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

==The Dragonspine==

===Public Markets===

Remilia and Alex meandered through the little market around the city’s main spaceport, picking through the wares on sale.  Remilia eyed a pair of tiny earrings shaped like drake teeth.  “Man, I know who would love those,” she said under her breath.  She glanced at the price tag.  “Fair…”  She grabbed the earrings and walked up to the counter, paying for them off of her card.  With a quick glance at the receipt – she was still well within budget – she rejoined her friend outside.

“Nice,” Alex said, looked at the earrings.  “For Alpharia?”

“Yep.”

“Do you wish any of your other cousins were here?” Alex asked as they resumed their trawling of the market.

“I wish Miranda were here.  She would be fascinated by the people.  Or Angela and Michael, they’re always fun to be around,” Remilia said.

“Those two are practically joined at the hip these days,” Alex said, looking over at a clothing rack beside him.

“Did Michael tell you his little plan?” Remilia asked.

“Plan?” Alex asked, curious.

“Heh.  Never mind, he’d want to tell you himself,” Remilia said, smiling wistfully.  “Let’s see…Hana would find all the artistic metalworking here appealing, but she’d HATE the climate and the lack of open space.  Farah would be ecstatic to be here.  I know Venus invited her, but she had plans to take a trip to Ganymede and visit her mother’s clan.”

“Her mother lives on Ganymede?” Alex asked.

“No, she wants to go there on vacation then go home to Medusa to be with her mother for four months,” Remilia explained.

“Are her parents separated?”

“Not at all.  Michelle just travels a lot, and she’s Medusan nobility.  After she goes home for a while, Farah’s going to come back to Terra and start college.  She’ll be a year behind us, but whatever.  She’s already picked a school.  I dunno which.”

“Ah.”  Alex decided the clothes were out of his dwindling budget and moved on.

“Splurge, Alex, Fenris doesn’t have any retail on it,” Remilia pointed out.

“True…ah, to hell with it,” Alex said, grabbing the superb leather belt he had spotted and making off to the counter with it.

Moments later, prize in hand, he returned.  He stuffed the belt in his bag and they moved on to another part of the market together.

Alex looked over at his companion.  She was looking a bit downcast all of a sudden, as if talking about her cousins had been depressing.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“I will be.  I just miss my family, you know?  And…I guess…” she trailed off.

“What?”

“I envy you,” she said softly.

“For what?  The ship containing my father, which may come crashing down on our vacation at any moment?” Alex groused.

“I envy you Freya,” Remilia confessed.  “My last relationship ended horribly.  I think I just feel a little lonely.  Knowing that Venus and Freya came here with you and Jake, and I…didn’t.”

She looked over to see Alex turn away, pained.  She sighed, regret clutching her heart.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have burdened you.  You’ve got nothing to feel bad for.”

“Neither do you,” Alex said, shifting his bag of goods.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes.  When they reached the end of the row, Alex paused.  “Look…Remilia, I’m not the swiftest bulb in the marquis sign.  I don’t know how to make you feel better.  I didn’t even know you had a break-up.  But…I don’t want to make you feel bad when I’m…with Freya,” he said.  He looked awkward, and his face was pinched.  “We’re going to be together for another two months on this trip.”

“Alex…”Remilia sighed, burying her face in one hand and slowly dragging it back over her hair.  “Please.  You make Freya happy, and that matters more to me than assuaging my own desires.  Jake makes Venus happy, too, and I’m glad for you both.  All right?  I just…I needed to say it.  I can’t get caught up in self-pity, though.”

Alex grimaced.  He thought quickly, trying to remember what Freya and Jake had said before.  “I wish I could help, but…”  He stared at Remilia, who crossed her arms over her stomach and looked down, clearly beating herself up for turning things maudlin.

“Damn it,” she muttered.

Alex sighed and quickly squeezed her shoulders, trying to make her feel better.  She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his broad shoulders, trying to relax.  “Sorry,” she said.  “You didn’t deserve to feel guilty.”  She slid her arms under his and gently squeezed him back.  “If I wasn’t here, I’d be walking on eggshells back home, trying to get shit straight with Dad.  Believe me, I’m better off here.”

“All right,” he sighed, putting it aside.  She stepped back, grinning sadly.

“What is it with my cousins’ guys having innate emotional counselor traits?”

Alex shrugged.  “Maybe Venus and Freya just like sounding boards,” he said.

Remilia chuckled to herself.  “Heh.  It makes things easier.”  Both teens started the walk back to their accommodations in the hotel.

“So, uh…Remilia…has your hearing adjusted to Nocturne yet?” Alex asked cautiously.

“Sure has.  It’s as sharp as ever.”  She smiled over at him.  “I can hear your heartbeat right now.”

“Cool…so…er…how do I ask this…” Alex stuttered.

Remilia sighed.  “I wear earplugs when I go to bed for just that purpose.”

“Oh, thank goodness.  I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself again if I knew I was tormenting you,” Alex admitted.

Remilia chuckled again.  “You’re a sweetheart, but don’t worry about it.  I imagine with Freya you can’t focus on much else.”

“Heh.  Just between you, me, and the sun,” Alex said, leaning in to Remilia, “Freya’s a complete sub when she’s not in crazymode.”

“No way.  ‘Terrify a room full of grown men into submission with a snarl and glint of a fang’ Freya?  ‘Launch Furia across the room with one elbow strike’ Freya?” Remilia asked incredulously.

“She’s a Wolf in public and a kitten the rest of the time,” Alex confided.

Remilia flushed and giggled.  “Shhh, she might hear you.”

Alex glanced nervously over his shoulder.  “Eh…I think we’re good.  But hey, Remilia…you know, I’m no Jake, but if you really want to talk to someone…” he said.

She paused to give him a quick hug across the shoulders.  “Don’t worry.  I know where you are.”  She smiled over at him and felt the guilt gripping her heart fade.  “Thanks, Alex.”


===A Night On the Town===


The group reconvened at suppertime, having selected a small restaurant a serf at the castle had recommended.  The place was clearly a local fixture: there wasn’t a single foreign dish on the menu, and prices were quite reasonable.  Naturally, Venus had been recognized on her way in the door, and spent a few terse minutes staring at people until they looked away.  With that finished, the group dug in, recounting the afternoon’s activities, though Alex and Remilia kept their discussion to themselves.

Jake was animated, describing the breathtaking view of the plains, which Freya and Venus echoed.  “I mean, the ocean had its beauty, sure, but this…I’ll remember that view forever,” Jake eagerly reported.

“I know.  It’s magnificent.  We should go out there in an ornithopter and check it out.”  Venus swigged her water and glanced around the table.  “So what were you two up to?” she asked.

“Being mallrats,” Remilia reported.  “I got some cool earrings for Alpharia and a bracelet for Omegan.”

“I bought this awesome belt,” Alex said, tapping his waist.

“Cool.  Freya and I just sort of vegetated up on the highest terrace,” Venus said.  “It’s surprising how cool it is up there.  It’s even cooler on the ocean side.”

“Yeah, I was boiling on the street,” Jake said, ruefully showing where he had burned even through the lotion.

As the group finished their dessert, they headed out for the bar they had spotted earlier.  Venus carefully adjusted her glasses over her eyes and moved in the center of the group as they entered.

The place was dark, smoky, and loud.  The five teens made their way up to the bar and ordered, though Jake as always abstained.  As they found stools at the end of the table, Jake glanced around the bar.  “Huh.  Looks pretty popular.”

“We try,” the bartender said, sliding a beer down to Alex.  The man was stocky, well-built, with dark hair and intense eyes.  The tattoos on his wrists said ‘ex-PDF’ to the three Royal daughters.  “You kids new in town?”

“Tourists,” Alex answered for all five.

“In this place?  Ballsy,” the bartender said.  “People around here don’t take too kindly to foreigners with all the shootings going on.”

“Shootings?” Venus asked.

“Every damn month now.  Violent crime is up nine hundred percent from ten years ago,” the bartender said darkly.  “All of it off-world smugglers in their damnable turf wars.”

“Well, that sucks.  But we’re just here to see the city before we head out,” Venus assured him.

The bartender looked her over.  “You’re a tourist too?”

“Yep.”

“You look Nocturnean.”

“I was born here.  Lived for the last fifteen years on Terra with my father,” Venus explained.  It happened to be true.  “These two are my cousins,” she said, gesturing at Freya and Remilia on either side of her.

“Ah.  Well, enjoy your stay, just don’t get too close to the tunnels,” the bartender said.  “Half the shootings happen down here.”

“We’ll be careful,” Jake said.

The bartender nodded.  “Sure.  Let’s see some ID, by the by,” he said.  All five dutifully presented their cards.  The bartender stopped dead when he saw the names.  “Oh…”

Venus winked at him over her sunglasses.  “Hush.  It’s just a night out.”

“I see.  Well…I’m honored, your Highness,” he said quietly.  “What else can I get you?”

“Just a lager, thanks.  I’m stuffed,” she said.  He grabbed one and slid it down to her.

“Where’s the head?” Jake asked, glancing side to side.

“Over behind the pool tables,” the barkeep said, gesturing.

“Thanks.”  Jake stood up and made his way over as the others started on their drinks.

“So, what brings you home, Princess?” the barkeep respectfully inquired.

“It was time to see it first-hand.  I’m hardly staying,” Venus said with a shrug.  “I have college commitments on Terra.”

“I understand.”  The bartender swept their caps into the trash and took a respectful step back.  “How do you find Nocturne so far?”

“Hard.  Gratifyingly so,” Venus said, sipping her uninspired beer.


Several things happened at once.

Jake opened the door to the bathroom and started to make his way across the room to his seat.

A green object soared through the air.

''clunk''

''thud''

“OW!”

The bartender gasped and shouted.  “None of that!”

Jake collapsed on the floor of the bar.

The room went silent, then loud.

The plainclothes shot to their feet, needle guns in hand.

Alex flew off his stool and sprinted over to where his friend lay crumpled.

Freya’s bottle shattered against the bar.

Several patrons stood, some wavering, some not.

Jake lay on his back on the floor, cradling the spot where the missile had struck him.  The back of his head was a mess of broken glass, hair, and blood.  Alex knelt by his side, tilting his head up.  “Ow…” Jake whimpered.

“Quiet, man, someone hit you with a bottle,” Alex whispered.

“I can’t hear you,” Jake managed.

“Shhh, man, shhh,” Alex whispered, putting his hand to his lips.

“More than you deserve, shit-heel,” one of the standing patrons said darkly.

“You stupid son of a bitch, you sit the fuck down until the Enforcers get here!” the barkeep roared.

“Cram it.”  The patron took another step forward.

“Kneel,” Venus snarled, rising to her feet.

“Fuck off,” the man rumbled, drawing a knife from his pocket.  A few people around him tried to grab him, but he slid free.  “This is payback.”

“By the name of the Drake King, I command you to '''KNEEL'''!” Venus suddenly screamed.
The would-be killer spun, rage in his eyes.

The room turned bright red.  It went silent.  The plainclothes started slamming the butts of their guns into the backs of the people still standing, forcing them down.

Venus had ripped her glasses off and kicked her stool away.  The rage in her was incandescent.  The heat from her skin drew vapor from the drops of beer from Freya’s broken bottle.  The light from her eyes was so bright that even Remilia couldn’t look at them.  It was so bright, that if anyone present had been able to meet her gaze, they would have SEEN the swirls and movement of light within the depthless orbs.

Every single person in the room save the bartender and Venus was on their knees in an instant.  Remilia sank into a crouch.  Freya was nowhere to be seen.

“Barman, call the Enforcers, a medicae truck, and a coroner,” Venus whispered in a voice from the grave.

“As you wish, your Highness Venus,” he managed, his dark skin turning deathly grey.

Venus took a single step forward.  The brilliant light from her eyes surged over to where Alex was still trying to keep Jake conscious.  The vaguest flicker of red in the darkest corner of the room indicated that Freya was on the move, impromptu weapon in hand.  In an instant, she was gone.

“I return to my home and hear of smugglers.  I hear of petty crime and off-world criminals,” Venus hissed.  “And now…revenge killings…against a Terran who arrived in the city TODAY?!”

“My...your Highness,” the man with the knife managed, “I beg your mercy, I sought only retribution for the death of my son-”

“BY CAVING IN THE HEAD OF MY BOYFRIEND?” Venus roared.  She switched to Old Nocturnean, quite unconsciously.  “YOU POLLUTE MY WORLD!”

“I didn’t know who he was!” the man wailed.

“No,” Venus grated out in Gothic.  “You DIDN’T!  BUT YOU STILL MADE TO SLAY HIM!”  Her eyes actually managed to brighten.  The tears of regret and sudden horror on the man’s face glimmered in the light.  “'''MURDERER!'''” she thundered.

“Forgive me,” he sobbed.

Venus bared her teeth, and clenched her fists so hard a drop of blood oozed from both palms.  “No.”

“Venus?” Jake managed from the floor.  “I can’t hear you.”

Her inhuman gaze flicked to him.  He blinked and shied away from her brilliance.

One of the plainclothesmen struggled to his feet and leveled his needle pistol at the man with the knife.  The room was so quiet that the sounds of the approaching medicae truck sounded as loud as an orchestra.

“…Throw him into the darkest pits in the Castle.  Then forget you put him there,” Venus hissed.

“As you wish, your Royal Highness,” the serf said, holstering his pistol and dragging the weeping man out.

Her eyes swept the prostrate crowd.  “Should any man henceforth spill Jacob Seager’s blood…the transgressor shall be taken to Prometheus to be turned into a combat servitor, while fully conscious,” Venus whispered.

“Ave Imperator,” a serf said, holstering their weapon and shoving people near the door out of the medicae’s path.

Freya flickered out of the shadows cast by Venus’ eyes, bulldozing a path straight to Jake for the medic.

The medic brushed Alex aside, checking Jake’s pulse.

“I can’t hear,” Jake groaned.

“Massive concussion, at least,” the medic murmured.  “Let’s get you out of here, your Lordship,” he said, gingerly lifting Jake into a waiting gurney.

What little presence of mind Jake had left kept him silent until the gurney was out of the building.  Freya vanished back into the shadows as Alex slowly wiped the blood from his hands.  Remilia rose from her crouch, stomach roiling in fear.

“No mercy for the indiscriminate,” Venus whispered in Old Nocturnean.

Venus swept out of the building, climbing into the back of the ambulance.  The Enforcers outside paused to allow Alex and Remilia into the car they had called as Freya somehow materialized at the door.

“Venus…what happened?” Jake managed.  A medic dug a blood donor card out of Jake’s wallet and paged through the IV bags on the interior of the truck.

“One of my people tried to slay their rightful Prince,” Venus snarled.  She locked Jake’s hand in a death grip.  “Don’t fall asleep, Jake.”

“What?” Jake whispered.

“The concussion has given him severe tinnitus, your Royal Highness,” the medic nervously asserted.  “He will recover if we can get that wound stitched and he gets about a day of sleep.”

“What?” Jake asked louder, clearly on the verge of panic.

Venus glanced down at him, her wrath instantly gone.  She leaned down and held his cheek with her free hand, speaking slowly, her eyes closed to protect his.  “You.  Are.  Hurt.  Be.  Still,” she said.

“Okay,” Jake managed.  “What happened?”

“Someone.  Tried.  To.  Ki…hurt.  You,” Venus said.  As she said it, she felt her arms turn to water.  The air in the rattling truck seemed to shrink and cool as the pure, molten rage in her vanished, and her eyes and skin reverted to normal.

“It worked,” Jake whimpered, clearly having missed the word Venus couldn’t bring herself to say.

Venus suddenly shook, fear and loathing and sorrow twisting her stomach into knots.  She made a valiant effort not to be sick on her boyfriend’s body.  “No,” she whispered.  She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

===Forgive Me===

Alex and Remilia waited on a couch in the room outside the operating room of the local hospital.  Freya paced, her fangs bared.  Venus sat in the corner, eyes dimmed and wet.  A small army of serfs, reporters, and curious onlookers – VULTURES!  CARRION BIRDS! – hovered outside the stark room.

A doctor emerged from the operating theater, stripping his gloves off and loosening his mask.  Freya was behind him, inaudible and invisible, in a heartbeat, her killer’s instincts unleashed, but under command.  Remilia shot to her feet.  Venus tried to stand, but the doctor knelt at her feet instead.

“Your Highness.  Sieur Seager will live.  He’s strong, the glass didn’t break anything.  He’ll be as good as gold in three days.  We got the Triacetyl mono into his brain in time, no lasting damage.”

The doctor vanished in a black rush as Venus wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug.  “Thank you so much, Doctor.  The Apothecaries will revere your name,” she whispered brokenly.

“All in a day’s work, your Highness,” the man said, extracting himself from her arms.

“Well done, Doctor,” Remilia said gravely.  Freya let out a sigh she had been holding, slumping against the wall.  Alex leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes.

Venus burned the doctor’s ID into her mind with a glance at his hospital badge and released him, letting tears of suppressed fear and newfound relief pour from her eyes.


Jake himself stirred some time later.  He was back in the Castle, he could tell, both from the chilling cold and the décor.
His head…didn’t hurt.  He gingerly ran his fingers along where the bottle had hit, and found nothing but smooth skin and a lack of hair.  He sat up, noting his sleeping clothes were on, and that the little calendar-clock by the bed said that twenty-seven Terran hours had passed.  “Venus?” he called to the empty room.

“Jake…” Venus whispered.

Jake turned away from the clock.  Venus was sitting in the chair beside the bed, clad in her exercise clothes and with a dataslate in her hands.  She dropped the slate and launched into the bed, halting centimeters from him.  “You’re okay,” she managed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and squeezing him like a vice.  “Jake, you’re okay,” she cried.

“Easy, baby, easy,” Jake said, returning the hug and easing her down onto the bed next to him.  “I’m all right, it’s okay.”

“Jake…” Venus wept.  “I…I thought he had…m-murdered you,” she sobbed.

“I’m all right, baby, really,” Jake said, burying his head in her hair and breathing her in.  “I’m all right.  Please don’t cry.”

Venus sobbed in relief.

The door swung open.  “Hey, Venus, we’re going to turn in…JAKE!”  Alex suddenly roared, crossing the room in seconds and crouching by the bedside.  “You stubborn fuck, you nearly gave us heart attacks!”

“Yelling.  Yelling in my ear,” Jake said, flinching back from his ebullient friend.

“Sorry, sorry.”  Alex beamed at him.  “Man, you scared the shit out of us!  How do you feel?”

“Good, actually,” Jake said, flexing his hands experimentally.  “Tired.  Little sore in my legs…other than that, I feel fine.”

“Awesome.  Hey!  Get in here!” Alex called, shielding his mouth from his friend.  Venus sat up and sniffled.

“Hey, sleepyhead!” Freya said cheerfully, bounding into the room with Remilia in tow.  “How’s that thick head of yours?”

“Fine, I think.  It’ll take weeks to regrow my flowing, golden tresses, though,” said the dark and curly-haired teen.  “What happened?”

“Some fuckface thought you made a good target for a revenge killing.  He’s chained to the floor in the basement if you wanna go exact Salamander vengeance,” Remilia said.

“That sounds good.  What does that involve?” Jake asked.

“Live-fire practice with flamers,” Remilia said.

“Cool.  I’ll let him rot, though, I’m a softie.”  Jake sat up, squeezing Venus’ hand.  “I was out for a whole day?”

“And the doctor says you’re down for one more, so rest up,” Freya advised.  She leaned forward and nuzzled Jake’s neck, smiling fiercely.  Jake blushed.  “Rrrgh, so GLAD!” she said, happily hugging him herself.

“Thanks, Freya,” Jake said.  She leaned back in a playful crouch on the edge of the bed and grinned at him.

“We’ve been clustered around the door to your room for the last day, doing nothing but ordering takeout and working out,” Alex said drily.  “Venus hasn’t left your suite since they dragged you back from the hospital.”

Jake leaned over and kissed his girlfriend.  “Thanks, baby,” he said quietly.

She managed a shattered smile.

“Well…dude, if you want, we can pick up where we left off.  Go be tourists for a while more before we leave for Fenris.  My imbecile father is still fucking around in Clymene, the Tide is in orbit…you can do whatever you want for a while,” Alex said.

“Let’s go be tourists and not let stupid drunks ruin a good thing,” Jake said, an air of finality filling his tone.

“Attaboy!” Freya said.

“You were very brave, Jake,” Remilia said quietly.

“Naw, I was deaf and prone.  Venus was brave.  Alex was brave.”  Jake sank back into his pillow and grinned.  “You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for.”  Remilia sniffed.

“Well.  You sleep.  I’m gonna go rest, too.”  Alex bumped fists with the smaller man and made for the door.  “Night.”

“Me too,” Freya added.  She leaned over and nipped Jake’s ear, lingered there.  “I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.

“As am I,” Jake said solemnly.  She smiled and flipped off the bed, clearly planning to capitalize good feelings.

Remilia leaned in and hugged him, slow and gentle.  “Thanks, Jake.  You really, really scared me,” she managed.

Jake squeezed her back.  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.

Finally, only Venus was left.  Jake looked over at her and nearly gasped.  The light in her eyes was gone.  Not dim, not fading: dead.  Her eyes were balls of blank, red meat.  “Venus?” he asked, worried.

“One of my people tried to murder you because of your skin color,” Venus said.  Her voice was flat and empty.  Completely devoid of the emotions that defined her.

“Venus…don’t you DARE blame yourself for this!” Jake pleaded.  Sudden adrenaline pounded into his legs, sparking circulation in muscles that hadn’t been used in a day.

“My people hate offworlders so much, one tried to kill you.”  It was a statement of fact, not a question.

“One!  ONE person!  Venus, the man I grew up next door to was murdered for his stereo!  There’s always wackos, there’s always morons!  You think I’m going to let this change what I think about Nocturne?  About-”

He stopped.  His logic trains switched rails.  She thought of herself as Nocturne, blood and soul.  She didn’t think this was literally her fault.  She thought it was a defect of her people and her world…which meant it was part of her.  Not physically, but spiritually.  In a way, he suddenly realized, was more important to her than any other thing else in her entire life…besides the one thing that mattered most of all to Nocturneans: her family.  Him.  She was thinking that a fault in her way of life had nearly murdered him.

Without a word, he slid his arms under hers and hugged her deeply, dragging her unresisting body across him until she was prone on top of him.  Remilia discreetly closed the door to their suite and left as fast as she could.

“Venus, Venus baby, please, please don’t do it,” he whispered.  His heart seized as she managed a single, wracking sob.

He pulled her under the covers next to him and slid his torso over hers, holding her down and staring desperately into her dead eyes.  “Venus, listen to me.  I can not, will not EVER blame you for this.  Not you, not Nocturne, not the Salamanders, not ANYTHING but one stupid drunk and some Terran criminals.  Do you understand me?” he urgently asked.

“I nearly lost you,” she rasped.  “It shouldn’t have happened.”

“And Keiter shouldn’t have shot Morticia in the back!  Horrible people happen to strangers!  Never let that get between us!” Jake pleaded.  Tears were gathering in his eyes now.  “I love you so much it hurts when you’re gone,” he whispered.  “Never think this will change that.”

Venus closed her empty eyes and let her own tears flow.  “…I have…never…felt such shame...” she managed.

Jake buried his head in her shoulder and hugged her until his arms ached.  “No…no no no no no…Forgedaughter, my little fire, you’re better than that,” he sobbed.  “Better, you’re, you’re the Drake Princess and the love of my life and stop, please stop,” he babbled.

“…Jake,” she whispered, utterly drained.  He pulled back and stared as her eyes creaked open.

A single, tiny spark appeared in both.

His heart leapt.

Her eyes weren’t focused as she whispered.  “…I’m a hopeless mess.”

“Sleep,” he said, through his own tears.  He pulled her exercise clothes off and huddled her bare body against him under the sheets.  With a snap of his fingers the lights died.

The vaguest red glow of life flickered in her eyes.  It glimmered off of the light fixtures in the ceiling, anemic and watery.  “…Jake…I thought I lost you,” Venus’ ragged voice said in the darkness.

“I can’t imagine what that was like,” Jake said.  “I’ll try not to do it again,” he managed to say with a smile.

She turned her eyes to him.  Tiny little balls of remorseful flame danced in them.  Her skin was cooler than it was when she was fresh from a swim.  “I’ll…sleep for a week,” she said faintly.

Jake slid his arm under her head and snugged her up against him.  “I’ll be here.”  He breathed a sigh of relief as she finally moved, running a tremulous hand up his chest to rest on his heart.

“I haven’t…felt that kind of loss…even when Morticia…” Venus confessed.

Jake nodded, squeezing her hand with his.  “I know.  Wouldn’t that have been the crowning irony, though?  The one guy in the group that doesn’t drink gets killed by a beer?”

She was quiet for a moment.  “…I want to laugh, but I don’t have any in me,” she said faintly.

“It’s okay, that joke sucked.”  Jake let the tension of his horrified realization bleed out.  He was a bit shaky, himself, now.

“My world…my family…” she whispered.  “All I want to do is show you the best parts of them.  The parts I love.”  She sighed again.  “Or…the parts Dad said I would love.”

Jake nodded in the darkness.  “Well, baby, so far, Nocturne has amazed me.”

Her voice was so soft he almost missed it.  “I hoped you’d say that.”

Jake propped his head up a bit more and kissed the top of her head.  “I’m glad you didn’t have the guy executed.”

“Why?”

“It wouldn’t have made the trip better, certainly, but…I don’t want to think of you as a killer, even completely justified,” Jake said.  “I love you, Venus.  You know that?”

“I do,” she said.  “Sometimes I don’t think I deserve it, but you do it anyway.”  She finally managed a ghost of a smile.  “Keep going, okay?”

Jake slid his hand across her bare stomach to link with his other hand.  Her flesh was slowly warming back up, but she wasn’t back up to full heat.  He tried to enjoy the rare moment.  “As long as you want me to.”  He tried to marshal his thoughts.  “Venus, don’t answer this if you don’t want to.  What did you think about when I was out cold?”

Venus didn’t answer for a moment.  When she did speak, at length, her voice was deliberate and paced.  “Not much.  I just sat there recording a message for Dad, mostly.  I told the whole story.  I haven’t sent it.”

“All right.”  He tugged the covers up to her collarbone.

She sighed lightly.  “We talked a bit about how we would reschedule things if you wanted to stay here.  The governor came by a few hours ago to offer me his apologies.  A Salamander Brother-Lieutenant came to me with the drunk guy’s file, which I told him to burn.  The file, not the guy.  I don’t care who he is yet.”

“Me neither,” Jake said.  He placed a hand over her stomach for a moment, and smiled into her hair as he felt a bit of her flame reignite.  “See?  You’re getting better.”

Venus closed her eyes and tried to think.  “I didn’t even leave for food.  I just stayed.”

“Thank you,” Jake said softly.  He felt his own eyes water a bit again as the depth of her devotion started to dawn on him.  “I’m sorry I made you hurt.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt,” she said in the same voice.  “You know…Remilia told me that the way I looked when I thought you…had died was so scary that everyone in the room took a knee.”

“I couldn’t hear it, but I saw it,” Jake murmured.  The memory was clear in his mind, much more so than the ride to the hospital.  “I’m not surprised.  What were you saying?”

Venus winced against his arm.  “Can we not talk about that?”  Her voice was strained with exhaustion.

“Sure, baby,” he soothed.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah.”  She ran her hand over her eyes, rubbing weariness away and trying to settle down.  He slid his arms free of her, but paused before he rolled away.

“Venus.”

“Hmm?”

He leaned across her and kissed her as gently as he could, barely more than a brush against her lips.  “I love you.  Don’t ever think I won’t.”

“I know, Jake,” she whispered.  “I wish…I wish I could show you what that means to me.”  She bit her lip as another tear worked its way down her face.  This one was relief, not self-loathing.

===Back On Track===

The next morning, the group rendezvoused at the mess in the castle itself, to ascertain if Jake was ready for travel.  To the others’ relief, not only was Jake recovering well, but Remilia noted that Venus’ self-blame seemed to have dissipated.  Neither teen was quite themselves yet, but Jake was determined to move on.

After a quick meal – Jake wasn’t quite ready to pick his workout routine back up yet – they dispersed over the city, with the boys eager to see the ocean-side scenic overlook they had been planning to see the previous day, and the girls visiting the city’s highest terrace, where the upper crust shops and art galleries were.

Jake stood on the edge of the balcony and watched the world fall away from him.

They were atop a ledge over the sheer cliff that dropped down to the ocean below.  The red water looked like a sea of blood, stretching out to infinity.
“Hell of a view, all right,” Jake said.

Alex leaned on the railing and peered down.  “Yeah.  We’re at least four klicks up.”

“If you look close, you can see where the egress tunnels for the sluices are,” Jake said, pointing down to some discolored points on the water.

“Cool.  I wonder how acidic that water is?” Alex asked.

“Well, there are whales in it, so probably not very,” Jake said.

Alex sipped from his bottle of water and cast a glance over his friend.  Shorn hair on the back of his head aside, he looked no worse for wear.  “You need to sit down?”

“I do, actually,” Jake said.  He glanced over to where a group of Nocturneans were standing, taking in the view.  He ambled over to a seat and dropped in with a sigh.  Alex sat down next to him, passing him the water.  “Thanks.”

“Is it your head or your legs?” Alex asked.

“Neither, just tired.”  Jake took a sip and passed it back.  “I think I’ll chill here for a while.  You want to go do something else?”

Alex glanced down the street to where the city’s foot traffic moved under the terraced roads.  “The girls should be meeting us for lunch in ten minutes at a café up the terrace.  Want to take a cab?”

“I may have to,” Jake confessed.  He stuck his hand out and flagged a passing taxi.

As the vehicle slowed, Alex leaned over the driver’s side window.  “Orlaront’s café, please,” he said.

“Sure thing,” the driver said.  Jake eased into the vehicle and sat down, massaging his temples.  The car sped off.  “So, you folks not from around here?” the driver asked.

“Seems like everyone on the planet has either asked or assumed that since we got here,” Jake said wryly.

“We’re Terrans,” Alex said.  “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Someone already picked a fight with us over it,” Jake added.

“Nah, your money’s silver.”  The driver deftly maneuvered them through the weaving traffic.  “You in town for business?”

“End of school road trip, actually,” Jake said.

“From Terra?  Brave of you.”

Jake shrugged.  “I have family here.”

“Ah.”  The driver pulled them over beside the modest café.  “Here we go.”

“Thanks for the ride, sir,” Jake said, heaving himself out as Alex paid him.

“No problem.  Enjoy your stay,” the driver said, pulling back into traffic.

Jake watched him go.  “People hereabouts can’t decide whether to be nice or ambivalent towards us,” he said under his breath.

Alex snorted.  “Just noticing that, are you?”

“It wasn’t this bad in Clymene or Aethonion,” Jake observed.  He opened the door and walked in, spotting Venus’ red eyes at the back of the room.  “Nobody tried to brain me there.”

“I’ll grant you that,” Alex said.

Venus saw the boys and waved them over.  Jake noted with relief that Venus’ eyes were back to their usual, healthy glow, and that she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses, having slung them in her collar.  She stood up and hugged him as Alex slid into his seat.  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Much better, thanks,” Jake said.  He looked around.  There wasn’t a soul in the place besides them.  “This place is vacant.”

“Good.  Privacy,” Venus said.


After lunch, the group split back up, with Venus heading up to the markets with Jake and Remilia as Alex and Freya went down to the cragfalls, about the only tourism destination in the city.  On the way, Jake paused as they walked past the bar where he had been attacked, only two days before.

“Would you guys give me a second?” he asked.  Venus and Remilia exchanged a look.

“You want to go back?” Remilia asked.

“Not looking for trouble.  I just kind of feel bad for scaring the shit out of the bartender like that,” Jake said.

“Well, I doubt he’s even there, but if you want to go, go,” Venus said.  “Take your time.”

“Thanks.”  Jake entered the place and found it deserted, save a few people who looked like regulars at the bar, and to his satisfaction, the bartender from before.

The barkeep saw him making his way over from the door and started.  “Lord Seager!  Sir, I owe you a sincere apology for before, that should never have happened.”

“Easy, man, easy, I’m fine,” Jake said.

The man grimaced in remorse.  “It was a disgrace to this establishment and to Skarokk.”

“It’s also over.  No hard feelings,” Jake said, extending his hand.  The bartender gratefully shook it.

“Thank you for your mercy, your Lordship, and for that of the Princess.  I’m in your debt.”

“Not really, you just did what you had to.  And the asshole responsible is contemplating eternity in the Castle dungeon, so I think it works out,” Jake said.  “Seriously, nobody’s blaming you.  I just stopped by to apologize for the whole mess.”

The bartender inclined his head in respect.  “Thank you, my Lord, that makes a difference to me.”

“Good.”  Jake nodded back.  “Goodbye.”

“Thanks for stopping in, your Lordship,” the barman called after him.

===Family===

Alex and Freya huddled around a table in the shade, staring out at a waterfall three kilometers high.  The meltwater from the glacial peaks of the mountains coursed down the side of the razor-sharp obsidian crags that lent the waterfall its name, fanning out over the mountainside until it fell into the sea.

The crowd here was almost all off-worlders, in contrast to the rest of the planet.  Groups of sunscreen-coated offspring of visiting merchants and vacationing rich stood up against the railing and gabbled about the spectacle.

Freya sipped her water bottle and watched.  “I’ve seen two attempted pickpocketings so far.  Enforcers were close enough to spook off both, though.”

“Shit.” Alex grimaced and took a pull on his own drink.  “How did things get so bad?  Open theft?  Attempted murder?”

“Who knows,” Freya asked rhetorically.  She craned her head back and stared at the astounding waterfalls.  “Hell of a view, though.”

“It sure is,” Alex said.  He chuckled to himself.  “You know, growing up in Startseite, you think you’ve seen it good when you go into the hives.  You see how people live there, then you go back up to the surface and you look at what you have.  You think to yourself ‘man, I have seen it all.’  Then you fly to Nocturne, and hey!”

“Yeah.”  Freya nodded her assent.  “Magnificent world.”

“Sure is.”  Alex looked over his shoulder and noted an approaching figure with interest.  “Eyes on, Astartes.”

“What?” Freya asked.  A Salamander in full Power Armor was marching up the street to the scenic overlook, parting the throngs of people with no effort whatsoever.  Alex spotted waving mechdendrites behind his shoulders – a Techmarine.

The people at the railing spotted him and erupted in awed whispers.  The Nocturneans around the Marine, however, barely even reacted to his presence, simply walking around him with a respectful nod.  The contrast amused Freya.

“Hmm.  The Wolves don’t do that,” she said.

“Huh?”

“On Fenris, the average Fenrisian is scared shitless of the Space Wolves,” Freya said.  “They swoop down in Assault Packs to break up clan wars that get out of hand, abduct gifted sons to serve as warriors, fight monsters in the wastelands…here, they’re friends.  Kin.”

“Which system do you think works better?” Alex asked.

“Can’t compare them.  Fenris doesn’t know about the rest of the Imperium.  They sure as hell don’t have this kind of technology and awareness of the greater universe.  If they did…” Freya trailed off, thinking.  “I suspect the Wolves would treat the Fenrisians like the Salamanders treat the Nocturneans, only a bit more judgmental.”

Alex cocked his eyebrow behind his glasses.  “Judgmental how?” Alex asked.

“The Salamanders think shared burdens and common struggles make them stronger.  The Wolves think competition and survivalistic outlooks make them stronger.”  Freya flexed her bicep, rippling the Wolves tattoo on her left arm.  “Raw skill and ferocity, not community and generosity.”

Her boyfriend nodded.  “Fenris will be very different.”

“It will.”  Freya saluted to the Techmarine as he passed.  He noted the clearly Fenrisian girl and deduced her identify with a flash of his bionics.  Rather than stop to acknowledge her, however, he simply nodded quietly and continued on his way.  “Techmarines, however, are a breed apart everywhere, I suspect,” Freya said once he was well out of hearing range.

“I wouldn’t know, I defer to you,” Alex said.

The plainclothes serfs behind them clearly wanted to acknowledge their master, Freya’s magnificent eyes observed, but kept their cover in the moving crowds of people.

“Good on them, keeping their heads down,” she said with approval.

“The guards?”

“Fifteen more than two nights ago.”

“Fuckin’ A, that’s a lot of muscle,” Alex murmured.

“Surprised?” Freya asked drily.

“Not at all.”  Alex sipped his water again and stood, brushing his legs off.  “I want to go see the feeder falls.”

“Sure.  You know how to get there?” Freya asked.

Alex jerked his head at the broad spiral staircase to the side of the rows and rows of tourists.  “Just up the stairs, yeah?”

“Should be.  Have fun.  I'mma find a little girl’s room,” Freya said, making off in the other direction.

Alex started up the stairs, maneuvering past the crowds of tourists on the tall, reinforced stairway into the sky.  It ascended nearly twenty stories, and was cored with solid bars of reinforced iron, embossed and decorated with pictures of snapping drakes and breaching whales.  The crowd petered out as the gravity and heat took their toll on the off-worlders, until only Alex and a few brave souls were left on the spiral.  The stairs halted at an observation platform with a thick wrought-iron bannister and railing, and Alex stopped to lean on it, breathing heavily.

The ocean spread out to eternity under his gaze.  The spiral staircase stood out from the steep mountain face like a tree from an open field.  Behind and below him, and even above, the magnificent cragfalls shimmered blood red under the sun.  Alex sank into a stone chair and stared out at the view.  “Hell of a world,” he whispered.

His vox beeped.  He started and immediately muted it, blushing as the other tourists glared at him for disrupting the moment.  He yanked it out and flipped it open.  “Hello?” he asked quietly.

“Alex!  How ya doin’, kid?” he father asked.  Alex closed his eyes in sudden apprehension.

“Fine.  Yourself?” he asked, scanning the skyline for any approaching aircraft.

“Much better, now that the blasted generator’s fixed, I’ve done a bit of work on the surface, and the Salamanders are clearing me to leave.”

“Good to hear.  When are you heading out?” Alex asked.

“Not before I see you, don’t worry, I haven’t come this far to turn back now!” his father said.  The plastic of the vox creaked in Alex’s hand.

“Dad…the point of a road trip is to get away from the elements of the familiar.  I knew the Star was heading this way before we left Earth, I would have just had you bring us here if I wanted to bring you along,” Alex noted.

“Alex, you sound like you don’t want to see me!” Lord Carlin said, hurt.

“How old were those girls hanging off your arms at the graduation?  What were their names?” Alex asked under his breath, standing up and making for the least crowded part of the observation deck.

“Alex-”

“If you want to see me before you go, fine, I can’t stop you, but leave my friends and Freya out of this,” Alex said coldly.  “Where are you?”

“Skarokk Starport, dock four.”  Alex groaned.  He was already in the city?!

“I’ll drop by and say hello, alone, as soon as I can.  Wouldn’t want to hold you up,” Alex said curtly.  “Bye.”  He hung up halfway through his father’s farewell and dropped the vox into his pocket after removing the battery.  “Douchebag,” he muttered.




[[Category:Warhammer High]]