Back at Zeppelin Base Friedrichshafen, Captain von Kober's home base, the crew was greeted by Admiral von Köpitz who set a meeting with the officers at three o'clock in the afternoon the same day.
At this meeting, Admiral von Köpitz  promoted Vogel, von Kober's first officer, to captain and gave him command of LZ-X1 Württemberg, which would return to Africa within a few days.
Albrecht von Kober, Lieutenant Gruson and Petty Officer Dusterman were re-assigned and were to fly to Berlin on board LZ-29 Leipzig.
The new assignement was no surprise for the three men, they were to join the special field-testing unit, von Kober had served with just before taking command of LZ-X1 Württemberg half a year before.
On board LZ-29 the men from the Württemberg were greeted by a gaunt man wearing the uniform of a colonel of the artillery. He was accompanied by an elderly and learned looking gentleman who spoke little but was introduced as Professor von Bergmann, one of the Kaiser's surgeons and one of the leading specialists in the field of artificial body part development. The professor would also be part of the research group working on the salvaged advanced automatons.
The colonel himself was Colonel Kerber, a name well known in military circles. He was the official face of the Kaiser's military intelligence service. The one who did the talking while his superiors remained in the background.
Meeting him on board the Leipzig was only a minor surprise. Given the nature of the whole affair, the men from the Württemberg had expected someone of this special miltary branch to be present during the flight.
The Colonel and the Professor briefed von Kober, Dustermann and Gruson on a few crucial details regarding their new assignment. Enough, they felt, to enable them to think of some possible ways to begin their respective tasks but not enough to be able to reveal much to others.