The main strength of the Custodian Guard comprises this role at any given time. They are the bearers of the spear, the bodyguard of?the Emperor and the executioners of any who would offer threat or opposition to His will. They are the image of the golden- armoured warrior that is summoned in fear and awe when the Legio Custodes is brought to mind. Their numbers include variations of force, wargear and panoply such as the Sentinel Guard and Custodian Guard proper, as well as the elite Hetaeron Guard—the most skilled fighters among a force of warriors whose martial skills are already beyond human.

在任何給定的時間中，禁軍衛(wèi)士的主力部隊都包含銳健軍。他們手持動力戟，是帝皇的保鏢，也是將會威脅和違抗帝皇意志之人的處決者。當(dāng)人們想起禁衛(wèi)軍團時，他們懷著恐懼和敬畏所想起的便是這些身披金色盔甲的戰(zhàn)士。他們的隊伍當(dāng)中包括各種各樣的部隊、武器和裝備，比如哨戒衛(wèi)士與合適的禁軍衛(wèi)士，以及精銳的御林守衛(wèi)——在這些軍事技藝超出凡人的戰(zhàn)士中，他們也是技藝最為精湛的武士。

The Tharanatoi

悍毅軍

Though there are few opponents that the Hykanatoi cannot deal with, they are not a rounded military force in the sense that they are not configured to deal with exigencies such as siegecraft or attrition warfare that fall outside their purview. However, the Legio Custodes still maintains the ability to deploy its forces as heavy shock troops should the need arise, or indeed to counter a foe that directs overwhelming force against it in high-intensity warfare. These counterassault forces are known as the Tharanatoi, and encompass custom-modified suits of Terminator armour optimised for use by the Custodian's superhuman frame, as well as vastly potent portable firepower such as carried by the Sagittarum Guard, whose weapons include those few dark relics known as Adrathic weapons—disintegration beams of phenomenal destructive potential, long gathered to the Emperors household and entrusted to no other.

雖然悍毅軍幾乎沒有解決不了的對手，但在某種意義上，他們并非一支全面的軍事力量，他們的裝備配置應(yīng)付不了諸如攻城戰(zhàn)或消耗戰(zhàn)之類的極端情況，這超出了他們的處理范圍。但禁衛(wèi)軍團仍然保留了在有必要時將自己的部隊作為重型突擊隊進行部署的能力，他們確實能以壓倒性力量在高烈度戰(zhàn)爭中反擊敵人。這些反擊部隊被稱為悍毅軍，他們裝備了為適應(yīng)禁軍的超人身體結(jié)構(gòu)而優(yōu)化過的定制修改版終結(jié)者動力甲，以及非常強悍的便攜式火力，比如射手衛(wèi)隊所使用的武器中就包括被稱為遺跡武器的極其罕見的黑暗遺產(chǎn)——它們能發(fā)射出破壞力驚人的崩解光束。帝皇很早之前就將它們集中收集在自己的宮內(nèi)，不曾托付于他人。

The Kataphraktoi

鐵騎軍

Long before the Emperors retreat and seclusion on Terra after the appointment of the Warmaster Horus to command His forces, the principal role of protection and defence the Custodian Guard engaged in was a mobile one. They went wherever their master did, no matter what blasted alien world or lost cityscape of ancient glory He trod. In this the elements of speed and mobility were paramount to their success, as was reconnaissance and counter-strike in lightning response to threat. Those of the Legio who specialised in such tactics and the means of employing them were called the Kataphraktoi; they flew interceptors and gunships of sublime sophistication and power, and piloted a range of repulsor-lift grav-vehicles; tanks, transports and strike skimmers, jet bikes and interface flyers advanced beyond anything else in the Imperiums arsenal.

在指派戰(zhàn)帥荷魯斯指揮他部隊后，帝皇返回泰拉隱居起來。在這很久之前，禁軍們所執(zhí)行的主要保護和防御任務(wù)是機動性質(zhì)。他們前往自己的主人所至的任何地方，無論帝皇踏足之地是被炸毀的異星世界，還是保留了遠古輝煌風(fēng)貌的失落城市。在這種情況下，速度和機動性對他們的成功至關(guān)重要，偵察和以閃電般的反應(yīng)速度應(yīng)對威脅也是如此。禁衛(wèi)軍團中那些專長于此類戰(zhàn)術(shù)和此類戰(zhàn)術(shù)使用方法的戰(zhàn)士們被稱為鐵騎軍。他們乘著極其先進且強大的截擊機和炮艇，并駕駛著一系列反重力飛行器；而且禁衛(wèi)軍團的坦克、運輸車、突擊懸浮艇、噴射機車和大氣層內(nèi)飛行器比帝國軍械庫中其他任何裝備都更先進。

The Ephoroi

無影軍

The division of the Custodian Guard about which the least can be said for certain, the Ephoroi were those of the Order that were tasked with covert operations, countersurveillance and the vitally important task of simulated attack and infiltration. It was they who tested the Legio Custodes' defences and preparations just as foes would, as well as conducted their own hidden missions to dispose of potential threats within the Imperium, and enact final and sometimes utterly secret justice as the Emperor's will demanded it. There are those who have posited that where the Ephoroi ended and the powers that controlled the Officio Assassinorum began at certain junctures was difficult even for the wisest of the Lords of Terra to discern, and it is certain when they wished that the Assassins of the Temples of Terra were the Legio Custodes' to command.

我們至少可以肯定地說，在禁軍的分支中，無影軍負責(zé)的是隱秘行動、反監(jiān)視行動以及進行模擬進攻和滲透的至關(guān)重要任務(wù)。他們會模仿敵人將會采取的策略，以此來檢驗禁衛(wèi)軍團的防御和備戰(zhàn)狀況，同時還要執(zhí)行他們自己負責(zé)處置帝國內(nèi)部潛在威脅的任務(wù)，他們要按照帝皇的意愿施加隱秘、而且某些時候完全是秘密的正義（審判）。有某些人認為：哪怕是最為聰慧的那些泰拉領(lǐng)主，也難以察覺出無影軍的任務(wù)終結(jié)和（他們）控制刺客庭的權(quán)力會開始哪個特定時刻，但可以肯定的是，那必然是他們希望泰拉刺客神廟受到無影軍指揮之時。

The Moritoi

不死軍

The smallest and most singular division within the Legio Custodes was the Moritoi; the 'honoured dead who walked'. Just as with the Legiones Astartes, it was possible for a Custodian Guard, having suffered injuries so terrible that even they could not recover from them but within whom the vital spark of life remained, to be interred within the cybernetic life support sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. The first of these was made while the Unification Wars were being fought, in a modified Ur-Gholem pattern Dreadnought, the first iteration of its kind intended for use within the Thunder Legions, and as the number of Dreadnought patterns and subtypes within the Imperiums arsenal increased across the Great Crusade's decades of warfare and innovation, so too did the Legio Custodes keep pace with these developments. Though they remained relatively rare, with less than perhaps a hundred Dreadnoughts of the Legio Custodes in service at the time of Magnus?folly and the subsequent attack on Prospero, they represented a phenomenally powerful concentration of force, most having had their chassis upgraded to the Achillas pattern, a variant of the Contemptor manufactured with materials and technologies far beyond even the vaunted war machines of the Legiones Astartes.

不死軍是禁衛(wèi)軍團中最小也最獨特的分支，他們是“行走于凡世的榮耀逝者”。就像阿斯塔特軍團那樣，那些受傷嚴(yán)重到無法自愈卻又一息尚存的禁軍們也可能被葬入無畏機甲的智控生命維持石棺中。第一名無畏老兵出現(xiàn)于統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)爭時期，使用的是修改過的烏爾—格萊姆型無畏機甲，這是由雷霆軍團使用的第一代此類裝備。之后在大遠征時期數(shù)十年的戰(zhàn)爭和創(chuàng)新過程中，帝國軍械庫中無畏機甲的型號和次級類型數(shù)量（不斷）增加，禁衛(wèi)軍團也跟上了這一發(fā)展步伐。盡管他們?nèi)耘f相對稀少——在馬格努斯犯下愚行以及懲戒部隊隨后進攻普羅斯佩羅時，禁衛(wèi)軍團中可能只有不到一百臺無畏機甲，但他們都表現(xiàn)出了非常強大的集中力量，大多數(shù)無畏老兵都將自己的裝備升級為了阿基拉斯型無畏機甲，這是一類變種型號的蔑視者無畏，鑄造它所用的材料和技術(shù)都遠超阿斯塔特軍團那些引以為傲戰(zhàn)爭機械。

Panoply of Arms

武器裝備

The Legio Custodes' panoply of arms and armour, its wargear and even the vehicles and support systems it employed were often unique to the Legio Custodes and them alone. Whether ancient relic or newly made, these items were not only customised exactly to task, but were also produced without any regard to the consumption of resources or rarity of component or lore required; arm and outfit the Legio Custodes optimum, nothing was spared.

禁衛(wèi)軍團的全套武器、盔甲和戰(zhàn)爭裝備，甚至他們所使用的載具和支持系統(tǒng)通常都是禁軍所獨有的，僅由他們使用。無論是古老的遺物還是新研發(fā)出的裝備，這些物品不僅是完全根據(jù)任務(wù)（要求）進行定制，而且在生產(chǎn)時也不考慮資源消耗，或是所需組件或知識的稀有性； 禁衛(wèi)軍團使用的武器和裝備都是最優(yōu)秀的，無一例外。

This supremacy was evident from the auramite-alloy reinforced armour the Custodian Guard wore, each a planet’s ransom in worth, to the plethora of repulsion-lift grav-vehicles under their control, most of which were derived from designs brought back by the great technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land and forbidden for use by any other. Likewise, their singular weapons, be they blade or bolter, were masterworks, produced by entire sequestered sub-cults of the Mechanicum and clades of hereditary artisans beholden to no other and tasked alone in the Legio Custodes'?provision. Even greater than these resources at their disposal was the Legios ability to draw upon any facet of the Imperiums war machine and uncounted hosts it needed to meet its ends, extending its potential power to unguessed at levels.

這種至高無上的地位從禁軍們身穿的用極光金屬合金強化過的盔甲就可見一斑，每套盔甲的造價都相當(dāng)于一顆星球的贖金；他們控制著大量的反重力載具，其中大部分都是根據(jù)偉大的技術(shù)考古學(xué)家阿坎 蘭德帶回的設(shè)計資料進行制造的，而且禁止其他任何人使用。同樣，他們使用的刀劍或爆彈槍等個人武器也是精工之作，生產(chǎn)這些裝備的是完全與外界隔離的機械神教次級教派和世襲工匠家系，他們不依附于其他任何勢力，只負責(zé)為禁衛(wèi)軍團提供裝備。但相比于他們可支配的這些（戰(zhàn)爭）資源，禁衛(wèi)軍團有一項能力更重要的：禁軍們可以抽調(diào)帝國戰(zhàn)爭機器中任何方面的資源和他們需要的無數(shù)部隊來完成自己的目標(biāo)，這將他們的潛在實力拓展到了無法猜測的地步。

The reason for this supremacy above all in arms was a simple one, for not only were the Legio Custodes fitted to match any potential threat from without, but also from within, and a clear demarcation was enforced between the potency of the Legio's arms, and those of any other Imperial forces, not least of all the Space Marines, who they already overmatched in physical might. It is perhaps one of the great questions of lost history: what might have been in the wars of the Horus Heresy had the Legio Custodes not been so heavily waylaid by the disastrous consequences of Magnus' great sin on Terra and more able to take an active hand, had not so many of them been trapped for years in a terrible parallel war all but entirely hidden from the eyes of the cosmos? But that is a darker tale yet, and the weighty duty of a different record than this to tell.

禁軍至高無上的地位首先體現(xiàn)在了武器上，至于原因也很簡單：因為禁衛(wèi)軍團不僅要適合對抗所有來自外部的潛在威脅，而且還有來自內(nèi)部的。禁衛(wèi)軍團的武器和其他所有帝國部隊的武器之間都有著明確的界限，尤其是與星際戰(zhàn)士們的——（盡管）禁軍們在身體力量上已經(jīng)超越了阿斯塔特軍團戰(zhàn)士們。這也許就是關(guān)于那段失落歷史的重大問題之一：倘若在荷魯斯叛亂的戰(zhàn)爭中，禁衛(wèi)軍團并未被馬格努斯的重罪在泰拉上所造成災(zāi)難性后果嚴(yán)重阻撓，能夠更主動地采取行動的話，那他們當(dāng)中的許多人是否就不會在數(shù)年時間里被困在一場完全隱藏于（現(xiàn)實）宇宙視線之外的恐怖平行戰(zhàn)爭中了？但那就是一個更為黑暗的故事了，由另一份不同的帶有著更為沉重職責(zé)的記錄資料去講述。