Nack and the Astartes officers stood in the spacious, brightly lit command room of the cruiser, gazing through the massive transparent viewport at the enormous spaceport ahead.
The spaceport floated silently in the vast, boundless Star Sea, countless brilliant lights gleaming across its surface.
As the cruiser gradually drew closer, its immense form became ever more magnificent.
They could clearly make out the spaceport's intricate architectural structures, massive energy transfer pipelines, and densely packed facilities of every kind.
The cruiser's flank slowly shifted, precisely docking with a port bay in the spaceport. With a slight tremor and the scrape of metal, the two locked tightly together as though they had become one.
The deck connecting the cruiser and the spaceport slowly opened, revealing a broad passageway. It was not only the transport hub between warship and spaceport, but also the main route for personnel traveling between them.
The passageway was brightly lit, its walls embedded with all manner of advanced equipment and display screens that continuously flickered with data and images.
Smiling, Nack turned to the Astartes officers beside him, his gaze passing over their faces one by one before he slowly spoke.
"Gentlemen! You now have two choices.
"First, you may follow me straight to the body enhancement laboratory. Second, you may first experience for yourselves the daily lives of the common people in the Star Sea Galaxy.
"After all, everything you previously knew about these civilians came only from recorded footage and our verbal descriptions.
"If you truly wish to gain a deep and thorough understanding of what kind of lives the civilians under our rule lead, then you must observe it with your own eyes.
"Only then will your understanding be the most genuine and concrete. No matter how eloquent empty words may be, they are ultimately