Quinn understood the concept of shock-dropping; she'd read up a little on it after Dahlia had saved her in Sacre-Colline. But understanding the principle behind something and actually doing it were two [i]very[/i] different things, and dropping [i]out of orbit[/i] certainly wasn't a small thing. She felt herself waver. 

But [color=black]she[/color] was there. As soon as she started to flag, she remembered, and dug [i]deep[/i] into the reserves of energy and courage that she'd been building up since the duel. She'd fought tooth and nail; against modir, and the Board, and the peoples of multiple countries all telling her that she was being a stupid kid. And now Roaki was safe aboard the Aerie, and was [i]staying[/i] there, damnit. That was proof positive, wasn't it? She [i]wasn't[/i] the same terrified child that had first woken up screaming in medical all those months ago. When [color=ffe63d]Quinnlash[/color] [color=black]Loughvein[/color] put their mind to something, nothing could stop them.

[i][color=ffe63d]We've got this.[/color][/i] A keen acquiescence returned to her, as though to say: [i][color=black]Damn right we do.[/color][/i]

"[color=ffe63d]Alright. Go.[/color]"

The same shuttering sound that had played with Dahlia played again right behind her, and--

Everything was suddenly and eerily silent. She was...she was falling [i]through space.[/i] Remembering Besca's instructions, she disconnected, and stared into the darkness that suddenly held no fear for her.

She wasn't alone.

"[color=ffe63d]I've disconnected, Besca. Waiting on reentry.[/color]" It might fascinate Quinn to hear her own voice there, though she wasn't paying attention, of course; it was possessed with a level of confidence and surety that it nearly never was.

"[color=gray]Alright, you're clear.[/color]"

Quinn sucked in one breath. Two. Three.

Then she blurred past herself again, and for another heartbeat moment, she thought she saw [color=black]her[/color] grinning at [color=ffe63d]her.[/color] Then she was flipping through the air, plummeting down towards the ground at a frankly concerning speed. She sucked in an unsteady breath, nearly destabilized and knocked out of her precious moment of confident clarity. And then she nearly laughed. It was just like the last time in Casoban, wasn't it? Hurtling backwards through the air? She might not have cannoned herself back this time, but she still felt some similarity in the wind ripping past her. And those instincts took over; she twisted in the air, righting herself just before she made contact, sending up an explosion of dirt and stone with a sound like thunder and fire.

As she pulled herself to a standing position and the curtain of earth fell, she saw them in the distance. Two modir, closing on her with a fast, loping run. She reached out, grabbed the sheet, and wrenched her cannon into existence, its horror lost on her, at least for the moment.

"[color=ffe63d]Landed safe. I'm about to engage.[/color]

[i][color=ffe63d]Ready when you are.[/color][/i]