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

===Everybody All Neat and Pretty?===

Remilia turned slowly in front of her mirror, checking to see how she looked.  To her satisfaction, the blouse and formalwear pants she had selected – she hated dresses – were nicely matched, and covered her forearms neatly.

Jake stuck his head in.  “Hey.  Are you ready to head out?”

“Just about,” Remilia said, grabbing a small silver bracelet and affixing it.  “What did you pick?”

“You tell me,” Jake joked, walking into her bedroom.  The outfit would have looked a bit old in the gilded halls of Terra, but by Nocturnean standards, looked quite presentable indeed.

“You look very handsome,” Remilia said, pausing to admire the golden watch Venus had made, which Jake had decided to switch to the chain setting for the evening.  “Nice touch.”

“Thanks.  This seemed like as good a time as any to use it.”  He glanced back into the halls.  “Alex didn’t come back,” he said.

“He’s not picking up his vox, either,” Remilia noted with some concern.  “I’m sure he’s fine, though, he had a platoon of guards with him.”

“Oh, sure,” Jake said, waving their concerns away.  “Hey, you’re looking pretty sharp yourself.  Is that the blouse you got today?”

“Yep, brought the pants from home.”  Remilia had selected a dark theme herself, and aside from the bracelet, was wearing no jewelry or makeup.

“Are you the only one of your cousins who didn’t pierce their ears?” Jake asked.

“Hah!  No, they’re pierced, I just never wear earrings,” she admitted.

“All right, I was just curious.”  Jake tugged his collar a bit, adjusting his lemon-colored silk tie.  “So, hey, do you know if there will be any Astartes there tonight?”

“Present company excepted, you mean?” Remilia asked coyly.

“Sure.”

“A few.  Several Techmarines and Apothecaries base their operations out of the city, but only the Chaplains and company-level officers really make an effort to be seen in public.  Why?” she asked.

“No reason, really.”  Jake sat down in the chair by the door and looked at her carefully.  “Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Do you really think of yourself as a Marine?  No offense, but Freya and Venus think of themselves as Astartes through and through; you never even mention the Fists, let alone Inwit.”

Remilia paused to give the question its due reflection.  “I think that’s more a relic of something you’re all too familiar with.  I’m comfortable with who and what I am.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”  Jake stood.  “Well…voxes set to vibrate, nervous flutters suppressed, jewelry fastened securely…I think we’re both set to head out.”
She smiled at her friend.  “Lead the way.”

Venus set the crown back in the box, deciding that she wouldn’t need it.  She powered her weapons on to check their charge levels, and nodded in satisfaction when they both beeped full.  Her cape brushed against the drake leather of her uniform pants as she leaned over.  She had already decided to go for the full effect of her uniform, to give the occasion its proper due, but she wasn’t trying to make a political statement.  The crown stayed.
She clasped her gloves to her belt and pulled her hands free, donning the bloodstone ring she had made.  She started to snug it onto the ring finger of her hand and paused.  She didn’t want to make that mistake again.  She attached it to her index finger instead with a smile.  Let people wonder if she had a digital weapon on.

Jake’s footsteps from the other room drew her attention.  She straightened up and turned around, the cape swirling around her legs.  Jake stood in the doorframe with Remilia and Freya behind him.  “You know, every time I see you in that outfit, I find myself wondering if I’m supposed to take a knee,” he joked.

“What can I say?  It’s growing on me,” Venus said.  She slid one necklace on, and secured a second tiny gold chain between the clasps of the cape.  It ticked against her breastplate.  “Alex a no-show?”

“Won’t even pick up the vox,” Freya said.  She was by far the least formally dressed, at first glance, but the nicely cut sky blue V-neck velvet shirt and jet-black formal pants she was wearing lent themselves capably to her enviable figure.  Over the bare wedge of pale skin, she wore a silver necklace – a gift from Farah – inviting gazes to look and linger on the dark blue sapphire in the middle.

“I’m sure he’s just off arguing with his father,” Venus said.

“What?”  Freya jerked her head back.  “What about his father?  He’s not here.”

“Oh, yes he is,” Venus said.  “His name was on the guest list for party that the governor sent me.”

“Aw, hell,” Freya muttered.

Jake shrugged.  “I still don’t see the issue.  He’s supposed to be a dickbag, sure, but he won’t try to upstage you, will he?”

“Me?  No chance.  The Governor?  Without even breaking a sweat,” Venus said coldly.  She quite deliberately rested a hand on the hilt of her Power Rapier.  “And the Governor’s going to be over the coals today anyway.”

Remilia cocked her head.  She regarded her shorter cousin with caution.  “Is that a fact?”

“This crime spree nearly broke me, and nearly killed Jake.”  Her eyes flashed brilliant red, like drops of blood in sunlight.  “No more.  Forget Dad’s warnings, Sralah gets punished tonight.”

An inkling of how much the recent crimes had truly bothered Venus appeared in Jake’s mind as he watched his girlfriend holster her pistol.  “Venus…you’re not going to kill the man, are you?”

Venus shook her head.  Her unusual haircut swept over her armor.  “I won’t need to.  Just remind him that I can, without consequence, any time I want.”  Her teeth glimmered in the red and yellow lights of the room.  “He’ll find himself motivated after that, I’m sure.”

Alex stood in front of the mirror of his room on the shuttle and straightened his collar.  The tiny guns he had abandoned, a mute act of defiance towards his father’s controlling side.  The rest, though, he did wear, and he would try to look like he didn’t resent it.

“Appreciated or not, you pull it off, Alex,” his father said from the open hatch.

“I think so,” Alex said.  He grabbed a bag from the closet, where he had several stashed, and stuffed his things into it, guns and their gunbelt included.  He paused to extract the vox and its battery, sliding it into its place.

“Why aren’t you wearing the guns?” Joseph asked.

“Because people who carry guns without training are asking for trouble, and I don’t want to look like a pretentious asshole at a dinner with my girlfriend attending,” Alex said shortly.  He turned the vox on and groaned to himself.

“Speaking of, how is Freya?” Joseph asked.

“She’s doing great, and apparently wondering where I am.”  He groaned again.  “What do I even say?  Damn it,” he said, cutting his father’s suggestion off.  “That was rhetorical.”

The vox buzzed.  Alex answered it instantly, discreetly tapping the speakerphone button as he did.  “Hello?”

“Alex!  Where the hell are you?  The dinner’s in fifteen minutes and we’re halfway there!” Freya’s voice said.

“I’m getting dressed, on Dad’s shuttle,” Alex said.

“WHAT?  He’s here?  Oh for…didn’t you specifically say he shouldn’t show his face?” Freya demanded.

“Yes.”

“Fucking…fine.  Get over here, we can bail early if he’s his usual self,” Freya said coldly.

“Sounds good.  See you there, baby.  Bye,” Alex said, thumbing the vox off.

“‘Usual self?’” Joseph asked coldly.

“Yeah.”  Alex picked up the bag and stuffed a few odds and ends into it from the drawers and closets of the room.  “I forgot half of this shit was even here,” he muttered.

“What have you told her, exactly?” Joseph pressed.

Alex quirked an eyebrow.  “What do you mean?  What did I tell her to make her say that?  Nothing, Dad, actions speak louder than words.  After all, you totally got invited to this party before you arrived in-system,” he said, pushing past his father into the corridor.

Joseph grabbed his taller son’s shoulder.  “Alex, I don’t know what Freya does or doesn’t think about me, but if I’ve taught you anything, it’s that you never talk about people behind their backs,” he said tightly.

“Dad, Freya’s met you before.  Remember graduation?  I sure do,” Alex shot back.  He turned his back to his father and walked down the corridor and the stairs at the end.

Big Al was waiting at the hatch again.  Alex wondered if he had even moved in the two hours he had been there.  “Heeeey, kiddo, you’re looking sharp,” the psyker said.  He had somehow acquired a frilly drink, complete with straw and mango slice, since Alex had seem him, and was contentedly slurping away.

“Thanks, Big Al,” Alex said, pausing to chat with his favorite crewman of his father’s.  “Big soiree tonight.  Governors and Astartes and such.  Think this is good?” he asked, displaying the clothes.

“Man, if you’re with the Space Marines, you gotta look like you’re in control of yourself,” the Astropath bemoaned.  “You don’t even have a big hat on!  That works for the Navy guys I met back in the day.”

“Okay, the hat I’ll give you, but how about the rest?” Alex pressed.

“Look like you stepped off a recruiting poster, kid, I should know, I fell for one once,” Big Al sighed.

“Back when you enlisted?” Alex asked, hefting the bag.

“Naw, naw, this was later.”  Big Al took a long drag on his drink.  “Best-looking girl I ever saw.”

Alex threw his head back and laughed.  “I’ve missed you, Big Al.”

“Man, you’ll see me again, man, you go have fun,” Big Al said.  “And say hi to that foxy redhead you’re with sometimes for me.”

“I sure will, my man, but never call her a fox to her face, or she’ll go feral on you,” Alex cautioned.

The diminutive psyker nodded slowly.  “I don’t know that I’d mind, really, man,” he said.

Alex chuckled.  “Careful, Big Al, she’s Leman Russ’ daughter.”

“Aw yeah?  Good for you, kiddo, you’re in good shape,” the psyker said.  “You go have dinner.  I’m gonna finish this and check my messages.”

“You do that.  See you later, Big Al,” Alex said, shaking his hand and grabbing his bag.  He walked down the ramp, waving jauntily to the laid-back psyker.  His father was already waiting in a gaudy groundcar at the foot of the ramp, and Alex scrambled in, dropping his bag in the foot well.

“You always did like Big Al,” Joseph said from the back.

Alex grinned from the front passenger seat.  “How a man like him survived soul-stripping, I’ll never know.  Love him, though, he’s a cool dude.”

Jake puffed out an uncomfortable breath.  The back of the aircar was stiflingly hot.

“May I?” Venus asked.  Jake blinked at her.  “Your handkerchief,” she said.  He glanced down at his breast pocket.  She reached over and grabbed the kerchief, yanking it out and stuffing it into his side pocket.  “Nobody does that in real life.”

“Damn it…see, this is why I was worried.  I’m going to stand out, because I have no idea what the hell is going on,” Jake said.

“Jake, believe me, NOBODY in that room is going to know how Terran nobles act,” Venus assured him.

Jake grinned wryly.  “So rather than set a bad impression, I’ll just set a low standard?”

“Exactly, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Good.”  Jake sighed as his mind drifted to the call with Alex.  “So…do we try and keep Alex and his father separate?”

“Alex is a big boy, trust me, he can handle this himself,” Freya said coldly.  “And, so we’re clear, ''I'' will handle it if he can’t.”

Jake nodded.  “You bet, Freya, sorry.”

“No problem.  But he’s scared of me, and he secretly wants Alex’s approval, and one plus one equals ‘he’s fucked.’”  Freya offered up a confident grin as the aircar sank to the ground outside the Governor’s Estate mansion.  “Have some trust in me.”