The Treachery of Iron

鋼鐵之叛

The Iron Warriors' attack began with overwhelming force. A vanguard of a hundred ships broke from the Warp and made flank speed for the closest concentration of Loyalist vessels, firing on the Imperial Fists as soon as they came within range. The Hammer of Terra, a veteran of the earliest days of the Great Crusade, is remembered as the first great ship to fall, and with it?the Imperial Fists took their first casualties of the war. Dozens of other, lesser ships died or were crippled in those first moments, leaving the Imperial Fists in no doubt to whose allegiance the Iron Warriors now lay. Swiftly, more and more Iron Warriors ships came from the Warp ,their engines blazing, the perilously closely formed and high powered re-entry of so large an armada tearing real-space into tatters around them.

鋼鐵勇士們憑借壓倒性的力量開始了進攻。一百艘戰(zhàn)艦組成的前鋒部隊沖出亞空間，以側翼速度沖向最接近的忠誠派艦船集中區(qū)，一經(jīng)進入射程，它們便向帝國之拳艦隊開火。泰拉之錘號，一艘參與過大遠征最早期戰(zhàn)爭的功勛艦作為第一艘隕落的大型戰(zhàn)艦被人們所銘記，它也屬于帝拳軍團在這場戰(zhàn)爭中遭受的第一批損失。其他幾十艘較小的船只在最初的幾分鐘內(nèi)便被擊毀或癱瘓，這讓帝國之拳清楚得知道了鋼鐵勇士們效忠于了哪一方。很快，越來越多的鋼鐵勇士戰(zhàn)艦從亞空間中鉆出，它們的引擎閃耀著離子火光。這支重新進入現(xiàn)實宇宙的艦隊極其龐大，它們危險得緊密排列著，散發(fā)出很強的能量，（甚至）周邊的現(xiàn)實空間都被撕碎了。

That it was the Iron Warriors who came to break the Retribution fleet now seems an obvious fact; the bad blood between the two Legions was well known and treachery had given that bitterness a killing edge. At the time though, the Iron Warriors' appearance in wrath before them was a shock that reverberated through the Retribution fleet as powerfully as massed cannon fire. Cut off from all communication, the Imperial Fists knew nothing of the massacre on Isstvan V nor the treachery of four of the Legions sent to confront Horus. To the Imperial Fists of the Retribution fleet, all beyond Phall was an abyss of the unknown. This crucial point, perhaps more than any other, would have greater significance for the battles conclusion than any other factor.

前來擊潰報應艦隊的是鋼鐵勇士軍團，這似乎是一個明顯的事實；兩個軍團之間的惡劣關系廣為人知，而背信棄義之舉使這種怨恨更有了殺傷力。不過在當時，看到鋼鐵勇士們氣勢洶洶地出現(xiàn)在自己面前還是令報應艦隊感到震驚，這對他們的震撼就像密集的炮火那般強烈。帝國之拳軍團被切斷了所有通訊，他們對發(fā)生在伊斯特萬五號上的大屠殺一無所知，也不知道在被派去對抗荷魯斯的軍團中有四個已經(jīng)背叛了帝國。對報應艦隊中的帝拳戰(zhàn)士們而言，法爾星系之外的一切都是未知的深淵。在所有影響戰(zhàn)爭結果的因素中，這一關鍵的要素或許比其他的都更重要。

Before the attack, the Retribution fleet had formed the overall disposition of a great, shifting sphere. Constantly in movement, each ship and squadron sailed in a complex pattern relative to one another. The intention was to offer an attacker no fixed strength to attack, while allowing the Imperial Fists to reshape their response to any attacker entering the system. The Iron Warriors, for their part, behaved as they so often did; they applied overwhelming and unrelenting force to a single point. The Iron Warriors fleet came from the Warp in a wedge, its tip formed of the greatest ships of their fleet. Hundreds of escorts, gunboats and heavy- bellied assault carriers followed after. At the heart of their fleet the Primarch Perturabo himself directed the battle from the Iron Blood, last daughter of Olympia and his flag ship; a fifteen kilometre-long killing machine which alone had proved the death of worlds many times in campaigns passed. As allegory “As a fist punching an orrery of smoke'，?is how the Iron Warriors' attack at Phall has often been described and it is apt enough, the blow striking but passing through, rather than shattering, for the main.

在（被）進攻前，報應艦隊組成了一個巨大且不斷變化的球狀整體編隊。在不斷的移動中，每艘船和每個中隊都以一種復雜的模式彼此相對。其目的在于讓進攻者們無法攻擊到一支固定（不變）的艦隊，同時允許帝拳軍團重整他們的反擊模式以應對任何進入這個星系的進攻者。鋼鐵勇士們的表現(xiàn)則是一如既往，他們以壓倒性的持續(xù)性力量攻向單獨的某個點。鋼鐵勇士艦隊是以楔形編隊從亞空間中脫出，行駛在最前方的是艦隊中最大的戰(zhàn)艦們，數(shù)以百計的護衛(wèi)艦、炮艇和船艙巨大的突擊航母跟隨在其后方。位于艦隊中心的是鐵血號，原體佩圖拉博在這位奧林匹亞最后的女兒與他的旗艦上親自指揮著戰(zhàn)斗——在過去的戰(zhàn)役中，這艘十五千米長的殺戮機器曾經(jīng)多次獨自毀滅掉（整個）星球。人們通常會用一種寓言式的手法描述鋼鐵勇士軍團對法爾星系的進攻，稱其“就像是一只拳頭擊打在了一個煙霧構成的天體儀上”；但這是足夠恰當?shù)恼f法，因為鐵勇艦隊的進攻主要是通過而非粉碎了報應艦隊。

Despite the Imperial Fists preparations，the battle may have been lost in those first moments. Had the response to the sudden and overwhelming attack been panic and confusion, mere slaughter would have been the result. Indeed, even a skilled application of formally accepted defensive naval tactics would have likely resulted in disaster as well against such an unstoppable and perfectly ordered aggressive force, albeit with a higher butcher's bill for the attacker to pay. But neither of these outcomes was to be the case. Even as the void was lit with the fires of exploding warships and the silent screams of the dying, the Imperial Fists began to respond with stone-hearted discipline, exacting co-ordination and forward planning that their attackers could not have guessed at. In places they fled before the assault, while in others they held fast under the onslaught, inviting the fire of the Iron Warriors to strip the void shields from their hulls. Many of their ships seemed to fly from the battle sphere in disorder before the battering iron monster that struck at them, but this was an illusion, although scores of Imperial Fists vessels died under the guns of their implacable enemy to enact Polux's strategy. Drawn on the Iron Warriors pressed their attack, but even as the full might of the Iron Warriors bore down, the Imperial Fists began to strike back at the edge of their formations. The fleeing ships and formations, once beyond their enemy's firing solutions, turned back in curving arcs, looping back in high- thrust manoeuvres that were only survivable through the excellence of their master's skill and the experience hard-won through toiled practice. Like golden and yellow-hulled darts they struck the Iron Beasts flanks, attacking the weak edges of the Iron Warriors fleet, selecting the slow and the damaged to die, striking with blazing lance barrages or spreads of torpedoes as they raced past. The Iron Warriors responded by pressing on mercilessly.

盡管帝國之拳軍團進行了備戰(zhàn)，這場戰(zhàn)斗可能在最初的那一刻就已經(jīng)失敗了。帝國之拳（最初）以驚慌和困惑來迎戰(zhàn)這次突然且壓倒性的進攻，結果僅僅是慘遭屠殺。事實上，在對抗如此勢不可擋且完美有序的進攻力量時，指揮官哪怕是熟練使用自己正式學習演練過的海軍防御戰(zhàn)術，也是可能導致災難的，不過進攻者也要為此付出更為高昂的代價。但這兩種結果都未出現(xiàn)。就在戰(zhàn)艦爆炸的火光照亮了虛空，垂死之人無聲的慘叫在太空中回蕩時，帝拳軍團開始以鐵石心腸的紀律性、嚴格的協(xié)調(diào)和事先計劃來應對襲擊，這是進攻者們始料未及的。在一些地方，帝拳戰(zhàn)艦在遭到攻擊前撤離逃走了，而在其他地方，他們扛住對方的攻擊，主動讓鋼鐵勇士的炮火把虛空盾從他們的船體上撕下。許多戰(zhàn)艦看似是從兇猛襲來的鋼鐵怪物面前混亂無序的逃開，但這是波拉克斯的誤導戰(zhàn)略，不過為了執(zhí)行波拉克斯的戰(zhàn)略，有數(shù)十艘帝國之拳戰(zhàn)艦被死敵們的炮火所摧毀。鋼鐵勇士艦隊緊追不舍，但就在他們?nèi)M攻的同時，帝國之拳艦隊開始從鐵勇艦隊的脆弱邊緣進行反擊。逃離的艦船和編隊一經(jīng)離開敵軍的開火范圍，就會進行弧形轉(zhuǎn)向，以高推力的機動性轉(zhuǎn)過船身——只有憑借著艦長的精湛技藝和辛苦習得的經(jīng)驗，艦船才能在這樣的機動中幸存下來。船體上噴涂著黃色與金色涂裝的帝拳戰(zhàn)艦如同飛鏢一般攻擊著鋼鐵猛獸們的側翼，他們襲擊鋼鐵勇士艦隊脆弱的邊緣，選出那些緩慢和受損的戰(zhàn)艦以進行摧毀，當從敵艦身邊急馳而過時，帝拳戰(zhàn)艦依靠猛烈的光矛射擊或大量的魚雷齊射來進攻敵艦。鋼鐵勇士的回應則是無情地向前推進。

Losses on both sides of the void battle began to spiral. Macro cannon volleyed and thundered across the cold emptiness now filled with screaming fire and a kaleidoscope of hurtling wreckage. Brilliant lance-light stitched between leviathans of war, scrawling molten-red wounds in decametre-thick armoured hulls. Torpedo bays were shot empty, reloaded and fired again in frenzied pace until magazines meant to last hours of battle were spent in mere minutes. As ships closed to terminal range, hundreds of boarding actions spilled through the guts of grappling war vessels. In some cases, whole clusters of ships became locked together by boarding gantries, mauler claws and void bridges, with battle flowing back and forth across these spinning agglomerations in a wild tide, often to their mutual destruction. Bloated carrier barges flooded the fire- touched void with swarms of bombers, fighters and attack craft, but cast it to such an apocalyptic storm of battle, such motes had little expectancy of life. As the great ships clashed, every weapon of void warfare was wielded without restraint. Proscribed devices which had rarely been deployed since the dawn of the Great Crusade were drawn on in wrath: volkite implosionspheres, vortex warheads, nega-phospex webs and lightning-phage stained the void with their hellish light and nightmare fury. Ships died by the second. Millions of crew perished in flame, were torn into shreds of unrecognisable flesh or were smothered in the cold embrace of the void. It was the power of the Imperium —the power of the Great Crusade which had crushed a galaxy under its heel——turned on itself.?

這場虛空戰(zhàn)參戰(zhàn)雙方的損失開始急劇增加。宏炮在冰冷的真空中齊射出雷霆般的炮擊，現(xiàn)在戰(zhàn)場上充斥著劇烈的火焰，飛速移動著的殘骸以各種形式變化排列著。巨大的戰(zhàn)艦們用光矛相互射擊，熾熱的光束在十米厚的裝甲船體上涂寫出熔融的紅色傷口。魚雷艙被射空，然后重新裝彈，之后又以瘋狂的速度再次發(fā)射，直到本應維持數(shù)小時戰(zhàn)斗的彈艙在短短幾分鐘內(nèi)被消耗干凈。隨著戰(zhàn)艦們彼此接近到極限射程，數(shù)以百計的跳幫行動在掙扎著的戰(zhàn)艦內(nèi)部蔓延開來。在某些情況中，整整數(shù)艘船都被跳幫桶架、槌擊爪和虛空登艦橋鎖在了一起，在狂暴的攻勢中，這些旋轉(zhuǎn)的船團之間來回交戰(zhàn)，這往往導致他們相互毀滅。船艙巨大的航母巨艦向虛空火海中釋放出成群的轟炸機、戰(zhàn)斗機和進攻艇，但是置身于這樣一場末日風暴般的戰(zhàn)斗中，這些塵埃般微小的載具幾乎沒有生還的期望。當強大的戰(zhàn)艦彼此交戰(zhàn)時，所有虛空戰(zhàn)武器都會被毫無節(jié)制地使用。怒火中燒的參戰(zhàn)雙方都動用了自從大遠征初期就極少被使用的禁忌武器：爆燃內(nèi)爆炸彈、漩渦彈頭、負衰減磷火網(wǎng)彈和閃電噬菌體魚雷，這些武器用它們地獄般的邪光和噩夢般的狂怒玷污了虛空。艦船被瞬間摧毀，數(shù)以百萬計的船員們被活活燒死、被撕碎成為一堆無法辨認肉片或在冰冷的虛空中窒息而死。人類帝國的武力轉(zhuǎn)向了他自己，而正是這種武力曾令帝國在大遠征時期將銀河系踩碎在自己腳下。

The Arithmetic of Victory

制勝之道

The void burned and the dead multiplied in number. But while the Imperial Fists’?losses mounted, the dead of the Iron Warriors' tally grew higher. All the while the Imperial Fists shifted their attack pressing, yielding, standing to the last, and attacking in an ever changing whirlwind of controlled wrath. The Iron Warriors fleet inexorably began to fracture, the once constrained mass splintering into sub-fleets as damaged capital ships were forced to slow or break formation to attack a fleeing foe, dragging their escorts with them. This was compounded as ships simply ran out of control, drive systems bleeding fire or detonating in colossal explosions, scattering and blasting anything nearby. Slowly, inch by bloody inch, the tide was turning and the Iron Warriors had begun to spiral towards defeat.

虛空被戰(zhàn)火所燃燒，陣亡人數(shù)也在成倍增加。但是，當?shù)蹏膿p失增加的同時，鋼鐵勇士的死亡人數(shù)也增加了更多。在這一過程中，帝國之拳的攻擊方式也在不斷變化，他們時而逼近對方，時而撤退躲避，一直堅持到最后，以一種不斷變化且能控制住自己憤怒的方式發(fā)動旋風式的進攻。鋼鐵勇士艦隊不可逆轉(zhuǎn)地開始分裂，因為受損的主力艦要被迫減速或拆散編隊以攻擊逃跑的敵艦，所以曾經(jīng)受到約束的大型艦隊分散成（數(shù)支）次級艦隊，這也拖累了他們的護航艦隊。當艦船失去控制，驅(qū)動系統(tǒng)起火或者發(fā)生巨大的爆炸，碎片和火球向四處散射并炸毀了附近的一切時，情況變得更為糟糕。血腥的戰(zhàn)斗一點一點地緩慢平息下來，戰(zhàn)場形勢開始倒向帝國之拳，鋼鐵勇士們則開始走向失敗。

With a Primarch at the head of the Iron Warriors, their failure may have seemed impossible, but if?the Great betrayal has taught us anything, it is that not even a Primarch is without flaw. Perhaps Perturabo did not anticipate the Imperial Fists' readiness, perhaps he was blinded by his hate and need for vengeance, perhaps he could see a path to victory and did not care that it led through the heaped dead of his own forces, or perhaps with forces as well—matched as the Legiones Astartes were against themselves, the merest outside factor could wildly and unexpectedly turn a victory. Also, the skill of Polux is not to be underestimated, for just as there are human minds which could rival and perhaps exceed those of Space Marines, so there were a few of the Legiones Astartes whose abilities could touch, or perhaps even exceed those of their fathers. Whatever the cause —or causes— at work, the Imperial Fists seem to have felt the tide of battle shift enough to attempt to strike a blow against the Traitors that would have seemed impossible before; they would kill Perturabo himself.?

對于原體率隊的鋼鐵勇士軍團而言，失敗看似是不可能的，但大叛亂教授給我們一條道理：原體也并非是毫無缺陷之人。也許佩圖拉博沒有預料到帝國之拳的防范，也許他被仇恨和復仇的需要蒙蔽了雙眼，也許原體是看到了一條通往成功之路而且并不在意自己的軍團要為此付出慘重的傷亡，也許是在實力相當?shù)陌⑺顾剀妶F們自相殘殺時，哪怕最微不足道的外部因素也能瘋狂而意外地使某一方取勝。我們也不能低估波拉克斯的技藝，因為就像有些凡人的思維能力可以匹敵甚至超越星際戰(zhàn)士那樣，也有極少數(shù)星際戰(zhàn)士的能力可以觸及，甚至可能是超越了他們的父親。無論是哪種或哪些因素發(fā)揮了作用，帝國之拳似乎也感覺到戰(zhàn)斗局勢發(fā)生了變化，而且變化程度足以讓他們嘗試去對叛軍發(fā)動一次在之前看來是不可能的進攻——他們要殺死佩圖拉博本人。

Through all, Alexis Polux had managed with near preternatural ability to comprehend the hurricane of battle-data that resulted from this titanic and utterly intricate and blindingly fast conflict. Though the outcome of the battle was stili by no means certain, he had seen a potential vulnerability; a gap in the defences that protected the Iron Blood itself had opened up. With decisive boldness, he reformed a sub-fleet under the command of Captain Armandus Tyr, with the sole task to strike directly at the Iron Warrior's flagship. Its purpose was not to break the Iron Blood with fire, for such a thing was not possible, but to deliver a strike force of Imperial Fists onto Perturabos flagship at any cost. The first wave of the attack was to establish beachheads in the Iron Blood's structure, and then seek out the Iron Warriors Primarch. Subsequent waves would reinforce the onslaught, press the attack and deny the Iron Wamors the ability to rally and prevent the thrust to slay the Primarch. It was a bold move, one that all involved knew would have the highest price, but they did not question the rightness of paying that cost; they had been sent by Rogal Dorn to bring retribution to the Traitors, and they would see that duty done no matter the expense. It was a valiant and audacious plan, and if it had worked who can say what fates would have spun from that moment. But even as the first wave of the attack struck the Iron Blood, fate cut that thread and made a different future.

總之，阿歷克西斯·波拉克斯以近乎超凡的（思維）能力，理解了這場巨大、完全復雜而且快得讓人眼花繚亂的沖突所帶來的颶風般（龐雜的）戰(zhàn)爭數(shù)據(jù)。雖然戰(zhàn)斗的結果還沒有完全確定，但他已經(jīng)看到了對方潛在的弱點：保護鐵血號的防線出現(xiàn)了缺口。他果斷勇敢地重組了一支由阿爾曼都斯 提爾連長指揮的次級艦隊，其唯一的任務就是直接進攻鋼鐵勇士軍團的旗艦。這支艦隊的目標不是用炮火擊潰鐵血號——這也是不可能的，而是不惜一切代價將帝國之拳的一支打擊部隊送到佩圖拉博的旗艦上。第一波進攻是要在鐵血號的船體結構中建立橋頭堡，并且找到鋼鐵勇士原體所處的位置。隨后的幾波進攻是為第一次猛攻提供增援，后續(xù)部隊發(fā)動進攻，阻止鋼鐵勇士們重新集結，并防止第四軍團的戰(zhàn)士們阻礙突擊隊刺殺原體的行動。這是一個大膽的舉動，所有參與者都知道這將帶來最高昂的代價，但他們并不質(zhì)疑付出這筆代價的正確性：羅格 多恩派遣他們向叛徒們施加懲戒，無論代價如何，他們都要確保這項職責的履行。這是一個勇敢而大膽的計劃，如果它（真的）成功了，誰又能說得出從那一刻起命運會發(fā)生怎樣的變化呢？但就在第一波部隊前去攻擊鐵血號時，命運便切斷了這條線，創(chuàng)造了一個不同的未來。