"Only Malcador and the commanders of the Custodians are aware of your true nature." The Emperor told Isha as they strode through the hallways of the warship. "Everyone else aware of your existence only knows that you are a powerful Eldar who specializes in biomancy, to whom I have granted protection in exchange for your knowledge and services. Do not tell anyone anything that could allow them to deduce who and what you truly are."
"I will not." Isha assured him. While she was less inclined to abide by the Emperor's rules now than she had been before, there was no point in circumventing his restrictions unless it served an actual purpose.
The Emperor pinned her with his piercing gaze for a moment, and Isha wondered for a moment if he had noticed what she had done to her plants before leaving his fortress. Though there was little reason to believe that he wouldn't have confronted her by now if he knew.
But the Emperor gave no indication that he had detected her designs, and instead merely nodded sharply after a moment. "Good."
They walked in silence after that, until they finally arrived at a door flanked by two Custodes, whose inhumanely crisp stance sharpened even further in the presence of their liege, though they did nothing else as he and Isha entered the lab.
The lab was not too different from the familiar one in the Emperor's fortress. It was clean, white and sterile, with the same counters, shelves, chairs and tables, the last of which had a number of sample boxes on them. The beds for her patients were absent, but in their place was some sort of square, silver console, presumably some sort of computation device. The only difference, if it could be called that, was that there were no wards centred on the room, only the ones that covered the entire vessel.
And there, standing next to the console was a woman, dressed in a white and blue coat over a blue shirt and trousers.
"Your majesty." The woman said, bowing deeply to the Emperor as the two of them strode towards her.
"Director." The Emperor nodded to her as she straightened. "Isha, this is the head of my Biotechnical Division, Amar Astarte. She examined much of your work. She has already learned much from the work you have provided to me previously, but I believe she will benefit from a more personal perspective on your skills."
"A pleasure." Isha nodded, regarding the human woman curiously. Her features were old, with steely grey hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and wrinkled skin, but Isha could sense the enhancements below the superficial appearance of an ordinary, aged mortal. The scientist looked old, but Isha estimated that Astarte was in truth healthier and stronger than most humans in their prime.
Astarte nodded to her. "Lady Isha. It's good to finally meet you. Your work has been most impressive."
"Thank you." Isha replied, inclining her head. "I am flattered that you think so."
"Flattery has no nothing to do with it." Astarte said simply. "Your work is beyond anything else I have ever seen." Isha could sense the truth in her words, and a genuine interest and excitement at working with her, but there was also fear and resentment, carefully concealed and deeply buried. Partly a fear of Isha's alien nature and powers, but...mostly, a fear of being replaced.
A baseless fear, in truth, but Isha had a suspicion that the Emperor allowed it to drive Astarte further, to accomplish more in efforts to prove her worth. It seemed like the sort of manipulative tactic that he would favour.
But none of that truly mattered at the moment, so Isha simply said. "I appreciate that. So tell me, is there anything you have in mind for this project?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Astarte nodded, stepping forward to touch the console and activating a miniature holographic display of a ruined city, the entire projection glowing red.
"As the Emperor has already told you, this city was destroyed by a nuclear bomb some decades ago, deployed by a warlord who did not wish to surrender the city to the Imperium. The city has been kept in lockdown ever since, though with your aid, we now hope to clear out the radiation and make it suitable for rebuilding and inhabitation once more."
Astarte paused for a moment, apparently hesitating over something before speaking again. "Imperial expeditions into the city discovered something that I believe we can use and would fit with your talents in particular: radiotrophic fungus. They have evolved to feed on radiation and use it as a source of sustenance." Astarte gestured to the boxes on the table. "We have a number of samples here, which I believe you can enhance to grow and absorb radiation more swiftly and efficiently than they already do, so that they can be used as tools to clear the city of radiation. The fungus in their natural state do not clear radiation, of course, but that should not be difficult for you to change."
"Ah." Isha nodded. "A clever idea." And it truly was. Isha did not need the fungus to create a plant that could clear radiation, but it was an intelligent plan nevertheless, and if she were truly the mortal biomancer that Astarte believed her to be, the fungus would have been an excellent base to build on.
Astarte smiled faintly. "Thank you. So, shall we begin?"
"Yes, let's." Isha replied, before pausing for a moment as something occurred to her. "Your Majesty, will you be removing my bracelets, or would you prefer for me to work with them on?"
"You will keep them on for now." The Emperor replied. "Given your previous work, there should be no need for their absence right now."
"I understand." Isha nodded, moving over to the table. While it would have been nice to have the bracelets removed, she didn't truly need them gone to do something as simple as this, and given the spike of fear at her words -and the relief at the Emperor's response- Isha had sensed from Astarte, it was likely best to keep them on for now.
Opening the boxes, Isha examined the array of small black fungi inside, analyzing their DNA. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she traced their evolution, realizing how quickly they must have adapted to the nuclear radiation saturating the place where they had grown. It was nice to see an example of nature's resilience and adaptiveness, something she'd have to live up to in the centuries to come.
But that was a thought for another time. Raising her head, Isha spoke. "Beyond increasing the efficiency and lifespan of these fungi, is there any specific modification that you would like me to make?"
"I would like to see you make the standard enhancements and analyze those first." Astarte said, her eyes filled with curiosity. "But I do have some ideas I would like you to test later."
"Of course." Isha said, inclining her head, but before she could say anything else, the Emperor spoke.
"It seems that you two have the work well in hand, then. I have some other matters to attend to, so I must depart, though I will return in a few hours."
Isha regarded him, genuinely surprised he was willing to leave her alone with a mortal, before she realized with a spark of annoyance that this must be another one of his tests, though whether it was for her or Astarte, she could not say.
Astarte, however, tensed, and her fear spiked once more, though she did not outwardly express it, merely bowing again. "Of course, Lord Emperor."
The Guardian of Mankind nodded crisply, and departed before Isha could say anything else, leaving the goddess and mortal alone with each other.
Author's Note: I dragged myself away from Star Wars long enough to write this up before the year ended. Hope you all enjoy it. And yes, radiotrophic fungus are an actual thing.