Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 152: The Custodes

The anomaly emanating from the Throne Room in the Imperial Palace put countless Custodians on high alert.

At this moment, it wasn't just the Palace; even the Astronomican was burning with extraordinary intensity. The disturbance alarmed nearly every high-ranking official on Terra. No place was more important than the Imperial Palace. All the High Lords of Terra ceased their incredibly burdensome work and turned their attention to the Palace. It had been an unknown number of years since any anomaly had occurred there. Emissaries of the High Lords flocked to the Palace, demanding to know what had happened.

The Imperial Guard began to muster.

Within the Palace, the Adeptus Custodes all rushed toward the Throne Room. These warriors, each as powerful as a demigod, were now at the peak of tension. Their sole purpose for existing was to protect the Emperor.

Throngs of Custodes took up their weapons. Even the Honoured Dead—the Custodes Dreadnoughts—were activated. Piloting their Galatus-pattern Contemptor Dreadnoughts, they gathered before the Throne Room.

Yet, despite the anomaly coming from within, the assembled Custodes did not open the great doors to enter. Even for an ordinary Custodian, the Throne Room where the Golden Throne resided was a place of absolute prohibition. Only the Captain-General of the Custodes had the authority to decide who could enter.

They were waiting for their Captain-General, Trajann Valoris, to arrive.

It wasn't long before Trajann, protected by an entire Shield-Company, arrived before the great hall of the Throne. The scars from countless battles marred his features, each wound a memento left by an incredibly powerful enemy who had ultimately died by his hand. As the most powerful Captain-General since the founding of the Custodes, even Trajann had never seen a situation like this in the Throne Room.

"Captain-General Valoris! Should we open the doors to the Throne Room?"

Faced with the current anomaly, Trajann made a swift decision, ordering the Custodes to prepare for battle. In the face of the Emperor's safety, any and all protocols were insignificant.

However, just as Trajann was about to lead the Custodes into the Throne Room, the voice of a Speaker for the Emperor came through his comms.

"Captain-General Valoris, I have heard the Emperor's clear command!"

"A clear command! What did the Emperor say?!"

The Emperor, seated upon the Golden Throne, found it difficult to clearly convey His will to His followers. Often, He could only transmit a vague meaning to specific individuals. The Speakers for the Emperor were His heralds. In meditation and dreams, they could receive the Emperor's faint and obscure revelations, which often required much speculation and discussion. But this time, the command was relatively clear. This was a first for any of them.

"The Emperor told me not to worry, and not to enter the Throne Room. He requires you, Captain-General, to send men to the Calixis Sector to find and assist a Rogue Trader named Lucan Drex Aurelian."

"A Rogue Trader?! Did the Emperor give any more revelations?!"

"That was all. The Emperor's voice quickly faded from my mind," the Speaker said, his voice full of disappointment.

At that moment, the Throne Room once again fell silent. The overwhelming psychic energy vanished as if it had never been there.

Trajann looked up at the great doors of the Throne Room. He did not understand why a mere Rogue Trader was worthy of the Emperor's attention, let alone why He would dispatch the Custodes to assist him. Nothing like this had ever happened since the founding of the Adeptus Custodes.

After the Emperor sat upon the Golden Throne, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman had signed a compact with the Custodes. Their actions were to be confined within the walls of the Imperial Palace.

However, the Custodes did not always adhere to this so strictly. From time to time, they would slip out of the Palace to maintain their networks or secretly eliminate threats they deemed significant. But there was one point they strictly followed: they did not involve themselves in the political affairs of the Imperium of Man.

Even during the Age of Apostasy, when Goge Vandire wreaked havoc upon the entire Imperium in the Emperor's name, they did not step out of the Palace to deal with him. Only when the conflict spilled over into the Palace itself did they act, using their overwhelming power to crush the enemy.

It had to be said that the actions of the Custodes were often incomprehensible. Each one of them was an unparalleled warrior, statesman, and artist. Their one hundred percent loyalty could make the Imperium a better place if they participated in its governance, yet they did not. Even temporarily staying on Terra to replace or punish some of the High Lords could reduce the Imperium's inefficiency and corruption a thousandfold. The Custodes' intelligence network was everywhere; they knew everything that was happening outside, yet they turned a blind eye.

Guilliman himself probably never would have imagined that the Custodes would follow this part of the restriction so literally, just as he could not understand how the Astartes, after so many years, still followed the Codex Astartes he had written without changing a single word.

But no compact or order could supersede the will of the Emperor.

Even though Trajann did not yet understand what was happening, he intended to act according to the Emperor's command. The Calixis Sector was far away; they had to depart immediately.

"Assemble a small team of the Emperor's Chosen. They are to proceed to the Calixis Sector at once," Trajann gave his order.

The Imperial Palace was still the most important place; he could not afford to dispatch too much strength. Not long ago, Chaos had launched a surprise attack on Terra, even heavily damaging the Imperial Fists' fortress-monastery, the Phalanx. And now, the Phalanx, which had guarded Terra for millennia, had departed for Cadia. Terra's defensive strength was greatly weakened.

The Custodes known as the Emperor's Chosen, who were not part of the Shield-Companies, were perfectly suited for this task. The selected Custodians immediately used their own secret channels to board a warship and departed from Terra.

"Captain-General Valoris, the emissaries of the High Lords are asking if there is a problem at the Palace. How should we respond?"

"No detailed explanation is necessary. Just tell them the Palace is secure."

Trajann saw the behavior of the High Lords for what it was. The Emperor had granted them the authority to manage the Imperium; he could not change that. He acknowledged their hard work, but the foolish things they did also gave him an extreme lack of trust in them. He would not allow the High Lords to interfere with the execution of the Emperor's command. Involving them would only make things worse!

"Activate our intelligence network in Calixis. I need to know who this Lucan Drex Aurelian is as soon as possible!"

"I will see to it at once!"

The Custodes returned to their posts as if nothing had happened.

Aboard the Stellar Pioneer, Lucan slowly awoke.

In the medbay, bio-priests, apothecaries, and medics were all gathered around him. When Lucan opened his eyes, the people around him burst into cheers.

"The Lord is awake!"

Lucan looked around... Not far away, Kerrigan was also lying there.

"What... what happened?"

"My Lord! A terrifying golden psychic energy suddenly erupted from your body, and then you fell unconscious. This is the fifth day of your coma. After examination, there is nothing wrong with your body... Bishop Holter said you may have received a further blessing from the God-Emperor and told us to just wait quietly."

"I've been unconscious for five days? How is Kerrigan?"

"Your daughter is also fine. Her vital signs are all stable."

Lucan sensed Kerrigan's presence and felt a wave of relief.

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