Eternity (Warhammer High)

The following article is a /tg/ related story or fanfic. Should you continue, expect to find tl;dr and an occasional amount of awesome.

Someone else.'s conclusion to his Warhammer High stories.

College

Jake sat beside the others in his program in the Kouthry field house. The Institute President was talking about how the man next to you could be your best friend at graduation, and how nothing was more important to a successful career than blah blah blah. As hard as Jake was trying to listen, the occasional outbreaks of excited whispering from his classmates or applause from the audience of adoring parents was drowning him out. “It’s like they’re the students,” the kid next to him muttered. “I know,” Jake said under his breath. “Your parents out there somewhere?” he asked. “Somewhere, yeah,” the other boy said back. He scanned the crowd. “Can’t find ‘em.” Jake eyed the bleachers. Vulkan wasn’t there in person, naturally, and he couldn’t spot Alpharius or Corax either. Then, that was often the case. Misja was there, he could see, and though he had never met Cora’s or Alpharia’s mothers, the clouds of Treasury agents near them (and more covert plainclothesmen around them) helped him pick them out.

The convocation address drew to a close, and all the students rose and cheered in unison, while the bleachers erupted in flashes from cameras. Jake waved to his parents as the students started filing out by row, and try as he might, he couldn’t find any of the three girls he knew in the crowd. Of course, they were all different programs. Cora was in one of the civil engineering programs, he knew, and Alpharia had mentioned Education. Venus was in Inorganic Chemistry, while he was in Consumer Design and Practices. As his own row was called out, and he walked out of the room with the others from the convocation address. He flinched as he entered the open air of the Kouthry campus, shying from the light and sliding his sunglasses on. Even after an entire summer out of doors, it seemed, his mild myopia wasn’t going away. “You got bad eyes or something, man?” the other kid asked. “Eyesight’s fine, I’m just light-sensitive,” Jake said. “My parents got me these sunglasses as a going-away present before I went on a road trip this summer.” The other kid nodded. “Cool. What’s your name?” Jake held out his hand. “Jacob Seager. Call me Jake.” “Aaron Wabash, call me Aaron,” the other kid said, shaking his hand with a grin. “If you were in my block, you’ve gotta be in the design program too.” “Well, sort of,” Jake said. “Technically, I’m staff here, not a full-time student. I work in the bio labs. I just take classes too.” “Cool,” Aaron replied. “Do you live in the city?” “Student housing,” Jake said. Aaron had a look he was quite familiar with about him: old money. From his watch to his clothes to his hairstyle, he looked like a male Lyra. “Mmm.” Aaron shrugged. “They make everyone live in the student dorms for freshman year. So annoying.” “Annoying how?” Jake asked. “It’s so…cramped,” Aaron said. “My closet back home was bigger than my dorm. I don’t mind my roommate, though,” he added as they walked over to the dorm buildings, down the nearly third of a mile road to the residential end. “He’s a cool dude. Smart as hell.” “That’s always good,” Jake said. “I’m rooming with my girlfriend from high school.” Aaron glanced over at him. “You got a job at the same place your high school girlfriend went to college? How much did THAT take?” “Not much. Her dad and I get along really well, and he’s a school sponsor and alumnus,” Jake said. It happened to be true. “Besides, I REALLY wanted to work here. It’s perfect. And staff get a huge discount.” Aaron nodded. “If you say so. What do you do?” “I work in the bio labs, like I said, mostly just cleaning up. No research. I start Wednesday. Mostly midday classes for now,” Jake said. “Huh.” As they wandered down the road to the dorms, the thousands of students in the campus buzzed all around them, partaking in Orientation activities, exploring the campus, and otherwise taking in the gorgeous day. “Lovely campus, isn’t it?” Aaron asked. “Fantastic. Reminds me a bit of my high school, though, internally. The buildings and shit,” Jake said. “What city are you from?” Aaron asked. “Hive Tetra, actually,” Jake said. “I went to school at Imperator, in Startseite.” Aaron looked over at him, surprised. “You’re a hiver?” Jake glanced back, a bit coolly. “That a problem?” “No, just surprised, is all,” Aaron said quickly. “You don’t act like any of the hivers I’ve ever met.” Jake let the moment drag on before dropping it. It certainly wasn’t any different from anything he had had at Imperator.

As they reached the dorms, both stepped aside as a row of about ninety men in camouflage shirts trooped past. “Reservist guys, I guess,” Aaron commented. “Or Officer trainees,” Jake said. “Though with the daughters of three Primarchs on campus, there’s some Treasury around too. You see all of them in the crowds at the convocation?” “Yeah,” Aaron said. He watched the soldiers go with a somewhat disgruntled look, but didn’t elaborate. “Which ones are here again?” “Venus, Cora, Alpharia,” Jake said immediately. They had been playing cards the previous night, after all. “Right. Shame Victoria’s not here, too,” Aaron said wistfully. Jake smiled. “She’s taking the year off,” he said. “Ah well,” Aaron chuckled. “Any of them in our program?” “Nope,” Jake said. “You know, they went to Imperator too,” he said. “I was in their class.” “Oh? Cool,” Aaron said. “Out of how many people?” he asked as they reached the dorm buildings. “Around a thousand,” Jake said. “I can’t imagine going to school with the same people so long,” Aaron said. He held the door open for Jake. “This’ll be a learning experience.” “That’s college, all right,” Jake laughed. A Treasury agent walked past them as they left, carrying several empty plastic bags. Jake nodded to him as he passed him, but got no response. As they reached the stairs, Jake peeled off. “What floor are you on?” he asked. “Fourteen,” Aaron said. He chuckled. “Room with a view.” Jake blinked. “Me too! What’s your number?” “Zero seven one four eight eight,” Aaron supplied. “Oh, that’s on one end, isn’t it?” Jake asked. “You get a corner dorm, at least.” “Yeah.” Aaron tapped for the lift. “Bah, take the stairs! Commemorate your first day with a workout,” Jake said. Aaron looked up the massive stairwell. “No thanks.” Jake sighed. “Fine.” The two of them walked into the lift, making room for a group of departing parents, their arms filled with suitcases. As the doors started to close, however, the ambient noise in the lobby dropped off a bit. Cora emerged from the throng of people around the door and started walking towards the elevator. Jake held his hand over the door and she sped up, sliding in with a grateful nod. “Thanks,” she said. “What’s your floor?” Jake asked as Aaron stared, eyes wide. “Uh, fifteen,” Cora said. “I’d take the stairs, but I have to get this message off before they lock up the package delivery room for the weekend,” she explained. She tapped her pocket. “Damn post office taking weekends off on move-in day.” “What floor is Alpharia on?” Jake asked. Aaron’s wide eyes turned to him, shocked that he would have the effrontery to ask a Lady Primarch where her relatives lived. To his manifest surprise, Cora answered. “Top floor, twenty, I think.” “Heh. There’s a funny coincidence,” Jake chuckled. “Yeah,” Cora said with a grin. She glanced over at Aaron. “Who might you be?” “Uhh…A-Aaron Wabash,” the tanned teenager answered shakily. “Your Highness,” he added hastily. “Mmm. Corvus Cora.” The liftcar fell silent as they arrived on the fourteenth floor and both boys got off. Aaron heaved a sigh as she vanished behind closing doors. “Well. That was…interesting,” he said.

Jake shrugged. Aaron stared at him in reproach. “You shouldn’t have been so frank,” he said. “What?” Jake asked. “You asked her where Princess Alpharia is staying! That’s none of your business!” Aaron said, clearly perturbed by his brush with royalty. “Whoa, man, cool off,” Jake said, putting a hand up. “I told you, we went to school together. She knows me.” Aaron shook his head. “Right. Sorry, that was just…and she lives above us?” “Yeah. Room over mine, actually, I think,” Jake said. “You want to just hang for a while? You look spooked.” “Sure…why not,” Aaron said, shaking himself loose. “Sure. I should make sure nothing got damaged on the flight, too,” he said. “I flew in from Arcadus, over on the Farwest hives.” Jake followed his new friend to his dorm and glanced over it. Pure stock, all of it: two elevated beds with computer desks underneath and a holoscreen set against the wall on a table, with a wide window at the end of the room. “I’ve stayed in hotels worse than this,” Jake said. “It’ll be home in no time.” “No offense, dude, but you live in a hive,” Aaron said. “Not for the last three months,” Jake said. “I went on a road trip with my girlfriend and a few of her cousins. We were all over the place, none of it hives.” Aaron picked up one bag and unzipped it. “Still.” He looked over his bed and sighed. “I don’t get why we’re not allowed to bring our own furniture.” “Besides the fact that they provide you with plenty?” Jake asked drily. “Well, think about the logistics. How would Moving Day look with every student bringing their own shit?” “True,” Aaron conceded. Jake followed him in and looked out the window. “Your room has a better view than mine, all I can see is the wall around the school and the buildings past that,” Jake said. “At least you can see the campus.” “Your room faced east, right? You get the sunrise,” Aaron said. “Ugh, not with my schedule,” Jake groused. “Up at five, work from six to nine, classes ten to noon and one to five, work from six to seven, in bed by ten.” “That sucks, all right,” Aaron said. “No time to do your own shit except late at night?” “Well, yeah, but I get weekends off,” Jake admitted. “That will be homework time, I fear.” “Hah. Probably.” Aaron glanced back at him and his eyes went wide. “Oh man…don’t look now, but Primarch number two is en route,” he said. Jake glanced back. “Oh, yeah. Hey, Venus!” he called. Venus looked up from their door. “Oh, there you are,” she said, walking up to him as every other person on the floor stared. “What are you doing over here?” “Just meeting the neighbors,” Jake explained. He gestured at Aaron. “This is Aaron. Aaron, Venus,” he said. Venus stuck her hand out. Aaron went stock-still until Venus shook her hand in midair a bit for emphasis. Aaron snapped free and gingerly took her hand, flinching at the heat. “Nice…nice to meet you, Princess,” he managed. She sighed slightly. “Yeah, nice to meet you. You in Jake’s program too?” she asked. “Y-yes, your Highness,” Aaron said. “Venus, please.” “Uh…Venus,” Aaron said, shaking his head. “Sorry. Uh, yes, we’re both in Consumer Design and Practices.” “That’s cool.” Venus leaned back against the doorframe. Her illuminating red eyes flooded the room with light. Aaron straightened up as his confidence returned a bit. “What are you here for?” “Inorganic Chemistry,” Venus supplied. “Maybe stay for a Masters, too, I dunno. I’m only on this floor because my roommate is too.” “Oh. Well…” Aaron said, his seventeen-year-old chemistry and upbringing driving him towards a single converging destination. “I’m looking forward to living with you, Venus,” he said, sliding easily into the effortless schmooze-mode of a born socialite. Venus shook her head. “No, my room’s down the hall.” “Right, but I mean on the same floor. Will you be at the floor meeting tonight?” he asked. “It’s mandatory, so yes. Then I’m heading out to a little get-together in the city,” Venus said. “Ah, cool. Do you need someone to go with?” Aaron asked. Venus allowed the faintest hint of a smile to reach her lips as she divined Aaron’s ultimate desire. “No, my boyfriend already said he’d go,” she said. Aaron deflated, his momentary lifelong dream wilting away. “Ah.” “Why, did you have nothing better to do tonight?” she asked jokingly. Jake rolled his eyes. Aaron shrugged, somewhat bashfully. “Can’t blame a man for trying,” he said. The night-black young Salamander laughed. “Nope.” She turned to Jake. “Can you help with the computer desk? I swear one of the legs is broken,” she said. “Oh, sure,” Jake said, following her down the hall to their room. Aaron tagged along to see the room looking rather disassembled. Jake lay down on his back under the computer desk and clucked his tongue. “Ah. Yeah. Gimme a knife or something? The screw’s loose.” Venus crouched down next to him and slid a pocket knife into his hand. Jake reached up and tightened the screw, then tapped his hand on the leg. It didn’t budge. “Problem solved.” “Awesome.” Venus grabbed his hand and hauled him up. “Thanks.” “No problem,” Jake said. “I unpacked quicker last night. Then, I had less to bring. The thing I had to fix was the bedframe,” he joked. Venus looked back at where their single beds had been pushed together under the window to form a double bed, and the two mattresses laid side by side with a single sheet over both. “Inventive.” It was certainly preferable to the twin beds they had had before. “Wait, this is your room?” Aaron blurted. Both of the others looked over at him. “Yeah, it is,” Jake said. “Then…how did you know his computer desk was broken?” Aaron asked Venus. “That one’s mine,” Venus said. She gestured at the identical desk next to it. “That one’s his.” Aaron stared at them both. “…So when you said you came here with your girlfriend from high school,” he said slowly. Jake nodded, holding in a laugh at the look of stupefaction on the other man’s face. “Yeah.” Refraining from his impulse to do something as cliché as smack her ass, he simply winked at Venus and left her to unpack, closing the door behind himself. “I’ve had kind of an interesting four years.” Aaron shot the other boy a look of absolute disbelief. “Don’t take this the wrong way, man, but…what the hell hive did you live in that you got a Lady Primarch?” Jake raised one eyebrow. “‘Got?’ Hey, Venus, can you still hear us?” he asked, his voice at no more than conversational levels. “Loud and clear,” Venus’ voice said from the other side of the door. Aaron blushed bright red and scampered back to his room. Jake chuckled and pushed the door open. Venus was sitting on the bed, glaring at him. “Jake, that was mean.” “‘Got’ you, come on,” Jake said. “Sorry if that was over the line, though.” She shrugged it away. “I’ll go be nice to him later or something.” She laughed. “I bet you got asked that by half the boys at Imperator, too.” Jake shook his head. “Not once, actually.” “Really?” Venus asked. “Nope.” Jake crossed the distance between them and stood in front of the bed as the door swung shut behind them. “Hmm. That’s a good sign,” he said, looking at the bed where Venus was sitting. “Hmm?” “The bed.” Jake gestured. “It’s at the perfect height for me.” Venus looked down to where she was sitting, then up at him with a look of strained patience that he needed no psychic power to see was completely forced. “Subtle,” she said flatly. “What? I know how we both like it,” he said playfully. He stood in front of her and grabbed her by the hips, scooting her across the bedspread until her legs fell on either side of him. His hands travelled up to her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “So…Kouthry,” he said under his breath, leaning his head on her shoulder. “I’m fucking stoked.” “Yeah.” Venus hugged him back. “Your schedule is nasty, though.” “I’ll deal,” Jake said. “We had a worse one on Fenris.” “You weren’t getting paid to work on Fenris,” Venus pointed out. Jake squeezed her shoulders. “I’ll make it work. Trust me, I’m not letting your Dad down.” “Or me,” Venus said. Her voice was confident and even eager. “I’m looking forward to this too.” Jake knelt before her at the bed. “Say, this is a good height for you too,” he said playfully. “Think they design the beds at the perfect level for sex on purpose? It is a college dorm.” “They’re supposed to be bunk beds,” she giggled, “but they are modular, so who knows?” “Good thing I gave you that step-by-step lesson about silence back before the road trip,” Jake said solemnly. He rose to his feet. “I’m sure you remember it well.” Venus rolled her glowing eyes. “Quite. Eidetic memory, gotta love it.” “You bet. We’ll need all the help we can get to survive in this den of dangerous and well-moneyed social predators,” Jake said. “I mean, that guy didn’t even check to see if you had a last name and he was already fantasizing about spending…gasp…TIME with you!” he said, all fear and worries. Venus stared at him with all the emotion of a block of rock salt. “Jake, I know you’re excited, but try to restrain yourself,” she said flatly. “So sorry, dearest, but I extract such a joy from alarming the Terran rich with my tawdry and low-born origin stories,” he sighed. She snorted. “Oh, all right, fine, no more games,” he grumped. He smiled suddenly, stepping back from the bed a bit. “The floor meeting isn’t for four hours,” he said. “What did YOU want to do until then?” Venus looked away, as if conceding the point was a major effort. “Well, I suppose your idea isn’t ENTIRELY without merit,” she said under her breath.

That evening, both teens were sitting in the chairs in the floor lounge when the last of the residents wandered in. The RA clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, folks, welcome aboard. Before we get started, I want to thank your Orientation Assistants for getting us this far,” she said, waving to the group of upperclassman volunteers who had shepherded the freshmen about. As they acknowledged the hearty applause directed at them, the RA gestured in turn to the two older people standing near the doors. “And I’d also like you to thank the two tireless Facilities staffers who keep our floor clean. So, thanks to Ally and Keiko!” she said, waving to them. The two custodians waved to acknowledge the good-natured clapping of the assembled students. As it died down, the RA turned to Venus to introduce her to the other students, only to see her shake her head and draw a horizontal line in midair. The RA blinked, but didn’t miss a beat. “Well, now that we’re all here, I think it would be a perfect time to lay down the two campus rules, then do some icebreakers. So first, I’ll start us off: does anyone remember Nicholas? He moved in yesterday,” she said. A few people nodded. “Great. Well, forget him: I’ve already had him expelled for coming in stone drunk,” the RA reported. Several people made noises of surprise or disgust. “Yeah. So there’s rule one: no drinking on campus. Rule two, and I suspect this one will be bigger: violators of the quiet hours rule will be penalized with academic demerits,” she said. “I mean it, folks, silence is golden. That said, outside of quiet time, doors should be open! We’re living together, we should all get along. My door is always open, too, if anyone needs to talk,” she concluded. “Now, let’s get the icebreakers underway,” she said. “I’ll start us off. I’m Angela,” she said, eliciting a grin from Jake and Venus. “I’m from New Arks, so I’m a townie. I’m a fourth-year Composite Design major. My favorite color is green, and my favorite song is ‘Cascade,’” she said. “Who’s next? And remember that this is no-décor. We’re all friends all here.” A few other students introduced themselves in turn, until Jake piped up. “I’m Jake. I’m from Hive Tetra, went to school in Startseite. I’m a freshman in the Consumer program. My favorite color is blue, my favorite song is ‘Underneath the Citadel.’” Venus spoke next. “I’m Venus. I’m from Startseite too, and I’m a freshman in Inorganic. Favorite color…never thought about it, guess it’s green. Favorite song would be ‘Black Sands,’” she said. “Wait, if you’re Inorganic, how come you’re on this floor?” someone asked. “I made a roommate request,” Venus said with a shrug. After the other students made their own introductions, the RA clapped for attention. “All right, my friends, that’s that. I’m sure you all have things to do before quiet hours, so I’ll see you all tomorrow,” she said. The group broke up slowly, as people wandered off chatting. Venus stood and stretched, idly flipping open her vox. “All right…Jake, you wanna go track down the others?” she asked. “Looks like a message from Cora here.” “I ran into her in the elevator, too. I think I do,” Jake said. He checked his own vox. “Oh, hey…message from Alex.” “Alex? What’s up with him?” Venus asked. “He shot me a notice that he’s sending me a package,” Jake said. “Huh. Well, we’ll see what it is when it gets here.”

Above, Alpharia settled on her bed. The dorm was a bit stifled, to her tastes, but only because of its other occupant. Her roommate, it seemed, was incapable of parting with her mountains of furniture. Her name was Maria, it seemed, from somewhere in one of the satellite cities of the Iberos hives, and she smelled like a hoarder to Alpharia. But maybe that was just because she had only ever had one roommate herself before. Her sister Omegan was off at another school entirely, now, and Alpharia was alone. There were a few moments when the idea of being cut off from her twin felt like a punishment, almost, especially since her sister’s emotional troubles were only eased by a familiar environment. Still, what was done was done, and now they were starting new lives apart. Maria bounced back into the room with yet another armful of crap. “Do you mind if I just put this in the closet?” she asked. “Yes,” Alpharia said. “I do mind. That’s my closet.” “But…you haven’t put anything in it,” Maria pointed out. “Not yet. I will,” Alpharia said. She looked at the teetering piles of things on Maria’s half of the room. “Isn’t the point of college starting afresh, without the burdens of mementos weighing you down?” “I know I’ll use all of it!” Maria exclaimed. Alpharia stared at the piles of suitcases and carry-alls. “Sure.” The door knocked. Maria turned to the eyehole. “Uh, it’s some guy I don’t know,” she said. Alpharia stepped past her to open the door. The non-descript man beyond immediately smiled. “Alpharia.” “Hi, Graham,” Alpharia said happily. “Seeing me off?” “Yes,” the plainclothes Treasury agent who had been Alpharia’s shadow for thirteen years said. “I’m flying out to see your sister tonight, but I wanted to make sure you were comfortable.” “I will be, if we can get the territorial disputes settled,” Alpharia said cheerfully. “Same thing that’s happened at every college since the dawn of time.” “Grand.” The Treasury agent shook Alpharia’s hand once. “Goodbye, Alpharia. You take care now.” “I will,” Alpharia promised. The guard bowed briefly and walked away. Alpharia let the door shut and sighed. “My ex-bodyguard.” “Wow.” Maria stared. “What was it like growing up with one of those?” “I don’t know. Not like I have anything to compare it to,” Alpharia pointed out. “But we all got to know our guys pretty well. Trusting someone with your life like that tends to make an impression.” The door knocked again. Alpharia peeked through the keyhole to see the hallway empty. She opened the door, curious, to see Cora standing there in plain view, smiling innocently. “Hey, Alpharia,” she said happily. “All moved in?” “Did you duck below the eyehole or something?” Alpharia asked. “Perhaps. Come! Dinner! Schmoozing!” Cora proclaimed. “Just you, me, Jake, and Venus, dinner in the Furnace.” The white-haired girl blinked. “What the hell is the Furnace?” Alpharia asked. “I’m told it’s the nickname for the dining hall in the basement,” Cora said. “Because of the split-level windows that face east.” “Charming.” Alpharia shrugged. “Sure…I guess.” “Awesome, grab your shit.” She peered past Alpharia to where Maria was arranging her computer things. “Are you her roommate?” “Yeah, I am,” Maria said. “Who are you?” “Cora,” she answered. Visually, she couldn’t have been more of a contrast with Alpharia, either: hair darker than Venus’, skin paler than Jake’s, while Alpharia had her mother’s white hair and her father’s eternal deep tan. “Want to come along?” she asked. “No thanks,” Maria sighed. “I have so much unpacking to do.” “Sure. Later,” Cora said, steering her cousin out into the hall. “By the by,” Cora said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial level, “have you seen the others on your floor making the same mistake as they are on mine?” “What mistake?” Alpharia asked. Cora affected surprise. “Why, addictions, of course,” Cora said. “Now, I may have a cogitator in my arm, but these kids have them in their eyes. Look at that,” she said, pointing into one open room, where two boys were already clicking away on their computers. “First day in college and they’re not doing shit with each other, they’re just type-type-typing! Shameful,” she said with a shake of her tightly-cropped black hair. Alpharia managed a tiny grin. “Gad you’re having fun, at least,” she said as they entered the stairs. “Oh yes, Alpharia, lots of fun,” Cora said. “So many new things to do.” “That’s good,” Alpharia said. “I’m still a bit nervous.” “You? Nervous? What for?” Cora asked. “Just…I dunno. I like new things too, I just have a lot of trouble making friends in new places,” Alpharia confessed. “You’ll be fine,” Cora said confidently. She smiled wistfully as Angela’s words from nearly four months before returned to her. “Angela was right. This is exactly what I needed.” “Yeah? What did she say?” Alpharia asked. Cora grinned coyly. “Oh, nothing,” she said.

Jake dropped into a seat at his table with a tired sigh. The others looked askance at the pile of food on his tray. “Getting a headstart on the Freshman Fifteen?” Venus asked. Jake glanced down at the food. “Uh…now that you mention it, this is a bit much,” he said. He shrugged. “Well, I just won’t have dessert.” He chuckled self-effacingly. “I’m still not used to the idea of a place where you can have literally infinite food.” “That will wear off quickly,” Alpharia said. She sipped at her soda and discreetly glanced down the long table. Groups of other students were throwing glances their way, but none had worked up the stones to talk to them. Venus made a choking sound from across the table, and her eyes widened. “Oh my…look. Slowly. Turn around and look carefully at the guy at the pasta bar.” The others turned to see a man in a ragged-looking shirt and no shoes at all waiting in line at the pasta counter for his food. He seemed oblivious to his state, which was disheveled at best. “Oh, exquisite, we’re sharing our food with a caveman,” Alpharia said. “That’s always good to know.” “Pay seventy five thousand credits every four months to come to this place and he can’t even justify shoes,” Cora said. She turned back to her own food with a shake of the head. “His parents must be so proud.” Jake shivered. “Fuck, is that what you people are paying? Remind me to send another thank-you to Vulkan.” Cora chuckled. “I’m on a scholarship, too, it’s just token. Something to put on a resume. No actual money.” “Then…what’s the context?” Jake asked, confused. “The Ralner Memorial Forensic Scholarship,” Cora explained, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth as she did. “I was a forensic science nut in junior year.” “Surprise, surprise,” Venus said drily. “Still, that’s pretty cool. Does this school have a forensic science program?” Cora shook her head with a smirk. “Know what my department head said when I asked him that?” “What?” “‘No, dammit, and that stupid holo program about forensics means that someone asks me that every year,’” she said in a forced, somewhat whining voice. “I mean, he’s ex-Mechanicus, I can’t blame him, but still,” she added. Jake smirked. “Perceptions from holos probably throw a lot of things when it comes to criminal justice,” he said. Venus’ eyebrows rose as Aaron appeared at the end of the table and hesitated. He started to sit down, far from the Royal trio, when, to his astonishment, Venus beckoned him over. Disbelief etched on his face, he picked his tray back up and gingerly sat down beside her. Jake kept a grin at the poor kid’s expression carefully hidden. “Aaron, right?” Venus asked. “Yes, Your…Venus,” he said. “Sorry about my presumptuousness before,” he said contritely. Venus’ eyes flicked over to where Jake was determinately not listening. “You were baited. Forget it. We still have to floor together.” She turned to smile at him. “Might as well be friends, right?” Aaron stared at her for a moment before hesitantly smiling. “Thank you, Venus, that’s very kind.” Venus shrugged, digging into her food. “So, where you from?” she asked. “Arcadus,” Aaron said. “A city built over the Farwest hives.” “Oh, yeah, that’s the one with the gigantic museum in it, right?” Cora asked brightly. “Yes, it is,” Aaron said. “Have you been?” “Nope. Always wanted to.” She downed her drink and stared over the rim of the cup at the others in the room. “Quite a mix in here. That’s good.” “Mix of what? Majors?” Venus asked. “Planetary origins,” Cora said. “It’s all in the accents.” “You can pick them out at this range?” Jake asked. “Some more than others.” Cora shrugged. “Still. I was afraid it would all be locals.” “Why?” Alpharia asked. “Nothing wrong with locals, but part of the idea of college is to be exposed to new stuff, right?” Cora asked. “True enough,” Alpharia said. She rose from her seat. “Well, I’ll see you guys around the campus, I guess.” “You’re leaving?” Cora said. “Stay for dessert!” “No thanks,” Alpharia said, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. “I should go make sure Maria didn’t occupy my closet or something.” She walked off with her tray as Jake looked pensive. “‘Occupy My Closet’ would be a great name for a band,” he observed. “It would,” Venus agreed. “Do you keep a list of these things?” “Nah, I just forget them after a while anyway,” Jake said. “I’m a shit musician anyway.” He glanced over at Aaron, who was still avoiding eye contact with the girls. “You play anything?” he asked. Aaron blinked. “Er, no. Never had the patience for it.” “I played bit of guitar when I was a kid, but I hated practicing,” Cora said idly. She bit into her popsicle dessert as the number of people in the room started rising. Some Orientation activity must have just let out. “Venus is more into percussion,” she quipped. “If you can play it with hammers, I’ve mastered it,” Venus said, straight-faced. “Man, we’re on a roll tonight,” Jake said. “‘Playing with Hammers’ is also excellent.” Venus choked on her water. “I will end you,” she said, glaring daggers at her boyfriend. Jake sniggered.

  Christine Donnelly coughed as the nurse adjusted her IV drip. “Good morning, Thomas,” she said to the nurse. “Good morning, Doctor Donnelly,” the nurse replied. “How’s your throat today?” “Sore,” Christine said ruefully. “Very much so.” “I can get you a bit of painkiller if you think it would help,” the nurse commented. “No, I want to have breakfast first,” Christina said from her chair in the room that constituted her world now. A quiet knock on the door drew the nurse’s attention. He peeked out the eyehole, then looked back at Christine. “Ma’am, there’s a guest here for you. Your husband, I believe?” “Let him in,” Christine said, straightening up happily. A man in a somewhat faded-looking Imperial Army jacket appeared at the door, grinning faintly. “Hello, Chris,” he said softly. The orderly made his discreet exit. “Honey! Come here,” Christine said, rising to her feet. She hugged her husband around the shoulders, showing surprising strength in her failing arms. “Thanks for coming in. How did it go?” she asked. “The procedure was a success, Wally’s fine,” Eric said. “And look,” he said, digging a packet of holos out of his pocket. “I brought some ultrasounds of Mizuki,” he said. “She’s coming well on her way,” he said. “Aww, she’s only three months from due, isn’t she?” Christine said, looking over one of the holos. “Hard to believe. I feel like Hajime and Alice only met a few days ago, you know?” “Yeah, it’s been longer, though, I’m pretty sure.” Eric shook his head as he took back the holos. “Have you had breakfast yet?” “No, I haven’t,” Christine said. “Have you?” Eric smiled. “Actually, I invited Jake and his girlfriend to join us, if you’re all right with that, and she wanted to cook.” “Jake, and…Lady Primarch Venus?” Christine’s eyes widened, and she stole a look at the hallway outside. “Oh, you didn’t.” Eric’s grin grew wider. “You could say no, but Jake’s only in town another day before he has to go back to school, and he wanted to introduce her to you.” “And it’s not a bother to her?” Christine asked. “No, she wants to meet you too,” Eric said. He snorted at his wife’s expression. “I know, I know, but she’s a really nice girl. She wouldn’t be put out.” “Well…I guess I’d like to meet her too,” Christine said. “Good, because she’s on her way with Jake,” Eric said brightly. Christine sighed, well used to her husband’s antics.

A few minutes later, Jake arrived at the little apartment where Christine lived in the hospital of his hab, a bag of food under his arm. Venus tagged along behind him, being stared at by everyone in the halls and ignoring them, by and large. “So just so I don’t trigger any awkward pauses,” Venus said under her breath, “what exactly is she in for?” “Gerbin’s Disease, degenerative ligament disorder. She’ll have trouble standing and talking, but not much else,” Jake said in the same tone. In a more normal voice, he continued. “She’s a doctor, by the way, in Architecture. So it’s Doctor Donnelly.” “All right.” Venus lifted her own bag of goodies and squared her shoulders. As they approached the room, Jake knocked once and waited. “Come in,” his grandmother said. Jake pushed the door open and grinned. “Hi, Grandma,” Jake said, dropping his food on the table by the door and walking over to her. Christine rose to her feet and hugged him despite the visible strain it caused. “Hello, Jake,” she said back. “How’s Kouthry working out?” “They’re really working us in the labs, but it’s fun,” Jake said. He retrieved the bag of food and delivered it to the counter in the tiny kitchenette of the two-room long-term-residence apartment. Venus appeared at the door with her own bag, and Eric had to place a restraining hand on his wife’s shoulder to keep her in place. “Doctor Donnelly? Hi, I’m Venus,” she said, walking up to where Christine was sitting and inclining her head. “Nice to meet you in person.” “I’m honored, your Highness,” Christine said, averting her eyes from Venus’ fiery gaze. “The honor’s mine,” Venus said, setting her food down on the same table where Jake was busily preparing the meal. The food they had brought was no banquet, but compared to the reprocessed protein blocks that constituted food in the hives, it was gourmet cuisine. “Jake and I are having a lot of fun at Kouthry,” she continued. “Where did you earn your doctorate?” “Here, your Highness, 19889 Polytechnic,” Christine said. “Cool. And call me Venus, please,” she said, dragging up a chair. Jake spoke up from the kitchenette. “Hope you guys are hungry, I think we may have brought too much,” he said, bringing the tray over to where his grandparents were sitting. As they ate, Jake was practically bursting with anecdotes and stories to share. “I never thought the Mechanicus would allow a private school to have such broad-capacity gene sequencing equipment, but they do. And the labs are so generalized, you can do any sort of research in them if you have a bit of preptime,” he said eagerly. “That’s nice to hear,” Christine said as Eric munched on his toast. “Do you like the classes too?” “So far…well.” Jake looked aside for a moment. “Kind of. Some of my teachers are clearly just there to do research. But the ones who really like teaching? Sure, I like their classes.” “That’s good.” Christine finished her toast with some difficulty. Jake tried not to look like he was staring. Eric barely noticed. “What about you, Lady Venus?” “Just Venus. And I love my classes, but I think I picked the wrong minor,” Venus said. “I had this crazy idea that Criminal Justice was a good minor for me.” “You don’t like it?” Christine asked. “It’s kind of samey, that’s all. It’s just the teachers, the subject is fascinating,” Venus said. “I think I’ll switch over to Sculpting instead. I prefer working with my hands.” She held up her palms to reveal the tracery of tiny scars, burns, and other marks of hard work that she had earned with nearly fifteen years of forging. Christine stared. “Goodness. Your hands look like a map of Terra.” Venus smiled. “Well, I’ve been working in a forge or welding since I was four. It shows.” She lifted a tiny golden bauble from her pocket and placed it on the table between them. “Here. Look.” Christine lifted the little golden object and looked it over. It was a pendant, she realized, embossed with two golden letters: E and C. “Oh, it’s beautiful,” Christine said. “You made this yourself?” “I did. With some assistance from Jake,” Venus said. “He provided the holo.” “Holo?” Christine looked askance at the seemingly solid piece of metal, until Jake gently took it from her hands and pressed the clasp that held the chain. The pendant swung open, becoming a locket. Inside was a tiny holo of Eric and Christine standing together at their anniversary party just before Christine had been hospitalized. Christine looked up at Venus, as did Eric, both stunned. Venus smiled. “Call it a gift,” the pretty young Salamander said. “Oh…oh, your Highness, I couldn’t even…begin to…” Christine managed. Eric felt his eyes tearing up. “Hush. I make these things because I love doing it. And what good is making them if you don’t share them?” Venus asked. She decided not to mention that it had been the work of perhaps an hour in her forge, the first place she had visited upon coming home the previous day from the distant college where she lived. Eric covered his mouth with his hand, stifling his tears, as Christine clutched the golden chain with her shaking hand. “Venus, I’m…overwhelmed,” Christine said, starting to tear up herself. “Good. I hope you like it,” she said happily, and returned to making herself a bagel as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Jake and Venus didn’t stay much longer. Both had work to do before they went back to school, and Jake had promised Vulkan a full report on the lab Vulkan had ordered built with his money on the Kouthry campus. As they stood up to leave, though, Jake hesitated. “Venus, baby, I’ll see you in the car, all right?” he asked. “Sure. Goodbye, Sergeant Donnelly. Nice meeting you, Doctor,” she said to the Donnelly couple at the table. “Thank you so much for this, Venus,” Christine called after her. “You’re very welcome,” Venus said, as she vanished out the door. Jake turned to his ailing grandmother. “How are you doing, Grandma?” he asked quietly. “Jake, sweetheart, did you tell Her Highness I would have liked this?” Christine asked, staring at the little pendant. “Nope. She’s just a sweetheart like that,” Jake said honestly. “You know jewelling is her hobby, right?” “But I met her today,” Christine said, clearly having as much trouble coming to terms with the fact that she had been given a gift by a Lady Primarch as any hiver would. “And she’s a sweetheart like that,” Jake repeated, grinning. He stood. “I watched her make it, you know. That’s twenty-two karat solid. She has entire drawers of jewelry she makes every time she comes home.” Christine stared. “You’re in good hands, Jake,” she said at length, a smile appearing on her face at last. Jake grinned. “You’re fine too, then? Good,” he said. He leaned down to hug her. “I’ll see you at the end of the next break, all right?” “Absolutely, Jake, and tell her not to bring me anything next time, I’d feel terrible if she made a habit of this,” Christine said. Jake snorted. “Okay.” He turned to his grandfather. “All right, Grandpa, I have to run. Goodbye,” he said, shaking his hand. “Goodbye, Jake,” Eric said. “See you in a few months.” As Jake walked out the door, Christine sagged back into her seat. “Wow.” “Yeah, she’s quite something,” Eric said. “This was as much a surprise to me as it was to you,” he added. “It’s gorgeous. Christine held it up the light over the table. “Isn’t it?” she asked. “What a fine gift.” She pressed the button on the top of the locket again, and it popped open along an invisible seam, to reveal the picture of the two of them in their finest at the dinner. “Do you want to keep it at home? I’m afraid I’ll lose it here.”

Eric shook his head. “No, no, keep it here. I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, looking at the locket. The image of the two of them didn’t fade at all, and reflected the love they shared as brightly as the gold of which it was made.

---

One evening, as Jake and Venus were just sitting down for dinner in their apartment, there was a loud banging on the door. "I'll get it!" Jake called out, wondering who it could be. He pushed the door of the tiny apartment he shared with Venus open and looked at his guest.

Before him stood a man in an armored bodyglove of studded leather and armor links, with a waist-length cape of mustard yellow hanging from his shoulders. It took him a moment for Jake to recognize him. “Julius?” he asked.

“Hetman Pius.” Julius smiled. “Good to see you, Jake, it’s been a while.”

Jake leaned back in his chair and gauged the board in front of him. He was getting reamed.

Julius slid a piece across one of his and captured it. “So, it’s been a rough start, but it’s getting smoother. This is luck, really,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to get leave on Terra this soon.”

“We’re glad you did,” Venus remarked from the couch in the apartment.

“Yeah, it’s been too long,” Jake said, sliding a piece out of danger. “When do you find time to practice at checkers?”

“It’s the fastest board game to set up,” Julius explained.

“I guess.” Jake watched as Julius moved a piece into position to bait out one of his kings. “So…you’re already a Hetman?”

“Technically. I’m kinda new, though, so I’m hardly high up on anyone’s priority lists,” Julius said.

Jake moved a piece, refusing to take the bait. “Not what I hear.”

“Pardon?”

“I hear the Uxors make a ‘priority’ out of every Hetman they hire,” Jake said mildly.

Julius rolled his eyes. “Give it a break.”

“Gotta say, you’re the envy of rather a lot of Terran men right now,” Jake continued. “Armfuls and armfuls of fresh, lascivious young psychic women around every corner.”

Julius glared at him. “Shut up.”

“Never a chilly bed, never a restless night,” Jake said dreamily as Venus chuckled.

“Shut your damn fool mouth,” Julius muttered. “They’re all bloody crazy.”

Jake sighed wistfully. “And no ovaries! You can boink all day, and never hear a baby’s squeal.”

Julius grimaced. “They’re all nymphomaniacal psychic killing machines. Trust me. The risks outweigh the rewards.”

“You really do make a habit of looking gift horses in the mouth, don’t you,” Jake laughed.

Julius glared at him again, but he couldn’t hide a smile. “You’re not an easy man to distract, are you, Jake?”

Jake lurched backward, his eyes flying open. “What?! Who are you?!”

Venus buried her face in her hands. Julius rolled his eyes. “Funny, mate.”

“I know, right?” Jake looked back down to the board. “So what brings you by, anyway?”

Julius sighed. “To be honest, my deployment orders are looking harsh. I may not get a chance to drop by Terra for a long time. Eighty Geno companies are off to some hole called 63-30, to polish off a mutant enclave that escaped the Sixtieth Expeditionary Fleet in the First Great Crusade.” He moved a piece and kinged it. “It’s really a chance to say goodbye to everyone, since I have no idea when I can come home again.”

Jake stared. “Wow. Which Astartes unit is attached?”

“Why would we get one?” Julius asked, a trace of bitterness in his voice. “We’re on our own, Army and Navy. No Astartes.”

“Harsh sounds like the right word.” Jake looked up at him. Julius seemed more resigned than angry. “Well, then we’re glad you could stop by.”

Julius nodded. “I am too, my friend.”

---

It was funny, really, how the question hadn’t felt sudden at all.

They were sitting at the counter of the apartment they shared at Kouthry. Jake had had the first shift rotation at the labs in the biomedical sciences building, so for once they had risen together. The smell of the tea Venus was drinking drifted into the air, filling the room with a fragrant steam.

Jake looked up from the slate he had been reading, a thought drifting into his mind. “Venus…I just thought of a question,” he said.

“A dangerous pastime,” she remarked.

“Why haven’t we gotten married yet?” he asked.

Venus looked up at him, her eyes widening. “I…we’ve been busy, you know.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we have…but the school year ends in one week,” Jake reminded her. “This summer, we could just pick a date.”

“I guess…we did talk about it, didn’t we?” Venus asked. She set her teacup down and cradled it in her hands. “Wow.”

“I know.” Jake leaned over the tiny breakfast table and squeezed one of her hands. “So…will you marry me?” he asked.

Venus looked up at him and smiled. “Of course.”

Jake brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, resting it against his lips. “Then…let’s,” he said.

Venus stood, letting her hand fall away. “So…do you want to be Prince of Nocturne?” she asked formally.

“I do,” Jake said, feeling a thrill of excitement race through him. It was finally happening. He stood too. “What next?”

His new fiancé wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. “Now, baby, we go make some very complex vox calls home,” she said happily. “And then we go see how long we can go before we tell everyone in your lab,” she added with a smirk.

“Do I get to learn Nocturnean?” Jake asked.

Venus grinned. “Dad will insist.”

Jake shook his head. “I bet.” He grinned broadly, the tension his stomach fading to a thrill. “Thank you, my love,” he said quietly.

Venus rested her head on his shoulder and squeezed him around the middle. “Thank you, too,” she said in the same tone. She let her eyes slip shut. “You were right. This was the right time.” 

---

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.

---

Jake tapped his finger on his knee, nervously staring at the camera. “I’m still not used to those,” he muttered.

“Holocams?” Venus asked.

“Yeah. When have I ever needed to be filmed, before?” Jake asked.

His wife rolled her eyes, probably. “Don’t worry about it,” she deadpanned. “We’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to embarrass you,” Jake said quietly as the excited reporter shuffled some cards with questions on them.

Venus smiled. “You won’t.”

The reporter sat down across from them and gestured to the sound technician to start their microphones. “All right, your Highnesses, I’m ready if you are,” he said, steadying his hands as he did so. It was a rare day that a member of Lord Primarch Vulkan’s family consented to an interview.

“Sure, roll it,” Venus said, straightening up. Jake glanced sideways at her to see how she was sitting, and she looked relaxed. Her eyes were focused on the reporter, and her hands were crossed in her lap. The interviewer’s clothing was incongruously casual from the waist down, he noted with a grin. Then, if the camera only recorded from the belt up, who would know?

“Welcome back, my friends, and tonight we have a very special guest, or two,” the interviewer said happily. “It is our profound honor to welcome Lady Primarch – and Princess of Nocturne – Venus, and Bond Prince Jacob.”

The camera facing them lit, and the two newlyweds smiled. “St’eng, it’s a pleasure,” Venus answered for them both.

“May I be the first to say, your Highnesses: you have my earnest congratulations,” St’eng said, inclining his head for a moment.

“Well, I’m afraid a few of my cousins beat you there, but thank you kindly,” Venus chuckled as Jake held back a laugh. At least half of the crew of the ship they had taken in the way from Terra to Nocturne had said nearly the same exact thing.

“I see, of course,” the anchor said. “Does your recent move to Nocturne precipitate a permanent move here?”

“Sadly not, actually,” Venus said. “We both have some educational obligations back on Terra.”

“I see. Would you be willing to speak of them?” the reporter asked.

“Well, I have one year left in my Masters’,” Venus said. “A Masters of Science in Inorganic Chemistry.”

Jake spoke up next. “I’m in for a Bachelors’ of Fine Arts in Consumer Design,” he added.

“Interesting choices, my Lady, Lord,” the interviewer said. “No politics?”

“Having a Primarch for a parent sort of prepares you for that on your own,” Venus said drily. “I’m quite well-versed. Besides, I won’t be assuming actual control of the system for several years; Regent No’dan will be ceding his authority gradually as I take up the reins.”

“If I may, Princess, you’re referring to yourself only. Does this mean, Lord Jacob, that you will not be taking a role in the system’s governance?” the interviewer asked.

Jake shrugged awkwardly. “I will be quite happy to do so if I feel needed, but I don’t have Venus’ training.”

The reporter nodded again. “Where will you be basing yourselves, your Lady and Lordship?”

“Venus and Jake work fine, actually, it’s less of a mouthful,” Venus said. “And Themis is the answer. We’re going to take up residence in the city Castle for now.”

St’eng smiled at the apparent lowering of formality. “I appreciate that. Might I ask why you selected Themis as the city of choice for your residence? Traditionally, King Vulkan selected Hesiod as his home.”

“And I respect that choice, but I’m not my father,” Venus said. “We want to make a fresh start.”

“I can certainly understand that,” St’eng said. “What was your life on Terra like?”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly describe it all in one sitting,” Venus said. Jake nodded, not adding anything yet.

St’eng turned to him, oblivious to his nerves. “And you, Prince Jacob, what was your own experience on Terra?”

Jake shrugged awkwardly. “Well, I was born there, that was a highlight,” he said. He coughed as Venus rolled her eyes. “But if you meant later on, well, we lived together for four or five years before now, ever since the end of high school.”

“What is the high school system like on Terra?” St’eng asked. “We don’t have them here.”

“Essentially, from the age of around twelve or thirteen to sixteen or seventeen, you attend the same school, and take sequentially more difficult classes, usually in a pretty diverse array of fields,” Jake said, picking up steam now that they were discussing something safe. “After the end, you graduate, and go on to the military, a job, trade, university, a professional school, what have you.”

“And am I to understand that you were not a member of the Imperial nobility, like Princess Venus?” St’eng asked.

“No, far from it,” Jake said. He shifted a bit as the conversation turned to his own origins again, despite his best attempts to avoid it. Trolling college buddies was one thing, but this? Technically, St’eng was one of his subjects.

“Truth be told, it came in handy once or twice,” Venus said, detecting his discomfort.

“It did?” Jake asked, turning to her in confusion.

“Yeah. Remember the movie theater near the campus?” Venus asked slyly.

Jake laughed, breaking his tension. “Oh, wow, that was insane,” he chuckled.

Venus turned to the bemused interviewer. “See, Jake and I both love riffing terrible old movies. You know what riffing is? Well, there was a movie theater near our college home that had a habit of running movies long after the audience had already moved on, and so there would be times when the theater would have completely empty rooms. We would use that opportunity to go watch movies together, and if we had the place to ourselves, we would just riff the hell out of it.”

St’eng raised his eyebrows. “Really? They let you do that, your Highness?”

“Well, if nobody’s there, sure,” Venus said, smiling. “Except…”

“Except for that one time,” Jake finished. “That was pretty hilarious.” He turned to the newscaster and continued. “See, one time, Venus and I were watching a movie, and a guy in the projection booth overheard us. He was really confused by all the talking, so he came down into the theater and found us sitting there, just laughing our asses off at each other.”

“We thought he was going to be so mad,” Venus laughed. She shook her night-black hair in amusement. “Instead, he grabbed a video camera and joined us.”

“So it was just me, Venus, and this random employee, sitting there in the theater, recording ourselves riffing this awful movie,” Jake said, grinning at the memory. “The recording is still floating around out there, somewhere.”

“Ah, that was fun,” Venus said cheerfully. “Can’t do that here, sadly.”

“We can’t?” Jake asked.

“Nope. I’d get recognized in an instant here, even with my disguise,” Venus said.

“Ah, true,” Jake said dolefully.

St’eng shook his head, chuckling as well. “I see. I’m glad to see you had fun, at least,” he said. “Did you ever try anything like that again?”

“No, but occasionally, my cousins and I would turn our powers against one another,” Venus said, glaring at Jake with mock resentment. Jake affected surprise. “Really? The clock?” Venus deadpanned.

“Oh, right, the clock,” Jake said, as if he had just remembered. “The clock was great.”

“See, my old alarm clock had a port on it, for firmware upgrades or something,” Venus said to St’eng. “And I went to bed after he did and woke up after he did for classes. So one evening, my dearest fiancé here decides that my clock wasn’t good enough. So, he and my cousin Cora put some batteries in it, unplug it from the wall, connect it to his computer, and load a selection of animal noises onto it,” she continued. St’eng gaped as Jake held back a gleeful giggle. “Then, she puts it in a hamster ball or something like that, along with a mousetrap, and they put all this at the bottom of my laundry hamper.”

“So, the next morning,” Jake said, picking up where Venus had left off, “when her alarm goes off…” he had to pause to bite back another spate of giggles. “We take a trip to the zoo in our laundry basket,” he said, and lost the battle. He clamped a hand over his mouth, laughing into his hand.

“As you can imagine, I was so incredibly confused,” Venus sighed. “And when it went off, I had to go rooting around in the laundry hamper, trying to figure out what the hell is going on, all while trying so hard not to wake him up. So hard!”

“See, I was supposed to be asleep,” Jake said. “Of course, I’m wide awake, and I’m struggling not to laugh and give up the game.”

“And then, when I find the damn thing, the mousetrap goes off and launches it clear across the room,” Venus said. “It caromed off the walls a few times and lands under the bed.”

“So I’m lying there, shaking with laughter, just dying inside, while she’s rooting around under the bed, trying to find the damn clock and pry the ball open,” Jake said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. “And when she finally digs it out, and turns it off, I sort of raise my head and go ‘what happened?’” he said, miming exhaustion.

Venus sighed as Jake broke out in laughter again. “I was ready to kill Cora after that. And you too,” she said, glaring at Jake.

“Ah, you’d miss me,” Jake said, playfully squeezing her hand. She jerked it away, pretending to grumble.

“So…you had an eventful college career, I take it?” St’eng finally managed.

“Oh yes. Especially when I found a way to load the animal sounds onto his vox,” Venus said. “I made sure to call him at work the next day.”

“Yes, that was a confusing few seconds,” Jake laughed. “I’m standing there in the lab, and pawing frantically at my pockets, while all sorts of baffling noises are happening, and everyone’s staring at me. And then, I whip it out, and press ‘talk,’ and I just ask, ‘Hi, Venus, what’s up?’” Jake said, miming a vox to his ear.

“Isn’t that still your ringtone for when certain people call you?” Venus asked.

“Yes, my parents and one of my old poker buddies,” Jake said. “Good times,” he said with a rueful chuckle.

St’eng looked from one laughing Royal Family member to the other, slowly picking his jaw up off the floor. “Well…this will be an interesting reign, won’t it?” he asked aloud.

“One hopes,” Venus said happily, as Jake squeezed her hand again. “I’m certainly looking forward to it.”