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

===Welcome===


Jake gripped the armrest of his seat, nausea pulling at him.  “Does it always feel that bad?” he managed.

“Every single time,” Freya groused.  She was looking a lot more comfortable, though.  “You get used to it.”  The four seventeen-year-olds and sixteen-year-old in the party were strapped into seats in the officers' lounge of the patrol frigate Iron Tide. The utilitarian interior of the ship was livened up a bit in the lounge, naturally, with real wood trim on the bar and a variety of entertainments scattered along the walls.  All five recent High School grads were looking a bit under the weather, as the effects of Warp transition took their toll.  The very few other people in the room were looking much better.  But then, on a patrol frigate, Warp transition is a fact of life.

Freya, the most seasoned Warp traveler of the five, levered off her chair and shoved her restraints aside, shaking her hands.  She glanced over the little group as she did so.  There was herself, of course.  Freya Russ, heiress of the Space Wolves, and de facto Blood Princess of the Fenris system.  Her boyfriend, Alex Carlin, was with her.  Beside him was her cousin – or sister, really – Remilia Dorn, who had so little interest in the rulership of the Inwit system that she wouldn’t claim it if it fell into her lap, and the heiress of the Imperial Fists.  Next to her was Jacob Seager, Jake.  He was there as the more-or-less fiancé of passenger five, Venus, the daughter of the Primarch of the Salamander Legion.  All five were looking a bit green, save Venus, of course, whose obsidian skin and fiery eyes never changed their hue.

“All right, kids, on your feet,” Freya instructed, clapping once.  “No way to get the Warp Shivers to go away better than a brisk walk.  Let’s go, up up up.”

Alex wobbled to his feet, shaking his head.  “You say so, babe,” he grumbled.  Remilia climbed up too, her superhuman physiology easing her pain.

“So…this is it,” she said, excitement tingeing her voice.  She was practically beaming.  “We are officially on the way.”

“We are!” Freya said happily.  “So…nine days to Nocturne, then a month there.”

Venus smiled, leaning back in her chair.  “Home.”

“Terra’s home,” Freya said, then grinned eagerly.  “This is still gonna be AWESOME!” she squealed.  “Ah, I can’t wait.”

Jake unclipped his restraints, standing and stretching.  The tall, pale sixteen-year-old shook off the lingering Warp Shivers, popping his knuckles.  “I know!”  He grinned broadly, sweeping the room with his eyes.  “I’ve never even been on a ship before.  I have no idea what to expect.”

“Several days of tedium,” Freya said wryly.  They had already sent their stuff up to their rooms, to be deposited and sorted later.  They had been on their way down to the lounge when the jump warning came through the PA.  “Believe me, you want to spend as much time in the Warp as possible asleep.  Which means I, at least, am going to spend as much time in the gym as possible.”

“Sounds good,” Remilia said.  “Too bad they don’t have a pool, though,” she said, grinning at Venus.

“I know, I know, but I’ll make do,” Venus said.  She was the only swimmer in the group, and was under no impressions about being able to practice that summer, seeing as her immediate surroundings would be nothing but warships and Death Worlds for months.

An officer in a smart white and grey Navy uniform walked up to the little group.  He came to a halt several paces off and snapped off a respectful salute.  None of the Daughters returned it, though Alex and Jake both glanced over to see if they should.  “My Lords and Ladies Primarch, welcome aboard the Iron Tide,” he said, clasping his hands at his back.  “I am Lieutenant Commander Haarlan, the ship’s Liaison officer.”

“Commander,” Remilia said, nodding her head in a brief bow.  The other teens offered up an assortment of acknowledgements, and Haarlan gestured behind him.

“I’ve been assigned to ensure that your trip to Nocturne is as comfortable as it can be.  Is there anything I can do to that end now?” he asked.

“Assure me that that bar serves something I’m old enough to drink,” Venus joked.  Haarlan glanced over at her, and his face hardened a bit.

“I’m sure it does, Lady Venus.”

“Well, thank goodness for that,” Jake said, brushing himself down.  He looked over at the officer and extended his hand.  “Jake Seager.  Nice to meet you.”

Haarlan grabbed his hand and shook it briskly.  “Welcome aboard, my Lord.”

“Lord?” Jake chuckled.  “Thanks, but I’m not-”

“Alex Carlin,” Alex suddenly broke in, cutting his friend off.  He shook Haarlan’s hand too, looking pointedly at Jake.  “I don’t suppose I could trouble you to show me where the nearest restroom is,” he said to the officer.

“This way, my Lord,” Haarlan said, directing Alex to one side of the room.  As soon as Haarlan was out of earshot, Jake turned to the girl, eyebrows up.
“What was that about?”

Venus shrugged, mystified.  “No clue.”

“Does he think I’m royalty, too?  And Alex?” Jake asked, bewildered.

“I specifically said who each of us was when I put us on the manifest,” Venus said with a shrug.  Her shimmering black hair rippled over the thick fabric of her shirt as she did, catching the light over the bar.  “Names, titles.  He might just be confused.”

“Unless he’s making certain assumptions,” Remilia put in.

Freya shook her head, her red braids bumping off her arms.  “Whatever.  Who’s thirsty?”

“Aye,” Remilia said, walking straight over the bar.  Jake put the question aside.  He was going to be here for a while, he could always ask Alex later.

The four teens trooped up to the O-Club lounge’s bar and sat down, as a Lieutenant that looked barely older than they did bustled up, desperately trying to keep a grin off his face.  “My Ladies, my Lord, how may I serve you?”

“Hi there, Lieutenant,” Remilia said, running her hands over the smoothed, glossy wood of the bar.  “Just a round of waters, I think.”

“Can’t risk something heavier seconds after my first Warp transit,” Jake joked.

“Ah, the first jump, Lord?  It’s something you'll soon forget,” the Lieutenant said.  He grabbed a few glasses from behind the counter and started filling them.  “It gets so much easier with time.”

“I bet.”  Jake lifted his glass, waiting until Alex hurriedly walked up to the bar in time to join the toast.  “To the road trip, then?”

“To the road trip,” Freya giggled, clinking her glass with the others.  Each teen downed some water and set their glasses down, all solemn ritual.

The Lieutenant beamed.  “Well.  Let me know if you need anything else, will you?”

“Actually,” Venus asked, leaning forward a bit.  “I was wondering how often this ship finds itself serving with the Salamanders, since it apparently makes the rounds between Mars and Nocturne.”

“In battle, my Lady?  Never, that I know of,” the young Lieutenant confessed.  “In other duties, all the time.  As far as I know, however, you’re the first Salamander we’ve had aboard in the flesh.”

Venus blinked.  “Then…what other role does the ship serve?”

“The Tide serves as a patrol vessel, ranging ahead of convoys between Nocturne and Sol,” Haarlan said, walking up behind Alex and standing beside the group.  “Since that route is so secure, it’s often called upon to ferry VIPs and secure cargo that the normal Mechanicus and Navy convoys can’t carry in a sufficiently timely manner,” he explained, standing at ease next to the bar.

“Something I can get for you, Commander?” the Lieutenant asked brightly, turning to the liaison officer.

The older man didn’t even turn his gaze.  “No, Lieutenant,” his voice suddenly a bit more clipped and toneless.  The younger man seemed to shrink a bit.  Remilia quirked her brow, sensing some history, but kept any questions she may have had to herself.

“I see.  Thanks,” Venus said, arriving at the same conclusion.  The Liaison officer nodded once.

“Of course.  Here,” he said, digging in a pocket, “is my personal vox code.  Please do contact me if you need anything else.”

“We will, thanks, Commander,” Remilia said.  Haarlan nodded once, then turned on his heel and walked off.

As soon as the senior officer was gone, the Lieutenant behind the bar shook his head.  He turned back to his guests, smile back on his face.  “Anyone need a refill?”

“A story, I doth detect,” Freya said slyly.

“Nothing that literally every single ship in the fleet doesn’t have from time to time, Madam,” the Lieutenant said ruefully.  “Political officers don’t tend to like the junior officers much.”

“So that’s what he does on the weekends, huh,” Freya said drily.  “There’s no surprise.”

Jake blinked.  “Uh…”

“Political officers are assigned to liaise with the Munitorum directly,” Venus supplied.

“Ah.  AH.  I…yeah.”  Jake swirled his ice, thinking that one over.  “Yeah.  That would explain it.”

“Well.  Anyway,” the Lieutenant said, clearly trying to steer back to smoother ground.  “Is there anything else I can get you, my Ladies, Lords?”

“Ah, no thanks,” Remilia said on behalf of the group.  “So…what’s your name, anyway?”

The young officer paused, surprised.  “Ah…I’m Lieutenant Kines, my Lady.  It’s an honor.”

“Thanks.”  Remilia glanced over the room, noting how many more people were streaming in.  “Is this the time of some get-together?”

“Well…sort of.  A lot of the junior officers come by around this time, the first day after a jump.  Just a good-luck thing, you know,” Kines said, shrugging nervously.  “I assure you that you’re not intruding.”

“Good.  Then, I think we’ll stick around, if that’s okay,” she said, tapping the side of her drink with one finger.  Kines refilled her glass, then grabbed a few bottles of something for the other officers who were drifting up to the bar.

A member of the ship’s fighter complement wandered up, still in day uniform.  “Hey, Chuck, how’s it going?” he asked, dropping onto a stool.

“Eventful.  How’s the deck, Commander?” Kines said, sliding a bottle of something down to him.

“Packed.  We had something like half again the usual cargo crap,” the pilot said, before the red glare off the mirror behind the bar caught his eyes.  He followed the light to its source-

“Hi,” Venus said.  The pilot stared for a long moment, shocked, then carefully looked away.

“Greetings, Lady Venus,” the pilot said, his demeanor shifting entirely.  Kines shot Venus a tiny grin, glad to have found a coconspirator.

Gradually, other officers drifted over, and the vacationers settled in, talking to a few people, being stared at by most others.  When the hour came rolling by, Freya glanced meaningfully at her bare wrist.  Kines took the hint.  “My Lords, Ladies Primarch, if you’d like, the mess is open for dinner now,” he said.

“Excellent.  Where to?” Freya asked, standing up.

“It’s two decks directly below us, Madam,” the Lieutenant said.  He seemed about to say more when he suddenly cut his eyes left, the smile fading from his face.

Haarlan walked up behind the group, standing at respectful ease until they had all turned around.  “Dinner is served, my Lords, Ladies Primarch.  Shall we?”

“Ah, just in time,” Remilia said, standing up.

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” Alex said, leaning across the bar to shake Kines’ hand.

“Certainly, Lord Carlin, thanks for coming.  And welcome aboard the Iron Tide,” Kines replied.