Quoted By:
TalOS knew that the Machine God’s will favored him above those of the other Gods. His arrival was as late as it could be without putting a major injury upon the Iron Warriors fleet. Looking across the fleet TalOS saw that a tenth of the Iron Warrior vessels had been damaged from the Temporal Distortion. The injuries themselves were quite unique thanks to the time flux, with the boarding parties finding crew members either turned to dust or servitors turned into children.
TalOS’s own mind was reeling from just seeing the time distortion. He could feel that this entire edge of space was distorted from the rest of reality. That might have been why the message so easily reached TalOS though, for a message having broken the time stream it was able to reach him in a single instant.
The Hrud were beginning to disperse from the system. While they had plenty in number to continue a fight even against the Blackstone Fortress they were each being harmed by both their own temporal breakages and the presence of the fortress. At least that is what TalOS guessed, for in truth he was blind to whatever workings the Hrud caused.
TalOS received a small ping within his mind and in an instant he recognized who it was. With a single thought the guards who had been holding his brother back from the bridge stepped aside to make way for the Iron Warriors Primarch. Looking upon his with both his own eyes and those of others TalOS understood that Perturabo looked so much more ruined from the last time they were together.
He could feel it too, his brother was not fully immune to the affects the Hrud placed upon him. While externally his brother did not age the war had taken its toll upon the Iron Warrior’s mind. Immortal in blood and spirit, but not against weapons the enemy would use against them.
+Brother.+ Perturabo did not say those words but sent them to TalOS. The Tech Priest did not notice them at first but now that he studied his brother, TalOS noticed the numerous rods and cables that were implanted into the skull of Perturabo. These were heavy duty units clearly crafted for a purpose, whose lack of elegance was thanks to both the need and practicality of Perturabo. One of the benefits they granted his brother it seemed was the ability to understand machine cant.
+Perturabo, the warp has wrecked havoc upon you.+ TalOS said simply as he flourished his hand. As TalOS was sitting in a throne at the nexus of the command chamber, he had to look up towards his brother.
+It has.+ He barked with a fury before quickly closing the gap between the two of them, +Why was I not alerted that you were coming? If I had known you were approaching with your Blackstone Fortress I could have focused on a regroup in a closer system.+