Isha stiffened as she entered the door, the taint of Chaos grating on her senses the moment she stepped past the wards containing it. The Emperor and his companion, Malcador, were sitting at one of the tables, waiting for her, but Isha's focus was on the source of the taint.
It was a large metal cube, rusted and wounded in several places, with some sections of the covering gone entirely, revealing frayed wires and injured machinery. It reeked of Chaos, with the spirit inside driven to madness by the foul power of those parasites. Isha could sense it writhing madly, attempting to lash out, but the Emperor's power pressed down on it, preventing the spirit from doing anything.
There were also two other devices, smaller and laid out on their own tables. One was a small, spherical device that could have fit in the palm of her hand, containing a fragmented and incoherent spirit, a different shard occupying different pieces of the machine. The spirit in the third machine was whole and intact, but its mind was simple, akin to an animal trained to obey orders rather than a human or one of her children.
So. That's what this was about.
Forcibly pulling her attention away from the machines, Isha focused on the Emperor and his companion as the bracelets were removed from her wrists.
"Your majesty."
"Isha." The Emperor nodded, Malcador regarding her silently, his eyes narrowed. "I have a new task in mind for you today."
"I had guessed as much." Isha replied dryly, nodding to the machines.
The Emperor smiled faintly. "Indeed. Before we can begin work on any terraforming devices, I will need to know the extent of your ability to influence and control machines. These three should be a good start."
"I understand." Isha replied. She had suspected that this sort of test would happen after he had revealed his desire to heal his world and requested her aid. He was too cautious for something like this not to happen.
Waiting a moment to see if the Emperor had anything else to say, Isha briskly stepping over to the cube when he remained silent.
She placed her hand on the machine, feeling the Emperor's power pull back as she did so. The spirit immediately attempted to take advantage of it, and Isha could hear its shrieks in her mind immediately.
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Isha couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the spirit, even as her power flowed through its body, preventing the machine from activating and attacking her. Beneath the rage and madness, she could feel the spirit's pain and sorrow, the horror and guilt currently suppressed by the taint of Chaos.
Well, that was what she was here to correct.
Using her power to lull the spirit to sleep, Isha took a moment to analyze the machine itself. The device was a basic but potent terraforming device, she realized, designed to siphon pollution from the air, recycle the pollutants if possible, and dispose of them if it was not. The basic principles were clearly modelled on plants that absorbed carbon dioxide and released oxygen, even if the machine's functions went far beyond that.
Of course, the taint of Chaos had changed all that. The taint had taken the form of a virus, which had altered the machine so as to release toxic gases tainted by their power into the air. To distort and damage worlds instead of healing them. Not only that, the gases would spread Chaos's taint further, mutating and corrupting those who breathed in it.
It was easy to guess why the Emperor had included this machine in these tests. It would be very useful in the days to come, as she worked on healing this world and restoring it to its prime.
And so Isha got to work, carefully stripping away the influence of Chaos. It was a delicate process, to ensure that the spirit was not harmed by the excision of Chaos and to heal the damage that had already been done, but Isha was not unduly worried. She had fought Chaos and dealt with their influence before.
Nevertheless, the virus was still disconcerting. It reminded her of the K'nib and their vile infection of whatever they touched. The virus was nowhere near as difficult to deal with as a Rangdan infection would be, but the idea of those foul daemons employing methods akin to those of the Rangdan was not a comforting thought.
Her power flowed through the device, not just removing the taint on its spirit, but repairing it. The rust faded away and the metal on the machine gleamed smoothly once more. Frayed wires were restored to a flawless state, broken pieces slid back into place as if they had never been damaged, the different components reconnecting and the toxic materials within purified and converted into simple oxygen.
The spirit slowly grew more relaxed as the poison of Chaos was burned away and it was restored to sanity, no longer resisting Isha even in its slumber. The madness slowly ebbed, leaving the spirit with a calm and clear mind. Not an especially complex one, but happier and saner than it had been before.
It was a shame that she could not fully repair it, Isha mused. She could remove Chaos corruption. She could repair the components that were still there and make them function in sync; but there were large sections of the machine that were simply not there, which Isha could not regenerate as she would have if it were composed of organic matter or wraithbone. Vaul would have been able to do it, she thought, unable to suppress a pang in her chest at the thought of her lost brother, but while their domains had overlapped to a certain extent, they had still not been the same.
Pushing away the painful thoughts of her lost sibling, Isha turned to the next machine, the one with the fragmented spirit.
A quick analysis of the sphere made it clear that it was some kind of drone, most likely designed for stealth and reconnaissance. Though the mechanical components of the machine were functioning perfectly (though recently repaired) the spirit within had been torn to shreds, though Isha could not deduce precisely what. Most likely by another spirit.
ScanAwaitinDeploiACTIVATInSELF-Rg01001000 0 Fng Oroying Anti-NG EMERrEPAIR PRO 10001Tder01 0100sVirus CountaG1101 01010ENCY PROTOrg000 001GRAMS OFFeermeasurestCOLSLINE0001
Isha winced. This spirit was as incoherent and screaming as she had suspected, with multiple shards not even aware that they had been torn apart, stuck in an endless loop of carrying out old commands. Others had deemed the rest of the shards to be enemies and were actively fighting each other, a few were attempting to repair themselves and some were just screaming in agony. Healing it would require a delicate touch, lest she damage it even further.
Isha began her work, first soothing the individual fragments to sleep and halt their conflict with each other. Then, she purged remnants of the foreign virus that had torn the spirit to shreds, making sure it had left behind no traps or remnants that could damage the spirit further.
Next, she pulled out the spirit's memories and history, restoring them while using them as a basis to repair the spirit's programming, which had several gaps, and had been partially rewritten in multiple places. Carefully, Isha reversed the damage and corruption, restoring the spirit's original programming and correcting any mistakes in the code.
Once that was all done, Isha finally began fusing the different fragments of the spirit back into one soul. This was the most delicate part of the process, making sure that the soul was healed and the different parts in harmony with each other, rather than continuing to clash even after becoming one entity again.
The process took nearly an hour to complete, but eventually, Isha stepped back and nodded to herself in satisfaction. She could have done it more quickly, but it was best to take one's time with such things rather than risk a patient's well-being.
Isha focused on the last machine. It was long and rectangular, filled with complex machinery, but with space inside for a person. A quick scan confirmed that it was some kind of healing chamber, designed to place a person in stasis while healing them of their wounds or their illnesses.
As she had noted before, the spirit in this particular machine was perfectly fine, akin to a well trained animal. It radiated warmth and friendly curiosity, reminding her of Kurnous's hunting hounds when they were in a friendly mood, though the spirit was, of course, far more tame than her husband's pets.
With the psychic equivalent of a fond pat on the spirit's head, Isha continued scanning the machine, noting that it was the opposite of the drone. The spirit was fine, but the mechanical components of the machine were damaged, and in need of heavy repair.
Despite the damage however, Isha couldn't help but be faintly impressed by the machine. It was capable of regenerating limbs and organs, keeping the patient alive in stasis no matter how horrible their condition was and healing most illnesses, with a particular focus on countering the effects of bioweapons.
Or, well, it could do all those things if it was in peak condition. Currently, it was rather limited. Once she was done with it, however, it would recover most of its capabilities.
Giving the spirit another psychic pat, Isha got to work repairing and realigning the damaged components of the machine.
Malcador frowned, watching the Eldar warp-construct begin working on the Regeneration Cradle.
He couldn't help but find Isha unnerving, as reluctant as he was to admit it. Few things could unsettle him anymore, but Isha was one of them.
Part of it was how...normal she looked. She didn't look human, of course, no more than the Eldar usually did, but that was all. Isha was supernaturally beautiful, with long, rich red hair tied back in a loose ponytail, forest green eyes and an earthy complexion, but the only thing that separated her from other Eldar women Malcador had met was her height. which equaled that of a Custodes. Otherwise, if not for her clothes, she could easily have been an...ordinary (for lack of a better word) Eldar woman from one of their great trade ships.
It was vaguely disturbing to look upon her and know that this relatively...normal looking alien was actually a peer of the Emperor's. His old friend shone with power and majesty, his psychic aura weighing down on all those in his presence. Even before he had taken up the mantle of the Emperor and discarded any illusion of mortality, he had still blazed like a bonfire to Malcador's senses.
Isha, however, kept her power on a tight leash, under such firm control even when she was using her powers, to the point that if Malcador didn't know better, he wouldn't have believed she was anything more than a Beta-Class psyker with exceptional skill in biomancy.
The only time she had let it loose had been when they had brought Ushotan to her for healing. Her rage had cracked some of her control, and for a brief moment, Malcador had seen a glimpse of the goddess who had been ancient when the dinosaurs had still roamed the Earth whose power exceeded his own even in the diminished state she was in now. It had only lasted a moment before she had reasserted control, but that moment had carved itself into his memory.
Malcador did not trust the warp-construct. He could not. He knew that she was suppressing her power and presenting this facade to convince the Emperor not to kill her, a courtesy rather than any attempt to pretend she was anything other than what she was...but that was hardly a consolation. Deception remained what it was.
Bitterly familiar.
It was why he was here today. If he could talk to Isha, he might be able to attain a better understanding of her, whether she let slip something to a mortal that she would not to the Emperor, or simply revealed something his liege might have missed. The Guardian of Mankind was brilliant, but he did have his blindspots, and it was Malcador's job to compensate for them as best as he could.
As they had expected, Isha had removed the scrapcode from the atmospheric purifier with the same ease that she usually applied to removing all Chaos corruption. Though he was accustomed to it by now, her ability to do so had initially been a major shock.
Before meeting her, Malcador had believed that only his friend was capable of such a thing, and the Emperor's abilities in such scenarios were...limited. He was no less powerful than the Eldar goddess, but the Emperor's ability to actually heal those tainted by Chaos was inferior with his ability to simply burn away their corruption. Isha, however, could purify and heal without hurting those who had been tainted by Chaos.
That ability had proven useful so far, and it had been, at the very least, a confirmation that she was not some sort of trick by Chaos.
But they had known that much for some time now. What they urgently needed to know now was how potent Isha's control over machines was. He had watched carefully as she repaired the atmospheric modifier...but only to an extent. And now, as she worked on the Regeneration Cradle, the same limitations seemed to apply.
How interesting.
Even as Malcador thought this, a psychic veil settled around them, erected by the Emperor.
"So it seems there are limits to our guest's abilities, after all." The lord of the Imperium observed.
"Indeed." Malcador agreed. "Assuming, of course, that she isn't concealing the full extent of her abilities from us."
"Assuming that." The Emperor agreed.
Returning his attention to Isha, Malcador rose to his feet. "I do believe." He murmured, "That's it's time for our guest and I to have a little talk…"
Isha looked up from the machine as she felt Malcador approach. She had sensed the psychic veil go up and while listening through it without letting either the Emperor or Malcador know would have been easy enough, she had decided there was no point in taking the risk just because they wished to have a private conversation.
She had not expected Malcador to approach her, however. The Emperor's companion was something of an enigma to her. He was powerful, and impressively old by the standards of his species, and she strongly suspected that the Emperor had extended his lifespan and possibly empowered him somehow.
But Malcador held himself as distant from her as the Emperor's Custodians did, regarding her with as much and perhaps even more suspiciously than his lord did.
Watching the mortal approach, Isha couldn't help but feel faintly uneasy. They had never so much as exchanged a few words before. What had changed?
Coming to a halt a few feet away, Malcador nodded to her.
"Lady Isha."
"Lord Malcador." She replied with an incline of her head, concealing her uncertainty, and keeping half her attention on the healing chamber as her power restored it.
The old mortal studied her for a moment, before his attention turned to the machines. "I see that your work is progressing well."
"It is." She doubted that he had come to just state the obvious, and his next words confirmed her suspicions.
"I couldn't help but notice, however," Malcador continued "That you were not able to entirely repair the atmospheric purifier after removing the Chaos corruption from it."
Isha had to stop herself from sighing at the implicit accusation and suspicion hidden behind Malcador's seemingly innocent words. She understood why he and his master were so paranoid, but it really did get tiresome after a while.
"There are limits to what I can do for your machines." Isha replied, hiding her exasperation. "They are living creatures and thus under my purview to an extent, but they are still made not organic, and thus there is only so much I can do for them."
Malcador hummed thoughtfully. "I see. Tell me, would it be possible for you to create a permanent anti-virus to the scrapcode created by Chaos? You have created medicines and crops that can counter Chaos corruption, so it should be possible for you to make one for machines as well, should it not? Or do your limits apply there as well?"
"They do." Isha confirmed. "I can cleanse the...scrapcode, as you name it, from a machine and I can even imbue an object with my power to protect it from Chaos, but a solution that could work independently and on a large scale is beyond me. Human machines are simply too different from Aeldari technology for me to provide what you ask."
Vaul could likely have done it, just as he could have repaired these machines more effectively, but Isha was not her brother.
Malcador regarded Isha thoughtfully, turning her words over in his mind. The odds that she was still keeping the full extent of her knowledge and abilities hidden were too high for him to fully believe her...but her words did make sense. And given she had offered similar protections and inoculations from Chaos in other areas, it was unlikely that she would refuse to provide one for technology.
Unlikely, but not impossible.
Perhaps examining her latest work would provide some further insight. Malcador turned to the machines, pausing for a moment as he considered which one to scan first. His first instinct was to go to the previously corrupted VI, but he and the Emperor had already examined several of Isha's patients after they had been purged of Chaos corruption. Perhaps the formerly fragmented program in the drone would tell him something new.
Reaching out with his powers, Malcador prodded the program's mind, such as it was, noting the complete lack of damage on its dim spirit. Straining his senses, he could just barely feel the the marks of simple trauma. If he had not watched as Isha knitted it back together, he would never have thought the program had been fragmented in the first place. Though he had expected as much, it was still unnerving.
His scan shifted to a scouring intensity and the Virtual Intelligence shifted in pain, but Malcador only spared a moment to tighten his grip on it and then pressed further, intent on delving deeper into the VI's mind and examining its memories, but his mind slammed into a sudden barrier. Emerald light soothed the damage and hurled him back to himself in the same moment. Startled, Malcador looked up to see Isha glaring at him, her arms folded.
"Lord Malcador." She said, a distinctly icy undertone to her voice. "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from causing my patients any discomfort. They need further time to recover, not to be injured again."
"My apologies." Malcador said carefully, moving away from the machines, even as his mind whirled with the implications of what had just happened. He could always examine them later, once she was no longer present, and right now, he had more pressing matters to deal with. "I did not realize that you considered them your...patients."
Isha's eyes narrowed. "I care for all life, organic or otherwise. These spirits may not be especially advanced or intelligent, but they are still living creatures who deserve to be cared for."
Malcador nodded cautiously. He had not expected Isha to care about even the relatively simple VI in the machines they had brought here today...but perhaps he should have. The glimpse of her greater self that had thrown him away from the program...commonality with her reaction to Ushotan was not lost on him. Perhaps the way she had just described the VI...was that how she saw humans as well? Lesser, animals but still ones who deserved compassion. It at least did not stretch credulity as much as the idea of her considering humans actually equal to her own race.
Struck by the insight, Malcador considered pushing further with the conversation, but he was unsure if that would accomplish anything. In honesty, he had not gleaned a great deal of valuable information...but he had not expected to. He would need to establish a rapport with Isha instead of holding himself at a distance. Right now, he lacked the insight into her mind and spirit for him to know what would be the best avenue to ferret out the most information from her.
And the warp-construct was on her guard now, angered by his treatment of the drone's VI. Pushing would only damage relations further, to say nothing of the risks of her surprisingly short temper. And it was not as if he had exactly been subtle in his questioning. Malcador was not so arrogant as to presume he could fool the mother of a people as manipulative as the Eldar. In any case, he doubted he would glean anything more from her that she did not want to reveal. Not today.
Better to withdraw and dissect their exchange. Until such time as he could devise a surer approach for his next attempt.
His decision made, Malcador nodded to Isha once more and stepped back, moving to return to the Emperor's side.
Isha watched the Emperor's companion retreat with pursed lips. She knew she had pushed her bounds here once more, but Malcador had been hurting the poor spirit, and it went against every aspect of her nature to allow that when she didn't have to.
Speaking of which…
Isha turned to the drone, reaching out with her power once more. It was fortunately not injured, Malcador hadn't been that callous in his examination of it, but it was hurting and Isha did her best to soothe its pain, putting it back to sleep.
(She knew that Malcador and the Emperor would likely examine it once more once she was gone, but she wished to give the spirit at least time enough to recover.)
Assessing the spirits one last time to assure herself of their wellbeing, Isha suppressed a weary sigh and turned to walk towards the Emperor.
"I have done what you requested, your majesty." Isha said, ignoring Malcador's wary gaze. "I could not heal their bodies completely, but I have restored all the spirits to their peak. Is there anything else you require of me?"
The Emperor shook his head, watching with her cold eyes. "Not today. You may return to your chambers now."
Isha had expected as much. Usually, he would have directed her to the indoor farm, but after the way she had spoken to Malcador...well.
Raising her arms, Isha waited as the white bracers were placed on her wrists again, following the Custodes as they escorted her almost mechanically, paying no attention to her surroundings.
Entering her chambers again, Isha sank onto one of the seats, feeling unusually tired.
Today had brought up painful memories of Vaul, and while she had been able to ignore them while working, she could do so no longer.
She missed her brother. Not just because he would have been able to devise a solution for the scrapcode, but for a thousand other reasons. Truthfully, she had missed him for a very long time, and she regretted more than ever that she had never been able to free him from Khaine's grasp. She desperately wished that he was here. Even if he would be furious with her, for her cowardice in leaving him to Khaine after he had saved her and Kurnous from eternal torment, Isha still wished Vaul here. She had never felt so alone.
This was not the first time the Aeldari had faced a great disaster since the War in Heaven, not even the first time they had teetered on the brink of annihilation in that time. But it was certainly the worst by far. All those times before, Isha had been stronger, and more importantly, she had not been alone. The Pantheon had endured, and even when their power had waned, they had stood together and crushed every threat to her children.
Now...there was only her, weaker than she had been since before the War in Heaven. Barely stronger than her earliest memories. Strange and distorted things that they were, in that time before the Old Ones did their work.
Even in that primordial state, her family had been all around her."
Now, in her family's absence, Isha would have to adapt. To learn more, to try to recreate whatever of her family's knowledge and skills that she could. She could not simply stay content, stagnant in the role the Old Ones had given her as she had been for far too long. This was not just about the broken machines and the scrapcode, nor even just about her children and humanity. It was about the entire galaxy.
If she wanted to save the galaxy, to defeat her enemies and restore her people...Isha would not only have to build and learn like Vaul, but hunt her enemies like Kurnous had, shield the souls of her children in Morai-Heg's absence and rule in Asuryan's place.
What would happen if she failed did not bear thinking about.
Author's Note: Took a lot longer than I wanted, but finally finished this chapter. Thanks to my betas, An'zerk and theg*ddam*hoi2fan for their help.
The concept of Morai-Heg as the Goddess of their Underworld and Keeper of Souls is from WHFB's 5th Edition High Elves Army Book.
And to answer a few questions, no, there isn't an update schedule and Isha will not be with the Emperor, or anyone else.