Captain LeKan hurried along the ancient, dusty corridors of the Emperors Great Palace on the most holy of worlds, Terra, his venerable Guardian Spear held at the ready in front. Behind him, ran a squad of ten Custodian Guard, all in the same pose. An alarm had been sounded by the venerable machine-spirit that watched over the outer courtyard and word was that a false pilgrim had smuggled a bomb onto Terra and was trying to force his way to the Emperors chambers. He would never get there.

The Adeptus Custodies, or Custodian Guard, were the Emperors personal bodyguard and had done so since the Emperor walked amongst His people, ten-thousand years in the past, before He was mortally wounded by the Arch-Traitor Horus and interred on the Golden Throne. The armor and weapon that LeKan carried had been used in the great conflict that had preceded that event, the Horus Heresy and had not failed in that brutal conflict. They had not failed any of their wielders, even with the many scars of battle that marred their exquisite surfaces; a newer pattern blade, dozens of magnetically-clamped icons thanking the armors machine-spirit for its service, and the tall, shining M3 helmet, the helmet pattern used during the Horus Heresy by the Custodians. He would not do the machine-spirits shame by failing in his duty.

LeKan stopped at what seemed to be a solid wall and pressed his palm against a seemingly solid stone. The stone slid in smoothly and a doorway opened, revealing a well-lit hall that ran straight for what seemed like miles. The Imperial Palace was honey-combed with such passages and the Custodian Guard used them in times like these. The last time this particular passage had been used was by the Daughters of the Emperor during Vandires Reign of Blood. LeKan could still see their boot-tread in the dust. It was obviously a smaller power-armor patterned boot, which is why he could tell.

The heavily armored Custodians ran swiftly through the passage, uncaring they were disturbing the ancient dust. Ancient tapestries lined the passage, depicting the Great Crusade, some ten millennia in the past. Battles, crusades and liberations that no-one could remember were detailed exquisitely, often in graphic, if slightly parodied images. The tapestries were made of a material that even LeKan had not come across before in his two centuries of service as a Guardian of the Emperor. The material was organic, and yet metallic at the same time and had lasted for the last ten-thousand years with poor maintenance at best.

LeKan stopped again, once more at an unmarked wall. He repeated the motion, this time the stone slide in with a great grinding noise, for this passage had been damaged during the assassination of Vandire, when the Custodians defended the palace once again, except this time they fought against men loyal to the Imperium and defended a man whose actions almost destroyed that Imperium.

To the great crowds of pilgrims outside, it seemed that the gold-powered armored giants stepped out of the solid walls. Even more pilgrims than usual were outside, for in just two days time, the festival of the Emperors Light would be occurring on countless worlds and on that day, the Emperor was said to walk amongst His people in disguise and help the ill and aged. It was a noble thought.

The masses of pilgrims, shuffling in the shadow of the mile-high Palace of the Emperor, who had spent years just traveling to this most holy of sites, were screaming and yelling in anger. Standing at the center of an open circle, was a lone man, dressed in a long robe, as was typical of the pilgrims. Except this man had web-gear and harnesses on his body, with grenades and demolition charges tied to every available surface. He was slowly working his way towards the first of the 1111 steps that lead upwards towards the Halls of Honor, where the banners of the most decorated Imperial Guard regiments and Space Marine chapters were displayed. From there, there were 2222 steps that lead to Custodies training halls and armories. No one made it that far, save the High Lords of Terra. From that dark and mysterious place, a further 333 steps lead to the Emperor's Throne room, were He sat, on the Golden Throne. Two squads of Custodian Guard were constantly on watch in and around that room, ready to thwart any threat to the Emperors life.

LeKan began to force his way through the crowds of braying pilgrims, the masses refusing to let him by, even with his obvious stature and strength, as well as his silver sashes of rank. He saw forced to use the haft of his Guardian Spear, a combination boltgun and power-axe. Finally, the captain emerged in the clear circle around the false-pilgrim.

"G..ge..get away from me! I blow you all to the warp!" the false-pilgrim screamed, his arms shaking and hands inches away from grenade pins and demolition fuses.

Before LeKan could respond, the pilgrim's upper body exploded in a shower of blood and bone. The explosives on his body detonated with him and all the pilgrims within one-hundred meters were flattened. Those within twenty meters were shredded by the explosion. LeKan spun and used his shoulder-guard to protect his head. Even though he wore the signature tall and elaborate helmet of the Custodian Guard, the explosion was at least enough to puncture the ceramite armor.

LeKan straightened and saw what had killed the false-pilgrim. Another squad of Custodian Guard was forcing their way through the crowds, often striking at pilgrims too slow to get out of their way. At their fore, was Captain Tolbek, of the Custodian Third Tier. All of the Custodian Guard were grim, hard men, who had fought in two sieges of Terra, the first in the Horus Heresy and then defended against forces of Sebastian Thor, until Vandire was slain by the very women who had once defended him, the Daughters of the Emperor, who were to become the Sisters of Battle. However, Tolbek was viscous and when the pilgrims got out of hand, he favored brutal, heavy handed crowd control and because he had seen the Emperors shattered body, he was rumored to be lacking in his faith. He had been recruited from the semi-feral tribes that infested the lower reaches of great hives. LeKan was fanatical in his devotion to the Emperor and the Emperor's cause, but was even-handed in his judgment and temperament. The two were naturally at odds at all times, and the Chief Custodian had disciplined them for their infighting numerous times.

"Well meet, Captain Tolbek." LeKan spoke through the internal vox, to the pilgrims outside, the circle of open ground now extended around the twenty Custodians.

"Captain LeKan, I thought I would find you doing nothing about this situation."

"As you proved by opening fire, hundreds of pilgrims died. I was trying to prevent those deaths."

"If you spent as much time guarding the Imperial Palace as you did in the Librarium, you would have known that negotiation was pointless."

"You know that I have been sanctioned by Chief Custodian Agricolus to uncover more about the hidden passages honeycombing the Palace, which is vital to defending the Palace, and in turn, the Emperors life. Would you like to bring the matter before him?"

"Not this time, LeKan. But if I think you are lax in your duties, I will unhesitantly have you executed for dereliction of duty."

"The same to you, Tolbek." Finished LeKan, trying to contain his rage.

Tolbek's squad melted back into the distance, disappearing into the side of the Imperial Palace. LeKan stood and watched for a moment, before spinning on his heel and confronting his squad.

"Men like that have ruined the Imperium. Never forget that rivalry disrupts both parties and neither emerges from the struggle stronger. Never forget!"

"We will never forget, Captain." The squad responded as one.