Holy Terra, Terra Imperial Palace Throne Room.
Adeptus Custodes Deputy Commander Little Kitten, holding a plate of cream cake and a stack of newspapers, arrived at the Throne Room's desk and placed the cake next to Sanguinius, who was busy researching something.
Outside Little Kitten's golden power armour, she wore a clumsy maid outfit, and Sanguinius had forcibly added a pair of cat ears to her Custodes helmet. At the newly added coffee station in the distance, Adeptus Custodes Commander Trajann was busy by the coffee machine; he was holding a cup of milk foam, making latte art for his Emperor. On the coffee, there was an Imperial double-headed eagle made of milk foam.
Sanguinius took off her glasses, placed them aside, cut a piece of cake with a fork and put it into her mouth, then took a sip of the coffee Trajann brought.
"Trajann, your coffee-making skills have improved again."
Upon hearing this, Trajann bowed her head: "Thank you for the praise, my Lord. It is merely the duty we, your servants, should fulfill."
Sanguinius drank her coffee and opened the thick newspaper beside her. In the past decade or so, besides installing a speaker for herself on the Golden Throne, she had also developed and deployed the Star Chain.
Sanguinius believed that Warp communication was highly unreliable; sending a message could be transmitted quickly if there was no interference. However, if Warp interference occurred, it might take decades or even centuries for the recipient to receive it. Thus, Sanguinius used ideas from that other world to develop the Star Chain.
The Star Chain, in essence, was the production and manufacturing of a large number of super satellites using existing 40K technology. Then, the Adeptus Custodes of the Imperial Palace announced it as "holy technology left by the Holy Emperor" and spread it within the highly secure interstellar regions of the Imperium of Man.
Although it was time-consuming and labor-intensive, it could bypass the Warp and transmit messages through the Star Chain composed of countless satellites. It could also be used repeatedly to continuously send the latest information to various locations.
After Sanguinius's tests, transmitting a sector report from Ultramar in the Ultima Segmentum to Terra only took 1 day.
However, this Star Chain also had its shortcomings. That is, it could not be universally popularized due to the enormous energy required for inter-segmentum communication and the necessary channel management.
The Star Chain technology could only be used by the headquarters of the five major Segmentums; otherwise, the Star Chain's load would overload and cease to function.
Segmentum Solar
Segmentum Obscurus
Storm Segmentum
Far East Segmentum
Pacific Segmentum
Although Sanguinius was not satisfied with this result, this technology objectively increased the administrative efficiency of the Imperial government by 300%.
For example, previously, Imperial government departments needing to understand the situation of a certain Segmentum had to use an Astropath to transmit messages via Warp communication. Even without Warp interference, for non-urgent reports, the Astropathic Choir would consider the Astropath's "durability," making the message transmission time calculated in months or even years.
Now, Sanguinius receives newspapers from the five major Segmentums on her desk every morning, demonstrating the greatness of the Star Chain project.
As Sanguinius drank her coffee and read the newspaper in her hand, the one on the Golden Throne spoke:
"Is that a medium-roasted Arabica bean?"
Sanguinius didn't look at him, but softly hummed: "Mm-hmm~"
"Can you bring it for me to smell? I haven't smelled that scent in a long time..."
Sanguinius put down the newspaper and looked at the skeletal figure sitting on the Golden Throne, an expression of annoyance on her face... "Please, you are me, you know me, I've never begged anyone in my life!"
Sanguinius ignored the request from the Golden Throne. At this moment, Trajann had already carried the coffee and taken the lift to the Emperor's head... "Ah... ah... that's the smell! From now on, if I don't smell it for a day, I feel like ants are crawling all over me..."
At this moment, Sanguinius picked up the Segmentum Obscurus newspaper and looked at the headline... "Under the leadership of the Governor, Imperial soldiers worked together to thwart the Gretchin conspiracy..."
Sanguinius was about to turn the page, thinking it was another governor boasting about himself, but the photo in the newspaper made Sanguinius freeze... Because in the corner of the photo... stood a man she was very familiar with, wearing a military officer's uniform... For a moment, Sanguinius thought he was Li Feng's "other self" in another world, just a look-alike, but Li Feng in the photo was giving a thumbs-up pose for the camera... "I found him! I found him!"
At this moment, the Emperor, who was sniffing the coffee, vaguely said: "Who did you find?"
"Li Feng! He's currently on Kofia in the Segmentum Obscurus! Little Kitten! Hurry and take Celestine to bring him back to me!"
Little Kitten immediately unfastened the maid outfit from her power armour, knelt on one knee, and accepted the order.
Instantly, golden light burst forth beside Little Kitten, and Living Saint Celestine immediately appeared from the golden light, also kneeling on one knee... "Yes, my Lord (As you command, my Emperor)..."
Seeing the two leave with a Adeptus Custodes squad and Sisters of Silence, Sanguinius jumped off her computer chair and began to get excited... "Oh dear! Will he miss me terribly after not seeing me for so long? What should I wear when I see him? A skirt? No, he prefers pants... Oh right, pantyhose with red-soled shoes! Where's my white shirt?..."
Just as Sanguinius was planning their "reunion after a long separation," Old Man Huang on the Golden Throne coughed, though it was a simulated cough.
"Cough, cough, honestly, I don't think you should be considering that question right now."
At this moment, another more ethereal voice, like a storm, rang out: "I agree."
Instantly, a very ominous feeling arose in Sanguinius's heart. She immediately turned to look towards the door, at Living Saint Celestine with her back-facing wings... She suddenly had an uneasy feeling, as if she had... invited a wolf into her house... She picked up the newspaper again and noticed that the Battle Sisters next to Li Feng were looking at her man with such affectionate eyes... Holy Emperor: "I think she noticed."
Emperor: "Shh, keep it down, it has nothing to do with us two anyway..."
Sanguinius heard some movement, put down the newspaper, turned to look at the Golden Throne, and asked:
"Emperor, Holy Emperor, what are you two talking about?"
"We said, the Empress is wise."