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Chapter 10
第十章
At dawn over the greasy gray skies of Bhekar Ro, thin clouds swirled and then rippled like a tainted oil stain atop stagnant water. The wastelands were quiet . . . too quiet.
dawn: 黎明 greasy: 油腻的 gray: 灰色的 thin: 薄的 cloud: 云 swirl: 漩涡 ripple: 泛起涟漪 tainted: 污染的 oil: 油 stain: 斑点 atop: 在…上 stagnant: 停滞的 wasteland:废墟 quiet: 安静的
黎明又一次降临到Bhekar Ro油腻的灰色天空，薄云打着漩涡，接着散开成波纹，像平静的水面上扩散开来的油斑。大地布满废墟，一片寂静……太寂静了。
With a crack of thunder in the dry air, the fabric of space tore and a warp-rift opened. A glider hawk reeled about, disrupted in its endless search for food.
crack: 破裂 thunder: 雷 dry: 干燥的 fabric: 结构 space: 空间 tear: 撕裂 warp: 弯曲 rift: 裂缝 glider: 滑行动物 hawk: 鹰 reel about: 飞走 disrupt: 使中断 endless: 无休止的 search for: 寻找
干燥的空气中蓦的传来一声爆响，虚空忽然被撕裂出一道弯曲的黑色裂缝，吓跑了边上那只依然在天上滑翔觅食的老鹰。
As the echoes of the boom rippled across the valley, startling small rodents that eked out an existence among the hardy scrub brush,
echo: 回声 boom: 爆炸 ripple across: 经过 valley: 山谷 startle: 惊吓 rodent: 龋齿动物 eke out: 竭力维持 existence: 生存 hardy: 硬邦邦的 scrub brush: 洗衣刷
爆炸的回音扫过整个山谷，受惊的小啮齿动物纷纷逃散。
a Protoss Observer from the Qel'Ha appeared and hovered high in the sky.
appear: 出现 Hover: 盘旋
一艘从Qel'Ha来的Protoss Observer骤然出现，在高高的天空盘旋。
Observers were reconnaissance vessels sent out to gather information, but not to participate in actual combat.
reconnaissance: 勘察 vessel: 飞行器 send out: 派出 gather: 收集 information: 信息 participate: 参加 actual: 真实的 combat: 战斗
Observer是一种侦察用的飞行器，用于收集信息，不会参与真实的战斗。
Automatically following its programming, the Observer switched on a micro-cloaking field and vanished from view.
automatically: 自动地 follow: 遵照 programming: 程序 switch on: 开启 Micro-cloaking:微型护罩 field: 场 vanish: 消失 view: 视野
由程序自动引导的Observer开启了微型护罩力场，消失在视野里。
The drone craft descended, activating the complex sensor array that drained most of its operational energy, leaving nothing for system defenses.
drone: 无人驾驶飞机 craft: 航天器 descend: 降落 activate: 启动 complex: 复杂的 sensor: 传感器 array: 阵列 drain: 耗尽 operational: 运转的 energy: 能量 system: 系统 defense: 防御
探测器慢慢降低高度，启动了复杂的传感器阵列。这些传感器消耗了它几乎全部的能量，以至于Observer无法形成任何自身防御的力量。
Three-fold wing shields opened, guiding the single, cyclopean eye.
three-fold: 三重的 wing: 翼 shield: 护罩 guide: 指引 single: 单个的 cyclopean: 独视眼
三折的翼状外壳自动展开，指引着它巨大的独眼。
Then it began to search. The Observer proceeded across the uninhabited areas of Bhekar Ro, unchallenged and unnoticed.
search: 搜索 proceed: 前进 uninhabited: 无人居住的 unchallenged: 未引起争论的 unnoticed: 没有被注意到的
接着它开始了搜索。Observer飞过Bhekar Ro无人居住的土地，没有被任何人注意到。
While flying headlong across the vast distance of space, it had not been able to pinpoint its coordinates precisely.
headlong: 轻率的 vast: 巨大的 distance: 距离 space: 空间 be able to: 能够 pinpoint:确定 coordinate: 坐标 precisely: 精确地
当它在穿过遥远的空间前往这儿的途中时，Observer还无法确定目标的精确方位。
But now, as the Observer homed in on the location of the artifact's transmitted signal,
home in on: 遥控到 location: 位置 artifact: 人造物品 transmit: 发射 signal: 信号
不过现在，它已经来到了那个人造物发射信号的地点。
it planted navigational beacons so that the Qel'Ha and the rest of the Protoss expeditionary force could arrive precisely on target.
plant: 放置 navigational: 导航的 beacon: 信号灯 the rest of: 其他的 expeditionary: 远征的 force: 军队 arrive: 到达 precisely: 准确地 target: 目标
它布下航标灯塔，这样Qel'Ha和其他Protoss远征军就能准确到达这里了。
The Observer spent hours circling overhead, approaching the broken mountainside where the half-uncovered organic oddity lay exposed in the morning light.
spend: 花费 circle: 盘旋 overhead: 在头顶上 approach: 靠近 broken: 破碎的 mountainside: 山峰 half-uncover: 半露的 organic: 有机的 oddity: 怪物 lie: 处于 exposed: 暴露的 morning: 早晨
Observer花了几个小时在天空盘旋，向晨光中那个半露的有机怪物所在的山峰靠近。
Sending regular real-time reports back to Executor Koronis, the reconnaissance drone imaged and analyzed the artifact protruding from the mountainside.
send: 送 regular: 常规的 real-time: 实时 report: 报告 reconnaissance: 勘察 drone:无人驾驶飞机 image: 画…的像 analyze: 分析 artifact: 人造物 protruding: 突出的 mountainside: 山峰
测器分析着山中突出物的图像，并且不断把实时报告传输给Executor Koronis。
After its initial transmission, the object had lain quiet. Waiting.
initial: 最初的 transmission: 传输 object: 物体 lay: 躺 quiet: 安静的
不久，初始数据传输过程结束，于是探测器原地安静地停了下来，等候着接下来的指令。
Once the small drone had inspected every angle and approached as closely as its programming allowed without risk of disturbing the artifact that had sent the signal,
once: 一旦 drone: 探测器 inspect: 检测出 angle: 角度 approach: 靠近 programming:程序 allow: 允许 risk: 冒…的险 disturb: 影响 artifact: 人造物 send: 发送 signal: 信号
按照程序，一旦探测器接近目标到程序规定的不至于影响那个人造物体的最近距离，
it proceeded to make a wider reconnaissance.
proceed: 继续进行 wider: 更广泛的 reconnaissance: 勘察
完成了对它各个角度的考察之后，就会启程去做一些更加广泛的探测。
In compiling its overall tactical survey, the drone acquired images of the mountain ranges and detected—
compile: 汇编 overall: 全面的 tactical: 战术的 survey: 测勘 drone: 探测器 acquire:获得 image: 影像 mountain: 山 range: 山脉 detect: 侦查出
现在接下来的任务就是全面战术侦察了。于是探测器拍下了山脉的照片，随后，发现了——
with no hint of surprise in its robotic mind—cultivated fields and outlying settlements of prefabricated buildings.
no hint of: 没有…的迹象 surprise: 惊奇 robotic: 机械的 cultivated: 在耕作的 field: 田 outlying: 远离中心的 settlement: 殖民地 prefabricated: 预制的 building: 建筑物
当然在它机械的思维里并没有惊奇这种感觉——耕地和外围的殖民者预制房。
Assessing the situation, the Observer closed in, still cloaked, until it hovered over the central colony town on Bhekar Ro.
assess: 评估 situation: 形势 close in: 逼近 cloak: 遮掩 until: 直到 hover: 盘旋 central: 中央的 colony: 殖民地 town: 城镇
Observer一边评估形势，一边继续以隐形状态不断靠近，直到盘旋到Bhekar Ro上殖民广场中央的上空。
It began to collect data on the human settlers, the resident population, and their defenses. . . .
begin: 开始 collect: 收集 data: 数据 human: 人类的 settler: 殖民者 resident: 居民的 population: 人口 defense: 防御
它开始收集人类殖民者的数据，殖民地人口，还有他们的防御工事……
It was a morning like any other morning, but Octavia Bren had to face the day without her brother Lars.
morning: 黎明 like: 像 any other: 任何其他的 face: 面对 brother: 兄弟
今天的黎明和往常并没有什么区别，但是Octavia Bren却要面对没有哥哥Lars的一天。
The other colonists left her alone, even Mayor Nikolai, who was better known for talk than for practical action.
colonist: 殖民者 leave sb alone: 没有管某人 better… than: 比…好 practical: 实际的 action: 行动
其他的殖民者没有管她，即使是公认的演说能力远大于行动能力的Nikolai村长。
She sat in the octagonal town square remembering Lars and their time together, how they had often discussed which unmarried colonists they each might consider as a mate,
octagonal: 八角形的 town: 城镇 square: 广场 remember: 回忆 discuss: 讨论 unmarried: 单身的 colonist: 殖民者 consider: 认为 mate: 伴侣
她坐在八角形的小镇广场上，回忆着Lars还有和Lars在一起的时光，回忆着他们怎么讨论那些自己觉得不错的单身殖民者，
how hard they had worked, what they had hoped to accomplish, how the two had teased each other as young children. . . .
hard: 辛苦的 hope: 希望 accomplish: 实现 tease: 打闹 young: 小的 children: 孩子
回忆着他们辛苦的工作与心中的梦想，回忆着他们两个像小孩一样打闹的情形……
It had been long enough now that the scars of her parents' deaths had healed.
enough: 足够的 scar: 伤疤 parent: 父母 death: 死亡 heal: 愈合
她心头由父母的死亡造成的伤疤早已愈合，
The other colonists were so familiar with unexpected tragedy that they sympathized with Octavia, but were not paralyzed with grief.
colonist: 殖民者 familiar with: 对什么习惯 unexpected: 预料之外的 tragedy: 悲剧 sympathize: 同情 paralyzed: 麻痹的 grief: 悲痛
实际上其他的殖民者也早就习惯了这些预料之外的悲剧，所以他们也只是同情Octavia，却没有陷入悲痛中。
Free Haven had suffered enough before, and would continue to endure the pain. It was their lot in life.
suffer: 经受 enough: 足够的 continue: 继续 endure: 忍受 pain: 痛苦 lot: 许多
Free Haven遭受了很多这样的事情，并且这些事情还会继续发生下去。他们必须忍受随之而来的痛苦，这已经成为了他们生活的一大部分。
But Octavia's grandparents had been convinced that this was a better existence than living under the Terran Confederacy.
grandparent: 祖父母 convince: 使相信 better: 更好的 existence: 生活 confederacy: 联邦
但是Octavia的祖父母相信即使是这样的生活也比Terran联邦统治下的生活好的多。
Here they were free—though at the moment Octavia could not be entirely sure that she preferred the constant uncertainty and brevity of life on Bhekar Ro.
free: 自由的 at the moment: 在这时 entirely: 完全地 sure: 相信 prefer: 更喜欢 constant: 连续的 uncertainty: 不确定的事 brevity: 短暂
至少在这里他们是自由的——虽然这会儿Octavia没法完全相信自己真的更喜欢Bhekar Ro上这种艰苦而短暂的生活。
Octavia wished she and her brother had never gone out to inspect the seismographs and automated mining stations, but Lars had been so excited about the discovery.
wish: 希望 brother: 哥哥 go out: 出去 inspect: 检查 seismograph: 地震仪 automated:自动的 mining: 采矿 station: 配置 excited: 兴奋的 discovery: 发现
Octavia希望她和哥哥没去检查过那些地震仪和自动采矿机，但是那个发现确实让Lars非常兴奋。
She wished he could have been like the other colonists, never curious, never striving for more, just holding on to life as long as he could manage.
wish: 希望 like: 像 the other: 其他的 colonist: 殖民者 curious: 好奇的 strive for: 争取 hold on to: 坚持 as long as: 只要 manage: 掌握
她希望他和其他的殖民者一样，从不好奇，从不渴求更多，只去过自给自足的生活。
But then he wouldn't have been Lars.
但是，那样的话，他也就不是Lars了。
As the morning brightened, Octavia stayed near the ornamental old Missile Turret, constructed there over an abandoned bunker by the first colonists.
morning: 早晨 brighten: 明亮起来 stay: 呆在 ornamental: 装饰性的 Missile Turret: 导弹塔 construct: 修建 abandoned: 遗弃的 bunker: 仓库 colonist: 殖民者
天完全亮了起来，Octavia依旧坐在老旧的导弹塔边。第一批殖民者在一座遗弃的仓库上修建了这个东西，
It was meant to be a sentry station, an automated defense that would watch the skies and protect Bhekar Ro—though from what, she didn't know.
be meant to: 用来 sentry: 哨兵 station: 岗 automated: 自动的 defense: 防御 watch:监视 protect: 保护
作为哨岗，同时也是全自动的防御工事。它会巡视天空，保护Bhekar Ro——免于谁的威胁？她不清楚。
The Missile Turret had sat there silently for more than forty years. Nobody even believed it worked anymore.
Missile Turret: 导弹塔 silently: 安静地 believe: 相信 work: 起作用 anymore: 不再
这座导弹塔已经安安静静地在这里矗立了四十多年，甚至没人相信它还能工作。
Now, instead of being seen as a defense, the turret served as a reminder and a monument to what they had left behind in the Confederacy.
instead of: 代替 defense: 防御 turret: 塔楼 serve as: 作为 reminder: 纪念品 monument: 纪念碑 left behind: 遗留下 confederacy: 联邦
现在，与其说是防御建筑，这个小塔更多的被看作一个纪念，一种提示，代表了联邦留下的东西。
Occasionally some colonists proposed dismantling it for parts, power cells, and materials, but the mayor had never gotten enough ambition to gather a crew.
occasionally: 偶尔 colonist: 殖民者 propose: 提议 dismantle: 拆卸 part: 零件 power cell: 电池 material: 材料 mayor: 市长 enough: 足够的 ambition: 雄心 gather: 聚集 crew: 全体人员
偶尔，一些殖民者会建议把它拆散成零件，比如电池或者其他的材料，不过村长一直都没心思去把所有人都找来表决。
Now, as Octavia sat there alone, thinking of her brother and staring up into the unpleasant, featureless sky, the Missile Turret suddenly clicked, hummed, and moved.
sit: 坐 alone: 一个人的 think of: 想到 brother: 哥哥 stare: 注视 unpleasant: 使人不愉快的 featureless: 平凡的 suddenly: 突然地 click: 发出咔哒声 hum: 发出嗡嗡声 move: 移动
正当Octavia独自一人坐在那儿想着自己的哥哥，将目光投向平淡无奇的天空时，导弹塔忽然发出几声轻响，接着开始嗡嗡叫，然后移动了起来。
System lights winked on, sputtered, then glowed bright.
system: 系统 light: 灯 wink: 闪烁 sputter: 发出噼啪声 glow: 发光 bright: 明亮的
系统指示灯发出闪光，越闪越快，终于发出亮光。
She leaped to her feet and scrambled away with a shout.
leap to one’s feet: 跳起来 scramble: 爬行 shout: 尖叫
她一脚跳了起来，尖叫一声从塔边爬开。
A few colonists came out of their homes to look at her, then saw the activation lights on the clunky metal structure and saw the turret move.
a few: 几个 colonist: 殖民者 activation: 激活 light: 灯 clunky: 难听的 metal: 金属 structure: 结构 turret: 塔楼
几个殖民者从屋里走出来，想看看她发生了什么，不过随即发现导弹塔闷声作响的金属结构上的动作指示灯被点亮了。小塔还在移动。
Its hydraulics hummed as components opened, rattled, and locked into place. A brilliant light shone from its top as the turret's tracking scanner swiveled.
hydraulics: 液压技术的 hum: 发出嗡嗡声 component: 组件 open: 打开 rattle: 碰响 lock: 锁定 place: 位置 brilliant: 明亮的 light: 光线 shine: 发亮 top: 顶部 turret: 塔楼 tracking: 跟踪 scanner: 扫描仪 swivel: 旋转
它的组件开始张开，液压系统发出沉闷的声响，接着锁定就位。一道闪光从塔顶发出，那是它的跟踪扫描仪在旋转。
The automatic sensors centered in and targeted something invisible in the sky.
automatic: 自动的 sensor: 传感器 center: 集中 target: 把…作为目标 invisible: 看不见的
自动传感器向中心聚焦，探测到了天空中什么看不到的东西。
Missile Turrets were designed to automatically target and fire on incoming enemy aircraft, but they also served as sentry stations; their powerful sensors could detect even cloaked vessels.
be designed to: 目的是 automatically: 自动地 target: 对准 fire: 开火 incoming: 进来的 aircraft: 航空器 serve as: 作为 sentry station: 哨岗 powerful: 强大的 detect: 侦察出 cloaked: 隐藏的 vessel: 飞船
导弹塔最初的设计是能够自动锁定来犯的敌船并且开火，同时也能作为哨所；它强大的探测器甚至能发现隐形的飞船。
This turret had not stirred in decades, but now it locked on, selected a missile, and loaded it into the launch rack, its mechanisms clattering and groaning.
turret: 塔楼 stir: 活动 decade: 几十年 lock on: 锁住 select: 选择 missile: 导弹 load:装进 launch: 发射 rack: 搁架 mechanism: 机械装置 clatter: 发出哗啦声 groan: 呻吟
这座导弹塔几十年都没动过了，但是现在，它已经锁定了目标，准备好了一发飞弹，装进了发射架，整个塔都在轰鸣。
Its detector systems flickered and sparked, not working properly. But it had detected something.
detector: 探测器 system: 系统 flicker: 闪烁 spark: 发出火花 work: 工作 properly: 正常地 detect: 探测
虽然它的探测系统工作并不太正常，运动的时候会颤动，不时甚至会冒出几颗火花，不过它确实发现了什么东西。
With a pulse of energy, the turret fired its missile into the sky. Smoke streamed from an access hatch on the Missile Turret as its long-dormant systems began to fail.
pulse: 脉冲 energy: 能量 turret: 塔楼 fire: 开火 missile: 飞弹 smoke: 烟 stream:涌出 access: 通道 hatch: 开口 long-dormant: 长时间休眠的 system: 系统 begin: 开始 fail: 崩溃
一发飞弹带着能量的冲击从塔中飞向天空。浓烟从一个发射口中涌出，导弹塔毕竟太长时间没有工作过了，它的系统开始崩溃了。
Other colonists, rushing out in response to the strange noise, were astonished to see that the military hardware still functioned at all.
colonist: 殖民者 rush out: 冲出 in response to: 作为对…的反应 strange: 奇怪的 noise:噪音 astonish: 惊奇 military: 军用的 hardware: 军事装备 function: 工作
听到了这奇怪噪音而纷纷跑出来的殖民者，都惊奇地看着这军用设施还能服役。
“Could've been a misfire,” the mayor said. “We should have deactivated that a long time ago.”
misfire: 误射 mayor: 村长 deactivate: 停用
“肯定是一次误射，” 村长说。“我们早就该把它拆掉了。”
The projectile shot upward like an exploding javelin, cruising in a smooth, perfect arc until it struck something that looked like a ripple and a halo in the air.
projectile: 发射物 shoot upward: 喷出 exploding: 爆炸的 javelin: 标枪 cruise: 航游 smooth: 光滑的 perfect: 完美的 arc: 弧线 until: 直到 strike: 撞击 look like: 看起来像 ripple: 波纹 halo: 光环
飞弹像燃烧的标枪一样向天上飞去，划过一道光滑而完美的弧线，撞到了什么东西，化成了天空中一个伴着波纹的明亮光环。
But Octavia stretched her forefinger toward the sky. “No, look! It's hit something.”
stretch: 伸出 forefinger: 食指 hit: 打到
Octavia伸出食指指向天空。“不，看！它确实打到了什么。”
With a flicker, the Observer's cloaking field broke down, and the damaged drone wavered through the sky, its hull split open, one of its three wing covers blown away.
flicker: 闪光 cloaking: 防罩 field: 场 break down: 坏掉 damaged: 损坏的 drone: 探测器 waver: 摇摆 hull: 外壳 split: 分裂 three wing: 三折翼 cover: 外壳 blow away:吹走
一阵闪光过后，Observer的防护罩力场被摧毁了，受损的船体在天上颤动，外壳裂开，一片三折翼状外壳被吹开飞走。
Losing altitude, the device spun and sputtered until it crashed like an unwieldy bullet into one of the roughly tilled fields outside of town.
lose: 失去 altitude: 高度 device: 飞船 spin: 旋转 sputter: 发出噼啪声 until: 直到 crash: 坠毁 unwieldy: 笨拙的 bullet: 子弹 roughly: 粗糙地 tiled: 平铺的 field: 土地 outside of: 在…的外面 town: 城镇
它再也无法保持高度，劈劈啪啪地打着旋，终于像一颗子弹一样坠毁在镇外一片粗糙的土地上。
Without even looking to see if the other settlers were following, Octavia ran out to the crash site, where she found a bowl-shaped crater gouged into the dirt.
settler: 殖民者 follow: 跟着 run: 跑 crash: 坠毁 bowl-shaped: 碗状的 crater: 坑 gouge: 挖出 dirt: 地面
Octavia甚至都没回头看看有没有人跟着她，便跑向坠机的地点。满是灰尘的地面被砸出了一个碗形大坑
The twisted, blackened wreckage had slammed into the ground. There was very little of the Observer left to examine.
twisted: 扭曲的 blackened: 变黑的 wreckage: 残骸 slam into: 撞上 ground: 地面 left:留下的 examine: 检查
那个被烧黑的扭曲变形的东西冲进了地表。可怜的Observer实在是没留下什么可以被检查的东西。
Studying what was left of the object while the colonists rushed to join her,
study: 研究 left: 遗留下 object: 物体 while: 当…的时候 colonist: 殖民者 rush: 冲向 join: 加入
在其他殖民者向这里跑来的途中，Octavia仔细研究了那个东西剩下的部分，
Octavia noticed the strange alien markings on the outer covering of the drone, the broken angled panels over the sensor arrays, the large central eye.
notice: 注意到 strange: 奇怪的 alien: 外星的 marking: 记号 outer: 外部的 covering:外壳 drone: 探测器 broken: 损毁的 angled: 弯曲的 panel: 面板 sensor: 传感器 array: 阵列 large: 大的 central: 中央的
发现在它的外壳上有一个奇怪的外星记号，还有损毁的弯曲面板。面板中间则是一个探测器阵列，一颗大眼睛。
“Either the Confederacy has changed its designs an awful lot, or that's nothing a Terran ever built,” Mayor Nik announced, stating aloud what everyone else had already realized.
either… or: 要么…要么… confederacy: 联邦 change: 改变 design: 设计 an awful lot:太多了 build: 建造 mayor: 村长 announce: 宣告 state: 陈述 aloud: 大声地 everyone: 每个人 already: 已经 realize: 了解
“联邦并没有大幅修改过他们飞行器的设计，要么这就根本不是Terran建造的东西。”Nik村长大声陈述着大家都已了解的东西。
Octavia felt a stab of ice inside her. First the storm and earthquake had exposed the huge buried artifact.
feel: 感到 stab: 匕首 ice: 冰 storm: 风暴 earthquake: 地震 expose: 显露 huge: 巨大的 buried: 埋藏的 artifact: 人造物
Octavia感到心中像被冰刀刺了一下。先是风暴和地震让那个巨大的隐藏人造物露了出来，
Now, from out of the sky, an invisible alien device had been shot down—though what its purpose might be she could only guess.
invisible: 看不见的 alien: 外星的 device: 设备 be shot down: 击落 though: 虽然 purpose: 目的 might: 可能 guess: 猜测
然后现在，又有一个看不到的外星设备从天上被打了下来——虽然她只能去猜测它是用来干什么的。
The colonists began to mutter uneasily, looking down at the crashed object.
colonist: 殖民者 begin: 开始 mutter: 嘀咕 uneasily: 不安地 look down at: 低头看 crash: 坠毁的 object: 物体
殖民者开始紧张地嘀咕，低头看着坠下来的东西。
Octavia turned away from the alien wreckage and bit her lower lip, wondering what could possibly be going on here. And what could possibly happen next.
turn away: 转过脸去 alien: 外星的 wreckage: 残骸 bite: 咬着 lower: 低的 lip: 嘴唇 wonder: 猜想 possibly: 可能地 happen: 发生
Octavia转过身，咬着下嘴唇离开了外星飞船的残片，心里想着这儿的事情接下来会怎样。在这之后，还会发生什么？
作者：Gabriel Mesta 翻译：fineday
解析：destitution 编辑：Wayne
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