After several days of sub-light travel, the scientific research ship Hope finally arrived at its destination.
A massive space structure known as the Relay Station.
It was unlike those military fortresses of the Empire, which were converted from asteroids and bristled with gun batteries and Gothic spires.
This space station was more like a work of art.
A massive ring structure rotated slowly to simulate gravity. Its hull was made of a smooth silver-white alloy, and its surface was covered with large transparent domes, through which a vibrant green biosphere could be seen. Countless ships of various sizes moved in and out around the station, forming busy yet orderly flight paths.
Reinhardt followed Dr. Ryan down the gangway of the Hope.
He was not treated as a prisoner, nor was he even subject to any restrictions. Ryan simply told him that he needed to undergo a more comprehensive physical and psychological evaluation here, and then the federation would help him find his family.
Stepping onto the station's deck, Reinhardt's boots made no sound as they touched the mirror-smooth floor.
The air was fresh, carrying a faint fragrance of plants.
People came and went in the wide central hall, which was full of vitality. Giant holographic billboards floated in the air, displaying various products and entertainment programs that he couldn't understand.
Everything here seemed so advanced, peaceful, and prosperous.
Then, Reinhardt saw it.
His footsteps came to a halt.
Dr. Ryan noticed his abnormality and turned back to ask with concern.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Reinhardt didn't answer; his gaze was fixed intently on a spot not far ahead.
A human female was intimately holding the arm of a creature. A XENO.
That xeno was about three meters tall, its body resembling a withered old tree covered in wrinkled bark. It had no facial features on its head, only a halo of light that constantly shifted colors. As they walked, they conversed in low voices in a language Reinhardt didn't understand, a happy smile on the human woman's face.
Beside them, an alien covered in blue scales with a fish-like head was holding a human baby. It used its webbed fingers to gently play with the infant, who let out a clear, ringing laugh.
Further away, at a stall selling drinks, the vendor was a creature with multiple furry arms. It skillfully used several arms to mix liquids of different colors, while its other arms accurately took currency from humans and gave back change.
Humans and aliens.
They weren't slaughtering each other on a battlefield.
One side wasn't kneeling and begging for mercy in an Inquisition chamber.
They were... living.
They were interacting naturally, like neighbors, like friends, like family.
Reinhardt's mind went blank.
He felt his soul being repeatedly seared by the sight before him.
This made him feel more uncomfortable than facing the most loathsome Chaos Demon.
A demon's evil was external, something that could be purified with a Bolter and a Chainsword.
But all of this before him...
It was a corruption that came from the marrow, reaching deep into the soul.
It was a fundamental betrayal of the very spirit of humanity.
"What... are they?"
Reinhardt's voice was dry as he pointed at the tree-man alien and its human partner.
Ryan followed his finger and smiled knowingly.
"Oh, you mean Thorne and his wife, Emily. Thorne is a silicon-based plantoid lifeform. Their race are experts across the galaxy in gardening and ecological construction. The biosphere of this relay station was designed by their people. Quite remarkable, isn't it?"
Remarkable?
Remarkable!?
Reinhardt's fist tightened instinctively inside his sleeve.
He saw the human woman named Emily lean her head gently against the tree-man's so called shoulder.
This gesture made Reinhardt's stomach twist.
He forced himself to look away, but everywhere his gaze fell, there were similar scenes.
An insectoid engineer, its chitinous shell gleaming with a metallic luster, was opening a maintenance hatch on the floor while a human assistant handed him tools.
Several jellyfish-like creatures floating in the air, emitting a soft glow, drifted over the heads of a group of laughing human teenagers, who waved at them in a friendly manner.
He even saw a human wearing an UEG guard uniform saluting a tall, three-eyed alien who seemed to be his superior.
A human, saluting an alien?
Reinhardt's breathing became ragged.
The Emperor's teachings roared frantically in his mind.
*Suffer not the alien to live.*
*The alien is filth, a threat, an error that must be purged.*
*Humanity is the sole master of the galaxy.*
In this utopia, these sacred truths seemed to have become a joke.
A cruel and utterly absurd joke.
"I need to... learn about this place."
Reinhardt squeezed these words out through gritted teeth.
"Of course, that's a great idea," Ryan said enthusiastically. "I'll take you to register first, and then you'll be free to move around. The public information terminals here are open to everyone; you can look up any non-classified information. It will help you better understand these times." Ryan, of course, thought that having found Reinhardt in that gravity well, that he was a prehistoric human, a human coming from a time before extra-terestrial contact. But that was just his speculation.
A great era?
Reinhardt sneered inwardly.
An era where humans and aliens lived together, an era where humans had forgotten their noble bloodline and sacred mission.
This was not greatness.
This was degradation.
Humiliation.
Under Ryan's guidance, Reinhardt quickly completed his temporary identity registration.
He received a wristband-like personal terminal that could be used to access the public network and make small payments.
Ryan still had work to do, so after giving Reinhardt a few instructions, he hurried away.
Reinhardt stood alone in the flowing crowd like a solitary island.
He was surrounded by laughter and harmonious interaction between different races.
But his heart was a cold ruin, burning with rage.
He walked up to a public information terminal.
It was a massive holographic interactive interface scrolling with news, advertisements, and various public service information.
Reinhardt reached out and, following the method Ryan had taught him, brought his personal terminal close to the reader.
The interface immediately switched to personal mode.
"Welcome, temporary citizen. The United Earth Goverment information network is at your service."
A soft, synthesized female voice spoke.
Reinhardt ignored the greeting, his fingers sliding quickly across the holographic screen.
He didn't search for a way home, nor did he try to understand the local customs of this era.
He had only one purpose.
He opened an encyclopedia-like application and typed two words into the search bar.
"Law."
A massive amount of information immediately refreshed on the screen.
"Please make a selection sir:
The United Earth Goverment Charter
The Galactic Community Basic Covenant
The Intelligent Life Rights Protection Act
The Cross-Species Interaction Code of Conduct
...
Reinhardt's gaze swept over the titles, his eyes growing colder and colder.
He clicked on the Intelligent Life Rights Protection Act.
The clauses within detailed that all intelligent races recognized by the federation—regardless of their form, origin, or culture—enjoyed equal rights to survival, development, and freedom.
One clause stood out prominently.
"Any form of racial discrimination, hate speech, or acts of violence based on racial differences will be severely punished by law."
As Reinhardt read this law, the corner of his mouth curled into a silent, mocking sneer.
Hating the alien was a crime.
In that case, was the God-Emperor the greatest criminal in this universe?
He clicked on another law, the Cross-Species Family Law.
He saw that the law not only recognized the legality of cross-species marriage but even encouraged it. The government provided high subsidies for families formed across species and offered the most superior education and medical resources for their offspring.
It was all under the guise of 'promoting genetic diversity and cultural integration'.
Reinhardt felt as if his very blood were about to freeze.
This wasn't just degradation.
This was the encouragement of degradation.
They were using laws and systems to dismantle the very foundation of what it meant to be human.
They were personally polluting their own gene pool, personally destroying their own uniqueness.
All for the sake of so-called 'peace' and 'coexistence.'
He closed the law interface and turned to search the news.
He wanted to see what this society actually looked like under such absurd laws.
One news headline caught his attention.
"Final Verdict on the Incident of a Kraken chamber of commerce representative assaulting a Human employee."
Reinhardt clicked on it.
The news content was simple.
An alien merchant from a race called the "Kraken," dissatisfied with the service of a human employee, had used its tentacles to whip the employee, causing serious injuries.
According to the laws of the Imperium, such an act would be enough to have that alien and its entire chamber of commerce purified and burned a hundred times over.
But the verdict here was...
"The kraken representative has been sentenced to three hundred hours of community service and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.
The presiding judge stated during the trial that, considering the Kraken race has a habit of slight physical contact when expressing dissatisfaction, this act was not born of malicious intent to harm and should be handled with discretion."
Cultural habits?
Reinhardt stared at those two words, a surge of rage rushing straight to his head.
He could almost see that fellow human lying on the ground, whipped by tentacles.
And the law that was supposed to protect him was making excuses for the violent alien.
Simply because... they had to respect the alien's 'cultural habits.'
What an insult!
How absurd!
Reinhardt closed the news; he couldn't bear to look at any more of it.
He leaned against the cold wall and closed his eyes.
In his mind, that grand figure who had blessed him appeared once again.
The Emperor's voice echoed in his soul like thunder echoing across the ages.
*The only path for humanity is dominance. Any compromise is self-destruction.*
*Do not trust the kindness of the alien; it is but a poison used to numb you.*
*Purify their lies with fire; sever their tentacles with the blade.*
*Let the banners of humanity be planted in every corner of the galaxy. That is true peace.*
Reinhardt slowly opened his eyes.
All the confusion, doubt, and hesitation in his eyes had vanished without a trace.
In its place was an unprecedented clarity and resolve.
He finally understood.
He hadn't come to this world by accident.
He had been sent by the Emperor.
The Emperor had seen the corruption of this universe, the degradation of humanity within it.
He could not descend in person.
And so, He had sent a spark.
A spark carrying the sole truth of human supremacy.
That spark was himself.
His mission was not to adapt to this ridiculous so called utopia.
Nor was it to find a way home.
His mission was to reignite the fires of the human crusade in this universe filled with heresy and profanity.
He would spread the Emperor's teachings to every corner of this universe.
He would awaken those fellow humans who were lost in a false peace, making them remember their glory as the masters of the galaxy.
He would use the purest fire to thoroughly purify these filthy worlds that fornicated with the xenos.
Reinhardt raised his head, his gaze piercing through the transparent dome toward the deep universe.
There were countless stars there.
Perhaps among those stars, there were still unpolluted human worlds.
Perhaps on the other side of those stars, there were people who could become his first soldiers.
He didn't know where the path was, nor did he know what the future would hold.
But he knew his goal.
A Holy Crusade must be started.
From today, from here, it officially began.