At the edge of the Space Battlefield, countless fragments drifted through the void.
The Adeptus Mechanicus fleet from Lucius was in an uproar.
Every priest and sage was discussing what they had just witnessed.
Countless clamorous data streams coursed through every ark.
Binary Holy Writ allowed them to exchange hundreds of opinions within seconds, and certain views soon drew them into endless debate.
The entire Adeptus Mechanicus fleet remained at a standstill in space for quite some time.
Only when a mass of rapidly approaching target icons appeared on their ships' auspex displays did they stop their "arguments."
Fortunately, the newcomers were not enemies this time.
The Mechanicus Fleet within the Maelstrom had barely managed to reach the area with the Ultramarines and White Scars Chapter fleets after the battle had ended.
They looked out at the countless corpses and ship fragments drifting through space.
Both Calgar and Jaghatai were somewhat surprised.
The sight of the nearby Adeptus Mechanicus fleet made it even harder to believe.
At Jaghatai Khan's order, a communications link was established.
When the Adeptus Mechanicus adepts saw that the person on the other end was actually a son of the Emperor, they could scarcely believe it.
The return of a primarch was cause for celebration, and the Imperium did indeed publicize such news to bolster morale across its many worlds.
In practice, however, someone in the Imperium Sanctus, within the Segmentum Solar, might learn the news within weeks. Outside the Segmentum Solar, it might take months. In the Imperium Nihilus, it would probably take even longer.
Of course, someone who happened to live on a particularly remote Imperial frontier might not receive that welcome news from Terra for more than a decade.
Lucius lay in the Segmentum Obscurus, and the Adeptus Mechanicus fleet had answered Cawl's