Nori shook her head. “Got things to take care of. Now that you guys can take care of yourself, there are other shelters that need my help.”

“What you did for us it’s …” Martin shook his head. “It’s unbelievable. You gave us hope.” He remained standing next to her as the last of his men passed through, and he lowered his voice. “But those Zappers won’t hold us for long. They were like mosquito bites to the larger Warped, and they’ll probably run out of juice in a week.”

The woman nodded. “I know. This is just a temporary measure, something to help get you started. Now that a bunch of your people have leveled … you need to find a way to leverage that. Maybe some of the new Paths can be used to strengthen your defenses. Mine let me fly alien ships, who knows, maybe one of your guys can build futuristic turrets?”

Martin chuckled. “That would be a welcome addition. We might, as you say, make it on our own, but we might not. I’d sleep much better knowing you had our backs.”

“My friends and I are working on a plan to help more survivors. If we succeed, it might be enough to help safeguard every shelter in the country. But we’ll need your help with that.”

“Anything I can do, just say it.”

“I need some water … and the piTec your men took off the Warped bodies.”

Martin frowned. “The piTec? Why?”

Nori hesitated. “I … I’d rather not say right now. It might cause problems if it becomes common knowledge. But trust me, it’s important.”

Martin nodded. “I trust you. I wouldn’t be alive without you.” He took out a handful of the teardrop-shaped objects and handed them to her.

“Thanks.”

Nori concentrated, feeling the piTec shifting on her open hand. The nine pebbles wobbled like drops of water and merged into a single solid tear.

piTec: 2700

Martin’s jaw dropped.

Nori winked at him. “Just a taste of what it can do.”

Martin shook his head in disbelief. He sighed and pointed at a stack of jerry cans. “These are filled with clean water, take as much as you’d like.”

“Thanks.” Nori bent down, and effortlessly lifted two of the twenty-kilo tanks. “I’ll see you later.”

The shelter’s heavy metal gate banged closed behind the Navigator as she carried her cargo back to the shuttle.

***

Lana frowned as she continued studying the asymmetrical geometric shape hologram. “That doesn’t make any sense!” She stomped her foot on the floor.

Nathan looked up from whatever he was doing with the ship’s controls.