哥特舰队规则书节译：第十二次黑色远征/哥特战争（1）
139-142.M41 - OMENS OF DARKNESS
139-142.M41 ——黑暗前兆
THE ARX RAID
ARX掠袭
Although the bulk of the Imperium's defences around the Eye of Terror are based in the area known as the Cadian Gate, there are many monitoring stations throughout the Segmentum Obscurus. These outposts are constantly raided and attacked by the Emperor's foes, but during the mid-second century of the 41st millennium, the number of these attacks dramatically increased. Most important of all, in the eyes of scholars, is the attack on the watch station at Arx. Due to its low priority and importance, Arx was inhabited by only a skeleton garrison of Imperial Guard. whose duty it was to protect the few Tech-adepts required to maintain the station's observation equipment.
虽然人类帝国在恐惧之眼周边建立的防御，大部分都是以被称为“卡迪亚之门”的区域为基地，但朦胧星域各处也被设置了众多监测站。这些前哨不断遭受着帝皇之敌的掠袭和进攻，但在第41个千年第二个世纪的中叶，进攻次数显著增加。在学者们看来，其中最重要的是发生于Arx世界处监视站的进攻。由于Arx的优先性和重要性较低，当地仅有一支最小规模的帝国卫队驻军，其职责是保护负责维护观测设备的少量技术教士。
Early in 139.M41,the scout frigate Ascendance received a garbled plea for help from Arx station's ageing Astropath. The attackers were unknown and when reinforcements arrived four months later, there was no sign of those responsible. The Imperial Guardsmen stationed on the planet had been wiped out. As Captain Thetis of the 122nd Borlian Imperial Guard wrote in his journal.
在139.M41早期，侦查护卫舰“主权”号接受到了含糊其辞的求救信号，发送者是Arx空间站中那位苍老的星语者，袭击者未知。当增援部队在四个月后抵达时，现场没有表明袭击者身份的痕迹。驻扎在星球上的帝国卫军们已被抹除干净。Borlian第122帝国卫队团的连长瑟提斯在其手记中写到：
"They had been horribly butchered, their mutilated bodies left to the ever present scavenging wild dogs that are Arx's only natural predators."
“他们被残忍屠杀，残缺不全的尸身被丢给了Arx上仅有的天然掠食者——那些四处觅食的野狗们。”
The Inquisition sent one of their agent, the experienced Inquisitor Horst, but there was little evidence for him to uncover.
审判庭派出了自己的一位特工——经验丰富的审判官霍斯特，但他也几乎没有发现什么证据。
If Arx had been the only outpost attacked in this way, the raid would have become just another intriguing riddle in a galaxy full of mysteries, soon to be forgotten. However, over the next three years a number of similar attacks were reported throughout the neighbouring systems and spreading into the adjacent sectors. and Inquisitor Horst began to suspect that some larger scheme was in motion. However, with no proof to support his instincts or identify the attackers, he decided to watch and wait for his enigmatic enemy to make another move.
倘若Arx是被以此种方式袭击的唯一前哨，那这场掠袭就只会成为这个谜团遍布的银河中的另一次神秘事件，并被很快遗忘。然而在之后的三年中，周边的各个星系都报告了多次类似的袭击，且此类事件还蔓延到了临近的星区们。审判官开始推测有某些更大规模的阴谋正在进行。但并没有证据能支持他的直觉（猜测）并证明袭击者身份，霍斯特便决定进行观望，并等待自己的神秘敌人采取另一步行动。
A PLAGUE OF DAMNATION
诅咒瘟疫
Just over a year after the Arx raid, several patrol vessels made grisly discoveries in the Athena Sector. A number of Imperial merchant vessels and warships, one of them an Emperor class battleship, were found drifting uncontrolled through wilderness space. Upon being boarded, it was found that the crews of the ships were all dead, their disease ridden corpses strewn along corridors and gantries, some found still at their workstations. Xebal Astolax, Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus, listed the various symptoms he encountered on his examination of corpses from the merchant vessel Shanxi.
就在Arx掠袭事件过去一年多之后，数艘巡逻舰船在Athena星区有了可怕的发现。多艘帝国商船和战舰被发现不受控制地漂浮在荒蛮空间中，其中甚至包括一艘帝皇级战列舰。一经登上这些飞船，调查队便发现船员们已全部死亡，遍布疫病的尸体散落在走廊中和龙门架上，某些死者被发现时仍待在自己的工位上。机械修会生化贤者，泽巴尔 阿斯托莱斯，列出了自己在检查“珊希”号商船上船员尸体时遇到的各种症状。
"The skin was blistered with many weeping sores, the blood thin and watery. Fungal growths were found within the brain cavity, which must have caused extreme pain and delirium when the victims were still alive."
“皮肤上遍布泪痕，血液稀薄。颅腔内被发现有真菌赘生物，受害者在仍然活着时便遭受了剧烈的疼痛与精神失常。”
Each ship also bore the scars of a brief space battle and signs of being boarded, though no enemy dead could be found.
每艘飞船上都带有短暂的太空战斗所造成的伤痕，以及被跳帮的痕迹，但调查队未能发现敌军遗体。
As Inquisitor Horst puzzled over these new developments, his many agents and spies brought more news. A rumour was spreading amongst the captains of the Imperial Navy concerning an ancient, despised Chaos ship known as the Plagueclaw. Crewed by pestilential followers of the God of Decay, this ship had been the scourge of the Imperial Navy for four millennia. The infection of the ships' crews and the reappearance of the Plagueclaw must have been more than coincidence and when a force of Chaos Marines from the Death Guard Traitor Legion sacked the hive world of Morganghast, Horst was convinced that the forces of Chaos were planning another major incursion. The watchposts around the Cadian Gate were put on close alert and Navy ships from all over the Segmentum Obscurus were detailed on increased patrols around Cadia.
就在审判官霍斯特对于这些新发展（状况）百思不得其解的同时，他手下的众多特工与间谍也带来了更多新情况。帝国海军的舰长们之间正在传播一条谣言，内容是关于一艘被轻视的古老混沌舰船——“瘟疫利爪”号。这艘飞船被腐败之神那些引发瘟疫的信徒们驾驶着，它为帝国海军带来灾祸的时间已有四千年之久。船员们遭受的感染与瘟疫利爪号的重新出现必然不只是巧合，而当一支来自叛徒军团死亡守卫的混沌星际战士部队出现在巢都世界Morganghast时，霍斯特确信混沌势力正在计划另一次重大入侵。卡迪亚之门周边的监视哨站都进入了严密监控状态，朦胧星域各地的海军舰船都被派往卡迪亚周边，增加巡逻力度。
ANARCHY SPREADS
乱局丛生
While Inquisitor Horst investigated the Chaos activity around Arx and its neighbouring systems, events began to take an even more sinister turn in the Gothic Sector. 2500 light years away. The Navigators of the Navis Nobilite reported greater disturbance within the warp around the region, the incidence of warp storms gradually increasing as the year went on. On many worlds, this news was received with panic. a situation which was made more precarious by several religious fanatics declaring that the Emperor was displeased and was sending warp storms to purge the unholy.
就在霍斯特审判官调查Arx周边及其邻近星系中的混沌活动的同时，2500光年之外的哥特星区中的局势开始变得更加险恶。导航者们报告称，该区域周围的亚空间内部有着更大规模的扰动，随着时间推移，亚空间风暴的发生概率在逐渐增加。在很多世界上，人们都在恐慌中收到了这些信息；而由于很多宗教狂热信徒宣称：这是帝皇不悦的表现，怹正在放出亚空间风暴以净化不洁者，局势变得更加不稳。
This led to a number of sects forming,members stricken with feelings of impending doom. They were desperate for the Emperor's forgiveness and as the shocked preacher of Flexeberg noted:
这导致了诸多教派的形成，其中的成员们都因感觉到即将到来的末日而倍受煎熬。他们迫切希望得到皇帝的宽恕，正如震惊的弗莱克斯伯格牧师所言:
"They spend their whole time flagellating themselves to purish their souls, decrying the excesses of their fellow men and driving their neighbours to cast out the sinful and purge their own blasphemies. Though very laudable behaviour in itself they have forgotten their sacred duties to the Emperor — while they wail and gnash their teeth, the coffers rattle emptily!"
“他们将所有时间都用于自我鞭挞，以净化自己的灵魂；他们谴责自己同胞们的过分行为，并迫使他们的邻居驱逐罪人，净化其亵渎举动。尽管这些行为本身值得称赞，但人们也忘记了自己对于帝皇的神圣职责——当他们哀嚎、咬牙切齿地咒骂别人时，我们的金库却变得空空荡荡！”
On many planets, the cults became very powerful, swelled by popular support to such a degree that the Ecclesiarchy (and sometimes even the planetary govemment), could do nothing to stop the rampaging hordes. As the hysteria spread. lynch mobs roamed hive cities and mining colonies seeking the impure. Impromptu burnings and hangings became commonplace as the desperate citizens threw themselves into a fervour of apocalyptic faith, scouring their friends and loved ones to atone for real or imagined sins against the Emperor. Yet it was to no avail. Fleet-Admiral Bratha, when sending a message to the naval base at Port Maw, lamented.
在很多星球上，此类教派都变得极具影响力，他们在民众们的支持下变得极其膨胀，以至于国教教会（有时甚至是行星政府）都无法阻止那些暴虐妄为的群氓。随着歇斯底里情绪蔓延开来，暴民们在巢城和采矿殖民地中游荡着，寻找不洁之物处以私刑。即兴而起的火刑与绞刑成为常态，绝望的公民们沉浸在末日信仰的狂热中，让亲朋们为其对帝皇犯下的或真或假的罪行而赎罪。但这一切都无济于事。在向巨口港的海军基地发送某条信息时，海军上将巴拉萨哀叹到：
"And still the warp swirls and rages. and the situation becomes ever more desperate."
“亚空间中仍在暴怒搅动，局势变得更为绝望。”
Under cover of widespread paranoia, secret cults and covens insinuated themselves into positions of power, subverting ever more people to their twisted causes. Misguided followers of the Dark Gods openly proclaimed that Chaos would save humanity when the Emperor had turn from them. Thousands. even millions, of Imperial citizens were deluded by false promise, flocking to these calls. and the Inquisition was hard pressed to root out every cult members, deviant and heretic. To make the situation worse, several naval vessels were destroyed in dock, by reactor overloads and magazine explosions. Though official reports declared the incidents the result of poor maintenance, faulty ammunition or other ordinary causes. many readily believed the tales of sabotage and rebellion within the Navy's own ranks.
无端妄想广泛传播开来，而在其掩护下，秘密的邪教与巫师团体逐渐篡夺了权力，策反更多的人加入他们扭曲的勾当。被误导的黑暗诸神信徒们公开宣称：当帝皇放弃人类时，混沌会拯救众生。虚假的承诺哄骗了数千乃至数百万帝国平民，成群的人们响应着这些号召。审判庭要铲除邪教成员、异常者和异端分子，他们面临着严峻压力。而让情况更糟的是，数艘海军舰船在船坞中被摧毁，原因是反应堆过载和弹药库爆炸。尽管官方报告中称，是缺乏维护、弹药故障或其他普通原因引发了事故，但很多人都乐意相信海军内部存在叛变者和内部破坏。
THE HAND OF DARKNESS
黑暗之手
While the Gothic Sector was being engulfed in anarchy and confusion, Horst was searching for more clues to the plans of the heretics. When he heard of a Chaos attack on the Imperial world of Purgatory, he demanded to accompany the investigating fleet. There was one thing which made Purgatory different from the dozens of other raids — the device known only as the Hand of Darkness. existence known only to a few of the most trusted members of the Inquisition, the Hand of Darkness was an incredibly ancient alien artefact located deep beneath the surface of Purgatory. All attempts to divine its purpose had proved fruitless, yet distant legends, from older races such as the Eldar, spoke of the Hand of Darknes with horror and revulsion. It was widely believed to be a weapon of immeasurable power, although its exact functioning was a mystery. When Horst arrived at Purgatory, the Inquisitor's deepest fears had come true — the Hand of Darkness was gone. If the followers of Chaos learned how to activate this unimaginably potent weapon, who could tell what destructive power they could unleash on the forces of the Imperium?
当哥特星区遍布混乱无序和困惑的同时，霍斯特正在寻找关于异端分子们计划的更多线索。当听说帝国世界Purgatory上出现混沌袭击时，他要求陪同调查舰队一并前往。有一件事物令Purgatory事件不同于其他数十起掠袭——被称为“黑暗之手”的装置，其存在仅为审判庭中少数最受信赖的成员们所知，这件古老到不可思议的异星人造物位于Purgatory地下深处。探测黑暗之手目的（用途）的一切尝试都是徒劳的，不过在那些来自诸如艾尔达人之类更古老种族的遥远传说，曾带着恐惧与厌恶讲述过黑暗之手。人们普遍相信它是一件威力不可估计的武器，不过其具体运作（方式）仍是个谜。当霍斯特抵达Purgatory时，审判官最畏惧的事情成了真——黑暗之手消失了。如果混沌信徒们学会了如何启动这件强大到难以想象的武器，谁又知道他们能向帝国部队释放出怎样的破坏性力量？
THE INVASION OF ORNSWORLD
ORNSWORLD入侵
Horst knew of another artefact connected to thc Hand of Darkness in the old myths. Called the Eye of Night, it was located on the Ratting planet of Ornsworld. As Horst sped towards it on the fastest ship he could commandeer, a report came in of an attack on the Ratlings. A small force of renegades had landed close to where the Eye was embedded in an ancient statue, worshipped as a god by the Railings in pre-Imperial times. After a brief skirmish, an Imperial Guard recruiting force stationed near to the Chaos force's landing site drove off this initial foray. However, a month later Chaos ships blockaded Ornsworld and a full scale invasion began. The defenceless Railings stood no chance against the depraved Chaos Marines and the death toll reached millions as the hills and mountains were scoured with fire and shells by the followers of the Dark Gods. Lieutenant Compton-Hawkins, attached to the recruitment team, recorded the scenes that followed the attack:
霍斯特知道，在古代神话中，还有另一件与黑暗之手相关的造物。这件被称为“暗夜之眼”的装备位于拉特林人定居的Ornsworld星球。就在霍斯特登上自己能指挥的最快飞船，迅速赶往Ornsworld星球时，一条关于（当地）拉特林人遭受袭击的报告传来。暗夜之眼被镶嵌在了一座古代雕像上——在帝国到来之前，拉特林人将塑像作为神明来崇拜；一小群变节者降落在了那附近。在短暂的冲突之后，驻扎在混沌部队登陆点附近的一支帝国卫军征兵部队击退了最初的突袭。然而，混沌战舰在一个月后封锁了Ornsworld，开始了一次完全规模的入侵。面对堕落的星际战士们，没有防备的拉特林人们毫无胜算。黑暗诸神的信徒们用烈火与炮弹扫清了丘陵与山脉，数百万人被屠杀。附属于征兵部队的中尉——康普顿 霍金斯记录了袭击发生后的场景。
"Piles of Railing skulls towered over the plains, funeral pyres blackened the skies as the Traitors systematically wiped out everything in their path.The small settlement of Estnerelda's Dale is now but a smoking crater, the bones of its 4.000 inhabitants crushed to powder and scattered over the surrounding area. A powerful seismic detonator brought down the (mountainside of) the Great Belly, sweeping away seven towns and 82.000 Ratlings. in a tide of crushing boulders and boiling mud slides."
“平原上高高耸立着拉特林人颅骨堆成的立柱，由于叛徒们系统性地扫清了挡在自己路上的一切，火葬柴堆熏黑了天空。位于Estnerelda山谷中的小定居点现在只是一个冒烟的坑口，4000名定居者的骸骨被碾成齑粉，并被散落在周边的区域中。一枚强悍的震地炸弹轰塌了大腹山（的山腰），在破碎的巨石与翻涌的泥石流中，7个城镇与82000名拉特林人被扫平。”
Amongst the carnage. the Eye of Night was torn from its mounting and the thief slipped away into the stars. The forces of Chaos now had both the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night and with them perhaps the power to overthrow the Imperium in its entirety. Inquisitor Host was tormented by a single question: where would they strike first? The answer was to come all too soon.
在这场大屠杀中，暗夜之眼被从基座上扯下，窃贼们溜回了群星间。现在，黑暗之手和暗夜之眼都落入了混沌势力之手，后者或许由此得到了推翻整个人类帝国的力量。一个问题（现在）困扰着霍斯特审判官：他们会首先进攻哪里？而答案很快就会到来。
THE STORM BREAKS
风暴骤起
The old Inquisitor began compiling scattered reports of unusual activity in an ever widening area, and learned of the disruption engulfing the Gothic Sector. As he headed for the region, more reports of sightings of Chaos vessels came to Horst's attention. reinforcing his belief that the Gothic Sector was to be the arena of this latest incursion. A month after Horst arrived in the sector, three years after he had begun investigating the Arx raid. a cataclysmic shockwave passed through the warp. The massive storm engulfed the Gothic Sector in swirling tempests, cutting the area off from the rest of the Imperium. Whatever happened next, the ships and warriors of the Gothic Sector would face it alone.
年老的审判官开始在一片不断扩大的范围内搜集关于异常活动的零散报告，并且了解到了席卷哥特星区的混乱局面。就在他赶往这片区域的同时，更多关于混沌舰船的目击报告引起了霍斯特的注意，这让他更为坚信：哥特星区将会成为这场最新入侵行动的战场。霍斯特在一个月后抵达了该星区，此时距离他开始调查Arx掠袭已经过去了三年。而就在此刻，一道灾难性的冲击波从亚空间中穿过，一场大规模亚空间风暴将哥特星区吞入漩涡，切断了此地与帝国其他区域间的联系。无论之后将要发生什么，哥特星区的舰船和战士们都要独自面对了。
