（小说翻译）钢铁真理

The explosions rippled along both flanks of the

Veritas Ferrum. The blasts were twin broadsides, as the Iron Hands strike cruiser drove between its enemies. With Night Lords to port and the Alpha Legion to starboard, there was no question of evasion. There was only, for now, a choice of foe.

爆炸沿着钢铁真理号的船体两侧扩散开来。当这艘钢铁之手打击巡洋舰从敌舰们中间驶过时，它的两舷都遭到轰击。午夜领主们在左舷虎视眈眈，阿尔法军团在右舷伺机而动，要逃避是不可能的。现在，钢铁之手们只能选择与其中一方交战。

As the Veritas was bracketed by the fire of the two smaller cruisers, her void shields flared with the brilliance of a new sun. The glare was so intense that, for an instant, the oculus showed nothing but white blindness.

随着真理号遭到两艘小型巡洋舰的炮火夹击，她的虚空盾闪耀着新星般的耀眼光芒。眩光是如此强烈，以至于有那么一瞬间，观测透镜中只能看到令人目盲的白光。

Standing at his command lectern, Captain Durun Atticus raised his bionic rasp of a voice over the din of alarms and the rumble of secondary blasts. ‘Damage report, Sergeant Galba!’

杜伦 阿提库斯站在指挥台旁边，在警报声和二次爆炸的隆隆声中，他的生化义口用刺耳的声音喊到：“报告损伤，加尔巴军士”。

‘Void shield collapse over port-side stern, captain. Fire in that landing bay, and in the serf barracks.’

“左舷船尾处的虚空盾崩溃了，连长。登陆港和仆役营房都着火了。”

‘Seal the sector. Divert its power to the shields.’

“封锁那片区域。把它们的能量转移给虚空盾。”

Galba looked up from his post just beneath the lectern. ‘Captain, the survivors–’

加尔巴抬头看向连长——他的位置就在指挥台下方。“连长，幸存者们—”

Atticus silenced the sergeant with a sharp gesture. ‘They’re dead either way. Anyone in that sector is a casualty. Let’s not add to their numbers. Do it, damn you!’

阿提库斯做了个含义明确的手势，命令那位军士闭嘴。“无论怎样，他们会死掉。那片区域中的所有人都牺牲了。别再增加伤亡数字了。照做，该死的！”

Damn the arithmetic of war. Damn Horus. Damn the turncoat cowards who were filling the near orbit of Isstvan V with the wreckage of ships, the flames of treachery, and the ruin of the Emperor’s dream.

该死的战争算式。该死的荷鲁斯。还有那些背信弃义的懦夫们——他们用舰船的残骸塞满了伊斯特万五号的近空轨道、这场叛变的战火与帝皇愿景的毁灭，这一切都通通该死。

‘And damn me too,’ Atticus muttered.

“我可真他妈的。”阿提库斯低声抱怨到。

Galba paused over his controls. ‘Captain?’

加尔巴暂停了控制操作，“连长？”

‘Nothing.’

“没啥，无所谓。”

But it wasn’t nothing, was it? What was it he had said to his men, laughing with that bionic larynx of his–laughing– as the Veritas had begun its journey through the warp to the Isstvan System? He had said that it was not true that the Legions knew no fear, because he had a great one, and his fear was that they would arrive to find that their primarch, Ferrus Manus, had already crushed the Warmaster’s rebellion without them.

但真的无所谓吗？当钢铁真理号进入亚空间驶向伊斯特万星系时，他说什么来着？那时，他一边从生化义体咽喉发出笑声，一边说到：“阿斯塔特军团无所畏惧”这个说法并不真实，他就身处一个伟大的军团中，而他所畏惧的便是在抵达后发现他们的原体——费鲁斯 马努斯已经在没有他们（协助）的情况下已然击溃了荷鲁斯的叛乱。

After Callinedes– after Fulgrim’s craven ambush– and after the warp storms had calmed, Lord Manus had raced hard for Isstvan, taking the fastest, least-damaged ships, and filling them with his most experienced Avernii veterans. Atticus had given over half his complement of warriors to the primarch’s folly. But now the Veritas Ferrum had finally dropped out of the warp at the system’s Mandeville point, and into a vision of hell.

在Callinedes事件——福格瑞姆那怯懦的伏击之后，等到亚空间平静下来后，马努斯阁下便向着伊斯特万星系疾驰而去，他带着（军团中）最快且受损最轻的舰船，上面满载着经验最为丰富的阿维尼氏族老兵。阿提库斯派出自己麾下半数以上的战士去参加原体这次冲动的行动。但现在他们最终离开了亚空间，抵达了星系的曼德维勒点，而迎接他们的是一幅地狱景象。

Atticus descended from the lectern and strode to the oculus. Littering the far orbit of the Isstvan star was a graveyard of loyalist ships. Some had been caught as they attempted to escape, but many more were simply torn apart by enemy fire as soon as they emerged from the immaterium.

阿提库斯奔下指挥台，大步冲向显像透镜。伊斯特万恒星的远轨道已经变成了忠诚派舰船的墓地，残骸遍布各处。某些舰船在试图逃脱时被捕获，但其他更多的舰船是被简单得撕碎了——她们一从非物质宇宙现身，便被敌军炮火撕碎了。

The Iron Hands’ second wave had been virtually obliterated.

钢铁之手的第二波进攻部队实际上已被摧毁了。

‘Hard to starboard!’ he ordered, sweeping his eyes over his crew. ‘Will none of you ask if I am relieved that my fear has not come to pass?’

“右满舵！”他命令到，双眼扫视着船员们。“你们没有人会问，我是否因自己并未产生恐惧而欣慰吗?”

The battle was not over, but the terrible truth was that it seemed as though it soon would be.

战斗并未结束，但糟糕的真相是：这场仗似乎很快就要结束了。

He jabbed a finger at the nearest enemy ship that hove into view as the Veritas began its turn. ‘I want everything hitting that Alpha Legion bastard.’ If he still had lips, they would have parted in a murderous smile. ‘So the individual is unimportant, is it, Alpharius?’ he spat. ‘Then what we’re about to do won’t hurt you at all.’

在真理号转向的同时，他竖起一根手指，指向了最接近他们的那艘突然出现的飞船。“给我集中全部火力，痛揍这艘阿尔法军团的杂种。”倘若他还有嘴唇的话，阿提库斯会咧出一个凶残的微笑。“个体并不重要，对吧，阿尔法瑞斯们？”他啐了一口，“那么我们将要做的也就根本伤害不到你们。”

With the slow majesty of a glacier, the Veritas rounded on its prey. The Alpha Legion ship, the

Theta, tried to evade by rising above the ecliptic, but it was too slow, and too late. Concentrated lance and torpedo fire from the Veritas overwhelmed its void shields. They went down in a flickering cascade, and the Theta’s running lights died just before the Iron Hands main barrage struck it amidships.

真理号如同一座冰川那样缓慢而庄严地转过了身，朝向了自己的猎物。那艘阿尔法军团的舰船——西塔号努力通过飞行到黄道面上方来躲过一劫，但她太慢也太迟了，真理号发射出的密集光矛和鱼雷击溃了她的虚空盾。光束和鱼雷如同瀑布般涌向了这艘飞船，在钢铁之手战舰主炮射出的弹幕击中其船体中部之前，西塔号引擎在奔逃时所发出的尾焰火光便消失了。

The blow was devastating. The Theta broke in half.

这是毁灭性的一击，西塔号被拦腰炸断。

Galba called out from his station, ‘The Night Lords vessel is firing again.’

加尔巴从他的作战位处喊到：“午夜领主的飞船们再次开火了。”

‘Noted, sergeant. Countermeasures.’ Atticus looked at the bisected cruiser before them. ‘Helmsman,’ he ordered, ‘take us through.’

“军士，注意我的对策命令。”阿提库斯看向了自己面前那艘被一分为二的（阿尔法军团）巡洋舰，“舵手，”他命令到，“带我们穿过去。”

The prow of the Veritas Ferrum drove into the dissipating fireball where the core hull of the Theta had been. The two sections of the Alpha Legion vessel seemed to fold in upon the Veritas in an embrace of the void. There was a glancing impact that brought down the starboard prow shields, but then the Veritas was clear. Behind them, the Night Lords vessel’s flank was exposed to the wreckage– the ship was manoeuvring into an evasive turn, but there was no time. The shattered rearward bulk of the Theta slammed into it, lighting up the void as her reactor went critical.

钢铁真理号的舰首扎入了那团正在消散的火球中——这里曾是西塔号的核心船体。一次侧面撞击令右舷舰首的虚空盾崩开，但真理号在这之后便安全了。在它们身后，午夜领主的舰船的侧翼暴露给了残骸——这艘船正在进行机动转向避让，但来不及了。西塔号破碎的后侧船体猛然撞向午夜领主飞船，抵达临界状态的反应堆炸开，照亮了虚空。

The sound that came from Atticus’s voice box was a growl of satisfaction. ‘Sergeant Galba?’

阿提库斯的喉头发出了一阵满意的咆哮声。“加尔巴军士？”

‘Shields holding. Just.’

“虚空盾刚刚撑住了。”

Ahead, there was a clear path. Atticus turned to the vox-operator. ‘Any word from the dropsite?’

飞船前方是一条安全通路。阿提库斯转头看向音频通讯器操作员。“登陆点有任何消息传来吗？”

‘Nothing I can confirm, captain.’

“我什么都没确认到，连长。”

They had received only fragmentary vox chatter since their arrival. Broken distress calls from voices that claimed to be Iron Hands, lamenting the death of their primarch, but never any direct responses to hails from the Veritas. Atticus returned to the command lectern. ‘More lies, then,’ he said. He would not believe that Ferrus Manus had been killed. Not unless he saw the primarch’s body before him. Perhaps not even then.

自从抵达后，他们收到的便只有碎片化的音频信息。某个自称是钢铁之手的声音发出了断断续续的求救音频信号，这个信号悲叹着原体的死亡，却从未对真理号的呼叫做出过直接回应。阿提库斯回到了指挥台处。“更多的谎言，”他说到。他不愿相信费鲁斯 马努斯已经被害，除非他见到原体的尸骸横在自己面前。也许即便到了那时他也不会相信。

He would not believe it. Yet deep down he knew there was nothing left to salvage from the dropsite, and he felt his soul filling with a hatred that he would carry to his grave.

他不愿相信这一切，但他也从内心深处知道：登陆点没留下任何可供回收的（人或物），他感觉自己的灵魂中充满了某种至死方休的仇恨。

Galba’s auspex blared a proximity alarm. ‘Capital ships, dead ahead!’

加尔巴的鸟卜仪发出了表明有物体接近的刺耳警报。“主力舰，就在正前方！”

Atticus could not sigh any more. So much of the weak flesh was gone, the many basic human mannerisms given up and replaced by the strength of metal. So he did not sigh– he tightened his fists instead, bending the rails around the lectern. ‘We must retreat. If we do not, if nothing of the loyalist forces survived the slaughter on the surface, what then? What then for our Legion?’

阿提库斯无法再叹气了。他身上失去了很多脆弱的血肉，他也放弃了很多基本的人类习性，以钢铁的优势取而代之。所以他并未叹息——相反，他握紧了双拳，掰弯了指挥台周围的栏杆。“我们必须撤退。如果我们不这样做，如果在没有任何忠诚派部队在地面上的屠杀中幸存下来，那之后怎么办?我们的军团又该怎么办？”

The vox-operator whirled to face the lectern. ‘Signal! Thunderhawks. Two, outbound from the debris field, requesting aid.’

音频通讯器操作员转过身面向指挥台，“有信号！是雷鹰。两个，从残骸区发出，在寻求救援。”

The war-arithmetic loomed before Atticus once more. ‘Put it on main speaker.’

战争算式再次隐约出现在阿提库斯面前。“把信号接入主扬声器。”

Static crackled through the open channel. Then came a voice.‘This is Sergeant Khi’dem, Salamanders 139th Company. Our carrier vessel was destroyed. We need recovery.’

公开频道中发出静电的噼啪声。之后传入了一个声音。“我是西’德姆军士，属于火蜥蜴第139连队。我们的运载舰被摧毁了，我们需要救援回收。”

Atticus looked at the tactical hololiths before him. So few allied ships left. The Veritas was the only one close enough, and with even the illusion of freedom to act. But the arithmetic was unforgiving.

阿提库斯看着自己前方的战术全息投影，友军的船只所剩无几。真理号是唯一一艘足够接近，甚至是唯一可能进行自由行动的舰船。但算式是无情的。

‘I’m sorry, sergeant. We cannot help you. This is the Tenth Legion strike cruiser Veritas Fe–’

“抱歉，军士，我们帮不了你们。这里是第十军团打击巡洋舰钢—”

‘We have a number of your brothers and those of the Raven Guard aboard. We lost many to save them. Is that worth nothing?’

“我们的船上还有很多你们的兄弟，已经暗鸦守卫的弟兄们。为了救下他们，我们损伤惨重。这也是毫无意义的吗？”

‘Do you have our primarch?’

“你们的船上我们的原体了吗？”

There was a long moment of silence. ‘No’

对方陷入了长久的沉默。“没有。”

‘Then, I regret–’

“那么，我很遗憾—”

‘Three Legions have fought for the Emperor, and now face annihilation. Are they to be abandoned, their sacrifice forgotten? Will you grant the traitors an absolute victory? Will there be no witnesses to what was done this day on Isstvan Five?’

“三个军团曾为帝皇而战，他们现在面临着毁灭。他们将会被丢弃在这里，任由他们的牺牲被淡忘吗？你要把一次完全的胜利拱手让给叛徒们吗？今天发生在伊斯特万五号上的事件将不会再有目击者吗？”

Atticus cursed. He cursed Khi’dem. He cursed the entire galaxy.

阿提库斯咒骂起来。他咒骂着西’德姆，咒骂着整个银河。

‘Helmsman, set course to intercept. Recover those ships.’

“舵手，设定拦截路线，收回那些飞船。”

He hated the piece of his soul that rejoiced at the decision. He wished he had replaced it with bionics, too.

他痛恨自己灵魂中为这个决定而欣喜的那一份，他希望自己也能用生化义体取而代之。

The Veritas Ferrum closed with the Thunderhawks. On both its flanks, the great warships of the Sons of Horus and the Emperor’s Children were approaching. A noose was closing around the Iron Hands.

钢铁真理号接近了雷鹰炮艇。荷鲁斯之子和帝皇之子的大型战舰正在接近这艘飞船的两翼。一根绞索正在紧紧地缠住钢铁之手们。

The Veritas slowed to take on the two gunships, even as the traitors opened fire. The starboard landing bays were closing when the torpedoes struck the port side. Then the already terrible damage became catastrophic.

哪怕在叛军开火时，真理号也减慢速度来接受那两架炮艇。当鱼雷击中飞船左舷时，右舷的登陆港正在关闭。已经颇为糟糕的损伤此刻变成了灾难性的。

The explosions were thunder that built upon thunder. Atticus felt his ship’s wound through the command interface like a blade scraping the length of his ribs. The bridge klaxons were the Veritas screaming in pain.

爆炸声比雷声还要强出几倍。阿提库斯通过指挥接口感觉到了船体的损伤，那感觉如同一柄利刃沿着他的肋骨刮过。舰桥警笛中发出的便是真理号的痛苦尖叫。

But the Iron Hands still had the vector of escape. Atticus pounded the railing of the command lectern. ‘Go!’ he roared.

但钢铁之手们仍然握有逃生路线。阿提库斯猛捶着指挥台的栏杆。“快走！”他咆哮到。

The Veritas ran. The tear in its flank was huge. It bled air and flame and tiny, armoured figures into the void. The ship was rocked by yet another torpedo hit.

真理号快速逃亡。船身侧翼被撕开了巨大的裂口，空气、火焰和穿着动力甲的微小人形物体如同血滴一样流入虚空中。又一发鱼雷击中了船体，令其摇晃起来。

Galba was hunched over his post as though the screens themselves were his enemies. ‘Fire spreading, captain. Over a hundred legionaries lost to the void.’

加尔巴躬身俯在自己战斗位上方，似乎屏幕本身便是他的敌人。“火势在蔓延，连长。超过一百名军团战士被丢进了虚空中。”

‘Many times more than the Thunderhawks were transporting,’ Atticus raged. ‘I’m sure our guests are worth it.’

“这是雷鹰炮艇上所运载人数的很多倍”，阿提库斯怒喝到。“我确信我们的客人们值得这份损失。”

He felt it then, the final excision of mercy from his being. The last weakness, killed one battle too late. And now, with only one desperate path remaining, a calmness as cold as the grave descended upon him.

这时他感到自己失去了生命中最后的一丝慈悲。这是他最后的弱点，消失得太晚了。现在，随着他们只剩下一条绝望之路，一种如坟墓般冰冷的平静降临在他心中。

‘Make the jump.’

“进行跳跃。”

Galba was staring at him. ‘Captain, the hull is compromised–’

加尔巴正在注视着他。“连长，船体受损—”

‘Make the jump.Now.’

“进行跳跃。立刻。”

The Veritas Ferrum’s warp engines flared. The bleeding ship plunged into reality’s scream, and Atticus gazed into the maw of a future as pitiless and uncertain as he.

钢铁真理号的亚空间引擎燃烧出了耀眼的光芒。这艘淌着血的船置身于现实宇宙的嚎叫声中，阿提库斯注视着未来那吞噬一切的深渊——未来的光景，就和他本人一样无情且不确定。