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It figures that death is an endemic disease. The question is, when did Kugel die? Judging from the long hair and unshaven face, he was alive for a while since he entered that Striker. Did the MC Caliber kill him or was it other causes? He decomposed immediately after exposure to atmosphere while he seemed peacefully asleep. Sure it was dramatic, seemed kind of pointless to preserve the body unless (a) he was in stasis when he died (b) the MC was trying to preserve him for revival by an expert medical team.
The least ominous possibility, Striker put Kugel in stasis like Chamber did to Ledo when they went through the wormhole. Kugel couldn't be revived, so it went into "autopilot" which makes sense to keep the command structure operating despite the death of the superior officer. Of course, another officer can later assume command ... they could have "ai shotgun" programs for rogue MC like those omega worms in the Bolo series.
Most ominous possibility, Kugel has been dead since the before of the last battle. Space human bodies are flawed and do not work passed a certain service length. Which is why they are meant to reproduce once they reach 16. Ledo will learn he won't live beyond 2x age like Kugel. The GA is a human farm.
The Stairway to Heaven looks like it could be a power receiver. I'd imagine you need a lot of energy to fire magnetic space launchers. It may even be externally powered by orbiting solar collectors. Of course it is too strong to use for powering office equipment and ships in its original form. But may be able to pick up trickle charges from the sea galaxies which you could use to power a floating city. Once you use the key, you turn the core of gargantia into a spinal gun /yamato cannon with dire consequences. Which would further explain the indifference to Ledo's firepower in the start of the series, they had this trump card.
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