Deployed Forces (final)

Half an hour later, a squad of Silverleaf found them. Ringo was sitting on the muddy bank, holding tightly to QJ after managing to drag the two of them out of the river. 

[ Fora: Vera Silverleaf] We've found them. 

[System Message] You have been resurrected by Vera. 

Ringo helped QJ to his feet while Vera healed them to full health. 

[Fora: Vera Silverleaf]  We are returning to Ravenwood for an AAR. You are both required to attend. 

"We'll be there," QJ replied. He put a hand on Ringo's arm, stopping her from immediately following. 

[Group: Ringo] Something up?

[Group: QJ] Must have made a fist when I died. Look close. 

QJ held up one hand, opening his fist to expose a handful of mud. At first glance, it appeared to be the usual grime from a lake bottom. However, there were several small flakes of red mixed. 

[Group: Ringo] Looks like red stone, maybe ruby? There could be a precious stone cache under the lake.

[Group: QJ] I take it to the lab. Remmy loves to identify stuff like this. 

QJ and Ringo fired up their jetpacks and followed their rescuers. After ten minutes, they landed safely at the gate. 

[Group: Ringo] Great job, QJ. Hey... What's an AAR?

[Group: QJ]  Thanks for hanging on to me. I thought for sure I was going to end up in a Maelstrom prison again. AAR is an After Action Review. 

[Group: Ringo] I would never drop someone so important. 

[Wu] Woah... you two dating or something?

[Group: Ringo]  Yes. 

[Group: QJ] It's a secret, though. 

Wu could hear their laughter coming through his hud. 

[Wu] Hilarious.

The GnG gate into Exodus was still busy when Ringo and QJ stepped off the platform. They walked side-by-side toward the Songbird, each basking in their own contentment.

[Wu] Holy Crap... The King and his brother are cleaning house. Morbin and Iya were just beheaded in the city square. No trial or anything. 

Ringo smiled and elbowed QJ. "Not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty good about our mini-raid." 

QJ returned her smile. "Agreed. We cashed in on some serious loot. Although a good portion of it might be too high for us at the moment."

They walked past the Songbird and stepped onto the TAP gate. Neither one of them could hide their big smiles. They were met with laughter and cheering as the members of Fora celebrated their raid. 

Ringo paused in mid-step. "What the hell?" 

The entire Ravenwood Courtyard was filled with assorted loot. Both Breeze and Lotte had handfuls of items in their hands. 

QJ stole a glance at his guild leader. "Crap, the hour limit on the box must have expired." 

Ringo nodded in agreement. "They look like a couple of kids at Christmas." 

Nuna and a couple of Silverleaf women were helping them organize their gear. Breeze's usually big smile had widened to the point where it seemed like her face would crack. She was continually being complimented and patted on the back.

Lotte spied the two leaders of OP and ran toward them; she had to slow down and pick up items that she had lost her grip on. "Holy Crap, QJ! Best idea ever!" 

"Great job getting it back here!" QJ hugged her, causing her to drop half of her bounty. 

Nuna approached him and bowed, "I am at your service, QJ. The XO has asked me to help you categorize your loot. I suggest Skill Books, Weapons, Armor, and Misc. If I need to break it down further, I will." 

"Sounds perfect, Nuna. Thank you for your help." QJ glanced at the fountain where Q was sitting with his commanders. "Don't you need to help Fora also?" 

The cute halfling shook her head at him. "I have already assigned people to do it." 

"You're awesome, Nuna! If you find a whip, please save it for me!"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned just in time to see an orange-haired rogue embrace him. "Did you rob all of Maelstrom? Good thing our Keep has been upgraded." 

QJ gave her a quick kiss. "Crap... I haven't even checked it out yet." He felt a tug on his shirt just before two small arms hugged him from behind. 

"QJ!"  Remmy's little face blushed as she held out a blueprint. "Please look at this." 

"Um... okay." He studied the blueprint momentarily before smiling at the gnome engineer. "A swordgun?" 

Her little face scrunched up. "Yes! It's the best idea ever! How did you make it work? Can I see 'Oh Shit?'"

QJ laughed when she said the name of his weapon. "I'll let you look at it; come by the house later." 

'Yay!" The little gnome bounced away, her excitement evident. 

QJ caught Ringo's attention; she was looking through the stacks of loot for new pistols. "We should go see them now." He pointed towards his family; most were sitting around the fountain talking.

"Sounds good." She followed QJ as he carefully made his way to the fountain through the stacks of loot. 

Tal, Leah, and Mojo all stood up when he approached. He smiled through their exuberant greetings because he knew this was their nature. "You guys remember OP Guild Leader, Ringo."

"Nice to see you again, Ringo." Leah hugged her because she was Leah and basically hugged everyone she liked. 

Ringo and QJ took a seat on either side of Tal. The beautiful engineer had an arm around her son's shoulders. "Hey QJ, tell your mom how you got that swordgun to work!" 

He smiled at his mom; he knew she could figure it out without his help. "My girlfriend brought me some special steel that enabled me to create the chamber/hilt interface with a single piece of metal." 

"You're talking about Robin, right?" Tal, Leah, and Mojo happened to look at the Songbird all at the same time. 

The orange-haired rogue smiled at the attention; they had already given their stamp of approval. 

"Why are you being so nice to him?" Quinn ruffled his son's hair. "He's going to get spoiled from all the attention." 

"Quinn!" Tal clucked her tongue at him. "It wouldn't hurt you to say something nice to QJ."

Leah nodded, "I agree." 

Mojo frowned at her husband. "Something nice, Quinn." 

"He did really well today." Lara spoke up from the other side of Quinn. "You should compliment him."

"Oh god... I've been overrun!" Q frowned at his son. "Well, I'm not going to cave! Although, I must say...  That name you gave your swordgun, quite possibly the best name ever." Quinn smiled at his wives. "That was nice, right?"

"...." Tal.

"Not your best effort," Leah muttered.

"Really?" Mojo sighed and looked away. 

Quinn stood up on the edge of the fountain. "Okay, let's start with the  After Action Review (AAR).

Lara started off. "We did a good job of deploying to our targets. We were on them so fast they started panicking."

Quinn nodded, "What else?" 

Robin had moved closer; her brown eyes showed her happiness at being included in the raid. "We were able to respond to changes in battle plans." 

"I agree," Tal brought up a Map on her hud. "Initially, our intel about their routes was wrong, but we were able to recover and cut off reinforcements." 

"Being flexible with battle plans was key." Lara favored QJ with a smile. "Our alliance with Haven gave them a second enemy to consider."

"Okay, let's stop patting our backs now."  Quinn's usually relaxed manner became serious. "Where did we mess up?"

"We were overconfident." Thrush was sitting on the courtyard stones between Wren and Robin. 

Quinn nodded in agreement. "We would have been caught flat-footed had we not been warned about the Optic Sniper rifles they had." 

Yaya was standing off to one side; her company had come under fire. "Thank you for that QJ; we had the heavy armored fliers in front because of your warning. We were able to get to cover without serious injuries." 

"All in all, it was one of our best efforts." Quinn hopped off the fountain; his relaxed demeanor had returned. "Chainy tells me that most of the leadership from Righteous Hand have been arrested. They are most likely finished on the Legends server." 

Leah looked around. "Anyone else want to say something?"

A slight blonde-haired woman looked up from her place with the Songbirds. "How did four level-one players steal all this loot?" Ren favored her younger brother with a smile. "Impressive QJ."

Tal nodded in agreement. "Also, the mini-operation on the dam that Ringo and QJ pulled off was as good as it gets. Intuitive, responsive, and gutsy."

Yaya stared at the two teammates, her pretty face showing gratitude. "We were retreating on foot because of the sniper threat. You slowed their reinforcements long enough for us to escape without engaging." 

"Well done, both of you." Quinn finally complimented his son. "It's good to know that the years we spent teaching you everything we know hasn't been wasted."

QJ let the comment slide, only smiling in response. "We were just trying to do our part." 

Wren stood up. "Are we done now, boss?" When Quinn nodded, she turned her gaze on QJ. "Quinn James! I demand you make me a hideout gun!" 

QJ cringed when she used his full name.

Thrush stood up next to her, nodding in agreement. "That's right! I want one, too! Robin shot Morbin's leg off when he jumped out at us." 

Robin laughed at her friends, "I was actually fighting with someone else and shot him with my off-hand. He hopped around a few times and then collapsed." 

QJ smiled at his girlfriend. "How hard did it hit?" 

Robin smiled sweetly, "only about 300k." 

"...." Wren.

"...." Thrush.

QJ noticed Ringo was talking with his parents, "going to log out now. See you at the Keep later." 

Instead of answering, Ringo looked past him. The clamor of noise in the square instantly vanished while the members of Fora took a collective breath. 

[Fora: Thrush] Is that her?

[Fora: Wren] Beautiful. 

Aji stood at the edge of the group, gently nudging the person accompanying her. 

The woman stood silently, wearing an off-shoulder blue dress that Aji made for her. Her dark brown eyes landed on QJ; instantly, her smile lit up the courtyard. 

Before anyone could react, Robin appeared beside her, pulling her toward the group. 

QJ stood patiently while Robin escorted the new arrival. He greeted them both with a hug before turning toward his parents. "Everyone, this is Sierra Sandhealer." 

"Please, call me Ra." She bowed respectfully. "I am honored to meet QJ's family." 

QJ gestured toward his dad. "This is my father, Quinn, and my mothers, Tal, Leah, and Mora Jol." 

Quinn smiled and nodded politely, waiting patiently while Tal, Leah, and Mojo greeted Ra."

[Whisper Q: QJ] Damn, son...  Well played, well played indeed.

Ra responded warmly to the three women, her dark eyes finding Quinn. "Greetings, sir." 

"Welcome to the family, Ra."  Quinn accepted the woman's hug, liking her quiet confidence. 

It was more than an hour before QJ managed to extract Ra and Robin from the clutches of his family. He walked with them toward the Songbird while Ren and Lark followed a few steps behind. "You okay with staying at the Songbird tonight?"

Ra nodded. "I want to see Robin's room."

Robin slid an arm through his. "We invited Ra to join us for lady's night."

QJ snorted. "Don't make her steal anything." 

Robin laughed at the comment. "No promises."