"It's been three hours… Aren't they done yet?" Alice murmured while rubbing Amby, who was eating on her lap.
She sat on a couch in the control room, watching Leo and Terrana talking and looking at the dashboard.
"Phew, finally done."
Leo sighed in relief and leaned back on the chair before stretching his stiff arms.
Terrana smiled and said, "Congratulations."
"What did you do, Leo?" Alice curiously asked.
"Hehe, I was updating this spacecraft software and improving its autopilot and weapon system, so I can quickly send my consciousness into the ship or into the hooked weapon to invade the enemy."
"Sounds cool. But I am getting bored," Alice said, releasing a sigh.
"What's up, y'all?"
Hearing Rei's voice, Alice, Terrana, and Leo turned to him.
"You really took so long. Where is Lia-sis?"
"Aha, nope," Rei quickly stopped Alice from going inside. "She needs to rest for a while. But don't worry. I'll soon remove her Taint after continuing this treatment."
"Treatment?" Leo asked in confusion. "So, Lia found her tainted spot in the tree, and the solution to remove it?"
"Yep. But only I can do it," Rei said with a wry smile before saying vaguely, "Because only my eyes can see where to hit the spot to remove the taint."
"Anyway, leave that me. So, what's the current situation?" Rei asked.
"I just finished updating a few things in the ship for my taste," Leo said with a grin. "Let's grab lunch if you two are hungry."
"Ah, you are right. I am indeed hungry," Alice said as she quickly nodded.
"Haha, yeah. I am also hungry after the exercise," Rei said with a laugh.
"Exercise?" Alice tilted her head.
"Yeah, well. I had to exert my physical strength to help Lia with the solution to treat her Taint," Rei said, arriving beside Alice before he sat on the couch.
*Squich!*
Amby jumped on Rei's shoulder from Alice and started rubbing its head.
Leo came with stored dinner plates from the spacecraft, put them on the table before the couch, and sat across Rei and Alice.
"I need to move," Alice muttered and started eating.
Rei heard her mutter and asked with a chuckle, "Why do you want to do more? Do you want to get fat?"
"No, I just want to grow taller," Alice said before sighing. "I am too small for my age."
"It's fine, hahaha."
Rei said before rubbing her head.
Alice was displeased but didn't respond and focused on eating.
Just as they were peacefully eating, Terrana sensed an FTL portal opening as an unfamiliar ship emerged.
She didn't tell anyone yet but observed its actions.
"Tsk, Inked Vision appeared again," Rei clicked his tongue as he suddenly lost his vision while eating.
On the other hand, the ship readily turned its head towards their ship, and Terrana also started red alert!
"Prepare for combat. An enemy ship is going to engage in battle with us. Their cannon is loading."
"Huh? Who are they?" Leo asked as he quickly stood up and dashed towards the board. Several holograms appeared, showing the ship in a magnified image.
"Alice, can you guide me to the dashboard?"
Alice smiled and grabbed his hand before standing up.
"We got a communication request from them. Should I accept?" Terran asked.
"Of course," Rei answered, already arriving beside Leo with Alice's company.
"Should I go wake up Lia-sis?" Alice asked.
Rei shook his head. "No need, just wait here."
On the other hand, the communication channel went live after Terrana accepted it, showing a familiar face.
Xander!
"You?"
Leo, Alice, and Terrana were surprised.
"Who is he?" Rei asked with a frown.
Leo was not in front of the communication hologram, so he quickly nodded to Terrana to signal her.
"Did you think you could escape with that fraud?" Xander indifferently asked before shaking his head. "I already knew that the strongest among you was no more than a half-assed Exceedier."
Rei heard his voice and immediately recognized him. "So it's you."
"Prepare to pay the price for what you did," Xander said before he snapped his finger.
The communication was cut off while Xander's ship boosted towards them with its energy cannon charging!
"Can we beat his ship?" Alice asked in a tense voice.
"We will, as long as we manage to hit him with our hook," Terrana said while she controlled the ship with Leo.
Leo's consciousness was already inside the Star-Saber Hawk.
"Terrana. I'll launch the weapon when it is in range. You control the spacecraft. Take one of his attacks If must for the chance."
Rei and Alice heard Leo's voice from an audio output of the dashboard!
"Understood. But we can only block two of its attacks. The weapon on that ship is way more destructive than the Libra Rail Cannon."
"So powerful even though we have a better barrier than before?!" Alice exclaimed.
Xander's ship was not moving ahead anymore but started flying sideways and launched its attack, but Terrana skilfully dodged and continued ahead.
"Don't let them come close. I am sure they will use the same trick as before," Xander ordered his crew. He brought another ship and his special crew to hunt the prey he marked.
"They chased us, which means that they are confident in bringing down my ship again," Xander said, a glint passing through his eyes. "Bait them a bit, but make sure to look out for a hook attack."
…
Terrana saw the enemy ship moving away from them while preparing to launch another shot.
"What's happening?" Rei asked, unable to see anything.
"They are not letting us close in on them," Terran said. "Same trick will not work on this guy."
"But he doesn't know the range of our hook. Should we continue chasing him until we find a chance? That cannon shot will also not hit us as long as we maintain this distance," Leo said.
"I can close by dodging some shots, but it will be hard as he gets close," Terran said. "It's possible to hook them, but risky as well."
"Hehe, so we are already head-butting against an Exceed. Very well," Rei said, grinning with excitement. "That bastard is crafty indeed. But who said we have to attack just because we can?"
Rei's expression turned severe as he ordered, "Prepare to leave the FTL zone while pretending to chase them. This will be long."
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
Rei's vision turned normal after she asked, and he saw the situation.
Focusing on Xander's ship, Rei narrowed his eyes while his right hand patted Alice's head. "It means that since he found us, even though we have changed ship, he will find us again. This is a hunt that will only end when one of us dies."
"Then we should find a planet to land on after leaving the FTL zone," Leo said, returning to his physical body as he started finding a planet to their advantage.
Rei nodded. "Yep. Let's bring him somewhere with a huge population for a starter. This will also ensure our safety for a while."