New chapter. As always, the next two chapters are up on my P-a-t-r-e-o-n, here: h*t*t*p*s :/ w*w*w . p*a*t*r*e*o*n user - ? - u = 52718582 (remove the spaces and stars)
"-and that is how you construct an antidote to remove a nanite bioweapon and repair the damage it has done to the host body," Isha concluded, gesturing with the chalk in her hand to the board next to her. "Is there anything you need further clarification on before we begin?"
Her audience, several of the seniormost genewrights of the Imperial Biotechnical Division, did not respond immediately, instead continuing to examine what she had written on the chalkboard first. The chalkboard was a curiously primitive tool, but the Emperor's realm was like that, a strange mix of the primitive and the sophisticated. Sophisticated by the current standards of humanity, at least.
"What if the nanites adapt too rapidly for this antidote to counter it?" Ezekiel Sedayne asked. He was the only one who ever did, as the highest ranking of the scientists present. The others deferred to him, not necessarily happily, but they understood the hierarchy.
Humanity has not yet come up with a bioweapon that evolves too rapidly for me to devise a counter to. Isha thought, but she could hardly tell him that.
"If any such weapon ever comes to exist, we will have to study it and devise a counter to it, then. What I have outlined today is the most rapid and effective counter to nanite bioweapons that we currently know of." Isha answered instead.
Sedayne seemed to be mulling it over, the silence stretching out as the other scientists shifted behind him, clearly itching to ask questions but afraid to undermine their superior.
This was why she was glad these lessons where she had to teach the Emperor's scientists anything directly were so rare. Isha had enjoyed teaching, once upon a time, imparting her knowledge to eager acolytes and priests.
But it was difficult to enjoy teaching a group composed primarily of amoral monsters who regarded her with equal parts jealousy and mistrust despite their awe of her abilities. Not to mention being part of petty political squabbling that she was entirely removed from, for which they resented her even more.
"What if the effects of the nanites are compounded with another bioweapon? The Pan-Pacific has unleashed multiple bioweapons at the same time, leaving soldiers suffering from several of them at the same time."
It was a good question, at least. Sedayne was too obsessed with petty politics, but he was intelligent.
"That's where Aqua Ghyranis will come in," Isha said, plucking a vial of water from the table in front of her, and showing it to the genewrights. It was her newest creation for the Emperor, with broadly the same effects as the Panacea fruit, but easier to administer and ingest. "It is an all-purpose cure, with broadly the same effects as the Panacea fruit. It will cure most toxins and mitigate the effects of the nanite bioweapons until the precise cure can be administered."
Sedayne frowned in thought, and once more, his subordinates shifted behind, clearly bursting with questions but unwilling to voice them.
Isha truly did not enjoy these sessions.
Unfortunately, there were times when these lessons were unavoidable, such as now, with reports coming in of the Pan-Pacific Empire's remnants unleashing ever more dangerous weapons in desperation.
Devising and mass-producing a counter was easy enough, but the nanite bioweapons were so widespread that it was prudent to teach the Emperor's genewrights how to counter them, instead of just letting them reverse-engineer her work in their own time as she usually did.
Astarte was easier to work with, but she was occupied with some secret project the Emperor had assigned her to.
Sedayne opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he could do so, the laboratory door swung open and a corona of light entered.
"This lesson is over. Lady Isha and I have matters to discuss. Leave."
The genewrights hurried to their feet and fled, though their curiosity and envy only deepened.
Isha sighed and crossed her arms.
"Is it truly necessary to frighten your own servants?" She asked the Emperor dryly.
Her exasperation faded as she noticed the Emperor's tense posture, however. To the mortals, he projected the image of a shining golden titan, implacable and invincible, but she could see the tension and fear lurking below the surface.
"We need to talk," The Emperor said curtly. "There are urgent matters to be dealt with."
Isha frowned. "Did you discover something in the Ethnarchy?" She asked quietly. "Men of Iron? Chaos corruption?"
The Emperor did not seem as terse or panicked as he had been when he had received the news of the Pan-Pacific Empire, but she could not imagine what else would have alarmed him so.
"Men of Iron, of a sort," The Emperor responded grimly. "The Ethnarchy does not have an STC, but they do have armies of automatons, based on scraps of designs from the Iron War. Not true Men of Iron, but still dangerous and given time to build up, they could easily become a more dangerous threat."
"But…so did Kalagann," Isha noted, puzzled. Why was the Emperor so disconcerted by this? He had not been remotely fazed by the daemon-possessed automatons that the warlord had sent against them then. "Are the Ethnarchy's designs much stronger?"
She suspected that there was something else to it, however.
The Emperor confirmed her suspicions with a shake of his head. "The Ethnarchy is not alone," The Emperor said grimly. "They have allied with the Selenar gene-cults, and more than they are being sponsored by Mars, which has been feeding them weapons and resources. But more than anything else, the fact that concerns me most is that I did not know about this."
His words fairly vibrated with fury, and Isha quickly understood what he meant. "Your sight had not shown you anything before now, then?"
"No," He seethed. "I had no inkling of this until I went to the Ethnarchy. The Ethnarchy and Selenar are not corrupted by Chaos, I am certain of that, but there is a veil over them, a veil over all my remaining enemies, that was not there even with Kalagann. I did not need to go into the heart of Kalagann's domain to even notice that Chaos was seeking to block my sight!"
"...if they are willing to conceal even those not actually in their service from you, then Chaos must be up to something," Isha concluded. "The question is, how do we uncover their plans?"
"I do not know yet," The Emperor growled. "But I suspect even the Pan-Pacific Empire was a distraction. Yet, I cannot divine what their true goal is. It could be Luna, Mars, Venus, Sedna, even something outside of Sol, but I cannot tell."
Isha shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Divination had never been her speciality. She knew how to do it, to be a god and be entirely incapable of reading the strands of fate was impossible, but the Emperor was undoubtedly her superior in that area.
If he had taken this long to merely notice the extent to which Chaos was obscuring his vision, then she certainly had no advice to offer.
"Until I can find a way to penetrate their veil, I must find a way to reclaim the initiative and crush this alliance swiftly," The Emperor said, his eyes turning molten gold. "I am already considerably further along than I would be without your help, but it is clear now that I must accelerate my work even further."
Left unsaid but still clearly understood was this, whatever it was, was almost certainly Chaos's response to the agreement Isha had forged with the Emperor. It was inevitable that it would come, but for the Four to obscure the Emperor's ability to predict them so thoroughly was…unexpected.
"I will personally lead the campaign to crush the Ethnarchy and Selenar immediately," The Emperor continued. "And you will be coming with me."
Isha started in shock, wondering if she had misheard. She stared at the Emperor, waiting for him to add something else, but he merely gazed back at her impassively.
"This is…unexpected," She managed finally. The Emperor had never taken her along on one of his military campaigns, and being honest, she had not even thought he ever would.
"I would prefer to simply unleash my full might against the Ethnarchy and scour it immediately," The Emperor admitted. "But you know why I cannot do that."
"Yes," Isha acknowledged sombrely. She knew, of course, but after the Emperor's response to the one time she had called him a god, she had thought it best not to discuss it with him.
"Speed is of the essence," The Emperor said after a long moment, clearly not wishing to dwell on the matter of his divinity. "The Chaos corruption of the Empire must be cleansed, and swiftly, and your aid will make that go much faster. Once the Empire's remnants are dealt with, I can focus all my efforts on the Ethnarchy."
"Understood," Isha said, hope surging in her veins. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, this was a sign of progress. Perhaps the alliance she desired was not so far out of her reach as she had thought. "Do you have a specific timetable in mind?"
"Not as such, merely that we should be quick. I have bought us some time," The Emperor said. "I did sabotage key sections of the Ethnarchy's infrastructure, and even if I had not, it would take them a decade or more to be truly equal to the Imperium. Nevertheless, I wish for Terra to be unified as swiftly and cleanly as possible."
Isha nodded. "What are the rules I have to obey while on this campaign?" She was not so foolish as to assume this was going to be unconditional.
"Broadly the same as our first expedition to terraform the dead city," The Emperor told her. "With one addition: keep your interactions with Horus to a minimum, and if he comes to you, be patient but tell him nothing."
Isha's eyebrows shot up. "You are bringing Horus along on this campaign?" That was an even bigger sign of trust than she had thought.
"I am. It is time for Horus to get his first taste of true war, and the responsibilities he will have to bear in time."
Privately, Isha doubted the wisdom of bringing a child, even one with accelerated growth to the war front, but it was not her place to give the Emperor advice on parenting.
"Is there anything I am not to tell him, beyond my true nature?" Isha inquired.
"Only one thing: the true nature of Chaos."
Isha absorbed this for a long moment, attempting to make sense of it. "You…do not wish for your son to understand what Chaos is."
"Yes," The Emperor said calmly as if this wasn't one of the most ridiculous things she had ever heard him say. "The knowledge that the Warp exists and is filled with predators is not something I intend to conceal, of course. I could not do so even if I wanted to. But I intend to keep the true nature of Chaos a secret, privy only to those who need to know. Horus does not need to know."
Isha had several responses to that, but she clamped down on each of them, seeing the steely glint in the Guardian's eyes. The Emperor was extending her a great deal of trust, by taking her along on this campaign and permitting her to interact with his son, she could not endanger that.
If she was going to convince the Emperor to listen to her on such matters, she needed his trust and respect. And she did not have enough of either.
Not yet.
"I will do as you say, Your Majesty," Isha said. "Rest assured, Horus will learn nothing about my true nature or Chaos from me."
"Good," The Emperor paused a moment before speaking again. "However, I have been thinking. Horus was curious about you and continues to be so. In my experience, the best way to quell curiosity is to let the curious discover a portion of the truth, and let them think that is the whole truth. I intend to tell Horus the same thing I told Astarte: that you are a refugee of the Fall of the Eldar, a biomancer who offered your knowledge to me in exchange for protection from your enemies. Nothing else, however."
"A good idea," Isha said, and she meant it. Though it was still exasperating in its way, that the Emperor could flicker between insightful and blind to the nature of others so quickly. "I suspect he will have questions about my children and the Fall, however. How do you wish for me to answer his questions?"
The Emperor shrugged carelessly. "Simply tell him that your children destroyed themselves through their own folly, by delving too deep into the mysteries of the Warp and falling to decadence, believing they could master it utterly to fuel their excesses. It is the truth, after all. He does not need to know of Chaos to understand that part."
Part of Isha wanted to bristle with the casual contempt with which he described her children and their destruction…but he wasn't wrong. Her children had destroyed themselves, and they had done so so thoroughly that Isha feared that no matter what she did, she could not save them.
"...certainly. However, what should I say if he has questions about things such as what my children are like? Our technology and culture? Children are curious, and I doubt he will not confine himself entirely to questions about my people's fall."
"Hmm," The Emperor seemed to pause at that. "A good point. Deflect him as best as you can. Tell him it is too painful for you to remember. In any case, I will do my best to keep him occupied and ensure he has little time to interact with you, as well as discourage any interest he may have in alien cultures."
"I will do my best," Isha said politely, already mentally composing explanations for Horus which would satisfy him and not annoy the Emperor.
"Good," The Emperor nodded. "We set out this evening, I will meet with Horus and get him ready. Be at the dock in three hours."
Hours later, Isha waited upon the central deck of the Emperor's flying fortress, leaning against a wall when the Emperor and Horus entered.
"-and this is the strategium, from where I will lead and organize the battle. Your duty, my son, is to watch and learn. One day, you will command ships like this yourself, but for now, you must see how the work is done first."
The Emperor was speaking to the boy as they entered, his hand on Horus's shoulder. The young demigod looked healthy and happy, having grown considerably since she had last seen him, wearing robes much like his father's instead of the guard uniform she had seen him in the last time.
The Emperor's eyes flickered to her, and for a moment, he was debating internally whether or not to come over to her, before making his decision.
"And here is Lady Isha, Horus. She will be helping me with my campaign. You have met her before." There was a slight reproach in the last part of the sentence but nothing severe.
"Horus," Isha said, curtseying in the human style. "It is good to see you in good health, young man."
Horus however, eyed her a little sourly, clearly remembering how she had brushed him off at their last meeting. "Hey," He mumbled somewhat sullenly.
"Horus," The Emperor said, a stronger reproach in his voice. "Remember your manners, son."
Horus scowled but relented. "Hello, Lady Isha." He said, drawing himself up and making a deliberate effort to speak as stiffly and coldly as he could, obeying the basic rules of decorum while refusing to be warm.
The Emperor looked exasperated, but Isha could not help but be amused. She was far too old and experienced to be offended by the sulkiness of a child.
This was going to be an interesting campaign if nothing else.
Aqua Ghyranis is from Age of Sigmar.
And here's an invite code for my Discord server for anyone interested: pY6z3uPJ