“I don’t know.” Lana threw up her arms. “Nathan is … Nathan. He was always quiet. And brilliant. But when the Calamity came and everyone died around us, he sort of … retreated into himself. We were the only ones left, we took care of each other, and we learned to ...” She threw the young man a guilty look.

Nathan took in a long breath and nodded at her.

Lana sighed and looked at Nori. “Even at level zero, he could still activate some of our technology.” She looked at Bulco. “That’s how he kept us safe. I think … I think … he can somehow manipulate the Tec directly, not just technology that contains it.” She looked back at the young man. “I guess that’s how he talks to me.”

Bulco straightened in his seat. “He’s actually talking to you?”

“Not exactly,” the woman replied. “He looks at me, and I sort of just know what he wants to say. It’s almost like I think up the words on my own, but they come from him.”

“You mean he’s a telepath?” Bulco said incredulously.

Lana shook her head. “No. I think … he can manipulate the Tec in my mind to carry messages.”

Nori frowned. “I don’t think that’s exactly it.” She looked at Nathan. “Can you send me a message?”

The young man’s forehead crinkled, then he shook his head.

“I thought so.” The tall woman turned to the shorter one. “It’s you, Lana. I don’t doubt that Nathan has some strange abilities, but it looks like you’re the only one that can receive those messages. It must be part of your talent for grasping information so easily. I’m guessing it synergizes with his ability.”

Lana furrowed her brow at that.

Nori’s lips curved. “Or to put it another way, it’s because you’re the Expert.”

“I guess that answers that,” the large Engineer grumbled. He narrowed his eyes at Nathan. "But after we're done dealing with the Warped, you and I are going to sit down and have a long conversation. So you better stock up on writing materials, or just learn how to talk again"

Nathan shifted uncomfortably.

“Okay, so now we know each other a little better,” Nori stepped in. “We still have five hours of flight left. I suggest we use the time to rest up.”

Lana nodded. “I agree.”

“Might not be a bad idea,” Bulco said. He got up and walked toward the exit. “First, I’m going to install the geometric stabilizer in the Hummer, then hit the shower and go to sleep. Wake me up when we get there.”

Lana frowned. “We have a shower?”

Wordlessly, the Engineer pointed at one of the full jerry cans.

Nori got into one of the empty beds. “We can all sleep. I set up an alarm to go off when we get close.”