第二章_黑暗降临之前_星际小说_游戏英语_英语游戏

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Chapter 2

Mar Sara

第二章

初入军营

“All right, you raw meat! Hang on to your asses! We’re takin’ the long fall!”

raw meat: 生肉 hang on to: 紧紧抓住 ass: 屁股 fall: 降落

“听着，你们这群混蛋，把屁股给我坐稳了。我们这是在进行高空降落。”

Private Ardo Melnikov did not bother to glance at the sergeant as he barked at them. The man was a tic—temporarily in command—for this drop.

private: 列兵 bother: 烦扰 glance at: 扫视 sergeant: 中士 bark: 咆哮 temporarily: 临时的 in command: 指挥 drop: 空降

列兵阿多·迈尔尼科夫不用看就知道，中士又在冲着他们咆哮了。那家伙是个代职，临时负责他们的行动。

Odds were that Ardo would never see the man once they were down. It was best to just stay out of the man’s way until Ardo’s new platoon was sorted out for the mission.

odds: 可能性 down: 降落 stay out of: 避开 platoon: 排 sort out: 选出 mission: 任务

当他们降落之后，阿多很有可能就再也见不到他了。阿多觉得，在分到排里执行任务之前，最好不要惹那家伙。

He could barely hear the tic above the screaming engines of the Dropship and the thunder of their hot descent buffeting the hull.

barely: 仅仅 screaming: 发尖声的 engine: 发动机 dropship: 运输船 thunder: 隆隆作响 descent: 降落 buffeting: 振动 hull: 船体

运输船发动机发出的轰鸣声，以及船体飞速下落时发出的震耳欲聋的隆隆声，使阿多几乎听不到那位代职在说什么。

There was just something about the sergeant that seemed to require a full voice and an angry eye.

sergeant: 中士 seem: 似乎 require: 想要 angry: 生气的

只是那家伙的那个样子让人不由得想冲他大吼一声，或者瞪他一眼。

In any event, it really did not matter to Ardo—the sergeant was just baby-sitting them down to the surface.

in any event: 无论如何 baby-sitting: 临时负责 surface: 地面

不管怎样，这对阿多来说是无关紧要的，中士只不过是在负责他们回到地面。

Once he got there, Ardo knew there would be someone who would make his life miserable on a more permanent basis.

get there: 到达那里 miserable: 痛苦的 permanent: 永久的 basis: 基础

阿多知道，一旦他回到基地，将会有另一个人，在更长远的时间里，对他进行折磨。

Ardo shrugged his shoulders, trying to lift his back away from the wall pad.

shrug: 耸肩 shoulder: 肩膀 lift away: 拽起 back: 后背 pad: 靠垫

阿多耸了耸肩，想让背部离开舱壁靠垫。

The interior of the Dropship was normally a hot box, but most especially during the plunge down through the atmosphere.

interior: 内部的 dropship: 运输船 normally: 通常 hot box: 烘箱 especially: 特别 plunge: 钻进 atmosphere: 大气层

运输船内部通常都像火炉子一般，在穿过大气层下降时更加炽热。

This particular Dropship was at least two cooling units shy of keeping everyone comfortable.

particular: 个别的 at least: 至少 cooling unit: 冷却装置 shy of: 缺乏 comfortable: 舒服的

这艘飞船要使每个人都感到舒服，至少还需要再加两个冷却设备。

Now a growing patch of sweat was sticking his shoulder blades to the nonporous cushion. Sweat beaded up on his face and occasionally dropped down the front of his fatigues.

growing: 产生 patch: 碎片 sweat: 汗 sticking: 粘 blade: 肩胛骨 nonporous: 不透气的 cushion: 靠垫 bead up: 冒出 occasionally: 偶尔 drop down: 流下 fatigues: 作训服

背上的汗不停地往下淌，肩胛骨和不透气的靠垫粘到一起。脸上的汗珠不停地冒出，偶尔会流下来落到作训服上。

The restraining bar prevented him from finding any relief from the pooling discomfort gathering at various junction points of his uniform.

restraining: 抑制的 bar: 杆 prevent from: 阻挡 relief: 减轻负担的 pool: 集中 discomfort: 不适 gathering: 聚集 various: 不同的 junction: 连接 point: 点 uniform: 制服

制服上的每一个结合点都让他感到不舒服，而身边的安全杆又使他很难舒展一下筋骨。

Worse yet, the Dropship was fully loaded—packed shoulder to shoulder and bulkhead to bulkhead.

worse: 更糟的 loaded—packed: 满载的 shoulder: 肩 bulkhead: 舱壁

更糟糕的是，运输船装得满满当当，人们肩挨着肩，隔板贴着隔板。

The heat was not nearly so oppressive as the growing smell that was overwhelming the air scrubbers.

heat: 热度 oppressive: 难以忍受的 growing: 发出的 smell: 气味 overwhelming: 压倒的 air scrubbers: 空气洗涤器

相比之下，炽热的感觉还容易忍受，更难以忍受的是这么多人发出的气味，空气清新剂已经起不了作用了。

There was nothing for him to look at except the same slack and blank faces of the other Marine recruits strapped against the bulkhead across from him.

except: 除外 slack: 呆滞的 blank: 木然的 Marine: 陆战队 recruit: 新兵 strap: 束牢 against: 紧靠 bulkhead: 舱壁 across from: 在...的正对面

阿多的眼睛无处可看，只能看着对面舱壁其他陆战队新兵，看着他们千篇一律的呆滞、毫无表情的面容。

There was nothing for him to listen to except the sergeant’s occasional growl and the uniform roar of the hull behind him.

sergeant: 中士 occasional: 偶尔的 growl: 咆哮声 uniform: 相同的 roar: 轰鸣 hull: 船体

耳朵也只能听着中士偶尔发出的咆哮和身后船体单调的隆隆声。

There was nothing for him to do but wait it out with his own thoughts . . . and that was the last thing he wanted.

wait out: 等到…结束 thoughts: 思想

也没有什么事情可干，除了用自己的思想来打发时间……而这是他最不愿做的。

They haunted him, those thoughts lurking at the back of his mind. It seemed to him sometimes that the ghosts pursued him from inside his own head.

haunt: 缠住 lurking: 潜伏的 back of mind: 内心深处 ghost: 鬼魂 pursue: 追赶 inside: 里面 head: 头脑

这些想法潜伏在他的头脑深处，像鬼魂一样缠着他。有时候，鬼魂似乎就是在他自己的脑袋里紧紧追赶着他。

Closing his eyes never banished those specters. No sound could drown them out for long. Those ghosts were all painfully bright and beautiful, terrible and crushing.

banish: 驱除 specter: 幽灵 sound: 声音 drown out: 淹没 for long: 长久 ghost: 鬼魂 painfully: 痛苦的 bright: 伶俐的 beautiful: 美丽的 terrible: 恐怖的 crush: 压碎

闭上眼睛，这些阴魂从来不散。没有任何声音能够长时间地盖过它们。这些鬼魂，个个都机灵、美丽而又恐怖，令人痛苦，使人崩溃。

They would wait quietly, patiently at the edge of his conscious thought, kept at bay by his will alone.

quietly: 安静地 patiently: 耐心地 edge: 边缘 conscious: 有意识的 thought: 思想 at bay: 陷入困境 will: 意志

它们平静地等待着，耐心地守在他意识的边缘，只有他的意志才能将它们收服。

Sometimes he would be arrogant enough to think he had them mastered and banished once and for all.

arrogant: 自大的 master: 控制 banish: 驱除 once and for all: 彻底地

有时候，他自欺欺人，认为已经永远地控制了它们，驱除了它们。

Then some smell of ripening grass or plowed earth would waft past him on a breeze, or a glint of the color of light honey,

smell: 气味 ripening: 成熟的 grass: 草 plow: 耕地 earth: 土壤 waft: 飘荡 breeze: 微风 glint: 闪烁 color: 颜色 light: 淡淡的 honey: 令人愉快的东西

可是，当成熟的草或者泥土的气味随着一阵微风从他身边吹过，或者某种淡淡的颜色在他眼中一闪，

or a distant whispered laugh, or some indefinable quality of his surroundings, and the demons would rush back, overwhelming him.

distant: 遥远的 whispered: 小声的 indefinable: 不确定的 quality: 特质 surrounding: 周围的 demons: 魔鬼 rush back: 冲回 overwhelm: 压服

或者听到某个遥远的轻轻的笑声，看到周围某种不可名状的东西，那些阴魂又会卷土重来，将他完全控制。

He would have bled tears just at the thought of them if he could.

bled: 流血 tear: 眼泪 thought: 思考

仅仅是想到他们，他的眼中就会流血。

All he wanted was to fight. He needed to fight. It was the only thing that really kept the demons at bay.

fight: 战斗 really: 真正地 demon: 魔鬼 at bay: 陷入困境

他什么都不想，只是要战斗。他需要战斗。只有战斗才能真正地控制住这些阴魂。

He could concentrate on the mission and its objectives . . . or at least those minor objectives that his commander deemed necessary for him to know.

concentrate: 集中 mission: 任务 objective: 目标 at least: 至少 minor: 次要的 commander: 指挥官 deem: 认为 necessary for: 对…是必要的 know: 知道

那样，他就可以把精力集中在任务和任务要达到的目标上，至少指挥官会告诉他某些无足轻重的、应该知道的目标。

Grand strategy was not his purview. It was none of his business. His job was to do whatever he was told to do and with as little thought as necessary. That suited him just fine.

grand: 重大的 strategy: 策略 purview: 范围 business: 职责 job: 任务 thought: 想法 necessary: 需要的 suit: 适合

宏观的策略和他无关。那不是他的事情。他的任务就是做好要他做的事，别的什么都不要想。这也正是他所需要的。

The howling of the Dropship was tapering off. The vehicle had finally spent its energy against the atmosphere of whatever world they were plunging toward.

howling: 轰鸣声 dropship: 运输船 taper off: 渐渐变小 vehicle: 交通工具 spent: 耗尽 energy: 能量 against: 抵消 atmosphere: 大气层 plunge: 冲入

运输船的轰鸣声渐渐变小。它终于在那个不知道是什么世界的大气层里耗尽了能量。

The engines were doing their best now to make the ship imitate the grace of a bird in flight. Ardo chuckled to himself at the thought.

engine: 发动机 imitate: 模仿 grace: 优雅 bird: 鸟 flight: 飞行 chuckle: 轻笑

运输船的发动机在卖力地工作，使得运输船看起来像一只大鸟在优雅地飞行。想到这里，阿多不由得噗嗤一笑。

The Quantradyne APOD-33 was the Confederacy’s proof to the stars that anything with a big enough engine would fly—no matter how badly.

confederacy: 联邦 proof: 证明 enough: 足够的 fly: 飞 no matter: 无关紧要

这艘APOD-33运输船向各个星球证实了联邦的断言：任何拥有大型发动机的物体都可以飞起来——不管飞得多么拙劣。

Of course, he had made many training jumps before. Each was completely unremarkable and he really did not care to recall them in any detail.

training: 训练 jump: 跳伞 completely: 完全地 unremarkable: 平凡的 recall: 回忆 detail: 细节

当然，以前他经历过很多降落训练。这些训练都没有什么值得夸耀的，他也不愿怎么去想它们。

Why reflect on something so painful as time to be still and think?

reflect on: 回想 painful: 痛苦的 still: 平静的

为什么要在平静的时候去想那些痛苦的事呢?

Better to concentrate on something else . . . anything else.

concentrate: 集中

最好把注意力放在其它事情上……其它任何事情上。

Ardo began scanning the faces of the Marines around him. It was an exercise in self-preservation.

scanning: 审视 Marines: 陆战队员 around: 周围的 exercise: 训练 self-preservation: 自我保护

阿多开始扫视他周围的陆战队员的脸。这也是一种自我保护训练。

It was always a good idea to know the Marines around you. You never knew when your life might depend on one of them . . . or be threatened by one.

might: 可能 depend on: 依赖 threaten: 构成威胁

能够认出你周围的陆战队员总是一件好事。谁也不知道什么时候他们会救你一命……或者害得你送命。

The woman sitting across from him seemed to be a good example of one kind or the other—it was just that Ardo was not all that sure of which.

seem: 似乎 example: 例子 kind: 类型

坐在他对面的那位女性似乎属于某种典型的类型，到底是哪种类型，阿多不能确定。

She had close-cropped blond hair that stood in neat bristles from a well-shaped scalp.

close-cropped: 短发的 blond hair: 金发 stand in: 位于 neat: 整齐的 bristle: 直立 well-shaped: 外形精美的 scalp: 头皮

她金色的头发剪得很短，梳理得整整齐齐，头型很漂亮。

Her face was drawn tight, with angular cheekbones that sharply framed two shining, steel-tinged eyes.

draw tight: 紧绷的 angular: 棱角分明的 cheekbones: 颊骨 sharply: 锐利的 framed: 嵌着 shining: 明亮的 steel-tinged: 青灰色的

她的脸紧紧地绷着，棱角分明的颊骨，嵌着一双明亮的青灰色的眼睛。

They stared unfocused at some distant point past Ardo’s shoulder, unblinking yet shuttered windows into any soul she might possess.

stare: 凝视 unfocused: 未聚焦的 distant: 远处的 point: 地点 shoulder: 肩膀 unblinking: 不眨眼的 shutter: 关闭 window: 窗户 soul: 心灵 possess: 拥有

她的眼睛经过阿多的肩膀，没有目标地盯着远处某个地方，虽然眼睛一眨不眨，但这扇窗户却是封闭的，看不到里面是什么样的心灵。

Those eyes could freeze a river solid in midsummer, he thought. He was left to his own imagination as to what the rest of her looked like.

freeze: 冻结 river: 河流 solid: 固体的 midsummer: 酷夏 imagination: 想像力 rest: 其余的

这双眼睛能够把酷夏的一条河冻成冰，阿多心想。想像力驱使他不由得去想她的其它部位是什么样的。

The powered combat suit she wore effectively hid any physical distinction she might otherwise have displayed, but it did tell him one thing: her suit markings were that of an officer.

powered combat suit: 动力战斗服 wear: 穿 effectively: 有效地 hid: 隐藏 physical: 身体的 distinction: 特征 otherwise: 否则 displayed: 显示的 marking: 标记 officer: 军官

她所穿的战斗服完好地隐藏了她可能拥有的身体特征，但他至少知道了一件事：她制服上的标志表明她是一名军官。

That meant danger to a private no matter how you cut it. Avoidance of an officer is the first thing a private learns—especially in casual conversation.

mean: 意味着 danger: 危险 private: 列兵 avoidance: 避开 officer: 军官 especially: 尤其 casual: 草率的 conversation: 交谈

这对一名列兵来说是危险的事，不管你从哪个角度来说。远离军官是一个列兵首先要学会的东西一一尤其是在随意的交谈中。

The last private he could remember being too familiar with his squad leader ended up with a hole where his head had been.

familiar: 熟悉的 squad leader: 队长 end up: 死亡 hole: 洞

他所认识的一位列兵，因为和队长关系特别亲密，最后丢掉了脑袋。

The female officer had not said a word since they boarded the Dropship.

female: 女性的 officer: 军官 since: 自从 board: 登上 dropship: 运输船

从他们登上运输船起，这个女军官就没有说过一句话。

She was perfectly welcome to let her silence continue as far as Ardo was concerned. Speak when spoken to, he thought. Otherwise, do not go looking for trouble.

perfectly: 极佳的 silence: 沉默 continue: 持续 as far as: 一直到 concerned: 关心的 otherwise: 否则 looking for: 寻找 trouble: 麻烦

对阿多来说，她能这样保持沉默再好不过了。不要先说话，除非别人主动和你说，阿多心想，不然就是在自找麻烦。

At least she was comfortable, Ardo thought. Her suit was self-cooling, and he could see the power umbilical plugged into the Dropship’s power bus.

at least: 至少 comfortable: 舒服的 self-cooling: 自动冷却的 power: 电源 umbilical: 脐带 plug into: 把插头插入 power bus: 电源总线

至少她是很舒服的，阿多想。她的服装是自动降温的，阿多看到她的电源线插到了飞船的电源插座上。

Ardo suspected that her chill went well beyond the physical. Someday he, too, would learn the intricate skills necessary to wear the CMC-300—maybe even the new 400 model.

suspect: 猜想 chill: 冷气 go well beyond: 大大超出 physical: 身体的 intricate: 复杂的 skill: 技巧 necessary: 必须的 wear: 穿着 model: 型号

阿多觉得她的冷气一直传到她身体的外面。有一天他也会掌握穿CMC-300的复杂技巧，甚至还可能是新的400型号。

That day was a long way off, of course. Still, it would be a lot better to wear in combat than a few layers of ablative cloth and one’s standard-issue underwear.

a long way off: 很远 combat: 战斗 layer: 层 ablative: 消融的 cloth: 布料 standard-issue: 标准配备的 underwear: 内衣

当然，那一天还远着呢。不管怎么说，穿着战斗服总要比穿着几层可消融型布料和标准内衣要好得多。

If he could just manage to live long enough to get a combat suit of his own, his prospects would improve considerably.

manage to: 达成 live: 生存 prospects: 期望 improve: 改善 considerably: 非常地

如果他还能活到穿上自己的战斗服的那一天，他的前景将会得到相当的改善。

Well, hopefully they would at least give him some training in a weapon. He had not even had the chance to do that yet.

hopefully: 有希望地 at least: 至少 training: 训练 weapon: 武器 chance: 机会

至少，他们可能会给他一些武器方面的训练。他甚至还没有机会得到那种训练。

The rest of the compartment was filled with grunts just like himself. Each of them wore the standard-issue detached look of a Confederacy Security Marine.

rest: 其余的 compartment: 船舱 fill with: 充满 grunt: 步兵 standard-issue: 标准配备的 detached: 冷漠的 look: 神色 confederacy: 联邦 security: 安全 marine: 陆战队

船舱里的其他人都是和他一样的步兵。每个人都带着那种标准的联邦陆战队员的冷漠表情。

Each of them dripped Confederacy sweat through their Confederacy fatigues, as was their duty.

drip: 滴落 sweat: 汗 fatigue: 疲惫 duty: 职责

每个人都流着联邦的汗水，有着联邦的疲惫。这是他们的义务。

Ardo’s eye fell for a time, however, on one particularly large private.

fall: 视线落在..上 for a time: 一段时间 particularly: 特别 large: 巨大的 private: 列兵

然而，有一阵，阿多的目光落在了一个特别高大的列兵身上。

The man was enormous—Ardo remembered the prep crew had some trouble getting his harness to lock closed—and he would not stop his incessant yammering for a moment.

enormous: 巨大的 remember: 记得 prep crew: 预备队员 trouble: 困难 harness: 降落伞吊带 lock: 锁上 incessant: 不停的 yammer: 抱怨

那家伙的块头太大了——阿多记得，队员们费了好大的劲才把他的安全带给扣上——而他的嘴里一刻不停地抱怨着。

Ardo could not imagine where they had found a uniform that would fit him.

imagine: 想像 uniform: 制服 fit: 合身

阿多想像不出他们到底从哪儿给他搞来的合身军装。

He was dark complexioned, and Ardo vaguely recalled the ancient United Powers League back on Earth had once qualified the man as “South Seas Islander.”

complexion: 肤色 vaguely: 模糊地 recall: 回想起 ancient: 古代的 United Powers League: 联合权力同盟 Earth: 地球 qualify: 形容 south sea: 南海 islander: 岛民

他皮肤黝黑，阿多隐约还记得，过去地球上的联合权力同盟曾经称他们这个民族为“南海岛民”。

He had broad, angular features and full lips. His hair was a long mane that flowed back from his forehead and down his neck in natural black waves.

broad: 宽的 angular: 棱角分明的 feature: 容貌 full lips: 厚嘴唇 mane: 长而厚密的头发 flow: 飘垂forehead: 前额 neck: 脖子 natural: 自然的 waves: 波浪

他脸部宽大，棱角分明，嘴唇丰满。他的头发又长又密，黑色的自然波浪，从前额一直向后垂到脖子上。

The giant was gung-ho certifiable—one of those all-for-the-wall,

giant: 巨人 gung-ho: 热心的 certifiable: 可确认的

那家伙确定无疑的是个热心的人，一个不碰得头破血流决不回头

eat-their-hearts-for-breakfast psychotics who was the first person you would want to come and pull you out of the fire and the last person you would want to follow into one.

eat-their-hearts-for-breakfast: 废寝忘食 psychotics: 疯子 pull out of: 把…从…拉出来 fire: 苦难 follow: 跟随

干起活来废寝忘食的疯子，在危难中，人们第一个想到的就是这种人，希望他过来把自己从火坑中拉出来，但又最不愿意和这种人一起跳火坑。

“Get this junkwad on the ground!” The giant laughed beneath his bright eyes.

junk: 垃圾 wad: 一团 junkwad: 破玩艺儿 giant: 巨人 beneath: 下面 bright: 明亮的

“快把这破玩艺儿停到地上!”巨人明亮眼睛下面的嘴巴大笑道，

“I’ve got some death to deal out! Want to roast me some Zerg on a spit! Maybe eat their brains straight off!”

death: 死亡 deal out: 执行 roast: 烤 spit: 烤肉叉 brain: 脑子 straight off: 立即

“我要去宰几个怪物来。给我在烤架上烤几个怪物。把它们的脑子吃掉。”

The islander threw his head back and laughed too loudly once more. He slapped his massive hands down on the thighs of the two Marines sitting next to him.

islander: 岛民 throw back: 后仰 loudly: 大声地 once more: 再一次 slap: 拍击 massive: 巨大的 thigh: 大腿 Marines: 陆战队员 next to: 靠近

南海岛民又一次仰天哈哈大笑起来。巨大的双手分别拍在旁边两个陆战队员的大腿上。

They both winced so hard from the impact that tears pooled in their eyes.

wince: 面部肌肉抽搐 impact: 撞击 tear: 眼泪 pool: 积淤

这一拍，两个人都皱着眉头，眼泪在眼睛里直打转。

“We’ll eat them for dinner, eh? Big Zerg feast! Ha! Just put this flying trashyard on the ground before I open it myself!”

dinner: 晚餐 feast: 盛宴 flying: 飞行的 trash: 废物 yard: 很大的数量 ground: 地面

“我们的晚餐就吃它们了，泽格族大餐!哈哈!快把这破烂飞船停到地上，我自己打开它。”

The pilot in the sealed cockpit forward of the drop-bay could not possibly have heard the request but seemed willing just the same to accommodate it.

pilot: 飞行员 sealed: 密封的 cockpit: 座舱 drop-bay: 空投舱 possibly: 可能 request: 请求 willing: 愿意的 just the same: 仍然 accommodate: 通融

飞行员坐在机舱前面密封的驾驶舱里，不可能听到这一请求，但却似乎很愿意满足他。

The ship pivoted noticeably—Ardo knew this was a standard clearing maneuver just before landing—and the engines whined a little differently.

pivot: 回旋 noticeably: 明显地 standard: 标准的 clearing: 清除 maneuver: 操作 landing: 降落 engine: 发动机 whine: 嘎嘎声 differently: 不同地

飞船缓缓地回旋着——阿多知道这是降落前标准的操作一一发动机的声音也有了一些变化。

A final bump, and the engines suddenly spindled down.

final: 最后 bump: 颠簸 suddenly: 突然地 spindle: 轴

最后颠簸了一下，发动机猛地停了下来。

The lieutenant in front of Ardo wasted no time unplugging herself from the Dropship power,

lieutenant: 中尉 waste: 浪费 unplug: 拔下…的电源插头 dropship: 运输船 power: 电源

阿多前面的中尉不失时机地把身上的插销从飞船电源板上拔下。

managing to get herself free before the restraining bar had lifted completely out of the way.

manage to: 达成 free: 自由地 restraining: 抑制的 bar: 杆 lift: 升起 completely: 完全 out of the way: 不碍事的

身边的安全横杆还没有完全升起，她就已经可以自由地活动了。

A deft move with her free hand brought her duffel bag down from the overhead racks.

deft: 敏捷的 free: 空着的 duffel bag: 行李袋 overhead: 头顶的 rack: 行李架

空着的手灵活地一挥，就把帆布行李袋从头顶的行李架上取下来。

She was already moving toward the ramp as it began lowering at the back of the ship.

ramp: 舷梯 lowering: 降下

舷梯刚刚在飞船后面放下，她就已经朝着它走去了。

She even beat the islander, who seemed to be in his own hurry to get into whatever fight he could either find or manufacture.

beat: 超过 islander: 岛民 hurry: 匆忙的 fight: 打架 manufacture: 制造

她甚至超过了那位南海岛民，虽然他也是匆匆忙忙的，似乎急着要和人打架。

Ardo took his time, tugging at his fatigues to pull them free of each of the places sweat had stuck them to his body.

take his time: 从容不迫 tug: 拖拽 fatigues: 工作服 pull: 拉 sweat: 汗 stick: 粘贴 body: 身体

阿多不慌不忙，扯了扯自己的作训服，把汗湿了贴在身上的地方扯开。

He could smell the change in the atmosphere already blowing in through the open ramp.

smell: 闻到 change: 变化 atmosphere: 空气 blowing in: 吹入 ramp: 舷梯

他能够闻到空气的变化，那是从敞开的门的舷梯吹进来的。

An achingly dry breeze swept the musty dampness out of the compartment like a furnace.

achingly: 刺痛的 dry: 干燥的 breeze: 微风 sweep out: 清除 musty: 发霉的 dampness: 湿气 compartment: 船舱 furnace: 熔炉

一阵刺痛的干燥的微风，吹进了火炉般的船舱里，把带有霉味的湿气驱散。

He pulled his own duffel bag from the racks and followed the others as they straggled out the back of the Dropship.

duffel bag: 行李袋 rack: 行李架 follow: 跟着 straggle: 分散 dropship: 飞船

阿多把自己的行李袋从架子上拿下来，跟着别人从飞船的后面走下去。

“Get your asses out here, ladies,” the sergeant snarled. “We haven’t got all day!”

ass: 屁股 lady: 女性的 sergeant: 中士 snarl: 咆哮

“快点给我滚下去，娘们似的，”中士咆哮道，“我们没有一整天的时间。”

The air was oven-hot and dry—drier than Ardo ever remembered breathing.

oven-hot: 烤炉般热的 dry: 干燥 remember: 记得 breathing: 呼吸的

空气像火炉一样，炽热而又干燥。

A stiff breeze carried the furnace heat around him.

stiff: 猛烈的 breeze: 风 furnace: 熔炉 heat: 热度

一股强风带着熔炉的热度在他身边吹着。

His sweat evaporated almost at once as he stepped onto the tarmac of the spaceport. Ardo glanced grimly around.

sweat: 汗水 evaporate: 蒸发 at once: 立刻 step: 踏上 tarmac: 停机坪 spaceport: 航空港 glance: 扫视

踏上航空港的停机坪时，他的汗水几乎立刻就蒸发了。阿多犹豫地向周围看了看。

He had stepped into hell.

step into: 走入 hell: 地狱

他踏进了地狱。

The world was a rusting red, colored by the sand that seemed to add its own tint to every building and vehicle regardless of its original color.

rusting: 铁锈的 colored: 染色的 sand: 沙子 add: 增添 tint: 色彩 building: 建筑 vehicle: 车辆 regardless: 不管 original: 最初的

整个世界是铁锈一般的红色，这是沙子的颜色，沙子似乎把每一个建筑、每一台车辆都染成了自己的颜色，不管它们原来的本色是什么。

The effect was all the more enhanced by the flaming dawn just breaking over the starport . . .

effect: 效果 enhance: 加强 flaming: 火焰般的 dawn: 黎明 break over: 漫过 starport: 航空港

刚刚降临到航空港的火焰般的黎明，更加强了这种效果。

Or what was left of the starport. Nearly half of the seven launch control towers originally scattered around the sprawling installation were on fire.

starport: 航空港 nearly: 几乎 half: 一半 launch: 发射 control: 控制 tower: 塔 originally: 原先 scattered: 分散的 sprawl: 四散 installation: 设施 on fire: 着火

这还能算是航空港吗?原先零散地坐落在发射站旁边的七个发射塔，几乎有一半正在着火。

Two of them were crested only with broken rubble. Columns of smoke from various other fires could be seen rising from buildings of the starport itself.

crested: 有顶饰的 broken: 破碎的 rubble: 瓦砾 column: 圆柱 smoke: 烟 various: 不同的 rising: 升起 building: 建筑物

其中两座上面只有破碎的瓦砾。其它着火点冒出的烟柱正在从航空港的建筑里升起。

More telling, larger columns could be seen rising from the central city district of the colony several miles beyond.

column: 烟柱 central: 中心的 district: 地区 colony: 殖民地 several: 若干 mile: 英里

更能说明问题的，是一些更大的烟柱，从几英里外的殖民地市中心冒出。

It was then that Ardo heard the sound—an all too familiar sound. Drifting toward him on the breeze, he heard the cries, the anguish, the panic.

all too: 十分 familiar: 熟悉的 sound: 声音 drifting: 飘动的 breeze: 微风 cry: 呼喊 anguish: 痛苦 panic: 恐慌

就在这时，阿多听到了这种声音——再熟悉不过的声音。从微风吹来的地方，他听到了那种哭喊，那种痛苦，那种恐慌。

He turned sharply.

sharply: 突然改变方向的

他猛地转回身。

On the opposite side of the field, just short of the embarkation pads,

opposite: 对面的 field: 机场 short of: 距离…不远 embarkation: 登机 pad: 机场

就在机场的对面，离登机处不远的地方，

he could see the cordon of Marines surrounding the Confederacy section of the starport and the panicked mob beyond.

cordon: 警戒线 Marine: 陆战队 surrounding: 周围的 confederacy: 联邦的 section: 地区 starport: 航空港 panicked: 惊恐的 mob: 民众

他看到航空港联邦区周围陆战队的警戒线，还有远处混乱惊恐的人群。

No!

不要!

The memories flooded over him. He stood in the colony square once more. The sounds of it filled his mind. Their cries . . . her cries . . .

memory: 记忆 flood: 淹没 colony: 殖民地 square: 广场 once more: 再次 sound: 声音 fill: 充满 mind: 头脑 cry: 哭喊

记忆像潮水般将他淹没。他又一次站到了殖民地广场上。他满脑子都是那里的声音。他们的哭喊……她的哭喊……

“Don’t leave me alone!” she wept.

leave alone: 撇下…一个人 weep: 哭哭泣

“不要离开我!”她哭喊道。

Someone shoved Ardo hard from behind. His training took over, and he tumbled deftly before rising quickly to his feet, his hands prepared to defend and attack.

shove: 推 hard: 猛烈的 behind: 后面 training: 训练 take over: 起作用 tumble: 跌倒 deftly: 灵巧地 rising: 起身 prepared to: 准备 defend: 防御 attack: 攻击

有人从后面猛推了阿多一下。他的训练立刻起了作用，他的身体打了一个趔趄，但立刻很快地站起身，双手已经准备好防御和攻击。

“Quit stalling, you maggot-wipe,” the drop sergeant snapped. “What are you waiting for—an official welcome? Get over to the barracks for training. You’re needed on the double!”

stalling: 停转 maggot-wipe: 令人嘲笑的蛆虫 sergeant: 中士 snap: 厉声说 official: 正式的 welcome: 欢迎 get over: 恢复过来 barrack: 军营 training: 训练 on the double: 跑步前进

“别在这里磨蹭了，你这个混球，”中士咆哮道，“你在等什么?等人列队欢迎你啊?快去军营接受训练。快点过去!”

Ardo dreaded the barracks more than any other thing in his life. There was something about them that repulsed him, that shook him to his very soul whenever he just heard the word.

dread: 害怕 barrack: 军营 repulse: 憎恶 shake: 发抖 soul: 灵魂

阿多一辈子最怕的就是营房了。那里有些东西让他反感，让他一听到这个词灵魂深处就开始发抖。

Ardo was slightly dazed, but he knew better even as he said, “No, Sergeant, I can’t . . .”

slightly: 些微地 dazed: 茫然的 even as: 正当…

阿多有点发懵，但他心里仍然很清楚，即使他嘴上在说：“不，中士，我不行……”

The sergeant simply knocked him down again.

sergeant: 中士 simply: 仅仅 knock down: 打到

中士又一次把他推倒在地。

“Welcome to Mar Sara, Marine! Now move!”

Marine: 陆战队员 move: 移动

“欢迎来到玛萨拉，陆战队员!快给我走!”

He moved. Gathering up his kit, Ardo joined the rest of the group from his Dropship as they made their way toward the barracks at the edge of the tarmac.

gather up: 拾起 kit: 行李 join: 加入 rest: 其余的 dropship: 运输船 make their way: 走去 barrack: 军营 edge: 边缘 tarmac: 停机坪

他开始走动。捡起自己的行李，阿多加入到和他一起从运输飞船上下来的队列中，向停机坪边缘的军营走去。

He had the distinct impression of swimming against the current: everyone else on the base was moving out toward the pads.

distinct: 清楚的 impression: 感想 swimming: 游泳 against the current: 逆流而行 base: 基地 pad: 发射坪

他有一种清楚的感觉，似乎自己在逆流游泳：因为基地上其他人都在向升降台走。

“Looks like we’re the cleanup crew,” Ardo muttered to himself, trying not to think about the inevitability of what was coming next.

cleanup crew: 善后 mutter: 喃喃低语 inevitability: 不可避免地 coming: 来临

“我们似乎是留下来收拾残局的。”阿多自言自语道，尽力不去想接下来不可避免地会发生的事情。

He kept his eyes to the ground, refusing to look at the box-like mobile barracks unit even as he was walking up into its interior.

keep: 保持 ground: 地面 refuse: 不愿 box-like: 箱子似的 mobile: 移动 unit: 单位 even as: 正当… walk up: 走进 interior: 内部

他眼睛直盯着地面，不想看到那些箱子似的移动军营，即使当他在向里面走去的时候，也不看上一眼。

He looked up only when he was inside, standing with the others in rough rows in the cramped deployment room at the top of the access ramp.

inside: 里面 rough: 混乱的 rows: 一行 cramped: 狭窄的 deployment room: 调度室 top: 顶部 access: 入口 ramp: 斜坡

只是到了里面之后，他才抬起头来，和其他人一起，散乱地站成几排，站在狭小的调度室里，那里是进口斜坡台的顶部。

The tic was still there with them, mothering them with his unique touch every step of the way.

mothering: 教育 unique: 独特的 touch: 接触 step: 步骤

代理中士还在那里，以他独特的方式教育着他们：

“You know the drill, boys and girls. Drop your gear and strip . . . then right back here, people!”

drill:训练 drop: 放下 gear: 装备 strip: 脱衣服

“你们知道这个训练，伙计们。扔下你们的行李，脱下衣服……立刻回到这里。”

Ardo felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

wave: 波 nausea: 反胃 wash over: 冲刷

阿多感到一阵恶心冲击着他。

There was nothing he hated more than the barracks and there was nothing in the barracks he hated more than what they were about to force on him.

hate: 憎恨 barrack: 军营 force on: 强加于

再没有比军营更让他憎恨的了，而在军营中，他最憎恨的，就是他们将要逼着他做的事情。

He told himself that it was all part of the job, but it did not make the fact of it any less revolting to him.

job: 工作 fact: 事实 any less: 更少一些 revolting: 令人厌恶的

他告诉自己这是工作的一部分，但是这一点也没有减少他的反感。

Ardo herded into the adjoining barracks room—like cattle into a slaughter chute, he thought, shuddering—and found an empty bunk.

herded into: 被赶进 adjoining: 隔壁的 barrack: 军营 cattle: 家畜 slaughter: 屠宰 chute: 溜槽 shuddering: 颤栗的 empty: 空的 bunk: 铺位

阿多走进了隔壁的营房一一像是被赶进了屠宰场的牲口，他想，身体颤栗了一下——找到了一张空床。

Whoever had called this place home ahead of him had apparently left in a hurry. Odd bits of trash remained strewn about the bedding and the floor.

whoever: 无论谁 ahead: 在前 apparently: 显然 hurry: 匆忙 odd: 剩余的 trash: 垃圾 remain: 剩余的 strew: 撒满 bedding: 寝具 floor: 地板

以前在这里住的那个家伙很显然是匆忙离开的。床上地上扔满了各种垃圾。

Ardo thought that the tic outside probably would not have approved of such sloppy behavior.

outside: 外面的 probably: 也许 approve: 赞同 sloppy: 邋遢的 behavior: 行为

阿多想外面的那位代理长官也许不会容忍这种邋遢行为。

With a sigh, the young Marine began peeling off his sweat-stained shirt.

sigh: 叹息 Marine: 陆战队员 peeling off:脱掉 sweat-stained: 汗水浸透的 shirt: 衬衣

年轻的陆战队员叹了口气，开始脱下汗水浸透的衬衣。

He tried not to notice the others around him as they undressed.

notice: 注意 around : 周围的 undressed: 脱衣服

他尽力不去注意周围的其他人脱衣服。

There were both men and women present—the Confederacy Marines were perfectly willing to allow both sexes to die for their missions—

present: 在场的 confederacy: 联邦 Marines: 陆战队 perfectly: 非常 willing to: 乐于 allow: 允许 sex: 性别 missions: 任务

在场的男人女人都有——联邦舰队非常愿意让男人女人都为他们的任务而卖命—

but Ardo was always deeply ashamed of being naked in front of men, let alone women.

deeply: 深深地 ashamed: 害臊 naked: 裸体的 let alone: 更不用说

但阿多总是羞于在男人面前裸体，更不用说在女人面前了。

Young and inexperienced, he found it achingly upsetting every time he was so casually required to strip,

young: 年轻 inexperienced: 缺乏经验的 achingly: 痛苦地 upsetting: 令人苦恼的 casually: 随意地 require: 要求 strip: 脱衣服

由于年轻和缺乏经验，他发现每次被随意地要求脱光衣服时，他都会感到痛苦难堪，

and more than once he had been the source of considerable amusement to the other Marines.

source: 源头 considerable: 大量 amusement: 娱乐

因此他还不止一次地成为其他队员的笑柄。

Ardo shivered as he stepped back into the deployment room. The dry heat was rapidly cooling the sweat still on his back.

shiver: 颤抖 deployment room: 调度室 dry: 干燥的 heat: 热量 rapidly: 迅速的 cooling: 冷却 sweat: 汗

阿多颤抖着迈进了调度室。干燥的热量立刻蒸发了他背上的汗水。

He felt physically sick. He knew what was coming next.

physically: 身体的 sick: 不舒服 coming: 来临

他的身体感到很不舒服。他知道接下来会是什么。

He tried to distract himself by glancing at the others around the room. He would barely admit to himself that his motives in doing so were more than a little tainted with puerile curiosity.

distract: 分心 glancing at: 看一下 barely: 仅仅 admit: 承认 motives: 目的 tainted: 感染的 puerile: 天真的 curiosity: 好奇心

他看了看房间里其他人，试图分散自己的注意力。他自己几乎不愿意承认，这样做的目的并不仅仅是孩子似的好奇。

The majority of those present were men, he noted—in fact, an unusually high number.

majority: 大多数 present: 在场的 notice: 注意 in fact: 事实上 unusually: 异常的 number: 数量

他注意到在场的大多数是男人——事实上，绝大多数都是男人。

He had even briefly wondered what that lieutenant would look like once taken out of her battle armor.

briefly: 短暂的 wonder: 想知道 lieutenant: 中尉 take out: 去掉 battlearmor: 盔甲

他脑子里甚至短暂地闪过一个念头，想知道那个中尉脱光了战甲之后是什么样的。

Ardo was somewhat surprised to note that she was not among them. Was she somehow exempt from this indignity?

somewhat: 有点 surprised: 惊奇地 note: 注意 among: 在…中间 exempt: 免除的 indignity: 羞辱

阿多有点惊奇地发现，她并没有在他们中间。难道是她得到特赦，免除了这种羞辱的事情?

Two large guards with stunners were standing next to the tic.

guard: 卫兵 stunner: 击昏器 tic: 中士

两个手持击昏器的卫兵站在中士的旁边。

Between them, a single hatchway led into the darkened room beyond.

single: 单一的 hatchway: 入口 lead into: 通向 darkened: 漆黑

他们中间是一个通往漆黑房间的人口。

Ardo closed his eyes, trying to calm down. The tic was reading from a hand display.

calm down: 平静下来 display: 显示器

阿多闭上了眼睛，尽力使自己平静下来。中士正在看着掌上显示器点名。

“. . . Alley . . . Bounous . . .”

“……艾利……布诺斯……”

Ardo could not think for the pounding in his head.

pounding: 重击

阿多的头快要爆了，脑子一片空白。

“. . . Mellish . . . Melnikov . . .”

“……麦里士……迈尔尼科夫……”

Ardo took several steps forward at the sound of his name and then froze. His feet refused to move any closer to the terrifying, darkened doorway.

several: 若干 step: 步 freeze: 站住不动 refused: 不愿 closer: 靠近的 terrifying: 恐怖的 darkened: 黑暗的 doorway: 门口

听到自己的名字，阿多向前迈了几步，然后就僵住了。他的腿一点也不愿意向那可怕、黑暗的门口再迈一步。

His eyes locked on the passage beyond. Rows of man-size tubes, each filled with a blue-green liquid, lined each side of the passageway.

lock: 停在 passage: 过道 row: 一排 man-size: 人一样大小的 tube: 管子 fill: 充满 blue-green: 蓝绿色 liquid: 液体 line: 使排成行 passageway: 过道

他的目光停在了远处的过道上。一排排和人一样大小的管子，充满了蓝绿色的液体，停放在过道的两边。

“Melnikov, what the hell . . . ?”

what the hell: 究竟

“迈尔尼科夫，你到底……?”

They would pack him in one of those tubes and as soon as they did the nightmare would begin.

pack in: 把…塞入 tube: 管子 as soon as: 一…就 nightmare: 噩梦

他们将把他放在其中一个管子里，一旦进去，噩梦就会开始。

“Melnikov!”

“迈尔尼科夫!”

It was like a coffin . . . a nightmare in a coffin.

coffin: 棺材 nightmare: 噩梦

那就像一口棺材……棺材里的噩梦。

He could not move. The two guards had seen it many times before. They stepped forward casually and, as roughly as possible, helped Ardo into the darkness.

move: 移动 guard: 卫兵 step forward: 向前走 casually: 漠不关心的 roughly: 粗暴地 as possible: 尽可能 darkness: 黑暗

他再也动不了。那两个卫兵已经多次见到这种情景。他们漫不经心地走过来，非常粗暴地架着阿多进入黑暗之中。

He was falling and there was no end. He did not know how he had gotten here. Was he here at all or was he somewhere else . . . someone else?

falling: 坠落 end: 尽头 get there: 到这里 somewhere: 在某处

他在下落，没有尽头。他不知道自己是怎样来到这里的。他到底是在这里呢，还是在别的地方?

He struggled to concentrate on the images and memories that were drifting past his mind, but he could not find a way to grasp them.

struggle: 努力 concentrate: 专心 image: 图像 memory: 记忆 drift: 飘游 grasp: 抓住

或者他根本就不是自己?他试图集中精力，抓住从头脑中飘过的图像和记忆，但却无法捕捉到它们。

He would reach for them, desperate to examine them, but they would fall apart like bubbles of air under water as he tried to hold them.

reach for: 伸手去抓 desperate: 绝望的 examine: 查看 fall apart: 崩溃 bubbles: 泡沫 water: 水 hold: 抓

他伸手去抓它们，拼命想审视它们，但它们却总是像水下的气泡一样，在他就要抓住的时候破灭掉。

Bubbles of air . . .

bubbles: 泡沫 air: 空气

气泡……

He could breathe the water. The long clear tube was filled with the breathable water.

breathe: 呼吸 clear: 透明的 tube: 管子 fill: 注满 breathable: 可以呼吸的

那水是可以呼吸的。长长的透明的管子里注满了可以呼吸的水。

He had tried to be brave, really he had, but in the end he had panicked and screamed and disgraced himself.

brave: 勇敢 in the end: 最后 panic: 惊恐 scream: 尖叫 disgrace: 蒙羞

他尝试着勇敢一些，他真的尝试了，但最后总是惊恐地喊叫起来，让自己蒙羞。

They did not care, for they had seen it a thousand thousand times before.

care: 在乎 thousand: 成千

他们并不在乎，因为他们已经成千上万次地见到过这种情景。

Their rough hands clamped the headpiece firmly on him and pushed him down into the tube and spun shut the seals.

rough: 粗暴的 clamp: 固定 headpiece: 头罩 firmly: 稳固地 push down: 推下 tube: 管子 spun: 旋转 shut: 关上 seal: 密封盖

他们粗暴的手把头罩紧紧卡在他的头上，将他推下管子，然后关上密封盖。

“We’ll have to make an adjustment in this one,” he heard one of them say. He held his breath as long as he could . . .

adjustment: 调整 hold his breath: 屏住呼吸

“我们必须对这个作些调整，”他听到其中一个人说。他尽力地屏住呼吸，只要他还能……

As long as he could . . . what?

只要他还能……什么?

What was he thinking? Why was he thinking?

他在想什么?他为什么要想?

Hair the color of wheat fields dancing in the summer sun. There was a golden day . . .

color: 颜色 wheat: 麦 field: 田地 dancing: 起舞 summer: 夏天 golden: 金色的

头发，麦田的颜色，在夏天的太阳下起舞。有一个金色的日子……

His hands slammed against the sides of the clear tube as his last gasp escaped his lungs.

slam against: 猛力撞上 clear: 透明的 tube: 管子 gasp: 喘息 escape: 挣脱 lung: 肺

当最后一口气从肺里冲出时，他的手猛地拍打在透明管子的管壁上。

The implants charged suddenly in the headpiece and his mind exploded into a million shards.

implant: 移植物 headpiece: 头罩 explode: 爆裂 million: 百万 shard: 碎片

植入物突然涌进了头罩里，他的头脑爆裂成了一百万块碎片。

Shards tumbled around him. Bubbles of shards.

shard: 碎片 tumble: 翻腾 bubble: 泡沫

碎片在他周围盘旋着。碎片的气泡。

Combat suit school. How could he have forgotten? His instructor was an old Marine named Carlyle.

combat: 战斗 suit: 服装 forget: 忘记 instructor: 讲师 Marine: 陆战队员

战斗服学校。他怎么能忘记呢?他的指挥官是一个年老的陆战队员，名叫卡莱尔。

They spent weeks there perfecting his technique—or was it months? The combat suit was like an old friend. He seemed to have lived with one all his life . . . The combat suit.

spent: 花费 perfect: 使...熟练 technique: 技巧 combat suit: 战斗服 all his life: 一生

他们花了几周时间来使他熟悉技能——也许是几个月吧?战斗服就像一个老朋友。他似乎一辈子都是和它们中的一个生活在一起……战斗服。

Where was that? When was that? During the seminary class? There was Brother Gabittas teaching about the fall of the ancients and the sin of pride.

seminary: 神学院 Brother: 教士 fall: 衰败 ancient: 古代人 sin: 罪行 pride: 骄傲的

它在哪儿?那是什么时候的事了?在神学院的课堂上?盖比塔斯教士在讲授古代人的衰败和骄傲的罪过。

Peace comes from within, a joyful knowledge of the pure voice of God speaking to each man.

peace: 平静 joyful: 愉快的 knowledge: 见闻 pure: 纯粹的 God: 上帝

平静来自于内心，一个愉快的认识，认识到上帝用纯粹的声音和每个人对话。“你们不要杀戮。”他说，但是他在教室前面举起了一支AGR-14高斯来复枪。

“Thou shalt not kill,” he says, but he raises an AGR-14 gauss rifle in the front of the class.

thou: 你 shalt: [古语]shall kill: 杀戮 raise: 举起 gauss: 高斯 rifle: 步枪

“Here, Ardo,” the brother says, walking to where the boy sat near the back of the classroom.

Brother: 教士 classroom: 教室

“听着，阿多。”盖比塔斯教士说。他走到教室后面阿多坐着的地方。

He hands the 8-millimeter automatic weapon to the young boy who has not been paying attention. “Do unto others,” he says as the boy takes the weapon.

millimeter: 毫米 automatic: 自动的 weapon: 武器 pay attention: 集中注意力 unto: [古语]to

把8mm自动武器递给一直不注意听课的阿多。“施之于他人。”他在男孩接过武器后说。

The boy drifts away in the bubble but the weapon remains, smooth and seductive.

drift away: 飘走 bubble: 泡沫 weapon: 武器 remains: 留下 smooth: 光滑的 seductive: 诱惑的

男孩在气泡中飘走了，但武器留了下来，光滑而充满诱惑力。

Magnetic acceleration of the projectile to supersonic speeds with enormous kinetic punch utilizing a variety of jacketless slugs from depleted uranium to steel-tipped infantry rounds.

magnetic: 磁化的 acceleration: 加速 projectile: 射弹 supersonic: 超音速 enormous: 巨大的 kinetic: 动力的 punch: 贯通 utilize: 使用 variety: 多样 jacketless: 无壳的 slug: 子弹 depleted: 贫化的 uranium: 铀 steel-tipped: 钢头 infantry: 步兵 round: 子弹

射弹的磁加速达到超音速，拥有巨大的动能贯通效果，武器使用各种无壳子弹，从贫铀穿甲弹到钢头步兵子弹。

Another old friend from long ago, the rifle turns itself inside out, explodes, and then reassembles into the face of his father.

rifle: 步枪 inside out: 彻底地 explode: 爆炸 reassemble: 重组 face: 面容

又是一个多年以前的老朋友，来复枪爆炸了，里面的东西全都炸了出来，然后重新组合，构成了父亲的脸。

“You’ll always be my son,” the old man says, with a single tear coursing down his cheek. The family agra-farm stretches beyond him in the sunset.

single: 一滴 tear: 眼泪 course: 行进 cheek: 面颊 agra-farm: 农田 stretch: 延伸 sunset: 日落

“你永远都是我的儿子。”老人说，一滴眼泪从面颊上流下来。在夕阳下，家里的农田从身边一直延伸到远方。

“No matter where you go or what you do . . . you’ll always be my son.”

no matter: 不管 son: 儿子

“不管你到哪儿，不管你做什么……你永远都是我的儿子。”

Am I? Will I?

是吗?我会吗?

Ardo was feeling better now. He had been disoriented when he first came out of the resocialization tanks, but he was clear-headed now.

disoriented: 迷向的 come out: 出来 resocialization: 再社会化 tank: 箱 clear-headed: 头脑清楚的

阿多现在感觉好多了。当他第一次从记忆改造箱里出来时，根本找不到方向，但现在他的头脑格外清晰。

He always felt better wearing his combat suit. It was an older CMC-300 model, but he didn’t mind. He had been using a 300 for years now, and it fit him just fine.

wear: 穿着 combat suit: 战斗服 older: 老式的 model: 型号 mind: 介意 fit: 合身

穿着战斗服，他总是感觉良好。虽然是老式的CMC-300型号，但他不在乎。他使用300型已经好多年了，穿起来总是很合身。

Ardo stood packed shoulder to shoulder with other Marines. There were some Firebats as well as regulars in the Ready Room.

packed: 挤满的 shoulder to shoulder: 肩并肩 Marines: 陆战队员 Firebats: 火蝙蝠队员 regulars: 正规的 ready room: 待命室

阿多肩并肩和其他陆战队员站在一起。待命室里除了一些常规陆战步兵外还有喷火兵。

In the little space he had, he checked the power connection between his gauss rifle and the combat suit.

space: 空间 check: 检查 power connection: 电源连接 gauss rifle: 高斯步枪 combat suit: 战斗服

在他所有的有限空间里，他检查了高斯来复枪和战斗服之间的电源连接。

He loved that rifle; it was his weapon of choice. He had been firing a gauss rifle for nearly as many years as he had been working with the combat suit.

rifle: 步枪 weapon: 武器 of choice: 精选的 firing: 开火 nearly: 几乎

他喜欢那支来复枪，那是他的心爱之物。他使用来复枪的时间几乎和他穿战斗服的时间一样长。

Ardo looked up. The “go” lamp over the exit hatch had just turned from red to green. A roar went up from the Marines as the door slid open in an instant.