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

===Veronica Carlin===


Alex stood at the door of his mother’s new home in the hive spire and tried to calm down.

The new place was dark.  So incredibly dark, compared to the house where they had lived in the surface city.  There wasn’t a sky overhead at all, either.  Just a metal dome, strung with lights.  Some of the individual homes backed up to the outside, so the people could look out of the hive when they wanted, but there wasn’t blue overhead any more.

He drew in a breath and slowly exhaled, steeling his nerves.  “Nothing for it,” he muttered, knocking on the door.

After a moment, it creaked open.  Veronica was standing there, dressed in her business clothes, seemingly no worse for wear, except for dark bags under her eyes.  As soon as she saw her son, her mouth flew open.  “Alex!”

“Hi, Mom,” he managed to say, before he was buried in a hug.

“Baby, welcome home!” his mother said, holding him at arm’s length after a moment.  “Look at you…you turned into a man when I wasn’t looking,” she said wistfully.

Alex scoffed and casually flexed his arms.  “Well, I don’t like to brag,” he said airily.

“Come on in, see the new place,” Veronica said, stepping back.  Alex walked in and craned his head back.  The new apartment was surprisingly roomy, moreso than their old home had been.  A narrow staircase cut across from the very middle of the room to an upper level, which circled the central main room like a balcony.  The whole outer wall was a window on one side, over the undulating sea of silvery hive metal.  The polarized window was sealed tight against the ravaging winds over the hive skin.

There was a small, sunken conversation area in front of the window, and a little kitchenette in one corner of the large room.  All in all, Alex decided, it was a pretty nice place…for a hive apartment.

“Interesting new digs,” Alex said.

“It’s pretty comfortable,” Veronica said, following her son into the conversation area.  “But tell me how your trip went!”

“It was pretty wild, I gotta say,” Alex admitted, sitting in one overstuffed chair.  “Traveling with three Ladies Primarch is unforgettable.  Oh, before I forget,” he said, leaning forward, “what happened to my stuff in the old house?”

“It’s just in storage until you have the chance to root through it,” Veronica said.  “Don’t worry.  We can go get it before you move out with Freya.”  She sighed impatiently.  “When do I get to meet her?  A Lady Primarch!  I have so much to ask her!”

Alex felt relief loosen his tensed shoulders.  Clearly, his and his mother’s misfortunes hadn’t dampened her spirits overmuch.  “Well, actually,” he said, standing up.  He turned to the door and walked over, pushing it open.  “Come on in,” he said.

Freya, who had been lounging against the side of her car the entire time, waiting for Alex to decide if his mother was in any state for company at her own suggestion, straightened up and walked in.  Veronica’s eyes widened at the sight, and she shot to her feet.

“Mom, this is Freya,” Alex said by means of introduction.  “Freya, this is my mother, Veronica.”

Freya walked straight up to her and inclined her head.  “Nice to meet you at long last, ma’am,” she said.

“An honor, your Ladyship,” Veronica said, kneeling.

“Please get up,” Freya said as Alex walked back over.  As soon as she could make eye contact again, she smiled broadly, her fangs glinting in the artificial light.  “It’s a bit incongruous to meet you just as I’m taking your son away for four or so years, but it’s still a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said happily, shaking the astonished woman’s hand.

“L-likewise, Lady Russ,” Veronica said.  Whether it was surprise alone or shame from having a Primarch have to enter a hive to speak to her, Freya couldn’t tell, but her cheeks suddenly colored, and she stepped back as soon as she could withdraw her hand.

Freya had none of it.  “Oh, you needn’t call me that, Veronica, titles are for strangers,” she said.  “Call me Freya.”

“Freya, yes, thank you,” Veronica said.  “So, er…welcome,” she said, awkwardly gesturing to the room around them as a servitor appeared at the door with the first of Alex’s belongings.

“Mom, where do I put my shit?” Alex asked, pointing at the idling servitor.

“Oh, uh, guest room upstairs for now,” Veronica said, stepping over to the servitor to direct them to the larger stairs in the back.

Freya leaned over to Alex as his mother moved out of earshot.  “She seems nice,” she said quietly.

“I’m relieved.  Can you stay a while to discuss the trip and where I go from here?” he asked under his breath.

“Not for too long, I have unpacking to do too,” Freya reminded him.  “But yeah, I can for a while.”

“Good,” Alex whispered as his mother returned.

“Well…Alex, Freya, tell me everything, please!” Veronica said, gesturing to chairs for them both.

The two sank into a love seat as Veronica sat across from them.  “Well, the ship was a bit…samey, but it’s a warship, not a cruise liner, so that’s to be expected,” Alex began.

Over the next few hours, as the servitor unloaded all of Alex’s things, Freya and Alex retold their tale, leaving out only the most salacious of details.  When Alex reached his argument with his father, however, he couldn’t stop himself from clenching his hands into fists.  Freya’s eyes turned down in remorse as Alex recalled his father’s ultimatum, and his passive-aggressive dismissal of Alex’s college career.

“Oh, baby,” Veronica said softly, closing her eyes and sinking back into her chair.  “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

Freya leaned against his shoulder, and he looped an arm around her back, letting her presence soothe his anger.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I was pretty far gone,” he said quietly.  “The others were great, though…I changed my college enrollment to stay with Freya until…well, until the future happens.  You know.”

“Yeah.”  Alex’s mother shook her head, thinking that one over.  “Well…thank you, Freya, for giving Alex a place to stay and keep learning,” she said.

“It was my pleasure,” Freya said, smiling faintly.

“So…what did you do next?” Veronica asked.

Alex bit back an inappropriate smile.  “Well…I just stayed in the suite for a while until I felt better, then we just went on a tour of a gallery on Skarokk…”

Finally, they reached the part where Alex and Leman Russ had come to a tentative truce.  “Wow.”  Veronica shook her head, looking overwhelmed.  “Alex, that just…I mean, I know, intellectually, that you’ve met him before, but that still just blows my mind.”

“What?” Alex asked.

“Meeting a Lord Primarch like that…shaking his hand,” Veronica said.  “I suppose going to school with his daughter must have made it seem commonplace, but still.”

Alex tilted his head to the side, looking a bit distracted.  “Well…no, it’s still pretty intimidating.  He’s a scary man.”

“He also tried to intimidate you directly, Alex,” Freya said drily.  “He doesn’t show his teeth around the house as much as he does around you.”

“When you show me your teeth it doesn’t scare me,” Alex said.

Freya grinned coyly.  “Context is important, though,” she said playfully.

Alex chuckled.  His mother looked from one to the other, uncomprehending.  “Aaaanyway, Mom, we came home a day or two after that,” Alex said.  “The flight back was a bit rougher since the ship had been in combat, but that’s the way it goes,” he finished.

“Well, it sounds like apart from Joseph’s arrogance and your friend’s injury, it was a pretty fun trip,” Veronica said.

“It really was,” Alex said.  “I just wish I hadn’t spent all of my discretionary budget before I left.”

“Have you actually tried to reach your old accounts?” Veronica asked.

“I have.  Only the two that were under my name and sealed to my ID code are still active, and they’re tiny compared to the ones Dad cut off,” Alex said heavily.  “Enough to finance housing for a few years, but not enough to live off of.”

“That’s too bad,” Veronica said.  “Then, I guess I owe you doubly, Freya,” she said.

Freya shrugged awkwardly.  “I haven’t given Alex any money, Veronica, and I’m not going to unless something even worse happens.  I’m just happy to room with him.  To be honest, Mom and Dad keep my own accounts on a pretty short leash, and Dad would blow a circuit if I just up and gave one to Alex.”

“I don’t mind, really, either,” Alex spoke up.  “I’m just grateful for what I’m getting, and this way I can earn my degree.”

Veronica rose to her feet.  “Well, baby, I’m glad you managed to have fun anyway,” she said.  “Want to go get your stuff from the lock-up?”

“Let’s,” Alex said.  He turned to Freya as she stood too.  “Thanks for everything, Freya,” he said.

She took his hand and lifted it to her lips.  “It was fun meeting your Mom.  I’ll see you again in a few days, when we have to consolidate out luggage for the move, okay?”

“Sure.”  Alex released her hand and drew her into a quick hug.  “See you then.”