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

===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.”