"This is the Fury of the Forge. We request permission to dock with the Iron Blood."
A mechanically processed voice came over the Communications Channel, bearing the distinctive, metal-grinding timbre of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Every word seemed precisely calculated and modulated, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion.
The communication request carried the highest priority, its signal containing the Fabricator-General of Mars's exclusive authentication code. A golden light denoting the highest clearance flashed on the Iron Blood's Communications Terminal.
On the Iron Blood's bridge, Ferrus Manus stood beside the wreckage of the control console he had just smashed. Wisps of blue smoke from its damaged circuits still clung to his metal fingers.
He raised his head, his gaze settling on the flashing communication request. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly, his voice low and steady with barely suppressed anger. "Acknowledged. Docking approved."
At his command, the Iron Blood's docking systems went into operation.
Enormous hydraulic arms and magnetic clamps slowly adjusted their positions with a deep mechanical rumble, silently guiding the immense Ark Mechanicus through the vacuum to dock with the Iron Blood.
A connecting passage extended between the two hulls, locked into place, and sealed. With the hiss of equalizing pressure, the passage's atmosphere indicators changed from red to green, marking the completion of docking.
Then a figure Ferrus Manus had not expected appeared in the connecting passage.
He was tall and wore the deep crimson robes of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
His body had undergone extensive modification. His legs had been replaced by a many-legged mechanical assembly that produced rhythmic hydraulic sounds as he walked.
His arms had been replaced by several precision mechanical limbs, some ending in gripping claws, others in cutting tools or sensor probes.
His head had been completely reconstructed. Metal plates and sensor arrays