Warhammer: Empire Reboot

This planet is about 12,000 kilometers in diameter, and more than half of its interior has been hollowed out and transformed into a standard military storage facility for the Imperial Ministry of the Interior.

Twelve underground floors.

Each floor has millions of square kilometers of storage space.

Ammunition, adamantite, ceramic steel, promethium, ship parts, and standard equipment of the Astronautical Army were neatly arranged on the shelves, categorized and numbered according to Imperial military regulations.

The transport ship landed at Landing Site No. 3.

When the gangway was lowered, a team of guards was already standing on the landing field.

Those men, dressed in standard armor from the Ministry of the Interior's security division and carrying laser rifles, stood in two rows, their posture suggesting both a welcome and an interception.

The guard captain was a garrison officer in his forties, wearing the bronze shoulder insignia of the Val-Synn Garrison on his uniform.

His expression immediately tightened when he saw the person behind Moen.

“Executive Moen, Val-Sion is a top-secret facility of the Department of the Interior. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter without the approval of the Planetary Authority. You have brought in an outsider.”

Before Moen could explain, Lawson had already walked past him.

He scanned the landing site layout, the density of the security detail, and the height and window distribution of several administrative buildings in the distance.

"Notify your management."

“Leave none behind. Come to me.”

The guard captain's face darkened further: "This area is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior..."

Er Gou walked up from behind Lawson.

He glanced down at the guard captain, a large gesture, because his Terminator armor was nearly a meter taller than the captain's.

The guard captain shut his mouth.

Moen sent a message to the administrative district using a communicator.

When the news reached the administrative center of Val-Synn, it was during afternoon tea time for senior officials of the Ministry of the Interior.

Val-Synn is directly under the Imperial Ministry of the Interior, and its supreme authority is the Planetary Administrator, Lyotard von Kreess.

This person rose from a third-level clerk to the planetary governor, with the full title of "Governor of the Val-Sion Planetary Reserve Area, Military Affairs Department, Ministry of the Interior of the Empire." The words on his business card were longer than his face.

He has seven deputy general managers under him, who are respectively responsible for warehousing, security, human resources, finance, transportation, facility maintenance, and document archives.

Each deputy general manager oversees dozens of department heads, hundreds of senior clerks, and thousands of junior administrative staff.

The Ministry of the Interior has more than 30,000 staff members across the entire planet.

They manage one of the most important tithe centers in the dark side of the empire, or at least that's what they think.

When von Kreissing received the report from the captain of the guard, he was sitting in the general manager's office on the top floor of the administration building.

The office was large, with portraits of the emperor and the emblem of the Ministry of the Interior hanging on the walls. The floor was paved with marble imported from a world of taxed nobles, and the chair behind the desk was made of genuine leather.

On his desk sat a cup of coffee that had been reheated three times, and a tax collection report.

"Losen?"

Von Kreissing's cup stopped at his lips.

"The Dark Side Master of the Empire? What's he doing here?"

The person on the other end of the communication replied, "He sent all of the management to see him, all of them."

Von Kreissing put down his cup and looked at the deputy chief steward, Ravel, who was sitting on the sofa opposite him.

Laville's reaction was very direct.

“We are not subordinate to him. The Ministry of the Interior is directly under the Terra Department of the Interior. The seal of authority covers both military and administrative matters, but the Ministry of the Interior system is not within his administrative system.”

Von Kresing asked, "Does he have a legal basis to force us to assemble?"

"No."

Laville opened the booklet of rules at his waist.

High-ranking officials in the Ministry of the Interior always carry this with them when they go out; like the document folder in the Ministry of Military Affairs, it is their talisman.

"Chapter VII, Section 4 of the Imperial Principles of Separation of Organizations states that the Department of the Interior is independent of the local administrative system. No local governor, viceroy, or even sector governor has the power to summon any personnel of the Department of the Interior; any summons must be approved by the Terran Department of the Interior."

"Then I won't go."

Gracie, the deputy general manager in charge of finance, spoke up.

He was obese, with the flesh around his neck piled up in a thick ring.

"Let him wait at the landing site. Just send a reception officer down to handle it. Why put on airs?"

“He killed a Primarch,” von Kreiss said.

Grassi's flesh ring swayed slightly.

"So what? We're the Ministry of the Interior. Even if the court comes, they have to show official documents first. He's just a local warlord..."

The deputy chief of staff in charge of documents and archives added, "He also stole Abaddon's flagship."

Von Kreissing remained silent for a moment.

"Go see him, but there's no rush."

He picked up his coffee and took a sip; the coffee, heated for the fourth time, already had a slightly burnt taste.

"Have all departments assemble according to the procedures, complete the necessary approvals, and sign the attendance sheets as required. Follow the rules."

He looked at Ravel: "If he makes any unreasonable demands, we will refuse them according to the rules. He has no jurisdiction here. We will receive him politely and refuse him fairly. The rules of the Ministry of the Interior cannot be changed just because someone is carrying a big axe."

Therefore, Val-Synn's management team began to assemble according to procedures.

The assembly order was issued from the general manager's office to the offices of the seven deputy general managers, and each deputy general manager confirmed receipt within eight minutes.

The deputy general manager then forwarded the order to the heads of each department. Each head confirmed receipt and replied with a confirmation letter, which took fifteen minutes.

The department head informed the senior clerks that they needed to save their work progress, close the filing cabinets, lock the confidential documents, and change into their formal uniforms within twenty-five minutes.

The entire process took nearly an hour.

Lawson waited for an hour in an empty warehouse next to the landing site.

He sat on the ammunition box, with Er Gou and San Gou standing behind him, and the rest of the guards scattered at the warehouse entrance.

Moen stood beside him, growing increasingly uneasy. Kyle Varus was also there; he had arrived with Lawson, but the Third Company's front lines were being taken over by the Flying Bears and the combat sequence, allowing him to temporarily escape.

An hour passed, and Lawson still hadn't moved.

Kyle sensed something was off.

"My lord, should I...?"

"No rush, let them take their time."

If von Kreissing and his management team arrive within ten minutes, it means that the other party still has basic respect, and things are negotiable.

If they took an hour to arrive, it means they thought Lawson had no jurisdiction over this area and treated the meeting as a mere courtesy.

Attitude determines how to handle a situation.

One hour.

The attitude is already very clear.

When von Kreissing and his management team appeared at the warehouse entrance, they made quite a grand entrance.

The planetary governor led the way, flanked by seven deputy governors, followed by dozens of department heads and hundreds of senior clerks.

Everyone was dressed in the official grey-white robes of the Ministry of the Interior, with a bronze department badge on their chest and a booklet of regulations at their waist.

Von Kreissing walked up to Lawson and bowed slightly.

"Your Excellency the Seal Bearer has come from afar, and Val-Synn is deeply honored. However, since your visit was not approved by the Ministry of the Interior beforehand, our reception may be somewhat inadequate..."

"Is everyone here?" Lawson interrupted him.

Von Kreissing's lips stiffened slightly.

Being interrupted while speaking is considered a minor offense according to the Ministry of the Interior's etiquette guidelines.

"Except for a few colleagues who were unable to attend due to official business, the entire planetary management team is present."

Lawson stood up from the ammunition box and looked around.

Von Kresing, seven deputy general managers, dozens of department heads, and hundreds of senior clerks. Their greyish-white uniforms blended together under the warehouse lights, resembling a neatly arranged swarm of grey maggots.

"very good."

Lawson raised his right hand.

"Arrest them."

The cornerstone sequence converged from four directions, surrounding von Kreissing and the entire management team.

Von Kreissing's expression changed.

Grassi tried to turn and run away, causing the flesh ring to shake violently.

Before he could take two steps, a cornerstone soldier pressed the butt of his rifle against his chest.

Lavelle reached for the laser pistol at his waist, but before he could finish the movement, a combat officer was already standing in front of him.

Von Kreiss opened his mouth.

"What are you doing? We are from the Imperial Ministry of the Interior..."

Lawson's psychic field spread out in the warehouse.

It felt like an invisible hand was pressing down on everyone's shoulders, making their knees involuntarily go weak.

Lawson's voice carried to every corner of the warehouse, while simultaneously, the swarm intelligence broadcast his words through the Val-Synn internal communication network to every terminal on the entire planet.

Administration building, storage floor, guard barracks, canteen, toilets.

The whole planet is listening.

“I am Lawson, the master of the dark side of the Empire.”

“Three hours ago, the Seal Keeper’s direct intelligence unit intercepted a reliable tip.”

Von Kreissing's brow twitched. A tip?