Chapter 48
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Three days past uneventfully. Q spent his half of his TAP time, working with Zephyr and Raven. He was adamant about keeping NPCs out of the final fight with Syrus. Jinn, Rhapsody, Daze, Onion and Grace were all sharpening their pvp skills. The other half of his time was spent working with Mojo and the Songbirds. Mojo was unexpectedly talented at aerial maneuvering. Q's basic flight skill evolved into advanced flight as the team found themselves ready to go.
Q was sitting at the conference table at HQ, they were all studying the cannons of Innisfrae.
"I can see no clear way to transport the cannons here, I've been racking my brain." Remmy shook her head in frustration.
"May I say something?" It was Ren who spoke, normally she would pipe in whenever she liked, but since this was a strategy meeting she was hesitant.
Q smiled at her, "go ahead Ren."
"Mmm, I don't think they are cannons." Ren waited for her words to have an effect.
Tal looked at her daughter, "not a cannon?"
"You said it yourself mom, the specs don't match what any cannon should have." Ren pursed her lips, trying to make sure she worded her opinion correctly. "If you didn't have the idea that it was a cannon, what would you guess it was, just by looking at the schematics?"
Tal shrugged, "Hard to say, off the top of my head I'd say it was-" Tal's eyes focused sharply as she brought up the schematic. "Remmy?"
Remmy nodded, "we are so dumb. They aren't cannons." Remmy brought up another hud, one with the jetpack schematic on it.
"Nope, it's a propulsion system." Tal palmed her own head, "that's why it has the ridiculous power override, it's thrust. What could Bran have been wanting to move?"
Remmy jumped up from her seat, her face lit with excitement. "He wanted to move Innisfrae, or at least a portion of it." She brought up a third hud of Innisfrae, "see the tunnels on the north side? I assumed they were access points for the cannons."
"He was getting ready to move the entire North area." Tal smiled at her daughter, "nice going Ren."
Ren stole a glance at Q who had been sitting next to her, "I did good, right Quinn?"
Q patted her on the head, "amazing as always Ren." He could see the issue, sometimes preconceptions hampered the process. Ren wasn't an engineer, but she was as smart as anyone in the room. "Will you be able to move them?"
Remmy grinned at him, "now that we've figured out what they really are, moving them will be much easier."
"Twelve engines, we'll make a platform and mount all of them. It will have to be rudimentary." Tal moved a strand of hair behind her ear, "if we fired up four, that would give us plenty thrust to get airborne."
Remmy hunched over next to Tal as they started drawing up plans.
"Three days ." Both Tal and Remmy looked up at Q when he spoke. "We need to be ready in three days."
"That's steep Quinn... very steep." Tal used his real name often in TAP.
"Make it happen, we'll lose our window if they move up their timeline." Q crunched the numbers in his head, "its a two day trip, even with our jetpacks. That puts us very close to their deadline."
"Who do you want to put on the team Q?" Mojo sat on the other side of Q, she wore her dark armor all the time now. She had been sparring with Q everyday, whenever they could fit it in.
"Tal and Remmy can bring two additional engineers." Q looked over toward the bunk area, "you, the songbirds, myself and Ren."
"Quinn, perhaps this isn't time for.." Tal hesitated, she didn't want to be overprotective. She'd be in no real danger regardless of what happened."
"Her idea started it Tal, she should be rewarded for seeing things so clearly." Q winked at Ren, who was gripping the sides of the table in excitement.
"Can I mom? Please?" Ren didn't ask for things often, she was nearly irresistible when she did.
"She's one of the best fliers here Tal," Mojo spoke up. "She can shadow me and Q during the mission.
"You know I won't let anything happen to Ren." Q would urge her, but in the end it was Tals call.
Tal seemed to think about it for a few moments, finally she nodded. "I agree, but only because of your contribution. I'm very proud of you Renri."
Ren blushed, "mom..."
An hour later Q and Mojo had their jetpacks on. Mojo was chasing Q. He was following the river, only a few feet off the surface as he zipped back and forth. "Lower your elevation Mojo, hug the water tighter."
Mojo did what Q asked and mirrored his approach, a small misstep, one of Mojo's feet skimmed the surface causing her to lose control and tumble into the river. Q pulled up and circled back as the wet dark elf climbed on shore, she gave Q a disgusted look.
He didn't mean to laugh, but there was something funny about seeing Mora Jol soaked to the skin. He covered up his mouth immediately, but it was too late.
"Something funny Q'Ikah?" Mojo's white hair was hanging in her face, her lavender eyes seemed to be glowing as she walked toward Q.
"Hmm? Take it easy Mojo'skah.. gotta admit, it was a little funny." Q was trying not to laugh, he was only partially successful.
"Oh, so it's Mojo'skah now that you are in trouble?" She was stopped when she was close enough to touch him.
"Hey, this isn't my fault right? Just a small training accide..." his voice trailed off as she started dropping wet clothes on the river bank. Q averted his eyes, although it was difficult.
"Why would you look away Q'lkah?" She grabbed his face with her hands and turned it toward her. "Aren't I a woman that you love?"
"It's difficult to say exactly, that's probably not what you want to hear." Q pulled out an object that Jaded Ice had sent him and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Warm Fluffy Bath Towel: Unique Item
Description: Warms the body while drying
it completely.
"I would rather have your honest feeling, then something spoken to appease me." Mojo leaned against him, well aware that her bare breasts were pressed against his chest. "For now, I will accept a kiss from you." She looked up at him expectantly.
Q bent slightly and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't the first time they had kissed, but it was the first time he had initiated it. Mojo melted into him, standing on her tiptoes to extend the contact. Finally she stepped away, gathering the towel around her, she smiled contently at Q.
He turned his back as she put on dry clothes. "I want to explain this exercise to you, so that you understand it's significance."
Mojo took a seat on the bank, she took out a comb and ran it through her hair. "I'm listening."
"We are going to attempt to board the train while it's moving, if we get the chance. " Q watched as she separated her hair into three long parts. "Going to braid it? "
Mojo nodded, taking out a tie she looked questioningly at Q when he sat behind her and held out his hand.
"I can do a simple braid. When Ren was in a coma, Tal would hold her up while I braided." He started weaving the strands together as he continued to talk. "We are going to need to stay as low as possible when we board the train, if we leave the airflow pocket, windshear will toss us away."
Mojo wasn't an engineer, but she nodded anyway. A warm expression on her face as Q finished her braid. "Okay Q'lkah. I will keep practicing." She leaned back against him, content to sit as they discussed the mission.
They spent the rest of the day working on nap-of- the-earth flying.
They parted ways at the entrance to HQ, Mojo went inside while Q decided to log.
**********
Ren was sitting at the kitchen island having a BLT that Pops had made for her. She looked up when Quinn came down the stairs. "Not much going on dinner-wise Quinn. Pops made some extra bacon, if you want a BLT."
"I love BLTs. No one is coming for dinner?" Quinn frowned, he enjoyed family dinners.
"Jinn and Rhapsody popped in for ten minutes, then left. Mom logged out long enough to grab Anna, then she left too."
"Tal needed Jaded Ice? Odd, why would Tal need a Necromancer?" Quinn didn't know much about Necromancers in TAP, "I wonder what kind of abilities she has."
"Anyways, it's just you and me." Ren looked at him apologetically, "I am going to log back in after eat."
"No worries, I've a few things I want to look into." Quinn started making himself a BLT while chatting with Ren. "When we've settled Fora and dealt with our issues, I'm only going to play during sleep times."
"I do miss doing stuff with you," Ren grabbed a slice of bacon off the plate. "I'll be able to ride bike next week, you could take me."
"Really? You're amazing!" Quinn was just putting the finishing touches on his BLT when the doorbell rang.
He glanced out the living room window, he could see several people standing in their driveway. "Somethings up I guess." Quinn opened the door to see Louise Obreen's smiling face.
"Quinn!" Her eyes were shiny with tears as she hugged her grandson tight.
"Grandma! I didn't expect you'd be able to visit so soon!" Quinn noticed his dad standing there staring at him. "It's a bit awkward meeting suddenly, but let's start it off right." He hugged his dad, noticing with some satisfaction that he was slightly taller than his old man.
His dad held onto him tight for several seconds, before letting go. "You're so tall Quinn!"
A familiar face waited until his father let go and then threw herself at him. Em hugged him and kissed his cheek several times. Apparently this was out of character for her, Quinn could hear the whispered comments when she finally let go. To his surprize, she was also quite tall, nearly six feet.
"Nice to meet you in person Em." He kept ahold of her hand, smiling at her. One last person was waiting. Quinn knew without asking, this was his Grandpa.
A tall old man with broad shoulders and a shock of white hair stepped toward him. He extended a huge mit of a hand, "I'm Mike Obreen, your grandfather."
The old man was tall, perhaps only an inch shorter then Quinn, he had fierce brown eyes and a square jaw. Quinn could tell that this was a guy would didn't compromise very often.
"It's nice to meet you sir, I'm Quinn. " He shook his grandpa's hand. "Please come in everyone, it's only me and Ren at the moment.
Quinn led the group into the house, Ren was still sitting at the kitchen island.
Mike Obreen followed his grandson into the house. He had the young man thoroughly investigated over the past few days. Quinn was smart, he excelled at analyzing and making decisions quickly. He surrounded himself with people who he cared about. Although he seemed laid back, he was a fighter and could be fiercely ruthless when he needed to be. His sharp brown eyes landed on a thin, blonde haired girl sitting in the kitchen. Renri Joki, musical prodigy and one of several geniuses surrounding Quinn.
Quinn stopped in the living room, gesturing for everyone to make themselves comfortable. "This is Renri Joki, a very important part of my family.
Ren felt her cheeks heat up as Quinn introduced her. "Hi everyone," she smiled sweetly, instantly charming everyone. She stood up, somewhat shakily, one hand on the counter to keep her balance.
Em walked toward her, "It's nice to meet you in person Ren, I'm Em." She hugged the younger girl, careful not to unbalance her.
"Same here Em, looks like we are going to be roommates." Ren pointed toward the room, just off the kitchen. "That's our room in there, if you want to put your things away."
Everyone settled onto the couches, Quinn helped Ren onto her wheelchair and then moved her closer before taking a seat next to Em.
"Where is everyone Quinn?" Em looked around, she had expected to run into Tal and Pops at least. She had also heard talk that Jinn and Rhapsody were visiting.
Movement from up above caused everyone to look up. Anna smiled down at the guests. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you, I'll be right down." She scurried into her room and quickly used Quinn's TAP mail to let Tal know they had guests.
Quinn watched Anna prance down the stairs, he covered a smile with his hand. Nanna was a sweet, bundle of energy.
"Hi Anna." Quinn Obreen greeted her, he had found out through his assistant that Anna had developed a strong relationship with Quinn.
"Mr. Obreen, it's nice to see you again." Ann nodded to him as she squeezed in next to Quinn.
"Please call me Gus, Anna." He definitely didn't want to make the same mistake his assistant made, she was regretting her choice of words back in New York.
"There is something I'm curious about Quinn, it's fairly obvious you've been gathering power in TAP." The dossier on Quinn pointed toward an impending confrontation, but none of his investigators could figure out the opponent. "Who are you going after? The only other power in TAP is Concert Hall, yet your relationship with them is good."
Quinn nodded, he had expected that his actions would be closely examined by Orion Media. He smiled to himself, it was obvious that Em hadn't spoken a word. "I'm going after HYLO, specifically Sydney Horn."
Mike Obreen stared at his grandson, the young man seemed to inherit their dislike for HYLO. "HYLO is a lot to take down, Sydney Horn especially."
Quinn looked around the room, everyone here was family. "I've enough to bury HYLO grandpa. Sydney Horn will be dealt with in a different way."
He liked his grandson, there was no doubt about it. "Show me Quinn."
"I'll need a headset from upstairs," Quinn started to get up when his grandfather shook his head. He opened up a briefcase that he had brought in with him, he took out something that looked like a two quarter sized ceramic discs and handed it to Quinn.
Quinn reached for it, turning it over in his hands before looking up questioningly.
"Put one of either side of your temple, hold them in place until you see a green light." Quinn held the discs in place, after about half a minute a green light appeared, hovering in his point of view. He released his hands, but the discs remained in place. "Holy ... this thing is a headset?"
His grandpa nodded with a smile, "we will bring it to market next year, that's one of a few prototypes." He handed one to Gus also. "The rest of you please wait here for a few moments."
"Give me a minute please." Quinn bounded up the stairs and retrieved the flashdrive with the VRP data from HYLO. He kept it separate from everything, secrecy was more important than convenience. When he returned he loaded it into a VRP Shell program and located his Grandpa and Dad's user interfaces. "Access local VRP named 'Quinn,' Password is Moza#87K."
Quinn was the first one in, he froze the VRP and waited for the other two.
**********
Em was chatting with Ren when they finally returned. Her Dad immediately put his head in his hands and wept. She looked at her Grandpa, his expression was somber and unreadable. It was exactly the way he looked when someone had crossed his bottom line.
Mike Obreen put a hand on his son's shoulder, what they had seen had been hard to watch. He brought up his hud and a moment later a middle aged woman's face appeared. "I want two full security teams at my location. Call up Mallory Olsen and set up an appointment ASAP, tell her it absolutely can't wait." He closed the hud a moment later.
Quinn whistled in his head, Mallory Olsen was the with the U.S. Attorney General's Office.
A red eyed Gus Obreen sat up, his face furious, "this can't stand Dad!"
Mike shook his head and then looked at Quinn, "what's your timeline?"
Quinn had considered it carefully over the past three weeks. "Twelve days, the hammer drops in twelve days."
*******
Tal logged out of TAP an hour later, she generally ignored the mail icon, which is why she was late. "Damn it, Quinn's family is downstairs and I'm messing around." She cussed under her breathe as she quickly changed clothes and washed her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and took a moment to fix her hair before heading out the door.
A metallic clicking noise followed her as walked down the stairs.
Both Mike and Gus Obreen stood as Tal made her way down the stairs. The older man silently cursed the idiot who wrote his briefing on Talia Joki. A 35 year old retired army captain, wounded in the line of duty and missing one limb. She was an engineer and a MIT graduate, but they had left out a key part; Talia Joki was a stunningly beautiful woman.
Tal walked over to Quinn who also stood up, she gave him a quick kiss. "Sorry I'm late Quinn."
"It's fine Tal." Quinn smiled at her, "this is Talia Joki, Ren's mom and a big part of my success in TAP." He caught her hand with his, "she's also my girlfriend."
Tal hadn't expected to be introduced like that, her full lips showed a slight smile and she bowed her head. "Please just call me Tal, nice to meet everyone."
Quinn noted with a smirk that neither his dad nor his Grandpa offered to shake Tal's hand, they both went in for hugs.
An hour later Ren and Em had disappeared into her room, Quinn was at the island talking with his dad and Tal was sitting with Anna and Louise Obreen.
Louise Obreen put a hand on hers, "Quinn is so lucky to have a found a family that loves him. I really want to thank you for everything."
Tal squeezed her hand, "we are the lucky ones, he's an important part of our family."
"We are right next store if you need anything." Louise had been hoping to stay with her Grandson, but she understood that the house was currently pack full of guests.
"I'm sorry we don't have room at the moment." Tal liked the older woman, Louise had gone out of her way to make Tal feel welcome.
*********
Dinner became a catered, Chinese take-out affair, in the pool area. Jinn, Rhapsody and Pops finally made their appearances. An exceptionally long table appeared mysteriously and everyone chatted while they ate. Quinn was seated next to his grandma and Anna, across the table from Tal and Em.
Mike watched his grandson from the far end of the table. He couldn't be more pleased, the boy hadn't been given anything in life. He worked hard and used his head. He looked over at his own son who seemed a bit put out to be so far away. "They'll be plenty of time to visit with him Gus, he's a good kid."
Gus smiled at him, his dad usually kept everyone at a distance. "I agree."
********
Later in the evening Tal cozied up next to Quinn as they lay in bed talking. "We figured out the track issue, at least on paper, it will probably work."
Quinn pulled her close, "what about the platform?"
"We've started construction and will be ready within the day." Tal leaned away from him, creating enough space to remove the tank top she normally slept in.
"Um... what ya doing?" Quinn's smile grew wider as Tal pressed against him.
"I'll be quiet this time..." Tal stared at him in the darkness, waiting until he nodded before moving above him.
"We definitely need thicker walls."
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Three days past uneventfully. Q spent his half of his TAP time, working with Zephyr and Raven. He was adamant about keeping NPCs out of the final fight with Syrus. Jinn, Rhapsody, Daze, Onion and Grace were all sharpening their pvp skills. The other half of his time was spent working with Mojo and the Songbirds. Mojo was unexpectedly talented at aerial maneuvering. Q's basic flight skill evolved into advanced flight as the team found themselves ready to go.
Q was sitting at the conference table at HQ, they were all studying the cannons of Innisfrae.
"I can see no clear way to transport the cannons here, I've been racking my brain." Remmy shook her head in frustration.
"May I say something?" It was Ren who spoke, normally she would pipe in whenever she liked, but since this was a strategy meeting she was hesitant.
Q smiled at her, "go ahead Ren."
"Mmm, I don't think they are cannons." Ren waited for her words to have an effect.
Tal looked at her daughter, "not a cannon?"
"You said it yourself mom, the specs don't match what any cannon should have." Ren pursed her lips, trying to make sure she worded her opinion correctly. "If you didn't have the idea that it was a cannon, what would you guess it was, just by looking at the schematics?"
Tal shrugged, "Hard to say, off the top of my head I'd say it was-" Tal's eyes focused sharply as she brought up the schematic. "Remmy?"
Remmy nodded, "we are so dumb. They aren't cannons." Remmy brought up another hud, one with the jetpack schematic on it.
"Nope, it's a propulsion system." Tal palmed her own head, "that's why it has the ridiculous power override, it's thrust. What could Bran have been wanting to move?"
Remmy jumped up from her seat, her face lit with excitement. "He wanted to move Innisfrae, or at least a portion of it." She brought up a third hud of Innisfrae, "see the tunnels on the north side? I assumed they were access points for the cannons."
"He was getting ready to move the entire North area." Tal smiled at her daughter, "nice going Ren."
Ren stole a glance at Q who had been sitting next to her, "I did good, right Quinn?"
Q patted her on the head, "amazing as always Ren." He could see the issue, sometimes preconceptions hampered the process. Ren wasn't an engineer, but she was as smart as anyone in the room. "Will you be able to move them?"
Remmy grinned at him, "now that we've figured out what they really are, moving them will be much easier."
"Twelve engines, we'll make a platform and mount all of them. It will have to be rudimentary." Tal moved a strand of hair behind her ear, "if we fired up four, that would give us plenty thrust to get airborne."
Remmy hunched over next to Tal as they started drawing up plans.
"Three days ." Both Tal and Remmy looked up at Q when he spoke. "We need to be ready in three days."
"That's steep Quinn... very steep." Tal used his real name often in TAP.
"Make it happen, we'll lose our window if they move up their timeline." Q crunched the numbers in his head, "its a two day trip, even with our jetpacks. That puts us very close to their deadline."
"Who do you want to put on the team Q?" Mojo sat on the other side of Q, she wore her dark armor all the time now. She had been sparring with Q everyday, whenever they could fit it in.
"Tal and Remmy can bring two additional engineers." Q looked over toward the bunk area, "you, the songbirds, myself and Ren."
"Quinn, perhaps this isn't time for.." Tal hesitated, she didn't want to be overprotective. She'd be in no real danger regardless of what happened."
"Her idea started it Tal, she should be rewarded for seeing things so clearly." Q winked at Ren, who was gripping the sides of the table in excitement.
"Can I mom? Please?" Ren didn't ask for things often, she was nearly irresistible when she did.
"She's one of the best fliers here Tal," Mojo spoke up. "She can shadow me and Q during the mission.
"You know I won't let anything happen to Ren." Q would urge her, but in the end it was Tals call.
Tal seemed to think about it for a few moments, finally she nodded. "I agree, but only because of your contribution. I'm very proud of you Renri."
Ren blushed, "mom..."
An hour later Q and Mojo had their jetpacks on. Mojo was chasing Q. He was following the river, only a few feet off the surface as he zipped back and forth. "Lower your elevation Mojo, hug the water tighter."
Mojo did what Q asked and mirrored his approach, a small misstep, one of Mojo's feet skimmed the surface causing her to lose control and tumble into the river. Q pulled up and circled back as the wet dark elf climbed on shore, she gave Q a disgusted look.
He didn't mean to laugh, but there was something funny about seeing Mora Jol soaked to the skin. He covered up his mouth immediately, but it was too late.
"Something funny Q'Ikah?" Mojo's white hair was hanging in her face, her lavender eyes seemed to be glowing as she walked toward Q.
"Hmm? Take it easy Mojo'skah.. gotta admit, it was a little funny." Q was trying not to laugh, he was only partially successful.
"Oh, so it's Mojo'skah now that you are in trouble?" She was stopped when she was close enough to touch him.
"Hey, this isn't my fault right? Just a small training accide..." his voice trailed off as she started dropping wet clothes on the river bank. Q averted his eyes, although it was difficult.
"Why would you look away Q'lkah?" She grabbed his face with her hands and turned it toward her. "Aren't I a woman that you love?"
"It's difficult to say exactly, that's probably not what you want to hear." Q pulled out an object that Jaded Ice had sent him and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Warm Fluffy Bath Towel: Unique Item
Description: Warms the body while drying
it completely.
"I would rather have your honest feeling, then something spoken to appease me." Mojo leaned against him, well aware that her bare breasts were pressed against his chest. "For now, I will accept a kiss from you." She looked up at him expectantly.
Q bent slightly and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't the first time they had kissed, but it was the first time he had initiated it. Mojo melted into him, standing on her tiptoes to extend the contact. Finally she stepped away, gathering the towel around her, she smiled contently at Q.
He turned his back as she put on dry clothes. "I want to explain this exercise to you, so that you understand it's significance."
Mojo took a seat on the bank, she took out a comb and ran it through her hair. "I'm listening."
"We are going to attempt to board the train while it's moving, if we get the chance. " Q watched as she separated her hair into three long parts. "Going to braid it? "
Mojo nodded, taking out a tie she looked questioningly at Q when he sat behind her and held out his hand.
"I can do a simple braid. When Ren was in a coma, Tal would hold her up while I braided." He started weaving the strands together as he continued to talk. "We are going to need to stay as low as possible when we board the train, if we leave the airflow pocket, windshear will toss us away."
Mojo wasn't an engineer, but she nodded anyway. A warm expression on her face as Q finished her braid. "Okay Q'lkah. I will keep practicing." She leaned back against him, content to sit as they discussed the mission.
They spent the rest of the day working on nap-of- the-earth flying.
They parted ways at the entrance to HQ, Mojo went inside while Q decided to log.
**********
Ren was sitting at the kitchen island having a BLT that Pops had made for her. She looked up when Quinn came down the stairs. "Not much going on dinner-wise Quinn. Pops made some extra bacon, if you want a BLT."
"I love BLTs. No one is coming for dinner?" Quinn frowned, he enjoyed family dinners.
"Jinn and Rhapsody popped in for ten minutes, then left. Mom logged out long enough to grab Anna, then she left too."
"Tal needed Jaded Ice? Odd, why would Tal need a Necromancer?" Quinn didn't know much about Necromancers in TAP, "I wonder what kind of abilities she has."
"Anyways, it's just you and me." Ren looked at him apologetically, "I am going to log back in after eat."
"No worries, I've a few things I want to look into." Quinn started making himself a BLT while chatting with Ren. "When we've settled Fora and dealt with our issues, I'm only going to play during sleep times."
"I do miss doing stuff with you," Ren grabbed a slice of bacon off the plate. "I'll be able to ride bike next week, you could take me."
"Really? You're amazing!" Quinn was just putting the finishing touches on his BLT when the doorbell rang.
He glanced out the living room window, he could see several people standing in their driveway. "Somethings up I guess." Quinn opened the door to see Louise Obreen's smiling face.
"Quinn!" Her eyes were shiny with tears as she hugged her grandson tight.
"Grandma! I didn't expect you'd be able to visit so soon!" Quinn noticed his dad standing there staring at him. "It's a bit awkward meeting suddenly, but let's start it off right." He hugged his dad, noticing with some satisfaction that he was slightly taller than his old man.
His dad held onto him tight for several seconds, before letting go. "You're so tall Quinn!"
A familiar face waited until his father let go and then threw herself at him. Em hugged him and kissed his cheek several times. Apparently this was out of character for her, Quinn could hear the whispered comments when she finally let go. To his surprize, she was also quite tall, nearly six feet.
"Nice to meet you in person Em." He kept ahold of her hand, smiling at her. One last person was waiting. Quinn knew without asking, this was his Grandpa.
A tall old man with broad shoulders and a shock of white hair stepped toward him. He extended a huge mit of a hand, "I'm Mike Obreen, your grandfather."
The old man was tall, perhaps only an inch shorter then Quinn, he had fierce brown eyes and a square jaw. Quinn could tell that this was a guy would didn't compromise very often.
"It's nice to meet you sir, I'm Quinn. " He shook his grandpa's hand. "Please come in everyone, it's only me and Ren at the moment.
Quinn led the group into the house, Ren was still sitting at the kitchen island.
Mike Obreen followed his grandson into the house. He had the young man thoroughly investigated over the past few days. Quinn was smart, he excelled at analyzing and making decisions quickly. He surrounded himself with people who he cared about. Although he seemed laid back, he was a fighter and could be fiercely ruthless when he needed to be. His sharp brown eyes landed on a thin, blonde haired girl sitting in the kitchen. Renri Joki, musical prodigy and one of several geniuses surrounding Quinn.
Quinn stopped in the living room, gesturing for everyone to make themselves comfortable. "This is Renri Joki, a very important part of my family.
Ren felt her cheeks heat up as Quinn introduced her. "Hi everyone," she smiled sweetly, instantly charming everyone. She stood up, somewhat shakily, one hand on the counter to keep her balance.
Em walked toward her, "It's nice to meet you in person Ren, I'm Em." She hugged the younger girl, careful not to unbalance her.
"Same here Em, looks like we are going to be roommates." Ren pointed toward the room, just off the kitchen. "That's our room in there, if you want to put your things away."
Everyone settled onto the couches, Quinn helped Ren onto her wheelchair and then moved her closer before taking a seat next to Em.
"Where is everyone Quinn?" Em looked around, she had expected to run into Tal and Pops at least. She had also heard talk that Jinn and Rhapsody were visiting.
Movement from up above caused everyone to look up. Anna smiled down at the guests. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you, I'll be right down." She scurried into her room and quickly used Quinn's TAP mail to let Tal know they had guests.
Quinn watched Anna prance down the stairs, he covered a smile with his hand. Nanna was a sweet, bundle of energy.
"Hi Anna." Quinn Obreen greeted her, he had found out through his assistant that Anna had developed a strong relationship with Quinn.
"Mr. Obreen, it's nice to see you again." Ann nodded to him as she squeezed in next to Quinn.
"Please call me Gus, Anna." He definitely didn't want to make the same mistake his assistant made, she was regretting her choice of words back in New York.
"There is something I'm curious about Quinn, it's fairly obvious you've been gathering power in TAP." The dossier on Quinn pointed toward an impending confrontation, but none of his investigators could figure out the opponent. "Who are you going after? The only other power in TAP is Concert Hall, yet your relationship with them is good."
Quinn nodded, he had expected that his actions would be closely examined by Orion Media. He smiled to himself, it was obvious that Em hadn't spoken a word. "I'm going after HYLO, specifically Sydney Horn."
Mike Obreen stared at his grandson, the young man seemed to inherit their dislike for HYLO. "HYLO is a lot to take down, Sydney Horn especially."
Quinn looked around the room, everyone here was family. "I've enough to bury HYLO grandpa. Sydney Horn will be dealt with in a different way."
He liked his grandson, there was no doubt about it. "Show me Quinn."
"I'll need a headset from upstairs," Quinn started to get up when his grandfather shook his head. He opened up a briefcase that he had brought in with him, he took out something that looked like a two quarter sized ceramic discs and handed it to Quinn.
Quinn reached for it, turning it over in his hands before looking up questioningly.
"Put one of either side of your temple, hold them in place until you see a green light." Quinn held the discs in place, after about half a minute a green light appeared, hovering in his point of view. He released his hands, but the discs remained in place. "Holy ... this thing is a headset?"
His grandpa nodded with a smile, "we will bring it to market next year, that's one of a few prototypes." He handed one to Gus also. "The rest of you please wait here for a few moments."
"Give me a minute please." Quinn bounded up the stairs and retrieved the flashdrive with the VRP data from HYLO. He kept it separate from everything, secrecy was more important than convenience. When he returned he loaded it into a VRP Shell program and located his Grandpa and Dad's user interfaces. "Access local VRP named 'Quinn,' Password is Moza#87K."
Quinn was the first one in, he froze the VRP and waited for the other two.
**********
Em was chatting with Ren when they finally returned. Her Dad immediately put his head in his hands and wept. She looked at her Grandpa, his expression was somber and unreadable. It was exactly the way he looked when someone had crossed his bottom line.
Mike Obreen put a hand on his son's shoulder, what they had seen had been hard to watch. He brought up his hud and a moment later a middle aged woman's face appeared. "I want two full security teams at my location. Call up Mallory Olsen and set up an appointment ASAP, tell her it absolutely can't wait." He closed the hud a moment later.
Quinn whistled in his head, Mallory Olsen was the with the U.S. Attorney General's Office.
A red eyed Gus Obreen sat up, his face furious, "this can't stand Dad!"
Mike shook his head and then looked at Quinn, "what's your timeline?"
Quinn had considered it carefully over the past three weeks. "Twelve days, the hammer drops in twelve days."
*******
Tal logged out of TAP an hour later, she generally ignored the mail icon, which is why she was late. "Damn it, Quinn's family is downstairs and I'm messing around." She cussed under her breathe as she quickly changed clothes and washed her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and took a moment to fix her hair before heading out the door.
A metallic clicking noise followed her as walked down the stairs.
Both Mike and Gus Obreen stood as Tal made her way down the stairs. The older man silently cursed the idiot who wrote his briefing on Talia Joki. A 35 year old retired army captain, wounded in the line of duty and missing one limb. She was an engineer and a MIT graduate, but they had left out a key part; Talia Joki was a stunningly beautiful woman.
Tal walked over to Quinn who also stood up, she gave him a quick kiss. "Sorry I'm late Quinn."
"It's fine Tal." Quinn smiled at her, "this is Talia Joki, Ren's mom and a big part of my success in TAP." He caught her hand with his, "she's also my girlfriend."
Tal hadn't expected to be introduced like that, her full lips showed a slight smile and she bowed her head. "Please just call me Tal, nice to meet everyone."
Quinn noted with a smirk that neither his dad nor his Grandpa offered to shake Tal's hand, they both went in for hugs.
An hour later Ren and Em had disappeared into her room, Quinn was at the island talking with his dad and Tal was sitting with Anna and Louise Obreen.
Louise Obreen put a hand on hers, "Quinn is so lucky to have a found a family that loves him. I really want to thank you for everything."
Tal squeezed her hand, "we are the lucky ones, he's an important part of our family."
"We are right next store if you need anything." Louise had been hoping to stay with her Grandson, but she understood that the house was currently pack full of guests.
"I'm sorry we don't have room at the moment." Tal liked the older woman, Louise had gone out of her way to make Tal feel welcome.
*********
Dinner became a catered, Chinese take-out affair, in the pool area. Jinn, Rhapsody and Pops finally made their appearances. An exceptionally long table appeared mysteriously and everyone chatted while they ate. Quinn was seated next to his grandma and Anna, across the table from Tal and Em.
Mike watched his grandson from the far end of the table. He couldn't be more pleased, the boy hadn't been given anything in life. He worked hard and used his head. He looked over at his own son who seemed a bit put out to be so far away. "They'll be plenty of time to visit with him Gus, he's a good kid."
Gus smiled at him, his dad usually kept everyone at a distance. "I agree."
********
Later in the evening Tal cozied up next to Quinn as they lay in bed talking. "We figured out the track issue, at least on paper, it will probably work."
Quinn pulled her close, "what about the platform?"
"We've started construction and will be ready within the day." Tal leaned away from him, creating enough space to remove the tank top she normally slept in.
"Um... what ya doing?" Quinn's smile grew wider as Tal pressed against him.
"I'll be quiet this time..." Tal stared at him in the darkness, waiting until he nodded before moving above him.
"We definitely need thicker walls."
Three days past uneventfully. Q spent his half of his TAP time, working with Zephyr and Raven. He was adamant about keeping NPCs out of the final fight with Syrus. Jinn, Rhapsody, Daze, Onion and Grace were all sharpening their pvp skills. The other half of his time was spent working with Mojo and the Songbirds. Mojo was unexpectedly talented at aerial maneuvering. Q's basic flight skill evolved into advanced flight as the team found themselves ready to go.Q was sitting at the conference table at HQ, they were all studying the cannons of Innisfrae."I can see no clear way to transport the cannons here, I've been racking my brain." Remmy shook her head in frustration."May I say something?" It was Ren who spoke, normally she would pipe in whenever she liked, but since this was a strategy meeting she was hesitant.Q smiled at her, "go ahead Ren.""Mmm, I don't think they are cannons." Ren waited for her words to have an effect.Tal looked at her daughter, "not a cannon?""You said it yourself mom, the specs don't match what any cannon should have." Ren pursed her lips, trying to make sure she worded her opinion correctly. "If you didn't have the idea that it was a cannon, what would you guess it was, just by looking at the schematics?"Tal shrugged, "Hard to say, off the top of my head I'd say it was-" Tal's eyes focused sharply as she brought up the schematic. "Remmy?"Remmy nodded, "we are so dumb. They aren't cannons." Remmy brought up another hud, one with the jetpack schematic on it."Nope, it's a propulsion system." Tal palmed her own head, "that's why it has the ridiculous power override, it's thrust. What could Bran have been wanting to move?"Remmy jumped up from her seat, her face lit with excitement. "He wanted to move Innisfrae, or at least a portion of it." She brought up a third hud of Innisfrae, "see the tunnels on the north side? I assumed they were access points for the cannons.""He was getting ready to move the entire North area." Tal smiled at her daughter, "nice going Ren."Ren stole a glance at Q who had been sitting next to her, "I did good, right Quinn?"Q patted her on the head, "amazing as always Ren." He could see the issue, sometimes preconceptions hampered the process. Ren wasn't an engineer, but she was as smart as anyone in the room. "Will you be able to move them?"Remmy grinned at him, "now that we've figured out what they really are, moving them will be much easier.""Twelve engines, we'll make a platform and mount all of them. It will have to be rudimentary." Tal moved a strand of hair behind her ear, "if we fired up four, that would give us plenty thrust to get airborne."Remmy hunched over next to Tal as they started drawing up plans."Three days ." Both Tal and Remmy looked up at Q when he spoke. "We need to be ready in three days.""That's steep Quinn... very steep." Tal used his real name often in TAP."Make it happen, we'll lose our window if they move up their timeline." Q crunched the numbers in his head, "its a two day trip, even with our jetpacks. That puts us very close to their deadline.""Who do you want to put on the team Q?" Mojo sat on the other side of Q, she wore her dark armor all the time now. She had been sparring with Q everyday, whenever they could fit it in."Tal and Remmy can bring two additional engineers." Q looked over toward the bunk area, "you, the songbirds, myself and Ren.""Quinn, perhaps this isn't time for.." Tal hesitated, she didn't want to be overprotective. She'd be in no real danger regardless of what happened.""Her idea started it Tal, she should be rewarded for seeing things so clearly." Q winked at Ren, who was gripping the sides of the table in excitement."Can I mom? Please?" Ren didn't ask for things often, she was nearly irresistible when she did."She's one of the best fliers here Tal," Mojo spoke up. "She can shadow me and Q during the mission."You know I won't let anything happen to Ren." Q would urge her, but in the end it was Tals call.Tal seemed to think about it for a few moments, finally she nodded. "I agree, but only because of your contribution. I'm very proud of you Renri."Ren blushed, "mom..."An hour later Q and Mojo had their jetpacks on. Mojo was chasing Q. He was following the river, only a few feet off the surface as he zipped back and forth. "Lower your elevation Mojo, hug the water tighter."Mojo did what Q asked and mirrored his approach, a small misstep, one of Mojo's feet skimmed the surface causing her to lose control and tumble into the river. Q pulled up and circled back as the wet dark elf climbed on shore, she gave Q a disgusted look.He didn't mean to laugh, but there was something funny about seeing Mora Jol soaked to the skin. He covered up his mouth immediately, but it was too late."Something funny Q'Ikah?" Mojo's white hair was hanging in her face, her lavender eyes seemed to be glowing as she walked toward Q."Hmm? Take it easy Mojo'skah.. gotta admit, it was a little funny." Q was trying not to laugh, he was only partially successful."Oh, so it's Mojo'skah now that you are in trouble?" She was stopped when she was close enough to touch him."Hey, this isn't my fault right? Just a small training accide..." his voice trailed off as she started dropping wet clothes on the river bank. Q averted his eyes, although it was difficult."Why would you look away Q'lkah?" She grabbed his face with her hands and turned it toward her. "Aren't I a woman that you love?""It's difficult to say exactly, that's probably not what you want to hear." Q pulled out an object that Jaded Ice had sent him and wrapped it around her shoulders.Warm Fluffy Bath Towel: Unique ItemDescription: Warms the body while dryingit completely."I would rather have your honest feeling, then something spoken to appease me." Mojo leaned against him, well aware that her bare breasts were pressed against his chest. "For now, I will accept a kiss from you." She looked up at him expectantly.Q bent slightly and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't the first time they had kissed, but it was the first time he had initiated it. Mojo melted into him, standing on her tiptoes to extend the contact. Finally she stepped away, gathering the towel around her, she smiled contently at Q.He turned his back as she put on dry clothes. "I want to explain this exercise to you, so that you understand it's significance."Mojo took a seat on the bank, she took out a comb and ran it through her hair. "I'm listening.""We are going to attempt to board the train while it's moving, if we get the chance. " Q watched as she separated her hair into three long parts. "Going to braid it? "Mojo nodded, taking out a tie she looked questioningly at Q when he sat behind her and held out his hand."I can do a simple braid. When Ren was in a coma, Tal would hold her up while I braided." He started weaving the strands together as he continued to talk. "We are going to need to stay as low as possible when we board the train, if we leave the airflow pocket, windshear will toss us away."Mojo wasn't an engineer, but she nodded anyway. A warm expression on her face as Q finished her braid. "Okay Q'lkah. I will keep practicing." She leaned back against him, content to sit as they discussed the mission.They spent the rest of the day working on nap-of- the-earth flying.They parted ways at the entrance to HQ, Mojo went inside while Q decided to log.**********Ren was sitting at the kitchen island having a BLT that Pops had made for her. She looked up when Quinn came down the stairs. "Not much going on dinner-wise Quinn. Pops made some extra bacon, if you want a BLT.""I love BLTs. No one is coming for dinner?" Quinn frowned, he enjoyed family dinners."Jinn and Rhapsody popped in for ten minutes, then left. Mom logged out long enough to grab Anna, then she left too.""Tal needed Jaded Ice? Odd, why would Tal need a Necromancer?" Quinn didn't know much about Necromancers in TAP, "I wonder what kind of abilities she has.""Anyways, it's just you and me." Ren looked at him apologetically, "I am going to log back in after eat.""No worries, I've a few things I want to look into." Quinn started making himself a BLT while chatting with Ren. "When we've settled Fora and dealt with our issues, I'm only going to play during sleep times.""I do miss doing stuff with you," Ren grabbed a slice of bacon off the plate. "I'll be able to ride bike next week, you could take me.""Really? You're amazing!" Quinn was just putting the finishing touches on his BLT when the doorbell rang.He glanced out the living room window, he could see several people standing in their driveway. "Somethings up I guess." Quinn opened the door to see Louise Obreen's smiling face."Quinn!" Her eyes were shiny with tears as she hugged her grandson tight."Grandma! I didn't expect you'd be able to visit so soon!" Quinn noticed his dad standing there staring at him. "It's a bit awkward meeting suddenly, but let's start it off right." He hugged his dad, noticing with some satisfaction that he was slightly taller than his old man.His dad held onto him tight for several seconds, before letting go. "You're so tall Quinn!"A familiar face waited until his father let go and then threw herself at him. Em hugged him and kissed his cheek several times. Apparently this was out of character for her, Quinn could hear the whispered comments when she finally let go. To his surprize, she was also quite tall, nearly six feet."Nice to meet you in person Em." He kept ahold of her hand, smiling at her. One last person was waiting. Quinn knew without asking, this was his Grandpa.A tall old man with broad shoulders and a shock of white hair stepped toward him. He extended a huge mit of a hand, "I'm Mike Obreen, your grandfather."The old man was tall, perhaps only an inch shorter then Quinn, he had fierce brown eyes and a square jaw. Quinn could tell that this was a guy would didn't compromise very often."It's nice to meet you sir, I'm Quinn. " He shook his grandpa's hand. "Please come in everyone, it's only me and Ren at the moment.Quinn led the group into the house, Ren was still sitting at the kitchen island.Mike Obreen followed his grandson into the house. He had the young man thoroughly investigated over the past few days. Quinn was smart, he excelled at analyzing and making decisions quickly. He surrounded himself with people who he cared about. Although he seemed laid back, he was a fighter and could be fiercely ruthless when he needed to be. His sharp brown eyes landed on a thin, blonde haired girl sitting in the kitchen. Renri Joki, musical prodigy and one of several geniuses surrounding Quinn.Quinn stopped in the living room, gesturing for everyone to make themselves comfortable. "This is Renri Joki, a very important part of my family.Ren felt her cheeks heat up as Quinn introduced her. "Hi everyone," she smiled sweetly, instantly charming everyone. She stood up, somewhat shakily, one hand on the counter to keep her balance.Em walked toward her, "It's nice to meet you in person Ren, I'm Em." She hugged the younger girl, careful not to unbalance her."Same here Em, looks like we are going to be roommates." Ren pointed toward the room, just off the kitchen. "That's our room in there, if you want to put your things away."Everyone settled onto the couches, Quinn helped Ren onto her wheelchair and then moved her closer before taking a seat next to Em."Where is everyone Quinn?" Em looked around, she had expected to run into Tal and Pops at least. She had also heard talk that Jinn and Rhapsody were visiting.Movement from up above caused everyone to look up. Anna smiled down at the guests. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you, I'll be right down." She scurried into her room and quickly used Quinn's TAP mail to let Tal know they had guests.Quinn watched Anna prance down the stairs, he covered a smile with his hand. Nanna was a sweet, bundle of energy."Hi Anna." Quinn Obreen greeted her, he had found out through his assistant that Anna had developed a strong relationship with Quinn."Mr. Obreen, it's nice to see you again." Ann nodded to him as she squeezed in next to Quinn."Please call me Gus, Anna." He definitely didn't want to make the same mistake his assistant made, she was regretting her choice of words back in New York."There is something I'm curious about Quinn, it's fairly obvious you've been gathering power in TAP." The dossier on Quinn pointed toward an impending confrontation, but none of his investigators could figure out the opponent. "Who are you going after? The only other power in TAP is Concert Hall, yet your relationship with them is good."Quinn nodded, he had expected that his actions would be closely examined by Orion Media. He smiled to himself, it was obvious that Em hadn't spoken a word. "I'm going after HYLO, specifically Sydney Horn."Mike Obreen stared at his grandson, the young man seemed to inherit their dislike for HYLO. "HYLO is a lot to take down, Sydney Horn especially."Quinn looked around the room, everyone here was family. "I've enough to bury HYLO grandpa. Sydney Horn will be dealt with in a different way."He liked his grandson, there was no doubt about it. "Show me Quinn.""I'll need a headset from upstairs," Quinn started to get up when his grandfather shook his head. He opened up a briefcase that he had brought in with him, he took out something that looked like a two quarter sized ceramic discs and handed it to Quinn.Quinn reached for it, turning it over in his hands before looking up questioningly."Put one of either side of your temple, hold them in place until you see a green light." Quinn held the discs in place, after about half a minute a green light appeared, hovering in his point of view. He released his hands, but the discs remained in place. "Holy ... this thing is a headset?"His grandpa nodded with a smile, "we will bring it to market next year, that's one of a few prototypes." He handed one to Gus also. "The rest of you please wait here for a few moments.""Give me a minute please." Quinn bounded up the stairs and retrieved the flashdrive with the VRP data from HYLO. He kept it separate from everything, secrecy was more important than convenience. When he returned he loaded it into a VRP Shell program and located his Grandpa and Dad's user interfaces. "Access local VRP named 'Quinn,' Password is Moza#87K."Quinn was the first one in, he froze the VRP and waited for the other two.**********Em was chatting with Ren when they finally returned. Her Dad immediately put his head in his hands and wept. She looked at her Grandpa, his expression was somber and unreadable. It was exactly the way he looked when someone had crossed his bottom line.Mike Obreen put a hand on his son's shoulder, what they had seen had been hard to watch. He brought up his hud and a moment later a middle aged woman's face appeared. "I want two full security teams at my location. Call up Mallory Olsen and set up an appointment ASAP, tell her it absolutely can't wait." He closed the hud a moment later.Quinn whistled in his head, Mallory Olsen was the with the U.S. Attorney General's Office.A red eyed Gus Obreen sat up, his face furious, "this can't stand Dad!"Mike shook his head and then looked at Quinn, "what's your timeline?"Quinn had considered it carefully over the past three weeks. "Twelve days, the hammer drops in twelve days."*******Tal logged out of TAP an hour later, she generally ignored the mail icon, which is why she was late. "Damn it, Quinn's family is downstairs and I'm messing around." She cussed under her breathe as she quickly changed clothes and washed her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and took a moment to fix her hair before heading out the door.A metallic clicking noise followed her as walked down the stairs.Both Mike and Gus Obreen stood as Tal made her way down the stairs. The older man silently cursed the idiot who wrote his briefing on Talia Joki. A 35 year old retired army captain, wounded in the line of duty and missing one limb. She was an engineer and a MIT graduate, but they had left out a key part; Talia Joki was a stunningly beautiful woman.Tal walked over to Quinn who also stood up, she gave him a quick kiss. "Sorry I'm late Quinn.""It's fine Tal." Quinn smiled at her, "this is Talia Joki, Ren's mom and a big part of my success in TAP." He caught her hand with his, "she's also my girlfriend."Tal hadn't expected to be introduced like that, her full lips showed a slight smile and she bowed her head. "Please just call me Tal, nice to meet everyone."Quinn noted with a smirk that neither his dad nor his Grandpa offered to shake Tal's hand, they both went in for hugs.An hour later Ren and Em had disappeared into her room, Quinn was at the island talking with his dad and Tal was sitting with Anna and Louise Obreen.Louise Obreen put a hand on hers, "Quinn is so lucky to have a found a family that loves him. I really want to thank you for everything."Tal squeezed her hand, "we are the lucky ones, he's an important part of our family.""We are right next store if you need anything." Louise had been hoping to stay with her Grandson, but she understood that the house was currently pack full of guests."I'm sorry we don't have room at the moment." Tal liked the older woman, Louise had gone out of her way to make Tal feel welcome.*********Dinner became a catered, Chinese take-out affair, in the pool area. Jinn, Rhapsody and Pops finally made their appearances. An exceptionally long table appeared mysteriously and everyone chatted while they ate. Quinn was seated next to his grandma and Anna, across the table from Tal and Em.Mike watched his grandson from the far end of the table. He couldn't be more pleased, the boy hadn't been given anything in life. He worked hard and used his head. He looked over at his own son who seemed a bit put out to be so far away. "They'll be plenty of time to visit with him Gus, he's a good kid."Gus smiled at him, his dad usually kept everyone at a distance. "I agree."********Later in the evening Tal cozied up next to Quinn as they lay in bed talking. "We figured out the track issue, at least on paper, it will probably work."Quinn pulled her close, "what about the platform?""We've started construction and will be ready within the day." Tal leaned away from him, creating enough space to remove the tank top she normally slept in."Um... what ya doing?" Quinn's smile grew wider as Tal pressed against him."I'll be quiet this time..." Tal stared at him in the darkness, waiting until he nodded before moving above him."We definitely need thicker walls."
