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

===Meet the Parents===


As the group filed through, one by one, the machine beeped and whirled, and pronounced them all free of various diseases.  After an abbreviated search, they emerged into the tiny luggage claim and into the waiting area beyond.

Gairwyn Russ was sitting on a seat in the corner of the room, reading a holozine, when her daughter appeared.  “Mom!” Freya said happily.  Gairwyn looked up and beamed.

“Freya!  Welcome home!” she said in Juvjk, sweeping her daughter into a vice-like hug.  “Oh, you’re a foot taller, I swear,” she fussed.

“Mom, I wasn’t even gone three months,” Freya giggled, returning the bear hug.  The others filed in more sedately, separating to meet their own parents.

“Hey, Jake, good to see you intact,” George managed before Sandra cut him off.

“Where was it?  Let me see!” she exclaimed.  Jake obligingly turned to show here where the bottle had broken his skull, and sure enough, the spot had healed over entirely, and his hair was regrowing.

“I’m fine, Mom, I promise,” Jake said.  “Really, I’m completely okay.”

Remilia hugged her own mother, stepping back after a moment to look up at the intimidatingly tall businesswoman.  “Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, Remilia.  How was the journey?” Olivia Dorn asked.

“Incredible,” Remilia said.  “Do you have time to hear it all?”

“I suspect so, yes,” Olivia said.  “I took time off from the Foundation, until you can get off to Alanaster anyway.”

Remilia smiled to herself.  “Good.”

Venus hugged her mother tight, accepting a peck on the cheek.  “Venus, sweetheart, we saw the recording of your speech in Hesiod,” Misja said.  “You looked magnificent.  Your father couldn’t have been more proud.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Venus said happily, brushing a tear away.  “It feels really good to be home.  Can I just go throw myself in the pool after the party?”

“Of course, baby girl,” Misja said softly.  “And I want to hear all about Nocturne.”

Alex stood at the back of the room, watching the reunions with a fading smile.  Even before, he was sure neither parent would have been there to greet him, but now that he didn’t have one and the other was losing everything she had, the fact that neither COULD be there was wearing at him.  He tried not to look obtrusive as he made his way over to the door.

“The hell are you going?” Gairwyn’s voice asked.  She clamped one hand on his shoulder to arrest his progress.  “Come here,” she instructed, dragging him and her daughter into another hug.  “You’ve been away from home too long not to come back to a hug,” she said.

Alex’s shoulders shifted a bit as he held back a sudden sob, but he managed a smile.  “Thank you, Queen Gairwyn,” he said.

Freya nipped his ear as she was released from her mother’s iron grip.  “Let’s go,” she said softly.

Jake managed to disentangle from his mother and took a quick step back.  “You guys have to see the stuff I bought on Nocturne,” he said.  “I should change when I get the chance…oh shit, hey, Venus, we need to show them the…you know,” he said, tapping his head and gesturing as if he was running his hand over the contours of her crown.

She grinned.  “Hell yeah we do.”  She turned back to her own mother.  “Is Dad around?”

“He’s home, working on something, but he’ll have time to hear the whole story when you get there, don’t worry,” Misja reported.  “Have you had breakfast?”

“It’s actually around 1700 by shipboard time,” Venus said.  “Have you had breakfast?”

“Yeah, before we arrived, we all went out for a bite,” Misja said.

Gairwyn followed her daughter and Alex out of the room, watching them go with a proud smile.  “It’s quite something, isn’t it, Misja?” she asked.

“Sure is,” Misja said, as Venus hefted her carry-on and walked out after them.  “Shame we only get them back for a few days before they leave, eh?” she asked.

Alex piled his things in the back of the small truck Gairwyn had brought with her to the Palace garage, then sat inside as Freya filled it up with her own.  The truck shifted as the cargo servitors deposited the rest of the luggage and returned to their charging slots, and Gairwyn sat down beside him.  “Alex, lad, did you have a good time on Fenris?” she asked brightly.

“It was pretty fun,” Alex said.  “It’s an amazing planet.”

“It certainly is,” Gairwyn said.  “I look forward to hearing all the details.”

In the air limo beside them, Olivia watched her daughter settle into the cushions and decompress.  “Phew…feels good to be back in the old love-wagon,” Remilia sighed.

“Why do you call the limo the love-wagon?  Really, that makes no sense to me,” Olivia said.

“A girl has to have some quirks, doesn’t she?” Remilia yawned.

Jake paused to look over the new aircar his parents had bought in his absence.  “So this is the new ride?”

“Sure is,” George said.  “We bought it from a headhunter, and it’s great.”

“What happened to the old one you guys had?” Jake asked.

“We sold that one and yours and consolidated to buy this one,” George explained.  “Stack your stuff, we’re going to follow Lady Misja to the party.”

“Cool.”  Jake hefted his things into the aircar and sat inside.  “So, what have you guys been up to?” he asked.

“Not a whole lot, but it’s been busy,” George said.  “We set up a new heater at long last, but really the only major news is Hajime and Alice,” he said.

“Yeah!  Are they nearby?  I want to see them before we leave!” Jake exclaimed.

“Sure, they’ll be in town tomorrow,” George said.  He looked over at Jake as the aircars lifted.  “How are things with you?”

“Awesome, Dad,” Jake said happily.  “Kouthry is gonna be awesome.”

George smiled.  “They’re gonna work your ass off.”

“I can take it,” Jake said confidently.  “Trust me.”

“I hope you took tons of holos while you were out and traveling,” Sandra put in.

“Shloads,” Jake reported.  “We’ll have time to view them all, I assure you.”

They flew in silence for a moment longer before Sandra’s maternal instincts got the better of her.  “How are you and Venus, with regards to moving in with each other?” she asked.

“Subtle,” Jake said drily.  “And we’re looking forward to it,” he said.  “Oh wait, hang on,” he said, digging his new vox out.

“Hey, is that yours?” George asked.

“Birthday present from Alex,” Jake said.  “That and the hat, which I’m not wearing…ah hah,” he said.  He sent off a text to Alex.  Within minutes, the response came: the picture of the four of them watching the movie.

“Here, check this out,” Jake said, showing the picture to his parents as the autopilot drove them to the hotel.

Sandra’s eyes widened.  “What was the context here?” she asked.

“Heh.  We were watching a movie after we were done with the day,” Jake said, as his father’s eyebrows rose at the sight.  “Good times.”

“That’s quite a thing,” Sandra said.  “I’m glad you’re so comfortable around them, now.  I still feel a bit nervous around the Royal Daughters, even still.”

“Well…I guess it’s just context,” Jake said.  “Besides, I don’t think I could have picked a nicer combination of them to go with on the trip.”

“I don’t think I really ever had a chance to meet Remilia,” George said.

“You guys are coming to the party, aren’t you?” Jake asked.

“If you want your parents hanging around, sure,” Sandra said.

“It’ll be the last chance to see people before we all leave,” Jake remarked.  “I have a ton of stuff to buy afterwards, too.  Oh, and Dad,” he said, pawing at his pockets.  “Here, you have to see this.”

He extracted the watch Venus had forged for him and passed it over, with the clip and chain in its box.  He had set it aside on the flight to show his father when he had the chance.  George took them and stared.

“Wow.  This is…this is beautiful,” George said, turning the gold watch over in his hands.  “Where did you get this?”

“Venus gave it to me as a birthday present,” Jake said.  “She built it in one of the Legionary forges on Nocturne.”  George slowly looked up at him.  “I know, she just does that stuff.  It’s nice, though, isn’t it?” Jake asked.  “She didn’t make the actual mechanism, but the rest was her.”

“It’s gorgeous,” Sandra said.  “She’s special, isn’t she?”

“She is,” Jake said, putting the watch away.