新的发现·A NEW DISCOVERY

抵达黑石要塞需要经历一番痛苦的旅程，想要驶向遥远的帝国边疆，就得先穿过由异端和混沌把持的星区。然而，旅程的最后一段恰恰最为凶险，因为黑石要塞所在的寂静区是没有亚空间航图的，而射向这个死寂宙域的星炬之光也会被扭曲到无法辨识。所以，黑石要塞的确切位置罕为人知，因为能找到它的旅行者并不多，至于能全身而返的那就更少了。

To reach the Blackstone Fortress requires a harrowing journey, navigating to the distant edge of the Imperium through sectors in which heresy and Chaos have taken hold. Yet it is the last leg of the voyage that is most perilous, for there are no warp charts of the silent zone in which the Blackstone Fortress lies, and the light of the Astronomican becomes distorted beyond recognition as it beams further into this dead space. As such, the exact position of the Blackstone Fortress is only vaguely known, for few travellers have managed to locate it, and fewer still have returned.

循着黑石要塞发出的信号，那些人也许能从未曾标识过的亚空间航路或者浩瀚的虚空中找出一条道来，因为它们就挡在要塞与最近的恒星之间。位于这段旅程最后的是一片杂乱无章的、向四面八方绵延数了百万英里的残骸——这是一团由远古战舰的残骸和武装空间站的碎片组成的密云。这团星辰碎屑究竟来自何处、以及它是如何包围黑石要塞的，一直都是一个谜。有些残骸带有数千年前帝国早期的徽记，而另一些则烙着混沌印记、艾达灵族的符文或者太空死灵的雕纹。然而绝大多数的图案并没有被帝国记录归档，这暗示着有许多古老的异形种族，而他们在人类登上星空的许久之前就已经消失了。虽然这些残骸的数量多到无法计数，然而每一块都有迹象表明它们是被某种强大的破坏性力量摧毁的，它们的舰体被烧出了硕大的洞孔，而机身仿佛就像是被强力的爪子捏碎了似的。

Those who follow the signals emanating from the Blackstone Fortress may be able to navigate the uncharted tracts of warp space or the vast void expanses that separate it from the nearest stars. At the end of this journey is a sprawling field of debris stretching for millions of miles in all directions - a dense cloud made of the remnants of ancient warships and fragmented battle stations. Where this astral detritus came from and how it came to surround the Blackstone Fortress is a mystery. Some bear insignia from the early millennia of the Imperium, whereas others are branded with Chaos marks, Aeldari runes or Necron glyphs. But the overwhelming majority are of designs not capturedby Imperial records, giving hint to numerous ancient xenos species that vanished long before Mankind took to the stars. The number of these wrecks is beyond counting, but each bears evidence of some great and destructive force that was levelled against them, with enormous holes burnt clean through their hulls, and fuselages crushed as though in the grip of mighty claws.

残骸绕着黑石要塞缓慢地运转着，它就隐藏在这片残骸星云的中心。新近抵达的船只不敢过于靠近，除了有撞上胡乱漂浮的残骸的危险之外，还存在这样的风险，那就是造成这种毁灭的末日武器，不管那是什么，都可能仍在运作之中。不过，对于那些已经航行到骸云边缘的人来说，能吸引他们的东西着实不少。在残骸里有武器系统、星图以及在银河系其它地方都见不着的远古科技，于是乎，乘着小型穿梭机的拾荒小队被派了出去，他们会把遇难船只的残骸清理的一干二净。然而（那些）真正富有冒险精神的家伙会进一步深入星云，他们会穿过漂浮的墓碑，然后驶向黑石要塞本身。

The wrecks orbit slowly around the Blackstone Fortress, which lies hidden at the centre of this nebula of debris. Newly arriving vessels dare not travel too close, for aside from the danger of colliding with haphazardly floating wreckage, there is the risk that whatever apocalyptic armaments caused such obliteration could still be operational. Yet there is much to entice those who have made the voyage to the edge of the debris cloud. Amongst the wrecks there are weapons systems, star charts and archeotech unseen elsewhere in the galaxy, and scavenger crews are sent out in small shuttles to pick clean the skeletal remains of the dead ships. But the truly adventurous delve even further into the nebula, wending their way through the floating graveyard towards the Blackstone Fortress itself.

绝壁星·PRECIPICE

想要进入星云带，就得靠一条足够灵活的小船去避开那不断循环流转的巨型漂骸和碎片漩涡。能够让飞行员或者导航者前往相对畅通航道的地图根本就不存在，即使这种航图真的存在，它们也会被持有者严密地保护起来。不过，能够得以幸存的飞船最终会出现在一个空旷的球形宙域中，而黑石要塞就坐落在宙域的正中央。

Travelling into the nebula requires a vessel small and nimble enough to avoid the colossal debris drifts and eddies of scrap that constantly circulate. There are no maps to guide pilots and navigators towards relatively clear channels - or if such charts do exist, they are guarded closely by those who possess them. But a craft that is able to survive eventually emerges into a sphere of empty space, at the heart of which lies the Blackstone Fortress.

在构造体庞大而又单一的阴影之下，有一座小小的星站。它由碎片拼凑而成，就锚定在这片次元扭曲宙域中的孤立节点上，住在上面的那帮乌合之众管它叫绝壁星。为了防止被黑石要塞的巨型重力井吸走，每条船在抵达之后都会被拴在绝壁星的一根系泊桅杆上，而且在被允许进入星站之前，全体船员都会收到一份最后通牒——在登站前要把所有的新仇旧恨和琐碎的派系之争全都扔到一边，否则就洗干净脖子等着吧（1）。这种咄咄逼人的预防措施是不可或缺的，因为绝壁星上挤满了来自不同交战种族的星际旅者，他们必须受到规劝，否则这帮家伙就会自相残杀，而绝壁星也会被撕成碎片。这份不稳定的休战协议由一支专门的基干团体负责执行，这个团体由最强大、最具影响力的船长（2）组成，不过，破坏和暗杀行动依旧很是常见，尤其是当它与这些船长们的目的相符的时候。

Under the shadow of the monolithic structure there is a small way station. Cobbled together from pieces of scrap and anchored to a solitary node of warp-entangled space, it is called Precipice by its ragtag inhabitants. Upon arrival, each vessel is lashed to one of Precipice's mooring spars, preventing it from being drawn in by the massive gravity well of the Blackstone Fortress, and before being allowed to enter the station anultimatum is delivered to the crew -set aside animosities, ancient hatreds and petty factionalism before coming on board, or face annihilation. Such aggressive precautions are a necessity, for Precipice is populated with star-farers from disparate warring races who must be dissuaded from tearing each other, and the station, apart. An ad hoc cadre of the most powerful and influential captains enforce this uneasy truce, though acts of sabotage and assassination are still commonplace, especially when it serves these captains' purposes.

不管绝壁星有多么危险，对于那些勇敢并且莽到会进入黑石要塞的人来说，它都是最后的落脚点。它是一个以物易物的处所，为了能够从居前而候的恐怖事件中活下来，旅行者们可以在这里购买、出售或者窃取设备和知识，而且在这个地方，为了共同求生，各种类型的冒险家都会组成临时联盟。这里是进入疯狂的领域前的最后理性之所。

Regardless of its dangers, Precipice is the final port of call for those brave and brash enough to enter the Blackstone Fortress itself. It serves as a bartering point where travellers can buy, sell or steal the equipment and knowledge needed to survive the horrors that lie ahead of them, and a locale where adventurers of every ilk can form temporary alliances for shared survival. It is the last point of reason before plunging into a realm of madness.

行商浪人贾努斯·德莱克

Rogue Trader Janus Draik 

行商许可令R38-79N1

Warrant of Trade R38-79N1

数据日志条目：11703

Datalog Entry：11703

除非我弄错了——而我甚少犯错（3）——关于已经发现黑石要塞的报告是真实的。通过与各个拾荒者派系的谈判【参见数据日志条目11,696c-11,701】，我得以知悉在残骸星云的中央有一个稳固的港口，目前我正在向这个叫绝壁星的空间站赶去。由于漂浮的残骸实在太多，所以必需得把德莱克之星留在星云的边缘，而我绝大部分的手下也得留下来看守它。乘坐穿梭艇出发的时候，我感到相当的怀旧——毕竟，我早期的征服行动都是在先锋号（4）上进行的，一边扩大帝国的疆土，一边享用陈年的阿玛塞克酒（5）。

Unless I am mistaken -and I am rarely mistaken - the accounts of a Blackstone Fortresses having been uncovered are true. By means of parley with the various scavenger factions I have learnt of a stable port at the centre of the wreckage nebula, and am currently en route to this station of Precipice. Due to the sheer mass of floating debris, it was necessary to leave the Draikstar at the nebula's edge, along with the vast majority of my personnel to guard it. I feel rather nostalgic going forth in my shuttle - after all, it was aboard Vanguard that I conducted my earliest conquests, expanding the Emperors domain while enjoying aged amasec.

（1）这就是为什么德莱克不敢在舵手酒肆大动干戈的原因。

在绝壁星——尤其像是在舵手酒肆这样显眼的地方——开火射击，会招致流放，甚至还会被就地正法，所以对我们来说，情况很是糟糕。 

Firing weapons on Precipice, especially somewhere as visible as the Helmsman, can lead to exile or even execution, so things could have gone badly for us. 

（2）全都是恶棍，无一例外。

在绝壁星上，那个由自封领袖（全都是恶棍，无一例外）组成的阴谋集团并不会去维护什么法律，他们会用铁腕一般政策来执行自己的意志。 

What little law there is on Precipice is upheld by a cabal of self-appointed leaders (scoundrels, to a man) who enforce their will with an iron hand. 

（3）呸！

（4）先锋号是贾努斯·德莱克的私人穿梭艇，他就是乘着这艘小艇穿越残骸带抵达绝壁星的。

自从贾努斯·德莱克首次继承了他的行商许可令后，这艘造型优美、机动灵活的穿梭艇就一直归他所有了。一小批最受德莱克信任的助手陪他一同登上了先锋号，在那里，他们会对行商浪人的无畏之举进行援助，并保护由他收集起来的大量异形科技造物。

This sleek and manoeuvrable shuttle has been in Janus Draik's possession since he first inherited his Warrant of Trade. A handful of Draik's most trusted attaches have accompanied him aboard Vanguard, where they aide him in his exploits and guard his considerable collection of xeno-tech artefacts.

（5）阿玛塞克酒/amasec是一种帝国酒饮①，其中有一些似乎是用谷物酿造出来的②。

①阿玛塞克是一种颇受欢迎的酒精饮料，由葡萄酒蒸馏而成。其范围下至几乎可以拿去当燃烧弹用的粗制劣酒，上到仅供帝王顶级仆从享用的陈年佳酿。

Amasec is a popular alcoholic drink distilled from wine. It can range from lesser brews barely fit for firebombs, to well-aged brands suitable for only the finest of the Emperor's servants.

②“你提出的任何建议我都会感兴趣的，” 霍伊如此说道，他没有理会阿玛塞克酒，而是伸手从盘子后面取了一瓶没怎么见过的饮料，“来杯纳吉拉如何？我担心我们本地的阿玛塞克酒酿得不怎么样。首先，这里几乎没有种粮食的地方。”

'I'd be interested in any suggestions you might have,' Hoy said, ignoring the amasec, and reaching for an unfamiliar drink at the back of the tray. He smiled. 'Have a nagila? I'm afraid our local amasec isn't up to much. Hardly anywhere to grow the grain, for one thing.'

PS：关于绝壁星的补充资料

在这座位于黑石要塞一个已知孔隙附近的港口都市里挤满了探索者的宇宙飞船，在那里可以交换到珍贵的远古科技。这个荒凉而又孤立的前哨站被人们简称为绝壁星。

The explorers' spacecraft huddle close together at a sort of port city located nearby one of the Blackstone Fortresses' known apertures, where valuable archeotech can be bartered. This forlorn and isolated outpost is known simply as Precipice.

绝壁星仅仅只是一座字面意义上的都市，而且还是最粗劣的那种。它的核心由环绕黑石要塞的残骸拼凑而成，新近抵达并且依旧能够运转的飞船就停泊在绝壁星那杂乱无章的系泊桅杆上。与其说一座真正的城市，它更像是一处设防的营地，为了对抗可能的来犯之敌，这里还有一支提供集体防卫的船队，它也会靠过来做点服贸交易。

Precipice is a city only in the crudest sense of the word. Its core has been cobbled together from the wreckage of ancient craft that orbit the Blackstone Fortress, and newly arrived and still-functioning craft moor onto its haphazard spars. It is more like a fortified camp than a true city, a formation of vessels that offer collective protection against possible intruders and close proximity for the exchange of goods and services.

在绝壁星上靠泊的每艘船只基本上都是自给自足的，但贸易之所以会进行，既有客观切实的原因，也有满足探险者诸多恶习的需要。这里既没有法律，也没有政府，居民们一直都在试图避免——或者实施——背信弃义的行为。总的来说，这里是一个危险的处所，到处都是危险的家伙，而且他们还想去更加危险的地方。

Each craft docked with Precipice is still largely self-reliant, but trade is conducted both for practical reasons and to cater to the explorers' various vices. There is no law or government, and the inhabitants are constantly looking to avoid - or to commit - backstabbing acts of treachery. Basically, this is a dangerous place filled with dangerous people, looking to go to even more dangerous locations.

To be continued…