Alesia was beginning to wonder if asking her brothers for help was a wise idea. Robute was acting as a mentor and advisor in this project, which had been named the Elysian Project, and she was forever grateful for his guidance. Perturabo, however, may have gone a little overboard with the construction of the first greenhouse.
"Uh, Pert, I thought we agreed on the size of the greenhouse? Why is it ten times the original size?" Alesia asked her brother over Discordia as she read the progress report the hive city's governor sent her minutes ago. The governor had added a note expressing their concern over the unplanned size of the building and the Imperial Princess had the same concern as well.
"I figured it would be more beneficial to have more space to grow plants, and it'll provide more food for the city," was his explanation, clearly forgetting a few key details.
"Big brother dearest," she resent him the plans pertaining to a few buildings surrounding the greenhouse, "you demolished buildings that would act as warehouses and processing facilities. This is why there are multiple greenhouses on each level of a hive city and not just one massive greenhouse."
There was silence over the call as Perturabo processed what he'd done.
She sighed and continued, "It's still in the construction phase, so we can adjust it to have storage and some processing capabilities. If needed, I can speak with the governor and find some buildings that can be repurposed for what is needed."
"I'll get on with the adjustments," he finally said, clearly not happy with this oversight.
"Brother, if you want to make them grander, just run it by me or Robute. We're all a team in this, and we want to hear your ideas so we can incorporate them with the plans."
"Okay, sister. I'll see you on Vermintide later?"
"If Konrad doesn't try to pillage the rhubarbs again, then yes."
"I will never understand his obsession with those vegetables aside from how they grow fast in minimal lighting."
The call ended and Alesia leaned back in her plush chair with a sigh. It had been five months since the beginning of the project, and while there had been minimal complications with the first run, the Imperial Princess found herself mentally drained from the task. The governor had been resistant to the idea of the project until they sampled the fruits and vegetables and enthusiastically jumped onboard, even going as far as to set aside land outside the city to cultivate some of the crops that thrived better outside. The denizens were overly curious about the project, so it wasn't difficult finding laborers to work on the task.
Discordia began to chime and Alesia saw it was Rogal Dorn calling her this time. She quickly answered the call.
"Hey, Rogal."
"Greetings, little sister," her stoic brother greeted her. "I heard about the Elysian Project."
"Aaaaand you're wondering why you weren't asked to help with the project."
"Very astute, sister."
"Last I checked, you and Horus are in the middle of a campaign on the opposite side of the galaxy, and Perturabo was building up his system further and figured assisting the Elysian Project would give him some ideas to incorporate in some of the infertile worlds he conquered. If all goes well, the plans for these greenhouses will be available for the rest of the Imperium to use."
"A wise decision overall. Has he stayed on course?"
"He got a little carried away with the first one, but we can still correct it before it's completion."
"Hmm. This project just may be what Perturabo needs. He has been stuck in the trenches for far too long in this crusade."
"I'm more surprised you're not bad talking Pert considering all the bad blood between you two."
"….I can understand that." He actually sounded ashamed. Alesia couldn't remember the last time Rogal had expressed any emotion around her aside happiness or concern. "Maybe I should treat him more of a brother and not competition."
"Ever heard of hydroponic farming?"
"What?"
Robute Guilliman enjoyed spending time with his little sister, and his little sister loved to spend time with all of their siblings as much as she could. Playing Vermintide with him, Perturabo and Russ was one example of this.
"Incoming troll!" He heard her call out and her character began to shoot arrows at the troll charging at them.
"Oh shit!" Russ's human character got knocked back and was now hanging on a ledge. "I'm down!"
"I've got you," Guilliman rushed over and saved him.
"Thanks!" They both rejoined the fight and together they slew the beast.
"Troll's dead! Finally!" Alesia cheered and they collected the spoils before moving on. "Off topic, I just got alerted that Konrad tried to steal the rhubarbs again. Apparently he set off all the traps we put up."
"All of them?" Said Russ. "So, he's a bedazzled crow right now?"
A picture of a tarred, colorfully feathered and glittered Konrad being hog tied by three Custodes came up on Discordia and all of them laughed while Alesia cackled in satisfaction.
"I'm glad I asked for Alphie's help for this!" Their sister continued to cackle.
"In all seriousness, though, what are you going to do with him?" Perturabo asked. "This is the third time he's tried to steal those specific vegetables."
"Actually, I got Rogal's help with that." She informed them. "He's letting me borrow some of his best engineers to install a specialized hydroponic garden on Konrad's flagship so he can have his own supply of rhubarbs."
"That's actually a smart idea," Robute said in approval. "But I can still see him trying to break into the gardens just to mess with you."
"Then he's gonna have to deal with the ultra fine arts and crafts herpes for the rest of his life." He was sure their brothers shivered at the thought. Glitter was nearly impossible to remove completely, especially if it gets into fabric or fur. "And before I forget, Pert, Rogal might call you later to ask for assistance. The hydroponic idea got the gears turning in his head and he wants your help in designing something for water worlds."
"Wha…Seriously?" Perturabo sounded incredulous, and Robute couldn't blame him. The two had been at each others throats for the longest time.
"Pert, you are practically the expert in greenhouses, so it's not so surprising—watch it!" An assassin rat jumped Perturabo's dwarf and Alesia's elf quickly slew it.
"Incoming!" Russ called out as a wall of Skavin charged toward them. All talk stopped until the horde had been dealt with. "You guys are taking the Elysian Project seriously."
"Well, it's meant to help the Imperium as a whole," Alesia said. "Healthy denizens make a healthy empire, or something like that."
"We get where you're coming from, little sister," Robute chuckled and continued playing with his siblings. They all knew she put the wellbeing of the citizens first above the rest of the Imperium's concerns, and she had his respect for that.
Three months later and Alesia was disembarking from a transport alongside her father and a squad of Custodes, including her personal guard. This was the first time in this life for her to visit another world. The Emperor had been reluctant in letting her leave Terra at first, but he relented when she made a point that she needed to inspect the greenhouse herself.
They had disembarked in front of the greenhouse in question, which was ten times bigger than planned with the capacity to store and process the food it grew. The Imperial Princes was glad she didn't have to negotiate with the governor to allocate more buildings for storage.
"Ready, daughter?" Her father, garbed in his gold ceremonial armor, asked her with a smile. Alesia smoothed out her dress and calmed her nerves. She wished she was armored up like him instead of wearing this burgundy dress, but she was still too small for her own armor. However, she was adorned with gold jewelry and a golden laurel her father had given her just before they had made their descent to the planet's surface.
"Yes, Father," she responded with her own smile.
They walked down the ramp together and were greeted by Iron Warriors, the laborers that worked on the greenhouse, and a few feet away from the base of the ramp stood the Gulliman and Perturabo.
"All hail the Emperor of Mankind! All hail the Imperial Princess!" An Iron Warrior called out and his Legion brothers bellowed out in response, nearly deafening Alesia. "Hail!"
"Greetings, Father," Guilliman bowed to their father and then addressed his sister, "Welcome to Sindicar, sister."
"It is good to see you both again, my sons," the Emperor greeted both of his sons. "I can see why your sister said you two went overboard with this project just from looking at the outside of this."
"Wait until you see the inside," Perturabo said and stepped to Alesia's side. Her brother offered her his arm and she took it. "I believe a tour is in order!"
Alesia smiled at her brother's infectious enthusiasm and let him lead her toward the building.
"Oi! Don't leave us behind!" Guilliman strode to keep up with them and she heard their father chuckle as he followed them inside. The blonde giant walked abreast with his brother and sister.
Once they stepped in, Alesia was immediately awestruck by the majestic interior and the sheer number of plants already being tended to. The plants were still small as they were recently transplanted, but she could tell they were thriving. She couldn't be more pleased with the end results and seeing the botanists take great care of the specimens. There were also fruit trees growing with blossoms already blooming and workers in what looked like beekeeper equipment were tending to what appeared to be hives close by.
"The locals outside the city told our Legions about these insects that produce a substance similar to honey. They're also beneficial to the plants as pollinators." Guilliman explained, seeing where her eyes had wondered. "Hives have also been set up close to the garden plots outside the city walls."
"This is amazing!" Alesia said, letting go of Perturabo and rushing forward to get a closer look at the specimens. The nearest raised soil bed had rapidly growing strawberries—pink flamingo strawberries to be specific—and she gently held one of the vines sprouting blossoms. These were from the batch of strawberry runners that nearly over ran their section of the Elysian Gardens and were sent off to distant worlds.
"The runners you sent were already sprouting more by the time they arrived," Guilliman informed her as he came up to her. "A majority of them didn't take root, though, so they're not trying to take over this place, yet."
"The botanists back home are still trying to figure out why that happened in the first place," she said, gently laying the vine back down to turn to face him. Out of her peripheral, she saw Perturabo speak with their father. "I'd call this a massive success, big brother. The governor has already approved the rest of the sites for greenhouses and similar facilities."
"You say approved as if he had a choice in the first place," he said as if to remind her of her position. As the Imperial Princess, she held the power to just override the city's governor and proceed with the Elysian Project as she wished, but she refused to abuse her position in such a manner.
"It's easier when everyone involved is willing to cooperate under their own power."
"True, little sister."
The moon was high up in the sky of Sindicar and Alesia was exhausted. The governor had thrown a ball to celebrate the beginning of the Elysian Project that was now going on for four hours. The princess finally broke away silently to an empty balcony and sighed in relief when she got some fresh air.
"Are you alright, my Lady?" Kithes appeared next to her.
"Yes, I just needed some air," she reassured him while internally saying, Screw. This. Stupid. Political. BULLSHIT!!!
In the past as a Commissar, she had to attend political functions as part of the job after a major victory, but she didn't have nearly as many ass kissers come up to her then compared to now. As a princess, she got swarmed by noble girls wanting a connection with her and a line of aspiring boys wanting to dance with her in hopes of potentially courting her later.
"How does Guilliman handle this?" She sighed, slumping over the decorative balcony wall.
"Well, he was raised to handle politics, my Lady," Kithes patted her back. "You've been kept away from it for the most part in favor of combat training and higher forms of education."
"Despite that, you've navigated negotiations with the governor very well," Guilliman's voice startled her and she spun around to see her brother walking up to them. "The rest of the planet's cities are ready to begin constructing greenhouses and word is beginning to spread throughout the Imperium due to the laborers talking of how they were treated during the project."
That had been a point of contention between herself and her brothers at first. She had wanted to provide food to the laborers—specifically, food that would be made from the fruits and vegetables cultivated in the greenhouse they would be building—and her brothers didn't understand at first, causing them to think she was being too soft and naive until she explained her thought process. Alesia wanted the laborers to get a literal taste of what they would make available to the city, thus boost morale and for word to spread among the populace in a positive light. Guilliman had understood after she explained it to him, but Perturabo still held reservations until he saw the results with his own eyes. The workers were more than properly motivated to complete the project and were telling everyone that would listen the treatment they received on the job.
"You've done very well, sister," Guilliman continued with a pleased smile. "Before too long, every hive city across the Imperium will have a steady source of sustenance and relieve the burden of feeding billions by a great margin."
"I sure hope so, brother," Alesia said, trying to push down her anxiety and exhaustion from having to interact with so many people today. Her brother patted her head.
"Come now, have some faith in yourself and the people. This project wouldn't have ever come to be if it weren't for you." He gently gipped her shoulder and guided her back to the ball room. "Also, everyone is wondering where the star of the show disappeared to. Let's go back in before Father sends out a search party."
"So long as I don't get swarmed by anymore courtship proposals," she sighed, hearing her personal guard quietly follow them.
"We'll keep the boys away," her blonde brother chuckled at the Princess's expense. "Besides, Father wouldn't approve of any one of those nobles asking for the chance."
"What about a duel?" A timid voice almost squeaked out and a noble boy, probably eight years old like Alesia, shyly peaked out from behind a pillar near the balcony doors. The boy had messy brown hair and bright eyes as he stared at the Imperial Princess in hopes of dueling her. His red robes were adorned with the sigils of a Scribe apprentice and he held a plain, worn out deck box.
"Well, this is random," Alesia commented before asking, "Why do you want to duel me, sir?"
"M-M-My Lady, I am just a c-child!" The boy blushed furiously.
"And I'm only eight years old, and you still haven't answered my question."
The poor kid sputtered, clearly not believing that she was the same age as him, and Alesia couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.
"Stop teasing the poor boy, sister," Guilliman chided her. "And you, young man, what is your name?"
"M-My name is Elias Silas, my Lord." The boy, now identified as Elias, finally calmed down enough to speak again. "And your Highness, I had heard that you enjoyed old games from Terra's ancient past, and I want to test my strategy against an experienced duelist like you."
"Hmm, alright." Alesia shrugged and looked to her guard, whom already took out her deck from one of his pouches. "Thank you, Kithes. Now we just need a table and we can duel."
After a twelve turn duel, Alesia had won the game and shook hands with Elias. Their duel had garnered the attention of many of the attendees and they had had a considerable size of spectators watching them.
"You did good, Elias," she commended the boy. "You just need to hold back on setting your traps and spells down too soon and not listen to certain spectators."
She aimed a pointed look towards her father as he obviously avoided eye contact with her. The Emperor had tried to secretly help the boy in the duel, but was quickly caught by the Princess and had random objects fly at him before he finally stopped interfering. None of the Custodes even tried to stop the flying objects as she wasn't trying to harm him.
As the Imperial Princess and Elias continued to speak, the governor, a portly man wearing bifocals, couldn't help but chuckle at his liege's situation.
"It appears Her Highness has found herself a friend," the man, small in comparison to the titan he stood by, said with mirth, "may haps even a potential future suitor!"
The Emperor froze, as though thinking of that possibility and not liking the thought of his youngest daughter possibly courting anyone any time soon.