QJ stared at his ebook briefly before covering it with one hand. "Oh... Hey, Dr. Gajendra."
Naomi dazzled him with a smile. "Any issues with the equations?"
QJ shook his head slightly. "Not really, just need to reference a few things before..."
"Cut the crap, QJ." Naomi held out her hand. "I know you've already finished. Fork it over."
QJ pushed the ebook across his desk. "Heh... Just finished."
Naomi glanced over his work while tapping a brown finger against her chin. "As expected, you're amazing."
QJ shrugged slightly. "I'm not the only one who finished early."
Naomi gave him a sly wink before moving to the front of the class. "Did we enjoy a test on the first day of class?"
/Resolute: Deen: Who would enjoy that?
/Resolute: Lucky: This did not go well.
/Resolute: QJ: Back to the dungeon for you, princess.
Luca frowned at the back of QJ's head, wishing she could swat him one time.
"Don't worry. This exam won't be graded. I wanted to see where everyone was at." Naomi punched up the results on her hud; most of the students struggled. "This will be applied as extra credit at the end of the term." She pushed her hands into her lab coat pockets and gestured toward the door with her head. "Read chapter one in your textbook by tomorrow. Then, we'll discuss the content in class."
/Resolute: Tau: We're getting out early?
/Resolute: Deen: Looks that way.
"Stay after class, QJ." Naomi ignored the exiting students, her dark brown eyes watching QJ.
/Resolute: Luca: Did you fall asleep? You probably missed too many questions.
QJ waited until the last student was gone before standing up. "Giving a test on day one? That's heartless."
"It was pretty basic." Naomi pursed her lips slightly while keying her hud. "Of course, you took a different test."
QJ's face sank. "Did you set me up?"
Naomi nodded shamelessly. "Your mom can take half the blame. That was the end of course test you just aced."
"Now what?" QJ felt his wrist hud buzz and quickly opened up the document. He recognized the form right away. "You want me to be your TA?"
"Yes," Naomi closed her hud and turned toward the door. "Don't look so depressed about it."
The next few hours seemed to drag by. TAP history and Kora's Grappling classes led directly to the small arms range.
/Resolute: Tau: We going to shoot now, QJ?
/Resolute: QJ: Depends. If you've completed gun safety and basic range procedures, then you will.
/Resolute: Tabi: Crap... Were those prerequisites?
/Resolute: QJ: Not really. It's part of the course. I'm just saying that if you've done those already, you'll skip to the shooting part.
/Resolute: Deen: You scared me.
The class assembled in a small staging area near the rifle range, where wood benches formed a square.
"Good afternoon, class. Please say 'here' when I call your name." A tall blond woman with a metallic prosthetic walked through the group. Instant silence followed in her wake as the first years stared at the range instructor. Talia Joki glanced down at her hud and started calling out names.
/Resolute: Luca: I'd forgotten how beautiful she is.
/Resolute: Tabi: Heh... Talia Riley just said my name. I can die content.
After conducting roll call, Tal shut down her hud and motioned for someone to approach. "I had to arrange some special assistance for day one."
Smiles burst from the students as they watched the guest weave through the benches. Instead of joining Tal, she stopped near one of the students, her pretty face split into a wide smile.
"Looking good, QJ!" Remmy placed a small hand on his head and ruffled his hair. The pink-haired gnome was dressed in a blue jumpsuit, with the cuffs tucked neatly into a pair of black work boots. "You're with me today. I'm expecting big things!"
Tal grinned at the interaction, noting that her son handled the situation calmly. "Those who've completed range procedures and gun safety will be shooting today. The rest of you will have to wait a few weeks."
QJ stood up, avoiding his mother's stare, he followed Remmy toward the rifle range.
/Resolute: Deen: You're the only one who's shooting?
/Resolute: Luca: So unfair.
A short while later, QJ stood off to one side while Remmy used a central kiosk to access the range controls. The small arms rifle range consisted of a series of pop-up targets that would randomly activate at distances of 50, 150, and 300 meters.
QJ watched the two dozen firing lanes as a rifle and ammo can appeared at each one. The rifles were non-descript targetting rifles with heavy barrels and open sights.
"Lock and load one twenty-round magazine," Remmy clapped excitedly, pausing when she noticed that QJ hadn't moved.
"Shouldn't I adjust the sights?" QJ asked.
Remmy blushed brightly, covering her cheeks with both hands. "Yes! Sorry, QJ. I'm so excited!"
The range rifles' front and rear sights were set to zero. A shooter would then adjust the sights according to their specifications. Once that was done, they would use a dozen rounds or so to fine-tune the weapon.
QJ used a small pin from the ammo can to click the front sight left six times before adjusting the rear sight down one. "Can I get a range target at 50 meters?"
Remmy nodded and made the change before walking over to observe. There were five small targets the size of a teacup fifty meters away. "Three rounds in each target, QJ."
QJ nodded and assumed a supported prone position with his non-firing hand resting on the lone sandbag that had been placed in each lane.
"Whenever you are ready, the range is hot." Remmy watched as QJ steadied his breathing before methodically squeezing off shots. After the ninth shot, he removed the cartridge, unchambered the live round, and placed the weapon on safe with the empty breech facing up.
QJ studied the pattern; the groups of three were tight enough to be covered by a small coin. However, they were slightly low and off-center. "What do you think, Rem?"
Remmy nodded in agreement. "Move right one and up one. Then we'll try again."
Across the range near the benches, Tal was starting the range safety lecture. She ignored her hud that had been buzzing steadily since class started.
/Academy/Admin: Kora: How about a range update, Tal?
/Academy/Admin: Remmy: Tal is with the class, QJ is with me.
/Academy/Admin: Jangles: Update?
/Academy/Admin: Remmy: Just finished sighting in the rifle. Quit bothering us!
Tal smiled at the brief interaction, noting that her hud had suddenly stopped buzzing.
An hour later, Tal was talking with her class. Her teaching style was very personable, drawing her class out with warm interaction.
[TAP Academy Announcement] A new record has been set at the small arms rifle range with a perfect score of 900 (weighted).
Tal's full lips curved in a smile that threatened to engulf her entire face. "As expected, my son is amazing."
A hand shot up from the edge of the class. "What does weighted mean, Instructor?"
"An unweighted perfect score is 300. That means you knocked down all the pop-up targets," Tal explained. "For the purpose of record keeping, perfect scores of 300 are further rated by where you hit the target."
"I see," Luca said. "Is 900 pretty good?"
Tal held out her thumb and closed one eye. "Center mass on each target; there is a small circle the size of my thumbnail. Hit that regularly if you want to reach the 800s. The best I've ever done is 840."
/Academy/Admin: Kora: Heh... Those of you who owe me credits, feel free to send them now.
/Academy/Admin: Jangles: Damn... We need to pull him into TAP.
/Academy/Admin: Saffron: Agreed.
/Resolute: Tabi: Great work, QJ.
/Resolute: Tau: Yeah, that's impressive.
/Resolute: Deen: I can't wait to try!
Several hours later, QJ arrived at the Ravenwood platform. He made a short detour to Remmy's workshop before heading toward the river fork.
The Ravenwood sky was starting to turn pink as the sun began to dip beneath the distant horizon. QJ walked along the rocky riverbank, jumping methodically from rock to rock in an effort to delay his arrival. "Maybe she forgot."
A quick glance showed a distant figure waiting at the fork in the river. Dressed in dark clothes, it was evident that the person was waiting for someone.
Robin waved after a few minutes, lost in thought as if remembering something unpleasant. She was dressed in dark leather with her orange hair hanging loosely on her shoulders. "How was your first day, QJ?"
QJ nodded and shrugged into his jetpack. "You should wear your hair down more often, Robs. It looks nice."
Robin smiled at the compliment while absently touching her hair with one hand. "You like it?"
QJ nodded. "Can you put your jetpack on?"
"Sure." Robin fired up the jetpack, her feet immediately rose about a meter off the ground.
QJ started his jetpack, a faster and quieter version of the one Robin was wearing. "Let's move over the water a bit." He quickly flew forward until he hovered above knee-deep water.
Robin matched his movement, her brown eyes glancing down at the river's surface.
QJ forced a grin. "Does this place look familiar?"
Robin blushed suddenly. "H-How do you know that?"
Instead of answering, QJ held up a small device. "Know what this remote does?"
Robin shook her head, her expression confused. "What's going on?"
"This is the scene of a practical joke." QJ pointed to a small cluster of brush twenty meters away. "Angel and I hid there while the Songbirds practiced aerial maneuvers over the river."
Robin stared at the stand of brush. "What was the joke? Just spying on us?"
QJ shook his head. "Whenever a certain person flew by, I would..." He pointed the remote suddenly and pushed the button.
Caught unaware, Robin landed awkwardly in the water, falling on her butt. "The hell is that?"
QJ watched as the gears in Robin's thought process started spinning. "It's revenge on the cake thief."
"Cake thief?" Robin climbed to her feet, frowning at the dry person hovering nearby.
"My birthday party a few years back... Well, more than that. I must have been six or seven." QJ moved a few meters away while Robin stared up at him. "There was this beautiful orange cake."
Robin's mouth dropped open. "An orange cake? I made that cake!"
QJ raised an eyebrow. "I heard you tell Ren how great it tasted."
Robin wrinkled her nose suddenly. "I worked hard on that, and nobody bothered to try it." She kicked the water with one foot and fired up her jetpack. "I ended up taking it home."
QJ ran his fingers through his dark curly hair. "Mom made me open presents first, then the cake I was waiting for disappeared. I was so mad."
"Mad? You were mad?" Robin's brown eyes filled with ill intent.
QJ nodded, pointed the remote at Robin, and activated it before tossing it on the shore. "Cake thief!"
An instant later, he accelerated away while Robin landed on her feet and recovered quickly before giving chase. "QJ!"
QJ skimmed the surface of the river and increased his speed. Several twists and turns kept his pursuit from catching up, but slowly she began to close the gap between them.
The chase continued until it ran out of water; QJ banked hard over the small pond that marked the mouth of the river and blasted into the thick foliage of Ravenwood forest. Several times he felt a hand grasp at his foot, only to shake it free and avoid capture with sudden maneuvers.
"This is getting dangerous, QJ!" Robin tailed him into the woods. "Let's take a step back..."
Ignoring her words, QJ darted between two trees, then banked hard to avoid a collision. His laughter was lost in the wind as he continued to lead the songbird further away.
Robin managed to grip his ankle for a moment; immediately, she reversed course in an effort to slow him down. Unfortunately, she lost her grip a moment later, causing QJ to cartwheel toward the ground. "NO!" She screamed in panic when he slammed into the undergrowth.
Robin cut power to her jetpack, skidding on the soft ground for a moment before she ditched her shoulder straps and ran toward the impact sight. "Please don't be hurt! Please, please!"
QJ groaned and tried to sit up while Robin tore thru the undergrowth with her bare hands.
"QJ?" Robin knelt beside him, her hands touching his body while she scanned for injuries. "Is it bad?"
QJ shook his head and coughed suddenly before spitting out several leaves. "I'm fine." A bit of guilt surfaced when he saw the concern on her face. His Ravenwood avatar was basically indestructible. The worst he'd ever managed to do was to get the wind knocked out of him. "I'm sorry for the prank."
Robin sighed heavily before picking a small twig out of his hair. "What am I going to do with you, QJ?"
QJ leaned forward suddenly, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that extended for several seconds. Her lips were soft and warm.
Robin pulled back slightly, her eyes unreadable. "Was this part of a clever plan t... " She stopped speaking when he vanished suddenly. "Really?"
A moment later, the VR chamber in QJ's room opened with a low hiss. He stretched his arms overhead, smiling pleasantly as he stepped into the hallway.