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Everything was so successful. For once they had a weapon that would allow the Iron Warrior to fight the Hurud on their own terms. The Technology that the newly christened Adeptus Mechanicus was far beyond the hopes that Perturabo wished for when it came to the elimination of the time distortion effects that the Hurud enjoyed so much.
For once in this miserable war their guns were able to shoot straight. That Astartes were able to bring their flamers against their enemies without the flame quickly dissipating thanks to thermal dynamic degradation. For once they were able to slam a chainsword into the chest of a Hurud and bring it through with the utmost ruthlessness.
Such joy was not shared by just the Iron Warriors. When the Hurud had realized their fates were sealed they had began fleeing to the surface in some attempt to escape to the stars. Maybe it was because they had ruined the time distortion field that they also could not walk amongst the stars like they had before. What it amounted to was the Knights of Dutonis getting their revenge against the rodents who had killed so many of their nobleman and knights in the several years they had all been fighting.
It was just a few weeks ago now but it was still in the past. And for sure the Hurud would not use their time afflicting powers to ruin themselves, to accidently recreate the conditions that allowed their ruination. No, the Hurud seemed determined to bring their solar system so far forward in time that the achievements of the Iron Warriors would be wiped away by a star going supernova!
He could feel his teeth begin to grind as he realized this. But really he should have expected this as well. Dantioch, who had fought to the man in the Gulf, was fighting what was the vanguard assault to this event. The attempt by the Hurud to try and bring about the damnation of the Iron Warriors.
Perturabo remembered the face of the Warsmith and felt a shiver cressing across his spine. A perfect recollection of the Warsmith limping towards the Iron Throne with the expression of sincere regret upon his visage. The Astartes, a group of creatures thought to be immortal, had found themselves dying in droves from <span class="mu-i">old age</span>. It sickened Perturabo every time he saw this happen.
It was that sickness that caused Perturabo to release Dantioch from his position and send him to garrison some far off world. It could not be compassion for Perturabo did not consider himself a victim of such folly. What else could it be but that though, for would it not have been better to kill Dantioch to cleanse the Legion of this stain?
No, the reason Perturabo did not kill Dantioch was because it would have been wasteful. He had already lost too many Iron Warriors and he was starting to hate the fact that so many of them died. He could lose arms, artillery shells, and even ships, but not Astartes. At least now if the entire fleet was lost there will still be Iron Warriors within the Galaxy.
