Chapter 49
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A perfectly nude body, marred only by a partially missing limb, lay across Quinn. Even in the dark, Quinn could see her beautiful skin glistening with sweat. She was staring down at him, it was a look that stirred Quinn deeply. "I was pretty quiet this time right?"
Quinn nodded, "lots of changes happening the past few weeks. How are you holding up?"
Tal propped her head up with one hand, "really good. This heist has been consuming all my thoughts."
"That's not what I meant." He pulled her down for a kiss, "don't overwork yourself."
"I won't Hun."
"Tell me about the plan to take the tracks." Quinn rested his hands on her muscular hips, her full breasts pushed against his chest.
"Hmm? You sure you want to talk now?" Tal gave him a wicked grin as she reached between them.
Footsteps in the hallway made them both freeze in place, Tal reluctantly released 'little quinn.' "You think we woke her up?"
Quinn shook his head, "no, Anna is a night owl. How much of the platform are you going to build? Won't it be too big to move through a portal?"
Tal shook her head and rolled off Quinn, content to lay her head against his shoulder. "We'll assemble major pieces and finish construction once we are on Site."
"Seem like a lot to move, it's two days by horse." Quinn trusted any plan Tal came up with, but he also needed to know logistics and timelines.
"We actually assembled a dozen heavy duty Jetpacks that we will use to transport the components of the platform. We will fully assemble the platform onsite, then pull up the cannons and mount them."
Quinn nodded as Tal laid out the plan. "They've been hidden in water, will that affect firing them up?"
"All good questions Quinn, maybe you should go into engineering." Tal was half serious, Quinn could do whatever he set his mind to.
"No thanks, the math alone would kill me." Quinn picked up the ceramic discs that his grandpa had given him, he had generously included one for Tal. Quinn put one on either side of his temples, immediately the green light came on and they stayed in place. "I guess once they calibrate, it only takes a moment." He handed the other set to Tal. "Tell me about the track."
Tal had calibrated hers earlier, she held them in place as she made herself comfortable in bed. "We created a mobile teleport, imagine it like a fork lift on rails. It actually uses the rails as a guide, prying up the track as it moves. There are two runners in front that will be placed on the track, two trailing wheels behind to stop the portal gate from being overbalanced."
"So.. the rail is going to shoot out the gate on the Talon side pretty fast I"m assuming."
"Very fast, we'll have a skid ready to support the front, then we'll have to stay ahead of it, it won't last long before it fails." Tal understood that statistically, getting all the track was impossible. "We'll run the mobile portal right down the track until we hit the train."
"As long as it gets through the portal, everything will be fine." Tal knew it was going to be a train wreck, but figured it should survive mostly intact and would only damage a portion of the track.
Quinn carefully considered their part of the plan, "lots of intangibles. While you head North to the Basin, my team will be going South. We'll camp inside the Arctic Zone, close to the tracks."
"The train isn't a necessity for us Quinn, if we get the gnome propulsion devices and the tracks, that will be great."
*********
Three days later the team from Fora ported into Pearl. Tal, Remmy and two engineers were accompanied by the Songbirds, Mojo, Ren and Q. The engineers had managed to turn their payloads into a makeshift hovercraft, Q was itching to ride it. However, he would be heading South. They would wait until they left Pearl before powering up their jetpacks.
"You'll be in place before us Quinn, we'll move as quickly as we can, but we'll need at least two days." Tal hugged her daughter then nodded to Quinn, "take care of my baby."
Ren and Q both spoke at the same time, "I will."
Remmy was laughing at them as she hugged Q and Mojo. "Bye!"
Q ruffled her pink hair, "cya soon Remmy."
*********
The trip south had taken a half day less then they had planned. The strike team had set up a base camp a few hours into the Arctic zone, on a bluff overlooking part of the track.
Q shared a large blanket with Mojo and Ren, huddled together as they watched the track. He gave Ren a sour look, she had taken the coveted middle spot. "It's amazing out cold it is here."
Ren looked over at the two tents that had been set up against the steep wall. Remmy had given them sound advice. She had said that sharing body heat was the only way to stay comfortable. Lara Sy would share a tent with them, while the rest of the songbirds were in the other tent.
Q opened up his hud and contacted Tal, a moment later her pretty blue eyes stared back at him, "How are things in the North Tal?"
Tal kept a straight face as she noticed the three of them huddled together, Quinn looked especially miserable. "We should arrive at the basin in a few hours, I'm guessing we'll be ready to start attaching the propulsion devices to the platform within half a day."
Q tried to keep his teeth from chattering as he nodded, "how long until you are completely ready?"
Tal pursed her lips as she considered their timeline, "I'd say if nothing goes badly, we'll be set in one day."
"That's perfect," The escape plan called for the main group to exit through the temporary portal while the engineers escaped through the air. Remmy and Tal would personally oversee the long flight back to Talon. Q was aware that it might take a week or more. "We'll talk soon." Quinn cut comm and headed toward their tent. His plan was to stay logged in until the operation was complete.
Lara Sy arrived at the tent just before he did. "Q give us a few minutes okay?"
Ren smiled apologetically. "Count to a hundred Quinn."
Ren and Mojo ducked into the tent with Lara. "Sure.. I'll just wait out here in the freezing cold." He took out the small round device that Tal had designed for him, it should be the TAP version of a flashbang grenade. "Press here and toss it," gotta be extra careful, it would definitely affect both friend and foe. "If the field test goes well, I'll have our engineers put these into production."
After an hour out in the biting wind, the tent felt several degrees warmer, it was dark inside, the floor lined with a thick fur. Remmy had given all of them a quick class on arctic survival. Sleeping in your clothes might seem like a good idea, but the reality is that you'll be warmer with less on. There were two sleeping bags on the floor, it was obvious that one of them already had two people in it. 'That must be Ren and Lara.'
Quinn quickly shed his outer clothes and climbed in the other bag, after sealing it shut the other occupant snuggled up against him. "Damn, you are so warm." Quinn wrapped her up tight and pulled her closer.
A feminine laugh sounded in his ear, "you are very warm also commander." Lara's voice was filled with humor.
Q froze in place, a moment of confusion and laughter coming from the other bag, told him he had been set up. "Very funny."
Nightingale and Q chatted amiably, it was entirely too cold to worry about the close proximity. Lara started telling him about her childhood and how she grew up as the daughter of a merchant. He found himself fascinated by her life, it seemed entirely different from where she ended up. Q waited patiently as she paused for a few moments in the middle of her story, after an even longer delay he discovered that Lara had fallen asleep. "Dang, it was just getting good." Q made a note to himself, winter camping would be perfect with the right person.
Q passed the night away planning his steps for the next few weeks. It all hinges on Crow's ability to make them fear her. He had sat down with Em at the house and she had carefully explained each of the executioner abilities. If she was supported properly, her presence would be terrifying.
"Commander? Do you feel that?" Lara whispered to him.
"Hmm? The ground is shaking!" Q reached into the bottom of the bag where they had stashed their clothes and started getting dressed, another tip from Remmy, putting on warm clothes was nice.
He rolled out of the bag and ran outside, ignoring the biting wind as he scanned the area. "Holy Shit."
The Songbirds piled out of the other tent and rushed toward the edge of the bluff. Robin raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes. "It's the train," she paused and glanced at Q. "It's moving way faster then we thought it would."
Ren and Mojo joined them a moment later, the dark elf's sharp eyes spotted it immediately. "That is faster then our jetpacks Q."
"Gear up, we'll have to leave most of our things. Light packs and weapons only." He activated his hud, a moment later Tal's face smiled at him. "We've some trouble Tal."
Tal's face grew serious, "what's going on?"
"The train is already moving, it's fast Tal. Really, really fast." Q had been expecting something more archaic, not a bullet train."
"Are you going to be able to board?" Tal mind was whirling as she started doing the math. "I need at least four hours Quinn."
"Roger that, we'll board the train and slow it down." He cut comm and moved back to his tent. "My tent in three minutes!"
By the time Q had his jetpack on, the entire party was in his tent. Mojo had activated a light.
"We are going to have to board this train now." He glanced at Ren, "you won't be able to sit this one out, are you up for it?"
Ren nodded, "what do you want me to do?"
"You and Robin will have to find a way to disconnect part of the train, a good guess says it is heavily guarded." Q loosened his pistoleros, "the rest of us will enter the train and fight our way toward the engine from the disconnect point. This will ensure we don't miss anyone and get surprised."
Lara looked at her Songbirds, "don't miss, at that speed you won't be able to catch up."
"On me!" Q exited the tent and immediately fired up his jetpack, he pulled down his faceshield and shot into the air. The rest of the team followed in single file, Robin and Ren were bringing up the rear.
The train was a sleek looking silver machine, Q knew instantly that Tal and Remmy would love it. The team descended to one hundred feet above the track, even with the jetpacks on full throttle, the train gained on them quickly. As soon as the engine passed beneath him Q dived.
*Grappling Hook*
Q's grappling hook hit the front of the sixth car, he slowly reeled himself in, using the jetpack to steady his descent. A glance behind him told him that everyone had landed on this car except Ren and Robin. They landed one back and were now making their way forward.
Q backtracked and climbed down to the access door, he lent a hand to Robin and Ren as they jumped from the other car, Ren pointed at the connection point and gave him a thumbs up as she started working on detachment.
Q was the first through the door. The first car was empty, Mojo passed him as they made their way down the aisle, she stealthed and proceeded to the next car. Something struck Q hard in the shoulder as he followed behind her, it pinned him against the wall next to the door. "Sweet mother..that hurts."
Q opened up on the three rangers that occupied the cabin.
*Thundering Pistoleros* 1165 damage, 1260 damage, 965 damage, 840 damage, Critical hit 2350 damage, Bonus 2350 damage.
Mora Jol has activated *Pierced Heart* Critical hit 25567 damage, Enri Solace has been slain.
Lara Sy has stunned Colli Miwi.
Lark and Wren had moved into position to cover Q. Both of them raised their arms at the same time.
*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.
*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.
Lara Sy has performed Eviscerate, Colli Miwi has been slain.
*Cannot Activate Blink while restrained*
"Shitballs!" Q drew his pistoleros again as Lara took down the second ranger. He was about to open fire on the last ranger, when the unfortunate person was struck on either side by Thrush and Mojo.
Q looked down at his shoulder, it was pierced through by a barbed arrow that was stuck securely to the wall behind him, he was pinned to the wall like a bug.
Mojo quickly appeared and cut off the fletching, the she grabbed Q and pulled him away from the wall.
Q gasped in pain as he was pulled loose, "Shit.. shit." He ignored the throbbing in his shoulder and ran to the far end of the car, he gave his team a 'hold fast' signal as he pushed open the exit and opened the next car. Quickly he tossed in the flashbang and then slammed it shut.
Vera Thal has been stunned.
Orli Suki has been stunned.
Mara Shadetree has been stunned.
Wayi Diamiende has been stunned.
Q burst through the door, instantly heading toward a rogue who had one arm hanging out the only window in the car. With a quick movement Q opened the window fully and tossed the rogue out.
Orli Suki has been slain.
By the time he turned around, the other three had been cut down. Q shook his head, rogue dps was ridiculous. The entire train jerked suddenly, "good girl, that must be the disconnect."
The next two cars before the engine were empty, the engine itself was empty except for one Gnome, who was handcuffed in place. Lara took out a lockpick and instantly opened them.
"We are with the Fora Development Group, we are commandeering this train." Q noted that although the gnome was somewhat ragged looking, he did not look scared when Q spoke to him.
"Fora? Is Remmy with you?" The little gnomes eyes lit up, as he started rubbing some of the soot off of his face with one sleeve. "I'm Soji Lan."
"It's nice to meet you Soji, going to need you to slow this train way down." Q turned as the door behind them opened, Ren and Robin came through, they shot Q a thumbs up.
***********
Tal and Remmy had just attached the last propulsion engine in place, Tal used her jetpack to move off of the platform as Remmy started firing up four of the engines. The platform looked a lot like a huge stingray.
The portal with the attached skid was ready to go. Without another thought Tal sent to down the track, watching as it moved away, leaving bare dirt behind it. "It actually works," Tal clapped her hands together then opened up her hud.
Quinn smiled at her when he answered. "We have the train, and have cut speed by about half."
"That should enable us to grab a few hundred miles of track, as well as the train engine." Tal smiled at him, she had a small thing for trains.
Q pursed his lips together, "hey, why don't we stop the train? You'll grab more track and the engine won't be damaged when it goes through the portal."
"Will you have to worry about pursuit?" Tal had thought about that, she didn't want the train to be recaptured by their enemies.
"We'll keep an eye our for pursuit, if we see any we will start it back up." Q shut off comm and glanced at Soji, "did you get that?"
The little gnome nodded and cut power to the engine, it was quite a few minutes before it came to a complete stop.
Q grabbed Mojo's hand and pulled her along as he exited the car and used the access ladder to take a seat on the roof. "We can keep watch from here, I'm so glad to get out of that ice zone."
"Hmm? Didn't Nightingale keep you warm?" Mojo smiled innocently at him.
"Very funny, I'm just glad I didn't do anything before I figured out it wasn't you."
Mojo laughed at him and squeezed his hand, "I think I'm getting good at practical jokes."
Q shot her a sour look that made her laugh harder.
**********
A half day later the strike team and the train were ported back to Fora. The train was completely intact, Q and Mojo were still sitting on top. Q whistled at the endless amount of track. He immediately contacted Tal, the portal had shut down right after the train had come through.
"We are here safe and sound, both the train and tracks are in great shape." Q could see clouds behind Tal's left shoulder, "how high up are you?"
Tal smiled back, "around five thousand feet and making great time."
Q grimaced. "Oh shit Tal. If you log-off while on the platform, will you progress with it when you try to log in?"
Tal nodded, "I checked this with Remmy, apparently there is quite a bit of research on the matter."
"Good to know,going to log off, cya at home." Q cut comm and fired up his jetpack. The strike team arrived at HQ half an hour later. Mojo disappeared almost immediately, but not before kissing Q goodbye.
His comm blinked just before he was about to log. "Open Comm." Jangles's girly face popped up on his hud.
"Hi Q." Jangles smiled pleasantly.
"Any decision on the Exodus property yet?" Q was tired, and didn't feel much like talking.
"I'm definitely putting a bid in, that's not what I want to talk about though." Jangles was wearing a bright orange orange bandanna. "Rumor has it that Fora has flight capability. Is that true?"
Q carefully considered his options. There's no way he'd already know about the train heist. It's more likely that someone had seen our flight drills. "Yes, we have squad flight capabilities."
"Then I"m calling in all my markers, I need your help to take on the Infinity Well." Jangles leaned back in his char, staring at Q through the hud.
"Of course, whatever you need." Q owed him, there was no way around it. "Do you have a timeline?"
"ASAP, but obviously it is at your convenience."
"Tomorrow then, I'll make the necessary preparations on my part and meet you in Fenway."
"Thank you Q, we'll talk tomorrow."
Q's hud went dark, immediately he contacted Lara Sy. She smiled from the hud, "what can I do for you commander?"
"Are the Songbirds ready for another mission?"
Lara raised an eyebrow, "so soon? We do like to stay busy."
"Infinity Well, meet at Fenway tomorrow. We'll be working with your old boss." Q's shoulder was still hurting and for some reason he felt tired.
"We will be there," she waved at him and then cut comm.
"Log-Off TAP."
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A perfectly nude body, marred only by a partially missing limb, lay across Quinn. Even in the dark, Quinn could see her beautiful skin glistening with sweat. She was staring down at him, it was a look that stirred Quinn deeply. "I was pretty quiet this time right?"
Quinn nodded, "lots of changes happening the past few weeks. How are you holding up?"
Tal propped her head up with one hand, "really good. This heist has been consuming all my thoughts."
"That's not what I meant." He pulled her down for a kiss, "don't overwork yourself."
"I won't Hun."
"Tell me about the plan to take the tracks." Quinn rested his hands on her muscular hips, her full breasts pushed against his chest.
"Hmm? You sure you want to talk now?" Tal gave him a wicked grin as she reached between them.
Footsteps in the hallway made them both freeze in place, Tal reluctantly released 'little quinn.' "You think we woke her up?"
Quinn shook his head, "no, Anna is a night owl. How much of the platform are you going to build? Won't it be too big to move through a portal?"
Tal shook her head and rolled off Quinn, content to lay her head against his shoulder. "We'll assemble major pieces and finish construction once we are on Site."
"Seem like a lot to move, it's two days by horse." Quinn trusted any plan Tal came up with, but he also needed to know logistics and timelines.
"We actually assembled a dozen heavy duty Jetpacks that we will use to transport the components of the platform. We will fully assemble the platform onsite, then pull up the cannons and mount them."
Quinn nodded as Tal laid out the plan. "They've been hidden in water, will that affect firing them up?"
"All good questions Quinn, maybe you should go into engineering." Tal was half serious, Quinn could do whatever he set his mind to.
"No thanks, the math alone would kill me." Quinn picked up the ceramic discs that his grandpa had given him, he had generously included one for Tal. Quinn put one on either side of his temples, immediately the green light came on and they stayed in place. "I guess once they calibrate, it only takes a moment." He handed the other set to Tal. "Tell me about the track."
Tal had calibrated hers earlier, she held them in place as she made herself comfortable in bed. "We created a mobile teleport, imagine it like a fork lift on rails. It actually uses the rails as a guide, prying up the track as it moves. There are two runners in front that will be placed on the track, two trailing wheels behind to stop the portal gate from being overbalanced."
"So.. the rail is going to shoot out the gate on the Talon side pretty fast I"m assuming."
"Very fast, we'll have a skid ready to support the front, then we'll have to stay ahead of it, it won't last long before it fails." Tal understood that statistically, getting all the track was impossible. "We'll run the mobile portal right down the track until we hit the train."
"As long as it gets through the portal, everything will be fine." Tal knew it was going to be a train wreck, but figured it should survive mostly intact and would only damage a portion of the track.
Quinn carefully considered their part of the plan, "lots of intangibles. While you head North to the Basin, my team will be going South. We'll camp inside the Arctic Zone, close to the tracks."
"The train isn't a necessity for us Quinn, if we get the gnome propulsion devices and the tracks, that will be great."
*********
Three days later the team from Fora ported into Pearl. Tal, Remmy and two engineers were accompanied by the Songbirds, Mojo, Ren and Q. The engineers had managed to turn their payloads into a makeshift hovercraft, Q was itching to ride it. However, he would be heading South. They would wait until they left Pearl before powering up their jetpacks.
"You'll be in place before us Quinn, we'll move as quickly as we can, but we'll need at least two days." Tal hugged her daughter then nodded to Quinn, "take care of my baby."
Ren and Q both spoke at the same time, "I will."
Remmy was laughing at them as she hugged Q and Mojo. "Bye!"
Q ruffled her pink hair, "cya soon Remmy."
*********
The trip south had taken a half day less then they had planned. The strike team had set up a base camp a few hours into the Arctic zone, on a bluff overlooking part of the track.
Q shared a large blanket with Mojo and Ren, huddled together as they watched the track. He gave Ren a sour look, she had taken the coveted middle spot. "It's amazing out cold it is here."
Ren looked over at the two tents that had been set up against the steep wall. Remmy had given them sound advice. She had said that sharing body heat was the only way to stay comfortable. Lara Sy would share a tent with them, while the rest of the songbirds were in the other tent.
Q opened up his hud and contacted Tal, a moment later her pretty blue eyes stared back at him, "How are things in the North Tal?"
Tal kept a straight face as she noticed the three of them huddled together, Quinn looked especially miserable. "We should arrive at the basin in a few hours, I'm guessing we'll be ready to start attaching the propulsion devices to the platform within half a day."
Q tried to keep his teeth from chattering as he nodded, "how long until you are completely ready?"
Tal pursed her lips as she considered their timeline, "I'd say if nothing goes badly, we'll be set in one day."
"That's perfect," The escape plan called for the main group to exit through the temporary portal while the engineers escaped through the air. Remmy and Tal would personally oversee the long flight back to Talon. Q was aware that it might take a week or more. "We'll talk soon." Quinn cut comm and headed toward their tent. His plan was to stay logged in until the operation was complete.
Lara Sy arrived at the tent just before he did. "Q give us a few minutes okay?"
Ren smiled apologetically. "Count to a hundred Quinn."
Ren and Mojo ducked into the tent with Lara. "Sure.. I'll just wait out here in the freezing cold." He took out the small round device that Tal had designed for him, it should be the TAP version of a flashbang grenade. "Press here and toss it," gotta be extra careful, it would definitely affect both friend and foe. "If the field test goes well, I'll have our engineers put these into production."
After an hour out in the biting wind, the tent felt several degrees warmer, it was dark inside, the floor lined with a thick fur. Remmy had given all of them a quick class on arctic survival. Sleeping in your clothes might seem like a good idea, but the reality is that you'll be warmer with less on. There were two sleeping bags on the floor, it was obvious that one of them already had two people in it. 'That must be Ren and Lara.'
Quinn quickly shed his outer clothes and climbed in the other bag, after sealing it shut the other occupant snuggled up against him. "Damn, you are so warm." Quinn wrapped her up tight and pulled her closer.
A feminine laugh sounded in his ear, "you are very warm also commander." Lara's voice was filled with humor.
Q froze in place, a moment of confusion and laughter coming from the other bag, told him he had been set up. "Very funny."
Nightingale and Q chatted amiably, it was entirely too cold to worry about the close proximity. Lara started telling him about her childhood and how she grew up as the daughter of a merchant. He found himself fascinated by her life, it seemed entirely different from where she ended up. Q waited patiently as she paused for a few moments in the middle of her story, after an even longer delay he discovered that Lara had fallen asleep. "Dang, it was just getting good." Q made a note to himself, winter camping would be perfect with the right person.
Q passed the night away planning his steps for the next few weeks. It all hinges on Crow's ability to make them fear her. He had sat down with Em at the house and she had carefully explained each of the executioner abilities. If she was supported properly, her presence would be terrifying.
"Commander? Do you feel that?" Lara whispered to him.
"Hmm? The ground is shaking!" Q reached into the bottom of the bag where they had stashed their clothes and started getting dressed, another tip from Remmy, putting on warm clothes was nice.
He rolled out of the bag and ran outside, ignoring the biting wind as he scanned the area. "Holy Shit."
The Songbirds piled out of the other tent and rushed toward the edge of the bluff. Robin raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes. "It's the train," she paused and glanced at Q. "It's moving way faster then we thought it would."
Ren and Mojo joined them a moment later, the dark elf's sharp eyes spotted it immediately. "That is faster then our jetpacks Q."
"Gear up, we'll have to leave most of our things. Light packs and weapons only." He activated his hud, a moment later Tal's face smiled at him. "We've some trouble Tal."
Tal's face grew serious, "what's going on?"
"The train is already moving, it's fast Tal. Really, really fast." Q had been expecting something more archaic, not a bullet train."
"Are you going to be able to board?" Tal mind was whirling as she started doing the math. "I need at least four hours Quinn."
"Roger that, we'll board the train and slow it down." He cut comm and moved back to his tent. "My tent in three minutes!"
By the time Q had his jetpack on, the entire party was in his tent. Mojo had activated a light.
"We are going to have to board this train now." He glanced at Ren, "you won't be able to sit this one out, are you up for it?"
Ren nodded, "what do you want me to do?"
"You and Robin will have to find a way to disconnect part of the train, a good guess says it is heavily guarded." Q loosened his pistoleros, "the rest of us will enter the train and fight our way toward the engine from the disconnect point. This will ensure we don't miss anyone and get surprised."
Lara looked at her Songbirds, "don't miss, at that speed you won't be able to catch up."
"On me!" Q exited the tent and immediately fired up his jetpack, he pulled down his faceshield and shot into the air. The rest of the team followed in single file, Robin and Ren were bringing up the rear.
The train was a sleek looking silver machine, Q knew instantly that Tal and Remmy would love it. The team descended to one hundred feet above the track, even with the jetpacks on full throttle, the train gained on them quickly. As soon as the engine passed beneath him Q dived.
*Grappling Hook*
Q's grappling hook hit the front of the sixth car, he slowly reeled himself in, using the jetpack to steady his descent. A glance behind him told him that everyone had landed on this car except Ren and Robin. They landed one back and were now making their way forward.
Q backtracked and climbed down to the access door, he lent a hand to Robin and Ren as they jumped from the other car, Ren pointed at the connection point and gave him a thumbs up as she started working on detachment.
Q was the first through the door. The first car was empty, Mojo passed him as they made their way down the aisle, she stealthed and proceeded to the next car. Something struck Q hard in the shoulder as he followed behind her, it pinned him against the wall next to the door. "Sweet mother..that hurts."
Q opened up on the three rangers that occupied the cabin.
*Thundering Pistoleros* 1165 damage, 1260 damage, 965 damage, 840 damage, Critical hit 2350 damage, Bonus 2350 damage.
Mora Jol has activated *Pierced Heart* Critical hit 25567 damage, Enri Solace has been slain.
Lara Sy has stunned Colli Miwi.
Lark and Wren had moved into position to cover Q. Both of them raised their arms at the same time.
*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.
*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.
Lara Sy has performed Eviscerate, Colli Miwi has been slain.
*Cannot Activate Blink while restrained*
"Shitballs!" Q drew his pistoleros again as Lara took down the second ranger. He was about to open fire on the last ranger, when the unfortunate person was struck on either side by Thrush and Mojo.
Q looked down at his shoulder, it was pierced through by a barbed arrow that was stuck securely to the wall behind him, he was pinned to the wall like a bug.
Mojo quickly appeared and cut off the fletching, the she grabbed Q and pulled him away from the wall.
Q gasped in pain as he was pulled loose, "Shit.. shit." He ignored the throbbing in his shoulder and ran to the far end of the car, he gave his team a 'hold fast' signal as he pushed open the exit and opened the next car. Quickly he tossed in the flashbang and then slammed it shut.
Vera Thal has been stunned.
Orli Suki has been stunned.
Mara Shadetree has been stunned.
Wayi Diamiende has been stunned.
Q burst through the door, instantly heading toward a rogue who had one arm hanging out the only window in the car. With a quick movement Q opened the window fully and tossed the rogue out.
Orli Suki has been slain.
By the time he turned around, the other three had been cut down. Q shook his head, rogue dps was ridiculous. The entire train jerked suddenly, "good girl, that must be the disconnect."
The next two cars before the engine were empty, the engine itself was empty except for one Gnome, who was handcuffed in place. Lara took out a lockpick and instantly opened them.
"We are with the Fora Development Group, we are commandeering this train." Q noted that although the gnome was somewhat ragged looking, he did not look scared when Q spoke to him.
"Fora? Is Remmy with you?" The little gnomes eyes lit up, as he started rubbing some of the soot off of his face with one sleeve. "I'm Soji Lan."
"It's nice to meet you Soji, going to need you to slow this train way down." Q turned as the door behind them opened, Ren and Robin came through, they shot Q a thumbs up.
***********
Tal and Remmy had just attached the last propulsion engine in place, Tal used her jetpack to move off of the platform as Remmy started firing up four of the engines. The platform looked a lot like a huge stingray.
The portal with the attached skid was ready to go. Without another thought Tal sent to down the track, watching as it moved away, leaving bare dirt behind it. "It actually works," Tal clapped her hands together then opened up her hud.
Quinn smiled at her when he answered. "We have the train, and have cut speed by about half."
"That should enable us to grab a few hundred miles of track, as well as the train engine." Tal smiled at him, she had a small thing for trains.
Q pursed his lips together, "hey, why don't we stop the train? You'll grab more track and the engine won't be damaged when it goes through the portal."
"Will you have to worry about pursuit?" Tal had thought about that, she didn't want the train to be recaptured by their enemies.
"We'll keep an eye our for pursuit, if we see any we will start it back up." Q shut off comm and glanced at Soji, "did you get that?"
The little gnome nodded and cut power to the engine, it was quite a few minutes before it came to a complete stop.
Q grabbed Mojo's hand and pulled her along as he exited the car and used the access ladder to take a seat on the roof. "We can keep watch from here, I'm so glad to get out of that ice zone."
"Hmm? Didn't Nightingale keep you warm?" Mojo smiled innocently at him.
"Very funny, I'm just glad I didn't do anything before I figured out it wasn't you."
Mojo laughed at him and squeezed his hand, "I think I'm getting good at practical jokes."
Q shot her a sour look that made her laugh harder.
**********
A half day later the strike team and the train were ported back to Fora. The train was completely intact, Q and Mojo were still sitting on top. Q whistled at the endless amount of track. He immediately contacted Tal, the portal had shut down right after the train had come through.
"We are here safe and sound, both the train and tracks are in great shape." Q could see clouds behind Tal's left shoulder, "how high up are you?"
Tal smiled back, "around five thousand feet and making great time."
Q grimaced. "Oh shit Tal. If you log-off while on the platform, will you progress with it when you try to log in?"
Tal nodded, "I checked this with Remmy, apparently there is quite a bit of research on the matter."
"Good to know,going to log off, cya at home." Q cut comm and fired up his jetpack. The strike team arrived at HQ half an hour later. Mojo disappeared almost immediately, but not before kissing Q goodbye.
His comm blinked just before he was about to log. "Open Comm." Jangles's girly face popped up on his hud.
"Hi Q." Jangles smiled pleasantly.
"Any decision on the Exodus property yet?" Q was tired, and didn't feel much like talking.
"I'm definitely putting a bid in, that's not what I want to talk about though." Jangles was wearing a bright orange orange bandanna. "Rumor has it that Fora has flight capability. Is that true?"
Q carefully considered his options. There's no way he'd already know about the train heist. It's more likely that someone had seen our flight drills. "Yes, we have squad flight capabilities."
"Then I"m calling in all my markers, I need your help to take on the Infinity Well." Jangles leaned back in his char, staring at Q through the hud.
"Of course, whatever you need." Q owed him, there was no way around it. "Do you have a timeline?"
"ASAP, but obviously it is at your convenience."
"Tomorrow then, I'll make the necessary preparations on my part and meet you in Fenway."
"Thank you Q, we'll talk tomorrow."
Q's hud went dark, immediately he contacted Lara Sy. She smiled from the hud, "what can I do for you commander?"
"Are the Songbirds ready for another mission?"
Lara raised an eyebrow, "so soon? We do like to stay busy."
"Infinity Well, meet at Fenway tomorrow. We'll be working with your old boss." Q's shoulder was still hurting and for some reason he felt tired.
"We will be there," she waved at him and then cut comm.
"Log-Off TAP."
A perfectly nude body, marred only by a partially missing limb, lay across Quinn. Even in the dark, Quinn could see her beautiful skin glistening with sweat. She was staring down at him, it was a look that stirred Quinn deeply. "I was pretty quiet this time right?"Quinn nodded, "lots of changes happening the past few weeks. How are you holding up?"Tal propped her head up with one hand, "really good. This heist has been consuming all my thoughts.""That's not what I meant." He pulled her down for a kiss, "don't overwork yourself.""I won't Hun.""Tell me about the plan to take the tracks." Quinn rested his hands on her muscular hips, her full breasts pushed against his chest."Hmm? You sure you want to talk now?" Tal gave him a wicked grin as she reached between them.Footsteps in the hallway made them both freeze in place, Tal reluctantly released 'little quinn.' "You think we woke her up?"Quinn shook his head, "no, Anna is a night owl. How much of the platform are you going to build? Won't it be too big to move through a portal?"Tal shook her head and rolled off Quinn, content to lay her head against his shoulder. "We'll assemble major pieces and finish construction once we are on Site.""Seem like a lot to move, it's two days by horse." Quinn trusted any plan Tal came up with, but he also needed to know logistics and timelines."We actually assembled a dozen heavy duty Jetpacks that we will use to transport the components of the platform. We will fully assemble the platform onsite, then pull up the cannons and mount them."Quinn nodded as Tal laid out the plan. "They've been hidden in water, will that affect firing them up?""All good questions Quinn, maybe you should go into engineering." Tal was half serious, Quinn could do whatever he set his mind to."No thanks, the math alone would kill me." Quinn picked up the ceramic discs that his grandpa had given him, he had generously included one for Tal. Quinn put one on either side of his temples, immediately the green light came on and they stayed in place. "I guess once they calibrate, it only takes a moment." He handed the other set to Tal. "Tell me about the track."Tal had calibrated hers earlier, she held them in place as she made herself comfortable in bed. "We created a mobile teleport, imagine it like a fork lift on rails. It actually uses the rails as a guide, prying up the track as it moves. There are two runners in front that will be placed on the track, two trailing wheels behind to stop the portal gate from being overbalanced.""So.. the rail is going to shoot out the gate on the Talon side pretty fast I"m assuming.""Very fast, we'll have a skid ready to support the front, then we'll have to stay ahead of it, it won't last long before it fails." Tal understood that statistically, getting all the track was impossible. "We'll run the mobile portal right down the track until we hit the train.""As long as it gets through the portal, everything will be fine." Tal knew it was going to be a train wreck, but figured it should survive mostly intact and would only damage a portion of the track.Quinn carefully considered their part of the plan, "lots of intangibles. While you head North to the Basin, my team will be going South. We'll camp inside the Arctic Zone, close to the tracks.""The train isn't a necessity for us Quinn, if we get the gnome propulsion devices and the tracks, that will be great."*********Three days later the team from Fora ported into Pearl. Tal, Remmy and two engineers were accompanied by the Songbirds, Mojo, Ren and Q. The engineers had managed to turn their payloads into a makeshift hovercraft, Q was itching to ride it. However, he would be heading South. They would wait until they left Pearl before powering up their jetpacks."You'll be in place before us Quinn, we'll move as quickly as we can, but we'll need at least two days." Tal hugged her daughter then nodded to Quinn, "take care of my baby."Ren and Q both spoke at the same time, "I will."Remmy was laughing at them as she hugged Q and Mojo. "Bye!"Q ruffled her pink hair, "cya soon Remmy."*********The trip south had taken a half day less then they had planned. The strike team had set up a base camp a few hours into the Arctic zone, on a bluff overlooking part of the track.Q shared a large blanket with Mojo and Ren, huddled together as they watched the track. He gave Ren a sour look, she had taken the coveted middle spot. "It's amazing out cold it is here."Ren looked over at the two tents that had been set up against the steep wall. Remmy had given them sound advice. She had said that sharing body heat was the only way to stay comfortable. Lara Sy would share a tent with them, while the rest of the songbirds were in the other tent.Q opened up his hud and contacted Tal, a moment later her pretty blue eyes stared back at him, "How are things in the North Tal?"Tal kept a straight face as she noticed the three of them huddled together, Quinn looked especially miserable. "We should arrive at the basin in a few hours, I'm guessing we'll be ready to start attaching the propulsion devices to the platform within half a day."Q tried to keep his teeth from chattering as he nodded, "how long until you are completely ready?"Tal pursed her lips as she considered their timeline, "I'd say if nothing goes badly, we'll be set in one day.""That's perfect," The escape plan called for the main group to exit through the temporary portal while the engineers escaped through the air. Remmy and Tal would personally oversee the long flight back to Talon. Q was aware that it might take a week or more. "We'll talk soon." Quinn cut comm and headed toward their tent. His plan was to stay logged in until the operation was complete.Lara Sy arrived at the tent just before he did. "Q give us a few minutes okay?"Ren smiled apologetically. "Count to a hundred Quinn."Ren and Mojo ducked into the tent with Lara. "Sure.. I'll just wait out here in the freezing cold." He took out the small round device that Tal had designed for him, it should be the TAP version of a flashbang grenade. "Press here and toss it," gotta be extra careful, it would definitely affect both friend and foe. "If the field test goes well, I'll have our engineers put these into production."After an hour out in the biting wind, the tent felt several degrees warmer, it was dark inside, the floor lined with a thick fur. Remmy had given all of them a quick class on arctic survival. Sleeping in your clothes might seem like a good idea, but the reality is that you'll be warmer with less on. There were two sleeping bags on the floor, it was obvious that one of them already had two people in it. 'That must be Ren and Lara.'Quinn quickly shed his outer clothes and climbed in the other bag, after sealing it shut the other occupant snuggled up against him. "Damn, you are so warm." Quinn wrapped her up tight and pulled her closer.A feminine laugh sounded in his ear, "you are very warm also commander." Lara's voice was filled with humor.Q froze in place, a moment of confusion and laughter coming from the other bag, told him he had been set up. "Very funny."Nightingale and Q chatted amiably, it was entirely too cold to worry about the close proximity. Lara started telling him about her childhood and how she grew up as the daughter of a merchant. He found himself fascinated by her life, it seemed entirely different from where she ended up. Q waited patiently as she paused for a few moments in the middle of her story, after an even longer delay he discovered that Lara had fallen asleep. "Dang, it was just getting good." Q made a note to himself, winter camping would be perfect with the right person.Q passed the night away planning his steps for the next few weeks. It all hinges on Crow's ability to make them fear her. He had sat down with Em at the house and she had carefully explained each of the executioner abilities. If she was supported properly, her presence would be terrifying."Commander? Do you feel that?" Lara whispered to him."Hmm? The ground is shaking!" Q reached into the bottom of the bag where they had stashed their clothes and started getting dressed, another tip from Remmy, putting on warm clothes was nice.He rolled out of the bag and ran outside, ignoring the biting wind as he scanned the area. "Holy Shit."The Songbirds piled out of the other tent and rushed toward the edge of the bluff. Robin raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes. "It's the train," she paused and glanced at Q. "It's moving way faster then we thought it would."Ren and Mojo joined them a moment later, the dark elf's sharp eyes spotted it immediately. "That is faster then our jetpacks Q.""Gear up, we'll have to leave most of our things. Light packs and weapons only." He activated his hud, a moment later Tal's face smiled at him. "We've some trouble Tal."Tal's face grew serious, "what's going on?""The train is already moving, it's fast Tal. Really, really fast." Q had been expecting something more archaic, not a bullet train.""Are you going to be able to board?" Tal mind was whirling as she started doing the math. "I need at least four hours Quinn.""Roger that, we'll board the train and slow it down." He cut comm and moved back to his tent. "My tent in three minutes!"By the time Q had his jetpack on, the entire party was in his tent. Mojo had activated a light."We are going to have to board this train now." He glanced at Ren, "you won't be able to sit this one out, are you up for it?"Ren nodded, "what do you want me to do?""You and Robin will have to find a way to disconnect part of the train, a good guess says it is heavily guarded." Q loosened his pistoleros, "the rest of us will enter the train and fight our way toward the engine from the disconnect point. This will ensure we don't miss anyone and get surprised."Lara looked at her Songbirds, "don't miss, at that speed you won't be able to catch up.""On me!" Q exited the tent and immediately fired up his jetpack, he pulled down his faceshield and shot into the air. The rest of the team followed in single file, Robin and Ren were bringing up the rear.The train was a sleek looking silver machine, Q knew instantly that Tal and Remmy would love it. The team descended to one hundred feet above the track, even with the jetpacks on full throttle, the train gained on them quickly. As soon as the engine passed beneath him Q dived.*Grappling Hook*Q's grappling hook hit the front of the sixth car, he slowly reeled himself in, using the jetpack to steady his descent. A glance behind him told him that everyone had landed on this car except Ren and Robin. They landed one back and were now making their way forward.Q backtracked and climbed down to the access door, he lent a hand to Robin and Ren as they jumped from the other car, Ren pointed at the connection point and gave him a thumbs up as she started working on detachment.Q was the first through the door. The first car was empty, Mojo passed him as they made their way down the aisle, she stealthed and proceeded to the next car. Something struck Q hard in the shoulder as he followed behind her, it pinned him against the wall next to the door. "Sweet mother..that hurts."Q opened up on the three rangers that occupied the cabin.*Thundering Pistoleros* 1165 damage, 1260 damage, 965 damage, 840 damage, Critical hit 2350 damage, Bonus 2350 damage.Mora Jol has activated *Pierced Heart* Critical hit 25567 damage, Enri Solace has been slain.Lara Sy has stunned Colli Miwi.Lark and Wren had moved into position to cover Q. Both of them raised their arms at the same time.*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.*Grappling hook* The arm of Colli Miwi has been snagged.Lara Sy has performed Eviscerate, Colli Miwi has been slain.*Cannot Activate Blink while restrained*"Shitballs!" Q drew his pistoleros again as Lara took down the second ranger. He was about to open fire on the last ranger, when the unfortunate person was struck on either side by Thrush and Mojo.Q looked down at his shoulder, it was pierced through by a barbed arrow that was stuck securely to the wall behind him, he was pinned to the wall like a bug.Mojo quickly appeared and cut off the fletching, the she grabbed Q and pulled him away from the wall.Q gasped in pain as he was pulled loose, "Shit.. shit." He ignored the throbbing in his shoulder and ran to the far end of the car, he gave his team a 'hold fast' signal as he pushed open the exit and opened the next car. Quickly he tossed in the flashbang and then slammed it shut.Vera Thal has been stunned.Orli Suki has been stunned.Mara Shadetree has been stunned.Wayi Diamiende has been stunned.Q burst through the door, instantly heading toward a rogue who had one arm hanging out the only window in the car. With a quick movement Q opened the window fully and tossed the rogue out.Orli Suki has been slain.By the time he turned around, the other three had been cut down. Q shook his head, rogue dps was ridiculous. The entire train jerked suddenly, "good girl, that must be the disconnect."The next two cars before the engine were empty, the engine itself was empty except for one Gnome, who was handcuffed in place. Lara took out a lockpick and instantly opened them."We are with the Fora Development Group, we are commandeering this train." Q noted that although the gnome was somewhat ragged looking, he did not look scared when Q spoke to him."Fora? Is Remmy with you?" The little gnomes eyes lit up, as he started rubbing some of the soot off of his face with one sleeve. "I'm Soji Lan.""It's nice to meet you Soji, going to need you to slow this train way down." Q turned as the door behind them opened, Ren and Robin came through, they shot Q a thumbs up.***********Tal and Remmy had just attached the last propulsion engine in place, Tal used her jetpack to move off of the platform as Remmy started firing up four of the engines. The platform looked a lot like a huge stingray.The portal with the attached skid was ready to go. Without another thought Tal sent to down the track, watching as it moved away, leaving bare dirt behind it. "It actually works," Tal clapped her hands together then opened up her hud.Quinn smiled at her when he answered. "We have the train, and have cut speed by about half.""That should enable us to grab a few hundred miles of track, as well as the train engine." Tal smiled at him, she had a small thing for trains.Q pursed his lips together, "hey, why don't we stop the train? You'll grab more track and the engine won't be damaged when it goes through the portal.""Will you have to worry about pursuit?" Tal had thought about that, she didn't want the train to be recaptured by their enemies."We'll keep an eye our for pursuit, if we see any we will start it back up." Q shut off comm and glanced at Soji, "did you get that?"The little gnome nodded and cut power to the engine, it was quite a few minutes before it came to a complete stop.Q grabbed Mojo's hand and pulled her along as he exited the car and used the access ladder to take a seat on the roof. "We can keep watch from here, I'm so glad to get out of that ice zone.""Hmm? Didn't Nightingale keep you warm?" Mojo smiled innocently at him."Very funny, I'm just glad I didn't do anything before I figured out it wasn't you."Mojo laughed at him and squeezed his hand, "I think I'm getting good at practical jokes."Q shot her a sour look that made her laugh harder.**********A half day later the strike team and the train were ported back to Fora. The train was completely intact, Q and Mojo were still sitting on top. Q whistled at the endless amount of track. He immediately contacted Tal, the portal had shut down right after the train had come through."We are here safe and sound, both the train and tracks are in great shape." Q could see clouds behind Tal's left shoulder, "how high up are you?"Tal smiled back, "around five thousand feet and making great time."Q grimaced. "Oh shit Tal. If you log-off while on the platform, will you progress with it when you try to log in?"Tal nodded, "I checked this with Remmy, apparently there is quite a bit of research on the matter.""Good to know,going to log off, cya at home." Q cut comm and fired up his jetpack. The strike team arrived at HQ half an hour later. Mojo disappeared almost immediately, but not before kissing Q goodbye.His comm blinked just before he was about to log. "Open Comm." Jangles's girly face popped up on his hud."Hi Q." Jangles smiled pleasantly."Any decision on the Exodus property yet?" Q was tired, and didn't feel much like talking."I'm definitely putting a bid in, that's not what I want to talk about though." Jangles was wearing a bright orange orange bandanna. "Rumor has it that Fora has flight capability. Is that true?"Q carefully considered his options. There's no way he'd already know about the train heist. It's more likely that someone had seen our flight drills. "Yes, we have squad flight capabilities.""Then I"m calling in all my markers, I need your help to take on the Infinity Well." Jangles leaned back in his char, staring at Q through the hud."Of course, whatever you need." Q owed him, there was no way around it. "Do you have a timeline?""ASAP, but obviously it is at your convenience.""Tomorrow then, I'll make the necessary preparations on my part and meet you in Fenway.""Thank you Q, we'll talk tomorrow."Q's hud went dark, immediately he contacted Lara Sy. She smiled from the hud, "what can I do for you commander?""Are the Songbirds ready for another mission?"Lara raised an eyebrow, "so soon? We do like to stay busy.""Infinity Well, meet at Fenway tomorrow. We'll be working with your old boss." Q's shoulder was still hurting and for some reason he felt tired."We will be there," she waved at him and then cut comm."Log-Off TAP."
