“Are you absolutely sure you don’t prefer to settle your debt using the resources you have acquired?” Alzigo asked. “I’m especially interested in the Mithril.”

Nori shook her head. “One of Unity’s available upgrades is an asteroid cannon and that requires Mithril. I’d rather keep what we have now, especially since it doesn’t seem likely we’ll be able to get more any time soon.”

“I can understand that. Mithril’s natural properties make it an ideal component in many projectile-based weapon system designs.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Lana said. She reached into her pocket and took out a small pebble. “Do you have any equipment that can analyze this?”

“It’s something we found on the moon,” Nori added, shooting the younger woman a warning look.

Alzigo took the pebble, held it in his open palm, and activated a small console on his wrist with his other arm. “It’s just an asteroid shard,” he shrugged. “I detect traces of nickel, iron, and other similar elements. It isn’t worth much on its own, though it contains some of the components required to synthesize Trinium.”

“So you’re not picking up any energy signature?’ Nori asked casually.

“No, why? Should I?”

“I guess not. Thanks for your help.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

“Any update on the ammo?”

He checked his wrist. “About halfway through.”

Lana chuckled suddenly. “I still can’t believe how easily we all adjusted. We’re lounging on a space-sofa, looking down on Earth while having a conversation with an alien about making bullets.”

Nathan frowned. He was feeling better since the synthesis, but he most definitely did not feel well adjusted.

Bulco shrugged off her comment. “You either adapt or you die. That’s the law of the jungle.”

The young woman shook her head. “There has to be more to it than that.”

“Of course there is, Miss.”

They all looked up to their host.

“One of the Tec’s functions is to stabilize brain chemistry,” he explained. “It’s another aspect of their healing capability. For most species, mental deficiency is a result of a chemical imbalance. The Tec can easily rectify that.”

“Wait, are you saying that the god-damned nanobots control my mind?” Bulco half-rose from the hammock.

Nathan paled at the large man’s words, and his fingers clenched around the soft sofa fabric. So it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. The Tec was trying to mess around with his mind.

However, their tall host shook his head. “Not at all. Paranoia, hallucinations, blind panic, are all biological impurities which the Tec can fix. It does not control you. If it did, you’d become a Warped.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, digesting the new information.

“What about a person’s personality or point of view?” Nori suddenly asked.

“They would not be affected, of course.”

“Even if we’re talking about someone twisted? A sadist or a psychopath?”