“What was that?” Lana frowned at the notification.

“My men are handling the body,” Bulco said. “It's a bit of a shame about having to divide it between the twelve of us, but at least all the remaining zero levels will level up now.”

“Lana, can you go check the ship’s logs?” Nori said. “See if you can figure out what that guy’s real story was. And who else can we expect to come here.”

“I’ll try.” She climbed the stairs and disappeared inside the ship.

Several harsh-looking men came out of the library, carrying a few items with them.

“Hey, boss,” Lucas said. “Thanks for the save. Here are the things the alien had on him, minus one destroyed pistol.”

They laid the golden-white armor on the ground and a few items beside it.

Zaltec light scout armor. Strength, Agility, Awareness +1.
Shields Rank: F8, Armor: Rank F5

Stunner, Rank: F5

Talon, Rank: F9

piTec: 2,200

Zaltec scanner

Fusion Grenade, Rank: E1

Bulco let out a low whistle. “That grenade could have come in handy when we fought the Broodmother.”

“Just be glad he didn’t use it when it was him fighting against us,” Nori said grimly.

“I am. I’ll just hold onto it, for now. It looks like anyone can use it.”

“No,” Nori said with a tone of finality. “We’ll put it along with the other weapons on the ship. I think we can use the upgrade options and build an armory.”

Nathan looked from the Navigator to the Engineer and back again with a puzzled expression.

Bulco grinned at her knowingly. “Fine by me, but you should take that Talon. We can’t have our captain go around equipped with a pitiful Zapper. You can use it, right?”

Nori nodded slowly. “Just barely. I don’t have the right Path for it, but my level suppression trait picks up the slack.”

“Go ahead then.”

Nori scooped up the Talon and held it up to admire its sleek curved lines. She tucked the weapon into her belt. “I wonder how Fle'gak made it just appear out of thin air.”

“We can ask the friendly alien merchant about it. What about the other stuff?”

“Lana gets the scanner,” Nori decided. “It makes the most sense.”

“And the armor?”

Nori looked at it hesitantly.

“You should take it,” Bulco pressed.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right.”

“Feeling bad is the luxury of those who live in safety. We are in a constant fight for our lives, so it stands to reason that our captain should be well protected. Besides …” he gave her a crooked grin. “It won’t fit me; I checked the Engineering specs. It can only shift to about ten percent of its current size.”