Osiris did not pay much attention to the arrival of the Black Templar Company.
His core logic quickly assessed the matter: acquiring ownership of the star system while accepting a "protective" garrison from the Empire's most elite Astartes was an inevitable exchange of power and obligation.
As long as the other party does not interfere with his core research, there is no need to expend additional resources to monitor or respond.
On the Black Templar side, from Sigismund to the "Fortress" company that specifically carries out the garrison mission, everyone clearly understands the dual nature of their mission: both to protect and to guard.
They had no intention, nor did they think it necessary, to have overly close physical contact with a Magos of mechanics and his base.
Therefore, after a brief but efficient coordination between Company Commander Brother Hector and Marshal Anvil-7 of the Apostolic Guard, the Black Templars chose a towering mountain on the outskirts of the base as their residence.
The mountain's elevation is high enough to overlook the entire base and surrounding key areas, offering a wide field of vision and making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. This meets the Astartes' stringent requirements for defensive positions, while also maintaining a just-right distance from the main body of the base.
Once the site was chosen, construction on the Black Cathedral began with astonishing efficiency.
Transport boats shuttle between rail-mounted ships and mountaintops, carrying precast armor plates, heavy weapon platforms, and building materials.
The Space Marines' own immense strength, combined with the engineering machinery, rapidly leveled the ground, and the outline of the fortifications rose from the ground at a visible speed.
Within a few standard days, a simple architectural complex, conforming to the style of the Black Cathedral and functioning as both a military fortress and a monastery, took shape on the mountaintop.
Its dark armored exterior walls blend almost seamlessly with the mountain rocks, and several prominent gun emplacements and observation points clearly point to the sky and the main paths leading to the base.
Like a silent giant eagle, it perches high above, its cold gaze sweeping over the base below, maintaining a majestic yet aloof demeanor.
Osiris would occasionally observe the construction progress of the mountain fortress through the base's sensors.
He noticed that the defense system built by the other side was outward-oriented, mainly targeting potential external threats rather than the base itself.
This confirmed his judgment: the Black Temple was carrying out orders, maintaining a form of surveillance and a de facto regional joint defense.
He made no comment on this, nor did he adjust the base's own defense deployment.
They simply updated the relevant records in the internal logs and added the coordinates and communication code of the Black Templar Fortress to the list of "Limited Cooperative Units".
The landscape of the world of death has quietly changed.
Osiris' base continued to operate as the core, carrying out various research and construction projects, both overt and covert; while on the mountaintop not far away, a pair of eyes belonging to the empire, eyes that would never close, appeared.
The two sides maintained their distance and did not interfere with each other, yet they had invisibly created a new balance.
Osiris was able to continue his planned career, while the Empire ensured that this newly designated territory and its key figures remained under control.
_____________
With the appointment document officially taking effect in law, Osiris' understanding and planning of this star system underwent a fundamental change.
His database contains a complete star map of the galaxy, and besides the Death World, which he has made his core base, there are three other planets in the galaxy.
One is a mining planet with decent mineral resources but a harsh environment; another is a desolate, frozen planet covered by thick ice and with almost no atmosphere; and the third is a typical barren planet with a rocky surface, lacking liquid water and a thin atmosphere.
Before acquiring ownership, Osiris had to carefully consider the potential external observations and the boundaries of imperial law in all his actions.
Even with the discovery of the Genesis Particle, a discovery with enormous potential, research on it was strictly limited to the relatively secluded canyon experimental area in the Dead World.
Its scale and scope of influence were strictly controlled, not to mention the feat of replicating a "Genesis Device" like those in Star Trek, which could instantly reshape the entire planet's landscape.
That would be tantamount to igniting an uncontrolled supernova right under the empire's nose.
But now, the situation is completely different.
According to the appointment signed by Rogal Dorne, the entire sector, including all its celestial bodies and resources, has become his private property.
This means that, within the bounds of the law, he has a great deal of freedom to conduct any form of experimentation on his own property, as long as it does not jeopardize the overall interests of the empire (the interpretation of this clause largely depends on his own strength and value).
His gaze naturally fell upon that barren planet.
This planet is of moderate size, has a relatively stable geological structure, shows no signs of native life, and is located at an orbital position that makes it easy to observe from the Death World base.
It was like a natural, enormous, personal petri dish.
"Initiate the preliminary planning for the 'Genesis Reconstruction Protocol'," Osiris instructed in the core laboratory.
The data stream began to circulate around that barren planet.
He retrieved data from previous probes of the planet: surface composition, atmospheric composition (extremely thin, mainly composed of carbon dioxide and inert gases), gravitational parameters, stellar radiation received... All this information was integrated and input into a new simulation program.
This time, the goal of the experiment is no longer to catalyze life or enhance existing species in localized areas.
His vision is even grander—to test the ability of primordial particles to reshape geological structures, atmospheric composition, and even basic ecosystems on a planetary scale.
The first step of the plan is to conduct a controlled release of primordial particles, but at an energy level far exceeding any previous experiment, in a vast basin selected on the planet, and observe their reorganization patterns on the surface material.
And whether it is possible to establish a self-sustaining, even extremely primitive, closed matter-energy cycle system in a short period of time.
Risks certainly exist.
Large-scale energy releases could trigger unpredictable geological changes and even have minor effects on planetary orbits.
However, compared to conducting such tests in densely populated or strategically valuable star systems, the cost of conducting them on a desolate planet that is entirely our own and has no value to begin with is negligible.
He instructed the monitoring probes in orbit to adjust their course and begin a more precise, all-around scan of the target barren planet to establish a basic environmental model for the experiment.
At the same time, he began calculating the best way to transport the necessary equipment (including an enhanced Genesis Particle Generator and additional energy supply units) to the planet's orbit or surface.
An unprecedented sense of experimental freedom permeated the core of his treatment.
The authority granted to him by imperial law opened a door to a grander experimental stage for him.
That lonely, desolate planet is about to undergo a radical transformation driven by pure reason and a thirst for knowledge.