Author's Note: For those interested, there are now eight advance chapters on P-atreon (remove the spaces and dash): p-atreon/ SkySage24.
The sun rose on Luna, illuminating the new forests, the light reflecting off the oceans that now filled the once barren craters of the planetoid, causing the waters to shimmer. The Bucephalus was still in orbit around the Moon, the massive golden ship circling gently around the planetoid, a reminder to the Selenar Cults living below the surface that they had to watch their step now.
From her position standing atop one of the ship's spires, Isha was pleased to see that the new ecosystem was stable.
She had terraformed it rather rapidly during the initial assault on Luna, so in the months afterwards, she had taken time to make adjustments and smooth out any of bumps.
It had taken a little time, largely to ensure that the underground structures in which the Selnar lived did not collapse, and also so that the new ecosystem could accommodate the various modified animals produced by the Selenar Cults without either starving them or being overrun, but overall the process had gone very well.
Isha was rather proud of it. It reminded her of her garden worlds in ages gone by, if on a much smaller scale than most of them. Granted, she wasn't seeding entirely new species here, but it mattered little. The various animals of the Selenar were close enough.
Still, a little more wouldn't hurt. With a gentle flick of a wrist, Isha adjusted the atmospheric pressure, conjuring forth a new rainstorm that would drift across Luna, helping the forests and plants develop some more. The atmosphere was always one of the most delicate parts of terraforming, but the Lunar one was coming along nicely.
In moments like these, Isha found some joy to tide her along. Life was not as it had been and never would be again, but there was some comfort in returning to old habits.
Stop procrastinating, a voice within her whispered. You know what you have to do.
Isha sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. She still hadn't broached the subject of the Astronomican with the Emperor, and she wasn't sure how to.
But she must. It was the only way to contest the supremacy of Chaos over the Immaterium.
As if summoned by her thoughts, the Emperor appeared next to her in a burst of golden flame. For once, he had discarded the golden armour in favour of a white…toga, Isha believed it was called, with golden ornaments decorating his forearms. His laurel wreath, of course, was perched on his head as it always was.
"It is almost time for my audience," The Emperor said, crossing his arms. "I thought you wanted to be there."
Ah, yes. "My apologies, I lost track of time," Isha replied. "Shall we?"
The Emperor gave a brisk nod, and then the two of them teleported away, reappearing in what had once been Heliosa's throne room.
The foliage that Isha had conjured to overrun the throne room had been cleared away…mostly. There were still vines on the walls, a flower or two here and there, some patches of grass.
Heliosa's old throne had been repainted as well to suit the Emperor's sensibilities, now bright gold. The Lord of Terra took his seat on the throne, the Custodes standing where the Endymion had once stood.
Isha stood next to them, crossing her arms as she waited.
With a snap of the Emperor's fingers, the doors of the throne room opened. The doors themselves had been redone as well, now depicting scenes of the Emperor's conquest of Terra, with him holding a flaming sword upright as he stood over the corpses of his enemies.
Very dramatic. Isha thought dryly.
But that was less important than the leaders of the Selenar Cults who flocked into the room. Most of them looked not unlike Heliosa, with the artificial youthfulness of rejuvenants and silver hair and red eyes.
It was unsurprising. Despite their specialization in genetic engineering and the many horrors they had crafted, the Selenar were also obsessed with their own ideals of purity, unrealistic and horrific as they were. This had led to the Selenar aristocracy being largely homogenous, with divergences from the 'ideal' being considered 'impure' and imperfect.
But the one thing they all had in common was their alterations were stable.
Unlike those of their subjects, Isha mused darkly, her mind drifting to back the subjects she had found in Heliosa's labs. She had stabilized them all, but she was well aware that they had served as living testbeds for various augmentations, then been discarded once they were no longer useful, kept in stasis if they had any further utility. No efforts were made to ease their pain or stabilize their condition until Isha had found them.
And those were the lucky ones. How many had been euthanized in the long centuries that the Selenar had ruled Luna?
Too many to count.
Frankly, Isha would have preferred to strip the entire Selenar aristocracy of all power and kill all who opposed it, but that wasn't her decision. The Emperor found them useful, so they had been permitted to keep control of Luna as long as they served him.
At least he kept them on a tight leash.
The Selenar leaders approached the throne, their fear was obvious…but so was their outrage. They were clearly upset about something and wished to complain.
But they knew better than to breach protocol, so first they knelt in front of the throne as the Emperor peered down at them.
"Hail the Emperor, beloved by all," They intoned together, and Isha resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the Emperor smiled.
Not a religion. Right.
"Rise," The Emperor said, his baritone echoing across the hall. "Children of Luna, you requested an audience with me?"
One of the Selenar stepped forward, a man with short hair whose white robes swished gently as he looked up at the Emperor. "Yes, Your Majesty," He said. "We had some…concerns about the news law you penned."
Isha stopped herself from scoffing out loud, even as the Emperor raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"
"The laws are, well-" Outrageous, insane. Isha read the thoughts lurking below his mind. "-somewhat difficult to implement, Your Majesty."
"All laws are," The Emperor replied genially. "It is the way of things. But they are necessary nevertheless."
The Selenar leader very much did not agree and everyone in the room knew it, but he did not let that show on his face. "Of course, sire. But perhaps we could have a…grace period to take our time to implement these laws. You must understand, that granting equal rights and laws to all our subjects is somewhat difficult. Freeing the slaves and arranging accommodations for them will take time."
Isha flexed her fingers, envisioning clawing her way into the pathetic little man's throat. The Emperor didn't look her way, but his aura pulsed warningly.
"I understand the trouble, of course, my dear Phoebus," The Emperor told the Selenar. "Which is why I have assigned Imperial Arbites and the Hospitaller Order to help you with the process! The Arbites will help enforce the laws, and the Hospitaller will help the former slaves. You need not worry."
The man - Phoebus - struggled to maintain his composure. "Of course. Most generous of you, Your Majesty. But surely your forces have other matters to tend to? We can handle it ourselves if only you give us time."
Isha tensed. It was true, other causes required the attention of the Imperial officials. Terra was still being consolidated and organized, even though it was officially all under the Emperor's rule. The new laws mandating equality for all human subspecies would no doubt incite unrest and resentment among the Terran populace as well.
But the victims of the Selenar deserved aid too.
The Emperor considered what Phoebus had said, his eyes golden eyes gleaming. "You make a good point," He said eventually. "But I have considered the matter myself. Rest assured, it is no burden to the Imperial administration to help you secure control over Luna."
Or rather, ensure Luna was firmly in the Emperor's grasp. It was easy to read between the lines. The Imperial officials being dispatched to Luna weren't being sent there for the sake of the slaves, or at least not only that. They were there to keep a firm leash on the Selenar.
It was close enough, Isha supposed. She would take what she could get.
"That aside, the Director of the Imperial Biotechnical Division will also be visiting Luna soon. Please collaborate with her and help her to the best of your ability. If you do, I will be most pleased."
Do as I tell you and I may be persuaded to grant you more concessions. The Selenar leaders obviously heard the unsaid part as clearly as Isha did, and Phoebus bowed stiffly.
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Excellent." The Emperor said, waving one large hand dismissively, the golden ornaments glittering as he did so. "You may leave."
The Selenar accepted the dismissal, leaving in a vaguely sulky manner.
Once the throne room doors had shut behind them, Isha floated up to the throne, raising an eyebrow at the Emperor.
"Is there any particular reason my presence was required?" She asked. "It seemed as if you could handle them just fine."
The Emperor shrugged. "I merely thought you would want to see how this is all handled. You supported these laws, after all…"
You insisted I implement these policies, so you have to sit through these meetings and deal with the annoyance just like me.
Isha had to yet again stop herself from rolling her eyes. The Emperor could be ridiculously petty sometimes.
But she'd deal with it. It was a small price to pay for the sake of the slaves and minorities of the Imperium.
"In any case, I had something else I wanted to discuss with you," Isha said slowly.
"Oh?" The Emperor asked.
"It concerns the Astronomican, I had…an idea for it."
The Emperor frowned, eyebrows furrowing. "What sort of idea?" He asked slowly.
Isha breathed in as she prepared herself to sell the idea to him. "The Astronomican will be incredibly useful and potent, but it will consume a great deal of your power. I have a way that I could ease the burden."
The Emperor leaned forward, interested. "How so?"
The moment was here.
"I could add my own power to it," Isha offered quietly. "If we power the Astronomican together, it would be more powerful, more able to push back the power and influence of Chaos."
The Emperor's eyebrows shot up, and his golden eyes pierced into her own. "...you wish to rebuild your domains in the Immaterium." He deduced.
"I do," Isha said. It would be pointless to deny it and she chose to take his neutral tone as a good sign. "It would benefit us both. My power to help you build an afterlife for mankind, and yours to help me rebuild my strength. Both of us working together to weaken the supremacy of Chaos."
The Emperor said nothing for a long moment. "I will need to think about it," He said eventually.
"Of course." Isha acknowledged. It wasn't an agreement, but she hadn't expected one immediately in any case. At least he was willing to consider the idea instead of rejecting it outright.
An awkward silence followed, neither of them sure how to fill it.
Finally, the Emperor cleared his throat. "I intend to make a tour of Luna over the next week or so, and your presence would be useful-"
Before he could finish, they were interrupted by a beeping noise.
One of the Custodes stepped forward. "Lord Emperor, I'm receiving a vox message from the Regent, marked Alpha-Gold priority."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Play it, then."
The Custodes obliged, pressing some buttons on their armour and then Malcador's voice echoed, rendered slightly robotic by the recording.
"We need you here on Terra immediately. There's a problem. It is the Fifteenth Legion, they appear to all be going mad."