After a short pause, Kaiser turned his gaze toward the man seated across the table, dressed in a dark military uniform marked with Iron Cross and medals; wearing an eagle sigils seated in peaked cap.
"Lord Supreme Kommander Johan von Krüger," Kaiser said.
Johan stood immediately. As the highest—ranking in the military—responsible for fleets, ground armies, and strategic weapons-his role and authority was clear even without introduction.
"Mein Führer," Johan said. "Due to the sudden displacement, only the forces stationed within the Berlin System were transported with us."
He raised his hand, and a holographic display appeared above the table.
"Our remaining naval strength is divided into two main battle groups."
The projection shifted, highlighting clusters of ships.
"Schlachtgruppe Berlin," Johan continued. "Consist of;
- 116 Battleships
- 87 Battlecruisers
- 462 Cruisers
- 840 Destroyers
- 328 freighters."
For the sake of clarity, the hologram briefly displayed silhouettes; battleships as massive capital ships designed for direct fleet combat, cruisers as versatile mid-line vessels, and destroyers as fast escort and screening ships. Freighters, vital large spaceships mainly supported logistics and transport.
The display shifted again.
"The other one is Schlachtgruppe Dresden, consist of;
- 78 Battleships
- 91 Battlecruisers
- 420 Cruisers
- 1,025 Destroyers
- 512 Freighters."
A low murmur spread through the room.
"In addition," Johan added. "We retain Einsatzgruppe Titan, consisting of seven Titans."
The hologram changed again, now showing towering humanoid war machines.
Titans were not ships, but walking fortresses—colossal mechanized weapons hundreds of kilometers long, capable of leveling planets on their own.
"And Einsatzgruppe Colossus," Johan added, "with two Colossus-class weapons."
This time, the projection showed planet-scale superweapons—platforms designed not to fight armies, but to erase worlds or render them permanently uninhabitable.
Kaiser kept his expression calm.
'That's still absurd,' he thought. 'Even by Warhammer standards.'
Despite the Imperium owned the cyclonic-torpedoes for exterminatus purposes—an entire platform used for cracking worlds was beyond imagination. At this moment, Kaiser only glad that he didn't move his fleets even a sector away. Otherwise he would have to fight using curses and prayers.
"As for ground forces," Johan continued. "We currently have three hundred million active personnel, with approximately one billion in reserve. They are distributed across Berlin A, Berlin B, Berlin C, and multiple orbital fortresses and stationary military stations in various satellites."
Kaiser nodded in response.
"I want the troops reorganized," he said. "Conserve stockpiled munitions. All forces are to remain on high alert."
"Yes, Mein Führer," Johan replied, then sat down.
Kaiser turned to the next minister, a man whose appearance was in his thirties wearing a dark-brown uniform marked with diplomatic and information-service insignia.
"Lord Minister Berengar Stiffen," Kaiser said. "What are your reports?"
Berengar stood. His responsibility was simple in theory and dangerous in practice: shaping public perception and managing all contact with foreign powers.
"Mein Führer," Berengar said. "In terms of external relations, as Lord Minister Konrad said, our situation is not favorable for the moment. There is no connection to our branches and regions. However, the good news is, apart from one unknown human empire, there is no major xenos interstellar power has detected our presence. The surrounding civilizations are minor; technologically backward and politically divided."
'Unknown human empire,' Kaiser thought. 'The Imperium' abandoned worlds!'
Berengar gestured lightly. "Open contact would increase the risk of exposure. My recommendation is only observation. Internally, propaganda division has stabilized the population. Your return is being framed as a planned event, Mein Führer."
Kaiser nodded.
"Maintain the concealment," he said. "We don't need external contacts with major factions at the moment."
Berengar bowed. "Understood, Mein Führer."
Next, Kaiser looked to a man with sharp eyes and a calculating expression.
"Lord Minister Peter Baumann," he said. "Economy."
Peter stood. As the one responsible for industry, resource allocation, and civilian consumption, his report carried a different kind of weight.
"Mein Führer," Peter began, "the Berlin System remains economically stable. Our industrial output and energy production are intact."
Then his tone shifted.
"However, our food supply previously depended on external agri-worlds. These entire planets which are dedicated to food production are gone."
"Have you thought about the temporary solutions?" Kaiser asked.
"Yes," Peter replied. "With synthetic food production and strict consumption control, we can sustain ourselves long-term, though growth will be limited."
Kaiser acknowledged this with a nod. "That'll do, Lord Peter."
"Understood, Mein Führer."
"Lord Minister Otto von Barrenau," he said next. "Is there an issue with the logistics?"
Otto rose slowly. His department was responsible for keeping everything moving-supplies, maintenance, fuel, and repairs.
"Our logistical networks are operational but constrained," Otto said. "They were designed to support an interstellar empire, not a single isolated system."
"What about the military logistics?"
"Fleet repairs, Titan maintenance, and ammunition replacement must be carefully observed, Mein Führer"
"In short," Kaiser said, "we cannot afford prolonged wars."
"Indeed. At all costs," Otto agreed.
Finally, Kaiser turned to the woman seated beside him.
"Lord Minister Claudia von Falkenhause," he said. "I wanna hear about the Internal Affairs."
Claudia stood.
She was the Minister of State. Her authority covered planetary governance, population control, and internal security; including supervised Kommander of the Army, Johan, to not do anything funny.
"Mein Führer," she said. "Civilian remain stable. Berlin A serves as the administrative and industrial core, so there is not much trouble in preserving order. Berlin B which houses the majority of the civilian population does not show any signs of revolt or protest. Berlin C, however, currently having major productivity breakdown since the planet' biggest industry revolves around entertainment, there are not a lot of visitors around."
She paused briefly before inclined her head. "That concludes our reports. We await your directives, Mein Führer."
The room then fell silent.
Kaiser folded his hands together and leaned back slightly.
"Our utmost priority is staying hidden," he said.
All eyes were on him.
"We must limit consumption and conserve spending. To sustain the food needed, we will be exploring nearby space quietly."
He let his gaze sweep across the table.
"We gather intelligence while remain concealed. Any action that risks exposing our position is forbidden. Upon finding a planet worth cultivating, we will send terra-forming convoy; turn it into an agri-planet."
His voice hardened just a little.
"In our current state, enemy attention must be avoided at all costs."
The ministers nodded one by one.
Inside, Kaiser let out a slow breath.
'I hope there are no Inquisition fleets around,' he thought calmly.
Since inheriting the body of the Second Primarch, Kaiser couldn't help but wonder about his fate if the Imperium found out about him. The Second and Eleventh were terminated from the records without a clear reason.
If his lore knowledge is still intact, and the theories were right; he might be once again erased from existence. The Emperor likely removed the Second since he challenged His authority; while the Eleventh was removed because he was corrupted by the warp beyond saving.
Few elites of the Imperium in Holy Terra knew about this.
To make things worse, he commanded a foreign civilization to the Imperium; one where its technology would be wholeheartedly labeled as heresy by the Tech-Priest!