诱饵 The Lure

作者：Dan Abnett

绮罗在攻击的时候总是会大喊“惊喜！”

Keelo always cried “Surprise!” when he attacked.

凯隐猜测可能是绮罗出于尊敬故意放水，或者也可能是他古老预设流程中的残留代码。

Kayn supposed it was the equivalent of Keelo pulling his punches out of respect, or perhaps some artifact of his ancient, preset protocols.

这声警告的吼叫根本就没有必要，而且过了这么久以后也一点趣味都没有了。而且一架四分之三吨的战斗机甲挥着弯钩握把的五十厘米长刃钛金长戟向你扑来的同时，即便大喊“惊喜！”也依然还是一架四分之三吨的战斗机甲挥着弯钩握把的五十厘米长刃钛金长戟向你扑来。

The warning cry was never necessary, nor was it especially amusing after all this time. And a three-quarter ton fightmek shouting “Surprise!” as it swung a hook-handled titanium halberd with a fifty centimeter blade edge at your head was still a three-quarter ton fightmek swinging a hook-handled titanium halberd with a fifty centimeter blade edge at your head.

“别闹，”凯隐叹了一口气。

“Not now,” Kayn sighed.

“但我的确惊到你了，”绮罗垂头丧气地说。他低头看到了凯隐的缟玛瑙办公桌，现在已经被整整齐齐切成了两块。然后他看了看悉达·凯隐本人，他依然坐在椅子上，读着一份官方通报。

“But I have surprised you,” said Keelo dolefully. He looked down at Kayn’s onyx desk, now split cleanly in two pieces and lying on the floor. Then he looked at Shieda Kayn himself, who was still in his seat, reading an official communique.

完全没有被劈成两半。

And not even remotely split into two pieces.

绮罗疑惑地聚焦他的光学设备，从凯隐的身形上挥过一只钢铁巨爪。影像出现了波动。“全息投影诱饵？”

Keelo narrowed his optics in confusion, and waved a huge metal paw through Kayn’s form. The image rippled. “A holo-lure?”

“是的，”凯隐在船舱的另一个角落说。“全息投影诱饵。”

“Yes,” said Kayn from the other side of the chamber. “A holo-lure.”

“你耍了花招？”

“This was a trick?”

“嗯哼。”

“Uh huh.”

“你对我耍花招。”

“You have tricked me.”

“我在四层甲板以外就听到你了，”凯隐回答说。他坐在靠窗口的座位上。厚厚的彩色舷窗外面，飞射空间里的光亮如霓虹般擦过。凯隐正在专心阅读这份文档，他的姿势和动作准确地呈现于椅子上的全息影像。

“I heard you coming four decks away,” Kayn replied. He occupied the chamber’s window seat. Beyond the thick, tinted port, the hard neon lines of slingspace rasped by. Kayn was reading the document intently. His pose and activity exactly matched the hologram figure in the chair.

绮罗的视线在真人与影像之间跳来跳去。

Keelo looked from one to the other.

“诱饵这招很聪明，”他说。“但你是怎么听到我动静的？我开了潜行模式。”

“A holo-lure is clever,” he said. “But how did you hear me coming? I was stealth-moded.”

凯隐的视线依然落在手头的工作上。“修辞手法。我靠的是上周放在你身上的追踪器。我一直都在跟踪你的动向，”他心不在焉地说。

Kayn did not look up from his work. “Figure of speech. I put a tracer on you last week. I’ve been mapping your movements,” he said, distractedly.

这架战斗机甲暂停了一下，然后以诡异的角度观察自己，想要找到追踪器，样子就像小狗在抓自己的尾巴。

The fightmek paused, then twisted awkwardly to look at himself, trying to find the tracer, like a dog trying to examine its own tail.

“这有点不公平，”他抱怨道。

“That is not very sporting,” he grumbled.

“兵不厌诈，”凯隐说着站了起来。他的个子很高，精健而又轻盈，穿着帝国长官的黑色制服。但制服上没有任何徽章和标识——一色黑，象征着最高的位阶。他一头长发只有侧面被剃短，这是中央星球的贵族范。一块精巧闪亮的黄金交互面板遮住他的左眼和左脸。他看着那架战斗机甲。“这是你教我的。第一课。”

“You win a fight by any means at your disposal,” said Kayn, rising to his feet. He was a tall man, lean and lithe, clad in the black suit of an imperial officer. But he wore no pins or insignia—just plain black, indicating the highest status of all. His long mane of hair was shaved away from the side of his head in the style of the coreworld nobility, and a polished gold interface of ornate design covered his left eye and cheek. He looked at the fightmek. “You taught me that. First lesson.”

绮罗耸了耸肩。“是吧。”

Keelo shrugged. “I suppose.”

“所以，诱饵完全公平。”

“So, the lure was entirely fair.”

“但是，”绮罗说，“耍花招怎么能学到东西呢？人类的学习是通过动作反射。如果你知道我要袭来，你就——”

“But,” said Keelo, “how will you learn if you cheat? Humans learn through action-response. If you know I am coming, you—”

凯隐直视战斗机甲的双眼。

Kayn looked the fightmek in the eyes.

“绮罗，”他说，“我的老朋友，绮罗……你真的觉得我还有没学过的东西么？”

“Keelo,” he said, “my old and good friend Keelo… Do you really think I have anything left to learn?”

绮罗巨大的身躯上遍布伤痕，加装了厚重的绿色和橙色的防弹护板，他稍稍矮了一截。“我觉得没有。我觉得你是帝国的大领主，也在战斗中证明了自己。我觉得你是皇帝亲授的枢机将军之一。我觉得一架老旧生锈的战斗机甲已经没什么可以教你的了。我觉得我应该去废铁回收场，或者去疯人院矿洞。”

Keelo’s huge, scarred bulk, heavy with green and orange ballistic plate, sagged slightly. “I suppose not. I suppose you are now a high lord of the empire, and proven in battle. I suppose you are now one of the emperor’s own Ordinals. I suppose there’s nothing a rusty old fightmek can teach you now. I suppose it’s the scrap heap for me, or grot-work in the Bedlam Mines.”

“绮罗……”

“Keelo…”

“我觉得或许应该把我的自动反馈系统融掉换取超铀，或者可以让他们把我的零件捐给年轻的战斗机甲。”

“I suppose I might get my servos melted down for transuranics, or they could donate parts of me to younger fightmeks—”

“绮罗！”凯隐走到这架大机器面前。“别说了。也别觉得自卑，好吗？我依然需要保持状态。我需要你让我保持紧迫感。时不时地来个惊喜和偷袭，一如既往。”

“Keelo!” Kayn strode up to the big machine. “No supposing. And no feeling sorry for yourself, okay? I still need to maintain my edge. I need you to keep me on my toes. A surprise here, a surprise there, just like always.”

绮罗的光学设备充满希望地旋转了几度。“是啊？”

Keelo’s optics swivelled up hopefully. “Yes?”

“是的。枢机将军如果没了他忠实的战斗机甲的考验，还怎么保持鼎盛的状态？”

“Yes. How can an Ordinal keep in prime form without his loyal fightmek to test him?”

“所以……这一回合算你赢？”绮罗问道。

“So… you won this bout?” Keelo asked.

“嗯，你毕竟把我的桌子切成了两半，所以算平局吧。”

“Well, you did cut my desk in half, so we’ll call it even.”

绮罗点了点头。他左右走了几步，然后发出次声波脉冲，打开了凯隐的私人船舱墙上藏着的武器库。漆黑的墙板移向侧面，亮出了一排排刀刃武器和弹丸武器，沐浴着红色的灯光。这些武器的设计都来自不同的太阳之下，其中一些异域的武器甚至从未见过任何阳光。

Keelo nodded. He shuffled around and emitted a sub-sonic pulse that opened the arsenal suite built into the wall of Kayn’s quarters. The lacquered black panels slid aside, revealing racks of blade and projectile weapons bathed in a red glow. Every design under the many suns, and some so exotic they had never seen sunlight at all.

“我们现在就来切磋，”绮罗说。“选一件武器吧。”

“We will spar now,” said Keelo. “Select your weapon.”

“今天没时间。”

“Not today.”

“但这是日程安排里的。”

“But it is the scheduled time.”

“出了点事情需要我处理，”凯隐一边说，一边示意了一下手中的通报。

“Something’s come up that requires my attention,” said Kayn, gesturing with the communique in his hand.

“一条信息吗？从我进来开始你就一直在看这个。”

“A message? You were reading that when I came in.”

“所以我才不想被打扰，”凯隐说。“我们需要修改航线。”

“Which is why I really didn’t want the interruption,” said Kayn. “We’ll need to re-route.”

“飞射航线已经设定到——”

“Sling-course is set for—”

“我知道。所以要修改。”

“I know. I’m changing that.”

“皇帝在等你返回舰队，”战斗机甲说道。“皇帝要克罗阿的管控行动报告。”

“The emperor awaits your return to the Armada,” the fightmek said, “to report on the Kloa policing action.”

“可是这件事非常重要。奈久里在拉恩星团外侧的边缘星球有发现。”

“This is too important. Nakuri’s found something on an edgeworld, out past the Raen Cluster.”

“我相信奈久里指挥官能处理好的，”绮罗反对道。“他是德玛克西亚帝国的一等军官。是功勋——”

“I am sure Commander Nakuri can deal with it,” Keelo objected. “He is a first class officer of the Demaxian Empire. A decorated—”

“奈久里指挥官是我的老朋友和同袍兄弟，”凯隐说。“我尊重他的判断，如果他说需要枢机将军特别关注，我就相信他。通知薇舍尔船长，让她重设航线。”

“Commander Nakuri is an old friend and comrade in arms,” said Kayn. “I respect his judgement, and if he says something requires the direct attention of an Ordinal, then I trust him. Inform Captain Vassur I need her to reset our course.”

绮罗在犹豫。

Keelo hesitated.

“去吧，”凯隐说。

“Go on,” said Kayn.

战斗机甲点了点头，然后迈着重重的步伐向出口走去。

The fightmek nodded, and began to clomp towards the exit.

“等等，”凯隐叫住了他。他走到大机器旁边，从战斗机甲宽厚的后背上取下一枚电子薄片。“追踪器拿掉了。看到了吧？彻底没了。稍后你可以继续偷袭我了。”

“Wait,” Kayn called after him. He walked over to the big machine, and plucked a tech-fleck off the fightmek’s broad back. “That’s the tracer gone. See? All gone. You can surprise me again later.”

“好的，”绮罗说道。他的光学设备中闪烁着尊敬和热情。“我有一把特别的大锤始终想要——”

“Okay,” said Keelo. Renewed enthusiasm glowed in his optics. “I’ve got this special mallet I’ve been waiting to—”

“嘘！”凯隐打断了他。“要的是惊喜，别忘了。”

“Shh! Shh!” Kayn silenced him. “It’s a surprise, remember?”

再次独处的凯隐唤醒了他私人船舱内置的星盘单元。控制台从甲板升起，打开花瓣一样的金属叶片，投射出本地星系的三维影像。他伸出手对影像进行旋转、移动、点选和放大。几根手指轻轻滑动，聚焦于艾欧娜星。他的黄金视觉交互面板连接上了三维投影，实时增强显示出这颗星球的细节信息。

Alone again, Kayn woke the astral portolan unit built into the corner of his quarters. The console rose from the deck, opening its steel petals to project a tri-dimensional local system chart into the air. He reached out and rotated the image, moving through stars, selecting and enlarging. A swipe of his fingers brought Ionan into view. His golden ocular interface engaged with the projection, and augmented it to a real-time display of exquisite detail.

艾欧楠是一颗边缘星球。一片荒芜。不值一提。

Ionan was an edgeworld. A nothing place. Unpromising.

奈久里的小队已经被派到那边几个月了，任务是搜寻奥能，或者是搜寻企图从帝国眼皮底下偷走这种珍贵能量来源命脉的叛军“圣骑士”。

Nakuri’s team had been out that way for months, hunting for ora, or for renegade Templars trying to steal that vital and precious power source from under imperial noses.

德玛克西亚帝国是已知空间中的最高权威，他们的行动中心是庞大的重核舰队。这个帝国的实力、影响和科技水平无可匹敌。星系中不再有战争。在皇帝的威名之下，枢机将军和大将军率领的军事力量维护着绝对的控制。

The Demaxian Empire, operating out of the vast Locus Armada, was the supreme authority in known space. Its power, influence and technological prowess were such that no one could stand against it. There were no more wars. In the name of the emperor, forces under the Ordinals and the generals maintained absolute control.

只不过，即使被平定，宇宙空间也还是非常非常浩瀚的。而且，宇宙里充满了各种讨厌的族群和流寇，无论如何都要继续战斗，继续抵抗他们的控制。纵使帝国的体量和军事力量已经足以掩盖任何其他势力，破坏颠覆行为始终此消彼长。

Except that space, however well pacified, was very, very large. Moreover, it was annoyingly full of species and rogues who fought on anyway, resisting that control. No matter the size and military might of the empire, which quite eclipsed any other power, subversive behavior was persistent.

皇帝嘉文四世是一位好人，毋庸置疑，他的曾祖父是第一位带上皇冠的人类。他和凯隐年龄相仿，关系也很近。嘉文曾在私下向他这位朋友吐露心声，说他并不喜欢看到近些年帝国的政策被迫变得越来越严苛。帝国被视为独石一块，不可动摇、至高无上。而对于许多人——尤其是那些外层人、被征服者、圣骑士、还有声名狼藉的犯罪匪帮“辛迪加”，对于他们来说，帝国是专横跋扈、欺压生灵的存在，欠修理。

The emperor, Jarvan IV, was a good man; indeed, his great-grandfather had been the first human to wear the crown. He and Kayn were close, in both age and friendship. In private, Jarvan had confided to his friend that he disliked the way imperial policy had been forced to become less tolerant in recent years. The empire was seen as a monolithic force, unyielding and authoritarian. It was, to many—especially the outliers, the subjugated, the Templars, and the notorious criminal wretches of the Syndicate—a domineering and oppressive thing to kick against.

带给人这种印象，让嘉文很伤心。他带上皇冠的时候满心都是进步的思想和希望。而现在，他被迫执行愈发严格的法令。

This perception made Jarvan sad. He’d come to the crown with a heart full of progressive ideas and hopes. Instead, he’d been forced to implement tighter restrictions.

“我总是想，”凯隐告诉他，“守住这个社会远比战胜它更艰难。战争很简单。和平更有挑战。”

“I always thought,” Kayn had told him, “that holding on to this society would be harder than winning it. War is simple. Peace is harder.”

“这令我心痛，悉达，”嘉文回应道。“似乎没人尊敬我们正在进行的伟大事业，和我们所代表的未来。总会有人躲避我们。抗命不遵。”

“It pains me, Shieda,” Jarvan had replied. “No one seems to respect the great work we are doing, the future we represent. There’s always someone squirming to evade us. To disobey.”“就像养猫。”“Like herding cats.”“猫？”

“Cats?”

这段回忆让凯隐流露出微笑。“猫啊，我的皇帝。就是一个动物种属。出了名的难养。”

Kayn smiled at the memory. “Cats, my emperor. A feline species. Infamously willful.”

当然，问题出在奥能上。这种物质如同液体黄金，是一种巨大、近乎神奇的能量来源。只要成功掌控了奥能，就等同拥有巨大的影响力，这也意味着帝国必须掌握奥能的来源、分配和使用。将奥能用于生物黑客技术是严重违法行为，这是那些可恶的圣骑士使用的技术。这种行为不仅危险，而且是挑战主权。控制边缘行为并维持秩序是一场永不完结的抗争。将奥能维持在帝国的合理掌控之中也是一场无休无止的战斗。

Of course, the problem was ora. The substance, like liquid gold, was a source of vast, almost mythical power. Whoever wielded it successfully could have great influence, which meant it was essential that the empire controlled its sources, distribution and use. Especially illegal were the bio-hacking purposes it could be put to, techniques practiced by the damnable Templars. Such behavior was dangerous, as well as subversive. It was an ongoing struggle to contain their fringe activities and maintain order. It was an unending battle to keep ora in the hands of the empire, where it belonged.

凯隐对这个问题有许多解决方案，和其他枢机将军一样，他们都是皇帝手下最为非凡的存在——全都为嘉文鞠躬尽瘁。

Kayn had solutions for this problem, and—like all the Ordinals, the most singular beings in the emperor’s service—he had laid these out to Jarvan.

嘉文曾有过退却。凯隐的提议既无情又现实。对反抗的星球强硬镇压、重刑严惩、军事吞并。凯隐知道按照，自己理念组织起的帝国将会更加暴虐、更加不近人情、更加远离嘉文的设想。但他的职责要求他提出这些建议，他的职责就是给皇帝提供另外的选择。他是枢机将军，凯隐提醒自己。这是枢机将军该做的。

Jarvan had recoiled. Kayn’s proposals were ruthless and pragmatic. Hardline suppression, heavier penalties, military annexation of resistant worlds. Kayn knew that an empire organized under his philosophies would be much more aggressive and unforgiving than the society Jarvan supported. Still, it was his duty to suggest these things, his duty to offer the emperor alternatives. He was an Ordinal, Kayn reminded him. That was what Ordinals did.

当皇帝退缩、甚至几乎责备凯隐的凶残计划时，他丝毫都没感到意外。正是这种差别才让嘉文成了皇帝，让凯隐成了枢机将军。凯隐是嘉文拴在链子上的战犬。只有在别无选择的时候才会放他去狩猎。

He was not surprised when the emperor backpedaled, and almost chided Kayn for his brutal proposal. That’s why Jarvan was emperor and Kayn an Ordinal. Kayn was the attack dog that Jarvan kept on a leash. He only let him hunt when there were no other alternatives.

而嘉文喜欢考验他的战犬，测试他的忠诚和他的攻击性。

And Jarvan liked to keep testing his attack dog, to measure his loyalty and his aggression.

艾欧楠……边缘星球……

Ionan… edgeworld…

凯隐很好奇，他的老战友奈久里究竟在那里发现了什么。

Kayn wondered just what it was his old comrade Nakuri had found there.

他感觉从甲板传来一阵颤抖。他们的战舰，巨大的碎形剪刀号改变了航线。看来薇舍尔船长已经下令让飞射引擎重设船体外周的奇点球面形状，航向转移至艾欧楠星。

He felt a tremor run through the deck. Their warship, the mighty Fractal Shear, had altered course. Captain Vassur would have ordered its slingspace engines to re-shape the singularity sphere surrounding it, so that they could turn out to Ionan.

舷窗外的一条条光线改变了色相。奥能驱动了飞船的飞射引擎，在船体外围制造了扭曲时空的球面，使其能够以过隙的速度滑行在亚空间的近表层，如同石块划过湖水表面的同时不受到水流和水体表面张力阻滞。星盘的图像显示还有六小时的航程。

The streaks of light flashing past the window ports changed hue. Ora powered the ship’s sling-engines, creating the sphere that warped space-time around the hull, allowing it to skate through the upper layers of subspace at transluminal velocities, like a stone skipping across a lake, unencumbered by current or surface tension. The portolan display told him there was a six hour journey time.

凯隐听见自己身后传来一阵笑声。一阵咯咯的轻笑。

Kayn heard a laugh behind him. A low chuckle.

他回过头，隐约预感是绮罗的奇袭。但并没有听到“惊喜！”的大叫。

He looked around, half-expecting to see Keelo bearing down on him. But there was no shout of “Surprise!”

一个人都没有。

There was no one there at all.

“你需要哪些武装？”绮罗问道。他回来的时候发现自己的主人正在盯着敞开的武器库。

“What armament do you require?” asked Keelo. He had returned to find his master staring at the open arsenal suite.

凯隐耸了耸肩。这里的每样武器他都练过百次。这些武器让他觉得无聊。只有少数几件让他拿在手里觉得对劲……但即使是这几件武器也都有各自的局限。

Kayn shrugged. He’d trained with every one of the weapons a hundred times. They bored him. Only a few felt right in his hands... and even they had their limits.

“审度研判，”他回答说。

“Discretion,” he replied.

“什么？”

“What?”

“奈久里指挥官建议审度研判，”凯隐说。

“Commander Nakuri recommended discretion,” said Kayn.

“所以我们才脱离飞射速度并停在目标星球外围？”

“Is that why we have coasted out of slingspeed short of the target world?”

“是的。我自己下去。告诉船长给我准备一艘小船，并在此停泊。”

“Yes. I’ll go down alone. Tell the captain to prep my ship, and hold station.”

“可是登陆小队已经集结好了，”绮罗说。“五十名经验丰富的飞射士兵。我也擦亮了我最喜欢的战斧。”

“But a deployment squad has been assembled,” said Keelo. “Fifty seasoned slingtroopers. And I have cleaned my favorite axe.”

“我自己去，”凯隐说。“如果有需要我会呼叫你。”

“I’m going alone,” said Kayn. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

他选了一把铬金光坍手枪和一杆光滑的纹饰长枪——两样他十分熟悉的武器。然后他停顿了一下，回头看向绮罗。

He selected a chrome photann pistol and a sleekly decorated fighting lance—two weapons he knew well. Then he paused, and looked back to Keelo.

“你说什么了吗？”

“Did you say something?”

“我？”战斗机甲回答。“没有。”

“Me?” the fightmek replied. “No.”

“刚才还有一次我以为我听到你在笑。”

“I thought I heard you laughing earlier, too.”

“不。不是我。”

“No. Not me.”

随着一道急促的推进器火光，凯隐的飞船离开了碎形剪刀号船体上方的机库。他驾驶的是DEMAX-3“优越”，一款阻击和范用性小型拦截机。枢机将军的座驾本应更加气派一些，要让当地人过目难忘，份量要有仪式感，货舱空间也要容得下士兵小队和作战载具。

With a brief flare of thruster light, Kayn’s craft left the carrier bay on the upper hull of the Fractal Shear. His craft was a DEMAX-3 Superiority, a small interceptor used for interdiction flights and border work. An Ordinal was supposed to use a more regal fleet transport, something that would impress the locals, something with ceremonial heft and a payload space that could carry trooper squads and combat vehicles.

不过凯隐更喜欢DEMAX-3的速度和火力。他这种偏好可以追溯到刚刚入伍后作为副指挥官在边缘机队效命的日子。

But Kayn liked the speed and firepower of the little DEMAX-3. He had liked them since his rookie tours as a sub-commander in the Edge Squadrons.

他用不必要的推进加速绕过相对静止的主舰。引擎的喷口灵活地旋转，箭头形状的飞船滚动着掠过一片小行星形成的帷幕，拖着隐约的粉雾尾迹向星球表面下降。

He veered off from the stationary baseship with an unnecessary burst of acceleration. The arrowhead craft rotated its engine nacelles, tight-rolled through a threaded veil of asteroids, and planed down through a void of pink fog.

远处的星辰像灯光和萤火虫般闪烁。跟踪导航显示出前方的艾欧楠。

Distant stars shone like lamps and scattered fireflies. Tracking showed Ionan ahead.

凯隐拒绝了自动驾驶头盔，手动控制飞船降落，轻轻拂过冰汽的大气层，跟随着奈久里的信标。信标的信号和全部航行数据全都直接传入他的交互面板——稳定的信息流直接投射到他的视网膜上。奈久里的主舰是温馨提示号，一艘镇压巡洋舰，尺寸是碎形剪刀号的一半。正停泊在这颗边缘星球另一侧的远地轨道上，如幽灵般浮在凯隐的远程探测器上。

Kayn rejected auto-helm, and took her down on manual, skimming the cold, thin vapor of the atmospheric edge as he followed Nakuri’s beacon. The beacon’s signal, along with all flight data, was channelled directly through his interface—a steady stream of information playing against his retina. Nakuri’s ship was the Gentle Reminder, a suppression cruiser half the size of the Fractal Shear. It held a high orbit on the far side of the edgeworld, like a ghost on Kayn’s range detector.

穿过云层以后，他从开阔的赭石沙漠和盐碱地上方飞驰而过，天光在地面的反射下格外刺眼。他的飞行高度极低，飞船的尾流掀起地面的尘土，让砂砾的精怪在干旱的平缓上胡乱飞舞。

Down through the cloud level, he tore across the open flats of ochre deserts and salt plains that reflected the daylight with blinding radiance. He gunned so low, his craft kicked up a powder wake, sending small, malformed dust devils dancing haphazardly across the dry terrain.

前方，山脉。又长又矮的山脊。粉色和褐色的岩石被风刻成尖锐的峭壁，棱角分明，如同海底长出的珊瑚礁。

Ahead, mountains. A long, low range. Pink and russet rock wind-carved into sharp crags and angular shapes, like a coral reef raised from the water.

信标的信号正在疯狂地闪烁。他将推进器喷口扭转到制动角度，机头上抬，机身侧向摇摆，准备降落。

The beacon signal was pinging wildly. He eased the nacelles around to braking attitude, brought the nose up, and swung in for landing.

他的下方是一块高地，旁边是一道高高的粉色悬崖。一座军用营地。两艘帝国运输飞梭，锚定在泊位上。

Below him lay a high plateau beneath a block of pink cliff. An encampment. Two imperial transport shuttles, parked and anchored.

他放下起落架，垂直下降。

He extended the landing gear and descended vertically.

“欢迎来到腚沟最深处的不毛之地，”奈久里说。

“Welcome to the buttcrack of nowhere,” said Nakuri.

凯隐从驾驶舱跳到炙烤的阳光下。他笑了。在他的老伙计奈久里眼里，无论哪里都是腚沟最深处的不毛之地。他们曾在许多星球共同服役，也曾共同进行过许多次巡航，而对于任何外部的边缘星球，奈久里的评价都是同样的。

Kayn jumped down from his open cockpit into the hard glare of the sun. He smiled. To Nakuri, the old dog, everywhere was the buttcrack of nowhere. They’d served together on many worlds, many tours, and that had been Nakuri’s estimation of every single outer planet and edgeworld.

“我觉得称谓不太正式吧，指挥官，”凯隐低声说。

“I don’t think that’s the proper form of address, commander,” Kayn growled.

奈久里迟疑了一下，他的笑意消失了。他已经很久没见过凯隐，而如今的凯隐已经是崇高伟大的枢机将军了。“对不起……”他重新开始说。

Nakuri hesitated, his smile dropping. He hadn’t seen Kayn in a long time, and Kayn was now a high-and-mighty Ordinal. “I’m sorry…” he began.

“我要说的是，‘欢迎来到腚沟最深处的不毛之地，长官！’”

“It’s ‘Welcome to the buttcrack of nowhere, sir!’”

他们相视一笑，然后拥抱。

They grinned, and embraced.

“太久不见，”凯隐说。

“It’s been too long,” said Kayn.

“说见就见，悉，”奈久里大笑道。他右眼前的圆形银色交互面板反射到了阳光，就像是眨了一下眼。

“Not long enough, Shie,” Nakuri laughed. The circular silver interface over his right eye caught the sun like a wink.

“你他喀的又惹什么麻烦了？”凯隐问他。

“So what sort of klagging mess have you gotten into this time?” Kayn asked him.

奈久里转过身。他的小队——十名飞射士兵，都和他一样穿戴着整套作战组件和武器配装，在他身后立正站好。和凯隐的黑制服便装相比，这些士兵显得高大魁梧。他们都是坚韧的老兵，凯隐认识其中的多数人。库尔勒、斯比克斯、里戈、队长维奇兰。他通过交互面板识别出胸甲上的生物标签，显示出了他们的名字。

Nakuri turned. His squad—ten slingtroopers who, like him, were wearing full fightkit and weapon rigs—were standing rigidly to attention. Each one of them towered over Kayn in his simple black, form-fitting suit. They were hardy veterans all, and he knew most of them. Korla, Speeks, Rigo, the squad leader Vechid. He interfaced the names of the others quickly from the bio-tags on their breastplates.

知道名字是有用的。如果枢机将军对士兵们平等相待，士兵们也会有更好的表现。

It paid to know names. Soldiers responded better to Ordinals who treated them as equals.

“带他展示一下，伙计们，”奈久里说。

“Let’s show him, people,” said Nakuri.

他带着凯隐，一行人快步踩过高地上的砂砾。“是圣使把我们带到这里来的。两个圣使，还有一大群信众。我们之前肃清了凯博尔，他们就逃到了这里。我们以为他们只是来此中转，但显然这就是他们的终点。”

He brought Kayn up to speed as they crunched over the plateau. “It was Templars what brought us here. Two of them, and a whole pack of their believers. Chased them out of Kybol, and they fled here. We thought they might be looking for a get-out, but this is clearly where they wanted to be.”

“为什么？”凯隐问。

“Why?” asked Kayn.

“不清楚。所以，我们到了这里，把他们全都集中到一起。准确的说是大多数。有几个不打不识相的，所以……有人开枪，然后老一套。”

“Not clear. So, we got down here and rounded them all up. Well, most of them. A few wouldn’t go without a fight, so… shots fired, and all that.”

“有多少？”

“How many?”

“十人死亡，全是他们的人，两个圣使都在其中。一场恶战。”

“Ten dead, all theirs, both Templars included. It was quite a fight.”

“他们的追随者抓住了多少个？”

“And how many of their followers were taken?”

“十六个。喀个批的颠覆分子。他们全都被关押在前方的山洞里。正在进行审讯。”

“Sixteen. Klag-sack hippy subversives. We’ve got them penned in the caves up ahead. Interrogations in progress.”

凯隐提起一撇眉毛。“审讯是为了……？”

Kayn raised an eyebrow. “To find out…?”

“任何信息。圣使据点。奥能仓库。接头人。当然还有，他们为什么来到这里，而且还这么着急。”

“Anything. Templar strongholds. Ora dumps. Contacts. And of course, why they came here, hell-for-leather.”

“我们知道为什么，”一个声音在他们身后说道。

“We know why,” said a voice behind them.

凯隐和奈久里转过身。飞射士兵们也停下脚步。

Kayn and Nakuri stopped and turned. The slingtroopers came to a halt.

“有话要说吗，维奇兰？”奈久里问。

“Something to say, Vechid?” asked Nakuri.

“没有，指挥官。”队长答道。

“No, commander,” replied the squad leader.

“别这么急，”凯隐说。“我想听维奇兰说出她的想法。”

“Not so fast,” said Kayn. “I want to hear what Vechid has on her mind.”

这位女兵不自在地耸耸肩。“对不起，长官。我是说，对不起，枢机将军。这里没有我说话的位置。都怪，太热了。”

The woman shrugged uncomfortably. “Sorry, sir. I mean, sorry, Ordinal. I spoke out of turn. Just, this heat.”

“你的作战装备有降温功能，维奇兰。”凯隐追问。“有话就说。”

“You’re in cooled fightgear, Vechid,” replied Kayn. “Speak up.”

“嗯……我们找到一样东西。正是这个东西引来了他们。他们要寻找的就是这个。”

“Well… The thing we found. That’s what brought them. That’s what they were after.”

他们沿着遍布砂砾的斜坡向上走，面前悬崖的下部密密麻麻地分布着蜂窝一样的洞窟。太阳的炙烤不依不饶，能走进悬崖底部的淡紫色阴影中着实让人好受了许多——感觉就像是走进一座冷库。

They ascended the gritty slope toward the caves that honeycombed the lower section of the cliffs. The glare of the sunlight was hard and intense, so it was more than a relief to step into the mauve shadows at the base of the cliff—it felt like stepping into a refrigerated cellar.

奈久里的交互面板响了一声，提示接受到新消息，然后他借故回避到一边。凯隐和几位飞射士兵在阴影中等待。枢机将军抬头看向无数个洞窟的洞口，这是百万年的风沙侵蚀的作品。

Nakuri’s interface beeped with an incoming message, and he excused himself by stepping aside. Kayn and the slingtroopers waited in the shade. The Ordinal looked up at the mouths of the caves, eroded out by millions of years of desert wind.

然后，又一次，他听到了。

And, again, he heard something.

一个声音。没有具体的话语，只是含糊的一句。他悄悄离开等在原地的士兵们，向洞窟的方向走去。洞窟内的黑暗在对他开口，悄无声息。

A voice. Not words, just a murmur. He edged away from the waiting troopers, toward the caves. Their darknesses yawned at him, silent.

什么都没有。

Nothing.

然后他又听到了那个声音。一半低语、一半窃笑。可能是距离最近的洞里传出来的？有什么东西在注视着他，心情愉悦，在暗中窃喜。

Then he heard the murmur again. Half murmur, half chuckle. Something just inside the nearest opening, perhaps? Something watching him, amused, snickering in the dark.

他皱了皱眉头，又向前走了一步。

He frowned, and took another step.

他自己的交互面板也响了。他打开了连接。“我是凯隐，”他小声说。

His own interface sounded. He opened the link. “This is Kayn,” he murmured.

薇舍尔船长站在碎形剪刀号舰桥上的图像模糊地投射到他左眼前。“枢机将军？有件事需要汇报。我们探测到了一个软回信号，以亚飞射速度进入艾欧楠大气层。”

A fuzzy image of Captain Vassur on the bridge of the Fractal Shear projected into his left eye. “Ordinal? Just an advisory. We detected a soft return moving into Ionan airspace at sub-sling.”

“软回信号，船长？”

“Soft return, captain?”

“不是十分确凿的数据，我们也没法修正。就像一个幽灵。”

“No solid data, and we can’t fix it. A ghost.”

“让我看看。”

“Show me.”

薇舍尔奉命执行。瞳孔投射的图像切换到了飞船的主探测系统数据流。只能看到一条幻影般的轨迹。没有确定的质量或密度。事实上，这样的数据波动通常都会被监测官当作背景噪音忽略掉。但要知道，薇舍尔这是因为地面上的枢机将军而格外小心。

Vassur obliged. The retinal image switched to a live feed from ship’s main detection systems. Just a phantom track. No defined mass or density. In fact, the sort of data aberration that detection officers would usually dismiss as background distortion. But of course, Vassur was being very careful with an Ordinal on the ground.

“有许多叛逆的特工都会使用遮蔽力场，”凯隐评论道。

“Various rogue agents use masking fields,” Kayn commented.

“我也是这么想的，”薇舍尔说。“尤其是辛迪加。我们在打击走私行动的时候见过许多次。如果这真的是遮蔽力场，那一定是个高手。”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Vassur. “The Syndicate especially. We’ve seen a lot during anti-trafficking campaigns. If this is a masking field, it’s a good one.”

“同意。很好。”

“Agreed. Very good.”

“要我拦截吗，枢机将军？”

“Do you want me to intercept, Ordinal?”

“不必。”

“Negative.”

“那我是不是该靠近一点？让炮击范围覆盖艾欧楠，以防——”

“Then should I bring us in closer? Get Ionan in battery range, in case—”

“不必，船长。我们在地面这边有点情况，颠覆分子可能会来这里取走一些东西，可能再拿去作交换。如果这位客人是来收货的，咱们就不要打草惊蛇。咱们要让他们自己撤下遮蔽。”

“Negative, captain. We appear to have a situation down here, subversive elements who might have come to retrieve something, maybe prior to an exchange. If this is the receiver come to collect, let’s not scare them off. Let’s have them unmask.”

“你真的确定吗，枢机将军？”

“If you’re sure, Ordinal?”

“确定，船长。咱们来看看是谁大驾光临。这次可能会牵出更深层的信息。”

“I am, captain. Let’s see who we meet. This could open deep veins of information.”

凯隐断开了连接，然后回过身看到奈久里正在走过来。

Kayn disengaged the link, and turned to see Nakuri walking over.

“我猜猜，”凯隐说。“软回信号？”

“Let me guess,” Kayn said. “A soft return?”

奈久里点了点头。“剪刀号也探测到了？”他问。“从你的主舰到我的主舰，我们能覆盖大部分内环轨道。有可能什么也不是。”

Nakuri nodded. “The Shear has it too?” he asked. “Between your ship and mine, we’ve got most of the inner system covered. And it’s probably nothing.”

“相信你命令温馨提示号原地不动了吧？”

“I trust you told the Gentle Reminder to hold position?”

“而且不采取任何措施，”奈久里笑着回答。“我记得你干活的路数，老朋友。把恶棍都放进来。你喜欢看着他们喀个批的表情。”

“And take no action,” Nakuri replied with a laugh. “I remember the way you work, old friend. Bring the scoundrels in. You like to see their klagging faces.”

奈久里回过头带他走上斜坡的最后几步，来到最大的洞口前。士兵们跟在后面。凯隐感到放松和满足。身边有奈久里这样值得信赖而又聪明机警的同伴并肩作战的感觉很好。他们二人合作默契，而且始终如此。

Nakuri turned and led him up the last stretch of slope to the largest cave mouth. The troopers followed them. Kayn felt relaxed and content. It felt good to be operating alongside someone as trustworthy and smart as Nakuri. They made a good team, and they always had.

他并没有理会脑后隐隐存在的那种奇怪的不安感。那是一种单纯的、健康的焦虑感，是面对潜在不稳定局势的紧张感。

He paid no attention to the odd sense of unease lurking at the back of his mind. That was simple, healthy trepidation, the tension of handling a potentially volatile situation.

他没时间理会那种累赘。

He had no time for an encumbrance like that.

他们被聚集到悬崖石壁结构的外侧洞窟。奈久里的士兵们已经用力场镣铐拴住了囚犯，第二个小队负责看守，带队的长官名叫索立帕斯。

They were penned in the outer caves of the cliff system. Nakuri’s troopers had clapped the prisoners in force shackles, while a second squad under the command of an officer called Solipas was guarding them.

被看管的囚犯堪称五花八门，是各种不同物种族群的大杂烩，全都衣衫褴褛。有的身上有私刑拷问的痕迹，凯隐看到，他们全部都被卸下了奥能技术衍生的生化增强部件——暴力拆卸的过程留下了难看的伤口。

The prisoners were a maverick lot, with creatures of different species, their garments dirty and worn. Some had already been beaten in the hope of extracting answers, and Kayn could see that they had all been stripped of ora-derived bio-enhancements—a process that had left some ugly wounds.

在它看来，圣使只不过是一群乌合之众，没什么特别的。他们是外表神秘的、有反动倾向的一群人，认为自己是奥能的真正“守护者”，认为自己比其他任何人都更了解这种物质，所以要守护奥能不被其他各方势力滥用。凯隐漫长的军旅生涯中曾经审问过许多圣使。大多数都让他觉得滑稽可笑。他们的举止极其讨厌，总是一副居高临下的样子，也展现出所有宗教团体共有的宽容和同情。他们相信奥能之中封着某种万物真理，而这种真理是他们独享的，德玛克西亚人等泛泛之辈无法理解它的良善和精妙，但他们却无视一个事实：真正维持整个社会运行的是德玛克西亚。他们蒙昧地将一种价值不菲的自然资源错当成了某种圣灵，就好像奥能的存在来自神明，或者来自创造，或者来自某种宇宙灵魂。

As far as he was concerned, the Templars were a sect, and nothing more. A quasi-mystical affiliation of subversives who believed they were the true “guardians” of ora, that they understood the material better than anyone else, and were protecting it from the abuse of other parties. Kayn had interrogated many Templars in his long career. He found them generally ridiculous. Their manner was obnoxious and condescending, exhibiting the sort of tolerant sympathy one got from any religious order. They believed they were privy to some great existential truth locked within the ora, something too good and refined for the likes of the Demaxians, who actually got on with the business of keeping society running. They had naively mistaken a singular natural resource of undoubted value for something more spiritual, as if ora was somehow a manifestation of the gods, or of creation, or a universal soul.

这一类疯人凯隐见过很多。都是边缘星球上的原始生灵，崇拜树木或者自然或者生态系统，有的时候一船教众都被一架标准战斗机甲震慑住，将它奉为神明。

Kayn had seen that kind of lunacy before. Primitives on edgeworlds worshipping trees or nature or ecosystems, or a cargo-cult so astounded by a standard fightmek that they hailed it as a god.

都是因为无知和信息不对等。

It was childish and ill-informed.

圣使则不然，他们的不同寻常之处在于组织结构严密，经常诉诸武力，而且还用某种方式在星系范围建立了支持网络。他们的信仰癫狂而又可笑，但他们谦卑的追随者却用充沛的精力去践行信条，从帝国手中夺走宝贵的奥能供给，或者直接攻击商用储备。他们是最危险的颠覆分子。

The Templars, however, were unusual in that they were well organized, often militant, and had somehow established a network of support across the galaxy. Their beliefs were deranged and laughable, yet their lowly followers pursued them with vigor, depriving the empire of valuable ora supplies, or actually striking at commercial holdings. They were subversives of the worst kind.

凯隐走进关押他们的洞穴，看到了和他印象中同样刚烈、坚毅、虔诚的面孔。这些人对他们为之奋斗的东西坚信不疑。

Kayn walked into the caves where they were being held, and saw the same old fierce, determined, devoted faces. People who had faith in what they fought for.

令他感到些许满意的是，那些囚犯在看到一位枢机将军的时候全都惊骇不已。他们知道此处已是穷途末路，他们可怜的信仰已经无法再提供保护了。

He also noticed, with some satisfaction, how the wretched prisoners looked aghast at the sight of an Ordinal. They knew this was the end of the line, and their pathetic beliefs could no longer protect them.

“我是枢机将军悉达·凯隐，”他对他们说。“你们都了解我所代表的权威。而我了解你们拒绝回答问题。”

“I am Ordinal Shieda Kayn,” he told them. “You understand the authority I represent. I understand you have refused to answer the questions set to you.”

他们怯懦地畏缩。他注意到这群人里至少有六个不同的异星种族。挑谁呢？斯寇多伊人？他们是很容易被弄坏的生物。

They cowered. He noted at least six alien species represented in their numbers. Who to pick? The skoldoi, perhaps? They were fragile creatures.

“你看上去并不怕飞射士兵，但他们毕竟还是打赢了你们，包围了你们，俘虏了你们，”他继续说。“我感到难过，因为这样的经历应该已经摆明了，你们除了服从别无选择。接下来你将回答我的问题。”

“You seem to have no fear of slingtroopers, who nevertheless outgun you, round you up, and put you in chains,” he continued. “I think that’s sad, because the experience should have demonstrated that you have no option but to comply. You will answer my questions.”

“我们什么都不会告诉你，”一个身形巨大的克洛巴克人吼道。

“We will tell you nothing,” snarled a large korobak.

“是吗？”凯隐问。“为什么呢？”

“No?” asked Kayn. “And why is that?”

“因为我们所知道的东西不适合你这种人。”

“Because what we know is not fit for the likes of you.”

有几个人小声表示赞同。那就从这个克洛巴克人开始吧，凯隐想到。他个头最大，是主事的。拿他杀一儆百，其他人就会学乖了。

Several others murmured in agreement. The korobak then, perhaps, Kayn mused. He was the biggest, the ringleader. Make an example of him, and the rest would fall into line.

不。太简单了。

No. Too easy.

凯隐笑了。“你刚刚就回答了一个问题，克洛巴克人。”

Kayn smiled. “You just answered a question, korobak.”

“我……”

“I…”

“我问了一个问题，你给出了回答，”凯隐继续说。“并不难嘛，不是吗？所以你们不是抗拒提问吧？关键只在某些特殊的问题。”

“I asked a question, and you answered it,” Kayn went on. “It wasn’t too difficult, was it? So it’s not questions generally you have an issue with? Just specific ones.”

“我不会落入你的游戏的，你他喀的，”那个克洛巴克人狠狠地说。

“I won’t play your games, you klag,” snapped the korobak.

“而你却想让我落入你的游戏。我认为这里必须交出点东西，先生，而且我确信你没有任何话语权。所以开始吧。我要名字。列出你在边缘星球的联络人和同党。那两个带你们来到这里的圣使。你们来到艾欧楠之前有关系的人。”

“Yet you expect me to play yours. I think something has to give here, sir, and I believe you’re in no position to dictate terms. So let’s begin. I want names. A list of your contacts and associates in the edgeworlds. The two Templars who led you here. The people they had dealings with before you all came to Ionan.”

那个囚犯向一边看去。

The prisoner looked away.

“从第一个名字说起吧，”凯隐说。

“Let’s start with the first name,” Kayn said.

“我们不是被带来的，”那个克洛巴克人喃喃地说。“我什么都不会告诉你。”

“We were not led here,” the korobak muttered. “I’ll give you nothing.”

“请给我第一个名字。”

“The first name, please.”

那个人直直地盯着洞穴的地面。凯隐解开了枪套的扣子，抽出光坍手枪，铬金枪身在红润的暮霭中闪烁。他把拇指放在启动开关上，立刻听到一声电池升至发射状态的鸣音。

The creature would only glare at the cave floor. Kayn unclasped his holster and drew his photann pistol. Its long, chrome form glinted in the ruddy, twilight gloom. He thumbed the activator, and there was a whine as the cell rose to a discharge level.

“第一个名字，”凯隐用更加强硬的声音说。

“The first name,” Kayn said more forcefully.

那名囚犯摇了摇头。

The prisoner shook his head.

凯隐慢慢举起手枪，瞄准了跪在地上的克洛巴克人的额头。有几个人发出了细微的惊恐声响。“第一个名字，”他又重复了一遍。

Kayn slowly raised the pistol and aimed it at the kneeling korobak’s forehead. Several of the others murmured in fear. “The first name,” he repeated.

“要射杀我就请便吧，”那个克洛巴克人的目光依然紧盯着地面。“这就是帝国主义者的想法。威胁我们。虐待我们。所以你开枪吧。这样你就肯定什么都得不到了。我将带着所有圣使的祝福穿过奥能之门，并且心满意足地得知你没能得逞。”

“Shoot me if you want,” said the korobak, still glaring at the floor. “That’s the imperialist mentality. Threaten us. Brutalize us. So shoot me. Then you’ll definitely get nothing. I will pass through the Ora Gate with the blessing of all Templars, and the satisfaction of knowing you have been defied.”

“是的，”凯隐说。“你一定会的。但游戏规则不是这样的。”

“Yes,” said Kayn, “I’m sure you would. But that’s not exactly how the game works.”

他瞄向了别的地方。现在这把光坍枪对准了克洛巴克人旁边的女孩。她是个怪人，瞪大了眼睛，满脸庄重。和其他人不同，她选择直接看向凯隐和他的枪。

He switched aim. Now the photann gun was pointing at the girl beside the korobak. She was an odd one, wide-eyed and solemn. Unlike the others, she chose to look directly at Kayn and his gun.

“交出第一个名字，克洛巴克人，不然穿过生死之门的将不是你。你将依然在这里，好好地活着，没有祝福也没有满足，只有她的辫子挂到你衣服上。”

“Give me the first name, korobak, or it won’t be you passing through the gate to the hereafter. You’ll still be here, very alive, not blessed or satisfied at all, with her brains on your clothes.”

那个克洛巴克人眼光锐利地看着那个女孩，担心之情夺眶而出。“你不会的，”他嘶嘶地说。

The korobak looked sharply at the girl, his eyes bulging in concern. “You wouldn’t,” he hissed.

“噢，我会的，”凯隐说。“我肯定会的。一个接一个，来者不拒，直到我拿到我要的名单，还有所有其他问题的答案。这个游戏很简单。关键在于需要多少具死尸才能让你明白回答的重要性小于生命。一具？三具？十五？一百？”

“Oh, I would,” said Kayn. “I will. One by one, as many of you as it takes, until I have my list of names, and answers to all the other questions I have. It’s a very simple game. It really depends on how many dead bodies it takes for you to understand that answers are less important than lives. One? Three? Fifteen? A hundred?”

“你怎么能这么残忍地对待——”

“How could you be so cruel to—”

“这是我的工作。我不喜欢这样。你觉得我喜欢杀人胜过问问题这种简单的事吗？你，就是你，让我的工作变得有必要。你让我别无选择。事实上，我都不知道你怎么能那么残忍！这个可怜的小女孩根本不应该被抹削头颅，全是因为你回答得太慢。”

“This is my job. I don’t like it. You think I enjoy killing people over something as simple as a question? You, and you alone, are making this necessary. You’re leaving me no choice. In fact, I don’t know how you could be that cruel. This poor girl doesn’t deserve to get her head vaporized, just because you’re slow to answer.”

那个克洛巴克人艰难地咽了下口水。“我……我绝不会……背叛……”

The korobak swallowed hard. “I… I will not… betray…”

“好吧，或许我应该敬佩一个有原则的人，”凯隐叹息道。“原则比什么都重要，如果要死的人不是你，就尤其重要。”

“Well, I suppose I admire a person with principles,” Kayn sighed. “Principles are magnificent, especially when you’re not the one dying for them.”

他看着那个女孩。她的双眼是那么大，但奇怪的是其中没有任何恐惧。他从没见过如此冷静的人。这感觉令人不安。他觉得自己应该质询她——特别是她——并且掌握她所知道的一切。

He looked at the girl. Her eyes were so huge, but there was oddly no fear in them. He’d never seen anyone quite so calm. It was unnerving. He felt he wanted to question her—her in particular—and learn all she knew.

但他的意图已经定了。他已经把她选为处决的样板。如果让步就等同于软弱，就会助长其他人的坚决。

But his intent was set now. He’d chosen her as the example. Backing down would be weakness, and that would simply bolster the resolve of the rest.

可还是……

Still…

“要知道，你朋友的不合作是可以由你自己来弥补的，”他直接对那个女孩说。“我可以给你个机会。你开口。第一个名字。让这个蠢货看看流血是可以避免的，我会手下留情。”

“You know, you can make up for your friend’s lack of cooperation,” he said directly to the girl. “I’ll give you that much. You speak. The first name. Show this fool how bloodshed can be avoided, and I’ll be lenient.”

她瞪着眼睛看着他，安静无声。

She stared back at him, silently.

“快点，”凯隐说。“第一个名字。这样的机会我不常给。”

“Quickly,” Kayn said. “The first name. I don’t give such chances very often.”

“娑娜不能告诉你任何东西！”克洛巴克突然说道，他几乎是在啜泣。

“Sona can tell you nothing!” the korobak snapped, almost sobbing.

“我，我敢肯定她能告诉，”凯隐盯着女孩的双眼。“我敢肯定她死也要说。娑娜？是你的名字吗？娑娜，很简单。一个词。一个名字。作为我们的起点。第一个名字。”

“Oh, I’m sure she can,” replied Kayn, staring into the girl’s eyes. “I’m sure she’s dying to. Sona? That’s your name? Sona, it’s very easy. One word. One name. That’s where we start. The first name.”

女孩没有任何回应。凯隐感到他的厌烦正在变成粗暴的愤怒，但他没有表现出来。他一直在克制，还给了她机会，现在她让他看上去像个白痴。史无前例。

The girl made no response. Kayn felt his annoyance growing into outright anger, but he didn’t let it show. He’d been restrained, and given her a chance, and now she was making him look like an idiot. No one did that.

“娑娜，你真让我失望，”凯隐说着，扣动了扳机。

“Sona, you disappoint me,” Kayn said, and pulled the trigger.

冲击波在洞窟中激荡。

The blastwave tore through the cave.

凯隐过了一会才爬着站起来。烟尘从外面灌进来，碎石从洞顶落下。这下震荡将他掀到半空，他开火时已彻底偏离了目标，没有打中女孩的头。

It took Kayn a moment to clamber back to his feet. Dust was fuming down the tunnel from outside, debris skittering from the ceiling. The concussion had lifted him off his feet, and his shot had gone wide, missing the girl’s head.

又有两声巨大的爆炸声从外面传来。

Two more loud blasts echoed from outside.

“走！走！”奈久里大喊道。飞射士兵也有几名倒在了一旁，正向着出口方向爬行。囚犯们惊恐地畏缩着。

“Move it! Move!” Nakuri yelled. The slingtroopers, some of whom had been thrown aside too, scrambled toward the exit. The prisoners cowered in terror.

除了那个女孩。

All except the girl.

“继续看好他们！”凯隐对索立帕斯喊道。他向出口跑去，进入光线中的时候刚好看到那架小型战斗飞船第三次掠过。奈久里的一艘运输船已经成了冒火的废铁架。那架战斗飞船像一枚墨绿色的飞刀，闪烁着下降到高地上方，发射了重炮。光的锋刃从光坍灭炮口中喷出，第二艘运输船也炸了，船壳被火焰之柱击碎并抬起，侧翻后重重摔了下来，砸碎了凯隐的DEMAX-3小飞船。

“Keep watch on them!” Kayn yelled to Solipas. He ran for the exit, reaching the light in time to see the small fightship making its third pass. One of Nakuri’s carrier transports was already a burning mass of buckled metal. The fightship, a matt green dart, blinked in low over the plateau, and discharged its heavy cannons. Blades of light slashed down from the photann-annihilator pods, and the second carrier blew up, its bulk lifting on a column of fire that shredded it, flipped it and brought it down hard, crushing Kayn’s little DEMAX-3.

奈久里正在喊话下命令，他的飞射士兵们在洞口处组成了一道防线，武器配装全面展开，向天空射出火瀑弹幕。

Nakuri was shouting commands, and his slingtroopers were forming a line around the cave mouth, weapons rigs engaged to fill the sky with a hail of fire.

“等等！”凯隐大喊道。

“Wait!” Kayn shouted.

“什么？”奈久里问。

“What?” asked Nakuri.

“停火。如果他们想杀我们，他们就直接炸山了。他们要的是我们的注意。”

“Hold fire. If they wanted us dead, they would’ve leveled the mountain. They want our attention.”

“停火！”奈久里命令道。

“Hold fire!” Nakuri ordered.

“联系我们的主舰”凯隐告诉他。“让他们按兵不动。别愚蠢地尝试营救或者支援。”

“Contact our ships,” Kayn told him. “Tell them to remain in standoff. No stupid attempts at rescue or relief.”

“你在玩火，老朋友。”

“You’re playing with fire, old friend.”

“这次玩的算小了。照做吧！”

“Always. Now do it!”

凯隐听到奈久里启动了交互面板。他走向前，黑烟正在从飞船残骸中滚滚流出。地表的热气让黑烟翻江倒海。他能感到热度扑在脸上。

Kayn heard Nakuri activate his interface. He walked forward. Black smoke was blowing horizontally off the mass of burning ship wreckage. Heat haze at ground level made the smoke ripple and twist. He could feel the warmth on his face.

“来啊，”他低声呢喃。“继续。来。”

“Come on,” he murmured. “Get on with it. Come on…”

那架绿色的战斗飞船又出现了。它以悬停的速度从高地的边缘冒了出来，引擎喷口向下方提供升力。彩色驾驶舱盖反射着阳光。它一点点穿过翻腾着的黑烟，向他们靠拢。第二架也出现了，灰色，从左侧靠近。

The green fightship reappeared. It came up over the edge of the plateau at a stall-speed hover, its nacelles down-blasting to give it lift. Sunlight flashed off the tinted canopy. It edged through the churning smoke towards them. A second one appeared, gray, coming in from the left.

然后又来了第三架。这次是红色的，沿着高地的中心线直接开过来，正对着他们。

Then a third. This one was red, and came into view moving down the plateau’s centerline, directly towards them.

三艘飞船在二十米以外低空悬停。“啊，喀个批，”奈久里说。“辛迪加。”

The three ships stopped at a low hover twenty meters away. “Ah, klag,” said Nakuri. “Syndicate.”

“是的，”凯隐说。他立刻就认出来刚才开火的飞船使用的混合定制设计风格：黑市武器系统，一些合法、一些怪异、和较小的船身比起来，武器的比例大的夸张。三艘船的船体都是帝国建立前的技术，肯定是从垃圾星球上回收的旧型号，由辛迪加内部的武器工匠进行翻新。

“Yes,” replied Kayn. He had recognized at once the hybrid, custom-fitted style of the aggressor craft: black market weapon systems, some illegal, some alien, disproportionately large compared to the small hulls they had been grafted to. The ships themselves were ex-imperial tech, old models undoubtedly salvaged from junkworlds, retrofitted by the Syndicate’s ingenious weaponeers.

那艘红色的飞船体型最大，腹部挂载了一个梭舱。这是遮蔽力场发生器。很严重的违禁物品。之前的软回信号不是一艘船。传感器上模糊的鬼影是这三艘船生成的，在遮蔽力场内部以紧密的阵型编队飞行。怪不得没有质量和密度的硬数据——他们把自己变成了流体，可能是以滚动抛物轨迹进行伪装，然后一进入大气层就立刻分散行动。

The red ship, the largest, carried a pod on its belly. A masking field generator. More contraband. The soft return hadn’t been from one ship. It had been a vague sensor ghost generated by these three, moving in tight formation inside the mask field. No wonder there had been no hard data on mass or density—they’d made themselves fluid, probably in a tumble trajectory, and no doubt had split and separated as soon as they hit the atmosphere.

聪明，凯隐心想。典型的犯罪活动，通常用来偷渡穿越封锁和看守舰队。

Clever, Kayn thought. Typical criminal activity, the kind that regularly got past smuggling blockades and interdiction fleets.

红色的飞船向前挪了一点。彩色驾驶舱盖打开了。

The red ship moved forward a little. Its tinted canopy popped and opened.

“我能把这个喀批货的脑袋崩了，”奈久里建议道。

“I can take this klagger’s head off,” advised Nakuri.

“让我谈谈，”凯隐回复他。“但让你的兵都锁定好目标。要想把他们打下来，就必须一瞬间完成，不然他们让整片地区化为火海。”

“Let me talk,” Kayn replied. “But get all your troopers to lock now. When we take them down, it’s got to be instant, or they’ll cremate this whole area.”

奈久里点了点头。凯隐走出阴影，不紧不慢地滑下坡地，走进高地中间的阳光中。他高抬着头，大步跨过地上的尘埃，向领头的飞船走去。

Nakuri nodded. Kayn left the shadows, slithered down the slope and walked into the hard sunlight of the plateau top. Head high, he strode across the dust towards the lead machine.

“你来这有事吗？”他喊道。

“You have business here?” he called out.

红色飞船的驾驶舱是两座的。一名驾驶员戴着面甲坐在前面，正通过机炮瞄准具看着凯隐。另一个人从后座站起来，摘下了呼吸面罩。“有事，”他说。“没想到等我的是一位枢机将军，不过每一天都充满新鲜和精彩，不是吗？”

The red fightship’s cockpit was a two-seat. A visored pilot occupied the front, staring down at Kayn through the gunsights. A figure stood up in the back seat and took off his respirator mask. “I do,” he said. “Didn’t think I’d be doing it with an Ordinal, but every day is new and exciting, right?”

这人是扎戈。科伦·扎戈。辛迪加的首脑之一，主要活跃在星系边缘。

It was Zago. Corun Zago. One of the chief players in Syndicate activities on the galactic edge.

凯隐的交互面板立刻通过面部和声音识别出了他，但凯隐本来就认得他。所有德玛克西亚的军官都知道扎戈，因为已经在上万个悬赏令上见过这张脸。他逍遥法外了很长时间，因为他很少亲自露面。

Kayn’s interface identified him instantly by face and voice recognition, but Kayn knew him anyway. All Demaxian officers knew Zago’s face from a hundred thousand bounty postings. He’d remained alive and at liberty for a long time, because he so seldom showed up in person.

所以今天什么事这么重要？

So what was so important about today?

“我很荣幸，扎戈，”凯隐说。“能与你面对面。”

“I’m honored, Zago,” said Kayn. “Seeing you face-to-face.”

扎戈咧嘴笑道。“哦，荣幸的是我才对，悉达·凯隐。百闻不如一见。”

Zago grinned. “Oh, the honor’s mine, Shieda Kayn. Heard so much about you.”

“你刚刚破坏了许多帝国的公物啊，”凯隐一边说，一边示意了一个在燃烧着的残骸。

“Lot of damage to imperial equipment there,” said Kayn, gesturing to the burning wrecks.

“只是想隆重一点。”

“Just wanted to be emphatic.”

“你成功了。到这来有何贵干呢？我猜你要的是圣使和他们的追随者吧？有什么安排吗？”

“You were successful. What’s the business, here? I take it you wanted the Templars and their followers? Some prearranged deal?”

扎戈看上去真的很惊讶。“圣使？我他喀的要圣使做什么？”

Zago looked genuinely surprised. “Templars? What the klag do I want with Templars?”

“你不是来找他们的吗？？”

“You hadn’t agreed to meet them here?”

“不是，长官。这事跟我无关。”

“No, sir. Nothing to do with me.”

“那又是为什么呢？”

“What, then?”

“我猜，理由和你一样，”扎戈说。“我是说，枢机将军飞射到边缘星球这种事可不是每天都能见到。这么看来，东西就在这吧？”

“Same reason as you, I guess,” said Zago. “I mean, it’s not every day an Ordinal slings out to an edgeworld either. I take it it’s here?”

“在这，”凯隐不动声色地掩盖自己的情报缺失。“你是怎么听说的？”

“It is,” said Kayn, calmly lying to cover his lack of knowledge. “How did you hear about it?”

扎戈看上去正在沉思。“我猜，也和你一样。”

Zago looked thoughtful. “The same way you did. I guess.”

凯隐从这个人身上读到异样的感觉。科伦·扎戈出了名的自信过度而且耀武扬威，但他现在却好像心烦意乱。

Kayn was getting an odd read from the man. Corun Zago was infamously confident and full of swagger, but he seemed troubled. Uneasy.

“啊，我也只是……”凯隐耸了耸肩，模仿他的奇怪举止。“你知道的。”

“Well, I just…” Kayn shrugged, mirroring the man’s awkwardness. “You know.”

“我知道，”扎戈点了点头，真心诚意。“真是怪事，啊？冥冥之中的召唤，就像是星空在说话。我知道……我知道我必须得到它。我知道它必须是我的。恕我直言，枢机将军，你是无法阻止我得到它的。交出来或者让路，随你挑。我拿定了。抵抗的话……我们就把你们全都烤熟，再抢过来，然后启动遮蔽力场，你们的主舰根本都来不及进入闻味儿的距离。”

“I do,” Zago nodded, earnest. “Strangest thing, eh? It calling out like that. Like a voice in the stars. I just knew… I knew I had to come get it. Knew it had to be mine. With respect, Ordinal, you won’t stop me having it. Hand it over or stand aside, whatever. I’m taking it. Resist and… Well, we’ll cook the lot of you, snatch it, and be masked and gone before your capital ships can get within sniffing distance.”

“我毫不怀疑。”

“I have no doubt.”

这根本不合乎道理。扎戈是个危险人物，但他不是疯子。他的三架战斗飞船的确能在战斗力上超越凯隐的地面战斗力，但温馨提示号和碎形剪刀号可是任何辛迪加战力都唯恐避之不及的重核舰队成员舰。

This didn’t make any sense. Zago was dangerous, but not insane. His three fightships had Kayn’s small ground forces outclassed, but the Gentle Reminder and the Fractal Shear were the sort of Locus Armada vessels that Syndicate forces would go out of their way to avoid.

科伦·扎戈亲自前来。这可不是凯隐在资料中读到的炫技冒险。这是另一种行为。一种冲动。强迫性的冲动。

And Corun Zago had come in person. This wasn’t the typical bravura Kayn had read about. This was something else. A compulsion. Obsessive.

这会成为他的弱点。

That made him vulnerable.

凯隐深深呼吸了一口气。他需要理清思绪。需要完成自己身为枢机将军、也是使他成为枢机将军的那类工作。

Kayn took a long, slow breath. Time to clear his mind. Time to do the sort of work that had made him an Ordinal.

“好吧，你把情况弄得很紧张，我的好人先生，”他一边说着，一边张开双臂，用优雅的核心星球姿态行礼——任何人都知道这个姿势意味着正式的服从。然后他又摆出了投降的深鞠躬，单膝跪地，肩膀前倾，双手放在两侧。他的右手握着那把纹饰长枪，与地面呈四十五度夹角，扎根于尘土，矛头指向上方，这是军礼的角度。“事已至此，我们必须给你让路了。”

“Well, you’ve got us tight, my good man,” he said, opening his arms in an elegant coreworld flourish—a ritual gesture that anyone would recognize as a formal submission. Then he turned that into the full bow of surrender, dropping to one knee, shoulders forward, his arms by his sides. His right hand braced the ornate lance at his side at a forty-five degree angle, base in the dirt, blade upwards, the angle of military honor. “We must give way to you, in these circumstances.”

凯隐可以感到热度的蜇刺，闻得到烟波的味道。他可以感受到科伦·扎戈凝视的视线，或许正在因为自己轻易得来的胜利而感到惊讶。

Kayn could feel the prickle of the heat, smell the billowing smoke. He could feel Corun Zago’s gaze on him, perhaps surprised at the ease of his triumph.

凯隐是个强壮的人。他的基本生物特性就已经在严格的规律训练而精壮灵巧，又进一步接受了科学的强化。和所有枢机将军一样，他也是个经过显著增强的存在。

Kayn was a strong man. His basic biology had been finessed by acute training disciplines, and further enhanced by science. Like all Ordinals, he was a significantly amplified being.

他一直等到扎戈开口说话。他刚说出第一个音节。

He waited until Zago began to speak. Just the first syllable of the reply.

“你——”

“You—”

凯隐依然保持单膝跪地的姿势，掷出了长枪。没有蓄力，只是随手扔出去，沿着长枪原本已经对准的角度。他甚至都没有抬头看。他依然半跪在地，卑躬屈膝。

Still kneeling, Kayn cast the lance. An underarm throw with his right arm. No wind-up, just a straight pitch, hurling the lance along the angle it was already pointing in. He didn’t even look up. He was still kneeling, and bowing.

在他臂膀的推动力作用下，长枪从下方击中那艘悬浮着的红色战斗飞船，位置刚好在遮蔽阵列梭舱前方。枪头的宽刃刺穿了船壳，然后继续上行，穿透了飞船腹部的冷却回路和姿态平稳系统。然后又穿透了驾驶舱底层，穿透了驾驶员座椅，穿透了科伦·扎戈。

Propelled by the strength of his arm, the lance struck the underside of the hovering red fightship just in front of the mask array pod. The broad blade-head punctured the ship’s skin, and the lance kept going, through the condensers and attitude management systems contained in the belly. Through them, through the floor of the cockpit, through the base of the pilot’s flightseat, and on through Corun Zago.

长枪最终停下来的时候，就像一根烤肉用的铁钎串起悬停的飞船，钝的一头在下面，尖的一端钉住扎戈，从飞船的上方穿出。

When it came to rest, it was impaling the hovering ship like a meat skewer, the end of the haft poking from the underside, the head transfixing Zago, and emerging through his back.

他保持着正立的体态，被钉在高高的座椅靠背上。僵死的脸上满是惊讶的表情。

He was pinned, upright, against his high-backed seat. There was a look of surprise on his very dead face.

突然间，一切都开始动起来。红色的战斗飞船开始剧烈摇晃，它的内部系统已经被撕裂破坏。它的引擎由于导压失常而发出嚎叫。那位辛迪加驾驶员隔了一阵才开始做出反应——他们需要一秒钟的时间弄明白刚才发生了什么。

Abruptly, everything was in motion. The red fightship began to wallow violently, its internal systems torn and ruptured. Its engines howled with uncorrected pressure. The Syndicate pilots took a moment to react—just a second while they processed what had happened.

然后一切就已经晚了。奈久里一直在伺机待发。他看到凯隐掷出长枪的那一瞬间，立刻就给出信号，他的飞射士兵们打出一轮完美的齐射。枪炮配装展开，光坍炮火呼啸着射向灰色和绿色的战斗飞船。灰色的飞船直接在它悬停的位置解体破碎，在持续的重火力齐射下彻底瓦解。它的引擎核心发生了爆炸，火球将千疮百孔的船壳炸向四面八方。

And then it was too late. Nakuri had been waiting. The instant he saw Kayn hurl the lance, he had given the signal, his slingtroopers opening fire in perfect unison. Gunrigs kicked off, screaming streams of photann fire at the gray and green fightships. The first simply came apart where it was hovering, utterly disintegrated by the sustained, heavy fusillade. Its drive core exploded, and the fireball threw fragments of pockmarked, distorted hull in all directions.

凯隐从半跪的蹲姿变为向上的冲刺。那艘正在剧烈摇晃的红色飞船几乎低得快要削掉他的脑袋，但他高高跃起，越过右舷的机翼。虽然驾驶员在极力挽救，但飞船几乎已经失控自旋。左侧的机翼远端触到了地面，激起一片碎石。悬停引擎掀起尘土，如同一场沙漠风暴。

Turning his kneeling crouch into an upward spring, Kayn leapt. The wildly wallowing red ship had almost lurched low enough to clip his head off, and his leap cleared the starboard wing. The craft was almost spinning as the pilot fought to regain control. The port wingtip bounced off the ground and scattered a spray of pebbles. The hover thrust was kicking up dust like a desert storm.

凯隐落在颠簸的飞船上方，一步步爬向暴露在外的驾驶舱。扎戈依然被钉在座椅上，望着远方，每一下摇晃都像是要把他从座椅上扯下来。前方的驾驶员正在手忙脚乱地操控飞船，没空理睬其他任何事。

Kayn landed on the lurching hull, and clawed his way toward the open cockpit. Zago was still pinned in place, staring into the distance, each jolt of the ship shaking him against the flightseat. The pilot was too busy fighting with the controls to do anything else.

奈久里的士兵依然在倾泻火力，但那艘绿色的战斗飞船制造了更多麻烦。它有某种定制护盾，吸收了光坍能量。一簇簇光点在船首的油膜样雾霭中消失。飞船呼啸着前进，开始寻求复仇。它打开武器挂舱，冲向飞射士兵的阵线，在尘土上激起密集的爆炸。

Nakuri’s troopers were still hosing fire, but the green fightship was proving harder to kill. It had some kind of custom shield that soaked up the photann energy. Flecks of light stippled off the greasy haze around its prow. It screamed forward, seeking retribution. Its weapon pods opened up, stitching detonations across the dust toward the slingtrooper formation.

还没等奈久里下令分散，他的两个手下就被原地火化了。飞船向上爬升，然后开始逐一猎杀逃跑中的士兵。即使是飞射士兵的强大地面火力，面对飞船的时候也只有靠出其不意才有胜算。

Before Nakuri could order an immediate scatter, two of his men were incinerated where they stood. The ship leveled up, and began to pick off the others as they fled. Ground fire, even from stalwart slingtroopers, only worked against aircraft when the aircraft were unprepared.

而他们已经失去了奇袭的先机。

They had lost the advantage of surprise.

凯隐一只手抓住战斗飞船驾驶员，将他扔出驾驶舱。那人惊叫着滚落机翼，坠向地面。

Kayn grabbed the fightship’s pilot with one hand, and threw him from the cockpit. The man cried in surprise as he bounced off the dipping wing, and plunged to the ground below.

凯隐抓住驾驶舱盖的外框，落入驾驶舱。他的交互面板显示平衡控制设备已经彻底损坏——长枪刺穿了许多重要系统。他火速进行了调整，抵消了过冲，同时补偿了一个已经熄火的引擎喷口。他依然保持驾驶舱敞开，操控着红色的飞船跌跌撞撞地向前飞，轻擦着地面以极低的高度开始加速。

Gripping the canopy frame, Kayn dropped into the pilot position. His interface told him the stabilizer controls were utterly ruined—the lance had speared the guts of several principal systems. He made lightning-fast adjustments, compensating for overthrust and one nacelle port that had flamed out altogether. He slammed the red ship around with the cockpit still open, and limped it forward, accelerating at extremely low level, just kissing the ground.

绿色的战斗飞船正在对着坡地扫射。凯隐看到它正在展开主炮挂舱，准备削平整座山。他拉稳操作杆，启动了红色飞船的火力系统，给主电容充能，锁定了面前的绿色战斗飞船。

The green fightship was strafing the slopes. Kayn could see it extending its main weapon pods to level the whole mountainside. Hauling on the stick, he activated the red ship’s fire control, armed the main battery, and locked the green fightship ahead of him.

他打开了主光坍阵列。开火的力量让这架已经失衡的飞船更加偏斜，它像个醉汉一样乱晃，最后几发炮火完全射偏，像夜空中的曳光弹一样飞像高空，越过山顶。

He opened up with the primary photann array. The force of the unleashed fire rocked the destabilized craft so hard, it swung drunkenly out of true, and the last blaze of shots went wide, snaking off like lumo-tracers into the sky beyond the mountains.

但是这组炮火的前段正中目标。绿色的战斗飞船彻底没了船尾，然后又失去了一个引擎。驾驶员试图找回平衡，但整个飞船逐渐在空中破碎，从尾到头裂成碎片脱落下来。它开始爬升，拖着火焰和残骸的尾迹。然后突然间，似乎是刚才已耗尽了所有的力量，它像一块石头一样坠落，头朝下落地。

But the first part of the barrage had been dead-on. The green fightship lost its rear end, and then one nacelle. Its pilot tried to steady it, but the whole thing was coming to pieces in the air, shredding from the tail forward. It began to lift, trailing a huge plume of fire and debris. Then, abruptly, as if the effort was too great, it plunged like a rock, and impacted nose first.

爆炸在沙尘上激起冲击波，留下一个巨大的热砂陨坑。

The detonation raised a shockwave across the sands, throwing out a large crater of heat-fused dirt.

凯隐勉强维持脚下的战斗飞船在在空中悬停。许多个故障警告同时从控制台响起。他一点点切断能源。红色的飞船落在尘土里，弹起一段距离，然后开始滑行，一边的机翼插进了地里。

Kayn struggled to keep his commandeered fightship airborne. Multiple fail warnings screamed from the control board. He cut power incrementally, nursing it down. The red ship hit the dust, bounced, and then slid, digging in with one lolling wing.

他关闭了所有系统。砂石依然在敲打前风挡和外壳。他把自己撑出驾驶座，最后看了一眼扎戈失落的表情，然后跳回到地面上。

He killed all power. Grit was still pattering off the front screen and hull. He lifted himself out of the seat, took one last glance at Zago’s dismayed expression, and jumped back down to the ground.

他正在逐渐走远，这时船壳内有什么东西碰到了一起，然后火焰开始蔓延，等他走到奈久里身边的时候，红色的战斗飞船已经成为燃烧的火葬堆，那个人还被贯心插在中间。

As he walked away, something caught inside the hull, and fire began to flare out. By the time he reached Nakuri, the red fightship had become a blazing funeral pyre for the man skewered in its heart.

奈久里正在集结手下的士兵。他看凯隐的眼神混着惊讶和钦佩。“你是个发疯的蠢货，”他平淡地说。

Nakuri was gathering his troops. He looked at Kayn with a mix of shock and admiration. “You’re a crazy fool,” he said flatly.

“我不同意，”凯隐回应道。“但我觉得是该搞清楚这团破烂事的缘由了。”

“I disagree,” Kayn replied. “But I think it’s long past time I saw what this whole mess was about.”

在关押囚犯的洞窟内侧，这个世界有一个空洞。一口粗糙的竖井，直径三十米，垂直向下开出上百米的空洞。

Beyond the caves where the prisoners were being held, there was a hole in the world. It was a rough shaft, thirty meters across, which cut straight down vertically for hundreds more.

凯隐站在井边向下看。此处的岩石似乎是被……什么东西切割开来，以很大的尺度被割离。即使是舰队的飞射战舰主炮，也无法如此精准地取走行星的一部分。

Kayn stood at the lip, and looked down. The rock had been cut by… something, excised on a huge scale. Even the main batteries of an Armada sling-ship couldn’t have removed a slice of the planet so cleanly.

而且被移除的物质去哪了？彻底毁灭了？

And just where was the removed mass? Had it been annihilated?

“在下面，”奈久里说。

“Down there,” said Nakuri.

凯隐开始向下攀爬，竖井的内壁有一环环粗糙的水平线。贴进看的话，似乎是极高的热量留下的痕迹。暴露在外的岩石是光滑的粉色，向像抛光打磨过的宝石一光滑。但所有上层表面都落了一层灰尘。这里的切割应该是很久之前的事了，甚至可能有上千年。不知为何，凯隐突然想到一块白炽状态的金属掉到了冰川表面，一路向下融化，侧壁又迅速冻结。

Kayn had begun to clamber down anyway, following the ragged contours of the shaft’s inner wall. Up close, it looked like heat had done this work. The exposed rock was glossy pink, and gleamed like a polished gemstone. But there was also a thick layer of dust on all the upper surfaces. This excision had been made a while ago, perhaps even thousands of years. Quite without warning, Kayn had the sudden impression of a red-hot metal ingot being dropped onto a glacier, melting its way swiftly downward, leaving a borehole with gleaming walls of refrozen ice…

但什么东西能融化岩石呢？

But what could do that to rock?

他向下攀援的同时用交互面板扫描搜寻线索。跟在开隐身后的奈久里清楚地听到了他倒抽凉气的声音。

He scanned for forensic traces via his interface as he made his descent. Coming down behind him, Nakuri clearly heard Kayn’s gasp of surprise.

“我知道，很惊奇吧？”他说。

“I know, right?” he said.

“这些数据都是准的吗？”凯隐喃喃地说。

“Are these readings correct?” Kayn murmured.

“看样是。”

“They seem to be.”

“这不是……这里，”凯隐一边说，一边让交互面板重新扫描。

“This isn’t… here,” said Kayn, making his interface re-work the scan.

“的确不是。”

“No, it’s not.”

“就好像……凯隐很难形容。这里的量子踪迹非常古怪。似乎是通过另外一个现实，另外一个空间维度，与艾欧楠的这座山产生了短暂的交叉，将其完全否化，然后留下这个如同伤口一样的虚空。”

“It’s as if…” There was no easy way for Kayn to describe it. The quantum traces were bizarre. It was as though a piece of another reality, another spatial dimension altogether, had intersected briefly with this mountain on Ionan, negated it utterly, and left this void behind like an empty wound.

制造这个伤口的另类物依然有丰富的残留物分散在这里。

A wound that crackled with a residue of the otherness that had made it.

“你现在明白我为什么需要一位枢机将军到场了吧？”奈久里问。

“You see now why I wanted an Ordinal on this?” asked Nakuri.

凯隐没有回答。他在揣测。这是跨空间碰撞的结果吗？某种量子异象？是有意为之还是单纯的意外？这些现象曾经只存在于理论，或者是飞射引擎失败的灾难结果。这可能是多重宇宙理论体系的确凿证据……

Kayn didn’t reply. He was speculating. Was this the result of an interspatial collision? Some quantum anomaly? Deliberate or accidental? Those phenomena were only theoretical, or the rare and catastrophic results of sling-drive failures. This could be evidentiary proof of the Multiversal Proposition…

奈久里的决定是正确的。这的确是枢机将军的工作，凯隐原本就已经很高的位置将因此更加突出。这是一次突破性的发现。这将让他成为德玛克西亚帝国最有名的人。毫无疑问，这种壮举足以讲一个人推到至高点。

Nakuri had done the right thing. This was Ordinal business, and Kayn’s already high standing would be greatly boosted by it. A ground-breaking discovery. It would make him the most famous man in the Demaxian Empire. Indeed, it was the sort of thing that could propel a man to the very top.

凯隐暂停了一下。他被自己这种想法惊住了。这里的工作还没完成，这是枢机将军的职责。评估、分析、思考、收集一切，为帝国谋利。

Kayn paused. He was shocked that he was thinking that way. There was work to be done here, an Ordinal’s duty. Assess, analyze, reflect, gather up everything for the good of the empire. Secure this discovery in the name of…

他的脑海中进来了一个新的想法，一个让他十分不安的滚烫的想法。他知道自己应该与奈久里一起商量，共同策划调查的过程。

A new thought entered his mind, a burning thought that also disturbed him. He knew he should be consulting with Nakuri, planning the process of investigation.

但他不想这么做。他想把这个发现据为己有。他不想让任何人跟进来，甚至包括奈久里。其他任何人都没有资格——

But he didn’t want to. He wanted to keep it for himself. He didn’t want anyone in here, not even Nakuri. No one else was worthy—

凯隐再次停住了。怪不得其他人会到这里来。辛迪加，圣使。这是一份惊人的宝藏。只不过……

Kayn caught himself again. It was no wonder that others had come here. The Syndicate, the Templars. This was an astonishing prize. Except…

“……他们是怎么知道的？”凯隐问。

“…how did they know?” Kayn asked.

“什么？”

“What?”

“我到这里来是因为你呼叫了我。你到这里来是因为你在追赶圣使。那么圣使为什么到这里来呢？”

“I came here because you called me. You came because you were chasing the Templars. What brought the Templars here?”

“他们也是听说的……？”奈久里试探道。

“They’d heard about it too…?” Nakuri ventured.

“听谁说的呢？”

“From who?”

“他们使用秘密的禁忌故事交流，全都是无稽之谈。可能有什么传说或者神话或者……我不知道，藏宝图？”

“They deal in secrets, forbidden lore, all that nonsense. Maybe some legend or myth or… I don’t know, a treasure map?”

凯隐无法信服，如果任何人，不论是谁，只要在任何时间发现这个，都会在第一时间利用它。使用这里的数据，和它所代表的信息。这里应该会成为一处圣所、神庙、或者在其周围生成一种文化，或者让一个人成为皇帝……甚至干脆可以成为一个新帝国的基石。

That rang false to Kayn. If anyone, anyone, at any point in time had found this, they would have used it. Used the data, the information it presented. It would have become a holy site, a shrine, or it would have gathered a culture around it, or made a man into an emperor… or been the cornerstone of a new empire altogether.

不。没人知道这里。圣使来到这里……只是出于直觉。

No. No one knew about this. The Templars had come here… instinctively.

“那辛迪加呢？”他问奈久里。

“And the Syndicate?” he asked Nakuri.

“辛迪加怎么了？”

“What about them?”

扎戈事先知道，凯隐想道。那个可恶的赌徒并不知道圣使也在这。他来就是为了这个，而且他对此存在偏执和迷恋，冒险失去一切——甚至敢为此与更强大的帝国战斗力量正面冲突。

Zago knew, Kayn thought. That filthy opportunist hadn’t even been aware of the Templars’ presence. This was what he’d come for, and he’d come obsessively, risking everything—even a confrontation with superior imperial forces.

而他来到这里是因为有什么东西召唤了他。穿过空荡荡的宇宙空间，召唤他。

And he’d come because something had called him. Called out to him, across the gulf of space.

凯隐感到皮肤粘湿。他跳下最后几米的距离，他的不安更强烈了。深坑的底部有什么东西，似乎与基岩融合到了一起。

Kayn’s skin felt clammy. He skidded down the last few meters, his unease growing. There was something at the bottom of the pit. Something that looked as if it was fused into the bedrock.

“这……”

“What the…”

“我们觉得就是它弄的。”奈久里说。“似乎是它掉到这里，然后就弄出了这个坑。”

“We think that’s what did it,” said Nakuri. “Like it fell here, and made the hole.”

他的声音越来越小。

His voice trailed off.

“你碰它了吗？”凯隐问。

“Have you touched it?” Kayn asked.

“没有，长官。我们谁都没碰。谁都没那个胆。”

“No, sir. None of us. None of us dared.”

凯隐蹲下来。此物像黑暗的骨骼化石一样嵌在灰白的母岩中——就像是某种极度古老的化石如今被曝露在阳光下。他可以看出狭长优美的握柄，略带弧度。一个巨大的刃头。握柄和锋刃都用交互面板无法识别的某种黑暗金属元素铸造，而且大小正好适合人形生物的双手。

Kayn crouched down. The object lay like a dark fossil embedded in the pale matrix of rock suspending it—like the bones of something impossibly ancient, now exposed to the light. He could make out a long, beautifully fashioned handle, slightly curved. A huge blade head. Handle and blade were both forged from some dark metal his interface couldn’t identify, and apparently proportioned for humanoid hands.

这是一把镰刀。一把战争的武器。一件不存在于任何文明的大师之作。

A scythe. A war weapon. A masterpiece that matched no known cultural template.

凯隐好奇一个东西怎么可能同时如此优美而又如此丑陋。

Kayn wondered how something could be so beautiful and yet so ugly at the same time.

他听到一阵低声的窃笑。“什么？”他看向奈久里问道。

He heard a low chuckle. “What?” he asked, looking at Nakuri.

“我什么都没说，”奈久里答道。

“I didn’t say anything,” Nakuri replied.

凯隐试了试自己的交互面板，但没有任何信号。

Kayn tried his interface, but the signal was dead.

“我们位置太深了，”奈久里说。“这里有什么东西阻碍了通信。”

“We’re too deep,” said Nakuri. “Something down here is blocking communications.”

“回到上面去，”凯隐说。“给碎形剪刀号发信号。我要一支科研小队，配备全套监测设备。让他们在两小时之内下来。我们要把这个地方一点点拆开，带走每一丝信息。”

“Go back up,” said Kayn. “Signal the Fractal Shear. I want a science team assembled, with full monitor instruments. Get them down here in two hours. We’re going to take this place apart, piece by piece, and extract every last scrap of information.”

奈久里点了点头，但他没有离开。“你变了，”他说。

Nakuri nodded, but didn’t leave. “You’ve changed,” he said.

“什么意思？”

“What do you mean?”

“你现在是枢机将军了。你的语气——”

“Now you’re an Ordinal. The tone of your—”

凯隐哼了一声。“我没时间说这些，”他说。

Kayn scoffed. “I don’t have time for this,” he said.

“刚才跟辛迪加的华丽对决，算什么事？我损失了四个人。四个原本不需要死的人。全都是为了让你炫耀。”

“That grandstanding against the Syndicate, what was that? I lost four men. Four men who didn’t need to die. Just so you could show off.”

“刚才的情况很微妙。”

“It was a delicate situation.”

“我们当时就应该呼叫主舰。直接把他们消灭。可是，你却非要卖弄。长官。”

“We could have called in the main ships. Just wiped them out. But, you had to play your show-off games. Sir.”

“我们取得了需要的结果，”凯隐说。

“We got the result I needed,” said Kayn.

“死了四个人。”

“Four men dead.”

“指挥官，去呼叫主舰。我再说最后一遍。”

“Commander. Go and signal the ship. I will not ask you again.”

奈久里踌躇着。“我把你叫过来是因为……神啊，我把你叫过来是因为我知道这不是为我准备的。在我的位阶之上。我想到了你。我想你应该知道怎么做。你应该有资格。”

Nakuri faltered. “I brought you here because… Gods, I brought you here because I knew this wasn’t for me. Above my pay grade. I thought of you. That you’d know what to do. That you’d be worthy of it.”

“有资格？”

“Worthy of it?”

“得到这宝藏的资格！我是说，我是谁啊？我没这种资格……”他看向凯隐。“但我以为你是够资格的。我以为我是在对帝国履行职责，对朋友负责。但现在我看到你。看到你的为人。看到你的变化。”

“Of this prize! I mean, who am I? I’m not. Not worthy of…” He looked at Kayn. “But I thought you were. I thought I was doing my duty to the empire, and my friend. But I see you now. What you’re like. What you’ve become.”

出言不逊，杀了他。

Kill him for that.

凯隐环顾四周。谁说了什么。

Kayn looked around. Someone had spoken.

“还有别人吗？”他小声说。

“Are we alone?” he whispered.

“什么？”奈久里恼怒地问。

“What?” asked Nakuri, exasperated.

“指挥官，你在下面布置守卫了吗？”

“Commander, did you post any guards down here?”

“没有。”

“No.”

“那刚刚是谁说话？”

“Then who just spoke?”

“没人说话！”奈久里厉声说。“你什么毛病？我觉得我不认识你了。”

“No one spoke!” Nakuri snapped. “What’s wrong with you? I don’t know who you are any more!”

“去联络主舰。抓紧。然后回来向我汇报。”

“Go and signal the ship. Now. Then come back and tell me you’ve done it.”

奈久里瞪了他一眼，然后转身向上爬。凯隐依然蹲在石中嵌着的武器上方。

Nakuri glared at him, then turned and clambered away. Kayn remained crouched over the embedded weapon.

“是你说的，对吧？”他问道。

“It was you, wasn’t it?” he asked.

还需要问吗。我呼唤。有人听到。有人来到。我只对够资格的人感兴趣。

You know it was. I call. Some hear. Some come. I’m only interested in the worthy ones.

“人们总是在提资格。谁有资格？有什么资格？”

“People keep using that word. Who’s worthy? And of what?”

获得我的资格。当有人证明了自己，我就知道是否够资格。或许那个人是你。

Of me. I’ll know who’s worthy when they prove themselves. Maybe it’s you.

“我不知道你是什么。”

“I don’t know what you are.”

你不必知道。只需要让我知道你就够了。我会一直呼唤，直到我找到那个人。然后我就会停下，因为我将不必呼唤任何人。

You don’t have to. I just need to know you. I’ll keep calling until I’ve found the one. Then I’ll stop, because I won’t need to call anymore.

“我是枢机将军，效忠于——”

“I’m an Ordinal of—”

我不在乎你的身份。我感兴趣的是你的本质。你的野心。你的梦想。你的能力。你如何看待宇宙。你如何构想宇宙应有的样子。

I care little what you are. What interests me is who you are. Your ambitions. Your dreams. What you’re capable of. How you think about the cosmos. How you think the cosmos should work.

“我告诉你我是枢机将军，因为这个身份很重要，”凯隐尖锐地说。“我有我的工作。我的职责。”

“I told you I’m an Ordinal, because that’s what matters,” said Kayn sharply. “I have a job to do. A duty.”

一个令你厌恶的职责。一个让你越来越气馁的职责。追随一个在你看来正在衰弱的人。效忠于一个在你看来过于谨慎的大业。日复一日的挫败，因为没人和能和你一样清晰地思考。没人敢认同你想实践的行为方式。没人有那种力量。

A duty you resent. A duty you find increasingly frustrating. Following a man you think is growing weak. Pledging to a cause you think is overcautious. Frustrated, day after day, that no one shares your clarity of thought. That no one dares to act the way you want to act. That no one has the strength.

“我的职责是为德玛克西亚帝国拿下这个地方。我不相信自己正在和一个古董武器说话。我相信我正暴露于量子变异差之中。这是我自己的头脑在作怪。”

“My duty is to secure this site for the Demaxian Empire. I don’t believe I’m actually having a conversation with some antique weapon. I believe I am being exposed to quantum variance. This is my mind, playing tricks.”

所以我这是变成幻觉了，是吗？

So I’m a hallucination now, am I?

“这个地方是个具有伟大科学意义的异常空间。你是其中最主要的物件。我……我想象出这些声音是因为此处残留的异常能量，然后——”

“This site is an anomaly of great scientific value. You’re the principal artifact within it. I am… I am imagining voices because of the exotic trace energies in this location, and—”

奈久里已经去了很久了，你没发现吗？

Nakuri’s been gone a long time, wouldn’t you say?

凯隐站了起来。他查看了交互面板上的精密时钟。奈久里已经离开了将近一个小时。一个小时？怎么可能过去这么久……？

Kayn rose. He checked his interface’s chronometer. Nakuri had been gone for nearly an hour. An hour? How had so much time passed…?

时间只是另一种幻觉，你很快就能支配它。

Time is another illusion you can soon dispense with.

“前提是我够资格？”凯隐恶狠狠地说。他转过身，开始向地表攀爬。

“If I’m worthy?” Kayn spat. He turned, and began the climb back to the surface.

他没有理会身后传来的窃笑声。

He ignored the chuckle that came after him.

任何人的迹象都没有。

There was no sign of anyone.

“奈久里？”

“Nakuri?”

通信连接是空白的。一定发生什么事了。又是辛迪加？扎戈的人？凯隐应该会听到枪炮声才对。

The communication link was empty. Something must have happened. More Syndicate? More of Zago’s men? Surely Kayn would have heard shooting.

他抽出手枪，悄悄向前走。

He drew his pistol, and stalked forward.

囚犯们依然在洞窟里，一言不发、充满恐惧。见他进来，他们只是眨眼。“你们的看守呢？”他问道。没人回答。

The prisoners were still in their cave, silent and terrified. They blinked at him as he entered. “Where are your guards?” he asked. No one answered.

他来到那个女孩娑娜面前，然后扶她站起来。

He crossed to the girl, Sona, and lifted her to her feet.

“我看到那个吸引你们过来的东西了。我看到它了。它是什么，告诉我。”

“I’ve seen what drew you here. I’ve seen it. Tell me about it.”

她没有回答。

She didn’t answer.

“娑娜，”他说，“你得说话。赶快。”

“Sona,” he said, “you need to speak. Now.”

她瞪着他。他将手枪握得更紧了一些。

She stared at him. He tightened his grip on the pistol.

不要浪费了她。她可是非常宝贵的。你还没明白吗？你会用得上她的。

Don’t waste her. She’s far too valuable. Haven’t you figured that out yet? You’ll need her.

凯隐把那个女孩推了回去。他走到洞口。

Kayn pushed the girl back down. He walked to the mouth of the cave.

飞射战士的刀刃差点切下他的头。凯隐躲了过去，剑刃劈中了岩石。他用两发手枪干掉了那个士兵。尸体靠着墙滑到地面。

The slingtrooper’s blade nearly took his head off. Kayn ducked and let the sword strike rock. Two shots from his pistol took the trooper down, his body sliding down the wall and onto the ground.

里戈。奈久里的手下。一个好兵。

Rigo. One of Nakuri’s. A good man.

他们全都不够好，你够吗？

None of them are good enough, though. Are you?

他们从四面八方扑上来。光坍飞弹点亮了洞窟廊道。他开火还击，又打倒了两人，紧接着用转身踢开另一个士兵。他踉跄着向后倒去，手捂着面甲。凯隐夺过他手里的阔剑，将他砍成两半。

They came at him from all sides. Photann blasts lit the rocky hallway. He returned fire, dropped two more, then had to spin-kick to drive off another. The trooper staggered away, clutching his splintered visor. Kayn tore the glaive out of his hand, then cut him in half with it.

他灵活地转身，用阔剑的剑柄斜向上击中另一个士兵的后背。换反手。剑柄的钝头击中了他身后偷袭者的腹部。旋转。剑刃切开了目标。

He wheeled. An up-strike with the glaive’s haft knocked another trooper onto his back. Reverse. The butt-end driving into the belly of man lunging from behind him. Spin. The blade slicing home.

有人向他开枪。光坍子弹。格挡，格挡，格挡。阔剑在他手中飞旋，钛金镀层吸收了能量，将子弹反弹开。

Someone shot at him. Photann shots. Block, block, block. The glaive was whirling in his hands, its coated titanium absorbing the power and deflecting the shots away.

“这他喀的搞什么？”他怒吼道。

“What the klag is this?” he bellowed.

“你不配！”一个声音吼回来。“它不该给你！”

“You don’t deserve it!” a voice yelled back. “It shouldn’t be for you!”

奈久里的声音。

It was Nakuri.

凯隐向前飞奔。迎面冲来的一个飞射士兵被他踢中了腿，然后被按在地上。

Kayn plunged forward. He kicked the legs out from under a charging slingtrooper, then pinned him to the ground.

维奇兰从侧面同时撞到他们两人身上。这位小队长装甲厚重，而且安装了力量增强组件。她挥拳打来。凯隐试图格挡，但她的充能拳套打断了阔剑的剑柄。凯隐低吼着，向后弹开，躲避下一次打击，然后将阔剑破碎的前端插入维奇兰的胸膛。

Vechid slammed into them both from the side. The squad leader was all armored bulk and augmented strength. She swung a fist. Kayn tried to block, but her charged gauntlet snapped the glaive’s haft. Kayn snarled, spun back to evade the next swing, then plunged the broken ends of the weapon into Vechid’s chest.

斯比克斯向他扑来，凯隐用鹰喙手刀击穿了他的鼻骨，一击夺命。

Speeks came at him. Kayn killed him with a beak-fist to the nasal bone.

“让你的人停下来，奈久里！”他一边大喊，一边想洞口的光亮处移动。“你这是疯了！”

“Stand your men down, Nakuri!” he yelled, moving towards the light of the tunnel mouth. “This is lunacy!”

这是考验。

This is the test.

“奈久里！我们被耍了！这不是真正的你！”

“Nakuri! We’re being toyed with! This isn’t you!”

“哦，这就是我！”一个声音回荡着。“这是我，真正的我。第一次如此真实。我现在已经看到全部!看到世界应有的样子！”

“Oh, but it is!” A voice echoed back. “This is me, the real me! Me for the first time! I see it all now! How it should be!”

“奈久里！”

“Nakuri!”

一双铠甲铁拳从后面环住了他的脖子，越勒越紧，凯隐开始喘不过气。

Armored fists closed around his throat from behind, and Kayn started to choke as they throttled him.

“奈久里是对的，”他听到索立帕斯的声音。“你只是发迹了的傻子，凯隐！充满了喀个批的自信！它不应该属于你！你配不上它！”

“Nakuri’s right,” he heard Solipas say. “You’re just some jumped-up fool, Kayn! So pleased with your klagging self! It shouldn’t belong to you! You don’t deserve it!”

凯隐屈身蓄力，然后将索立帕斯摔过肩。他重重摔在地上。

Kayn flexed, and threw Solipas right over him. The man landed hard.

“那应该是谁？”凯隐问。“你？”

“Who then?” he asked. “You?”

“很显然！”索立帕斯弹起来，抽出一把刀。“它选中了我！它说我就是那个人！我亲耳听到！”

“Obviously!” Solipas was springing up, ripping out a blade. “It’s chosen me! It says I’m the one! I heard it say so!”

一记光坍闪过，索立帕斯的头蒸发了。他的尸体瘫倒下来。

There was a photann flash, and Solipas’s head was vaporized. His body crumpled.

“说谎！”库尔勒战战兢兢地说着，一点点向前蹭。他双眼瞪圆。他的手枪依然瞄准着索立帕斯。“是我！他呼唤的是我的名字！”

“That’s a lie!” stammered Korla, edging forward. His eyes were wide. His pistol was still aimed at Solipas. “Me! It called my name!”

“我们都被耍了，”凯隐说。

“We’re all being played with,” said Kayn.

库尔勒突然将枪口对准了这位枢机将军。

Korla snapped around, aiming his gun at the Ordinal.

“我们所有人，库尔勒。所有人。它正在操纵我们自相残杀。”

“All of us, Korla. All of us. It’s in our heads. It’s making us do this.”

“或许吧，但它是不会说谎的，”库尔勒说。“不会对我说谎。”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t lie,” said Korla. “Not to me!”

“我们不知道它会做什么。把枪放下。”

“We don’t know what it does. Put the gun down.”

库尔勒低吼道。“我知道它会做什么。它会让你成为你应该成为的人。我看到了，一清二楚。它将占有你。让你变得……完美。让你看到意义。让你知道谁值得信任。谁值得生活死。”

Korla growled. “I know what it does. It makes you what you should be. I see that, clear as day. It claims you. Makes you… perfect. Makes you see sense. Makes you know who you can trust. Who needs to live or die.”

“不是这样的，”凯隐说。

“That’s not right,” Kayn said.

“就是这样的！它告诉我的！他告诉我我才是那个人。”

“It is! It told me! It told me I was the one!”

他开火了，但凯隐已经动了起来。子弹擦过他的后腰，他顺势钻到库尔勒瞄准的胳膊下方，折断了他的手臂。

He fired, but Kayn was already moving. The blast scorched his hip, just as he came in under Korla’s extended arm, and broke it.

库尔勒跪倒在地，捂着手肘。凯隐夺过手枪扔到一边。

Korla dropped to his knees, clutching his elbow. Kayn snatched the pistol away.

“它告诉我了，”这名士兵啜泣着说。

“It told me,” the trooper whimpered.

凯隐从他身边走过，但他抓住了凯隐的腿。凯隐用一发仁慈的子弹了结了他。

Kayn went to walk past him, but he grabbed at Kayn’s leg. Kayn put him out of his misery with a single shot.

他走到洞口。“奈久里？”

He reached the cave mouth. “Nakuri?”

奈久里正在等他，手中握着长枪。

Nakuri was waiting for him, lance in hand.

“我承认，”这位指挥官说，“我犯了个严重的错误。把你叫来。你？真是大错特错。我当时不够自信。以为自己无法驾驭它。但我能……我能做到。”

“I admit,” the commander said, “I made a terrible mistake. Calling you. You? That was an error. I just wasn’t confident enough. Didn’t think I could handle it. That I could… That I could do it.”

“做到什么？”

“Do what?”

“成为它所需要的人。我能。我现在看到了。它不需要你这种人。你不适合它。但像我这样的老兵？哼，那就完全不同了——我将成为它想要的一切。”

“Be what it needed. But I can. I see that now. It doesn’t need the likes of you. You won’t do it justice. But a veteran like me? Well, that’s a different story—I’ll be everything it ever wanted.”

“奈久里，”凯隐说。“放下长枪。退后。你失去理智了。”

“Nakuri,” said Kayn. “Toss the lance. Back off. You’re out of your mind.”

“他告诉过我你会这么说。”

“It told me you’d say that.”

“我们全都受到了跨空间——”

“We are all being influenced by interspatial—”

“不！不，我们没有！这一切都是在你来了以后才开始的。我已经在这好几天了！”

“No! No, we’re not! This only started when you arrived. I’ve been here for days!”

“那是因为我是它想要的人，”凯隐说，“它一直在等我。现在它在试我。”

“That’s because I’m the one it wants,” said Kayn. “It was waiting for me. Now it’s testing me.”

“试你？”

“Testing you?”

“试我够不够它所需的残忍。而你……奈久里，你是我的朋友。它在利用你。放下长枪。我们可以拿下整个——”

“To see if I’m ruthless enough for its needs. And you… Nakuri, you’re my friend. It’s using you. Toss the lance. We can secure this entire—”

“不！它是在试我。你不是它要的。你什么都不是。我们不是朋友。神啊，你还以为我们是朋友？你以为你很特别？被选中的人？够资格的人？太像你了。如此喀个批的自大！如此不可一世！”

“No! It’s testing me. You’re not what it wants. You’re nothing. We’re not friends. Gods, you think we were ever friends? And you think you’re the special one? The chosen one? The worthy one? That’s just like you. So klagging arrogant! So full of your own importance!”

奈久里向前一步。凯隐开了枪，但高速旋转的枪杆挡开了子弹，反弹到洞窟的墙上。又接近了两步，飞旋的枪刃将光坍手枪的枪口削下了一块。

Nakuri took a step forward. Kayn fired, again and again, but the spinning staff spat the shots away, deflecting them into the cave walls. Two more steps, and the whirling blade cleaved the barrel off the photann pistol.

凯隐后手翻躲开。枪刃擦过他刚才脚下的地面。他冲向奈久里，一拳打在腹部，然后又打中咽喉。奈久里踉跄着向后退，凯隐接上一记回旋踢，击碎了他的下颌，把他打倒在地。

Kayn back-flipped away. The blade kissed the ground where he had been standing. He threw himself into Nakuri, delivering a gut-punch, then a blow to the neck. Nakuri staggered backwards, before Kayn’s spin-kick broke his jaw, and dropped him.

“如果……不是我……”奈久里的声音支离破碎，“……也不会是你。其他人……正在赶来……”

“If… not me…” Nakuri bubbled, broken, “…not you either. Others… are coming…”

“其他人？你不要动。我得给你呼叫医疗急救。”

“Others? Just hold still. I need to get you a medivac.”

杀了他。

Kill him.

“闭嘴。”

“Shut up.”

证明你的本质。杀了他。

Prove what you are. Kill him.

“闭。嘴。”

“Shut. Up.”

凯隐走出洞窟，走进阳光。

Kayn walked clear of the cave, and into the sunlight.

你要没时间了。做出抉择吧。

You’re running out of time. Make your choice.

他可以看到温馨提示号。奈久里终究还是呼叫主舰了。它正从西面低空飞过来，六千米开外，遮住天空，掠过山脉。

He could see the Gentle Reminder. Nakuri had called it in after all. It was on low approach from the west, six kilometers distant, filling the sky, skimming the mountains.

来势汹汹。炮舱纷纷打开，准备进行地表轰炸。一整支战舰的船员，不论男女，全都在听从召唤。不论男女，都认为自己具备资格。不论男女，都亲自被同一个声音告知。

Immense. Gun ports opening for surface decimation. A whole warship full of men and women, all of them answering the call. Men and women who thought they were worthy. Men and women who had each been told that, by the same voice.

凯隐打开了自己的通信连接。

Kayn opened his communication link.

“碎形剪刀号，给我接薇舍尔船长。”

“Fractal Shear, give me Captain Vassur.”

“是我，长官。”

“Speaking, sir.”

“出了些情况，船长。优先度一级。叛变。立刻锁定温馨提示号。”

“We have a situation, captain. Priority one. A mutiny. Lock the Gentle Reminder immediately.”

“长官？”

“Sir?”

“你没听错。锁定并开火。全弹发射。”

“You heard me. Lock and fire. Full batteries.”

“长官，她是我们的——”

“Sir, she’s one of ours—”

“立刻执行命令，不然你就将让一位枢机将军受死。锁定并开火。优先度一级。叛变事件。”

“Do as I tell you immediately, or you’ll be letting an Ordinal die. Lock and fire. Priority one. Mutiny situation.”

“是，长官。我们正在接近。引擎启动。我们将在八分钟后进入射程。”

“Yes, sir. We’re on approach. Engines engaged. We’ll be in firing range in eight minutes.”

太慢了。奈久里的船很快就会把你炸成灰。

Too slow. Nakuri’s ship will obliterate you long before that.

“你也一样，”凯隐喃喃地说。

“And you,” Kayn muttered.

我会继续活下去。我会继续等待。我会再次呼唤，看下一次是谁来。除非你够资格……

I’ll survive. I’ll wait. I’ll call again and see who comes next time. Unless you are worthy…

“只要占据了你，呼唤就能停止？”

“Once you’re claimed, the call stops?”

我是这么告诉你的。

That’s what I told you.

凯隐转身跑进洞窟。温馨提示号已经距离很近了。他还有多长时间？三分钟？

Kayn turned and ran back into the cave system. The Gentle Reminder was so close. How long did he have? Three minutes?

他跑到竖井口，迅速沿着光亮粉色的内壁向下爬。有两次他险些掉下去。他脚下的石头碎裂松动。他在快到底的时候直接跳了下去。

He reached the shaft and hurried down between the gleaming pink ledges. Twice, he almost fell. Stones skittered out under his feet. He jumped the last of the way.

那把镰刀和他离开的时候一模一样。

The scythe was where he had left it.

改变心意了？反省了？

Change of heart? Time to reflect?

“闭嘴，”凯隐说着，抓住了它。

“Shut up,” Kayn said, and grabbed it.

他花了一秒钟才将它取出。他将它握在掌中的同时，看到它眨了下眼。一只眼睛在镰刃的根部睁开，粉色的火焰灼烧他的视网膜，凝视他的心，就像——

It took him a second to pull it free. As it came into his grasp, he saw it blink. An eye opened at the base of the blade, a pink fire that burned his retinas and gazed into his heart, like—

他看到了寂静。他看到了广阔的时间之井。他看到了一瞬间被延展成永恒。他看到徘徊着的静止和冰山的安静。他看到怪兽般的寂静灵体潜伏在一个被腐化的宇宙中。

He saw silence. He saw the vast well of time. He saw a moment stretched into an eternity. He saw lingering stillness and glacial quiet. He saw dark stars and black suns frozen in a void of endless shadow. He saw monstrous, silent deities lurking in a corrupted cosmos.他听到了一个名字，如同一声叹息。He heard a name, breathed like a sigh.拉亚斯特Rhaast.他知道现在这也是他的名字了。And he knew it was his name now, too.“皇帝会要求提交一份报告，”薇舍尔船长紧张地说。“一份详尽的报告。我……我不知道该说什么……”“The emperor will demand a report,” said Captain Vassur, nervously. “A detailed report. I… I’m not sure what to say…”凯隐从他靠窗的座椅上抬起头。匆匆掠过的星光从舷窗外的飞射空间照进来，在船舱里投射出奇怪的阴影。Kayn looked up from his window seat. The rasping light of slingspace beyond the window ports cast strange shadows in the chamber around them.“我正在写，船长。这份报告将完整且详实。但这是机密。艾欧楠上的叛变，以及随后温馨提示号的毁坏，不能声张。为了军队士气。我相信你一定能理解。”“I’m compiling it now, captain. It will be full and frank. But confidential. The mutiny on Ionan, and the subsequent destruction of the Gentle Reminder, must be kept quiet. For reasons of morale. I am sure you understand.”“是，长官，”薇舍尔说。“Yes, sir,” said Vassur.“还有别的事吗？”“Anything else?”薇舍尔摇了摇头。“我们的正在返航，按命令回归重核舰队。最大飞射速度。”Vassur shook her head. “We are en route back to the Locus Armada as ordered. Maximum slingspeed.”“囚犯们呢？”“And the prisoners?”“看守严密。抵达以后可以立刻转移交接进行扣押和审讯。我敢肯定我们能从他们嘴里撬出许多东西。整个星区的圣使秘密活动的重要信息。”“Secure. Ready for transport to detention and interrogation as soon as we arrive. I’m sure we can get a lot out of them. Useful information on covert Templar activity across the sector.”“特别关照一下那个女孩，”凯隐回应道。“那个名叫娑娜的。我会亲自处理她。我相信，她有特别价值。”“Take particular care of the girl,” Kayn replied. “The one named Sona. I will deal with her personally. She is, I believe, especially valuable.”“是，长官，”薇舍尔说。她向凯隐敬礼然后离开了他的船舱。“Yes, sir,” said Vassur. The captain saluted and left Kayn’s quarters.你告诉他们什么？What will you tell them?“我会告诉他们我想告诉的。”“What I want to tell them.”很好。

Good.

“你要告诉我什么？”

“What will you tell me?”

一切。

Everything.

“很好。你想要什么？”

“Good. What do you want?”

嗯，或许这一点我不会告诉你……不，我会的。信任是任何关系的必要基础。凯隐，我想要的是——

Well, perhaps I won’t tell you that… No, I will. Trust is the essential foundation of any relationship, Kayn, and I want—

凯隐猛地向侧面闪开。即使按照他的敏捷标准来看，也太过迅速。已经不属于人类可能达到的范畴。

Kayn flung himself to the side. Even by the standards of his agility, he was a blur. No longer anything that might be described as human.

绮罗的斧子切碎了空无一人的靠窗座椅。

Keelo’s axe splintered through the empty window seat.

那把镰刀闪了一下。被割成两半的老旧战斗机甲垮在甲板上，火花四溅，末梢还在抽动，他光学设备中的光熄灭了。

The scythe flashed. The severed halves of the old, battered fightmek crashed to the deck and lay there, sparking and twitching, as the light in his optics died.

“惊喜……”

“Surprise…” said Kayn.