“I think I’m in love,” Nori said, looking at her new toy with shining eyes as she came out of the ship to survey her catch.

“That was amazing!” Lana said. “Zap, zap, and two Warped are goners.”

Nori nodded. “This Disruptor is crazy powerful. With a few more like it, we could clean up the entire city, then everyone would be able to leave the shelters and live normally again.”

Lana chuckled nervously. “That would be something, but I don’t see any other crashed ships around here or dead aliens.”

“Then we’ll just have to find some,” Nori said with a dangerous tone.

Lana shifted uncomfortably, hoping the strong woman was referring to more crashed ships, rather than dead aliens.

Nathan shielded his eyes and pointed at the upper part of the ship.

“Damn, you’re right,” Nori’s face fell. “That opening looks about the size of the shuttle. Part of the hull has become twisted from the impact and is blocking the exit. We’ll need something powerful enough to twist it back into shape.”

“You’ll need a crane for that,” Lana protested, “Or something equally powerful, like a bulldozer.”

“Hmm …” Nori looked down at her hands. “A bulldozer … or a Hummer.”

Lana's eyes widened as she took the woman’s meaning. “But didn’t you say the gang was dangerous?”

“I wasn’t planning on asking for their help. I’m a Navigator now, right? I bet I could drive that Hummer just fine. Besides, I have my baby here if we get into trouble.” She patted her weapon affectionately.

“You want to steal from them? That would probably make them angry. Why not look for another Hummer or a tractor?”

Nori shook her head. “Something tells me they won’t work. I don’t know, maybe it's a Navigator thing. But I guess there’s no harm in checking it out. But before we do …” She approached one of the dead Warped and nudged it with her feet.

Tec extraction commencing.

Extracted 0.4 Tec (10% success rate).

Faint light streamed from the body toward the three companions.

“Aww.” Lana scrunched her nose in disappointment, “This time I got much less than before, only point six Tec extracted.”

“That’s half again what I got,” Nori said dispassionately.

Lana winced, “Sorry.”

“Doesn’t matter.” The taller woman lifted her weapon. “That choice allowed me to use my sweetheart over here.”

“The total Tec count in my Status increased to six and I need eight to make it to level four.”

“I’m still at five,” Nori said, approaching the second Warped and nudged it as well.

Tec extraction commencing.

Extracted 0.4 Tec (10% success rate).

She glanced at her status screen.

Nori, Human, level 3 (6 Tec)

“And now I’m six too,” she said in satisfaction.

Wordlessly, Nathan bent down and plucked the two teardrop-shaped gems that formed over the bodies.

piTec: 400

piTec: 300