Editing Eternity (Warhammer High) (section)

=== Omegan Speaks ===


I listened to the twenty-year-old music and smiled.  It was reassuring in a way I hadn’t expected.  Nostalgia’s not one of my usual vices, after all.
My sister paused behind me, waiting for me to move on.  I blinked the distraction away and scooped a sandwich off the platter at the buffet and hurriedly moved on before I could hold up the line.  The sounds of people talking all around me faded as the guy behind the counter – why couldn’t I remember his name? – thumped his hand on the rickety old minifridge that had the beer in it.  “Omegan, good to see you,” he said.  He extracted a bottle and glared at the ancient machine.

I smiled as his name came back.  “Derek, right?  Nice to see you again too,” I said, accepting a bottle.  “How’s your twenty years been?”

“A bit rough,” he admitted, “but it’s been tolerable.”

“That’s good, I suppose,” I said.  The lights at the front of the room brightened as someone finally found the switch.  “What are you up to?” I asked, as I stepped aside to let Alpharia pass us.

“Working in the Palace as a file clerk, actually,” Derek said.  “In the Estate.”

“That’s good,” I said, though I wouldn’t wish that job on anyone.  “I’m working on one of the orbital plate stations as an administrator.”

Derek looked over at me, curious.  “Really?  Thought for sure you’d go into the intelligence business.”

“I’m happy working with people who aren’t just trying to impress me,” I said, earning a snort from my sister.  That was about as much as I was comfortable saying.  Alpharia’s connections with Imperial Intelligence aren’t publically known.

As I finished at the buffet, I let my eyes wander around the room.  I admit, I was surprised.  Where was the rest of the Family?  I only saw about seven or eight of my cousins there.  I had thought they’d all have made it.  Cora was there, joking with her fiancé, and Lyra was in the corner, talking in low tones with a man and woman I didn’t recognize.  Venus and Jake weren’t there, to my surprise, but Petra was, and I angled over to where she was sitting.

Petra looked up as I sat down.  “Hello, Omegan,” she said.  “How was your de-orbiting?”

“Every time I hear that, I hear ‘catastrophic, uncontrolled re-entry,’” I joked.  “Fine, though.  Surprised you came.  Were you in town?”

“Yeah.”  Petra sipped at her water and stared around the room.  “I had a meeting in the Palace.”  The two of us sat in silence and ate as the rest of the guests worked their way through the buffet line.  “Will you be Earthside long?” Petra suddenly asked.

“Probably a week or two,” I said.  I looked over at her to see her gazing contemplatively into her drink.  “How come?”

“Just…wondering, really,” she said.  “It’s been too long since we saw each other.”

“It has,” I affirmed.  Up on Gondavana, I don’t see the other Royal Daughters much.  Frankly, I like being on my own for now.  Still, it never hurts to see the others, and Petra especially doesn’t get out much.

I shook my head at that thought.  People used to say that about me.  Before I got through therapy, I was barely even ambulatory if I was on my own for too long.