Chapter 2

Vaarn sat at his desk in the engineering bay, staring blankly at the reports stacked in front of him. Each one was important and required his full attention as chief engineer of the station, but he couldn"t focus. His mind kept wandering back to the previous night and the look on Sadie"s face when he"d left her standing at the door to her quarters.

She"d tried to hide it, but he"d seen the disappointment in her eyes. He wished he"d accepted her invitation to spend more time with her. Get to know her. Perhaps he would have been able to get her to agree to his claim.

And if wishes were kervasi…

He sighed, leaning back in his chair and running a big hand through his hair. It didn"t matter what he wanted or wished for. Sadie was not his to care for and never would be. As soon as she signed up for the Mate Program, she would be matched to another and lost to him forever.

With a grunt of frustration, he turned his gaze to his surroundings, hoping to distract himself. His office was large and brand new. It hadn"t been part of the original construction of the ship that had become the station, but had been constructed after the conversion.

The smooth silver walls and glowing blue accents of the low lighting irritated the draanth out of him. The wall above his desk was taken up by a large window out into the engineering bay, a transparent display screen showcasing various engineering diagrams and data sitting in front of it. Along the right side of the room was a long counter covered in his projects. An assortment of partly-constructed inventions and circuit boards jostled for room among tools, components, and the tracking bracelets for the human mates that he tinkered with in his spare time. Containers that had held field cake proved he spent more time in here than he should.

He shifted in his chair, stifling a groan as his muscles protested the movement. The morning"s training session had been grueling. His training group had pressed him hard. They"d ganged up, raining blows down on him in the sparring circle, the strikes so thick and fast that he"d had to be strategic about what he blocked and what he let through. The sparring had been so furious that the other groups in the hall had paused to watch. But then, he and his group were some of the best-trained and most experienced warriors on the station. The others looked up to them.

Which meant that he wasn"t going to utter a word about how much he ached or allow it to show by even a flicker of an eyelid, even if he did want nothing more than to soak in a tub with regeneration salts for about a week.

He almost groaned at the thought. But… duty came first. With another sigh, he leaned forward and dragged a dataflex off the top of the pile. It was a maintenance request for the ventilation systems in the human quarters. There were complaints about a bad smell in one of the sectors.

He looked over the top of the flex to the line of burned-out TX-14 chips on his desk. Each chip had been recovered from one of the station"s sub-routers, and most were charred and unrepairable. The one he"d taken from the sub-router near Sadie"s quarters was at the front, nearest to him.

"Draanth it," he muttered under his breath as he sat up. Putting the report aside, he grabbed his input console to pull up the station maintenance and acquisition records. His focus intent, he followed the digital breadcrumbs back through the station"s records, linking each fried chip to the specific system it had been installed in.

The TX-14s were integral to the station"s running, so this kind of mass meltdown wasn"t something he could afford to ignore. And there were too many of them to be accidental. He drilled down through data streams with the same kind of single-minded focus that the Krin hunted their prey with. There had to be a reason for the meltdowns. Previously stable components didn"t just decide that this month was the one for spontaneous combustion. Perhaps they had all been from the same production batch… a fault in a material, and they"d all failed at the same time?—

But no. He frowned as the installation and batch records appeared on the screen. They were all from different purchase batches and manufacturing plants.

"What the…?"

He dug down, cross-referencing locations, and, finally, a pattern emerged. The damaged chips spanned across residential areas, communal spaces, and even tucked away in corners of the station he didn"t even know existed. But they all shared one thing in common: they played roles in systems crucial to daily life—ventilation being one of them.

"Computer," he said, his voice breaking the silence in his office. "Analyze the distribution of damaged TX-14 chips and identify any sections unaffected by these malfunctions."

He sat back, watching the data as he waited for the computer to finish its search. Vague shadows moved behind the screen, engineers going about their duty shifts.

"Analysis complete," the computer said. Its tone was neutral, but it had a B"Kaar accent. One day, when he had more time, he would get it re-coded. "All sections have reported incidents of TX-14 chip damage except one."

"Which one?"

"The Mate Program offices."

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers.

"Check and validate your findings. Confirm that the Mate Offices are unaffected," he ordered with a frown.

If it was right, then this was a significant development. The Mate Program offices weren"t integral to the station systems, but they should have been just as susceptible to chip failures as any other department.

"Computer," he said. "Display schematics for the Mate Program offices" systems. I want a detailed comparison with affected areas."

The screen shifted, blueprints cascading before him like an unfolding map. He studied each line and circuit system, looking for the reason why one department wasn"t affected.

"Analyze and give me any noticeable differences between the affected and unaffected areas."

"The Mate Program offices" systems were updated three months ago with enhanced security protocols and reinforced hardware," the computer said.

He nodded. That made sense. The Mate Program was highly classified, and security in that entire area had been uprated to protect the precious females. "List all the enhancements that were made."

"Enhancements include the installation of triple-reinforced Varanium steel for all access doors and bulkheads."

He grunted. Varanium, while incredibly strong, was also expensive and rare, even for a station as important as Devan. The fact that they had allocated such resources spoke volumes about how seriously they took the security of the Mate Program.

"Additionally," the AI said, "all glass panels have been replaced with impact-resistant DuraCryst plexiglass."

He nodded, only half-listening. His gaze drifted across his desk to where a fragment of DuraCryst sat amongst his various projects. The material could withstand direct blaster fire; it was almost indestructible. But it was standard protocol in high-security areas, so it was nothing of note here.

"The air filtration system has been upgraded with a secondary backup and is now lined with micro-filtration mesh capable of filtering out contaminants up to 0.001 microns."

His eyes narrowed. An upgrade like that would defend against most known airborne toxins… which was a level of paranoia suggesting that the powers that be were preparing for more than just an average system failure.

"Cybersecurity measures have been enhanced with multi-layered encryption protocols, including biometric locks on all data terminals."

"Biometric locks are standard and easy to bypass for anyone with B"Kaar level technology," he said. "Specify enhancements beyond Imperial standard protocol."

"Understood. Enhancements include personalized DNA sequencer checks against a predetermined list, with redundant fail-safes that engage complete lockdown should any unauthorized access attempt be detected."

He considered this for a moment. Such measures were extreme but not unheard of in high-security Imperial military installations. He wasn"t surprised they"d added them to the Mate area.

"And?" he prompted again.

"All internal communication lines within the Mate Program offices are isolated from the main station"s network and employ d'henaas encryption nodes to prevent interception or hacking from external sources."

His eyebrows shot up. D'henaas encryption nodes… that was technology so advanced and expensive it wasn"t often seen outside Imperial military vessels, specifically the flagships. It made messages impossible to intercept because they weren"t transmitted in the usual way. It was also not a B"Kaar technology, which meant that the emperor had ordered measures against the cyberwarrior clan.

"Interesting," he murmured, scrolling through the schematics and noting each new feature.

"Also, the offices have been equipped with independent power breaker systems designed to isolate them from the main grid in case of system-wide failure or sabotage."

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. It looked like someone had anticipated an event like this—perhaps even prepared for it. "This is all interesting, but not what I"m looking for. Is there anything else noteworthy about the Mate Program offices?"

"Given your interest in TX chips, it is worth noting that the chips installed in the specified area of the station are a newer model of TX-14 chip, which are not present in other sections."

He blinked. That was it.

"Open communications with the Mate Program offices," he ordered. "Route me to med-tech V"Renn."

The console beeped as it established a connection. A moment later, S"aad V"Renn"s face appeared on his screen—he was a distant cousin of Vaarn's with sharp eyes that didn"t miss a thing.

"S"aad." Vaarn greeted him with a nod.

"Vaarn." S"aad grinned, a wide smile on his face. Like most V"Renn he was tall and whipcord lean, his fair, sand-hued hair and vivid green eyes making it hard to work out his true age. Something Vaarn knew S"aad had used to his advantage many times. "I was about to call you."

"Oh? What for?"

"I was just about to request another shipment of tracking bracelets from you." S"aad leaned back in his chair. "They've proven extremely popular with the newly mated warriors."

Vaarn nodded. He wasn"t surprised.

"Can"t say I blame them for wanting peace of mind," he said. "Two years ago, we faced a future without mates. No one wants to take any chances with their safety."

The other warrior nodded. "Every male on this station will fight to the death to protect their mate."

"Let"s hope it doesn"t come to that. However, I did design the bracelets so they cannot be removed without the right tools. Once on, they don"t come off."

"Clever." S"aad nodded. "The warriors like that they can track their mates anywhere on the station or on the planet below. Gives them some control over the situation."

He hesitated, frowning. "Have there been any specific threats against the human females that I should know about?"

The med-tech shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Just males being extra cautious. Can"t blame them."

"No, you"re right." Still, something about it nagged at him. The increased security and the general jitteriness of the warriors who had mates? Was there some risk somewhere they weren"t being told about? Could Sadie be in danger?

"Anyway," S"aad said with a smile, "Make me another batch of bracelets, and I"ll get them distributed."

"Of course. Never thought my jewelry-making skills would prove so useful." He snorted in amusement. "I may need to take on an assistant at this rate."

That wasn"t a bad idea. He pulled a notepad toward himself, scrawling a quick note to remind himself to do that later.

S"aad laughed. "The great Vaarn T"Kaan, renowned engineer and warrior, now making jewelry for all the station"s lovesick males. Who would have thought?"

He grunted, his lips quirking in amusement. "Don"t let word of that get out. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Wouldn"t dream of it, cousin," S"aad said, an innocent look on his face. "This will be just between us."

Vaarn eyed him for a moment. "On another note, I"ve discovered something strange happening with the station"s systems. We have TX-14s burning out all over the place, apart from in your offices."

"Curious." S"aad"s eyebrow winged up. "What"s different about our offices? "

"It appears the chips in the Mate Program offices are newer models of the TX-14. Other than that, I have no idea what the difference is. Any chance you can pull one so I can analyze it?"

S"aad nodded. "Of course, I"ll grab one and bring it over later on. I have a full batch of samples to input, but I should be done about lunchtime. I"ll bring it over then."

He nodded his thanks, but it was an absent gesture as he focused on his kinsman.

"Can I ask you something?" he said after a moment, changing the subject.

S"aad raised an eyebrow. "Of course, cousin. What is it?"

He hesitated, wondering if he was making a mistake bringing this up. But who better to ask than the med-tech in charge of matching human females to Latharian warriors?

"It"s about Sadie. Sadie Keare..."