Editing Story:ROAD TRIP! (Warhammer High)/Part Three (section)

==A High Note==

===Waking Up Again===

Jake yawned, feeling the day’s exertions take their toll.  Venus was busily unequipping her armor and unloading her weapons in the corner.  “I’m just gonna turn in, unless you want to keep watching that movie,” he said, referring to the flick they had started that morning after breakfast.  The slight wobble in his gait was now more pronounced, driving home a reminder that he was recovering from his own trial.

“Sure thing.  Or we could put it on the slate and watch it in bed,” Venus said.

“Let’s do that, we can watch something else on the ship,” Jake said.  He grabbed his slate and tapped the appropriate runes as Venus finished her undressing and bathroom rituals.  “Is Alex going to be all right?” he asked as she returned.

“I have no idea,” Venus confessed.  She slid her sleeping clothes on; a very thick undershirt and cotton panties so she didn’t accidentally overheat Jake.  “Damn it.  I feel like I owe him an apology for not putting my foot down on Kimball-Carlin when I had the chance.”

“Screw that, anyone who disowns his son in front of a crowd is going to be a shithead no matter how many Royal Family members are in the room,” Jake said.

“But this trip has been fine until four days ago, when it’s gone tits-up, and I feel like I could have prevented it all,” Venus pressed.  She dropped into the bed, slamming her fist on the bedspread.  “I mean, the thing in the bar was horrible…and then I get purse-snatched and Alex gets fucking disowned.  What a fucking nightmare.  I thought the worst thing we’d have to deal with on Nocturne would be the damn dragons,” she said.

Jake shrugged, passing her the slate.  “Not your fault, baby, and I don’t want to have to tell you that over and over.  We just got here.”

As he finished his own bathroom prep, Venus stared at the black ceiling, thinking.  What could she ask of her host tomorrow?  She had been planning something like it since Hesiod, but this was her first real opportunity.

Jake slid into bed beside her, waving down the heat and turning the slate to her.  She cuddled up on his flank, resting her head on his shoulder and narrowing her eyes so she didn’t drown out the screen.  “Well…at least it’s almost over,” she sighed.

“Hey now, don’t think like that,” Jake said.  “Nocturne is an amazing place.  We’ve just seen some bad along with the good.  Compared to the shit in the hives, this has been a resort trip for me.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Venus asked.  “Jake…I’m sorry, but I feel like this is my fault.”

Jake sighed again.  He paused the slate and looked down at her head.  “Stop.  Here,” he said, setting the slate aside and rolling her onto her stomach.  He dug his fingers into her tensed back.  “You had no way of knowing that any of this would happen,” he soothed.  He gently massaged her hot flesh, working the tension away.

“I guess.”  She chuckled after another minute or two of his silent rubs.  “I can’t stay mad when you’re in physical therapist mode.”  Jake grinned to himself, remembering the result of his first administration, and the joyous few weeks that had kicked off.  “Speaking of,” she asked.  “How’s your head?”

“Better.  Much better.”  Jake squeezed her shoulders, digging his thumbs in deep.  She sighed into the pillow.  “My legs are better too, that was just a little soreness.  I’m gonna be okay,” he said.

“Good.”  She slowly adjusted her sleep shirt, pulling it up to her armpits so he could reach her lower back, mindful of her burn scar.  “Hey…as long as we have it out, want to send a letter home?”

“Sure,” Jake said, moving his hands down her side.  “In a minute.”

“Okay,” she said with lazy contentment, her resentment melting away under his cool hands.  After a while longer, she languidly stretched, flexing the beautiful swimmer’s back Jake admired.  “All right,” she yawned.  “Much better.”  She slid the sleep-shirt back down and gave him a grateful little kiss.  “What do you want to say?”

“Depends,” Jake said, settling down beside her.  “Do we mention Alex?”

“Hmm.”  She sighed.  “Let’s not.  We can mention he had a shit day, but let’s leave the details to him.”

“Sure.”  Jake grabbed the slate and tapped the recording system’s Advanced Options menu, opening the two-source system.  “Transcribe Two,” he said, starting the dual-channel recording.  He waited a moment.  “Hi, everyone.  I’m calling you from sunny Skarokk,” he started.  Venus sniggered.  “My head’s all better, in case anyone was, like, worried, or whatever.”  He thought for a moment.  “It’s been a weird few days.  Pickpocketings, formal dinners, barfights, and more sunburn than I’ve received in the past sixteen years.”

Vulkan read further.  “Now, Venus.  ‘Not that it’s not been interesting.  Jake’s thick skull is knitting together.  Dad, I’ve included the medic’s name, in case you wanted to know it.  We reward our friends.’  Seems fair.  ‘I spoke with Governor Sralah, and’ – italics – ‘‘''convinced''’ him to impose tough new crime measures.  I know you said leave it to you, but I feel like I have to after today.  I was robbed in broad daylight…’ WHAT?” he snarled.  Misja recoiled in surprise.  “‘Someone snatched my purse then returned it when they realized whose it was.  Fucker got away, too.’”

“Watch your mouth, young lady,” Misja muttered.

Vulkan glared at the dataslate, his own anger building.  “Now Jake again.  ‘The dinner this evening was interrupted by Alex getting some absolutely miserable news from home.  I’ll let him tell it when he gets up tomorrow if he really wants, but it was bad.  Other than that, we met up with some familiar faces from the Tide and we should be ready to go soon.’”

Misja shook her head.  “A robbery.  What the hell is Skarokk coming to?”

“A swift and ghastly blood-letting, when I’m done with it,” Vulkan said darkly.  “Venus, now.  ‘You two, if you get this before George and Sandra, please let them know that Jake is up, ready, and willing to continue the trip to Fenris.  Freya is in bed right now or she’d tell you all about it, but I’m looking forward to it.’”

His wife glanced over the message’s timestamp.  “Nope.  They haven’t got it yet, there’s no reception ticket.”

“Hmm.”  Vulkan scrolled down to the bottom of the message.  “Jake now.  ‘Mom, Dad, I’m all good, and I have taken the requisite pictures of my honorable war wounds.  I mean, it’s just bare skin and hair, even in the photo, but you can use your imaginations.’  Nice to know getting mauled by a drunk wasn’t enough to keep that boy down,” Vulkan said with approval.

“I wonder if he’s going to propose to Venus when the trip ends,” Misja wondered aloud.

Vulkan looked up.  “You think he might?”

“After something like that only made them closer?  I think it’s possible,” Misja said.

“Could be,” Vulkan said.  He thought for a moment.  “I can’t say I would protest much, even if he is a little too young by Terran standards.  On Nocturne, they’d have been Bonded by now.”

“Anything else in the message?” Misja asked.

Vulkan shook his head.  “Nope, just goodbyes.”


Back on Nocturne, and nearly a day in the past, Venus set down the slate after a few small fixes in the transcriptor.  Jake lay down on the mattress, wrapping his arm under Venus’ head and shoulders.  She snuggled up against him, her mind wandering.  “Jake…would you like to go see one of the Salamander galleries tomorrow?” she asked.

Jake looked over at her dark head on his arm.  “Aren’t those sealed to the public?”

“Yes, but I can get us in.”

“Didn’t you say that the Salamanders wouldn’t like us being there?” Jake cautiously asked.

Venus shrugged.  “Yeah, but so far, all you’ve seen of Skarokk are the parts I’m ashamed of…”

Jake grimaced.  “Damn it, baby…”

“I’m not being morose now, I promise, I’m just thinking aloud.”  Venus looked up at him, her eyes bathing his face in light.  “I think, given what’s happened, they would let us in.”

Jake was quiet as he thought it over.  “Hmm.  Well, if it feels like we’re unwelcome, we can just leave, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“All right, we can give it a shot,” Jake said.


===Closed to the Public===

As Freya awoke the next morning, she noted with some relief that Alex was still quietly snoozing away behind her.  She took a moment to savor the feeling of his body behaving the way it was supposed to; as opposed to the way it had been the previous night.  Eyes still shut, she relaxed into his unconscious embrace.  He had been so tired that he had fallen asleep with his arm still slung across her chest.  After a while, she slid silently free, letting his hand fall to the bed, and moved in silence to begin her pre-workout bathroom routine…then paused.  She looked back to him, wondering.  She reached out and switched the alarm off, so he wouldn’t have awoken in an hour and a half like he had planned.

Outside, Venus and Remilia were already dressed and ready to head to the modest serf’s gym in the castle when Freya stuck her head out the door.  “Hey, you two, go ahead, I’m going to stay here,” she said.  Her freshly-washed hair glimmered red from Venus’ eyes as her cousin tilted her head.

“Are you all right?” Remilia asked for the two of them.

“Alex needs me, today, I think,” Freya said.  She looked at them both.  “Or am I being paranoid?”

“Just come run for a while, then shower off and get back in bed,” Venus counseled.  “Let him wake up to you, if you think it will matter.”

Freya nodded.  “All right, I’ll do that.”


Several hours later, Jake wobbled out of bed, feeling his back ache a bit, but otherwise feeling as good as new.  He glanced at the clock at the side of the table, noting that he had actually woken before the alarm went off.  “Oh well,” he said, making for the showers.

As he emerged in the gym, he noted Freya’s and Alex’s absences with a resigned sigh.  He wasn’t surprised to find them absent.


Alex fell onto his back as he awoke, jolting him awake.  He lay in the darkness for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling as the previous night’s misadventure returned to him.  “What am I going to do?” he whispered hoarsely.

“Shhh,” Freya whispered from beside him.  “Go back to sleep.”  He started.  She was never there when he woke up.

“What…what time is it?” he asked, searching for a clock.  He couldn’t see one.

“Middle of the night,” Freya lied to him.  She had covered the little red clock with a shirt.  “Sleep.  I’ll be here when you need to get up,” she promised.

Alex lay in silence for a moment, his emotions returning to him with lucidity.  “All right.”  He sighed in guilt as the night came back fully.  “Thanks for being there when I needed you to be,” he whispered into the darkness.

Freya silently shifted.  A warm, soft weight descended onto his chest as she leaned on him, pressing her bare skin to his, and captured his lips in a loving kiss.  “Shhh.  Sleep.  I told Venus to let you sleep in, we’ve got the whole day to do whatever you want.  Work out, explore…stay in bed,” she added coyly.  “Rest.”

Alex smiled and let his eyes shut.  “All right, baby.”  She squeezed his shoulder, settling back down beside him.  “What did I do right to get you?” he asked of the room.

“As I recall?  Compliment my ass after a wrestling meet,” Freya noted.  “You’re lucky I didn’t rip your arm off.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me too.”  She rolled over to face him in the dark.  “Now…shush.  Sleep.”

He obeyed, closing his eyes and settling back into the mattress, his brief emotional turmoil evaporating.  Freya nodded at her successful deception.  “Job well done,” she muttered.


Jake stared in absolute awe at the magnificent sculpture on the pedestal before him.  “It’s…breathtaking,” he said.

The Assault Marine that had volunteered to lead the unusual group through the catacombs beneath the city nodded.  “Isn’t it?  One of our Chaplains made it, about four hundred years ago.”

“It’s beautiful,” Jake said, taking in the twisted metal column.  Visible hammer marks on its sides were the only marring of an otherwise symmetrical five-sided pyramid, which had been beaten into the middle of an iron column, with only a slender strand of metal keeping the precarious-looking upper half of the column stable.  “I wish my grandfather could see what his students made,” he said quietly.

“I beg your pardon?” the Marine asked.

“My grandfather, Carmine Seager, taught in the same seminary on Mars where most of the Legionary Techmarines trained,” Jake explained, slowly circling the structure.  The entire granite hallway was completely lined with magnificent pieces of technology, art, and design that could have found a home in any up-scale Terran, Macraggian, or maybe even Martian gallery.

“Ah, I see.  He had an artistic side himself, then?” the Marine asked.

“He was a very talented designer of the Adeptus Mechanicus Artisan’s Order,” Jake explained.  He smiled at their towering host.  “I got my own love of design and artifice from him, as did my father.”

“Truly?  Good on you.  Here on Nocturne, metalworking is one of the oldest and most sacred professions,” the Marine said, spurred to explanation by the open confidence of his guest.  “Our greatest tribal lords before the coming of King Vulkan were those who could best balance metalcrafting and politics.”

“A wise combination for a leader,” Jake said, leaning to examine the statue more closely.

“Indeed,” the Marine replied.

Venus and Remilia were a pace back, looking at a tiny block sculpture.  It looked like it had been made from rock turned liquid, tapped with mallets into a certain shape, then left to cool just so.  An impressive feat, given that rock was so much more brittle than metal.

“I wonder how many tries that took?” Remilia murmured.

“As many as needed,” Venus replied.  She glanced at the row of similar sculptures beside it, noting that though they had all seemingly been made by the same person, none were signed or stamped.  “They wouldn’t just give up if it didn’t come out right.”

Jake had moved on to examine a large, nearly hollow ball of volcanic glass, held aloft by iron rods.  “Now that’s impressive,” he said, leaning as close as he dared.  “How in the world did they get the rods to bend inside the shafts?”

“I do not know,” the Marine confessed.

“Must have run a current through it while shaping the glass,” Jake muttered.  “It’s a nice design.  How do you get the larger ones into the gallery?  This is bigger than the door.”

“There’s a crane we can use in the ceiling,” the Marine said, pointing into the inky blackness above them.

“Very cool.”  Jake’s eyes drifted to a Power Sword hanging on studs from a wall.  “And…just to pose the question, why don’t the Salamanders actually use the weapons they make here?”

The Marine’s voice carried a hint of amusement.  “We do.  These are the weapons of warriors who make spares to keep in practice.”

Jake processed that.  “Ah.  That’s, ah…a hell of a hobby,” he quipped.  The Marine grinned behind his helmet.

===Physical Therapy and Other Euphemisms===


Alex awoke again.  Freya had removed the shirt from the clock and flicked the lights on already, and was sitting in the corner of the room, reading a slate.  She noted his rising breath and smiled at him.  “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Alex grunted, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  “Wow, it’s local eleven?  I’ve never slept in that late,” he said.

Freya pulled the shirt on, letting it hang to her thighs.  “You feeling better?”

“A bit.”  He sighed.  “I guess I can just go and-”

“Bup bup bup, no gloom and doom,” she said, waving a stern finger.  “Go see what the day’s schedule is.”

Alex blinked.  “Schedule?  What?”

Freya passed him on her way to the bathroom, waving him to follow.  Bewildered, Alex rose and followed her into the room.  She was posing by the bathtub, smiling seductively.  Alex noted with interest that the lights were now a dim red, and the empty tub was ringed with, of all things, scented candles she had acquired somewhere.  “…Interesting,” he said.

“Isn’t it?” she asked playfully, sauntering up to him and slowly sliding her arms around his waist.  “I felt bad for making you miss the workout this morning, so I figured we could just have a workout here, instead,” she explained, running her hands down his back.  “Nice…thorough…deep-muscle workout…”  Alex struggled to keep a grin from breaking out on his face and failed.

“I see.  Any…particular reason…the tub struck your fancy?” he asked, as he ran his own hands up her rock-solid frontside to lift the shirt away.

She snickered.  “Well, we’re going to be spending so much time here today, I wouldn’t want to gross out the chambermaid…and goodness, you’re just going to be a hot mess when I’m finished with you, may as well not have to go too far to clean up,” she whispered, guiding him back to the lip of the tub.


As lunchtime arrived, Jake proposed the group make a point of returning to the nearly abandoned café they had used the previous day, which they at least knew would be nice and quiet.  As they arrived and placed their orders, Remilia spoke up.  “Venus, that was amazing.  That gallery…and the Salamanders just MAKE that stuff?”

“Mountains of it,” Venus replied.  “The seven Sanctuaries and Prometheus station, the Reclusiae of the larger ships, the temples in the deserts…they all look like those.  Most are actually bigger than this one,” she said.  “This is the smallest Sanctuary.”

“Absolutely incredible.  My hands were itching when we went through the hall with all the wall-mounted sculptures.  I felt like a shoplifter,” Jake said.

“Well, you didn’t take anything, and nobody seemed to resent their Princess admiring their work, so I think it went all-good,” Venus said happily.  “And that one Battle Brother was pretty impressed with your little spiel.”

Jake winced.  “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent.”

Venus chuckled.  “I think he was more amused and maybe relieved, really.  I think he was afraid we wouldn’t understand any of that stuff.”

“Well, I did, and it was amazing.  That large ceramite block carving, the one with the silver face mask set into its surface?  You could fetch sixty million credits on Terra for that, without breaking a sweat,” Jake said.  “Sixty mil, cold.  More at auction.”

“Wow.  How do you know that?” Remilia asked as their drinks arrived.

“Remember when I said my grandfather designed watches?  He sold the prototypes at auction.  I’ve been to several,” Jake explained.  “Amazing places.”

“Cool.  Want to stop by an auction house tomorrow?” Venus asked.  “See how Nocturneans barter?”

“I’d love that!” Jake exclaimed.


Alex let the frothing, soapy water rise to his chin before gesturing the faucet to switch off.  He was so tired, even that took a few tries.  Freya’s promised workout had finally concluded after two hours, and as the candles burned themselves out around him, and the fans cleared the air, he felt, for the first time since his father had left the Star for Clymene several days before, at absolute peace.

He was leaning back on the sloped side of the tub, feet splayed out before him.  Freya was straddling his legs, resting her entire front against him from the stomach up, her own legs drawn back outside his.  She had been in that position for nearly ten minutes at that point, since her final round of energetic lovemaking had sapped the last of his strength, and seemed content to stay put.  She was resting her chin on his shoulder and had both arms wrapped around his neck.  She hadn’t moved as the water rose up their bodies, and had remained still as he turned it off.

The sound of the fan was the only thing in the room as they rested.  He had worked her pretty red hair free of its braids in an idle moment some time before, and it fanned out in the water, turning the water under the red lights of the room into a deep, bloody crimson.

She was listening carefully.  The sounds of his body attempting to recover from its exertion were familiar, and primally relaxing.  Tuning her own sounds out, she listened contentedly to his muscle chill and contract as the water washed over it, and heard the blood in his neck pulse and flow as she rested her head beside his.

Though she would have been lying to say that the motive behind her workout had been completely altruistic, and in hindsight could have picked a more comfortable pose, he was in no shape to complain.  The fans clicked off as the ambient water and heat in the air dropped down to near-normal levels, leaving only the sound of their faint, labored breathing.

Finally, he stirred.  “Freya…thank you,” he whispered.

“Any time,” she murmured.  “Well.  Maybe not any time, those candles are expensive, but on special occasions,” she corrected.

His chest budged a fraction as he tried to laugh.  “…Still.”  He very gradually slid his arms around her waist under the suds.  “I feel…” he trailed off.
They both closed their eyes and let the moment stretch on.  It had been sex, sure, but somehow, they both wanted it to be more than that, too.  It was a mutual desire, easily granted.  Freya leaned her head sideways a fraction, pressing it against his sweaty hair.  “Alex…I love you too.  You know that, right?”

Alex’s eyes didn’t move.  “I do,” he whispered.

“Good.”  She let out a long, relieved breath.  “Just making sure.”  She kissed the bare flesh of his shoulder, which was sun-scarred from their stay on hellish Nocturne.  “I may check again, later.  To…err on the side of caution,” she informed him.

“Feel free,” he said.  He slid his hands down to her legs and squeezed her calves.  “Mmm…hey, let me up,” he said.

“No.”

“I gotta wash my hair,” he slurred.

She grabbed a shampoo bottle and poured some on his head, then worked some tub water into it with her hands.  “Let me,” she said.

He closed his eyes again as she went to work, all business.  She scooted another few inches up his torso as she did, and he felt her breasts knock into his face.  He had to stifle a loopy giggle, as his brain chemistry was still out of whack, and for some reason, it was the funniest thing he had ever felt.

As she rinsed him clean at length, he opened his eyes again, looking up at her with a tired grin.  He lifted his hands slightly, beckoning her to turn around.  As she did, he grabbed the same bottle and returned the gesture, squirting some of the chilly substance into her luxurious red hair.  As she sank back onto him, he slowly massaged the red mass with his hands.  “So…aside from…playing doctor, then playing dress-up…what do you have in mind for today?” he asked.

She rose up a bit more against him, until her head and his were level again.  “Mmm…a lazy afternoon watching shitty movies…poker with the guys after a take-out dinner…then falling asleep in your arms after writing home.”

“Sounds good.”  Alex ran some water through her hair, washing the shampoo away, and leaving it glistening under the red room light.  He slid his hands over her stomach and down to her waist, leaving them to rest against the aching muscle.  “Did I strain you?”

“No, I’m just a little sore from overuse,” she reported.  She slid back down his front a little and splayed her hands over his.  “Ahhh…I regret nothing,” she dreamily said.  She grinned as she reviewed the past two hours in her eidetic memory.  “Healthy, growing boys need their exercise.”

Alex smiled.  “So do athletic, growing girls, it seems,” he said.

“Yup.”  She snuggled back into his arms with a sigh.


The two teens enjoyed their blissful soak for a while longer.  When, at last, Alex found the strength to stand, and regretfully reported that further activity at that point would have been agony, they dried off and staggered into the bedroom, sinking into the bed in front of the holoscreen.  Venus had rigged all of their holos to play off of slates as soon as she had arrived, and Freya started a random movie on the screen before curling up on Alex’s flank.  After less than ten minutes, he had drifted into a doze, and she switched the holo off.  She lay in silence next to his muscular frame, listening.  He was relaxed, wonderfully so.  She indulged in her loving audio surveillance for a few minutes before tugging a blanket out of the pile of spares on the dresser and draping it over his bare body.  She then gestured the heat down and cuddled up next to him, keeping them both warm.  She let her own eyes close and drifted off into a peaceful nap.

A knock on the door roused her, around an hour later.  She blinked sleep away as she quickly donned a shirt and peeked out the hole.  Discovering her visitor to be a chambermaid, she opened the door a hair and smiled apologetically.  “Sorry, but we’re staying in today,” she whispered.

The serf sighed at the irregular occurrence, but nodded assent and moved on to Venus’ room.  Freya slid the door shut and padded over to where Alex was still fast asleep, pulling the shirt back off.  She leaned over him and nipped his ear, rousing him.  “Hey.  Wake up.  It’s local afternoon.  If we sleep much more, you’ll be awake all night,” she said.

Alex shifted a bit, rising onto his arms.  He looked up at his girlfriend, admiring the way her hair draped down over her chest and shoulders.  “If you say so…”


===A Natural Confidant===


She sat down next to him and reached to turn the holo back on.  Before she could, he spoke up.  “Wait.”

Freya looked over at him.  He was sitting cross-legged on the mattress.  “This…isn’t going to get easier if we put it off,” he said.

She frowned, but stilled her hand.  “All right…what do you want to do about it?” she asked.

Alex looked down at his feet.  “You know…did you actually hear what he said last night?”

Freya shook her head, scattering her hair over her shirt.  “No.  I was talking to Jake.”

“All right.”  Alex closed his eyes.  “What he said was…hell, it wasn’t even to me, he was talking to the guy next to me…he said, ‘Alex knows that the Fleet and college are mutually exclusive.’  I said ‘Dad, what does that mean?’  He looked square at me and said ‘you can’t have both.’”  Alex looked over at Freya, pained.  “Damn it…he probably waited until we were in front of a crowd so I couldn’t back out.”  He laughed, a bitter, tired bark.  “Guess he underestimated how petty I am.”

“Oh, Alex,” Freya sighed.  She leaned forward, squeezing his leg.  “It’s not petty to want to live the way that makes you happiest!”

“No, but storming out of Venus’ gala was,” he said flatly.  “I must have looked like a petulant child…something else that probably suited him.”

Freya’s eyes narrowed as she watched the pain return.  “Alex…baby, come on,” she said, squeezing him again.  She leaned forward, piercing his eyes with her bright green stare.  “I don’t think you’re petulant!  And Venus told me that she told your Dad to make tracks, he won’t bother us any more!”

“Really?” he asked, finally looking surprised.  “What did she say?”

Freya shook her head.  “It was after I left, but she said last night that she told him to fuck off or get arrested,” she said.

“Good.”  Alex leaned back against the headboard, smiling sadly at her.  “Listen…you know what this will mean after we get home, right?”

Freya shook her head.  “I don’t know.”

He looked down again, studying the little marks she had left on his arms in her unguarded moments before.  “It…well, the good news is that I can’t go bugger off with the Fleet…so maybe we can stay together.”  He looked up at her again.  “The bad news is that this means I won’t be able to afford to go to college with you, not without you going to one of the schools that I got offers from for free-ride scholarships.”

Freya considered that, rocking back on her heels.  “I see.”  She crawled forward on hands and knees until she was next to him, then sat down beside him against the headboard.  “Well…I did get accepted to New Cyprine and Albiona College…did you get offers from either of them?”

“Cyprine,” Alex breathed, the tension in his heart fading considerably.  This didn’t mean they had to break up.

She looked up at him and smiled.  “So…this isn’t the end.  Not yet.”

“Not yet.”  He relaxed, letting his eyes sag shut.  “Good news.”  He slid his hand over her cheek, smiling at her through hooded lids.  “Thanks.”

She caught his hand, her own looking petite by comparison.  He slid a finger across her ear, and she giggled at the tickling feeling.  “Now…let’s get dressed and order food so it’s here when the others get back,” he said.  Freya held his hand still and leaned against it, enjoying its warmth.

“Okay.”

Alex slid his hand off of her face and managed a laugh.  “Did I ever tell you how my family earned a Writ?”

Freya thought for a moment.  “No.”

“My grandfather earned it for Imperial service.  He found an STC blueprint for a combat knife that had never been discovered,” Alex said.

“Wow, I bet the Mechanicus loved him after that,” Freya said, rocking back on her haunches.

“Hell yeah.  Gave him a ship, badgered the Emperor into giving him a Royal Writ, the highest kind, and cut him loose.”  Alex sat back again, remembering.  “He knew all the right people from when he was in the Navy, so he had all the contacts he needed to set up a trading business.  His Writ, a Warrant signed by the Emperor after the Arlema Conquest…hard to believe that was only a hundred years ago…anyway, it let him trade anywhere he wanted, so long as he visited Arlema’s capital to make sure it was still Imperial-held every so often.”

“So how did your father get it?” Freya asked.

“Oh, the old-fashioned way.  He inherited it.  Grandpa was the only child of only children, so was my dad, so was my mom.  So it wasn’t a hard decision.  Hell, I am too.”

Freya nodded.  “My mother didn’t have any siblings, either.  I have eighteen,” she added with a smile.

“Well…Dad shut down parts of Grandpa’s empire.  Now he sends the ships of the fleet to small-scale agri-colonies built over dead, pre-Age of Strife human settlements.  They go to the cities, and rob the grave offerings and pawn shops, since the rest is probably picked over.”  Alex smiled tightly.  “You know that twenty thousand year old clock on Warmaster Horus’ desk?  Dad stole it from a tomb on Moribar.  Funny little galaxy, isn’t it?”

“How macabre,” Freya said darkly.

“Welcome to my life,” Alex said, levering out of the bed with a groan.  “Now…where’s that menu?”

Freya sank back down on the bed, spread-eagled.  “Mmm…hang on,” she said as Alex rooted around.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“C’mere,” she said, beckoning him over.  He obligingly sat back down next to her on the bed.

She rolled onto her side and propped herself up on one elbow beside him.  “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

“Much,” Alex said.  He managed a smile.  “Bit sore, but that seems a small price to pay.”

“Good.”  She lay back down and caught on of his hands between hers, idly rubbing his palm.  “You know you can share anything with me, right?”

“Yeah…yeah, baby, I do,” he said, lacing his fingers with hers.  Despite her awe-inspiring strength, she felt positively slender to him.  He smiled at the look of dreamy contentment on her face as she reveled in the sensation.  “How about you?”

She let her eyes slide shut.  Freya slowly brought his hand to her lips.  “I’m feeling better because you’re feeling better,” she said.  “So…don’t worry any more, all right?  It makes me feel really panicked to see you suffer like that.”

“You’re a sweet girl,” he murmured.  He felt a wave of hot air on his hand as she breathed over his fingers, nuzzling the back of it.  “And…well.”

“What?” she asked, cracking one green eye open.

He leaned down and rested his forehead on hers.  “You’re really good at making me feel better,” he whispered, all serious business.

She laughed under her breath.  “So you told me…a few times…” she said back in the same tone.

===Skyward Bound===


Jake rapped on their door a few hours later.  “Hello?  You guys in there?  And decent?”

“When am I EVER decent?” Freya called back.  Jake pushed the door open to see them sitting around a table in the sitting room, wearing ludicrous numbers of clothes, glaring at each other over a pile of potato chips and playing cards…not his, Jake noted.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Jake asked.

“Anti-strip poker,” Freya said.  “When you lose you have to put on clothes.”

“And…the chips?”

“We didn’t want to borrow yours,” Alex replied, sounding somewhat overheated.

Jake blinked.  “…’Kay.  Well, anyway…how are you feeling?” he asked, walking into the room.

“Much, much better,” Alex said, starting to peel off his clothes.  “Yourself?”

“Good as new,” Jake said, dropping into a chair.  Freya swept the chips into the trash and rubbed the plastic cards clean on the sleeve of a shirt.  As the two of them stripped off extraneous clothes, Alex paused to produce a steaming tray of food from the next room.

“Oooh, sauroch cheese and pasta,” Venus said.  “Good call.”  The other two girls appeared at the door, following Jake into the room.  “Did you two hear the good news, by the by?”

“Hmm?”  Freya looked up from her glowing pile of discarded laundry.  “What news?”

“Julius made it to Seadelant on his way to Ultramar,” Remilia provided.

“Oh, cool.  How long is he going to be there?” Freya asked.

“He didn’t say, but not long, I wouldn’t think.”  Venus grabbed a bottle of water from the table and popped it open.  “That region’s pretty placid.”

“Good.”  Alex opened his pasta bowl and dug in.  He hadn’t eaten since dinner the previous night, and he was completely famished.

After they finished their meal, and Jake’s half-honest suggestion of anti-anti-strip poker was rejected, he led them into the master suite and opened his case of cards and chips, passing the latter around.  “So, tomorrow, we’re visiting an auction house in the top level, to see what it’s like.  The day after, we pack up and head back to the Tide, then we spend one day traveling out-system, then off to the Fang.”

“I will admit to some…trepidation,” Freya confessed.  She fingered the lid of her water bottle.  “It’s…I mean, I think it will be awesome, and there’s all kinds of things for...you know, me to do.  But, uh…it’s not Terra or Nocturne.  Not a whole lot to do for you guys.  I don’t want you to be bored.  I mean, we’re probably not even going to leave the Fang.”

“Well, it’s the size of a hive, so I’m sure we can find the interesting parts,” Jake said.  He cut the cards and dealt.

“Yeah, but…” Freya trailed off, staring at the melting ice in her cup.  “I suppose.”

“Freya, trust me, a building full of Space Wolves is always interesting, I’ve been to Leman’s parties,” Remilia said drily.  She sipped at her gin and tonic, chucking a few chips into the pot.  “We’ll find ourselves enjoying three weeks.”

Freya smiled.  “I guess so.”  She downed her drink and flipped a chip into the pile.  “We’ll see.”

The following day, as the boys and Remilia visited a Nocturnean auction house, and Jake was impressed by its scale and lack of backstabbing, Freya and Venus delivered their last bundle of messages to the Astropathic temple in Aethonion via slate and started packing.  Venus finally permitted a quick barrage of news interviews on their last full day, while the others descended to the shoreline, far below, and boggled at the spectacle of water crashing on the obsidian sand, sometimes in plumes over thirty feet high.  Jake, spellbound by the sight, exhausted the battery on his camera taking pictures of the water.

As the last day arrived, the group made their way to the spaceport with their mountains of cargo and bags, and climbed aboard a small shuttle to ferry them all back to Prometheus.  Though Venus didn’t want them to attend the ritual she was going to undertake any more than she had wanted them to attend the first, the rest of group had decided that they might need the final day to adjust to the lower gravity and pressure of the Tide.  They spent the day recording their final messages home from the station.

As Venus completed her final responsibility, though in reality it was partially unnecessary since she hadn’t carried her Icon at any point in the trip, she made sure to inform No’dan that Vulkan’s replied indicated that he intended to return to Nocturne at some point in the near future.  “Lord Regent, though it would please us both to see my father come home, I fear the subject of his trip will be an…uncomfortable one,” she said in Old Nocturnean, once more kneeling before the Circle.

“So I have been led to believe,” the ancient Drake said.  He leaned forward, gesturing his Princess to rise.  “The fellow who was injured…your friend.  He is well?”

“As good as new,” Venus said.  The armor she wore was far less impressive than the formal version she had worn so many times below, but no less well-crafted for it.  “I hold it that the Governors will enact anti-crime legislations, perhaps even enforce them…but I confess: I wanted my trip to be less violent.”

“I suspect so,” No’dan sighed.  “What would you have us do?”

“The Salamanders are even now greatly revered by the common Nocturneans, and justly so, so I think it would be best if you largely stayed out of it,” Venus said.  “No act of control of a population is well-received…and truly, this was a Terran idea to begin with.  If not a Terran problem.  An attempted pickpocketing that was aborted when the target was identified is hardly worse than attempted murder,” Venus said.  When No’dan’s face didn’t change, Venus cocked her head.  “Oh, yes, he’s still in Skarokk Castle, isn’t he?  Do whatever you want to him, I care not.”

“What was his motivation?” No’dan asked.

“Vengeance.  I care not,” Venus repeated.  “For the worst few seconds of my life, I thought he had killed Jake.”

No’dan finally nodded.  “Very well, he will be turned over to the Arbites representative on the Mechanicum station in the Oort cloud for sentencing.  Let him be judged by Imperial law.”

“Very well.”  Venus smiled again, rising to her feet and standing at a respectful ease.  “On a lighter note…beyond the incidents we’ve discussed, Nocturne has awed me.  Truly…I come away inspired,” she said.

“I hoped you would.”  No’dan raised one massive Terminator gauntlet.  “Tell me…what lingered?”

Venus thought that one over.  “I do not feel that I should list them, for I would be here forever,” she said after a time.  “But if I had to pick one…seeing Deathfire up close, then getting to work in it.  That was astonishing, truly astonishing.”

No’dan leaned back in his seat.  “I’m glad to hear it.  Did you have a chance to visit any of the galleries?”

“I did.  As did Remilia and Jake,” Venus said.  No’dan raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?  They were allowed entry?”

“Nobody seemed to mind,” Venus said with a shrug.  “And Jake at least thought it was mesmerizing.  He and the Marine that showed us around spent a while discussing design, which seemed to surprise our host considerably,” she added.

“Ah.”  No’dan rose from his marble throne, gazing down at her.  “Princess Venus, it did us all good to see you here, even if your visit was fraught with…tumult.  Regardless, you have been most welcome,” he said inclining his head.

“Thank you, Lord Regent,” Venus said.  She crossed her arm over her chest and tapped her hand to her heart, bowing low.  “I shall take my leave, knowing the Salamanders are stronger for your guidance.  And please, bid farewell to Captain Ir’Sem when you see him next, our shuttle schedules simply did not align,” she said, rising again.

No’dan looked up for a moment.  “I fear he has already departed for the greenskin fronts, Princess.  I’m certain he would have wanted to say goodbye in person.”

Venus’ face fell.  “Oh.”  She sighed under her breath.  “Yes, I’m sure.”  She held her hands apart, waist high.  “Then I take my leave, Venerable Master.  I shall pass along your regards to my father.”

“Please do, Princess.  Farewell,” No’dan said.  Venus turned on her heel and made for the exit, cape snapping behind her.


Freya sat on top of a pile of suitcases, staring at the bulk of the approaching cargo hauler.  “I suppose we did buy a shitton of stuff down there, but did we really get so much that we need a hauler to move it?” she asked.

Cargomaster Jeorne, down on the deck below, waved his hand.  “No, your Ladyship, it’s for the ship’s protein blocks.  You’re going on the Aquila,” he said, pointing to a Navy shuttle on the other side of the dock.

“Oh, good,” Freya said, leaping down to the deck.  She landed next to Alex, who was staring at the decking beneath his feet.  He didn’t even flinch when the red, blue, and pink meteor nearly slammed into him.  “Hey, you ready to head out?” she asked.

Alex nodded, coming back to reality.  “Yeah, I’m ready to get out of here,” he said.  He swallowed a few times to get the taste of bile out of his throat.  “You?”

“I’m going back home!  I can’t wait!” Freya beamed, somehow missing his rising anger.  “I’d get out and push the Tide if I could!”

Remilia grinned at her cousin’s open anticipation.  “How old were you when you made it home last?”

“I was seven, and it was a summer break,” Freya said.  “I miss it so much!  I remember this tiny little village in the Fang’s shadow that I visited with a serf, out looking for some…I don’t even remember, some trinket.  The snow was shoulder-height in some of the drifts; I hid in one and watched the people go by.”  She grinned from ear to ear.  “Nocturne was a lot of fun, sure, and I’ll miss all this retail stuff…but man, there’s no place like home!”

Alex closed his eyes in bitter regret at Freya’s inadvertent reminder that he didn’t have one anymore.  Remilia noticed and winced.  Freya was done, though.  Venus marched up behind them, her armor clacking.  “Hey, guys,” she said brightly.  Jake turned and eyed her armor.

“What happened to the cloak and cannon outfit?” he joked.

“Oh, I’m bringing it with me, but this is the one I wear when there’s no public around,” Venus said.  “No’dan had it made special when he heard I was coming, along with the other one.”

“Promise me that you’ll wear one or the other to Orientation Week at Kouthry, all right?” Jake asked.

“Nope.  Bloodpaint and nothing else,” Venus said.

Jake blinked.  “…I’m trying to protest, but I really can’t.”  Freya sniggered.

“Aaaanyway,” Venus segued, “the guns and the other armor, and the crown, are in a lockbox in this pile somewhere,” she said, pointing to the luggage with a gloved finger.  “Have you guys got all your stuff?”

“We do,” Jake said, hefting one of his own bags.

“Oh…hey, Venus, thanks for getting my shit out of Joe’s car the other night,” Alex suddenly said.  “I never did go back for it.”

“You’re welcome, Alex,” Venus said, squeezing his shoulder as she detected his mood.  “You look tired.”

“Completely exhausted,” Alex muttered.

“It’s a two-hour ride to the Tide, you can nap on the shuttle,” Jake pointed out.

“Yeah.”  Alex shuffled his day bag.  “I think I will.”

===Farewell, Dear Hellscape===


The ride on the Aquila was relatively quiet, compared to the Thunderhawk they used to travel from city to city on the surface.  Venus stood at the rear hatch as her world shrank invisibly behind her, feeling a happy tear building in her eye.  “Nocturne…I’ll miss you,” she said softly.
Jake walked up behind her and slid an arm across her shoulders, gently pulling her into him.  She looked up at him and smiled, the brilliant glow in her eyes from Nocturne’s sun still strong, for now.  Jake smiled back, pecking her on the forehead.  She set her head on his shoulder, and the two stood still for a moment, just enjoying it.

Jake felt a drop of water soak his shirt and reached across his front to grab Venus’ nearer hand, gently squeezing it.  “It’s a beautiful world,” he said, soft and respectful.

“It’s a forge…a crucible.  My people are tempered…some strengthen, some break.  But they are ALL mine, good and bad, strong and weak.”  Venus sighed with contentment and pride.  “I love them, Jake, so much.”

Jake kissed the top of her head.  “Except that one guy, fuck ‘im.”

“Yeah, he can go jump in a magma tributary.”  Venus closed her eyes, dimming the compartment.  “I’m glad you’re all right,” she murmured.  “And…I’m glad you liked my home.  Despite everything.”

Freya smiled at her friends’ backs, but didn’t speak up.  She elected to let them have some privacy, and walked up to the front of the cabin and dropped into a chair, digging her slate out.  Remilia curled up on a crash couch with her earplugs in, trying to grab some shut-eye.  Alex closed his eyes, but sleep didn’t come.

Jake heard the others occupying themselves in the passenger compartment behind him.  He turned to face Venus, moving his hand free.  “Do you feel the effect of the radiation leaving, yet?”

Venus slowly shook her head.  Her braid slid across her back.  “No.  It’ll be slow, gradual.  I won’t even feel it go.”

“Good.”  Jake sat down on one of the plain metal benches that lined the ramp.  The crates of cargo were the only other things in the compartment.  She sat down beside him, staring at the deckplates.  “So…what did you think of your homeworld’s amenities?” he asked.

“You mean food and stuff?” she asked.  “Surprising.  Dad’s stories were always about how desperate people could feel, and how much the world was an enemy as well as a home.”  She leaned back against the bench, lost in thought.  “I guess…he remembers it the way it was long ago.  When he arrived, it was barely more than Iron Age technology on most of the planet.  Even the richest tribal kings were still wearing scale armor into battle.  Of course, things have improved since then, but still.  I guess I just didn’t really know what to expect.”  She glanced sideways at him.  “I mean, beyond the basics.  How about you?”

“Excellent,” Jake said.  “Real food, water that doesn’t taste like filters…of course, I have low standards.  Maybe we can come back here sometime, between college semesters.  See it for months at a time.”

“Would you want to?” she asked.  She idly rubbed her gloved fingers together.  “I mean…I would, but…”

“Of course I would, if you were here.”

Venus felt herself flush a bit at his statement.  Of course, he couldn’t see; it was one of her appearance’s few saving graces.

The two of them sat in silence for a while.  Venus wiped her tear from her eye and slid off her gloves, clipping them to her belt.  As she did, she looked up at him.  When she spoke, her voice was carefully conversational.  “May I ask you something, Jake?”

He shrugged.  “Sure.”

“Um.”  She fidgeted a little before pushing onwards.  “I…asked one of the Apothecaries on Prometheus to run a test before we left.”  She straightened up in her seat, looking for words.  “I didn’t know whether or not to tell you until we got home; but if you’re talking about…well, whatever.”  She sighed.  “Look…the test was for a genetic baseline comparison.”

“Against what?” Jake asked, confused.

“Nobody specific.  Just the Terran genetic gestalt.”  Venus felt her stomach tighten as words became hard to find.  “The test was negative.  We’re not genetically compatible.”

Jake went quiet.  He slowly leaned back in his seat, thinking that over.  “I see.”

“The thing I wanted to ask was…will that be a problem?” Venus asked.  She closed her eyes before Jake could say anything.  “It…just occurred to me that maybe I should have waited until we were already at school before asking, but I don’t want this to hang over you either.”

Something cool touched her hand.  She opened her eyes to see him sliding over to sit next to her.  “No, Venus, it’s not a problem.  Not for me,” he said.  “I mean…we’re seventeen.  I’m in no hurry to be having kids.”

“But this will mean we never could,” she pressed.

“And I’ve sort of been expecting that,” he said.  “It doesn’t surprise me.”

She looked over at him, vaguely surprised herself.  “Really?”

Jake pushed down some negativity of his own.  “Really.  I mean…the Emperor would have made the Primarchs capable of having children if he had wanted them to.  It doesn’t surprise me that you’re not, either.”  He put a hand up.  “I mean, no offense.”

She looked down at where he had put his other hand over hers.  “None taken.”  She sighed.  “All right, then.”

“So…did you think there was a chance I would say yes?” Jake asked.

“Not a real one.”  She grinned at him, relief easing her nerves.  “And it’s not irreversible.  There’s treatments…you’ll find out, if you need to.”

Jake nodded.  “All right.”  His toned turned playful.  “Say, if you’re thinking of kids, you are thinking ahead,” he said.

She shrugged, playing along.  “Well, who knows?  If nothing else, I can stop taking Cycridine.”

“Mmm, no more rubber prison,” Jake said lasciviously.  He raised his eyebrows.  “But seriously, did you think it would happen?  Compatibility being an issue?  I know we talked about it before, too…”

Venus shrugged again, this time distractedly.  “Yeah.  But it’s better than not knowing, right?”

“Yes, it is.”  He hugged her again, and lingered.  “But don’t worry.  This doesn’t change our plans.”

“I didn’t think you were the type to give up that easily,” she said drily.  She stood and walked into the passenger cabin, pausing at the threshold.  “All right.  Let’s get some sleep.”

===Unto the Fires of War===


Officer Haarlan was awaiting them as they shuffled, yawning, from the Aquila.  “Welcome back to the Iron Tide, my Lords and Ladies Primarch,” he said, sketching a bow.  “And Lady Venus, welcome back to your ship,” he said formally.  “Is that a Salamander formal uniform?” he asked.

“No, this is my duty uniform,” Venus said as she walked down the ramp.  “Like it?”

“It’s radiant, my Lady,” Haarlan said.  “May I pass along a few messages?  The Captain and his senior staff await your leisure in the Hall, along with a representative of the Salamanders Legion,” he said.

“Very well, Officer, please lead the way,” Venus said.  “May I direct our luggage to our rooms?  Some items are rather fragile.”

“I will have the servitors take the proper care,” Haarlan said, gesturing to the techpriest overseeing them.  The red and white-robed woman nodded once and tapped a few runes on her slate.  “Now…this way,” he said, turning to go.

The group followed him up the lifts to the Captain’s Hall, where Roemer and his staff were indeed awaiting them.  Isaac and a few other serfs were present, as were the psyker from before and a fighter group commander.  “My Lady Venus, my Lords and Ladies Primarch, welcome back,” Roemer said.  “How was your trip?”

“Fascinating, dangerous, memorable, satisfying, and insightful,” Venus said.  “In no particular order.”

Roemer smiled slightly.  “I am glad.”  He noted Jake’s healed injury and missing hair as the younger man turned to set down his bag.  He didn’t say a word, but Jake noticed his stare as he turned back around.

“The dangerous part,” Jake noted.

“Ah.”  Roemer decided not to press.


As the group sat down to speak, Roemer leaned forward over the table.  “My Lady, I have invited you here to pass along some important news.  Warmaster Horus has instructed that the Salamander Eightieth through Ninety Ninth Expeditionary Groups, and Fourth Grand Fleet, be mobilized alongside the Space Wolf Thirteenth Grand Fleet and Death Guard Second Grand Fleet.  They will be mobilized to support the Imperial Fist Phalanx Group in a thorough, end-to-end purge of the entire Void Walks trade lane.  Any new worlds found within the region will be colonized, any non-Eldar holdings will be razed to cinder, and the persistent green menace within pushed back to their Orkholds and crushed,” Roemer said flatly.  Jake and Alex’s eyes went wide at the clipped, professional pronouncement of death.

Venus nodded, her eyes focused closely on the aging Captain.  “So it shall be, then.  If you wish my leave to take your ship to the battle, then naturally you have it.  Does this mean we will need new transport?”

“Certainly not, your Highness,” Isaac said.  “But it means we get to test the tank in live-fire combat,” he said with the ghost of a smile.  “We will return to Fenris in time to ferry you to Terra.”

“Indeed, Sieur Isaac is correct.”  Roemer sat back.  “This does, however, disrupt our own plans.  We will not be in station-keeping above the Fang.  We won’t be in the system at all, while you are.”

“Well…”  Venus nodded, digesting the news.  She slowly stood and offered the Captain her gloved hand.  He rose and took it.  “Unto the anvil, Captain,” she said, looking into his eyes.  He nodded solemnly, releasing her hand.  “Until then…we have a journey ahead of us,” Venus added.

“We certainly do.”  Roemer sat back down, looking up at Venus with a hint of fresh respect.  “Might I inquire how Nocturne’s gravity and air pressure felt?  It may take time to adjust to Terran standard now.”

“I feel light as a feather, even with all this armor on,” Venus said, smiling down at the ceramite and adamantium plating and link on her leather uniform.  “Lord Regent No’dan passes along his regards, by the by, and his thanks for ferrying us to our destinations,” she said, gesturing to the room.

“It was our honor, Princess,” Roemer answered for the group.  He raised one hand slightly, beckoning her to continue.  “So…tell me.  What did you learn of your home?”

Venus thought back.  “Well,” she began, sitting back down.  “It was certainly an adjustment, seeing that the entire world was open to the air.  Even when I lived in Startseite; the Palace and the Hives were always there, closed off, keeping their occupants in.”  She tilted her head down in deference to the Captain’s own history.  “Was it the same way for you when you set foot on a planet for the first time?  I recall you telling me that you’re void-born.”

“So I am indeed, and yes, it was quite a shock,” Roemer said.  He lifted a goblet of wine and passed the decanter around.  “Would anyone care for a drink to see us off?” he asked.

Alex nodded and silently accepted a cup, as did Freya, while the others passed.  “You know, I turned drinking age down on Nocturne, and somehow it doesn’t feel like an achievement,” Jake joked.

“Not a social drinker, Sieur Seager?” Isaac asked with a chuckle.

“Well, maybe it’ll grow on me at college,” Jake said modestly.

Alex sipped his wine, eyes boring a hole in the table.  His mind was racing.  The flight to Fenris wouldn’t be so bad…but what the hell was he going to do when he went home?

His father would cut off his college fund.  He could tell that much about the ornery old bastard.  If he accepted the scholarship from Cyprine, as soon as he could, then he could stay with Freya, which was great, sure, but it wasn’t a career choice, it was a personal one.

He set his wine goblet down, his guts tightening in helpless rancor.  The depth of his father’s hubris astounded him.  To come all the way to Nocturne just to give him an ultimatum…

Freya tapped the back of his hand with one finger.  Alex started and looked over to where she was sitting.  She glared into his brown eyes with a hint of recrimination dancing in her own, animal green ones.  He nodded apologetically.

She nodded back, relaxing.  She discreetly pushed the wine bottle his way and he topped off his drink as Roemer chatted with Venus, discussing their trip.  Alex smiled in self-reproach.  “Sorry,” he said under his breath.  He knew she could hear him.

“I think the most unexpected part was when we were in Aethonion.  The Museum was amazing, and I didn’t even know it existed,” Venus said.  “That was a nice surprise.”

“Given the rest of the Legion’s lack of hesitation to use Librarians, is it that unexpected to see a Museum devoted to the ancient tribes?” Isaac reasoned.  “They still teach some of the same skills to Librarians today that they taught to the Earth Shamans in the times before the King.”

“Right, but I was expecting there to be one for each tribe, in each city,” Venus said.

Isaac nodded.  “Yes, that would have also made some sense, but I think that would have been interpreted as an invitation to competition,” he reasoned.


Remilia sat back in her own seat, listening with half an ear. She idly wondered if her latest message had arrived at the Dorn manor. Certainly, there hadn’t been many replies to her messages, not like the ones Venus had been getting, within one to three days of sending them to Terra. Then again, Vulkan wrote to Nocturne all the time anyway. Was it wrong of her to assume some reluctance to engage directly was still in play with her father?

She drank from her own wine, then set the cup down, done with it. In fairness, her father probably wasn’t just not trying to contact her. He was a busy man, she supposed. She glanced down the table and grinned to herself as she saw Alex clearly laboring under parental issues too. Misery loved company.

Venus took note of their discomfort. “Well, Captain, thank you for your warm welcome,” she said. “However, my companions and I are exhausted and I suspect a bit of R&R is in order.” She rose to her feet, inviting all the others at the table to rise with a wordless glance. “I look forward to the flight to Fenris, Captain Roemer,” she said, reaching out to grasp his hand.

“You honor me, Princess,” Roemer said, bowing over her hand. She grasped his and shook it. “Welcome back aboard. Our official Estimated Time of Arrival is nine days,” he added.

“Excellent. Good evening, Captain,” she said, nodding respectfully. The others dutifully grabbed their bags and filed out as she winked a farewell to Isaac and took her leave.

Remilia waited outside the lift to the cabins, wondering if she could make a discreet exit. Venus lightly coughed, sensing her dilemma. Remilia flinched and glanced over at her armored cousin, who smiled mysteriously.

===Remilia's Evening===


Freya, whose senses had alerted her to Remilia’s distress before she had even arrived, was a bit more direct.  “Go.”

“All right,” Remilia muttered, flushing a bit.

“Can I have your room key, though?  I’ll need to deposit things there,” Venus said.

“Oh…sure,” Remilia said, digging a scrap of plastic out of her pocket.  “Here.”

Venus accepted the card and stepped onto the lift.  “Now…Jake, if you don’t mind, I think I need to curl up in bed and watch something stupid.”

“Sounds good,” Jake said, yawning.  “You guys turning in too?” he asked.

“I think I want to write my mother,” Alex suddenly said.  “I’ve been pretty quiet to her lately.  She has to be wondering how I am.”

“I think I’ll pop into the gym first, burn off some cramps,” Freya said.  “Sitting in a shuttle all afternoon?  Boring.”

Remilia muttered something about having a drink first, then quickly made her escape as the lift paused on the O-Club’s deck.  She walked swiftly down the corridor, pausing at the threshold of the O-Club and settling her breath.

Kines had his back turned, grabbing something from beneath the mirrors behind the bar.  The sudden gasps and murmurs from his patrons alerted him to the arrival of someone important.  No grumbling, so it wasn’t Haarlan.  No red glow, so it wasn’t Princess Venus.  No vengeful laugh from Chief Simmons, so it wasn’t Freya, and the Royal Consorts wouldn’t have alarmed the officers like that.  Which left…

He smiled to himself, his stomach tightening a bit.  “Lady Dorn, Remilia, welcome back to the Tide,” he said, rising smoothly to his feet, already holding up a bottle of the orange soda he knew she liked.

Remilia smiled from her stool.  “Heard me coming, did you?”

“No,” Kines said honestly, sliding her the bottle.  “How are you?”

“All right, thanks,” she said, hiding her nervous smile in a sip from the bottle.  “Yourself?”

“Bit tired.  Looking to get off shift,” he said, shrugging with forced nonchalance.  She nodded, her own casual air equally feigned.

“So I imagine.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you anywhere but behind that counter.  What time does your shift start, anyway?” Remilia asked, looking for something to fill the air.

Kines grabbed a brew for a pilot who had arrived after Remilia did.  “I don’t have a duty rotation like most officers, I just get up when the bar opens in the lounge and turn in immediately after.  It’s ten hours, or thereabouts,” he said.

“Huh.  Good to know,” she said idly.  They both inwardly cringed at the implied innuendo, but neither remarked on it.


Freya stretched languidly on the bed, sprawling over a pile of unsorted laundry like an indolent cat.  Alex fiddled with his slate, sending a message to the ship’s Astropath.  He was accepting the scholarship from Cyprine.  The note to his mother had been succinct and completely without revelation.  He didn’t want her to worry about him while he was on his trip.  She had enough on her mind.

“You wanna go hit the gym?” Freya asked, rolling a clean pair of workout panties through her hands, wondering if it would even be open after dinner.

“Sure, just let me…send the damn message,” Alex grumbled distractedly.  “There, sent.  The Astropath will send the messages to Terra as soon as possible.”

“Good.”  Freya slid out of her clothes and into her workout kit as Alex did the same.  “So…how adorable is Remilia?”

“What?” Alex asked, his hand halfway through tying his laces.  He glanced over at her.  “What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, even a mortal’s nose can smell the vibes between her and…” her eyes widened.  “You didn’t see those two before?”

“Who?” Alex asked, confused.

“Wow…well, let me put it this way,” Freya giggled.  “We’re going to give Remilia plenty of privacy over the next few days.”

Alex shook his head.  “She has eyes for someone?”

“Kines!  The bartender, remember?” Freya prompted, slinging her towel.

“Oh.”  Alex thought that over.  “…Really?  He can’t be a day over twenty.”

“He submitted his candidacy at fifteen, bought a two-year degree on Corum, boom, officer,” Freya said.  “And Remilia needs it.  I say let it slide,” she said coyly.

Alex snorted.  “Can’t deny that,” he said with a chuckle.

Jake dug through his day bag, extracting his borrowed slate.  “What do you want to watch?”

“Something riotously stupid.  LaffTrax would be good, too,” Venus said, pawing through the bag as well.

“What are you looking for?” Jake asked.

“Throwing out something we don’t need, forget it,” Venus said dismissively.  Jake shrugged, dropping onto the bed with the slate.

“All right, ‘Armored Eyes,’ coming up,” Jake said, paging through his library of flicks.  Venus headed for the hatch as he did so.  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

“Just dropping something off with Remilia,” Venus said, not looking back.


Far below, Remilia checked her watch with an apprehensive flutter of her stomach.  “Well…all right, Lieutenant.  It’s been fun, but I need to retire,” she said, placing the slightest emphasis on ‘retire.’

Kines nodded, all business.  “Then I’ll see you later, Remilia,” he said.

Remilia set down her empty bottle and walked off, feeling his eyes on her back the whole way.  As soon as she was safe in the corridor, she sighed, wondering if she had been too opaque.  She glanced back, anxiously thinking whether or not to go back and clarify.  As she saw the crowd around the bar lessen in size, however, she decided against it.  With another flutter of nerves, she rode the lifts up to her deck.


A few hours later, having checked and re-checked the schedule for the ship’s operations in her mind, she slowly paced in her room, nerves wracking her stomach.  She had debated putting something more provocative on, but the marks on her arms would have ruined that.  She bemoaned her own short-sightedness in carving herself up like that, wondering if makeup would hide them.

She pushed the hatch over to the small bathroom open and quickly pawed through the bags there, looking for something she could use to cover up her forearms.  Sadly, it seemed that there was nothing to be found.

The hatch to her room rapped.  She jumped a mile.  Coughing to dispel nerves, she answered it, cracking it open.  Kines was waiting outside, his own face a composed mask.  “Hi,” she said.

He smiled slightly.  “Hi.”

“I was wondering if maybe I had been too indirect before…guess not,” she admitted with a nervous laugh.

He raised his eyebrows a bit.  “No…it was pretty clear.”  He glanced side-to-side.  “So…this is a nice corridor,” he said blandly.

“Oh!  Right, come in, come in,” she said, beckoning him into the cabin.  He walked past her and noted the expansive accommodations.

“Wow.  This is a hell of a lot better than a bunkroom,” Kines said, taking in the sight.  His eyes travelled over the pile of bags that the crew had deposited, over the neat bed, to the nightstand-

His eyes froze, and his cheeks flushed so deeply red that for an instant, she wondered if he was ill.  She followed his gaze, and spotted the box of condoms Venus had deposited there.

She slowly slid her hands over her face, dying of embarrassment.  “Venus, I’m going to shoot you,” she whispered.

Kines, of course, had no idea of Venus’ involvement, and pretended to have seen nothing.  “Well…My Lady…er, Remilia, sorry.  I suppose…”  he went silent, frantically looking for words.  “Hah!  You know, I came in here with the most suave lines I could think of or steal, and suddenly there’s nothing,” he admitted, finally letting his anxious nerves overwhelm him.

“I know what you mean,” Remilia muttered.  He turned to look her over, and nearly laughed at the absolutely complete flush she had, from pale collarbone to hairline to ears.  She glared at him.  “Something funny, Chuck?” she asked coolly.

“Not at all, I’m just struck by the novelty,” he said, sitting at the foot of the bed.  He smiled up at her.  “So…what fantasy scenario did you have cooked up?  We’re still hewing pretty close to mine.”

She flushed even deeper, brushing a bead of sweat off of her brow.  “Well…to be honest, I didn’t really have one,” she said.  “This doesn’t happen to me all that often.”

He actually managed a laugh.  “Really?  Travelling to far-away planets, discovering exotic locales and men?”

“This is kind of my first venture, in both regards,” she admitted.

He didn’t seem to catch her drift.  “Well it’s certainly making my day,” he said, kicking his shoes off.  “I hope yours is improving, too,” he added, a hint of his confidence returning.

“It’s getting there,” she allowed.  She sat down next to him, slowly running her hands over her arms, unconsciously hiding her scars.  She finally managed a nervous smile.  “I’m glad you, at least, seem to know what you’re doing.”

Kines laughed shortly.  “Rule number two of being a Second Lieutenant: Always Look Like You Know What You’re Doing in Front of a Superior Officer.”

Remilia giggled.  “What’s rule one?”

“‘Never Use the Word ‘Experience,’’” he explained.  “Nothing bothers the senior guys more than a guy under twenty using the word ‘experience.’”

“I bet.”  She let the humor of the moment work its way through her stomach, settling the butterflies down a bit.  The silence dragged on for a moment, prompting him to look at her sideways.

“Are you all right?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

“Oh!  Yeah, I’m, yeah, it’s all good,” she said.  She swallowed a bit as he nodded and started working the buttons on his duty shirt, tugging them free.  “Just…you know.  Like you said, novelty.”

He smiled as he removed his outermost garments.  “It’s certainly novel…oh.”  He paused, hand on his undershirt, slowly looking up at her.  “…How novel, exactly?” he asked cautiously.

She shrugged, another bead of sweat working its way down her back.  “Completely.”

Kines nodded as that news set off all kinds of new bells and alarms in his head.  His own temperature worked its way back up a few degrees.  “Well…that’s actually really touching,” he said at last.

“How?” she asked nervously.

“Well…I mean, do you even know my middle name?” he asked.  His eyes flew apart.  “Not to send the wrong message,” he hastily corrected.  “I’m just, you know, flattered.”

“You have a middle name?” Remilia asked, nervously unlooping her belt.  She was already barefoot, fortunately.

“Well, no, but I just meant…” he looked down and flushed again.  “Sorry.  I was sort of operating under the assumption that you had done this before.”

“Well…no, is that a problem?” she asked, her heart seizing a bit.

“Certainly not,” he said, a bit more confidence returning, rushing in behind a wave of well-concealed glee.  He smiled at her, as easily as he could contrive.  “Call me presumptuous, but I thought a beautiful girl like you would be beating the guys off with a stick.”

She snorted under her breath.  “In a class occupied by my cousins, all of whom are prettier and less fucked-up than me?”

He scoffed.  “You’re not fucked up.”  She mutely held her bare arms up.  He hesitated, his words catching.  “I don’t think you’re fucked up.  And Remilia…” he slid his hand over her waist, gently pushing her other hand away.  “You ARE beautiful,” he said softly.

She tightened, quite involuntarily.  “Thanks, Chuck, that’s nice to hear,” she said.  He smiled, gently easing her loose jeans down to the floor to join her belt and running his hand over her muscular stomach.  She shivered.

“You know what, just keep doing that,” she said, each gentle stroke feeling as hot as a brush with a curling iron.

He smiled broadly.  “If you’d like.  Lie down, okay?” he asked.  She hurriedly scooted farther back on the bed, looking up at him with her eyes wide.  He found it quite endearing.

“You’re so cute,” he said softly, sliding his hand up to tug her bra free.  He took in the sight with a smile that was half nerves and half satisfaction.  He leaned down and traced his lips along one little circle.

“Thanks,” she croaked.  She cleared her throat and tried to settle her nerves.  “That’s…” she paused as he continued, sliding his other hand over to give her other side some attention.  “…actually pretty relaxing,” she admitted, feeling a squirming feeling building up just below her stomach.  He smiled against her pale skin.

“Actually wait, shit,” she suddenly said.  He lifted his head up, surprised.  She scrambled over to the bedside table, snatching up the box and returning.  “Nearly forgot,” she said.  He smiled.

“Good call,” he said, sliding the rest of his clothes off, to her unhidden approval.  He flashed a grin at her unusual tan lines.  “Someone went sunbathing on Nocturne,” he observed.

She nodded, pulling her underwear off too.  He basked in the sight for a moment, before accepting the box from her with an unsteady hand.  “I mean it, you know.  Look at you,” he said, gently guiding her back down and applying her offering.  She gulped and licked dry lips.

“Well…if tall and pale goes for you,” she said nervously.

He slid his hand down between her legs and gently pushed, eliciting a moan.  “Hush.  You’re too cute for half-ass compliments,” he muttered, putting his hands back to work.

Minutes later, Remilia mentally checked one more item off the list of things to do before summer ended, as she offered him her virginity, and he reverently took it.


Venus smiled to herself as she lay in bed with Jake, digging a pair of little foam buds out of a box on her nightstand.  The sounds from the next cabin over were faint, but intensifying.  “Time to see if these work,” she muttered.

===The Morning After===


Some time later – neither paused to check – Remilia lay flat on the bed, listening to Kines fall asleep.  At that range, she could hear quite a bit.  “So that’s what Freya’s listening to in there,” she muttered under her breath.  She decided she liked it.

Once he was out cold, she reached over to the nightstand for her earplugs by instinct.  Instead of finding the little container, however, her fingers brushed paper.  Curious, she lifted it and flipped the lights up to their lowest setting.  In the dim light, she squinted to make out the words.

''Thought I’d trade.  Hope you don’t mind.  Be safe and have fun!  -Venus.''

Remilia smiled to herself, flipping the lights back down.  “Your execution is postponed.”  She settled back down on the mattress, the alien sensations she was feeling all over starting to fade.  All except the sounds and warmth from her right flank.  After a moment’s consideration, she scooted a bit closer, letting the slightly taller body next to hers warm her up a bit.  She closed her eyes and tried to relax, and a deep, contented sleep was fast in arriving.


The next morning, she woke up feeling groggy and a bit sluggish.  The lights were out, and she flicked her hand at the clock.  The little lights came on, revealing that it was less than a minute before her alarm was supposed to go off.

“Shit,” she muttered, gingerly moving over to the clock.  She scrambled in the dark to find the off-switch for the alarm, but just as she found it, it started blaring.  “Shit!” she growled, finally pressing the button.

Kines stirred behind her anyway.  “Mgh.”

She sighed in frustration.  “Aw damn it.”

“What’s going on,” he muttered blearily.  “The hell is it so dark?”

“Sorry, Chuck, sorry,” she soothed, sliding out of bed.  “Go back to sleep, I was just going to work out.”

“…It’s not even 0530,” he said, focusing on the clock with an effort.

“I don’t sleep much.”  She slid some workout clothes in the dark.  “Seriously, sleep.  When do you need to be up?”

“Uh…’bout four hours,” he muttered.  “Bar opens late.”

“Well, I’ll see you then,” she said.  She quickly walked over to his side of them bed and leaned over, speaking softly.  “Thanks, by the way.  Turns out you actually did know what you were doing,” she purred.

“Thanks for shopping,” he slurred.  He ran a hand up her spandex-clad thigh.  “Haarlan is going to have me flogged.  I dunno, I think it was worth it.”

“He won’t touch you if he wants to keep his position,” Remilia promised.

“Good.”  Kines rolled back over.  “Later,” he yawned.

Remilia pushed the hatch open and froze.  Venus and Freya were both leaning against the far bulkhead, smiling wanly.  She slowly closed the hatch and stood facing them, shifting her weight slightly.  “Uh…morning.”

“Good night,” Freya said.  She raised her hand to her mouth in mock surprise at her ‘slip.’  “I mean…good morning.”

“Oh hush,” Remilia grumbled, blushing slightly.

“Thanks for letting me borrow the ear plugs,” Venus snarked.

“Yeah, well…thanks for the trade, it came in handy,” Remilia muttered, starting down the corridor.  Venus and Freya followed, with wry grins for each other en route.

“Good thing Alex was all worn out himself from the gym, else you kids might have kept him up,” Freya said innocently.

“Both of you knock it off, all right?” Remilia threatened.

“Aww, but our little ice queen melted!” Venus giggled.

“I mean it,” Remilia snarled.

Freya leaned over and playfully nipped her ear as they waited for the lift.  “We’re just kidding.  I’m secretly happy for you,” she confided in a stage whisper.

Remilia pushed her cousin away, then turned to glare at Venus as the black-skinned girl gave her a quick squeeze herself.  “Both of you, quit it,” she half-heartedly growled.

The hatch slid open.  Just as Remilia started to board and escape, Haarlan emerged.  “My ladies.  There you are,” he said, a note of sternness in his voice.

“Morning, Officer Haarlan,” Venus said brightly.

“Good morning.  Lady Primarch Remilia, did you happen to…see Second Lieutenant Charles Kines last night?” Haarlan asked curtly.

“What do you mean?” Remilia asked.

“I mean I saw him leave the O-Club and head straight for the commissary last night, and he emerged looking rather secretive.  He then took a lift to your deck and when I called the lift car back to my deck, it was empty,” Haarlan said flatly.

“What of it?” Remilia asked, her good mood evaporating.

“Ma’am, he is now guilty of, if I have not missed my guess, statutory rape,” Haarlan said curtly.  “And possibly a count of fraternization with a superior officer.”

“He’s less than three years older than me, so no statch, and-” Remilia said angrily.

“Political Officer Haarlan, your dedication to your duties is admirable, and duly noted,” Venus suddenly said loudly.  “You are hereby, to that effect, relieved of the responsibility of Vessel Disciplinary Officer until such time that you forget that last night’s unspecified events allegedly happened.  Understood?” she asked.

The other three people in the group stared.  “P-Princess?” Haarlan asked, astonished.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” Venus said mildly.

“Yes…your Highness,” Haarlan finally said.  He turned to face Remilia.  “Er…my apologies, my Lady, I was…”

“Yes.  Doing your job.”  Remilia tapped the button for the gym, and the car descended in an uncomfortable silence.

Haarlan stayed aboard as the car arrived and the girls got off.  As he dropped away into the depths of the ship, Venus looked sideways at Remilia, wondering if she would need to talk.

She didn’t.  “Thanks,” she said, and to Venus’ relief, she was actually smiling.  “Well.  That’s that taken care of.”

“He’ll have to be more discreet next time,” Freya opined.

“Yeah, he will,” Remilia said primly.  The two girls exchanged another smile behind her back.

Far above, Alex rolled to his feet and snatched up his slate as it suddenly buzzed.  He had set it to make a certain tone when the Astropath aboard sent him a message, and he had.  His mother had bundled a reply with the latest words from the Seagers, the Dorns, and Vulkan’s household.  No messages from the Russes, which was odd, but then, they would be at the Fang soon.

He skimmed the message briefly, cringing at his mother’s obvious surprise at his abbreviated message.  He re-read it in greater depth, pausing as he reached the end, where she had mentioned offhandedly that she was looking at properties in the upper spires of Hive Ceorlic, on the far side of the Albiona city block.  He grimaced.  “Mom…don’t give up,” he muttered under his breath.  He snorted his impatience away.  “Fuck.  If I’m up this early, I may as well head out,” he said to the empty room.

He wandered into the gym a while later, noting that it was Freya and Venus’ turn for sparring today.  Venus had elected to forego bloodpaint this time, since it was just a friendly bout.  Whatever advantage her star had given her seemed to be fading, since Freya was easily coming out on top.
Alex wandered over to where Remilia was browsing free weights.  “Morning,” he said with a yawn.

She straightened up.  “Hey!  You’re up early!” she said, taking in his appearance with some surprise.  “Didn’t you stay up late in the gym last night too?”

“Yeah, but I’d feel self-conscious on Fenris if I wasn’t ripped,” he joked.  “Plus, I got some mail from home this morning.”

“Oh, cool.”  Remilia lifted a weight, testing its heft.  “Wait…”

“Home, as in my mother,” Alex said.

Remilia looked at him sideways.  “How is she?”

“She’s thinking of selling her house and moving into the hives,” Alex said, a little bitterly.  “Which…I guess she needs the money, but it kinda leaves me high and dry.”

Remilia winced.  “Did you pick a college?  You could just live on campus,” she said.

“New Cyprine,” Alex said.  “Freya and I will both be there.”

“That’s good,” Remilia said.  She started lifting the weight, deciding to do so while standing.

“How about you?”

“I picked Alanaster, and I’m thinking a two-year there, then I take a break to decide if I just go get a job or more school,” she said.

“Cool.  That’s a good school.”  Alex smirked.  “So, did that possibility we discussed in the market come to pass?”

“Sure did,” Remilia said.  “Can you be discreet?”

“My lips are sealed,” Alex promised.

Venus slumped against the ropes, panting, trying to keep her guard up.  Freya rocked back on her heels, a grim smile curling her lips.  “Had enough?”

Her red-eyed cousin grimaced and stood back up, hands clenched.  “Not yet,” she snarled.  She advanced on Freya again, trying to find a way past her cousin’s ludicrous speed.

Freya side-stepped Venus’ attack with contemptuous ease, eyes narrowed.  “You’re exhausted.  Stand down or this is gonna sting,” she taunted.

Venus swung low, hammering her fists into Freya’s low guard and stomach.  Freya absorbed most of them, turning the last few into a counterattack that sent Venus to one knee.

Finally, Venus sighed, tapping out.  Freya bounced over and hauled her cousin up into a hug.  “Not bad,” she allowed.

“Relatively speaking,” Venus said blearily.  “At least I didn’t black out today.”

Freya snorted, vaulting the ropes and landing on the bare metal floor.  “All right…hey, Alex!  When did you get here?” she asked.

“Just arrived.”  Alex noted her bloodied knuckles.  “Tough bout?”

“Yeah, Venus is getting good,” Freya said.  She rested her hands on her hips and looked him over.  “You get a letter from home?”

“Just a quick note.  Mom’s probably going to move into the hives,” Alex said, shaking his head.  “I don’t blame her, but…”

“Yeah, that sucks.”  Had Jake been there, she might have been a bit less blunt, but it was an honest assessment.  “How is she feeling?”

“Better.  The proceedings are over, she’s found some part-time work,” Alex said.  He hefted a twenty-kilo plate and tacked it onto a barbell.  “Spot?”

“Sure.”  Freya stood behind the bar that Alex was using and slid a hand under.  “Set.”

Alex started lifting, a bit slowly.  Clearly, his mind was on far-off Terra.