Big E's Thoughts

While Baldur was leading the 10 Legions and 4 Primarchs against the Rangda, The Emperor was off on the opposite side of the Galaxy. He had just finished dealing with a small rebel threat and was continuing the Great Crusade himself. Even though the Rangda were a threat, they could not stop him from pursuing his goal. The Emperor was sitting in his flagship with Valdor and Malcador next to him.

Constantin Valdor was the captain-general of the Custodes. Custodes were different from Astartes. Astartes were given artificial organs and enhancements that made them superhuman while Custodes were each handcrafted by the Emperor himself. No one was sure how the Emperor enhanced these men but they could be called human yet not human at the same time. It was as if their power came from their very soul.

Custodes were the elite bodyguards of the Emperor, the only ones allowed to carry weapons inside the Imperial Palace where even Primarchs were limited in their activities. The Custodes would normally only follow the orders of the Emperor, ignoring even Primarchs if they tried to give them a command.

A single Custodes could fight 10 Astartes at once and it would end in a draw. When they fought together, 10 Custodes could slay 200 Astartes. But it was their intelligence that truly made them excellent. The Custodes acted as advisors to the Emperor who was the most powerful Psyker to ever exist and a man that have lived for over 25 thousand years while the oldest of the Custodes were only around 1,000 years old. Even then, they were able to converse freely with the Emperor and provide insight, while also knowing some of the darkest secrets of the Imperium that the Primarchs and even Malcador did not know of.

And Valdor was first and greatest of them all. Called the Emperor's Masterpiece, he was said to have been above even his fellow Custodes, able to fight a Primarch to a draw, though this was mostly a rumor. Only Horus and Alpharius knew how true this rumor was, though. 

"Are you sure we should not join the Primarchs?" Valdor asked The Emperor as he played chess with Malcador

"Do you trust them so little?" Malcador asked as he raised an eyebrow and moved one of his pieces using his telepathy 

"Horus, Ferrus, and Leman? No," Valdor told him honestly, letting his thoughts leak on the other Primarchs who he did not name. He had met all the Primarchs when The Emperor visited each of them and was able to form his opinion on them from their initial reactions and the word that had reached him from Malcador's agents. The three he named had also visited Terra a few times so he was able to speak with each of them alone. 

Fulgrim was the newest of the Primarchs so Valdor had yet to form an opinion of him and Alpharius was hiding out on Terra. Or at least one of the members of his Legion pretending to be him was. Which left only one that he was worried about. 

"Baldur worries you?" The Emperor asked from his seat to which Valdor hummed in agreement.

Ever since their first meeting, he had never liked Baldur. And every time he got a report about Baldur, his dislike for the Primarch grew. Of all the Primarchs, Valdor was only worried about Baldur betraying him.

"It makes sense that you do not like him, for he resembles me too much," The Emperor told the both, causing them both to open their mouths in shock. 

"What do you mean? He is nothing like you," Malcador protested but Valdor kept silent thinking about what The Emperor said. 

"He's right," Valdor realized, making him feel very conflicted about his dislike for Baldur. The 2nd Primarch was simply a younger version of The Emperor. Far younger than any version that Valdor had seen but he could see a budding Emperor in Baldur. 

"That makes him even more dangerous," Valdor told The Emperor with a frown. "He will surely rebel against you and bring many of the other Primarchs with him."

"He will," The Emperor did not deny it. He had already glimpsed into the future and saw Baldur and several of his other sons standing on the opposite side of him. Not exactly their figures but their eyes. He could only see their eyes. 

Though which sons stood with Baldur and which ones stood with The Emperor constantly changed whenever he tried to determine which ones it would be but the cold, steel eyes of Baldur remained in the center. So The Emperor decided to be patient and let the future come, however it would. 

"Any Primarch who joins him is just one who is not loyal to the Imperium. And when that time comes, I will have you both by my side to help quash whatever rebellion they come up with," even though he knew there would be a rebellion, The Emperor was not worried.

Although he created the Primarchs to be the greatest warriors and generals in the Galaxy, they were still lacking when it came to power since they did not know their true origin. They would never be able to match him in his eyes. 

"Why did you make him Warmaster if you know he shall betray us and this will get him allies?" Malcador questioned The Emperor

This time, The Emperor did not answer. He did not have a logical one to give them. The reason he put Baldur in command was because his instincts told him that he was the best choice if he wanted to end the Rangda threat as quickly as possible. 

"Your instincts," Valdor pointed out, already having understood The Emperor's mind. The Emperor hummed to response to which Valdor internally sighed. 

"I have a request, Your Majesty," Valdor looked over to the Emperor who nodded at his greatest champion and one of his oldest friends. "If I find out that he plans to start a rebellion ahead of time, I request your permission to slay him before it can start and divide the Imperium."

"You are unable to kill him," The Emperor told him with a frown. "He had already grown too powerful, even for you. Only a powerful Greater Daemon or Magnus are his match thanks to his knowledge of how to use his abilities."

"I would still request permission to try," Valdor did not give up. Although the Emperor doubted that he could, Valdor had already come up with several plans to kill Baldur.

"Fine. You may try if you find the opportunity," The Emperor accepted Valdor's request. He also hoped that Valdor could prevent a divide in the Imperium but the Emperor was sure that he would fail. If such a time came, he was ready to recall the captain-general, as he could not afford to lose such a person.