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

===New Kicks===


Venus opened the door to the main room, nerves catching her breath.  Jake was just lifting the remote for the holo, and hadn’t seen her yet.  She felt weirdly self-conscious in her formal uniform.  Why, she wasn’t sure.  He had seen the duty version already, of course.

Whatever.  It was just clothes.  She cleared her throat and stepped into the room.  “What do you think?” she asked.

Jake was just picking up the remote to turn on the holo in the corner when he heard her question.  He turned to look at her-

He dropped the remote.

She was clad from neck to bootsole in dark grey leather that shone to brilliance.  Her pants were covered in front with what looked like a fully centimeter-thick layer of drakeskin scale over leather pads, and they wrapped nearly halfway around her legs.  The boots she was wearing were drake leather too, and had an incredibly intricate red flame pattern etched into the surface that wrapped around her calves.  They were tucked under her pant legs at an inch or two above the ankle, and the pants had the same pattern on them, though he couldn’t see all of it since the scale didn’t carry the pattern.  On her hips and the front of her upper legs, the scales slowly turned from the dark grey they had been to a reddish grey instead, and a Power Rapier and Conflagration Pistol that looked both ceremonial and fully usable were strapped to her hips.

The armor plates on her hips were a deep red scale over tiny ceramite links over adamantium plates, as thin as a hair, over the leather that constituted the entire outfit.  The thick belt over her waist was also drake leather from the look of it, but the entire surface was completely covered in flat, wrought-adamantium chain links, the size of pinheads, that had been linked together and hammered flat.

By contrast to her leg armor, her torso armor was somewhat more utilitarian.  Her stomach was completely covered in thin, interlocking pieces of adamantium plate, though in deference to the outfit’s intended appearance, a few bright red drake scale links had been arranged in a V-pattern.  It started right under the plate over her breasts and ended at her belt buckle; which was, now that he saw it, a wrought silver coil, with a tiny flame pattern etched onto the metal, and a single ruby set on the middle.  The plates of armor over her upper chest were visibly thicker, but more ornate; with embossed and raised patterns in a language he couldn’t read rimming the rib and breastplates.  The plates on her upper chest continued the same pattern.  The words were polished brilliantly, and the metal beneath less so.

The plates themselves were lined with almost invisible rivets holding the adamantium plates to the leather beneath.  The segmented metal was arranged with such artifice that it didn’t make a sound as it slid over the other pieces.  Between the leather being nearly the same color as her skin and the brilliant silver of the metal, the effect was such that Jake’s eyes were naturally drawn to the red scales that covered her flanks, and the ones down her stomach.

Her arms were thickly padded with drake leather, but here the scales were a dusky orange, almost brown, and the adamantium plates on her shoulders and upper arms were painted the same color.  The forearm plates were not, and were left a dull grey.  Into the metal, more words were etched, and the raised words were shined to brilliant silver.  They, like the words on her chest, were inscrutable.  Her gloves were a brighter grey, and tiny circles of adamantium decorated the back of each finger, leaving room for the joints.

Jake stared.  He traced his eyes over the uniform, taking in every detail.

Venus tilted her head a little.  “So…what do you think?” she asked.  She crossed her arms over her armored chest and leaned to the side a bit.  “Well?  Nocturne to Jake?”

“…Wow.”  Jake slowly sat up, still staring.  “You look…wow.  It’s beautiful.”

Venus smiled, somewhat relieved.  “Thanks.”

“What does the back look like?”

She obligingly turned, revealing a few small, black leather pouches on the belt.  Probably for ammunition for the weapons.  The outfit had deep pockets, he saw, running invisibly under the armor on her hips, which was apparently not as thick as it looked.  The backs of her legs were covered in the wafer-thin flame patterns up to her knees, where they tapered away into blank leather.  Her back was armored too, but with more drakescale, not metal plating.

“It’s amazing.  You look gorgeous,” Jake said.  “I’ve never seen you wear THAT at state dinners back home,” he said.

“It’s not for Terrans.  I told you, I’m just a noble there.  Here, the mantle of leadership means I have to look the role.”  She walked back into the bathroom, and some rattling noises started.  “Hang on; let me show you the accessories.”

“The weapons aren’t accessories?” Jake asked.

“Nope, they’re for idiots who think Vulkan Forgefather has stupid children.  Hang on…okay,” she said.  She emerged with a few little boxes in her hands.  “Here…we go,” she said distractedly.  She pulled some small metal bits out of one box and set the others down.  “I made these myself, when I was ten.  I promised Dad that I wouldn’t wear them until I came here,” she said.  Jake stood and walked over.  She extended one leather-clad hand to reveal a pair of tiny platinum earrings, each of which had been set with a little yellow corundum.

“Pretty.  You made those when you were TEN?” Jake asked.

“Yep.  Solid platinum.  Which means nothing since they’re just engine parts Dad was about to throw out.  I melted them down and made these instead.”  She smiled as she inserted them.  “I like my use more.”

“Me too.”  Jake glanced into the boxes and saw more shiny metal.  “What’s that?”

“The rest.”  She reached into the boxes and extracted a thin necklace, with a familiar pendant on it.

“Hey, I remember you,” Jake said, running his finger over the little drake’s head icon.  The tiny rubies glittered under the light from her eyes as he held it up.  “You sure you want to wear this around?”

“Shouldn’t I?”

“Well, I’d be scared of losing it,” Jake said.

“Well…I’m not, but it does contrast with the uniform,” she said, sliding it back into the box.  “Okay…two last things.  I think you’ll like this part.”  She grabbed a bundle of cloth from the next box, and unfurled it into a flowing, blood red ankle-length cape, with the Nocturnean hammer icon set into the middle in yellow.  She slung it on over her shoulders, and fluttered it to rest.  “Huh?  Huh?”

Jake took a step back and looked her over appraisingly.  “You pull it off, Venus.”

“Thanks.”  The last item was one of the reasons for her shyness, but she also could never justify not wearing it, and she had to admit that it was beautiful on its own.

She reached down into the last, larger box, and extracted a sparkling crown.  A band of solid gold encircled her entire head.  No mere tiara this, it extended to cover her head almost entirely.  A square slot at the back allowed her hair to flow out.  The front of the crown was decorated in an Imperial Aquila, whose wings were spread back over her temples.  The forehead stretched down to halfway down the bridge of her nose like a battlehelm.  The brim flowed out of the nose above her eyes, back down in front of her ears.  A row of truly massive rubies decorated the band.  The top was a gold dome, but it was low, almost resting on top of her head.

In the very center, above the Aquila on her forehead, a ridge extended back over the dome, and a few small diamonds were set on either side of it, in a symmetrical pattern.

Venus slid the crown on and stood back.  “Well…there’s the complete picture.  How do I look?”

Jake looked up and down.  The effect was magnificent.  The martial appearance of the chest armor and the elegant artistry of the crown blended perfectly.  The brilliant red glow from under the crown was frightening and enticing.  “You look like a queen,” he said.  He felt dumb, trying to encapsulate the way she looked in words.  “It’s…it’s beautiful.”

She smiled under the crown, and somehow it didn’t diminish the effect at all.  “Thank you, Jake.”  She moved her head from side to side, testing the crown’s balance.  “Hmm.  Bit topheavy, but it doesn’t move…good.”

“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t there serfs for this sort of thing?” Jake asked.  “Helping you dress and such?”

“Eh.  Maybe if I was in the Residence, up on Prometheus, but the Regent lives in it and I wasn’t about to throw him out for one night.”  Venus cricked her neck, trying to get used to the weight on her head.  “Besides, why would I want some serf to help me when it gives me a chance to play dress-up with you?” she playfully inquired, running her gloves over each other.

Jake coughed.  “Such lack of decorum, Princess.”

She nodded, all business again.  “Now…do you think I should show the others, or just head out now and surprise them?”

“Why go anywhere?  The rain will kill you,” Jake pointed out.

“All the major cities have some sort of underground tunnels between major civic buildings, but I don’t know if the Castle in on the network,” Venus said, tapping one gauntleted finger against her chin.  “It’s earthquake insurance.  Hmm…I can ask.”

“And I think you should show the others,” Jake said.  “Blow their minds.”

“You think I should, huh,” she said, biting her lip.  “All right…I want to save this, though,” she said.  She pulled the crown off and set it into its box, closing it up and sealing it with a thumbprint.  The tiny electronic lock clicked.

“Okay…let’s show them.”  Venus peeked out the door, verifying that the hall was clear, and listened for voices.  Sure enough, she could hear the others talking in Freya’s room.  She and Jake walked up to the entrance and knocked.

“Come,” Freya called.  Venus pushed the door open and struck a gallant pose on the threshold.

“Well?” she asked pointedly.

Jake peered over his shorter girlfriend’s shoulder. Freya was sprawled out on a couch, paging through a dataslate.  Her jaw dropped when she saw her cousin.  “Venus, you look awesome!  Where did you get the hardware?”

“It came with the outfit,” Venus laughed, walking in.

Alex wandered out of the bedroom and froze in his tracks.  “Oh wow…Venus, what’s that?”  Remilia sat up in the corner, staring.

“My formal outfit.  What can I say, we like leather on Nocturne,” Venus said with a happy little shrug.  “What do you think?  I’ve never actually worn this before.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Alex said.  He walked up to her with marked hesitation, and gently rubbed his thumb over the drakeskin on her shoulders.  “Is this all real drakeskin?”

“Yep.  And that’s real scale,” she said, tapping a scale on her hip.

“That outfit and the weapons cost more than a system patrol boat,” Freya said, flabbergasted.

“Not at all.  That drake probably just wandered in front of a Salamander mining crew and got toasted for its incaution,” Venus said.  “It’s all from the same animal.”

“Is that a Conflagration gun?” Remilia asked from the corner.

Venus hefted the weapon, balancing it on its trigger guard.  “I think so.  It was in the kit.  It’s not even loaded,” she said.  She slid the power pack out.  “Yeah, this is a placeholder.  Plastic.”

“You’re not going to be incinerating any paparazzi with that,” Remilia scoffed.

“True.”  She slid the plastic pack back in and checked the pack on the Rapier’s hilt.  “Also plastic.  Well, who stores weapons loaded?” she asked rhetorically.

“Yeah…don’t load those here, huh?” Jake asked, coming up behind her.

“Don’t worry,” she said, reaching behind her and pulling the contents of the little leather pouches free.  “All plastic.”

“Good.”  Jake looked at the golden hammer on her back ripple with the slight movements of her cape in the draft from the hall.  He had seen her martial side before, of course.  On the ship, when dealing with Custodes and Treasury back home, the incident with the Palace PDF…but this was new.  She wasn’t just being military, she was being a leader.

He had thought that this inevitable day would be overwhelming to him.  Strangely, though, he felt excited instead.  This side of her was interesting.  He was actually looking forward to seeing how she acted.  She turned around and hugged him quickly.  “Gotta go.  It’ll be on every news channel,” she said over her shoulder as she went.

The door closed behind her.  All four other teens stared at each other.  “That was unique,” Jake said.

“I know.  I’ve never seen that before.  Makes my formal outfit look tawdry,” Freya grumbled.

“What’s yours?” Alex asked.

Freya waved her hand overhead, trying to visualize it.  “You’ll see.  Furs and tribal markings.  Fenris is still a Feral World.  I guess a world that’s actually a part of the greater Imperium gets to be fancier.”

“You’re not jealous,” Alex said.

“No, I’m just thinking aloud.  Hey, let’s get the news on,” she said, grabbing the remote.