Editing Eternity (Warhammer High) (section)

=== Gettin' Hitched ===


Jake Seager bowed his head before the robed Judge, his heart hammering.  “By the authority vested in me by the Imperium of man, I pronounce you husband and wife,” the Judge intoned.

Jake turned and embraced Venus, as the room filled with muted applause.  The conference hall of a hotel was hardly an auspicious place for a wedding, but then, this was just where the ceremony was being held.  The actual wedding and reception were being held at far more appropriate locales: Nocturne and Vulkan’s home, respectively.

The newly wedded husband felt Venus’ tear on his cheek, and he squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed.  As he gently pulled back, and the Judge bowed out, the radiant grin on his wife’s lips lit the room almost as much as her eyes.  “We did it, baby,” she whispered softly.

Jake leaned forward until his forehead rested against hers, overwhelmed completely.  “We did it,” he said.  “I love you, now and forever.”

Jake’s mother brushed a tear from her own eye as she watched her son growing up.  George, his father, squeezed her shoulder, biting back a sob too.  Vulkan and Misja didn’t even bother, as they watched unobtrusively from the back of the room.

The room was filled with chairs and small conversation tables, by Venus’ specific request, instead of the usual large conference tables.  Even as Venus and Jake slowly made their way over to the seats, and Venus dropped into one, dazed and happy, Freya Russ leaned over the back of her chair and gave her a gleeful hug.  “Congratulations, Venus!” she said eagerly.  “Oh, I’m so happy for you!”

Venus closed her eyes and squeezed her cousin’s hand.  “Thanks, Freya.”

Farah Manus offered Jake a quick hug as he moved to sit beside her.  “You looked great up there, Jake,” she said cheerfully.  “Congratulations.”

Jake beamed.  “It seemed awfully short for all that planning, but there it is!  Thanks so much for coming,” he said.

“My pleasure,” Farah said.  She had selected what Jake assumed was a Medusan formal outfit for the occasion, and it matched Venus’ Royal uniform well.  Jake felt almost paltry in his tuxedo, but Venus had informed him that he’d receive a uniform like hers upon their move to Nocturne, which pleased him immensely.  Now that he was married, that is.

Jake felt the unfamiliar weight of the rings on his hands.  On Terra, it was customary for a husband and wife to wear their marriage rings on the fourth finger of the weaker hand, and the wife to wear an engagement ring on her left hand.  On Nocturne, however, the tradition was different: both partners wore wedding rings on their left hand, and the wife wore her engagement ring on the same finger, while the husband wore his on the right.  Jake actually liked the tradition, and had acceded to her request to uphold it.  It was a fair price to pay for having the ceremony on Terra instead of the world he’d be co-ruling.

CO-RULING!  He nearly laughed, giddy.  From hive scum to Bond Prince.  What a life.

His father walked up to him, grinning from ear to ear.  Jake extended a hand from the couch and shook it wordlessly.  Both men shared a grin of amazement and pride that needed no narration.  Sandra brushed past George to wrap Jake up in a hug, nearly lifting him from the couch.  “I love you so much, baby,” Sandra whispered.

“Thanks, Mom,” Jake said, rising to his feet.  “I couldn’t have done it without you two.”

“Not so stylishly, anyway,” George quipped.  Jake rolled his eyes.

Venus paused in her tour of the room to offer her father a formal bow.  He had dressed in an undecorated formal uniform of the Legion, not feeling Power Armor appropriate for a wedding.  His eyes glinted as she approached him.  “I am very proud of you, Venus,” he said in Nocturnean.

“Thank you, Father,” she replied in the same language.  “It’s going to be an adventure, even if it doesn’t feel it yet,” she said, switching back to Gothic.  “I mean, we’ve been living together for four years already,” she added drily.

“Right, but it’s legal now,” Misja said with a laugh.  She drew her daughter into a hug, wrapping her arms around Venus’ armored torso.  “We’re both so pleased by this…you picked very well,” she said happily.

“I did indeed,” Venus said softly.  “Lucky me.”  She drew back and glanced over to where Jake was shaking his new sisters-in-law’s hands, one by one.  “Dad…do you think he’ll be a good son?” she asked.

“I have no doubt at all, now,” Vulkan said.

Venus smiled happily.  “Good.  Let’s head home and get the real party started, hmm?”


As the procession of cars appeared over the horizon of Startseite – that being, the nearby hive walls – a Treasury guard raised his wrist to his mouth.  “Sire, the convoy is here.”

The Emperor, who had decided not to attend the wedding so as not to overwhelm the guests any more than a few Primarchs being there would have already, nodded from his seat in the greatroom, where he had been sitting alone for several minutes.  “Very well.”

“How late will you be staying, Sire?” the guard asked.

“Not long.  Long enough to offer congratulations, then depart quietly.”  The Emperor rose from his seat and, with a thought, donned his sorcerous guise.  He had chosen the same one he had used at Morticia’s trial for the occasion.  “This isn’t my day,” he said.  “This is theirs.”

The guard nodded and lowered his vox.  The cars settled outside the manor, and jubilant guests filtered in.  Venus and Jake were first in by their own design, since Venus wanted to change into something less ornate than her uniform.  As they entered, both spotted the man with the black ponytail and gilded uniform shirt standing in the far side of the room, and Venus beamed a grin.  “Grandfather, I’m glad you could make it!”

“I would have been remiss not to offer my congratulations,” the Emperor said, making his way over.  “In that spirit…congratulations, both of you.”

Jake bowed his head, a little overwhelmed.  The Emperor found himself glad that he had chosen an appearance even as unassuming as he had.  “My thanks, Sire,” Jake said quietly.

“And Venus, does this mean that you will be returning to Nocturne to begin ruling formally?” the Emperor asked as other guests started streaming in.

“Oh, no, Grandfather, not for over a year,” Venus said.  “I have obligations here I won’t abandon.”

The Emperor nodded.  “Very well.  You know that when you return to Terra, for whatever reason, I may well have some responsibility for you as well, yes?” he asked.

“I sort of suspected,” Venus admitted.  “What would they entail?”

“Nothing too strenuous, at first, but as your father and uncles divest themselves of the workings of the Administratum, I will find roles for you and your sisters.  Assuming, of course, that you do not simply enter the military, as your sister Hana has chosen to do,” the Emperor said.

“Well, that needn’t concern you,” Venus said.  “I love my brothers in the Legion, but I’ll never be one of them.”

The Emperor smiled slightly.  “So your father assures me.”

Venus rolled her eyes, probably.  “I bet.”

A few other guests walked up to where the three of them were standing, and the Emperor stepped back, sensing his presence becoming a distraction.  “I’ll see you soon, I’m sure,” the Emperor said.

George Seager walked up to Jake as Venus made a discreet exit for her room to change.  “Jake, I can’t say it enough, congratulations,” George said, clasping his son’s shoulder again.

“Thanks, Dad,” Jake said.  He turned to face the Emperor again, reaching out a hand.  “Have you met Venus’ grandfather?”

George turned, absolute awe forming on his face.  The Emperor hid a sigh and nodded politely.  “Sieur Seager.”

“Dad,” Jake said under his breath.

George shook himself, nodding back.  “Your Royal Highness, I’m honored,” he managed.

“The honor is Jacob’s and Venus’, today,” the Emperor deflected neatly.  “Now…Jacob, if you’ll pardon me, I must return to the Lunar Conference.  Again, my congratulations.”

“Certainly, your Highness, I’m glad you could make it at all.  And thank you for the token,” Jake said, patting his pocket.

“Of course.  Farewell,” the Emperor said, walking back towards the door.

George watched his liege disappear, stunned.  “What token is this?” he asked, finally.

“The Emperor grants all of his new grandsons-in-law one of these,” Jake said, lifting a tiny silver chain from his pocket.  A small metal token in the shape of the Aquila was attached, and its surface was mottled with inbuilt circuitry.  “They grant access to the Palace hangars from a distance,” Jake explained, putting it away.  “Anyway.”  He broke into an ecstatic grin as the moment returned.  “Fuck, I’m actually married!”

“I know, how did that happen?” a new voice asked.  Remilia appeared at his side, smiling smugly.  “I mean, nobody saw it coming.”

“Hey, Remilia,” Jake said, offering his new sister a hug.  “Thanks for being there,” he said.

“Are you kidding?  Wouldn’t miss it!”  Remilia was decked out in a gold-lined dress tunic and a beautiful layered dress shirt below it, her loathing of traditional ‘girly’ clothes extending even to wedding wear.  She was joined by Angela, who was beaming as widely as her cousin.

“Jake, congratulations,” Angela said happily.  “You’re in for a beautiful future.”

“Is that a prophecy?” Jake asked, half-grinning.

“Nope, common sense,” Angela said cheekily.

Jake chuckled, then looked down and clasped his hands over the warm, dark arms that had appeared around his chest.  Venus pecked him on the cheek as she hugged him.  “Hey, sweetheart, are you ready to go?” she asked quietly.

“As soon as you’re ready,” Jake said under his breath.  They had decided to postpone a formal honeymoon until after their education had concluded, and were going to spend the summer on Nocturne, instead, allowing them both to begin the process of acclimating themselves to the world’s climate and politics.  They were going to leave as soon as the party was in full swing, in traditional Terran style, since they were planning on having a formal ceremony on Nocturne as soon as they arrived.