“It’s like what I did with the ammo. The entire car is Infused with Tec, so when it ran over the creature it injured it permanently.”

Nori grinned, patting the steering wheel lovingly. “Bad motherfucker.”

She put the car in reverse and drove backwards.

“What are you doing?” Bulco asked.

“No sense in letting it go to waste.”

She opened the side door with the Zapper leading and shot the downed creature in the head. The energy beam sliced through flesh and metal easily.

With the kill confirmed, Nori extended one leg out and lightly tapped the creature.

Extracted 0.6 Tec,

piTec: 600

The soft glow that emanated from the body washed over the two passengers.

“Nice.” The man flashed her a smile full of white teeth.

“I think that’s enough for now,” Nori agreed. “Too bad about the front bumper though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can easily fix the dent.”

They drove back to the freighter and loaded the vehicle into the cargo hold.

“Keep your eyes open. We ran over a Warped a few blocks away,” Bulco advised his men.

“We always do, boss,” Lucas said. “But we’ve been seeing fewer of them lately.”

“That’s because most of the ugly bastards have holed up together,” the large man said darkly. “Make sure everyone’s ready when we return. We’re going to light them up.”

“I’ve been itching for some action, boss,” D’Angelo said. “I love the smell of roasted Warped in the morning.”

Nori rolled her eyes. “Just make sure not to die while we’re gone. We are going to need everyone when we get back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the man answered.

They closed the hanger door and returned to the bridge. Nathan had reconnected to the weird setup and Lana was deeply immersed in a holographic screen in front of her.

Nori went to the quarters and retrieved the spacesuit they’d found. She fumbled with it a bit before realizing she didn't have to. All it took was to press the futuristic alien design to her chest and it opened on its own, snugly wrapping her body.

“Nice,” she muttered to herself and returned to the bridge. “We’re ready to take off,” she declared. “I’m going to set a course to the space station.”

Nori looked around. Bulco was nowhere in sight, and her other two companions weren’t paying her much attention. “No respect for the pilot,” she grunted and called for the flight console.

The ship started hovering off the ground. It turned in place, its nose pointing upward, then it launched forward like a bullet out of a gun.

“Alright, guys!” Nori called out loudly several minutes later, pressing a button to project her voice to the rest of the ship. “We’re at the cloud level, it’s time for you to hole up in the quarters.”