The Nightfall translated into the Nostraman system to be hailed by the Fidelitas Lex. Almost immediately, they were boarded not just by three Word Bearers but by two Iron Hands Apothecaries and the Primarch of the Word Bearers himself. Despite his personal feelings, the First Captain of the Night Lords and his brothers, awed by the sheer presence of a Primarch, moved to one knee.

"You honour us, Lord." Sevatarion chose his words carefully, not wanting to give anything away about what they had seen and learnt, if they had learnt anything.

"What happened, Jago? And rise, my nephews, honour has been done." Lorgar extended his hand palm down. Sevatar touched his forehead to the hand and rose slowly.

Everything had to be done as it would have been, had they not learnt that they were to be sacrificed. Lorgar was the Black Pope, the head of the Emperor's cult; and therefore, as much as it galled him, he had to be treated as such.

"Corax was there my lord. He and my father got into an altercation, and as you can see, our father lost his lower arm."

"And the gene-seed?"

"Degraded beyond any hope of recuperation, my lord."

Lorgar nodded a couple of times and stood, looking at the world of Nostramo below him. The Night Lords had failed, and there was only one answer for that. The Night Lords were becoming too unpredictable, more so than his father had first thought. It would be easy to destroy the ship, but his orders were simple. If they failed, he had to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

"The Emperor was wondering, what happened to the human that travelled with you? He saw no mention of it in your report, Jago."

"Dead."

"I see. Anything else you omitted?"

"No, lord."

"Captain Sevatarion... five more Word Bearer vessels have translated from the Warp," Sahaal looked up, "heading here."

Jago turned to Lorgar. "Is there a problem, lord?" Deep inside, he had a sinking feeling.

"The Emperor wanted the gene-seed to be recovered, and any interference dealt with. The former may have been impossible, but the latter was not beyond your Legion's capabilities. I was also informed that Nostramo is becoming... unstable... once more. The element coming into the Night Lords would be detrimental to what the Emperor requires."

"We can deal with our own problems, my lord." Sevatar narrowed his eyes. "We could not deal with the Raven Guard; to do so would have meant leaving our Lord to die, and I was not prepared to do that. There will be other opportunities to bring them to cull."

"I know, Jago." Lorgar turned his head slightly. "This will give you and your brothers more of an incentive to do as the Emperor instructs in the future. Konrad has paid with the loss of his arm, and I suspect his psyche is more fractured than it was... but this is more than punishment. This will send a message out to all who fail the Emperor and his creed. A tactic that your Legion is well-acquainted with."

Before the stunned gazes of the Astartes, the Word Bearer vessels began firing upon their home world.

"No!" Sahaal roared, and launched himself at Lorgar only to be caught and restrained by Sevatar. "What are they doing!" he yelled. "That's our world down there!"

++You try and stop him, you will die too. Remember it, brother. Remember that we have been betrayed by our allies. Remember it, and feed upon it. For memory is vengeance.++

The world of Nostramo died in a fire of righteous bombardment. As it cracked and tore itself apart, everything the Night Lords held in their hearts died with it. They had planned to address the issues of their homeworld, to say nothing of personal unfinished business. All those futures would never come to pass, justice for countless crimes left forever undone, lost with the perpetrators, the victims, and the records alike.

Lorgar nodded as Nostramo died and turned to face the humiliated Night Lords. "The Emperor forgives you. He does not wish his Night Lords to become forgotten sons."

Jago Sevatarion could only watch as the world he loved fractured into pieces, millions of lives snuffed out because they did not kill the Primarch of the Raven Guard or retrieve the gene-seed of two dead Legions. His heart blackened with rage and vengeance. From this day forth, the Night Lords truly were alone.

TO BE CONTINUED in the eleventh book of the Renegades Saga, The Fall of a Legion.