Ema's fingers blur-dashed across the keyboard. "We already got some access. Flight logs from the past 72 hours. Since two days ago, they have been circling. The video feed is crystal clear; audio is encrypted. They observed the whole C-class battle. Macker looked cool doing it every time he hit the ground."
Nix let out a low whistle. "They absolutely tell we are organized and powerful."
Though his voice remained cool, Orced's face tightened a little. "They think we are a danger. Still, they are unaware of plently things. Continue searching. Check if there's any active listening tools we missed."
Ema nodded without glancing up. "I doing a deep scanning now."
Ema settled back in his chair following around half hour of strained silence interrupted just by technical noise. "Entire data dump. Flight path reveals they launched from a Hedonas carrier off the coast, most likely the same one they utilized for the coastal sweep last year. Receiver IP points to their Beijing central command centre. Yesterday they had high-definition film. Parts of the audio are distorted, but they certainly heard Orced's speech. We will eradicate every last trace of wickedness. They marked us as a possible rogue S-class group with antagonistic goals."
Kruna crossed his arms and rested against the wall. "Perfect. They are afraid as they supposed to be."
Aftor chuckled and turned his knife once more. "Are they seriously scared to a lost island without supervision, seven S-class potentials? Like their biggest worry is that? This shit sound something only a jobless worry"
Sano murmured from the window. Nothing still exists outside.
Orced turned to face him. "Continue looking. Don't forget to point out if you see something wrong."
Nix took out a tiny probe and gently plugged it into the data port on the drone. "See the internal memory. They could possess facial recognition information on us."
Ema shook his head. "I don't think so. If we activate a failsafe, it might erase everything. We're almost doing this."
The group waited, tension progressively accumulating like a coiled spring. Macker moved nervously on his stool. This is going to be time-consuming. "Cannot we only shatter it and be done?"
Kruna shot him a look. "And give away the information? No. We have to find out what they know. What did they watched all this time?"
Hands behind his back, orced paced gradually behind the bench. Also they're purchasing time. Observing us observe them. Old-fashioned stand-off. They're anxiously waiting our next move."
Ema straightened up suddenly. "I think I found more. Yesterday they had thermal imaging done. They can tell how much power we produce. Orced's primary strike reached S-class peak. Nix's explosion hit A+ burst. Macker's tanking took C-level abuse without damage. They have our basic data."
Nix smiled. "So they recognize I am brilliant, aren't they? Say hello to them from me."
Aftor rolled his eyes. "Aight alright... They will try to oppose us if they have statistics, they can not have either but I think we have to switch roles to confuse their fucking head"
Orced nodded and stopped walking. "Bro you're such a genius. Not same roles anymore. We change. Macker explodes, Kruna goes for core, I'll draw aggro and control the field. Should they be viewing, confound them. It would likely make them wonder."
Kruna nodded languidly. "I know right? They'll be clever and erratic if they anticipate us to be conceited and steady."
Ema continued typing. "Nearly at the final layer. Just discovered it. Full flight log available here. They have been reporting every six hours. Last report sent at 03:12 this morning—right after you netted it. They are aware it is compromised."
Orced gave a restrained smile. "Perfect. Let them perspire. Let them speculate on our intended use of it."
Sano squinted, gazing out. "Never seen a real emergency yet. Just saw a bird. but it's most likely simply hunting. Still the air seems incorrect"
Orcaid glanced at him. "Keep looking. Call out anything that moves, even a bird that seems off. We're not taking risks."
Macker massaged his head. "This spy stuff really makes me sick. Could we instead only battle curses? Anything but this waiting game."
Nix let out a chuckle. "Rapidly. B-class search for after-lunch. Then we really offer them something to write big things."
Orced surveyed the room at his staff, each one concentrated, ready, alive with the blend of thrill and peril that had brought them all together in the first place. "We're set. They believe they're observing us. We are seeing them now, though. Sky Boys are not hidden anymore."
Kruna grinned. "Cheesy but I will let it. Only this time though."
Ema softly click shut his laptop. "Drone is safe to turn off. I have copies of all on my drive. We can investigate more later this evening. For now… we have a curse to kill."
Orced gave a nod. "Well done. Everybody get ready. Scout in 60 minutes."
The group began to move, collecting guns, inspecting equipment, the mood going from apprehensive to thrilled in a matter of seconds.
Now they were viewing back.