Chapter 3

The scent of recycled oxygen mixed with the sharp tang of synthetic protein hit Chigs the moment he stepped into the ship's broad mess hall. He wrinkled his nose, noticing Emmy's pert nose do the same before she covered it with a pale, petite hand. One of the cyborgs must've been in charge of cooking again—they always seemed to burn the chow and end up having to use the replicators. But food was the last thing on Chigs's mind. He glanced at the crew members seated at the long tables near the galley doors, looking for Kashatok's bearded copper face.

At one end of the main table, Tovik spoke with animated exaggeration, eliciting a burst of harsh laughter from a handful of crew members. At the other end, Qaiyaan sat with his shaggy dark head close to Lisa, his human mate, lost in their own private world.

Emmy nudged Chigs's arm and pointed toward a long table to the right where Kashatok sat alone. His furry lavender netorpok, Jhikik, sat perched on his shoulder. The creature's eyes were half-lidded, as if sleepy, but the tip of its prehensile tail twitched with alertness. The little pest was probably just waiting for a chance to cause trouble.

Chigs strode over and slid onto the bench across from Kashatok, who had one hand wrapped around a bottle of Kantarellian rum. A platter of synthesized protein lumps in green gravy sat mostly untouched in front of him. Jhikik bared his tiny teeth as Kashatok pushed the bottle toward the newcomers. "Might want to drink your rations and avoid the food tonight."

"Thanks, iluq." Chigs accepted the rum and took a long pull directly from the bottle before offering it to Emmy. The small human tipped it back to drink without hesitation. He watched her slender throat ripple as she swallowed, appreciating a woman who wasn't afraid of a drink or two. It strengthened his belief that she was the right person to help with his mission.

A sudden cough set Emmy's brown curls bouncing, and she set the bottle down with a thud. Chigs reached over to thump her back, but Jhikik leaped to the table, then to Emmy's lap, chittering a warning. Chigs scowled and withdrew his hand. Those needle-sharp teeth had bitten him enough times to make Chigs wary of the little tunrak.

Emmy cleared her throat and stroked the beast's soft fur. "Aw, aren't you the cutest?"

Her smile made Chigs's secondary heart do a strange little double beat that he found unsettling. Reassured the creature wasn't hostile toward Emmy, Chigs returned to the task at hand. "Kashatok, I need your help organizing a mission."

Kashatok frowned. "What mission?"

"To find my mate." Chigs quickly explained his vision, pausing only briefly when Joy plopped down on the bench next to Kashatok. She was still in her work coveralls, a smudge of gray hydraulic fluid marring the tan skin on the side of her neck. She set a platter of green glop onto the table in front of her.

Kashatok put his arm around her, pulling her close while his other hand reached for the rum. "Don't eat that," he murmured into her short, dark hair.

Chigs felt a twinge of jealousy over the mated pair's obvious bond, but reminded himself that his mission would soon win him a mate of his own. He wrapped up his summary with, "We think the Cartel might have additional intel about the location of the lab."

Kashatok shook his head slowly. "You want me to contract with the Cartel over a dream?" He took a swig of rum. "I know we're between missions at the moment, Chigs, but that's a pretty big risk for something so uncertain. Hard data, maybe. But a dream?"

Emmy added, "It is a risk, but it's possible that it's based on a subconscious memory that could hold clues about Syndicorp activities. I've worked with chambers like he describes. They were on a base near Nunum-qa."

"It's not a dream. Ellam Cua sent me a vision." Chigs's chest puffed with certainty. "It led me to Emmy, and she?—"

Tovik slid onto the bench near Chigs, gazing past him toward Emmy with a wistful expression. "Did I hear you say you and Emmy are mates? Congratulations."

Chigs realized more of the crew were now listening from the other table, likely jumping to similar conclusions. Uminaq. Better clear this up quickly. "Emmy's not my mate, kid, so you still have a chance."

Emmy stiffened, then shoved Chigs's shoulder. "Tovik and I have already had that discussion, Chigs. We're not compatible." Then she smiled at Tovik to soften the rejection. "But I'm proud to be his friend."

Kashatok pushed the rum toward the kid in silent sympathy, and Tovik gave him a stiff smile before taking a long a drink.

Feeling bad about putting both Emmy and Tovik on the spot, Chigs continued, "I can feel my mate calling me through our divine bond. She's in one of the pods Dollard's people took with them when they fled."

Tovik lowered the bottle, ginger eyebrows pinched with confusion. "So you haven't met her yet? I thought you needed physical contact to form the bond."

"Ellam Cua blessed me with a vision. I know this feeling is true." Chigs returned his focus to Kashatok. "Right now, I need Kashatok to contact the Cartel and see if they know anything about the lab in my vision."

Kashatok crossed his arms over his long beard. "I don't want to doubt you—or Ellam Cua, for that matter—but I'm not sure this would be the best use of our resources. Asking for help from the Cartel is expensive." He shifted his attention to the crew watching from the other table. "What do you think, Qaiyaan? Doug?"

Emmy interrupted. "Can't Doug just hack us the funds, as usual?" She glanced toward the cyborg male at the far end of the table. "I think we should at least ask them."

Warmth spread through Chigs at her support.

"How does the Cartel fit into all this?" Marlis asked from behind them. Chigs looked over his shoulder to where the gunslinger stood, hands on her hips over her gun belt. "I thought they were our enemies, too."

Lisa chimed in from the other table, her voice tinged with bitterness. "They are. The Cartel is just as ruthless and untrustworthy as Syndicorp, forcing colonies to pay protection money, running slaves, murdering entire families to keep their secrets. We'd do well to remember that."

Noatak rose and pulled Marlis over to sit on the bench next to Emmy. "The relationship between the Cartel and the rebellion is... complicated. Sometimes our interests align. Other times, they don't." He leaned in to address Kashatok. "But we can't always afford to be picky about our allies. If this is a lead, we should follow it."

The mess hall doors slid open to admit Mek and Rashana. Seeing the group clustered around the table, they hurried over, Rashana waddling in the late stages of pregnancy. "Sorry we're late," said Mek, shaking his head when Kashatok offered the rum. "We got caught up in the med bay."

"We're having a girl!" Rashana said, stroking a palm over the curve of her rounded belly. Her red gold face positively glowed with excitement, and everyone broke into congratulations. She was a human-denaidan hybrid, and her child would be the first born to the rebels in nearly two decades—and hopefully it wouldn't be the last.

The sight of her served as a stark reminder to Chigs that more than just finding his mate was on the line. The fate of the denaidan people hung in the balance.

Taking up where Noatak had left off, Chigs said, "So it's agreed. Kashatok will contact the Cartel."

Tovik's fingertips drummed a quick rhythm on the tabletop. "Instead of contacting the Cartel directly, why doesn't Doug hack into the darkweb? Seems like a safer bet."

All eyes turned expectantly to the cyborg, who was also the most powerful cyber-sensitive in existence. "I'm already looking," Doug said, his green cybernetic eye flashing as he sifted through data. Chigs marveled at the ease with which he could hack a computer system anywhere in the galaxy. "Is there a name for these chambers?"

"Yes," said Emmy. "Synaptic alteration chambers—SAC units for short. Syndicorp used them to experiment on prisoners."

The room fell silent until Doug spoke again. "I have located historical data about two labs using SAC units. One on Nunam-qa and another on a moon orbiting Xeranis. The projects were defunded almost a cycle ago. The labs have reportedly been dismantled. I have also identified the director of the lab on Xeranis, a man named Dr. Dafari. He is now living on Aleigh."

"Dafari?" Emmy gasped.

Chigs turned to her. "You know him?"

"You could say that." There was a tightness to her eyes Chigs couldn't interpret, and a flush to her cheeks. Some denaidans could use their ionic power to sense heartbeat and temperature, to gauge a person's emotions, but Chigs had never had that sort of finesse. He was better at brute force.

Emmy cleared her throat before continuing, "He… he was my fiancé." She reached for the bottle of rum and took a long swig. "I can't believe he ended up being the director for that project. But then, he did move up the ranks faster than anybody I know."

Chigs's hearts skipped a rapid beat. Emmy has an old flame in Syndicorp? The thought made him uncomfortable, but it also made ever more sense why his dream sent him to her. "Any chance you could contact him? Find out what he knows?"

Emmy chewed her lower lip, doubt written all over her pale round face. "It would be strange for me to contact him out of the blue. We didn't part on the best of terms. And if he retired on Aleigh, he's in the heart of Syndicorp territory."

Disappointment settled like weights on Chigs's shoulders. Another dead end. And every passing moment increased the odds that his mate would be lost to him forever. Emmy's brown eyes were pinched in obvious distress, and he had a moment of empathy for her. Had she believed Dafari was her mate?

"I know!" Tovik exclaimed. "Mek and I can go undercover as Syndicorp doctors and lure this Dafari guy away so we can force him to reveal the lab's location. We'll tell him we have a confidential project we want him to oversee. All we need are lab coats and some fake credentials." He straightened his shoulders. "You can call me Dr. Vortex."

Laughter erupted around the table. "Tovik, I admire your imagination," Qaiyaan said, "but even if we put you in a lab coat, you wouldn't pass for a doctor. You're denaidan. There are no denaidans on Aleigh."

Mek chuckled. "Especially with a name like Dr. Vortex."

"Fine, figure it out yourself, then," said Tovik, crossing his arms. "I just thought you might want backup."

Mek was shaking his head. "Regardless of what you come up with, I can't help this time. I'm sorry. The baby could arrive any day now, and I'm the only medical doctor in the fleet."

"If anyone is going, it should be me," Chigs said. "I'll disguise myself with a hood or something."

Kashatok snorted. "In a hood? Plus, you know nothing about medicine. You really think you could pass for a doctor?"

Chigs scowled, filled with his own doubt. "This is the only plan we have, and I'll do whatever I have to find my mate."

Emmy interrupted, "Dafari's too smart to be duped into falling for a plan like that, even if we sent someone who could pass for a doctor." She set the bottle down with a plunk and lifted her chin defiantly. "I'll go. He and I lived together on Aleigh, so I have the best shot at finding him and getting the information we need."

Gratitude flooded through Chigs. It was obvious she didn't want to see the man again, yet she was putting herself in his path for the sake of this mission. He settled a hand on her shoulder, thinking how fragile her bones felt under his palm as he gently squeezed. "Thank you, Emmy."

She shrugged. "I'm just glad I can do my part in the rebellion."

Chigs's chest tightened as he realized he knew nothing about this Dafari fellow. Emmy could be heading into danger. He squeezed her shoulder gently. "I'll come as your bodyguard."

Emmy shook her head. "No. It would be strange if I showed up with an armed guard. Plus, we're back to the fact that there aren't any denaidans on Aleigh."

"But you can't go alone," he insisted. "I would never forgive myself if you were harmed. Let me pose as your bodyguard. I'll put on full battle gear and cover my head with a helmet."

"Dafari'd never buy it," she said.

"What if I craft a disguise for you?" the cyborg named Emilryde spoke softly from the other table. "I escaped the sex slave pens on Enays by disguising myself as a human. Cover your skin with makeup, shave your beard, and?—"

"I'm not shaving my beard," Chigs said firmly. It'd taken him years to get his beard exactly how he liked it. "Humans have beards."

Emilryde grimaced. "Not like you denaidans."

"You don't need to shave," said Joy. "I did a bit of undercover work for RealTime News. If we cover you in holo-reflective paint, we can use a portable projector to change your face and hide the beard."

"Okay," Chigs said. "That sounds reasonable."

"Assirpaa!" said Tovik. "I want in on the fun."

Emilryde rose from the bench. "It's settled, then. I'll start working on the holo-paint."

Chigs took another gulp of rum. He wasn't so sure about the fun part, but at least he got to keep his beard.