Exodus: Guns And Gore 57 Life at Sea

QJ sat up and stretched before jumping out of bed and slipping into the swimsuit that he had left on top of his dresser. Lotte's door was already open when he passed into the kitchen so he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed outside.

Lotte was sitting on the edge of the pool, her crutches were laying down next to her. She smiled calmly when he walked out, even though she had been thinking about the prior evening. She slipped into the pool when he jumped in.

"How can you just jump in like that?" She shivered slightly as the water rose above her chest.

"Better to just dive right in," he started treading water in the middle of the pool while she did a few warmup exercises. "We can talk about last night if you like."

Lotte felt her face turn red, "you really do just jump right in."

"It was really nice hanging out though... Right?"

Lotte covered her face with one hand, "if my family knew what you called hanging out."

QJ laughed aloud, "Right. We definitely won't let them know."

"Is Robin always like that?" Lotte smiled through the embarrassment she was feeling.

"Hmm.. not to that extent. You must have challenged her." QJ turned his face when she splashed him.

"I told her I wasn't interested in girls," Lotte started treading water in the middle of the pool, she kept an eye on the back door in case anyone came out.

"How'd that work out?"

Lotte moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder for support. "I was putty in her hands," she admitted.

QJ grinned at the confession, "does that mean you'll visit us again?"

Lotte pushed away and started treading again. "Don't be a smug rascal." She worked hard through her sets, mostly she had been worried that the relationship they had would be different. He was still same, even after seeing the scars that covered her body.

"Why is your face so red? Need to take a longer break?"

Lotte nodded and moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I swear it looks like you two are making out when you do that?" Breeze walked out with a tray of hoagie buns, Sato was behind her with a meat and cheese plate.

QJ turned his head at the sound of her voice. "We were discussing the torrid affair we are hiding, thanks for wrecking the moment."

Lotte nodded in agreement, "yeah... thanks."

Wu and Nina came out last. He was carrying a six-pack of beer and Nina had a pitcher of lemonade.

QJ swam to the side of the pool and then helped Lotte out before handing her a towel.

Wu was piling the meat on his bun while he watched his roommates. He someone who was naturally perceptive, the couples in the house had already been formed unofficially. He noted to himself that the hotblooded Nina was still available. "What did you say to my Aunt? Every time I speak to her she asks about you."

QJ shrugged while pulling out a chair for Lotte. "Guess she's pretty happy to lose the freeloader she had in her basement."

"Right Mr. Independent, isn't that your parent's house behind us?" Wu's face quickly became serious. "I'm going to be your eyes and ears on this King's Quest mission. I've been studying past histories and reliable allies on the Basara continent."

Breeze watched QJ carefully, "will you really be King? Even your dad didn't step up like that, although he probably could have."

QJ always had a problem talking to Breeze without a smile on his face, she was a lot like his dad. "That's my plan. Sharpen up your governing skills, I may have to assign all of you territories."

Breeze winked at him, "something on the coast please."

*****************

QJ was sitting in a chair he had placed in his inventory. He had a long fishing rod hung over the rail of the stern. He picked up the VR fishing rig from Ro-Ro's husband Turo, who operated a fishing vessel off the coastal waters of Q-Town. Even the chair he sat on, with its built-in footplates, instantly bonded to the deck.

"That's a nice set-up you have there Mr. QJ." A feminine voice purred softly from behind him.

He looked up to see a slim Katar female, wearing a captain's hat. Kartars were Human/Karthagian hybrids that evolved sometime before the extinction of the Karthagian race. If QJ were to describe the Karthargian race in a short phrase it would be 'cat people.'

"Thanks, Captain," he felt a small tug on the line and immediately he pulled up on the rod trying to set the hook.

"A bit too soon setting the hook, ignore the small tugs and wait until it hits hard." She smiled pleasantly, there was a small indication of fangs where her incisors should me.

QJ hadn't done any real fishing in his life. Pops had a fishing VRP that the two of them use to go on. They hadn't done it as much as they use too since he started attending the Exodus Academy. He nodded at her suggestion and ignored the next few bumps. A moment later the tip of the rod bent suddenly and he yanked back hard.

The rod bent nearly in half as the spool started spinning crazily. QJ was about to flip the gate when a carefully manicured claw touched his wrist.

"Let it take the line for a while," she reached around the reel and adjusted the drag. After a few seconds, she nodded and he flipped the gate closed.

"Holy crap," QJ braced himself on the wood paddles and slowly pulled back on the rod. After moving all the way back, he leaned forward while reeling in line frantically. It was an arduous process, the Captain offered to take a turn, but QJ wanted to land it himself.

When it was fifty yards away, a huge blue-finned fish suddenly lunged into the air, it twisted and turned before splashing back down. The Captain clapped her hands, "it's a flute-fish, a big one too."

QJ had never heard a flute fish, "does it taste good?"

"Yes, very good." The Captain licked her lips once, "land this fish and I'll have my cook prepare it for us."

Nearly an hour later QJ pulled the flute-fish alongside the ship and the Captain nabbed it with a landing hook. Her cook was already waiting with his knife. He made several long cuts and then started trimming off filets. Just about every part of the fish was used before he tossed the remains overboard and rinsed the spot with a bucket.

QJ stowed his tackle and fishing chair, his eyes lit with excitement. "Dinner at the Captain's table?"

The Captain answered politely, "dinner is at 1930, feel free to bring a guest."

QJ nodded and started walking forward on deck, just about everyone would log-off by 1900 since there was nothing to do until they made port the next morning at 0700. Robin would love having dinner with the Captain, so he set off to find her.

High above the deck, nestled comfortably across the top of the mast, the Spider Queen watched QJ as he searched for the rogue. He may have spotted her with his ability to see through stealth, but it had never occurred to him to look up. She remembered the first time she had seen him, a baby sleeping in his crib only a few months old. Angel had been captivated, it was like watching the sunrise for the first time. They had gotten in so much trouble together while he was growing up. She had quickly realized that he possessed his mother's formidable intelligence and his dad's ability to reason things out. She laughed softly, the sound of it carried away on the sea air. They had greased the portal platform in Ravenwood once and then laughed until they were sick as each person who ported in fell on their butt. "Don't worry QJ, I'll be there when you need me," she whispered softly.

Robin was playing dice with a few of the sailors when QJ found her. He knew from first-hand experience that it was a game she enjoyed. Whenever they visited the Phoenix Casino, she would promptly find a dice table and settle in.

"Never shoot dice with an orange-haired rogue." QJ offered the three men sage advice, apparently, it was a lesson they were already learning.

Robin looked up and reluctantly put her dice away. "A girl needs to have a view vices."

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"I've been invited to have dinner with the Captain. Would you like to accompany me?"

She moved closer and grabbed his hand before leading him away from the group. "The Cat Captain invited you to dinner?"

QJ nodded, "I landed this thing called a flute-fish, apparently it's really good."

"You were fishing?" She snaked her arms around his waist and leaned against him. "Will you log-off after dinner?"

"Just for a bit to take care of a few things." QJ realized that the trip would be tiresome for her since most of OP would log-off. "I'm definitely not going to leave my girlfriend here by herself."

Robin smiled sweetly and tilted her head for a quick kiss. "Let's get the Captain drunk, I'll bring the wine."

QJ laughed, "right, because being shipwrecked might be fun."

She pursed her lips as she considered his words. "Hmm... I see your point."

Chapter end