IA2节译：星际战士装甲武库

The Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are blessed and entrusted with custodianship over some of the most potent war machines in the service of the Imperium. Most owe their origins to the Standard Template Construct system ( often abbreviated to STC ) of the all but forgotten Dark Age of Technology. Developed to supply colonists with reliable, easy to manufacture technology as humanity expanded into the cosmos, the basic STC designs later became the backbone of fighting vehicle patterns deployed during the Great Crusade. The standard Rhino hull is a prime example. It is one of the oldest STC designs still in use and provides the basis for many other armoured fighting vehicles , from whirlwinds to Predators to the Sisters of Battle Immolator.

帝国中某些最强大战争机器的监护（使用）权，都被授予了阿斯塔特修会的星际战士们，后者们也受其赐福。其中大部分装备都起源于来自几乎被人们遗忘的黑暗科技时代的标准化模板建造系统（通常被简称为STC）。随着人类（的领土）拓张进入宇宙，该系统被开发出来用于向殖民地们提供可靠且易于制造的科技制品，这些基本STC设计之后成为了人类在大远征时期部署的战斗载具的（研发）基石。标准型犀牛车体底盘就是最鲜明的例子，它是仍在使用中的最古老STC设计之一，为其他很多装甲战斗载具提供了底盘，从旋风坦克到掠食者坦克，再到战斗修女的不朽者运输车，尽在其中。

Just as it can be said that the Great Crusade forged the Space Marines, it was the demands of fighting against a myriad of foes on every type of battlefield imaginable that created many of the Space Marines' most common fighting vehicles . At the time they were also not just restricted to use by the Space Marine Legions and there is evidence that the Imperial Army——the combined forerunner of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy——also used the same standard vehicles.

就像我们可以说是大远征铸就了星际战士们那样，也是在无法想象的所有类型战场上对抗各种敌人的战斗需求，创造出了星际战士的大多数最常见战斗载具。在当时，它们也并非仅限于星际战士军团使用，有证据表明帝国军——帝国卫队与帝国海军共同的先驱——也使用着同样的标准化载具。

In the thousands of years since those legendary times many vehicle designs have been lost, and knowledge and science have become so debased that the Adeptus Mechanicus is unwilling to court the wrath of the Machine God by attempting to recreate them. STC patterns might be discovered, see considerable use and then fall into disfavour for a myriad of possible reasons. Recently discovered archives describe a battle tank used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade that is similar to one fielded in large numbers by the followers of the so - called Blind King during the terrible wars of the Occlusiad of mid M37 for example.This medium sized, tracked vehicle was equipped with a remotely operated turret-mounted weapons system thought lost since the time of the Scouring , and outclassed many of the tanks fielded by the Imperium against the rogue Tech-Priests serving the Blind King.

在那段传奇岁月之后的数千年中，很多载具设计都被遗失了，（相关的）知识技术也已经变得极其下贱恶劣，以至于机械修会不愿意冒着惹怒万机之神的风险去试图重新创造他们。STC可能会被发现寻回，得到大量使用，然后因为无数种可能的原因被弃用。例如，新近发现的档案文件中描述了星际战士军团在大远征时期使用的某种战斗坦克，而在M37中叶那恐怖的Occlusiad战争中，所谓“无明之王”的追随者们就大量部署了类似的载具。此类中等尺寸的履带载具上所安装的远程操控炮塔，（原本）被认为在大肃清时期便遗失了，其性能超越了人类帝国为了对抗那些服务于无明之王的非法技术神甫而部署的诸多坦克。

Some vehicles currently in use by the Adeptus Astartes, such the Land Raider , have been lost and then rediscovered, whilst other patterns have been handed down from generation to generation, for thousands of years , with very few changes. It is generally held that many other paterns aside from those used in the 41st Millennium have existed , and may still exist on distant worlds Mankind reached during its earlier expansion across the galaxy.

阿斯塔特修会目前使用中的某些载具经历过遗失后再被重新发现的过程，例如兰德掠夺者；而其他载具型号则是在数千年岁月中代代相传，几乎为发生过改变。人们普遍认为，除了那些在第41个千年仍被使用着的载具之外，其他很多型号的载具也曾存在过，而且它们可能仍然存在于遥远世界上——人类曾在其遍布银河各处的早期拓张中抵达过这些星球。

The Chapter Forges 

战团铸炉

Each Space Marine Chapter has its own base;a homeworld or space-borne fortress-monastery within which are various facilities such as the Chapters Apothecarion, Chapels and Armoury . Construction of most Space Marine vehicles takes place in the Chapter forges , each Chapter having an officer known as the Master of the Forge who is responsible for ensuring its armouries receive a steady supply of vehicles and munitions. This is a high ranking and honourable position amongst the Chapter Masters headquarters staf that reports directly to the Chapter Master and is supported by an extensive staff comprising Techmarines , Artificers , Servitors , Techno-mats and the forge's slave workers.

每个星际战士战团都有属于自己的基地：一颗母星世界或一座舰基要塞修道院，其中包含着诸如战团药剂室、礼拜堂和武库等多种设施。大部分星际战士载具都由战团铸炉制造，每个战团中都有一名被称为“铸造之主”的军官，其负责确保战团武库获得载具与弹药的稳定供应。在直接向战团长汇报的战团司令部中，铸造之主享有可敬且崇高的地位，并由包含技术军士、（凡人）工匠、机仆、技术（支援）团和铸炉奴工在内的大量人员对其进行支援。

Amongst their many duties, the Techmarines oversee the construction of new vehicle chassis , and although each Chapter has its own traditions and rituals of construction, they all folow a broadly similar pattern. The Chapter forges manufacture and assemble the required components, then the complete chassis——be it Rhino , Land Raider , Land Speeder , etc , is blessed and omens are read. Interpreting the omens indicates what specific type of vehicle is to be constructed from the metalic skeleton , so , for example , a Rhino chassis may then be earmarked to become a Predator Annihilator , Razorback or Vindicator , and the vehicle is then returned to the forges to be completed.

在技术军士的诸多职责中，就包括监督新载具底盘的建造，尽管每个战团都有自己的习俗和建造仪式，但他们都遵循着大体相同的模式。战团铸炉制造并组装起所需的部件，之后完整的底盘（它可能是犀牛、兰德掠夺者或兰德速攻艇，等等）会被赐福并解读预兆。对预兆的解读，将表明这具金属框架要被铸造成哪种具体的载具种类。例如，一部犀牛底盘可能被指定为处决者型掠食者坦克、豪猪运兵车或维护者坦克，之后底盘将被送回铸炉去完成载具制造工序。

Once any additional equipment required has been fitted , the Ceremonies of Naming and Awakening are then performed ,the naming ceremony giving each individual vehicle its unique title.Examples include the Salamanders Rhino Nocturne’s Hamner, or the Iron Hands Land Raiders Myrmex and Metallus Gravus. Some Chapters proudy display this name on the vehicle’s exterior, while others believe it must be kept secret lest the enemy learn it and gain power over the vehicle’s machine spirit.

所需的任何额外设备都被装配好后，便要进行授名与唤醒仪式，授名仪式会给予每台载具一个独一无二的名称，例如火蜥蜴的犀牛运输车“夜曲之锤”号，或钢铁之手的兰德掠夺者“米尔梅克斯”号与“沉重金属”号。某些战团会将载具的名称自豪地展示在其外部，而其他战团相信载具名称必须保密，以防敌人得知并获取载具机魂的力量。

The Ceremony of Awakening sees the initiation of the vehicle’s machine spirit into the Chapter. The machine spirit within is awoken from its slumber and only once this ceremony is complete, and the vehicle has been declared fit for service, is it handed to the armouries for storage until required. With the Chapters constantly fighting wars across the galaxy, attrition is high, and the Master of the Forge will allocate new vehicles to fighting companies in need of replacements, or if a new major offensive is planned, will store them as part of the Chapter’s central reserve of heavy armour until they are needed.

“唤醒仪式”会见证载具的机魂被战团所接纳。载具内部的机魂被唤醒，而且只有当仪式完成，载具被宣布适合服役之后，其才会被送交军械库储存起来，直到需要时再被启用。由于要在银河各处不断征战，阿斯塔特战团们承受着高昂的（装备）消耗，铸造之主们会将新的载具分配给有替换需要的战斗连；如果战团计划进行一次新的大规模进攻，新载具就会被储存起来，成为为战团重装甲编队的中央后备力量，等到需要时再被唤醒。

Not all Chapters have the facility to make every vehicle they require. For example , the largest vehicles , such as Thunderhawk gunships, require vast manpower and ancient and arcane processes to construct. So some Space Marine Chapters have ties to nearby Forge Worlds and can draw on these in times of need——the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Space Marines long ago swore mutual oaths of service to the Imperium and ancient charters exist requiring Forge Worlds to supply Chapters with arms and armour when required.

并非所有战团都有条件能制造自己所需的全部载具。诸如雷鹰炮艇之类的最大型载具，其建造就需要大量人手和古老且玄奥的流程。所以某些星际战士战团与自己周边的铸造世界们拥有协议，并会在有需要时引用其中的条款——很久之前，星际战士和机械神教便向帝国宣誓要相互协助，古老的宪章也要求铸造世界们在战团有需要时为其提供武器和装甲载具。

In these cases vehicles are constructed to order and can only be supplied to the specific Chapter. Strict monitoring ensures that they do not fall into less trustworthy hands, and once complete, the new vehicle is delivered to the Chapters base of operations, often with great ceremony, renewing old ties of fealty or repaying ancient debts. The strict security around such arrangements is essential because Space Marine vehicles rank amongst the most potent technology available to the Imperium, and help to give the Space Marines an edge in battle. They cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of traitors, rebels, recidivists or spies, who might turn them against those they were originally intended for.

在这些情况中，载具会依照订单被建造，而且只被提供给特定战团。（人类帝国）严苛的监督将确保这些新载具不会落入不可信任者之手，而且一经完工，它们就被被送到（特定）战团的行动基地——过程中通常伴随着盛大的庆典仪式，双方会重申忠诚协议或偿还古老债务。围绕此类安排设置的安全措施是至关重要的，因为星际战士载具是帝国最强大的科技造物之一，并帮助阿斯塔特们在战斗中获得优势。它们不能被允许落入叛徒、叛军、惯犯和间谍之手，这些装备可能被后者们去对抗帝国。

The Techmarines of the Adeptus Astartes are one of the very few bodies outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus inducted into the arcane rites of the machine, yet the two ancient institutions are so divergent in doctrine and demeanour that relations are often strained. The servants of the Machine God are rarely allowed within a Chapter's forge, except where long-standing ties between individual Forge Worlds and Chapters allow it. Despite this, some formal contact between the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Mechanicus exists, and ancient treatises prevail whereby Techmarines receive training in the arcane arts of science and technology by serving an apprenticeship on a Forge World, some even travelling to Mars to learn from the master Techno Magi of the Red Planet. Each Techmarine initiated into the ancient lore of machines before returning to they Chapter and a few may even one day rise to the honoured rank of Master of the Forge.

在机械修会之外的人员中，阿斯塔特修会的技术军士是少数学习过机器的玄奥仪式的群体之一，但由于这两个古老机构在教义和行为上差异迥然，双方也经常陷入紧张关系。机神仆役们几乎不被允许进入战团铸炉，除非某个铸造世界和（特定）战团间的长期协议允许其造访。不过，阿斯塔特修会和机械修会之间仍存在正式接触，古老专著也提到技术军士们前往铸造世界成为学徒，接受科学技术神秘技艺的训练——某些人会前往火星，受业于赤红星球的技术贤者们。每位技术军士都接受关于机械的古老学识，然后他们将返回自己的战团，其中少数甚至终有一日会升级为可敬的铸造之主。

Techmarines and the Chapter Cult

技术军士和战团教派

Techmarines often occupy an unusual position within their Chapters, especially in relation to the particular 'Chapter Cult' they and their brethren follow. Each Space Marine Chapter has its own traditions and rituals by which it venerates its Primarch and other key figures from its long and glorious history, some of them highly idiosyncratic. To be initiated into a Chapter cult is a high honour, and grants the initiate knowledge that is only possessed by a small number of warriors across the Imperium. Like their brethren, Techmarines are also initiated into the mysteries of their Chapter's cult, but they are also possessed of the secrets of the Cult of the Machine, into which they are initiated whilst learning their arcane craft alongside the Tech-Priests of Mars or other Forge Worlds.

技术军士通常在战团中占据着不寻常的位置，尤其是与他们自己和兄弟们所遵循的特定“战团教派”相关。在崇拜自己的原体和自己漫长光荣历史上其他关键人物的事项上，每个战团都自有一套传统与习俗，而且其中某些内容已变得颇为怪异。加入战团教派是崇高的荣誉，并且入会者们能得到仅为帝国中的一小群战士们所知的学识。就像自己的兄弟们那样，技术军士们也被纳入了神秘的战团教派，但他们也掌握着机械神教的秘密——他们曾与火星或其他铸造世界的技术神甫们一道学习玄奥技艺。

In most cases, the Techmarine is able to absorb and reconcile the divergent secrets of both his own Chapter cult and of the Cult Mechanicus, but in some instances the doctrines of the two might be at odds in some way. They might both require certain oaths of the initiate, which may clash at some point in the Techmanne's future, for example, The Dark Angels and their Successors are a case in point regards this, for the oaths of the Unforgiven are terrible indeed and demand the initiate's complete adherence .Many Techmarines in the service of the Unforgiven Chapters are often a class apart from their brethren, party to many secrets of both cults but never fully inducted into the deeper truths known only to the grim-faced masters of the Inner Circle.

在大多数情况中，技术军士能够同时吸收并调和来自战团教派与机械神教的相异知识，但在某些情况下，两派的教义也可能在某些方面存在分歧。战团教派可能要求入会者发下特定誓言，其内容或许会未来的某个时刻与技术军士（的机械神教誓言）发生抵触。例如，黑暗天使及其子团就是恰当的例子，因为不可饶恕者的誓言的确是恐怖的，要求入会者对其完全遵守。很多服役于不可饶恕者战团的技术军士，都是一个独立于自己兄弟们之外的阶层，他们掌握着战团教派与机械神教的诸多秘密，但永远不会完全了解到战团的深层秘密——只有那些面容冷峻的内环主宰们才掌握这些机密。

Rites of Battle

战争仪礼

Adeptus Astartes combat doctrine is very different to that of Imperial Guard forces and is largely dictated by the size of a Chapter and the nature of the mission, who are only required to take on the most vital and arduous of operations. Combat doctrine can generally be described in terms of rapid response and rapid strike, although all Space Marines are masters of all forms of warfare. Most Chapters lack the numerical strength and indeed the inclination to hold on to or dominate large areas of around, instead providing forces for short deployments with specific and strategically vital objectives. 

阿斯塔特修会的战争信条与帝国卫队大不相同，而且在很大程度上是取决于战团规模与任务性质——星际战士们仅被要求去执行最为关键且艰难的行动。虽然星际战士们精通各种形式的战斗，但他们的作战信条通常可以描述为快速反应和快速打击。大部分战团都缺乏兵力优势，也不倾向于固守阵地和控制周边的大范围区域，而且是在特定关键战略目标处进行短期部署。

Chapters operate a very flexible command structure and although each is divided into ten companies, these generally provide a pool of warriors which can be combined to create strike forces of varying sizes. A company may fight together as a single unit or be split up into smaller combined arms forces, with strike forces being generally organised around a core of Tactical squads, supported by specialist Assault or Devastator troops as well as armoured units of all kinds.

阿斯塔特战团运行着一套非常灵活的指挥结构，虽然各战团都被划分为十个连队，但战士们通常也可以被组合为不同规模的打击部队。一支连队可以作为独立单位作战，或被拆分为更小规模的混成部队——这些打击部队通常以战术小队们为核心，并由专业化的突击和破坏者部队以及各种类型的装甲单位来提供支援。

Each company will have its own complement of transport vehicles, but the heavier armour is invariably drawn from the central Chapter Armoury — the exception to this is the Chapter's 1st Company, which often maintains its own Land Raiders and Stormravens as transports for its Terminator squads. Companies do not generally maintain Predators, Vindicators, Hunters or Whirlwinds as part of their permanent strength as such valuable and revered assets are more likely to be allocated on a mission-by-mission basis. When a strike force is dispatched, its commander will request assets from the Armoury. The Master of the Forge, in consultation with the Chapter Master's headquarters and the strike force commander, will then allocate vehicles suitable for the task.

每个连队都有自己的装甲载具补充，但更为重型的装甲载具向来是调拨自战团中央武库。不过战团第一连队例外，他们保有自己的兰德掠夺者和风暴鸦炮艇，用于运输终结者小队。各连队通常不会将掠食者坦克、维护者坦克、猎手防空坦克和旋风坦克保有为自身永久性力量的一部分，因为这些珍贵且可敬的装备更有可能是以每次任务为基础加以分配。当一支打击部队被派出后，其指挥官会要求武库提供此类装备。在与战团长指挥部和打击部队指挥官进行过协商之后，铸造之主会分配适用于当前任务的载具。

The crews for a Chapter's armoured vehicles comprise solely Space Marines, many assigned as required from the Tactical squads of the Chapter’s 6th and 7th companies. All Space Marines are trained in the operation of armoured vehicles and armoured formation tactics as part of their core indoctrination——some going on to specialise in armoured operations, being trained upon larger vehicles and even being entrusted with basic maintenance tasks. All Space Marine vehicles are fitted with spinal interfaces that link with the custodian’s body by plugging into his power armour and black carapace.This alows them to become part of the vehicle , granting intuitive communion with its controls and systems.

战团载具的驾驶员组完全由星际战士构成，其中很多人都是按要求调配自战团六、七连队的战术小队。所有星际战士都接受过装甲载具操作和装甲编队战术的训练，这是他们催眠灌输学习的一部分——某些人将继续专攻装甲作战，受训驾驶更大型的载具，甚至被委以基本的维护任务。所有星际战士载具都被安装了脊椎接口电路，载具保管员们能够将其插入动力甲和黑色甲壳中，将自己的身体与机器连接起来。这允许他们成为载具的一部分，和载具的控制器与（内部）系统进行直观交流。

Deployment of Armoured Units 

装甲单位部署

Infantry are the core fighting force of all Adeptus Astartes Chapters. Heavily armed and armoured, and operating in Assault , Tactical and Devastator squads, they form the backbone of most Space Marine strike forces. Other arms are primaily deployed in support of these elite infantry warriors , although some do occasionaly operate independently when the situation requires them to do so.

步兵是所有阿斯塔特战团的核心战斗力量，他们身披厚重的动力甲，手持精良的武器，以突击、战术和破坏者小队的模式行动。他们组成了大部分星际战士打击部队的基石。其他的武器主要是用于支援这些精锐步兵战士，但在有需要的情况下，这些武器偶尔也会独立行动。

The role of a Space Marine armoured unit is to deliver the decisive blow to an enemy at the critical point in the battle. It is deployed to break an enemy defensive system and , in close coordination with other arms, to destroy the most dangerous hostile units. The paramount principle of a Chapter's tank deployment and tactics is cooperation with its infantry squads, the infantry-tank assault force concentrating a Chapters fire and shock power into a narow sector for breakthrough and deep penetration operations. This is the preferred offensive method used by most Chapters for ground operations in the open field.

 星际战士装甲单位的用途，就是在战斗的关键时刻向敌军发出决定性的进攻。它们被用于突破敌军的防御系统，并通过与其他武器的紧密配合来摧毁最危险的敌对单位。星际战士坦克部署与战术的首要原则，就是与步兵小队协同配合。这种步坦进攻编队能将一个战团的火力与冲击力都集中到一片狭窄的区域，以突破敌军防线并深入其阵地。在开阔战场的阵地战当中，大部分战团都偏好此类进攻方式。

The deployment of heavy armour by Chapters is always for a specific mission or role. Tanks are rarely used for general advances, holding ground or for prolonged siege warfare, although none of these capabilities is beyond the Adeptus Astartes, and some may excel at them where necessity dictates.

战团部署重型装甲载具，通常是为了完成特定任务，或者发挥某种用途。（星际战士的）坦克很少被用于全面推进、阵地固守和长期攻城，不过阿斯塔特修会也具备进行这些战争的能力，而且在有必要的情况下，某些战团的表现可能还颇为出色。

A Chapter of around only a thousand warriors cannot sustain long deployments and such are the foes assailing Mankind , that there are ever more emergencies to avert elsewhere. The Space Marines' modus operandi focuses therefore on short term operations and rapid strikes, attacking fast with overwhelming force before redeploying to another war zone.

一个战团由大约一千名战士组成，他们无法维持长期部署；而且袭扰人类的敌人也极其众多，其他区域中需要防止（发生）的紧急事件会更多。因此 星际战士们的作战方式侧重于短期行动和快速打击，利用压倒性力量快速进攻，然后再被重新部署到另一个战区。

During rare extended campaigns, after each deployment troops wil usualy be recalled to their battle barge to re-arm and refit , before being redeployed to the surface for subsequent assaults.

在罕见的长期战役中，参战的阿斯塔特部队在每次部署之后，都会被召回到己方的战列母舰，以进行整修和弹药补充，然后再被派往地表以发起之后的进攻。

Some war zones preclude the use of heavy armour. Examples include ship-to-ship boarding actions, infiltration missions for sabotage or intelligence gathering (often carried out by lightly equipped Scout units ), tunnel fighting and planet strikes. Orbital drops require a landing zone to be secured before heavier equipment can be landed safely, unless a Thunderhawk Transporter is available to deliver Rhinos or even Land Raiders directly into battle.

某些战区会妨碍重型装甲载具的使用，其案例就包括舰对舰的跳帮行动、为暗中破坏和情报收集而采取的渗透行动（通常由轻量化装备的侦察兵单位执行）、坑道战和行星突袭作战。当进行轨道空降任务时，星际战士们需要先开辟出一片安全登陆区，然后才能令重型装备安全落地，除非他们是利用雷鹰运输机直接将犀牛运输车甚至兰德掠夺者直接投放进战场。

As well as armour and infantry units , strike forces also include artillery assets. To a Space Marine commander , traditional artilery is of litte value.The nature of Space Marine operations means that there is often little time to establish artillery positions or for the lengthy work of reducing an enemys fighting strength by attritional bombardment. Artillery is invariably of the mobile, close support variety, able to move with the rest of the force and deliver short, sharp salvoes of fire to saturate a target immediately before or even during an ongoing assault. Few Space Marine Chapters possess heavy artilery capable of reducing enemy bunkers , pillboxes or walls to rubble at long ranges, and where they do, such war machines are often the relics of the earliest days of the Legiones Astartes and rarely used by the Chapters of the Age of the Imperium.

 除了装甲和步兵单位，打击部队通常也会携带火炮。对星际战士指挥官而言，传统火炮意义不大，因为星际战士们的任务性质意味着他们通常几乎无暇建立炮兵阵地，也来不及利用消耗性轰炸削减敌军战斗力。阿斯塔特的火炮是具备机动性的近距离支援改型，能够随着其余部队一并移动，并能在战斗之前或战斗中提供猛烈的炮火齐射，以立刻对目标进行饱和轰炸。只有极少数战团还握有能从远距离将敌方碉堡、掩体或护墙轰为瓦砾的重炮，而且此类战争机器通常都是来自阿斯塔特军团最早期阶段的遗物，几乎不被帝国时期的战团们所使用。

The heaviest firepower available to a force commander is provided by the Chapter's fleet. Orbital bombardment by the macro weapons of a battle barge or strike cruiser is a very blunt tool for a surgical strike force. Inaccurate, although devastating, an orbital strike is used to prepare the ground for a major assault, for destructive fire against large targets, for harassing fire or as a weapon of last resort. It might be able to hit a city or a map grid , but it cannot be relied upon to hit a specific target such as an individual bunker within that city or a moving target such as an enemy tank column. It lacks the speed to react to new targets or the accuracy for counter-artillery battery fire. Other factors also restrict its use. Spaceships must be pre - positioned in low orbit, which is not always possible or desirable during rapid assaults or where the world in question possesses effective orbital defences.

一名部队指挥官能调用的最强大火力，是由战团舰队所提供的。但对于一支外科手术式打击部队而言，战列母舰或打击巡洋舰的巨型武器所释放出的轨道轰炸，是一种非常钝拙的工具。轨道打击虽然具备毁灭性，却并不精准，它被用于为大规模进攻做准备，也能用于向大型目标投射毁灭性火力，进行袭扰性射击，或者是被用作最终手段。轨道轰炸能够击中一座城市或一个地图坐标方格的区域，但星际战士们无法用它来击中特定目标——比如城市内部的某座碉堡，也不能以此来摧毁诸如敌军坦克纵队之类的移动目标。而且它还缺乏对于新目标做出反应的速度，以及应对反炮击炮塔射击的精准性。其他因素也制约了这种武器的使用。星舰必须被事先部署到低空轨道处，但在进行快速突击或不确定目标世界是否具备有效轨道防御机制的情况下，这种行为并不总是可行或可取的。

The Rites of Modification 

改造仪式

The Tech - Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus claim stewardship over all forms of machine utilised across the million and more worlds of the Imperium, and it is certainly true that without their constant ministrations the vast majority of those machines would fal silent , and with them many of the cultures they sustain. The servants of the Omnissiah abhor almost all forms of progress, distrustful of advancements that might cause machine to turn upon man, as indeed it is held by some once happened. New war machines therefore are not invented but discovered , beneath the dust of ancient battlefields or in crumbling tomes in continent-sized libraria. The Space Marines exist apart from the bulk of humanity however , and the technology they utilise is of a distinctive class visibly different from that available to most within the Imperium. This difference extends further than mere aesthetics, for the Techmarines of the Adeptus Astartes know that their war machines are more favourably disposed to modification and augmentation than those utilised by the Imperial Guard or other divisions within the Imperium's sprawling military. Thus , it is not unusual to uncover accounts of Space Marine commanders confronted with new tactical situations ordering their Techmarines to modify their vehicles or weapons in some manner , and for a solution to be forthcoming. Such accounts enrage the servants of the Machine God, who regard it as blasphemy and an affront to al they hold sacred , and it is far from uncommon for delegations of Tech-Priests to demand access to a Chapter’s forge having heard of such modifications being undertaken , but few Masters of the Forge are likely to suffer such an insult. Nevertheless, even the mighty Space Marines must rely upon the Adeptus Mechanicus at times, and so wise Chapter Masters act to ensure that the Tech-Priests are appraised of the Forge’s developments and , where necessary, new patterns are ceded to them for further study .

人类帝国超过一百万颗世界上所使用着的机械，全部由机械修会的技术神甫们进行管理。毫无疑问，倘若没有这些科技教士们的持续照料，绝大部分机械都将陷入沉寂，由机械所维持的众多文明也会随之静默。万机之神的仆役们憎恶几乎所有形式的进步，不信任可能导致机器背叛人类的（技术）发展——某些人相信，过去曾经发生过此类事件。因此，新的战争机器机器是被发现而非发明出的——人们挖开古代战场上的陈沙，或者在面积横跨大陆的图书馆中翻阅已然破烂的巨著，才发现了这些装备。不过，星际战士们是独立于人类主体之外存在的，他们所使用的技术是一个独特的类别，与帝国内部的大多数技术都迥乎不同。阿斯塔特修会的技术军士们也知道，相比于帝国卫队和帝国庞大武装力量的其他分支所使用的战争装备，自己的战争引擎更偏爱于接受改造和增强，这导致双方间技术的差别愈发明显。因此，当星际战士指挥官面对新的战术状况时，他们会命令技术军士以某种方式改造载具或武器，并为即将到来的问题寻求解决方案，这种情况并不罕见。关于此类事件的报告会激怒万机之神的仆从们，他们会认为这是一种亵渎，是对自己所信奉的一切神圣事物的侮辱；在听说了这种修改后，技术神甫代表团会要求进入（当事）战团的铸炉，这并非罕见的情况，但几乎没有哪位铸造之主可能会遭受此等冒犯。毕竟无论如何，哪怕强大的星际战士们偶尔也必须依赖于机械修会，因此那些明智的战团长们会采取措施，确保战团铸炉得到技术神甫们的评估；在必要时，新型载具样本也会被转让给机械修会，供其进一步研究。