哥特舰队规则书节译：第十二次黑色远征/哥特战争（2）
143.M41 - SURPRISE ATTACK
143.M41——突袭
THE FIRST STRIKE
最初一击
Reports of attacking Chaos fleets flooded in from all across the Gothic Sector. Much planning must have gone in to the all-important firm strike, as the Chaos fleets targeted a dozen major Imperial bases in the Gothic Sector. With no warning, the renegades struck hard and fast. ambushing Imperial warships as they were in dock or orbiting around their stations. Caught unawares and already overstretched by the increasing tension within the sector, the Imperial Navy was poorly prepared to respond to this sudden offensive. At Bladen, the Rhadamanthine had her starboard flight decks blown clean off by torpedoes, while at Cherys. Doomfire bombers from the Heartless Destroyer damaged the warp engines of the Lord Sylvanus so severely that it took nearly two years of constant repairs for the ship to be able to make warp jumps greater than five light years.
在哥特星区各处，都要关于混沌舰队袭击的报告涌来。这次至关重要的强袭必定是经过了周密计划，因为混沌舰队瞄准了星区中十二座主要帝国基地。变节者们发动了快速猛攻，在帝国战舰停入港口或环绕空间站时进行伏击。帝国海军被打了个措手不及，而且星区内日益紧张的局势也已经令其陷入超负荷运转，他们对于这次突然进攻准备不足。在Bladen世界，“公正”号的右舷飞行甲板被鱼雷炸毁；而在Cherys，“无情毁灭者”号派出毁灭之火型轰炸机，对“希尔维纳斯尊主”号的亚空间引擎造成了极其严重的损伤，以至于这艘飞船在接受了近两年的不断维修之后，才能进行距离超过五光年的亚空间跳跃。
Orbiting stations also fell to the Chaos invaders. destroyed or captured by the swiftness of the attack. The loss of many of these orbital shipyards, such as Tripol Docks, Port Imperial and Gathara Station, was doubly felt — not only were Imperial ships badly in need of refitting, but the means to do so were being put to use by the enemy. Captain Grove of the Admiral Drake, an old Relentless class cruiser used as a training vessel, was one of the few survivors of the attack at Halemnet Base in the Cyclops Cluster, which typified the style of attack used by the Chaos vessels. Grove and his crew were lucky to escape, as this log entry shows:
轨道空间站也落入混沌入侵者手中，它们被后者的快速进攻所摧毁或夺取。诸如Tripol船坞、帝国港和Gathara空间站等诸多轨道造船损失，造成了双重影响——不仅是急需改装的帝国舰船无法接受改造，而且所用的（装备和）工程措施也会为敌军所有。“德拉克上将”号是一艘被用作训练舰的老旧无情级巡洋舰，在发生于独眼巨人星团Halemnet基地处袭击中，其舰长格拉夫是少数幸存者之一——此次事件带有混沌舰船袭击的典型风格。格拉夫和麾下船员们有幸逃出生天，过程如同下文日志条目所示：
4th Watch, 3rd day of Euphistles. Under attack from renegade vessels. They approached from starward, blinding our surveyors. Long range torpedo strikes have destroyed the Vanguard (a Dauntless class light cruise) and crippled Indomitus Imperious (a Lunar class cruiser). Broke from dock with the reactors still at 75% of operational capacity. Engaged in short ranged exchange with squadron of renegade escorts. disabling our starboard batteries and destorying the torpedo tubes.
“尤菲斯特尔月三日，第四次警戒。我舰遭受敌舰进攻。他们从侧面靠近，避开了测量员们的观察。远程鱼雷进攻摧毁了先锋号（无畏级轻型巡洋舰）并重创了不屈帝国号（月级巡洋舰）。我舰在反应堆仍有75%运行能力的情况下脱离船坞，并与叛军护航中队发生近距离交战。敌军瘫痪了我舰右舷炮塔，并摧毁我舰鱼雷发射管。
Fires broke out in the port quarter galleries; the emergency bulkheads had to be lowered.Casualties estimated at 5.000 or more. many of them gun crews on the starboard decks. We are attempting to disengage, trying to avoid a Slaughter class coming in around Halemnet's gravity well .Ordering available power to the engines to outrun him. Time to visit the chapel and pray for the Emperor's protection.
左舷船尾走廊区爆发火灾；应急舱壁已降下关闭。预计伤亡人数为至少5.000，其中很多都是右舷甲板的舰炮水手。我们正在试图脱战，努力阻止一艘屠杀级巡洋舰沿Halemnet世界重力井周围向我舰靠近。我下令将可用能量供给到引擎，以超越敌舰。是时候去礼拜堂中进行祈祷，以乞求帝皇的保佑了。”
Fortunately for the crew of the Admiral Drake and many others, the Chaos fleets were not normally disposed towards lengthy battles, preferring instead to hit hard and then retreat, leaving the Imperial Nasy suffering heavy losses, with many capital ships destroyed or needing months of repairs and refitting.
德拉克上将号的船员和其他很多人都是幸运的，混沌舰船通常并不倾向于长期战斗，而是偏好在猛攻后撤退，遇袭的帝国海军则会遭受严重损失，很多主力舰都被摧毁，或需要进行数个月的维修与整备。
THE DEFENCE OF ORAR
Orar世界攻防战
However, the Chaos fleets did not achieve total success. In a few battles the traitors suffered serious reversals, most notably during the defence of the hive world Orar. When one of the many Chaos warfleets, led by the Chaos Warmaster Malefica Arkham, ambushed the imperial battlegroup which was stationed at Orar, they did not, on this occasion, find their enemy taken unawares and helpless.
然而，混沌舰队并未实现全面成功。在少数战斗中，叛徒们也遭受了严重挫败，其中最值得注意的（案例）发生在巢都世界Orar攻防战期间。在混沌战帅马勒非卡 阿卡姆的率领下，诸多混沌战争舰队中的某一支伏击了驻守在Orar的帝国战斗群；但在这次战斗中，帝国海军察觉到了状况，而且也并非孤立无助。
Having just received orders to help put down a rebellion in a neighbouring system. the Imperial battlegroup, led by Captain Compel Bast on the battlecruiser Imperious, was just preparing to break orbit. Already at full alert status. the Imperial ships easily evaded the raiders' initial torpedo salvo and counter attacked. What happened next is best summed up by Bast himself:
该帝国战斗群的旗舰为战列巡洋舰“帝国”号，并由其舰长坎贝尔 巴斯特率领；他们刚刚接到了前往邻近星系协助镇压叛乱的任务，正准备离开星球轨道。这些处于完全警戒状态的帝国战舰们轻易避开了掠夺者们最初的鱼雷齐射，并发动了反击。巴斯特本人详细总结了之后发生的情况：
"Unable to abort their attack, the Chaos ships swept onwards into a hail of torpedoes, gun deck fire and lance shots from Orar's orbital defences. Our nova cannon struck the reviled renegade Soulless full on. crippling the vessel in a huge Nast of gas and debris. Extra beverage rations to the gun crews that night.
“由于无法终止进攻，混沌舰船向前冲入了Orar轨道防线的鱼雷、舰炮和光矛的密集齐射中。我们的新星炮射击正中了那艘可恶的变节舰船——“无魂者”号，令其瘫痪在了大团的气体与碎片中。今晚，那些火炮水手们将得到额外的饮料配给。
As we closed in for the kill, the other Chaos ships abandoned their fellow vessel to its fate and attempted to escape. With a torrent of fire pouring into its breached hull, the Soulless finally destroyed itself as its warp drives imploded under our continuous bombardment. Arkhams' ship. the Deathhane. had its bridge smashed to pieces by a volley of fire from the Iron Duke, and rumours say that Arkham was the only man on the bridge to crawl from the wreckage. somehow protected by his Dark Masters.
随着我们接近敌群进行杀戮，其他混沌舰船们丢下友舰自生自灭，试图逃跑。随着一股烈焰被倾入破损的船体，“无魂者”号的亚空间引擎被我们的持续轰炸所引爆，最终自行毁灭。阿卡姆座舰“死亡祸根”号的舰桥，被“钢铁公爵”号的炮火齐射炸为碎片。有谣言称，阿卡姆由于其黑暗主子们的某种保佑，成为了唯一从残骸中爬出的人。
I cited our attack craft crews for their admirable performance of their duty. Several of our bomber wings were instrumental in reducing the Deathskull to a hulk. Unfortunately, we were unable to claim our prize as the hulk was gripped by Orar's pull and broken asunder in the upper atmosphere."
我们的战斗机飞行员们恪尽职守，做出了令人钦佩的表现，我对其进行了表扬。在将“死亡颅骨”号化为一艘废船的过程中，多个轰炸机中队发挥了重要作用。不幸的是，由于那艘废船被Orar的引力拖拽住并在其上层大气中解体破碎，我们无法获取到战利品。”
Only a handful of Chaos escorts escaped without damage and the Deathbane and its fleet was pursued out of the system by the vengeful Imperial commanders.
只有寥寥几艘混沌护航舰在未受损情况下逃离，死亡祸根号及其舰队被复仇心切的帝国（海军）指挥官们赶出了Orar恒星系。
UNLIKELY ALLIES
未料想的友军
Orar was not the only major set-back inflicted upon the forces of Darkness during the opening stages of the war. In one incident, a small Chaos fleet consisting of several Iconoclast and Infidel class escorts, bound for a raid on Denerair in the Cyclops Cluster, fell foul of the numerous bands of Ork pirates in the region. The garbled transmissions of the Chaos ships were intercepted. giving some idea of what happened.
在这场战争的开幕阶段，Orar之战并非是黑暗势力遭受的唯一一次重大挫折。在某处事件中，一支由多艘圣像破坏者级与异教徒级护航舰所组成的小型混沌舰队，前去劫掠独眼巨人星团中的Denerair世界；他们陷入了与该地区的众多兽人海盗帮派的冲突。帝国拦截到了混沌舰船上杂乱的通讯信号，得知了事件经过。
Using their traditional tactic of lurking in an asteroid field for an unwary victim. the Orks leapt from hiding and plunged into the heart of the Chaos fleet. Unable to use their greater manoeuvrability in the swirl of asteroids, gas and dust clouds, the Chaos ships were mercilessly hammered by the Orks and not one Chaos vessel survived the battle.
兽人们使用了自己的传统战术：潜藏在一片小行星带中，等待不加提防的受害者经过。它们冲出隐藏地点，扑向混沌舰队的核心部位。而在小行星、气体与尘埃云构成的漩涡中，混沌舰船也无法利用自己更为卓越的机动性，它们遭到了兽人们的无情猛攻，没有舰船从此次战斗中幸存。
Upon hearing this news, Lord Admiral Ravensburg was quoted as saying, "If he wasn't damned green-skinned scum, I'd make their commander my Flag-Captain!" although he later denied this statement. Such occurrences were however rare and the greenskins were as happy to continue attacking Imperial shipping as they were to fight against the invading warfleets.
在听到这个消息后，领主上将雷文斯伯格说到，“倘若他不是个该死的绿皮儿杂碎，我就要让他们指挥官作我的旗舰舰长！”，不过他之后否认自己做出过这段发言。但是，这种现象还是罕见的，兽人们也乐于继续在帝国舰船抵抗入侵舰队时进攻他们。
THE BATTLE OF BLACKSTONE IV
黑石四号之战
The initial Chaos attacks struck at important installations such as Adeptus Mechanicus forge worlds and naval bases. Of the seventeen bases in the Gothic Sector, six of them were founded upon the Blackstone Fortresses. As the Liber Monuments tells us:
混沌势力的初期攻势，袭向了诸如机械修会铸造世界和海军基地等重要设施。在哥特星区的十七座基地中，有六座是建立在黑石要塞的基础上。《悼亡大典》中对其描述称：
"The architects of the edifices known as the Blackstone Fortresses remain unknown. All analysis of their materials and construction methods has proved inconclusive. Attempts to date them vary massively between seventeen thousand years old and three hundred thousand years. They have remained dormant since their discovery early in the second millennium of the Emperor's divine rule. Even with most of its systems inoperative, a Blackstone Fortress made an incomparable foundation for a naval base."
“对于那些被称为黑石要塞的宏伟建筑，其建造者至今未知。对于其材质和建造方法的所有分析，都未能得出结论。对于其年代测定的结果差异很大，处于十七万到三十万年之间。自从人类在帝皇神圣统治的第二个千年发现它们开始，黑石要塞就一直处于休眠状态。但尽管黑石要塞的大部分系统都处于非运行状态，它还是为建造海军基地提供了无与伦比的基础。”
After extensive refitting by the Adeptus Mechanicus, with Imperium constructed defence turrets and prime weapons systems added, the Blackstone Fortresses' defensive capabilities rivalled those of the Naval Command stations at Port Maw itself. It was the pride of Battlefleet Gothic that no Blackstone Fortress had ever been taken in battle.
经过机械修会的大量调整改造后，帝国为黑石要塞添加了防御炮塔和主武器系统，令其具备了堪比巨口港海军指挥部空间站的防御能力。黑石要塞从未被敌人在战斗中攻占过，哥特星区战斗舰队以此为傲。
This was to Change at Rebo system, where the naval base Blackstone IV orbited the system's fifth world. A Chaos fleet, probably led by Abaddon himself, struck at Rebo V. The Imperial ships on station put up a ferocious defence, but were overwhelmed by the size of the fleet facing them. Twenty capital ships, including two Despoiler class battleships and a score of escorting vessels, swept through Rebo's outer defences and attacked Blackstone IV itself.
变化发生在Rebo星系，基于四号黑石要塞建造的海军基地就位于该星系第五颗的世界的轨道上。一支混沌舰船袭击Rebo五号星球，其领袖可能就是阿巴顿本人。驻守当地的帝国飞船进行了激烈抵抗，但它们在舰船吨位上处于劣势。包括两艘掠夺者级战列舰在内的二十艘主力舰，以及二十艘护航舰，都在Rebo外围防线被尽数歼灭。混沌舰队进攻了四号黑石要塞。
The battle was short and bloody — just as the Chaos fleet approached within range. the Blackstone Fortress' power systems shut down completely. With the energy grid dead, the guns were unable to fire, the armoured gates to the attack craft bays couldn't be opened and the personnel on board were defenceless. Soon after this information was projected by the station's Chief Astropath, Blackstone IV fell to invaders. There was no more news from Rebo and it was assumed there were no survivors. This was to be the first of a number of critical blows that shook the Imperial forces right from the outset of the war.
战斗是短暂且血腥的——就在混沌舰队接近到射程之内时，黑石要塞的动力系统完全关停。随着动力系统网络停摆，火炮无法开火，攻击机停泊岗的装甲大门无法打开，基地中的全体人员毫无防御。在空间站中的首席星语者发送出一条信息之后不久，四号黑石要塞便陷落了。帝国不再能收到来自Rebo的更多信息，此地被推测无人生还。从战争一开始，混沌势力就发动了一系列旨在动摇帝国部队的关键打击，而此次进攻便是其中之一。
THE DEATH OF SAVAVEN
SAVAVEN世界之死
Even as Abaddon pushed home his attack at Rebo. more disaster was to befall the loyal defenders of Gothic Sector. At Savaven, a Cardinal world of the Ecclesiarchy, the few system defence ships could do little to protect their planet against a new and awesomely powerful vessel. Simply dubbed the Planet Killer, this monolithic ship bristled with gun decks, lance batteries and torpedo launch systems. As the defence monitors withdrew from its implacable advance, the Planet Killer achieved orbit over Savaven. Jeremiah Soldagen, commander of the orbital defence forces, was later to record the dreadful events to follow:
就在阿巴顿进攻Rebo星系的同时，更多灾难降临到了哥特星区中。在国教教廷的主教世界Savaven，当面对着那艘全新且强悍到恐怖的舰船时，寥寥几艘星系防御船保护这颗世界的努力仅是杯水车薪。这艘巨舰被简称为“行星杀手”，其上布满了火炮甲板、光矛炮塔和鱼雷发射系统。随着星系监测艇在它的无情攻势面前撤退，行星杀手抵达了Savaven轨道上空。轨道防御部队指挥官——杰里米亚 索尔达根之后记录了随之而来的可怕事件：
'Within [the Planet Killer's] central cavity. we could detect a massive power surge. Energy crackled from a number of ports on the hull. Then, with a blast that blotted the sun from our scanners. it opened fire. The energy beam lasted for about a half hour. Emperor knows how they could generate that much energy. We linked in to the planetary surveyors to see what was happening on the surface. That bolt bored its way through miles of the planet's crust and seared through the mantle beneath. As the wrack finished the magma surged forth through this continent-sized wound. breaking apart Savaven from within. The seas boiled into the skies, the ice caps melted and whole continents sunk beneath the tidal wave. With such an unimaginable release of energy Savaven was blown our of her natural orbit and flipped over on her axis. I guess nobody was alive by then, but if they were they didn't last long. Like a rations pack crushed in your fist, Savaven just crumpled in on herself. then broke up into thousands of fragments. There's just an asteroid field them now. really dense, impossible to navigate. There were fourteen billion people living on Savaven. Fourteen billion dead in an hour"
“从那艘｀行星杀手｀的中央空舱处，我们能探测到一股巨大的能量涌动。船体上的一系列端口释放出劈啪作响的能量，然后随着一阵爆炸——从扫描器上看去，相比于它，太阳也只是个污点，它开火射击了。那股能量束持续了大概半个小时，帝皇才知道他们是怎样才能生成如此之多的能量。我们连接上了行星测距仪，要看看地表发生的状况。这道能量束一路穿透了数英里厚的行星地壳，烧焦了下方的地幔。当毁灭结束时，岩浆从一道大陆尺寸的伤口中涌出，Savaven从内部破裂开。海洋被煮沸，水汽都散入了空中，融化的冰盖将整块大陆淹没在海啸中。随着如此难以想象的能量被释放出，Savaven被推离了它的自然轨道，沿轴心旋转起来。我猜此刻已经无人生还，就算有，他们也撑不久了。Savaven自行向内塌缩，就像一个被捏碎的口粮包，然后就破裂成了数千块碎片。它们现在只是一片小行星带，而且岩体间非常紧密，我们无法在其中导航。Savaven上层居住了140亿人，这140亿人在一小时内被尽数屠杀。”
Soldagen and the other survivors were to suffer traumatic mental breakdowns from what they witnessed and three months later they all took their own lives in a mass suicide. The effect on Imperial morale was devastating. All had heard of Exterminates with fusion torpedoes, virus bombs and mass drivers, but to know the enemy had the ability to destroy an entire planet, not just all Ilfe on it, must have been the most chilling thought that any naval crewman had ever faced. As the Imperial Navy reeled at this news, Inquisitor Horst was left wondering if this was the power gained from possession of the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night. If it was something else, then perhaps even worse news was to come.
在目击这一事件后，杰里米亚 索尔达根和其他幸存者遭受了痛苦难忘的精神崩溃，他们在三个月后集体自杀。帝国士气遭受了毁灭性打击，所有人都听说过用聚变鱼雷、病毒炸弹和质量驱动器执行的灭绝令，但知道有能力摧毁整颗星球，而非仅仅扫清其上的一切生命，这必定是所有海军水手所面对过的最恐怖想法。就在帝国海军震惊于这条消息的同时，审判官霍斯特则在思考这股力量是否获取自黑暗之手与暗夜之眼。但如果其另有来源，那或许还会传来更糟的信息。
TROUBLE WITH THE ELDAR
又生龃龉
A constant problem for Lord Admiral Ravensburg, commander of the entire Battlefleet Gothic, was the presence a large number of Eldar in the sector, making swift forays from their hiding places within the Graildark nebula. It is even widely believed that an Eldar Craftworld was in the Gothic Sector during the war, though there were no confirmed sightings and its location was never determined.
对整个哥特星区战斗舰队的指挥官——领主上将雷文斯伯格而言，还有一个持续存在的麻烦：存在于该星区内的大量艾尔达异形，它们会从自己位于Graildark星域的藏身处发动快递突袭。人们甚至普遍相信，在这场战争期间，有一艘艾尔达方舟世界就位于哥特星区中，不过帝国并未收到可信的目击报告，其位置也从未被确定。
Of the pirate forces plaguing the Imperium, the force called the Executioners became highly active as the Gothic War progressed, until the number of their raids and attacks had increased from three in 143.M41 to eight in 147.M41. Unable to track the sophisticated Eldar ships back to their base and strongly suspecting that they were connected in some way to the elusive Craftworld, Ravensburg could do little to defend against the aliens and it was up to individual battlegroup commanders how best to act against their slippery foes.
至于那些为祸帝国的海盗势力，随着哥特战争愈演愈烈，某支被称为“处决者”的海盗变得高度活跃；它们掠袭和进攻的次数，也从143.M41 的三次增加到147.M41的八次。雷文斯伯格无法追踪着复杂精密的艾尔达飞船回到其基地母港，而且强烈怀疑它们与那个难以捉摸的方舟世界存在某种联系，他几乎无法防御住这些异星人的进攻，如何最好地对付这些狡猾敌人取决于各独立战斗群的指挥官。
The Wolf Packs Gather
群狼啸聚
Not only the Eldar preyed upon the transports and merchantmen of the Imperium. Bands of human pirates, renegades from the Eye of Terror and even the vessels of other alien races all increased their activity. Called Wolf Packs by the Naval officers who chased them, these roving bands of small vessels hunted the ships and convoys of anybody and everybody. Admiral Koburn, of the Second Battlecruiser Fleet, noted bitterly:
猎捕人类帝国运输舰和商船的不仅有艾尔达人；人类海盗帮派，来自恐惧之眼的变节者，甚至还有其他异形种族的舰船，都增加了自己的活动频率。这些流浪帮派由小型舰船构成，猎杀着属于任何人的舰船和运输队，负责追捕他们的海军军官称其为“狼群”。隶属于第二战斗巡洋舰编队的考伯恩上将就曾痛苦地记录到：
"If it came to a straight fight. they would be no match for our guns. But (the raiders) are canny, and never risk open battle if they can avoid it. The packs nibble at the heels of our convoys, capturing a single transport here, a merchant vessel then. Their favourite tactic is to lurk in asteroid fields or to operate from deserted moons, where they are almost impossible to detect and even harder to root out. I even heard of one band that docked in a station in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant in the Fullarn system. Every month brings more reports of their attacks, but we minor spare more ships from the battle lines to escort the convoys."
“如果是直接交战的话，他们并非我方舰炮的对手。但劫掠者们很狡诈，只要能避免，他们就不会冒险进行公开战斗。狼群们小口撕咬着我方运输舰队的脚踵，他们先是夺取一艘运输舰，然后就是一艘商船。他们最喜爱的战术就是潜伏在小行星带或出没于荒芜的卫星，他们在那些地方几乎不可能被发现，加以根除则更为艰难。我甚至听说：在Fullarn星系中，某个海盗帮派将飞船停泊进了气体巨星上层大气中的空间站。每个月都有更多关于他们袭击行动的报告传来，但我们也无法从战线上腾出更多飞船去为运输队护航。”
The Imperial fleet was fighting two enemies at once: the Chaos battlefleets and the Ork, Human and Eldar pirates that had been a constant threat to Imperial shipping even before the Gothic War began. Everywhere the Imperial forces were on the defensive, driven from world upon world, system upon system. Losses were high and the shipyards and orbital stations fought an ever increasing battle for supplies and manpower. Darkness had descended upon the Gothic Sector and it looked as if the light would never return.
帝国舰队正在同时以一敌二：混沌战斗舰队，人类、兽人与艾尔达海盗——甚至早在哥特战争爆发之前，他们便在不断威胁帝国航运。帝国军队在各处都处于守势，他们被赶出了一个又一个世界，之后则被赶出一个又一个星系。人类力量损失惨重，造船厂们和轨道空间站们愈发激烈地争夺补给和人力资源。黑暗已经笼罩住了哥特星区，而光明似乎也将永不复焉。
