The world turned black.

黑夜在降臨到這個世界上。

His vision returned moments later. The Space Marine had not been unconscious for long – he could tell that from the debris still falling from the explosion. There was an elusive thought at the back of his brain, a question that refused to surface, but then he took his first breath of air and pain stabbed through his chest. With an effort, he picked himself up from the blood-slicked mud and almost fell as his body doubled over in agony.

片刻后，他的視力恢復(fù)了。這名星際戰(zhàn)士昏迷的時間并不長——他可以從爆炸后仍在墜落的碎片上辨別出這一點(diǎn)。他的大腦深處出現(xiàn)一個難以捉摸的想法，那是一個還沒有浮現(xiàn)到他意識表層的疑問，但當(dāng)他呼吸到第一口空氣時，他的胸膛中感到了一陣劇痛。他費(fèi)了好大的勁才從滿是血水的泥地上爬起來，身體痛苦地蜷曲著，差點(diǎn)摔倒。

Something is wrong. You are of the Adeptus Astartes and should not have felt pain like that, not unless…

’不對勁。你是阿斯塔特修會的一員，不應(yīng)該感受到如此劇烈的疼痛感，除非…’

With a thought, he activated his auto-senses’ medicae augurs. A multitude of red lights flashed in front of his eyes, warning him that the damage to his body was severe. His secondary heart had stopped beating, his Larraman’s organ was failing and massive internal bleeding had been detected. The warning sigils continued to flash urgently for a few seconds, but then the Space Marine blink-clicked the display away. He didn’t need an Apothecary to interpret the extent of the damage. He was losing blood quickly, his genhanced body unable to stem the tide. He was dying, and fast. The knowledge brought with it a calming peace, and then the question that had been gnawing at the back of his mind suddenly swam into clarity.

他用意識激活了動力甲自動感知系統(tǒng)中的醫(yī)療占卜儀。多個紅色光點(diǎn)閃爍在他眼前，警告他自己身體上的創(chuàng)傷有多么嚴(yán)重。他的第二心臟已經(jīng)停止了跳動，拉瑞曼器官也失效了，而且還被檢測到了大量的內(nèi)出血。警告符號又繼續(xù)急迫地閃爍了幾秒鐘，但星際戰(zhàn)士眨了眨眼，關(guān)閉了顯示投影。他并不需要一位藥劑師來向自己解釋受傷程度。他正在快速失血，基因強(qiáng)化過的身體也不能阻止血液噴涌而出。他正在死亡，而且很快就會死去。認(rèn)識到這一事實(shí)令他感到一陣令人平靜的平和，但一直折磨著他心靈深處的問題突然又變得清晰起來。

What is your name?

’汝名為何？’

He looked down at his body, the coating of mud and blood not quite obscuring the red and yellow of his battle-scarred power armour. Howling Griffon, Scion of Guilliman, Angel of Death. He was all these things, but they were titles, not names. The Space Marine surveyed the mist-wreathed battlefield, unsure of where exactly he was. A great battle had certainly been fought here, for he could see several other armoured figures lying dead in the churned mud. They were his battle-brothers. He could name each and every one of them and recall fighting at their side on a hundred worlds.

他低頭看向自己的軀體，鮮血和泥土糊在他戰(zhàn)疤累累的動力甲上，但并未完全覆蓋住其紅黃相間的涂色。咆哮獅鷲，基里曼的子嗣，死亡天使，他是這一切的總和，但這一切都是頭銜，而非姓名。這名星際戰(zhàn)士審視著云霧繚繞的戰(zhàn)場，不能確定自己到底身處何方。這里肯定發(fā)生了一場大戰(zhàn)，因?yàn)樗芸吹狡渌芏嗑叽┲鴦恿椎倪z體躺在被攪得一團(tuán)糟的泥地中——那（曾）是他的戰(zhàn)斗兄弟們。他能喊出其中每一位兄弟的名字，并且回憶起他們在一百個世界上并肩作戰(zhàn)的經(jīng)歷。

So why can’t you remember your name?

'所以你為何不記得你的名字？’

A shape loomed on the edge of his vision, pushing through the pall shrouding the battlefield. The figure resolved into an over-muscled, green-skinned brute, the unmistakable sight of an ork. Several others lumbered up behind the first, and as soon as they caught sight of the Space Marine they bellowed deep-throated war cries and charged.

某個東西的輪廓隱約出現(xiàn)在了星際戰(zhàn)士視野的邊緣處，它正在穿過籠罩在戰(zhàn)場上的濃煙。那東西逐漸顯示成一只肌肉發(fā)達(dá)的綠色皮膚野獸——這毫無疑問是獸人的長相。第一只獸人跑在前面，還有數(shù)只笨拙緩慢地跟在身后；一看到星際戰(zhàn)士，他們從喉嚨深處咆哮出戰(zhàn)吼，向前沖去。

The sight of the orks jogged something in his brain, a memory of his captain issuing orders. ‘Hold the line’, he had said simply. ‘Secure the beachhead until the company reaches your position. The greenskins must not break through.’

眼前的歐克獸人輕輕觸動到了他腦海中的某些東西，那是一段關(guān)于他的連長下達(dá)命令的記憶?！笆刈￡嚲€，”連長簡單地說到，“保住橋頭堡，直到連隊(duì)抵達(dá)你們的陣地。一定不能讓綠皮突破這里?！?/p>

Thoughts of his name were put aside for a time. The enemy was upon him and he had a duty to perform.

名字的問題暫時拋在一邊。敵人向逼近，而他必須履行自己的職責(zé)。

He moved without thinking, bringing his bolter up in a smooth arc and drawing a bead on the shape at the lead of the mob. He pulled the trigger and the weapon roared. The Space Marine could see the bolt-round fly towards its target, see the infinitesimal delay between punching through the ork’s skull and blowing it apart from the inside. The headless corpse toppled forwards, a red mist hanging in the air as the body pitched into the mud. He was already tracking his bolter to the right, aiming at the next alien savage. The bolter barked again and again, each shot a hammer blow that punched another shape from its feet. Four more orks fell in quick succession, yet three more came on, iron-shod boots trampling the slain deeper into the blood-soaked muck.

他不假思索地行動起來，動作流暢地拿起爆彈槍，瞄準(zhǔn)了那群獸人中領(lǐng)頭的一只。他扣下扳機(jī)，武器也隨之咆哮。星際戰(zhàn)士能看見爆矢彈朝著目標(biāo)飛去，看見子彈穿透獸人的顱骨和從內(nèi)部炸開（兩件事）之間極其微小的時間間隔。無頭的獸人尸體向前倒去，當(dāng)它栽入泥地中時，空氣中還懸浮著一團(tuán)紅色的血霧。而且在這個過程中，他就已經(jīng)正在將爆彈槍口移向右側(cè)，瞄準(zhǔn)了下一只異星蠻獸。爆彈槍的槍聲一次又一次地響起，每一發(fā)爆彈都如重錘般擊倒獸人。又有四只獸人接連倒下，另外三只則繼續(xù)沖向星際戰(zhàn)士，他們的鐵掌靴子踩在死者們身上，令其陷入浸透鮮血的污泥深處。

The Howling Griffon drew a careful bead on the nearest ork, lining his bolter’s sights between the alien’s eyes before pulling the trigger. He heard a click. It was a small sound, but echoed loudly in his ears. He was dimly aware of a meter flashing zero on his helmet’s lens, a peripheral image that brought unbidden a flash of an ancient memory: a grizzled sergeant chastising him as a recruit for making just such an error.

咆哮獅鷲星際戰(zhàn)士仔細(xì)地瞄準(zhǔn)了離自己最近的一只獸人，用爆彈槍對準(zhǔn)了異星人兩眼之間的位置，然后扣動了扳機(jī)。他聽見了“咔噠”的一聲，這聲音很輕微，但卻很洪亮得回蕩在他耳中。他模模糊糊地意識到頭盔的目鏡上有個計(jì)量儀閃爍著“0”，這個外圍的圖像不由自主地喚起了他一段古老的回憶：一名新兵犯了同樣的錯誤，他因此而遭到了一位頭發(fā)花白的軍士的訓(xùn)斥。

How can you remember that but not your name?

你怎么能記起這些內(nèi)容卻忘記了自己的姓名？

A roar snapped his attention back to the now, the first greenskin mere strides from him, weapon raised. Though his body burned with pain, the Space Marine moved on instinct, stepping to the side and smashing the butt of his bolter’s grip into the greenskin’s throat. The blow crunched through cartilage back to the ork’s spine and the alien was dead before its body hit the ground. The move was muscle-memory, born of years of training. The same reflexes saved him as the second ork swung its axe.

一聲咆哮將他的注意力拉回到現(xiàn)在：第一只綠皮距他僅有幾部之遙，那只獸人舉起了自己的武器。盡管身上疼得火燒火燎，但星際戰(zhàn)士還是瞬間行動起來，他閃身躲到一邊，握住爆彈槍的槍身，用槍柄猛砸綠皮的喉嚨。這一擊將獸人的喉部軟骨和脊椎一并砸碎，在尸體倒下之前，異星人便（已經(jīng)）死掉了。這一動作是在多年的訓(xùn)練中所養(yǎng)成的肌肉記憶，而且當(dāng)?shù)诙猾F人揮舞著斧子撲過來時，同樣的本能反應(yīng)再次救了他一命。

The Howling Griffon dropped his empty bolter and caught the haft of the weapon in his open palm. The impact almost broke his arm, but the axe came to a shuddering halt and the Space Marine smashed his other fist into the ork’s jaw. Teeth broke with the impact and the ork’s head snapped back violently. It was a punch that would have pulped a man’s head, but the ork was tough and recovered quickly. The alien roared fury into the Space Marine’s face, bloody drool spattering against his helmet. The deafening noise was cut off with a rasping gurgle when the Howling Griffon unsheathed his combat blade and rammed it into his foe’s throat. With a grunt, he kicked the corpse off his knife, but not in time to block the last ork’s arcing punch.

咆哮獅鷲星際戰(zhàn)士丟掉了自己打光彈藥的爆彈槍，并用張開的手掌握住了（副）武器的柄。他被獸人的斧子砍中，這一擊近乎折斷了他的手臂，但斧子（未能砍穿動力甲）顫動著停下，星際戰(zhàn)士則用另一只手握拳，猛擊獸人的下巴。獸人的牙齒被這一拳所砸碎，腦袋也猛然后仰。這一拳可以砸爛凡人的腦袋，但獸人體格堅(jiān)韌，很快就能恢復(fù)。異星人在星際戰(zhàn)士面前發(fā)出怒吼，帶血的唾沫都噴濺到了后者的頭盔上。但這聲怒吼被打斷，取而代之的是一陣刺耳的咯咯聲——咆哮獅鷲抽出了自己的格斗刀，用力刺入敵人的喉嚨。星際戰(zhàn)士哼了一聲，一腳將尸體從身上踢下，但也因此未能及時躲開最后一只獸人的弧形打擊。

The Howling Griffon was knocked flying and landed hard on his back, pain lancing through his battered body once more. The ork, the biggest and ugliest one yet, looked down at its stricken prey and grinned as it advanced, the jaws of the great mechanical shears it had in place of an arm snapping open and shut in hungry anticipation. The Space Marine had lost his knife and tried to rise and draw his pistol. The ork’s boot smashed down on his breastplate, pinning him to the floor as the metal pincers clamped shut around his gun arm, cleaving through ceramite, flesh and bone in one piston-driven instant. The Howling Griffon was beyond pain now, on the brink of death, his vision growing dim. The ork loomed over him and raised its gleaming claw to finish the kill.

這一擊打飛了咆哮獅鷲，他重重地仰面摔在地上，疼痛也又一次刺穿了他傷痕累累的軀體。那只獸人——最大也最最丑陋的那一只，低頭看向自己受傷的獵物，它向前走來，同時咧嘴大笑著；一柄巨大的機(jī)械剪刀取代了它的一只手臂，剪刃帶著饑餓的期待張合著。星際戰(zhàn)士已經(jīng)失去了自己的格斗刀，他努力站起身來并抽出自己的手槍。但獸人的靴子踏在了他的胸甲上，將他按在地面上，同時金屬鉗子也鉗住了他握槍的手臂，在這柄異星人武器進(jìn)行活塞傳動的瞬間，星際戰(zhàn)士的陶鋼護(hù)甲、肌肉和骨骼便都被切穿了。咆哮獅鷲星際戰(zhàn)士現(xiàn)在疼痛到了麻木，處在了死亡的邊緣，他的視覺在變得模糊。獸人在他上方逼近，舉起自己閃著寒光的利爪，順便完成最后的殺戮。

The death blow never came. The ork jerked backwards without warning, a fist-sized hole punching through its chest. One shot, then another. The third blew the hulking brute backwards and as the Space Marine tilted his head, he caught sight of gold and crimson figures striding towards him, smoking bolters searching the distance for more foes to slay. They were calling out to him. It was his name, he was sure, but he could not make it out, muffled as it was over the echoing thump of his very last heartbeat in his ears. It didn’t matter anyway. His name, whatever it was, would be added to the Chapter’s roll of honour. He was a Space Marine, a Howling Griffon, and he had done his duty.

但這致命的一擊并未到來。獸人毫無預(yù)兆地猛然向后倒去，它的胸口被擊穿，出現(xiàn)了一個拳頭大小的孔洞——有人開槍射中了它，之后是又一槍。第三槍令這只巨大的蠻獸后仰倒地，同時星際戰(zhàn)士也扭頭看到一群身著紅黃相間配色動力甲的人影向他奔來，他們手中冒著硝煙的爆彈槍在尋找著遠(yuǎn)處的敵人來進(jìn)行殺戮。這群星際戰(zhàn)士在呼喚著他，他很確定這些兄弟們喊出的就是自己的名字，他們的聲音蓋過了回蕩在他耳中的最后一次心跳聲，可他聽不清楚。但這已經(jīng)無所謂了，他的名字——無論是什么，都會被添加到戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的榮譽(yù)卷軸上。他是一名星際戰(zhàn)士，一名咆哮獅鷲星際戰(zhàn)士，而且他已經(jīng)完成了自己的職責(zé)。

The world turned black for the last time.

他最后一次看到黑夜降臨于這個世界。