A/N: Sorry about my absence, guys, as well as my slow pace at the rewrite. I decided to publish a new chapter to break up the editing of the old chapters. I had to move back home for a couple weeks before the new school term starts. Now that I'm here, I've been up to my eyeballs in energetic little nieces who like to play >.>. I'll be starting back on the other half of the rewrites now that this is completed. A new chap will come after chapters 7-12 are done.

Highly technical chapter - hope you enjoy!

-BC

The sound of the automatic doors opening momentarily filled Adrian’s ears as he stepped into the Church, a din of clangs and movement of mechanical equipment soon taking over. The scene was awe-inspiring. Much like modern production factories for vehicles, four incredibly large robotic arms were positioned around the central platform. Each of the them had the ability to slide back and forth from the wall to the hydraulic-powered stage along tracks that were set into the concrete floor, and were set at an equal distance apart from each other with 360° motion capability.

Right now, all four were enacting a flurry of precise movements, sparks flying from the welding that Raide was performing with finesse. The complexity of such a task cannot be downplayed. Aircraft design requires unordinary materials, ranging from high strength aluminum and stainless steel to niobium, titanium, nickel, and magnesium. The metallurgical properties of all these provide for a welding nightmare in that there are a multitude of ways that the structure can be affected if too much heat is applied. As such, they currently had TIG welders attached to the ends of bots, providing for pinpoint control of the arc and weld placements.

Rich and Heather were working in tandem on the wiring and avionics equipment inside the cockpit, one reading down a checklist while the other checked connections and display functionality. Rich was the unlucky one crawling around in the underbelly of the A1-SX of course while Heather leisurely reclined in the pilot’s seat chewing gum. Adrian’s gaze lingered on the frosty beauty for a moment, watching her eyes that were so unfocused and distant. He finally sighed mentally.

Withdrawing his focus, he instead looked towards the aircraft they were working on.

The A1-SX was a fusion of long past dreams and his current level of knowledge and needs. It was technically a rotorcraft because it sacrificed the relatively faster speed of fixed-wing airplanes for maneuverability and hovering capability. The way it accomplished this was two large, multi-directional tilt-rotors that were housed in a shallow ducted fan “wings” format positioned on the high side of the center-mass fuselage. The leading edge of these two circular ducts were tapered off into an aerodynamic airfoil that would facilitate lift and reduce drag when they transitioned into forward flight. Small, triangular wings were on the outside edges of the foils to increase this effect.

Initially, Adrian had wanted the design to be a single seater, but after everyone started joining the roster he was forced to expand the fuselage and also several other components to account for the larger mass like engine thrust capability. Thus, the cockpit had four forward facing seats and another four jumper seats built into a semi-narrow corridor that led to the hatch at the rear, which was also the only way to get into it much like a transport aircraft.

There were a total of three engines. The two largest engines formed a pair that was responsible for powering the tilt rotors and were powered by a standard jet fuel mixture. The third engine was actually a turbine that sucked in air from a strategically placed duct on the top of the aircraft that threaded between the two other engines. It was electrically powered by bank of batteries that were continuously resupplied with power from a thermoelectric generator mesh that lined the inside of the black exterior paneling. It would harvest thermal energy produced from atmospheric friction and then convert it to electrical energy in order to store in the battery bank.

The third engine serves an important function for the agility of the craft. Normally, a helicopter requires a tail rotor to make sure that the tail remains straight from the rotational forces exerted on it from the main engine that keeps it in the air. With the two rotor “wings” design, this need is eliminated because the opposing rotational forces offset. Thus, the tail would normally be relegated to only a stabilizing and control surface oriented role like the tail of an airplane.

What Adrian had done was create a series of electronically controlled ducts that funneled the thrust generated by the third engine and shuttled it towards the tail section where it could be directed to either provide extra forward thrust or aid in situations where the craft has to “about face” and turn on a dime. The appropriate ducts would open and the airflow could burst in a particular direction to this effect.

Located at the 4:30 and 7:30 positions beneath the fuselage, there were two small, aerodynamic landing housings that served the function to hide the landing gear and also, when sealed, to provide the effects that a pontoon would for a boat, thus enabling the craft to land in water and float. All the engines were placed towards the top of the aircraft partly for this reason.

Adrian was immensely satisfied looking at the progress. The strength of the design was in the “agility” and maneuverability it could display. It could float and spin on a axis with maximum control, or even strafe from side to side in a manner that beats the pants off of conventional helicopter designs in the control category. It wasn’t able to keep up with those powerhouse designs built for top speed performance like the Eurocopter X3, but it could still reach about 354 km/h or 191 knots.

The entire thing was painted a dark grey and looked smoky against the steel and concrete background. They’d opted out of the traditional white in favor of a darker color in order to reach higher surface temperatures for the thermoelectric generators. Normally, he’d have to more finely consider the heat transference to electrical wiring, but he regrettably wasn’t building for extremely longevity.

The thing that made Adrian the most sad was the fact that their current rate of technological progress was almost too fast. It was exciting, of course, to see previous dreams realized in such a perfect looking aircraft, but, at the same time, he knew he’d probably be able to improve almost every aspect of the design in a year’s time.

That’s an impossibly quick turnaround for modern day aviation companies. Sometimes, they’d require decades to get a concept fleshed out, prototyped, and then moved into production. They had to spend billions to perfect it and then they’d spend some more decades producing them in order to make back the money they spent on research and development.

Adrian didn’t have to worry about that, though, because of one single factor that no one else possessed: Raide. His computational ability was so staggering that it was like he was every single aviation-based engineer on the globe and they were all focused on this one project, perfect in their coordination and mathematical calculations. It’s hard to even describe the level of unfairness that he introduced into the world when he created Raide.

So even though he enjoyed the A1-SX, Adrian knew that his A.I. had already started on improving it. If the rest of their projects progressed as expected, he could expect to see the second iteration being assembled right here on this same platform a year from now. It blew the mind to think of it.

The circular hydraulic stage laid before him was expansive. Measuring twenty meters in diameter, it’s large size was more than enough to dwarf the size of the aircraft parked on top of it. Sturdy steel railings lined the edge of it when it was raised off the ground, but currently it was retracted all the way to ground level so that moving materials back and forth went unhindered.

Right as he neared the productive chaos, his eyes drifted to the side and caught sight of Inori and Victor standing together, watching the assembly in its final stages. Illuminated by the flashes of light from the TIG welders tracing the dark grey paneling on the A1-SX, Adrian arrived at Inori’s side, giving a nod to the two as he turned to face the platform with his arms folded across his chest. The young woman gave him a small smile in return.

Victor soon moved from the other side of Inori and came to stand beside him. Leaning in, he had to talk loudly to make his voice heard over the robotic arm activity. “You arrived just in time. Before you got here, Rich told me that they had one last electrical checklist to run through and then they’d be able to crank her up.”

Adrian nodded, his eyes twinkling in anticipation. He replied back, almost shouting over the din, “Raide mentioned that they were getting close. It looks like he’s on the last panel.” He pointed towards the tail section where flashes of light were brightening the surroundings. The four arms were arranged in a welder and placement pairing - one was responsible for the TIG welds while the other made sure that the craft maintained its position.

In a matter of seconds, the process was completed and the four robotic arms retracted as one, not retreating all the way to the wall, but rather moving to a distance of 3 meters away from the platform. It looked like Raide wanted to keep them there as a precaution.

At the same time, Heather seemingly woke up and sent them all a thumbs up through the large cockpit window before she got up from the pilot’s seat and descended down the rear hatch steps. Rich also climbed out from an access hatch, his sturdy looking body a little grimy, and soon came over to a few bundles of fibre-optic cabling that he carried back to the craft, attaching it in a slot on the fuselage that was located near the cockpit. Heather also moved to the edge of the platform where a few large clear glass monitor displays had swung down.

All the ambient noise from the robotic arms had ceased, so everything was almost eerily quiet aside from their movements. After a few more cables were attached to the aircraft, Rich patted down his pants and turned to the three standing off to the side with a grin.

“We’re ready to download the software modules and then run diagnostics!”

Adrian nodded. “Raide, you’re up.”

The clear glass displays in front of Heather came alive as the A.I. started up a download, the data pouring into the sophisticated system that governed the A1-SX. After about 10 minutes, the download completed and the configuration of the software began.

Victor looked over at him and asked, “What exactly are you guys doing right now? Why does it require so much data?”

“Ah, that?” Adrian blinked at him before turning his head back to watch the screens. “Raide and I have designed the operating system component to be fully autonomous. I guess you can describe it as a mini-Raide program that’s been stripped down to just operability. It will act as a self-contained system for the express purposes of safety and the ability to perform immediate calculations and functions.

“If we tried to have Raide do everything in all of our devices, it would inevitably create several undesirable situations. For example, we would more than likely have to use a satellite uplink to maintain a connection with Raide in-flight since wireless broadband is incapable of handling the load that he would put on it. What happens if the satellite goes down or is redirected? What if atmospheric conditions mess with the ability to receive a signal from the satellites? There are too many unknown situations that could occur between us and Raide’s main processing unit, so we have to account for a certain amount of autonomy in all of our electronic designs.”

Victor’s eyebrows went up. “So you’re literally just loading up a baby Raide to the A1-SX in order to run the systems?”

“Pretty much.” Adrian grinned and nodded. “It’s a bare bones version of him, but since it’s already a framework that he’s familiar with, it makes it a whole lot easier for him to slave the craft to him should he ever desire to step in. This is one of the operational points that we’ll be monitoring with the test flight and also one of the many reasons why our Quantum Communication research is so important.”

“Quantum communication?” Victor questioned curiously.

Adrian thought for a second and then chuckled. “To put it in a way where we don’t have to spend all day talking about it, let’s use this example.”

He held out both fists. “Imagine that my fists are two atoms. These two atoms have always existed together and their relationship is so close that, even when separated, they still act like the other is still having an effect on it. In fact, don’t even think of them as being two separate entities.

“Now, let’s say I measure that the left atom is spinning in a certain way, due to the principle of quantum entanglement, we automatically know that the other atom is spinning in the opposite direction so as to make their spin equal zero. However, this gives rise to a weird circumstance because atoms change when they’re measured. It’s been discovered that when one atom is separated from the other…” Adrian drew his fists apart. “... and is measured, the amount of change is reflected by the other atom. This phenomenon happens regardless of distance.”

“How does the atom on the right know what happened to the other?”

Adrian shrugged. “That’s a mystery for now. There’s no known means for that kind of information to be communicated across time and space, though it does give rise to some interesting uses. If we can manipulate the quantum states of entangled atoms, it’s theoretically possible to send information over a large distance near-instantaneously. You wouldn’t have to use a signal that could be affected by distance, electromagnetic forces, or terrain, and it would effectively be unhackable.”

Victor looked back at Adrian's fists incredulously. “This is something that we’re working on?”

“Well, Raide is.” Adrian laughed embarrassedly. “I help him on the hardware side since he can’t do it, but he’s using our research into his quantum brain’s creation to flesh out the process through simulation. I simply don’t have the time or ability to assist in crunching those calculations.”

Seeing his friend’s drooling expression, he laughed again and clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, it’s coming. We’ve only been here for a week, man, chill.”

Raide’s voice suddenly appeared in Adrian’s earpiece, interrupting their conversation. “I need to check the TEGnet functionality. Care to lend me a hand?”

“I think that’s one of the rare times that I’ve ever heard that phrase used literally.” Adrian chuckled understandingly. He strode over to the aircraft situated in the middle of the platform and raised a hand, placing it on the cool grey exterior. “Ready?”

The A.I. responded in the affirmative so he steadily pumped heat from his core to his hand, feeling the rising temperature permeating out and into the plating. Pretty soon, small heat waves were distorting the air, creating subtle fluctuations in the currents flowing in the room as the residual heat started to drift up in hues of red based on concentration of energy. It was endearing to watch the eyes of the others all around lock on to that effect.

He’d had to endure the loneliness of being so different for months, but now he could share the same types of experiences with his group.

Raide’s cool baritone voice radiated out again. “Baseline set. Conversion efficiency hovering at 17.2%. Could you please move on to the rest of the panels?”

Adrian’s face changed as he shot a look at the other two not doing anything. “Uhhh, guys? Mind giving me a hand?”

Rolling their eyes, Inori and Victor came and started mimicking what Adrian had done by placing their hands on a fuselage plate and then steadily increasing the temperature output until Raide told them to stop. It was pretty simple and there were only a few hundred plates that comprised the exterior of the craft so they were done in about fifteen minutes after dividing up areas to focus on.

Feeling a little drained, Adrian decided that he’d spend more time outside tomorrow. He needed to refuel a bit in the sunlight and soak up its thermal energy. Rubbing his hands together while feeling the heat recede, a bout of laughter broke out and he looked over to see Rich losing it in front of a screen.

His friend turned while wiping a tear from his eye, grinning as he said, “Bro, Bearcat, you’re making international news.” Everyone turned to the large glass screen that he was standing in front of and Raide amped up the sound in a timely fashion.

A handsome gentleman was sitting behind a desk in a newsroom, while a banner rolled down at the bottom that read: US Drone Hacked, World Reacts.

“After years of theorizing that this day would come, experts were proven correct on Saturday in the assumption that drone technology can be hacked.” He said while reading the prompt. “A US General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, also known as a Predator B, was taken over mid-flight during a transfer from Kuwait to a base located in Israel. The unmanned aircraft was armed with twin 500 lb. JDAMs which the hacker used to destroy the palace of a regional Sheikh by the name of Jafri. The attack was centered around the residential portion though we cannot yet confirm if the Sheikh was present at the time, nor has there been anything but wild speculation as to the culprit and their motives.”

The newscaster suddenly lapsed off into silence for a few seconds while listening to his earpiece. “Alright, we are just now learning that the Sheikh's family, which comprised of an uncle, brother, sister, and parents, was also the target of four separate CIA-sanctioned drone strikes in Yemen, Nairobi, Kenya, and the city of Riyadh which is located in Saudi Arabia. The corresponding governments are furious over the attacks.”

The camera cut to a recorded clip of a briefing where several microphones were arrayed in front of a diplomat, the name “Wambugu Mwanji” displayed at the bottom. The man’s tone was one of outrage and fury as he ranted in Swahili, the translation also scrolling at the bottom.

“Our great nation of Kenya has always been close allies with the United States. Since we migrated to a democratic government in 2002 and also again when we cooperated willingly with them in operations against Islamist terrorism. However, yesterday, my country was victim to an unannounced drone strike which took the lives of Mohammed Jafri and his family. They were citizens of Kenya and were not associated with any groups that spread terror and destruction in the Middle East. We condemn this attack on our sovereignty and our citizens and demand that the U.S. account for what has happened here!”

The video cut back to the announcer and he continued, “Speculation is still being formed, but we do know that the man killed in Kenya was Shiekh Jafri’s brother. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.”

Rich turned around and grinned wolfishly. “I think you set the hive on fire, man.”

Adrian nodded nonplussed. “It’ll get worse, but it was bound to happen anyway.”

Heather walked over and gazed at the video playing on the screen which displayed the wreckage of the homes the drone strikes had decimated. Her icy blue eyes turned to Adrian and she asked, “Where is the U.S. government in all this? I’m surprised they haven’t come out ahead of this thing.”

Adrian shook his head and then said, “There is no getting out ahead of this. A military drone was hacked, false information disseminated through official channels after agents were somehow impersonated, and then an entire Islamic family was slain as a result. That’s a nightmare scenario for the government, so they’re going to try and quietly deal with all of this through back channels and other resources, rather than try and hash it out with the world community on any form of media. We may play at being a defender of justice for other nations too poor and stupid to protect themselves, but the fact remains that we care heavily about our image.

“To maintain our position as a global leader, the U.S. government will try and sweep this under the rug as much as possible while hunting the perpetrators so that maybe one day soon they can present our heads as recompense to the world.”

“Can they track it back to us?” She asked. There wasn’t a tinge of worry on her face, a fact that made Adrian admire her.

He shook his head with a thoughtful grin. He turned to the screen and said to Raide, “Do you want to explain it?”

“Not particularly,” the A.I. said lazily.

Feeling the look of incredulity being aimed at him, he sighed and then turned to Heather, his digital face laced with boredom. “I hacked the satellite the military was using to bounce the signals in that region by utilizing a nearby signal emitter to piggyback the data it was uplinking. I forcefully broke through the encryption and took control of all the data streams that were using the satellite. Next thing you know, I was controlling all of the military satellite-linked tech in the area, but I chose to ignore everything else except for the one drone we needed. After the Sheikh was dead, I relinquished hold on the satellite and retreated back into the darknet.

“To cover my tracks, I left breadcrumbs back to Google who has been developing their own artificial intelligence. This way, we get to possibly kill two birds with one stone.” When he finished, he looked over at his creator. “Happy?”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “I feel like I’m talking to a spoiled but intelligent, angsty teenager.” He looked at Heather and then shook his head. “There you have it, though. Raide’s the best when it comes to anything digital in this world. Technology isn’t nearly advanced enough yet to provide any type of resistance to him when he wants to go somewhere.”

“Jesus,” she mildly swore, pursing her lips as she lapsed into thought.

“He is our greatest advantage and also our greatest secret. Whatever we do, whatever we create, his capabilities must never be known by the world at large until it’s too late.”

Raide butted in smugly, “While I’m happy to hear of how much you value me, can we finish the prototype at hand? I have calibrated all of the mechatronic systems, control surfaces, and instrumentation. We’re good to go on the first Flight Test.”

Heather’s eyes started to shine as she suddenly disappeared in a flash, her lithe body ghosting into the cockpit before anyone could say anything. Adrian laughed understandingly. There was no one here more excited about this than her. Inori’s expression off to the side turned into one of jealousy as she watched his reaction, her thoughts unknown.

He shifted his attention to Rich. “Decouple the fuel and diagnostic lines.”

The hairy man flashed a smile and quickly went from line to line, removing them and throwing them to the side where Victor, Adrian, and Inori straightened them out so that they could be mechanically reeled back into their enclosures by Raide. Soon, the entire perimeter of the circular deck was cleared of all tools and personnel, the glass screens that Raide had been using to display diagnostic data retracting up and away from the platform towards safety.

Receiving the OK hand symbol from Adrian through the window of the cockpit, Heather started punching a few of the options on the interface and the massive engines whirred to life, breathing in tons of air by the minute like a primordial drake charging up to breath fire. Heat plumed from the exhaust manifolds, spiraling in a red hurricane that was visible to their eyes, the intensity increasing by the second.

Everyone retreated to the edges of open space, ducking into a small, protected office that was shielded by industrial grade steel and glass that looked out into the massive area. Monitors came to life as Raide started displaying the data he was receiving from the thousands of sensors that had been built into the craft’s systems and fuselage, as well as those in the room. It was even taking biological readings from Heather’s small form as the pale beauty was running through the pre-flight checklist.

Adrian turned on his earpiece and looked towards a monitor that was zoomed in on Heather’s face, saying, “The data we’re receiving looks good. You’re clear to hover when you’re done with the pre-flight.”

“Roger that. Dialing up throttle,” her cool, but excited voice rang out.

In the cavernous building, the dual engines began to whine, almost as if they were furious over being restrained. The props on the two rotor wings engaged and the chopping of air soon mixed with the engines to create a cacophonous tumult that rattled the protected viewing room. Outside, the clouds broke just at the right time, allowing a circular cascade of sunlight to rain down on the platform deck, illuminating the aircraft that was being primed. The moment soon arrived.

The liftoff was incredibly smooth, the aircraft inching upwards with just enough lift to achieve a hovering state. Heather stopped the ascent at ten meters above the ground. Adrian’s eyes danced over the monitors. Breathing in a breath of relief, he noticed that everything was nominal.

He spoke out a command. “Begin the Basic Agility Test.”

Heather’s figure nodded, her knuckles turning white on the two control sticks that she was furiously gripping. “Beginning Basic Agility Test, roger,” she repeated. Gently, she pushed forward on both. Outside on the aircraft, the twin rotor wings tilted forward slightly, transitioning the thrust to a diagonal vector. After gliding forward a few meters, she leveled it back off and it started hovering again.

Adrian nodded as he watched, eyes intent on the performance being shown. “Complete the other directions of motion,” he said seriously.

Heather shot a look at the monitor. “Roger that.”

Maintaining the same level of gentle finesse, Heather gingerly floated the craft backwards and then side to side to side. When it got to the horizontal motion, the rotor wings themselves actually lifted up or sunk based on which direction it was headed. When Heather directed it to strafe left, the right wing would lift up while the left would down and vice versa for when she strafed to the right. It made the A1-SX look like it was leaning from side to side as she drifted back and forth.

Adrian drew a finger over the top of a monitor as he regarded the data silently.

He was nervous.

Nothing ever goes perfectly in a new vehicle’s test flight, but he was seeing the opposite happen here. Maybe it was because the thing was designed and then assembled by a quantum A.I. and humans who had been enhanced, or maybe they were just having good luck. He wasn’t sure. Whichever the case, he decided to maintain his sense of caution and proceed carefully. This was Heather’s life they were talking about here. Despite the conversation he’d just had with her, or perhaps because of it, he felt a stronger sense of responsibility to protect her.

Adrian nodded to himself and then shifted his gaze back to the aircraft that was thundering inside the enclosed space. It wouldn’t be so damned loud if it was outside. He knew though that he had to do this initial test flight inside because Raide could fully monitor the situation here with the plethora of high quality sensors they’d built in. If they moved it out before completing the initial testing, they’d have to rely on the on-board sensors alone, which wouldn’t make Adrian’s cautious heart feel at ease.

He again spoke to Heather across their digital link, saying, “Pivot maneuver.”

Another “roger” rang out in his ear as he saw the word play out on her pale, pink lips. Executing a twist on her two control sticks at the same time and direction, the rotors outside suddenly went in opposite directions, one pointed towards the back while the other was tilted towards the front. The resulting pivot was slow and purposeful. Adjusting the thrust, Heather torqued the sticks even harder this time, forcing the craft to spin faster.

Raide’s baritone voice rang out in a cautioning tone after a few seconds, “3 G’s reached on pilot’s body. It is recommended that you decelerate rotational velocity.”

Adrian nodded and then said, “Pilot, you heard him. Level off.”

Heather’s strained expression gradually relaxed as she forcefully slowed down, twisting the controls back in the other direction. The reason she had been so cavalier here was to test the structural integrity of the aircraft. Several of the more advanced agility maneuvers would depend on the ability to corkscrew into tight spaces so it was paramount that the vehicle be able to hand the strain of the motion, and it passed with flying colors. A small chuckle escaped her lips, her body visibly relaxing in the pilot’s chair.

Ever so gently, she laid off on the throttle until the aircraft hovered back down to rest on the retractable gears that bent and caught the weight of it as rubber met the steel landing pad.

Adrian smiled as he turned towards the other three standing around the monitors, expressions of concentration and seriousness displayed on their faces. “We’re done with stage one. Time to uncork the bottle.”

Rich groaned and said, “Finally! I’ve been dying to see this.”

Raides voice acknowledged the command and a red blinking light started strobing in the room. The flashing continued for a few beats until they all heard a deep, mechanical groan come from the central platform as the hydraulic lift kicked in. Slowly, it started raising up, eight large slanted platform panels rising up with it until they achieved a 45° angle relative to the flat stage that the A1-SX was resting on. The purpose of these were to act as a cautionary buffer for instances where the landing aircraft was damaged and unable to control its descent.

Heather joked over the comms, “You know I can fly out of here myself just fine, right?”

“Probably.” Adrian chuckled. “But I don’t don’t want you to scratch the paint accidentally since it’s your first time.”

“Wow.” She shook her head.

Raide’s voice interrupted just as the platform reached 80% of the distance to the ceiling. “Opening the egg.”

The overhead dome split into four pieces that tilted backwards and outward to allow the aircraft’s passage. Heather revved the throttle and then punched it, the two rotors spinning furiously as they sucked up air and thrust it below the craft. In a second, it reached the yawning portal into the blue and flew out into the open air.

Adrian felt a load of pressure suddenly fall off his shoulders, like he’d been carrying a heavy load this whole time. Sighing, he stretched his arms.

Rich walked over as everyone listened to the drone of the engines disappear. “Do we have a transponder for it?”

He nodded and then responded, “Yeah, we’d be shot out of the sky if we flew in American airspace without one. Fighters get pretty antsy when they see unmarked aircraft inside national borders.”

“Heh, nice. Got a nickname for it?” Rich motioned towards the aircraft design schematics displayed on a screen.

Adrian smiled. “Yeah, I think we’re going to call it a Spectre. It’s too early in the research process to add on the optical camouflage, but it’ll eventually move there. I think it’d be fitting.” Rich’s eyes gleamed in response.

Turning to Victor and Inori, he patted them on the shoulder. “Good job so far, but let’s get back to work. We have to be ready for this coming week.”

Victor’s eyebrows moved upwards. “Newbies, right?”

Adrian grinned mischievously. “Yep, it’s time to snatch some talents.”