Nori nodded. “We might be doing him an injustice, god knows he had good reasons to do what he did, but I’d like to be careful, just to be on the safe side. But we do need him: he’s strong and can fix the ship, and so far he seemed genuinely interested in helping.”

“All done.” Bulco strode back to the bridge. “What are you two talking about?”

“Flying.”

“PMS.”

Lana’s face turned crimson.

Nori didn’t flinch. “That bump didn’t do Lana any favors.”

Lana’s blush deepened.

Bulco winced. “Sorry I asked. I’ll start working on the quarters.”

“Don’t you need to go outside the ship for that?”

“The hull borders only one of the quarter’s walls so I’ll need to go out to work on that one, but the other parts, even the floor and ceiling, are internal bulkhead that I can work on from within. That’s partly why the room is the quickest to fix.”

Nori nodded. “Gotcha. Then I’ll get us to the Grand Mall. I’m sure Diamond will be happy to receive the ammo shipment.”

Bulco nodded, and Nori turned back to the main screen and held up her arms. The pilot chair formed around her and the holographic controls reappeared around her fingers. She took a steadying breath and very carefully moved a finger. “Nice and easy does it …”

***

Bulco’s two followers remained behind, working on the giant vehicle.

They looked up as the large freighter lifted off and flew away.

“Man, did you ever think you’d see something like that up close?”

“You know I didn’t. Who did?”

“Think the boss’s gonna make it?”

“He has to. There’s no one else who’s strong enough to do it.”

“True.”

The man squinted at the gun-shaped instrument he took from the kit.

Exhar sealing gun. Resigoo capacity: 200/200

“Now, how the hell is this thing supposed to work?”

***

Nori guided the ship, keeping it on a steady course.

Lana sat to her right, tapping her own console. “Everything looks clear up ahead according to the sensors. Um … I think.”

“You think?” Nori said through clenched teeth, trying to maintain her concentration and keep the ship above ground.

“Well, the blue dots around us don’t move, and there are no red or yellow spots anywhere near us. A few of the darker ones on the sides shift a bit but calm down once we pass them, so, yeah - I think it’s clear.”

Nori frowned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to doubt you.”

“That’s alright, we’re still figuring out how all this stuff works. We’re inside an alien spaceship for crying out loud.”

Nori glanced at Nathan who was sitting, eyes closed, with dozens of fibers still connected to him. “Doesn’t look like he’s struggling to learn.”