Loka could see Heather was holding back her tears as she hurried along beside him. Her chin wobbled as she looked at the single metal leg she had kept.

She tucked the leg into her pocket and looked over at him. “Will the docking bay be more secure? A safe place for us until this mess is sorted?”

“I don’t know. But that human who said she was going there gave me an idea. That’s where the ships are.”

Heather shook her head, confusion in her eyes. “I don’t understand. You want to abandon Prodigy?”

“The station has been compromised. It is not safe for you.”

“It’s not safe for anybody. We can get back control. We just need to get to engineering and see how they’re doing.”

“You have already put yourself in too much danger.”

She stopped walking. “I’m going nowhere. I’m not leaving this place. My friends are here. Everything I own is on this station.”

“I thought you’d say that.” Loka ducked, making sure to keep his horns tilted to the side, and lifted Heather onto one shoulder.

A shocked gasp flew out of her as he walked along the corridor.

“No, you don’t. You’re not playing that cyborg trick on me. You can’t treat me like this.”

“I’m not taking you prisoner. I’m taking you somewhere safe. You need to be off this space station.”

“You’re coming with me?”

His pace didn’t slow. “I will.”

“Really?”

“I would not leave you to go into space on your own. You said you were not a seasoned traveler. The shuttles have a degree of automation, but they still need someone to guide them.”

“What about everybody else? We can’t abandon the station, not with others still on it.”

Loka’s mouth twisted. Hoan was out there somewhere. If he left, all his research would be ruined as would his mother’s DNA. But Heather needed protecting. “They’re fighting their own battles. We cannot help them.”

“Says who? What if we can? What if there are hundreds of humans trapped in the holding cells? We have no clue what’s going to happen to them.”

“Leave that for somebody else.”

“Loka. Wait! What if there is nobody else? What if we’re the only ones still free? Haven’t you noticed how deserted this place is?”

This made Loka slow. The corridors were empty. The lights were still on an emergency setting. He could tell the heating had stopped working; the air felt chilled. Maybe they were the only ones. If that was the case, then all the more reason to get away as quickly as possible. He did not want to put Heather at any more risk.

“When we are safely away from the station, we can run scans and see who is left,” Loka said. “If there are survivors, we can arrange for backup.”

“Backup might be too late.”

“They will do a better job than we can on our own. I thought you’d like the idea of leaving together.”

Heather sighed, seeming resigned to the fact he was going to carry her no matter what she said. “I don’t hate it. But we’re not together. Not really. Not the way I understand it.”

“What if we were?” Loka talked quickly before he had a chance to consider his words. “Your idea of finding a piece of space paradise and setting up home is appealing. Once my project is finished, I can join you on a permanent basis.”

“What about your research?”

“My research can take place anywhere. Would you like to set up home with me?”

“I, well, I’m not sure.”

Disappointment flooded through Loka. It had been a long shot, trying to tempt Heather away with the meager things he offered.

He was not a high-ranking scientist, and he hadn’t made a name for himself. He had only a dozen papers published. Three of those were in collaboration with others. Of course, Heather wouldn’t want to be with him. He was nothing and a nobody.

She must feel contempt or pity for him at offering her such an unappealing alternative. She’d made it clear she’d rather stay on a damaged space station surrounded by her enemy than go anywhere with him.

“Put me down,” Heather said softly.

“I walk faster than you do.”

“I need to be able to look at you when we’re having this conversation. As much as I’m enjoying the view of your lovely rear end, this is important.”

Loka swung Heather off his shoulder and set her on her feet.

She grabbed his arm as they continued to walk alongside each other. “Listen, it’s not that I’m not grateful. The idea of setting up my dream home with you is a tempting one.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “It is?”

“Sure. Why not? I know you will take care of me. You left two cyborgs in my room who aren’t ever getting up.”

“I have these.” His hands brushed his horns. “Picars know how to use their weapons. I have not been trained like others. My skills lie in the microscope.”

“Which is sort of hot. Hotter than being a fighter.”

Loka rubbed a horn. “You are different to the females I’m used to. You like strange things.”

“If you’re calling yourself a strange thing, then I guess I am different because I do like you.” Heather grinned at him, but it quickly faded. “But I’m not ready to set up home. I don’t have enough funds, and I still love what I do here. It will happen but not for a while.”

Loka frowned. “And I have many more years of work ahead of me. Perhaps, while I work, you can set up a home for us both. It could be nice.”

“I’m sure it would be lovely. I bet you’re good at folding underwear.”

He raised a brow. “I don’t wear underwear.”

Heather’s gaze went to his crotch before she gave a surprised snort and looked away.

“I am neat. We wouldn’t live in a messy home.”

“We might if I was there,” Heather said. “I get distracted. I start several jobs and forget to finish any.”

They reached the docking bay. Loka took a second to look around for any other cyborgs, but it appeared deserted.

“I can’t go.” Heather took a step back. “It’s not that I don’t want to live out my fantasy of a dream pad with you. I can’t leave behind my friends. I don’t know what’s happened to them. I have to make sure they are safe.”

“We can’t help them. It’s just the two of us.” Loka took hold of Heather’s hand. “We won’t go far. We’ll come back with reinforcements. With external comms down, we have to get off the station before we can send a message.”

Heather’s eyebrows rose. “Us leaving and not coming back is off the table?”

Loka couldn’t decide if Heather looked sad or not. “We will not abandon your friends or mine.”

Heather nodded. “Agreed. Where is your ship?”

“We came on a transporter.”

“You don’t have a ship for us to use?”

“We can borrow one.”

“We’re stealing someone’s ship?”

“It’s either that or be taken by the cyborgs.”

“Good point. We’ll avoid any Lillip ships. They’re sentient and will know they have an intruder on board. I hear when they attack, they shoot a toxic slime from the walls and ceiling.”

“Steer clear of the toxic slime. How about this Koob ship?” Loka directed Heather to the small matte black ship to their right. “They’re so trusting. They rarely secure their ships.”

Heather ran along beside him. They reached the ship, and as expected, the entrance ramp opened with no need for an access code.

“Have you flown one of these?” Heather whispered as they made their way through the ship to the cockpit.

“No. Koob technology is similar to ours. The ship will have autopilot. We just need to clear the docking bay.”

The cockpit lights grew brighter as they entered.

Loka sat in the pilot’s seat. Heather took the co-pilot seat next to him. He checked over the panel in front of him, sliding his hand over it to activate the system.

Heather looked over her shoulder. “I’m still worried about the others.”

“Check the scanners.” Loka focused on working out the controls of the ship. “We are not the only ones who have the idea about getting off the station.” There were a dozen heat signatures entering the docking bay and heading toward the ships.

Heather stared out the front of the ship. “I don’t see Vegas, Nell, or Avril. I bet Diadora still has them chained to their desks. It would take an armageddon to get her to slow down.”

“Any sign of Hoan?”

“Sorry. No.”

“We need to hurry. If others have the same idea to abandon the station, it will attract attention. The cyborgs won’t be far behind.”

“Promise me we’re not going far. We’re just sending a distress call.”

“Then waiting for backup to arrive.” Loka secured the docking ramp.

“We can’t wait long.”

“If we fight just the two of us, we’ll end up like Ernie.”

When Heather didn’t reply, Loka glanced at her as he powered up the engines. She held Ernie’s limb in her hand.

“I’ll buy you another Ernie.”

“No, you can’t replace him.” She tucked the metal leg into the pocket of her jumpsuit.

“Then a real pet. One of those... cats you mentioned.”

“They’re lovely. I’m not sure how well they’d take to life in space. We’re not supposed to have pets on the station. Their fur clogs the filters. Don’t worry about me and my lack of pet. Just get us out of here.”

Loka edged the ship forward, heading toward the closed docking bay doors. “These open automatically?”

“Yes. They’re triggered by a sensor. Only the security team can override the sensors if they detect anyone making an unauthorized departure.”

Loka slid the ship to a crawl, getting closer to the doors. They remained closed.

Heather leaned forward, peering at the doors. “At least, they should open automatically.”

Loka clenched his hand around the steering rudder. “The station must be on complete lockdown. They don’t want anybody getting in or out.”

“We’re trapped?”

“Unless you know a way to override those doors manually?”

Heather’s nose wrinkled. Her eyes widened, and she nodded. “I might. I remember the docking bay doors getting stuck not long after the station opened. I watched them use a lever to crank the doors open.”

“Show me.”

“No. You need to pilot the ship. I can do it. It’s not hard. Get as close to the doors as you can. Open the ramp for me. I can jump out and crank the lever. I’ll be in and out in a couple of minutes.”

“I should go.” Loka’s hands tightened on the steering rudder, loathing the idea of Heather being away from his protection.

“I have no clue how to pilot a Lillip ship. If you leave me in charge, I will crash. That would blow our chances of getting out of here.”

Loka grumbled under his breath. Heather was being logical, but he didn’t like it. Away from him and out of the ship, she was vulnerable.

“I can do this.” She patted his knee. “Let me try.”

He nodded as he maneuvered the ship close to the doors. Several other ships were lining up behind them, expecting the doors to open. “Hurry. We don’t want people trying to blast their way out of here.”

“I’ll be as quick as I can. You can watch me through the window.” Heather kissed his cheek before hopping up and dashing out of the cockpit.

His fingers touched the place where she’d kissed him. The more he got to know this quirky little human, the more he liked her. She wasn’t afraid of a challenge, and although he’d seen how scared she was when faced with the cyborgs, she’d fought back.

Loka leaned forward in his seat as he saw Heather run to the right side of the docking bay doors. He watched as she pulled a panel from the wall, exposing powerlines and cables.

Checking the scanners, Loka identified four ships behind him.

“What’s the hold-up?” came a male voice over the comm link.

Loka activated the communications on the ship. “The docking bay doors are jammed. We’re working on getting them open.”

“We have little time. Those cyborg bastards were on our tails after they found our hiding place.”

“If you can do this any faster, you’re welcome to try. We’re overriding the door locks.”

“Just hurry. I do not want to be caught by those cyborgs. They’ve lost the plot. One tried to rip my arm off.”

Loka cut the communication, irritated by the alien. Loka was putting his female at risk by attempting an escape.

He paused, and a smile traced across his face. His female. Despite Loka’s reluctance to become formally engaged in courtship, he considered Heather his. He wanted her to be. He had even proposed they run away together, despite not being ready for such irrational behavior. He didn’t feel able to provide a proper home, one that would satisfy his mate and their offspring. That didn’t seem so important, now Heather was by his side. Together, they could be happy.

A red light flashed by the docking bay doors. “Emergency override complete. Doors opening in thirty seconds.”

Loka’s heart clenched as he heard the automated announcement. Where was Heather? She needed to be inside the ship, or she’d be sucked out of the opening doors.

“Doors opening in twenty seconds.”

He stood from his seat, craning his neck to see Heather.

“Doors opening in ten, nine, eight.”

Footsteps sounded behind him.

“Close the ramp.” Heather shot through the door and collided with him.

Loka turned and hit the button to seal the airlock in the ship. He grabbed Heather’s shoulders. “You did it.”

“As if you had any doubt.” She grinned up at him.

“Of course not.”

She gave a little shrug. “Come on then; fly us out of here.”

They settled in their seats, waiting until the docking bay doors were open wide enough before sliding the ship into space.

Loka checked the flight dials, making sure everything held steady.

“I’ll try the comms,” Heather said. “Is it this button?”

Loka nodded. “Give me a few more seconds to get farther from the station. They might be blocking communications using a signal jammer. It could still affect us from this distance.”

Heather poked the button a couple of times. “I think you’re right. Nothing’s happening.”

“It worked between ships,” Loka said. “I was able to talk to the alien waiting in the ship behind us.” He watched as two ships overtook them, heading in the direction of the wormhole.

“Scan under way,” the ship said.

“Somebody is scanning us?” Heather looked over at Loka, alarm in her eyes.

He gritted his teeth. “Most likely whoever has taken over the space station. They must know what we’re doing.”

“Has the ship got shields? What if they attack?”

Loka scanned the panel. “There are basic defensive shields and lasers, nothing that would protect us from the station’s weapons.”

A blast of laser fire shot past their ship, taking out the ships that had overtaken them.

Heather’s hand covered her mouth as she stared at the explosion.

Three more ships exploded around them as the station’s lasers targeted them.

Loka maximized power to the shields on the Koob ship, re-routing power from heating, lights, and filtration systems. “We’ll survive a couple of blasts before the ship’s shield disintegrates.”

“It won’t get us far enough away. The station’s lasers will take us out too.”

“I’ll evade the attack,” Loka said. He was no hot shot when it came to flying but had been in enough simulations to learn a few evasive moves. He had to hope that would be enough.

“Scan complete,” the ship’s computer said.

“They know we’re in here,” Heather said. “Any second now, they’ll lock onto us.”

Loka pushed the engines to maximum, feeling the ship shudder beneath them. “We’ll be ready to go to warp drive in five minutes.”

“We can’t jump now?”

“The ship has been powered down for too long. The engine isn’t ready.”

“And the wormhole is too far for us to get to it in time,” Heather said.

“Try the comms again. If nothing else, we can send out a message asking for help. Those left behind on the station will still get help.”

Heather press the comms button. “Still nothing.”

The ship shuddered again. Loka didn’t ease back on the engine’s power. They had to get as far away as possible.

Instead of speeding up, the ship slowed. Loka checked the readings on the panel. Everything seemed normal. Still, they continued to slow.

He hissed a curse under his breath.

“What’s wrong with the ship?” Heather asked.

“Nothing is wrong with it. We’re being dragged back to the station by a tractor beam. We’re not going anywhere.”