Lord Commander Wesker roared with animalistic fury he surged forward sending a right cross to thunder into Captain Scarus' face which the Word Bearer ducked out of the way but he was caught squarely in the jaw by a left uppercut. The captain was dumped unceremoniously on the deck by the blow and Wesker pounced on his raining blows to his face. The rest of the Word Bearers did not move in support but they instinctively tensed, their fear of Ultio Ultionis kept them in place as Wesker battered their commander.

'You. Fought. A. War. Against. The. Old. Faith!' roared Wesker, punctuating each word with a thunderous blow to the captains face. 'You purge your own home world of the old faith then run to it when the Emperor chastises you!'

Ultio dragged Wesker kicking and screaming off of Captain Scarus. 'Enough my son he has had enough.'

'He has not had enough!' roared Wesker, as he was trying to get to grips with the captain once more. 'They've disgraced themselves by not heeding the Emperor's warning and they've damned themselves by undertaking the Pilgrimage!'

'What choice did Lorgar have?' Asked Captain Scarus, after spitting blood on the deck. 'The Urizen was plagued with visions since he was a child, he waged a war for his religion and for well over a century did he raise worlds to venerate the Emperor as a god.

'Only then after a hundred years of worshipping the Emperor and raising worlds that celebrated His divinity does the Emperor lay Lorgar low. You were not there a legion on its knees in subjugation, the son of the Emperor on his knees in the grave of his greatest achievement. The Urizen's spirit was broken and his belief shattered.

'We raised perfect worlds that worshipped the Emperor, they paid tithes and they sent men and women to fight in the Great Crusade. I say it again why wait for over a hundred years to chastise Lorgar for a belief he has held since even before he was found by the Emperor?'

There was a flash of anger across Ultio's face but he suppressed it. 'It could not have been a surprise to Lorgar that the Emperor sanctioned him. The Emperor spoke to Lorgar for decades of his ill feelings regarding the Word Bearers zealotry and his faith as the Emperor as a living-god.

'The Word Bearers faith isn't what would have finally damned your legion, if that was the case the Lorgar would never have left Colchis alive. In the end it was the arithmetic of conquest that damned your legion, I know this for a fact as it was discussed in great details.'

'The arithmetic of conquest?' asked Captain Scarus.

'The ratio of compliances between legions.' Said Ultio. 'The compliances of the Word Bearers paled in comparison to other legions, even smaller legions. For Throne's sake there were Expeditionary Fleets with no astartes and no Mechanicus factions that racked up more compliances.

'It was this that would have damned you in my father's eyes it was this that forced him to act, he could hold back the War Council in regards to the rumblings about idolatry but when is all said and done we are warriors set to win back the galaxy for mankind. We are weapons and if an Expedition, even one, especially one led by a son of the Emperor could not and could not be ignored if he was not winning worlds as he should.

'The Word Bearers were born to win worlds and reclaim the galaxy for Mankind, you were not born to raise cities and certainly not to whip world after world into religious frenzies. Lorgar came close so many times to being sanctioned, the last time I know of being in the immediate aftermath of the Ghenna Scouring but I spoke against it.'

'Truly?' asked Captain Scarus, he looked genuinely shocked.

'Truly.' Replied Ultio. 'Do not get any ideas Bearer of the Word, I do not share Lorgar's belief in the divine. I only spoke against sanction for it would risk tipping the balance of the Imperium out of kilter. We have manifold enemies in the cosmos and I have half deranged brothers leading hundreds of thousands of astartes, if the Emperor sanctioned one then I worried how long it would be until he had to sanction them all.'

'Would that be that you were still around the time of our humbling.' Mused Captain Scarus.

'Would that be that your gene-sire could curb his religious excesses.' Snapped Ultio.

'We are a spiritual legion.' Replied Captain Scarus. 'We are not some light switch that can be turned off on a whim, religion is a part of who we are as a legion it is one of the greatest driving forces behind humanity whether it is acknowledged or not.'

'How quickly things can change.' Grumbled Ultio, he looked saddened. 'If only the Iconoclasts could hear you now.'

'The Iconoclasts?' asked Captain Scarus, he looked as if he'd never heard of the word.

'You are not Terran are you?' asked Ultio.

'No lord primarch.' Replied Captain Scarus. 'Save for a few dreadnaught's interned in cryogenic stasis whom are of Terran ancestry there are no astartes in the legion who hail from Terra.'

'That is a shame for in my time.' Said Ultio, he gestured to his general surroundings. 'In this time there are still a few left Terran's who remembered the Unification Wars, I don't suppose Lorgar speaks openly of the time before his coming?'

Captain Scarus shook his head. 'No we look forward not back.'

'For someone who said they were undertaking the Pilgrimage.' Growled Wesker, with a snarl. 'It doesn't look like your looking forward or back more like you have your head up your arse.'

'Wesker.' Chided Ultio, although he couldn't hide a half smile. He then turned back to Captain Scarus. 'Do you know the name of your legion before the Emperor found Lorgar on Colchis?'

'The Imperial Heralds.' Shrugged Captain Scarus.

'Yes the Imperial Heralds.' Replied Ultio. 'Now every other legion acquired their name at some point during the Unification Wars or the early stages of the Great Crusade but the Imperial Heralds were named thus at their founding. Every other legion waged war merely to win but the Imperial Heralds were created to fulfil a special role, a role that was at complete odds with your primarch's beliefs.'

'What was this role?' asked Captain Scarus.

'The Imperial Herald's role was the preserve the ideals of the Imperium.' Replied Ultio, with a sad smile. 'They were created to uphold the ideals of the Imperial Truth that in turn was created to cast down the spectre of organised religion.

'The Imperial Herald's during the Unification Wars and the early stages of the Great Crusade, they would be sent up against those whom worshipped gods or daemons. These religious leaders and their flock would be utterly annihilated if they did not renounce their faith.

Ultio gestured to the Word Bearers chaplain standing next to Captain Scarus. 'But before a single drop of blood was shed a lone Word Bearer clad in black armour, wearing a skull mask and carrying an eagle topped mace would approach the religious figures. The warrior in black would speak of the truth offered by the Emperor and made sure they knew the futility of the endeavour if they thought to refuse the offer of redemption.

'Sometimes the figure in black could make a cities or even entire worlds surrender but more often than not the figure in black was treated with aggression and sometimes even killed. If the religious zealots refused then the warriors clad in grey would come forth and wipe the heretics from the face of the world, tearing down their monuments, shattering their faith, putting the populace to the pyre and crumble their cities to nothing more than dust and ash.

'That was your legions purpose and they were good at it, they were not beloved but they were respected for in your zeal for purging the religious and upholding the Imperial Truth you furthered the Emperor's cause with every human converted or killed. From when the Imperial Heralds were created up until the Emperor found Lorgar with Magnus, they were champions of the Imperial Truth casting down religion in any form they were Iconoclasts.'

Captain Scarus shared a disbelieving look with his fellow astartes before saying. 'That is hard to believe.'

'Of course it is.' Said Ultio, he began to walk amongst the Word Bearers. 'Since if finding Lorgar has been slowly turning the Word Bearers to his purpose to venerate my father as a god, he may not be a general or a tactician but he isn't stupid.

'Far from it he knew that it would take a long time and a lot of steps to change his legion from one that castigated the zealot and the fanatic, to a legion that promulgated the Emperor of Mankind as the one true god. With every Imperial Herald whom died and was replaced by a Colchisian it became that much easier for Lorgar to complete his goal.'

Ultio ceased his wandering by stopping abruptly in front of Captain Scarus whom in turn tensed as he tried not to step back in fear, Ultio's face darkened as he looked down to the captain.

'My brothers called your father the runt of the little.' Growled Ultio. 'They called him the weakling primarch but I defended him for he was plagued with visions of the Emperor and lived on the world of religion it is not hard to understand that he might put two and two together but now I know he was wrong.'

Ultio's hand snapped out viper quick and he grabbed Captain Scarus by the neck and hefted him into the air as if he was no more than a paper weight. Captain Scarus struggled to breath with the primarch's giant hand crushing his throat.

'And now I know that I was wrong, I made excused when I should have made a judgement but no more I will never make the same mistake again.

'My brothers are right Lorgar is a weakling for he has proven it, he is chastised by my father and he runs into the outer reaches of the galaxy groping blind for something to worship. Whether it was your choice or not you have turned from my father's path and there can be only one choice in regards to your fate.'

Ultio Ultionis loosened his grip a fraction allowing Captain Scarus enough room to breathe and speak. 'Only death can be the sanction for this ultimate betrayal but in respect of what your legion once was I give you this one chance. If you renounce your legions works and join me I shall let you and your brothers live, only if you cast out your feeble fathers teachings will you live. What is your choice Bearer of the Word?'

Of any of the possible responses Ultio was genuinely surprised for Captain Scarus' face turned into a snarl then he span in the face of Ultio Ultionis. Whether it was some unseen signal or an rapid change in their biometrics it was not clear but the entire bridge erupted with dozens of flashes of bright white light. Materialising out of the flashes were fifty Shield Guard armed with their tower shields and warhammer's.

They teleported amongst the Word Bearers and without hesitation the Emperor's Judgement astartes set about murdering the Word Bearers on the bridge. None of Lorgar's sons were armed and such slaughter might have seemed un-honourable but the Word Bearers had dishonoured themselves and deserved no less. Within minutes it was all over and three dozen warriors in grey armour and a single one in black, lay battered and broken on the deck of the bridge.

Ultio smiled at Captain Scarus still holding him aloft, still his face was covered in the captains spittle. Ultio turned away briefly to look at Wesker. 'Take my Shield Guard and purge these traitorous bastards from this ship leave none alive.'

Lord Commander Wesker looked at Captain Scarus before replying with relish. 'By your word.'

With that the Emperors Judgement forces left the bridge leaving the only occupants being Ultio Ultionis and Captain Scarus.

'Now that we are alone I will let you know a secret.' Smirked Ultio Ultionis. 'It will be the last secret you will ever know.'

'I want to know nothing from you.' Scowled Captain Scarus.

'Oh you will want to know this, Bearer of the Word.' Replied Ultio Ultionis. 'The gods your father seeks are real.'

Captain Scarus looked utterly shocked. 'What?'

'There is a place where gods and mortals meet.'

'What?' asked Captain Scarus, he was flabbergasted.

'The gods are real at least that is what they call themselves.' Said Ultio. 'They are beings of seemingly limitless power they reside in the warp.'

'How could you know such things?' asked Captain Scarus.

'My father told me.' Said Ultio.

'The Emperor?' asked Captain Scarus, he looked ashen.

'That is the trouble with you Word Bearers.' Scorned Ultio. 'You cannot see the truth in my father's vision you only see an ATTACK on your religion. The truth is the Emperor knows about the gods of the warp and that is why the Imperial Truth exists.

'These so called gods of the warp draw power from human scum who worship them, scum like yourselves who seek them out. The more you believe the stronger they grow, therefore the less they believe the less power the gods wield.

'The Imperial Truth is the weapon to tear down the gods, that is the Emperors true goal and that was the Imperial Herald's purpose until Lorgar perverted that purpose from one of casting down religion to one of venerating it.'

'Why.' Said Captain Scarus. 'Why weren't we told? Why wasn't Lorgar told?'

'Why!' roared Ultio, he tightened his grip. 'Your father right now in the timeline you come from is seeking out gods without knowing what they truly represent why would my father tell him to show him the way into their arms?'

'There can be only one way to deal with these so called gods and that is to murder their followers, to drag the human race kicking and screaming to the secular truth that will one day conquer the gods. These gods of the warp are dangerous, far more dangerous to humanity than anyone can imagine. There is only one hope for humanity and that hope is the Emperor of Mankind.'

'I repent.' Stammered Captain Scarus. 'For the love of the Emperor I repent I wish for a chance of redemption. I wish to seek out the Word Bearers on Khur and tell them this truth and we can take on these gods together.'

Ultio Ultionis slowly and deliberately wiped the spittle from his face. 'You have made your choice Word Bearer. Plus you forget your father has already made his choice for he is already undertaking the Pilgrimage for all we know he has already damned the human race.

'I will let you know one last secret, when I was no more than an infant in my gestation capsule I saw warriors in grey armour. They were astartes from the Serrated Sun Chapter, that image has haunted me from that day until your appearance for I never knew why the Word Bearers were there.'

Ultio scowled tightening his grip to the point where Captain Scarus could not breathe. 'I know not why it all makes sense now your father has undertook the Pilgrimage and he has treated with the gods of chaos and sent his sons in his place like the fucking coward he is.

'The gods used the Word Bearers and time travel to create a paradox in which the skeins of past, present and future were melded together in order to steal the primarch's from under the Emperor's nose in order to try to bring about the destruction of the human race.'

'What have we done.' Asked the captain, as he wept.

'You may have damned our entire species.' Growled Ultio. 'But I seek to alter that fate with the knowledge I now possess.'

'What can I do to redeem us?' asked Captain Scarus.

'What can you do?' asked Ultio, his face darkened. 'There is nothing for you to do now other than to die you traitorous bastard but before you die know that I will take your fathers head just as I will take yours.'

Ultio Ultionis roared in anger he clamped his free hand around the captains' jaw and he heaved with all his might, with a sickening crunch and the sound of flesh tearing the primarch of the XI legion tore the head from Captain Scarus' body with a wash of scarlet blood.

Ultio dropped the Word Bearers body to the deck but kept his head, he closed his eyes feeling the astartes hot blood against his face. 'I will not allow Lorgar to destroy my father's vision on the blood of his sons I swear it.'