Directly across from him, Nix was beaming as if he had just won the lottery and his buddy's misery was endless.
His eyes shining with pure mischievousness, he leaned forward on his elbows with chopsticks hanging languidly from his fingers. "Bro, you eat like an eighty-year-old man with a terrible back. Required a pillow for your pride? Or perhaps a donut cushion?."
Macker turned on him a gaze capable of melting steel. "One more joke. Nix, and I promise to every deity on this floating rock I would drop this whole dish of scorching noodles straight onto your lap. Look your way of thinking."
With a smile never fading from his face, Nix raised both hands in false capitulation. "Peace, peace. I am merely saying, legendary self-own. This will be known in history books as 'The Great Ball Incident of Sky Island.' We'll produce a plaque."
Ema bent over his own cup of coffee and stirred it leisurely with a chopstick he had pulled from the drawer. With a half-smile, he looked up. "Nix, stay away from him. He has gone through sufficient pain in one lifetime. Besides, right now we have more relevant issues than Macker's boiled balls."
Like some forbidden object, he nodded toward the cushioned tool box resting exactly in the middle of the table. "I'm pretty sure Hedonas isn't sending Mark-VIIs simply to appreciate our fighting prowess; that drone won't tear itself apart."
Slurped his noodles so loud they rang off the metal walls, Kruna slurped his noodles so loudly it echoed off the walls.
He kinda shrugged as he swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ema is correct. Hedonas Mark-VII stealth scout. They won't send those for leisure or random curiosity. Either they have been watching us since we got to this rock or yesterday's C-class takedown lit up every alarm in their system like a bloody Christmas tree in July."
Aftor swung his little knife idly between his fingers like it was a fidget spinner as he sat on the table edge with his legs swinging idly back and forth. "They have seen everything if they have 48 hours of uninterrupted film. Macker's tanking, Sano's shield bash, Ema's arrow volleys, my precision stabs, Orced's White Comet Strike our formation. They know we're coordinated. They know we are strong. Furthermore they understand we are not shy to flaunt."
Sano, who had just slipped back into the building from his early-morning plaza watch, filled the doorway with his enormous bulk.
He had a dark cape strapped to his back still, and his eyes were keen, instinctively scanning the room, yet his face was placid. "Nothing fresh ahead. Horizon is currently clear. That glimmer I witnessed at daybreak vanished totally as the sun rose. There might have been heat warping from the clouds. Might have been something else pulling back after the drone turned dark. I'll watch out once we're done here."
Orced set his coffee mug down with a gentle clink, seated at the head of the table as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Great. This shit means they're still not hurried in. Which provides us some time."
Macker cringed once more as he tried but failed. "Time to carry out what precisely? Hiding like rats? Or perhaps go for another island?"
Eyes shining with hardly suppressed excitement, Nix leaned forward with great eagerness. "Strike it. Prove to them we are not terrified of drones, B-class curses, or their dumb monitoring. We are Sky Boys. Nothing is kept secret by us"
Ema laughed, shoving his hair back yet once more; it fell forward right away. "You only want to blow something up once more. I know who you are"
Nix shrugged shamelessly. Guilty as accused. But also strategy. Straight strategy. "Let's give Hedonas something worthwhile to watch if they are watching. Demonstrates we pose a genuine threat."
Kruna nodded deliberately, finishing the last of his noodles and shoving the empty cup off. "He is wrong. At 09:00 sharp we scout; at noon we hit. Make the most of the island's elevation advantage. Come on rapidly, finish it straight away. Not a single error.."
Aftor snapped his knife shut and slipped it into his sleeve. "It sounds legit to me. Clear. However, we must ascertain precisely what the drone is aware of. They heard Orced's remarks word for word yesterday if they have audio. "We're going to eradicate every trace of evil." That's hardly refined. That's a declaration of war on their whole perspective."
Orced gave a small smile, the type that appeared tranquil on the surface but concealed steel beneath. "Excellent. Let them listen to it. Tell them we are their enemy. No point pretending peaceful, we cannot be nice towards those who are observing us."
Sano sat down gingerly—the chair protested with a loud creak under his weight—and slammed his shield against the wall with a loud thud. "We should think they are aware of our flaws, our names. That implies no more obvious maneuvers. Every battle we adjust our formations. Change roles and keep them confusing"
Ema gently click his computer open. Starting on the drone chip today is within my ability. "Nix, you take care of the hardware. Let's find out how long they've been watching, how much they saw, and what they actually recorded."
Nix cupped his palms in motion. "The best part of my day. Time for dissection."
The group ate in a cozy, familiar pattern: chopsticks tapping against plastic cups, and Macker's occasional groan when he moved too quickly, quiet laughing when someone made a joke.
Macker shifted uneasily in his seat, drawing more mocking from Kruna.
"Still hurts like hell, right?" Kruna inquired with a sneering counterleaning.
Macker stared at him behind teary eyes. "Now you act as if you are concerned? When it occurred, you laughed most. I feel like you gaslight me."
Kruna smirkinhg. "It was amusing. You poured boiling water on your own balls. That is comedy from once in a lifetime. I'm free to laugh."
Ema pounded the table, practically choked on his coffee, and laughed so violently. "For years, this is blackmail material. Wedding present. Birthday present. Recall your boiling balls moment?"
Aftor laughed and shook his head. "Alternatively, we trade it. 'Sky Boys Bumper Reel – Volume 1.' Rapid viral hit."
Macker grunted and covered his face with his hands. "I despise this family. I abhor every one of you. I will be heading to the mainland. I'm finished."
Orced chuckled gently. "Admit you like this atmosphere. Nothing else would be worth this."
Macker sighed dramatically, peering through his fingers. "Sure but... next time someone cooks, I will be supervising from a safe distance. Preferably from a different island."
Breakfast was done early after that. Plates were piled in the sink and the group went toward the workshop at the rear of the structure as one.
It was a transformed storeroom they had made into their temporary lab: tool-covered workbenches, half-disassembled devices, Nix's charging station buzzing in the corner, shelves filled with salvaged curse cores and spare parts, and a single overhead bulb swaying somewhat in the breeze from an open vent.
Carefully and precisely, Orced placed the padded case down on the main workbench.
"Nix and Ema, start here. Everyone else, eyes open. Hedonas might send additional drones if one of them were sent"
Opening the case, Nix gently raised the drone and spun it over in his hands like a treasured trophy. "Mark-VII. Stealth coating still good. The data chip has a backup capacitor even if EMP destroyed the main systems. Still possessing a little charge. Thank goodness we didn't wait longer as it could have erased itself."
Ema turned on his laptop and connected a wire. "Bypass encryption right now. This could last fifteen to twenty minutes. Quantum feed is bad, but I have a backdoor script from last year's leak. Should function."
Knife out again, Aftor rested against the wall close to the door, his gaze fixed on the hallway. "I possess the door. Nobody could even think to come close."
Kruna stood by him, hands loose and ready but knives sheathed. "Yeah. If anyone tries to barge in, they are slashed in the throat before they even blink."
Sano stood near the single window, shield leaning against his leg. "I will watch from outside. Should anything get close, drone, curse, you will hear me yelling."
Macker was floating close to the bench, crossed his arms. "I am hereto guarantee Nix won't blow us all up while he's working"
Nix rolled his eyes in disgust. "Mind you, you're the guy who boiled his own balls. Sit down hero before you injured yourself again."
Macker gave him the middle finger but sat on a stool next to him nonetheless, cringing as he sank.