Editing Trip Into Hell (Warhammer High) (section)

===The Iron Tide===
The bar of the Iron Tide was full fit to burst. Troopers from the Perdix Hunters rubbed shoulders with the Byzant Janizars in their ornate white uniforms, and clusters of Tanith troopers loudly sang drunken songs from their homeworld beside navy personnel from the other ships docked in the port. Flynn smiled at the antics of his kin, humming the tunes they were singing. Julius was already regretting taking Flynn up on his offer of drinks for their little band, but it was too late to back out now. Fortunately there were several seats free at the Bar, and one by one they sat down.

Flynn gestured to the man behind the bar, who had a Lieutenant’s bars on his shoulders. “Four shots of Tanith Whiskey. I know you have some, my kin wouldn’t be quite so happy if you didn’t. And make it the strong type.”

The Lieutenant smiled ruefully and poured four glasses, handing them to Flynn, who passed them along.

“For Summer.” Scvott intoned, lifting his glass.

“For Summer!” they replied, and downed their drinks. Julius felt the Tanith whiskey burn his throat as it ran down, and he nearly choked. But a solid whack on the back by Dyllion saved him further embarrassment.

Flynn turned to see Julius morosely staring into the bottom of his glass. “She won’t be forgotten Oll. We won’t forget her.” Flynn said.

“Oll?”

“Sorry, old habits die hard. Julius. Dammit, thirty days of calling you Oll and you’re bloody false name is stuck in my mind.”

“Julius? Are you Pius by any chance? Julius Pius?” the Lieutenant at the bar suddenly asked.

“What’s that to you?” Julius snapped. The last thing he needed now were people recognising him.

The youthful bartender nodded his head once, as if in confirmation. "Because I suspect you went to school with five of my best customers." Julius stared.

"You're kidding. Venus, Remilia Dorn, Jacob Seager, Alex Carlin, and Freya Russ?" Kines grinned. "They get around. Is this not the smallest galaxy, or what?" he asked, neatly diverting Julius' building sulk.

Sulky and morose though he might be, Julius immediately felt bad at his outburst. “My apologies for my tone of voice ser. I did not know what ship they were travelling on, save that it was from the XVIII Legion.”

"I'm just a Junior Lieutenant; nobody calls me Sir unless they want a discount,"

“You’re a commissioned officer in the Legion Fleets, whereas I am a civilian. You are ser to me. Now, can I have another drink?”

The Lieutenant smiled as he poured another drink for the four of them. By the time they reached their third, Julius knew the Lieutenant’s name: Charles Kines. He seemed an easygoing person, and he laughed loudly at some of Flynn’s more bawdy jokes. Scvott and Dyllion joined in, and soon Flynn was relating a famed Tanith folk-take about a bear and a maiden which had the others in stitches.

Julius wanted to enjoy himself and share in the fun, but he couldn’t shake off the black cloud which still hung over him. He felt like the only one there who couldn’t erase his bad mood. He needed a distraction, he needed to know that someone somewhere was having a good time, and as he sipped his latest drink, he had lost count of how many he had consumed, an idea slowly began to form.

“Off duty?” Julius asked the Lieutenant as he pulled his navy-issue coat over his shoulders.
“Short break, letting the other guy take over. I’ve been on duty for the last nine hours, and I have sold over half the ship’s total alcohol store.”

“Care to have one on me ser?” Julius asked, trying to add extra meaning to his voice.

“I don’t drink on duty, and you can stop calling me sir. I’m not the captain.”

“You still outrank me, so you are ser.”

“Jake never called me sir.”

“Well, Jake’s never had the proper respect for military authority. Next time you see him, tell him that I call you ser, and if I do then he should as well.”

Kines stifled a laugh, and got up, making a subtle gesture to Julius. Julius excused himself, and followed the Lieutenant to a nearby empty stall.

“What do you want Julius?” Kines asked once they had sat down.

“Frankly ser, I need something to cheer me up. I’ve been through hell, spent most of the war hiding underground as a partisan in the Ork infested outer city, and now I can’t shake this infernal gloom. I want to know about what everyone has been doing. Remilia, Venus, Jake, Freya, even Alex. Tell me everything ser.”

Kines obliged, and began with their first visit to the bar on the first day of their trip. Julius listened intently, slowly sipping on his latest glass of amasec. The Lieutenant was a good storyteller, and Julius found himself entranced by his tales.

When Kines reached the second leg of the journey, from Nocturne to Fenris, Julius began to notice the mini-pause and the small catch in his voice every time he was talking about Remilia. Julius might have been somewhat tipsy, but his ‘sight’ still worked, and slowly he put the pieces together. 

Finally he decided to confirm his suspicions. "You'll never guess who my chemistry lab partner was? 

“Who?”

“She’s someone very close to me, a sister in all but name. Here's a hint for you: she prefers orange soda.”

His eyes widened, and Julius smiled at him. “Don’t worry Lieutenant, my lips are sealed. They obviously never told you about my ‘sight’; how I see things people try to hide. No, I'm no psyker, it's just a little talent I have.  I’m glad you’re making Remilia happy; she needs it after what she’s been through. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter.” He let the matter slide, and he knew Kines understood.

“I have to go back on duty now, but thank you for the drink.” Kines carefully said. They both returned to the bar, where Julius could see the other three were inebriated. For that matter, Julius felt his head swimming and his sense of balance was slightly off. He had never drunk this much before, and it told.

“Is there any Orange Soda left?” he asked Kines.

“One bottle.”

“Right then.” Julius handed over several thrones, and then stopped Kines as he reached to hand it over. “No, hide it away. It’s a gift for a certain someone, I think you know who.”
Kines smiled as he stowed the bottle away. 

The night blurred after that, and Julius could no longer remember any concrete details until they went to leave, close to midnight. As they trooped out, Julius turned back to Kines and managed to force out, “Thank you very much ser, for the first time in weeks I feel almost human again.” He didn’t know if it was him or the alcohol talking, but the farewell salute from Kines made him feel better for his slurred words.

They dropped him back off at his hab, and the first thing Julius did was race for the bathroom as his stomach heaved. He had drunk far too much; he never wanted to do that again.
That night the nightmares began.