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

===The City===

Alex sat down at the table he had selected for lunch and tried not to make eye contact with any of the people around him.  The little group of Terrans and iceworlders were drawing a few stares in the little tavern they had picked, but most people were just ignoring them.  Freya was trying to extract more information about his father from him.  “Your Dad, you think he’s going to come here and get you?” Freya asked.

“I sincerely hope not, for his sake,” Alex said darkly.  He nursed his drink and glared into its depths.  “If he’s smart he won’t even contact me.”
No sooner had he said that than the vox at his waist vibrated.  Alex grabbed it, flipping it open.

“You get reception on the local network?  I don’t,” Freya said.

“I shouldn’t, unless it’s a frequency a family member has,” Alex groaned.  “Damn him.”  He stood from the table and marched out of the tavern, gripping the vox in his hands.

He emerged into the blazing red sun and pressed the call button.  “Hello?”

“Alex, good to hear from you!” his father boomed.  “How are you?”

Alex drew a weighted breath, let it out slowly.  “Just fine.  Yourself?”

“Awful, but that’s a story for later.  Do you know if there’s a Mechanicus station in Nocturne?”

“A Mech…yeah, of course there is, at the edge of the system.  And a single sensor pulse would have made it clear,” Alex said, surprised.  “What’s wrong?”

“Like I said, long story.  You go have fun.  I’ll talk to you later.”  The call cut off.

Alex stared at the vox in his hand, surprised.  “The fuck?”

After a few finishing inscriptions, the present was almost done.  Venus beamed at the results of her handiwork.  “Awesome.  He’ll love it,” she said.  She wiped some sweat from her hands with a rag and hunched over the alloyed gold and stone assemblage.  “Hmm…gonna need to find someone in town who can finish it…”

One quick rinse and change of clothes later, Venus was scurrying through the substantial craftworks market in the city, gift components in hand.  Having located the shop listed in her quick perusal of the local directory, she arrived at the unassuming little shop.  After an impressively short wait, the gift was assembled.  She held it up to the light in the little store and inspected it.  “Perfect.”  She turned to the craftsman behind the counter and paid up as fast as she decently could, and hauled ass to the tavern they had selected for lunch.

She arrived just as Alex finished his perplexing call.  “Alex!” she called as she approached.

He turned on his heel and spotted her, waving.  “Hey!  Glad you could make it!”

She came to a halt a few feet away, gift box concealed in her bag.  “What’re you doing out here?”

“Taking a weird call,” Alex said, pocketing his phone.  The thermo gear he was wearing made him stand out even more than his pale Terran skin, but at least he didn’t feel like he was dying any more.  “My father’s apparently not here for me at all.  Or, he was, and his ship broke.  Or something, fuck, I dunno.  He asked if there was a Mechanicus station nearby.  I told him about the one in the Oort cloud.”

“Well, good, because that’s the only one.”  Venus looked over her friends’ thermoreflective gear.  If she tilted her head right, she could see the light glimmer off the metal and fiber strands under the thin fabric.  “Your thermo kit looks good.”

“Thanks.”  He shifted his shoulders a bit as they walked into the tavern.  “I was worried that it’d make me stand out even more.”

“Well, who cares if you do,” Venus said.  “You’re a guest here.”

“People have been glaring at me since I arrived,” Alex said.  Venus cocked an eyebrow.

“Show me.”  She paused just before the door to the seating area.

Alex walked up to the table where the others were sitting and sat down as normal, joining the conversation the others were having.

Sure enough, several patrons stopped to stare or glower.  As soon as Venus walked in, however, the looks vanished, replaced with surprise or reverence.  She shook her head as she crossed the room.  “Troubling,” she said quietly.

“Hey, there she is,” Freya said as Venus approached them.

Venus paused to slide her arms around Jake’s neck as she stopped at the table.  “Hey, guys.  How was your morning?”

“Getting to see the Grand Highway was awesome,” Jake said.  “I wish all the roads in the hives were that well-maintained.”

“That would be good,” Venus said, kissing the crown of his head and sliding into a seat.  The whole room stared.

Remilia downed her drink and caught the waiter’s eye.  “I’m glad you’re here.  Dare I inquire why there’s soot on your bandana?”

“Not until after the party tonight,” Venus said.  “I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”  She daubed a few drops of water on the bandana and rubbed it clean.  “Good catch, though.”

Venus’ vox buzzed.  She grabbed it out of her pocket and stared at the ID.  “It’s…it’s the Tide.”  She opened it up and muttered into it.  “Hello?”

“My Lady Venus, this is Comm Officer Wainwright.  A Rogue Trader aboard the vessel Corundum Star has just arrived in-system and is burning for the Mechanicus station at the Oort cloud.  Shall we hail the ship?”

“No, I knew it was coming.  Just let me know if it breaks for a new heading,” she said quietly.

“Aye aye.  Iron Tide out.”  The line went dead.

“Well, it seems the Star is headed for that station,” Venus said.  The waiter took her order and replaced Remilia’s drink.

“Good, he’ll be out of the way,” Alex grumbled.  “Trust me, if he comes planetside, he WILL make this entire journey all about him.”

“With any luck, we’ll be long gone,” Remilia said.