“About a month ago an alien object crashed outside the city,” he said. “We didn’t know what it was and there was hardly anything left after the impact, but I managed to scavenge some components. My interface showed me what they were, and that gave me an idea. I found the Hummer and replaced half the engine with the stuff I found. That seemed to do the job.”

“What was the thing that crashed down?” Lana asked with a frown. “Another freighter?”

Bulco shook his head. “Nah, it was small—even smaller than the shuttle. I think it was a single person escape pod but we didn’t find a body, so it might not have been occupied.”

“Aliens fighting aliens,” Nori muttered. “I wish to God we could finally get a grasp of what’s going on around here.”

Bulco shrugged. “As long as they’re killing each other and not us, I’m fine with it. Anyway, I got the Hummer to work and it was a huge help in taking down more of the Warped. Then my scouts spotted the freighter coming down, so we came over to investigate. I think you know the rest of the story.”

“You mean when you threatened us to get off your ship?” Nori’s lips curved.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I thought at first you were from one of the other gangs.”

Nori chuckled. “No chance. Though I did bump into them from time to time, before the Calamity.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “My full name is Nori Allegra. My father’s Italian-American. He immigrated to Brazil, where he met my mother. I grew up in São Paulo. My parents earned enough so we didn’t have to live in the favela, but most of my friends did. I started learning Capoeira when I was six so I could take care of myself.”

“That explains how you’re so strong,” Lana said. “It must have been a tough childhood.”