The Answer

Vorian, Liam, and Natalia had different reaction to the ultimate look of Alexis. Liam had never seen that magnificent look of Alexis and thus, his eyes and jaw were wide open. Natalia felt a little tingling sensation in her heart and had goose bumps all over her body. And Vorian was very proud of his girlfriend.

And Alexis was also happy with what she was able to do. While she was hovering in the air and glowing in fire, she was in complete control of her mind and body. She slowly channeled the fire to her palms and then fired again at the wall. And that was the most powerful attack that she had ever thrown, powerful enough to put a tiny dent in the Astrostial wall.

"Did she just put a dent on the wall or am I just seeing things?" Liam asked with a shocked voice.

Vorian was raising his brows and nodded, "That is definitely a dent bro."

Alexis flew towards the group very proudly. "I think that was my most powerful attack."

"And you wonder why I am scared to be in the same room with you when you are angry." Natalia said as if she was joking but that was the truth.

Alexis sighed and then softly landed on the floor. "I am tired." Then she glanced at Liam and Natalia and said, "Hey, Liam, didn't you say that you would teach Natalia how to shoot laser guns? Why don't you guys practice shooting while I rest?"

Liam flicked his fingers and said happily, "That is a good idea." He glanced at Natalia and gestured her to follow him, "Come Natalia, I will show you some moves."

However, Natalia was a little hesitant. She had just asked Liam to teach her to use those laser guns in a whim. "Er… I don't think that is a good idea. What if I shoot and someone gets hurt?"

"Nat, Alexis is pretty much invincible; she can dodge even if you misfire. And Vorian is… well you cannot hurt him right now. And besides, just trust me, I am a great teacher." Liam was already down with the idea and he was not backing out.

Liam went near the wall where the laser guns were kept in display. He pressed a small button on that wall and the glass door opened. He pressed another button again and a different side of the wall opened to reveal a secret room. Inside there were several other larger models of laser guns and missiles.

There were also shooting target inside that room. Those targets were on a stand and they were also made out of Astrostial.

Liam took out one of those shooting targets and then closed the door of the secret room. Then he also took out a simple and small model of the laser gun from the display that was kept at the front.

He set the shooting target in the opposite direction from where Alexis and Vorian were watching. That way, even if Natalia misfired, it would just hit on the empty wall in the front.

Liam stood in front of the target with a frown in his face. He was already in a battle mode. "Come here" Liam asked Natalia to come closer to where he was standing. Natalia reluctantly waked to his side.

Liam demonstrated to Natalia how they were supposed to hold the laser gun. "You hold it like this with your one hand and then support it from below with the other hand so that it won't recoil. And then you need to aim at the target and then press the trigger, like this…" Liam took a shooting posture and then shot a beam. The beam managed to hit right in the bull's eye.

"Nice shot!" Natalia said excitedly and then clapped to cheer her boyfriend. "This is what you meant when you said you know 'pretty much' how to use these laser guns? That was just perfect."

"I did a lot of practice since when I was 14 years old. Seems like I have not forgotten it." Liam modestly smiled at Natalia.

"He is good at this." Vorian's eyes were fixed at Liam.

Alexis also nodded to agree with Vorian. She was impressed with Liam's shooting skills. Alexis glanced at Vorian and asked him, "Do you also know how to use laser guns?"

"I used to shoot at my brother with toy guns, if that counts" Vorian shrugged and then gave a silly grin to Alexis. And Alexis could not help but laugh at this answer of Vorian.

Liam handed the laser gun to Natalia. "Try shooting at the target in front of you. If doesn't have to be the bull's eye, just try to shoot anywhere on that target."

Natalia took a deep breath and then aimed at the target. Then she pressed the trigger. The beam, however, did not land on the target and went straight to hit the wall. Natalia felt somewhat ashamed of herself and her face started to turn red.

"What was that? I did not even hit the target" Natalia was scolding herself in her mind.

But Liam did not mind that at all. He went behind Natalia like he was about to hug her and held on Natalia's hand along with the gun. Then he pointed the laser gun at the target and whispered in Natalia's ears, "You need to aim like your life depends on it. That red dot in the middle is your enemy. And you need to take that out, or you die. You point at it and then kill it."

When they fired it, the laser beam hit right in the middle of the target again. Natalia liked the way Liam way holding her hands and teaching her, though he sounded a bit too aggressive.

"You should try once again. Can you do it yourself?" Liam asked to Natalia, still holding her hand.

"I will try" Natalia nodded and Liam left her hand. He stood by her side again and rooted for her.

Natalia aimed again, this time she did not let her focus to dwindle. She fired a shot again and she managed to hit on the target circle.

Natalia hopped in the air and shouted happily "Yessss!"

"Noooo" Alexis simultaneously shouted from behind. "It's already 9:45. We are going to be late for class. Hurry up let's go."

"It's 9:45 already? Oh shoot!" Natalia handed the laser gun to Liam and then ran towards Alexis.

Alexis smiled at Vorian and then said in a hurry, "Babe, I'll take to you at night okay? And you should get some sleep. I have been disturbing your sleep a lot lately."

"I don't mind being disturbed by you. See you later babe." Vorian winked at Alexis and was ready to disappear from the bunker. "See you" Alexis took out her cell phone and then disconnected the projection.

Liam also caught up with the girls after putting back the laser gun in its place. Then he opened the door of the bunker and all three of them ran out of there.

"You girls wait for me outside. I will bring out my car." Liam ran towards his garage while the girls ran outside of the mansion.

"I think we should set an alarm at 9 AM from tomorrow onwards. We don't want to miss our classes." Natalia suggested to Alexis while they were running outside.

"Sounds like a plan. And please don't forget to take off your earmuffs." Alexis sneered at Natalia. "Aren't you feeling hot?"

Natalia laughed and took of those earmuffs.

Both the girls got inside of Liam's car and then they zoomed towards the SpaceTravel Academy.

As usual, Natalia was enjoying her Spaceship Designs class. Though she was disappointed that she was unable to find out what was the problem with the Raider 01, which they had discovered in the Dead Zone, that didn't stop her from learning more about other models of spaceships.

Natalia wanted to ask her father about the Raider 01 but lately, her father would barely talk with her for a minute. David would say that he was too busy lately, and would just inform Natalia about his current location.

After the class was over, Natalia was getting ready for her Aerodynamics class. But Professor Tobias stopped her "Natalia, can I talk with you for a minute?" This was beginning to turn out to be like a ritual between Natalia and Professor Tobias.

"Yes Professor" Natalia had a feeling that Professor Tobias had some good news for her and she looked at him with expectant eyes.

"Your question about the Raider 01 has left me feeling conflicted. And after contemplating about it for a whole night, I have decided to let you in a little secret." Tobias sighed as he was still feeling a little uncomfortable about this.

Natalia's eyes glistened with joy because she had a hunch that Tobias was keeping something from her. And now he was finally ready to share it with her. She smiled and said, "I'm all ears."

Tobias had a very serious expression when he began talking. "It is a trade secret of the Celinians so I was skeptical to share this information with you. But you are one of the brilliant students I have ever taught so I will make an exception. And if anyone ever asks you how you know that information, it was not me who told that to you."

Natalia did not understand why it was such a big deal that Tobias was being so over-cautious. But she still smiled and agreed "Sure Professor. I won't reveal the secret to anyone else."

Tobias took a deep breath in and then explained, "When I worked in the IGT Fed, I was a part of the Research and Development department. I had worked closely with the Celinians and I know a lot more things which I am not allowed to share.

The Raider 01 also has an inbuilt AI System which can connect directly with the crafts' pilot or the owner. It only starts itself when it takes command via voice recognition. All other things can be done manually but in order for it to start, it has to get the command from its own pilot. And there is still another catch, the AI was built in such a way that only a Celinian can connect with it. So, Raider 01 is pretty much useless to others."

Natalia grinned broadly after hearing what the Professor had to say. "That is brilliant!" She thought to herself.

Natalia was feeling over the moon after finally finding out the answer. But she gained her calm and spoke softly and carefully, "Thank you Professor. Finally I can sleep peacefully. I don't know why but the question had been bugging me at the back of my head."

Tobias smiled at nodded at Natalia who went out of the room with a little hop.