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

===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.”