The Royal Cruiser drifted in silent formation with the research hub, its immense hull dwarfing the surrounding orbital traffic.
At nearly fifty kilometers in diameter, the flagship was less a ship and more a moving city; layered armor plates, angular-shaped superstructures, and docking spines thick enough to swallow cruisers whole.
Its presence alone imposed order on the void, a reminder that the Germania Reich did not merely survive in the vast galaxy; they conquered with intent.
Kaiser stood at the observation platform as the final docking sequence completed. Beyond the reinforced viewport, the research hub rotated slowly into alignment.
It was not a single station, but the core of a research orbital facilities network—a massive central platform linked to dozens of subsidiary laboratories, fabrication rings, and data nodes by armored transit corridors.
From a distance, it resembled a dark wheel studded with light, each spoke bristling with antennae, sensor arrays, and shield emitters. The hub had been constructed near Yvonis I, far from civilian traffic and standard military routes, deliberately hidden within overlapping sensor shadows.
These facilities were built to answer demand on absolute secrecy.
The docking clamps engaged with a muted tremor. Kaiser turned as the hangar doors opened, SS escorts moving first, black armor catching the cold white lights of the bay. Behind them came the delegation already waiting aboard the hub.
Minister Konrad stood at the forefront, his expression composed, as his sharp eyes squinted behind oval glasses. As Minister of Science, he carried the weight of every impossible promise the Reich had ever made to itself.
Beside him stood William Sten, Director High-Engineer of the Reich Research Department, his coat marked with unknown devices meant for calculations. His posture betrayed fatigue—the kind that came from months without proper rest—but also pride.
This place had hosted a project which consumed resources on a scale few could truly grasp.
Hundreds of thousands of scientists and engineers had been pulled into the project. Entire research divisions had been reassigned, where their previous work had frozen indefinitely.
Manufacturing chains had been reorganized down to the smallest tolerance. Even some major research programs had been temporarily slowed to divert computational capacity and precision tooling.
All for one purpose.
Kaiser followed them through layered security gates, each one more restrictive than the last. Biometric scans, genetic confirmation, psychic null checks, each demand verification.
The corridors beyond were stark and clean, stripped of ornamentation. The central laboratory lay at the heart of the hub.
The doors parted soundlessly.
The chamber beyond was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow, illuminated by controlled light panels arranged to eliminate glare and distortion.
Suspension cranes and articulated arms stood idle around a single raised platform at the center. Data columns scrolled silently along the walls, monitoring environmental stability, power flow, and containment integrity.
And there it stood; the armor.
It was much taller and broader than a Jaeger suit.
Its silhouette carried the same presence as the armors worn by the Primarchs, with massive proportions, and layered plating. Kaiser had instructed the designs to match his description—which derived from his memories of Guilliman's Armor of Fate.
The surface was a deep, muted black, broken only by carefully placed accents of gold and subdued silver. There are golden ornaments that enhanced its visuals, as the proud Iron Cross seated on the front.
Every line served a purpose.
In the back, there are massive relics resembles Sanguinius' wings. They, however, are made of pure mechanical parts, embedded with circuits and advanced technology instead of bio-part.
It was never a decorative object, but an integrated systems array housing sensor relays, command uplinks, and battlefield coordination modules. It also offered Kaiser the ability to fly; allowing him to maneuver freely within the battlefield.
At the center of the chest-plate rested the Iron Cross sigil, engraved directly into the armor. It was not polished nor gleam. It simply existed, solid and immovable.
Kaiser approached the platform with measured steps. He circle the armor like a curious observer.
He wished to study it the way one evaluated infrastructure or strategy; by understanding what it was meant to endure. However, his brain capacity prevents him to form even the slightest understanding.
'Shit, this looks cool. Just what in the world they feed these scientists with? I just threw random sketches and they made it possible!' Kaiser thought silently.
"This unit is the finalized prototype," Konrad said. "The final integration completed forty-eight hours ago. All systems have passed isolation testing. You are pleased to test it, Mein Führer."
William stepped forward, activating a projection beside the platform. Transparent schematics unfolded in the air, layered and dense, but Kaiser could slightly grasp the content somehow.
"Mein Führer, the internal architecture was built using the SS base-circuit and modular components," he said. "However, there are a lot of others advanced modules that are suited to withstand intensive battle. In theory, the user could survive major orbital bombardment for a long period of time."
The armor' internal frame was visible now, reinforced with various add-ons. Actuators followed muscle groups rather than replacing them. The power core was compact, efficient, and shielded behind layers of redundancy.
"We have ensured the armor could facilitate your strength as described in the test results a few days prior," William continued. "The neural interface adapts in real time. Latency should be effectively non-existent."
Kaiser rested a hand against the platform railing, his eyes tracing the armor's structure.
He remembered Interstellar Nations; the hours spent optimizing civilizations.
When he built the Germania Reich, he started off poor. It was impossible for him to expand to the nearest star without being noticed by a much larger space empire and survived. Kaiser had to create dozens of campaigns just to find a safe starting point so his reich could thrive.
Most people would rather have their sanity intact and play using minor factions with hundreds of systems. Kaiser was simply lucky he could lead his reich to conquer the galaxy just from a single star system. The probability was simply near-zero in a galaxy where survival of the fittest applied.
The Reich reflected that same mindset. It was built for conquest alone and for blind ideology. In the lore, it was built to function as one giant war-machine, each doing their part to ensure humankind' future. Even now, isolated in a hostile universe, the foundation is still held.
Looking at the armor, Kaiser smirks. This armor was a symbol of dominance.
"You people did a great job. I am impressed," Kaiser said at last.
"No," Konrad replied. "That was your vision that guided us, Mein Führer."
William nodded. "Without your guidance, we will be a blind red-workers polishing statues of the republic' president."
Kaiser almost flinched. 'They do have quite a humor, don't they?'
The armor's back plating shifted slightly as diagnostic systems ran another cycle. The internal system adjusted its orientation, aligning with the lab's sensor grid. Even inert, the suit felt aware.
He stepped closer.
For the past few days, he had been wandering through the system half-naked, a result of his own creations when he designed the Führer' appearance.
The Führer was presented to the people like a figure from ancient myth—closer to a Greek god than a man—and any change in attire risked drawing unwanted attention from his subordinate.
This armor changed that. He no longer stood before the people as a narcissist-exhibitionist leader. Not when he now holds the title of the Second Primarch. Above all, Kaiser had no intention of walking half-naked into a universe that engulfed in an eternal war.
Kaiser reached out, placing his hand against the armor's chest-plate, directly over the Iron Cross. The metal was cool beneath his palm, steady.
"This will remain classified," Kaiser said.
"Understood, Mein Führer," Konrad replied. "The hub itself is compartmentalized. No single soul here understands the full system."