Loka couldn’t get comfortable. No matter the position he sat in, he needed to make sure he could see Heather.

She was in his bed, her eyes closed and her breathing steady. He knew that because he checked every five minutes.

His stomach still roiled as he recalled how she was flung back toward him as the energy surge plunged through her body.

She’d been convulsing when he’d held her, her eyelids fluttering and the smell of her flesh burning filling his nostrils.

Heather had been unconscious for ten hours. The station’s doctor had checked on her, given her a shot of pain relief, and applied burn salve to her injuries, but she hadn’t been able to stay long. There were dozens of injuries across the space station, and they all needed medical attention.

Loka was still not reassured, even though the doctor said Heather would make a complete recovery. He couldn’t get the memory of her convulsing in his arms out of his head.

The skin on the tips of her fingers and her arms were still bright red, where the burn salve repaired the injuries. Heather also had a slash of red across one cheek, where a blast of heat had licked her face.

It was as if the panel had been rigged to explode when activated. Maybe it had been. That could have been what those bots were doing when they’d discovered them in engineering.

Shifting in the seat by his bed again, Loka touched a finger delicately to her cheek. He had been wrong to involve her in this. Heather was too vulnerable. He should never have agreed to work with her. His own desires to spend time with Heather and get to know her better had overridden his sensibilities.

She was a vulnerable human, not like him. She had no horns or claws to protect herself. If Loka had received that jolt of energy, it would not have knocked him out. Heather’s curiosity led her to dangerous situations. He should have insisted he examine the panel first. He might have realized the heat emanating from it suggested a malfunction. Heather would never have touched it and been injured. She could have been killed.

The thought settled heavily on his shoulders. Loka sighed and twisted in his seat.

His fingers skimmed over Heather’s soft forehead. He was used to seeing the base of horns extending from a forehead. Hers was clear, other than a couple of thin lines tracing across the skin, suggesting she still felt some pain. She had nothing to protect herself with. She was so small, soft, and fragile.

The door to his quarters slid open. Hoan walked in. He stood quietly beside Loka for a second.

“How are the station repairs going?” Loka asked, his attention still on Heather.

“Not good,” Hoan said softly. “The bots are still on the loose. But, as you can see, emergency power is holding. There is also food and hot water available. Communications remain off-line. Nobody has been able to make contact outside of the station to let them know what the situation is here.”

“Nobody knows this place is being destroyed?”

“Not yet. As fast as we make a repair, the bots create another problem.”

“There must be a way to force them to go off-line,” Loka said.

“They’ve overridden a number of security protocols. A few bots have been disabled, but the majority remain at large. They’re hunting for humans and aliens.”

Loka stroked Heather’s cheek. “That is bad news.” He would not let the bots find her.

“There’s more.”

Loka’s jaw clenched. “Go on.”

“People are missing. Escape pods have gone.”

He turned in his seat. “Humans are abandoning the station?”

“We don’t think so,” Hoan said. “We think the bots are herding them into the pods. They’re deliberately making humans leave.”

Loka stroked a horn. “Why?”

“We briefly had access to the external security cameras. The pods are being sent out into space, all heading in the same direction, toward a waiting ship.”

“The bots are kidnapping humans?”

“Yes. But they don’t seem to harm them. Whoever is doing this wants to keep the humans alive.”

Loka growled under his breath. Heather was in immediate danger. If the bots caught her, they’d put her in a shuttle

“How is Heather doing?” Hoan asked.

“She hasn’t opened her eyes since the accident. When she does, I’ll move her somewhere safe. She doesn’t need to be involved with this. She can wait it out as she recovers.”

“A wise idea. If we don’t gain control of the bots, the whole station will have to be abandoned.”

“We can leave. If we do, I’m taking Heather with us. It is not safe for her to remain on Prodigy.”

“Shall I pack our experiments?” Hoan asked. “The bots have not interfered with the lab, but it will only be a matter of time. They are methodically moving through the entire station.”

Loka sat up straight. He’d barely thought about his experiments since Heather’s accident. He’d been so distracted by what was going on, the spatial mapping program seemed like a distant memory. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since his work had been his sole focus. His gaze returned to Heather. Well, almost.

“That would be wise. We should move our experiments and my mother’s DNA. There will be room for the three of us and our findings on a shuttle.”

“I’m not leaving,” Heather mumbled.

“You’re awake.” Loka leaned over Heather, his hand moving to her face.

“And listening. You don’t need to hide me anywhere. You don’t need to put me on a shuttle.” Heather blinked slowly up at Loka.

“I disagree.” Loka gently took hold of one of her damaged hands. “You almost died.”

“It was a small spark.” Her gaze went slowly around the room. “Where am I?”

“In my quarters,” Loka said. “It was the safest place I could think of, where I could make sure you stayed safe while your injuries healed.”

“Oh! Right.” Heather struggled up on her elbows but then collapsed backwards.

“Be careful.” Loka placed his hands on her shoulders, encouraging her to remain still. “You have burns on your skin.”

Heather winced. “I still want to help.”

“No. You can’t help. You’ll get in the way.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “No, I won’t. I know how the station bots operate. I have one of my own.”

“You own a station bot?” Hoan asked.

“Sort of. He was meant for the scrap heap. He’d been damaged, and I found him. I decided to keep him and repair him. I did a half-decent job. He’s my space pet, but without the fur.”

Loka looked at Hoan. He had no idea what she meant. “You should not tamper with the technology.”

“I didn’t tamper. I reprogrammed him and fixed his damaged appendages.”

“He could also be dangerous if he’s malfunctioning. Your bot could be involved in this.”

“There’s no way Ernie has anything to do with this.” Heather struggled to sit up again. “I should go check on him. He will have rebooted by now. He must be worried.”

“It is a machine. They do not worry.”

Heather sighed. “Ernie is different. He likes me. He’s my friend.”  She succeeded in pulling herself into a sitting position, assisted by Loka’s arm around her waist.

“We can go see if your bot is unharmed,” Loka said. “But you remain here until the appropriate repairs have been made to the station and the bots neutralized.”

“There’s no need for me to stay here. I can feel the burns healing.” Heather inspected the burnt ends of her fingertips.

“You had a huge amount of energy pumped through your system. You will feel the aftereffects for some time. I am concerned your heart has been damaged.” Loka resisted the urge to press his hand against Heather’s chest and feel the rhythm of her heart.

“If that’s the case, you would have taken me to the medical bay, and I’d be linked to a heart monitor, not snuggled in your bed, which, by the way, is really comfy.”

“You still need time to recover.” Loka needed Heather to realize what a dangerous situation she’d placed herself in.

“It supercharged me.” Heather grinned at Loka. “You know I can help. I helped out in engineering by seeing that code.”

“Then you went and got yourself electrocuted. That wasn’t helpful.”

“That was an accident. You’d have done the same.”

“I can assure you I would not have done that.”

Hoan chuckled. “Heather did assist us. She was the one who noticed the code. We might not have noticed it until it was too late. Thanks to her, we know there’s an external presence affecting the space station. If it hadn’t been identified and blocked to some degree, we could already be floating around in space. Technically, Heather saved us all.”

She grinned at Hoan. “Thanks. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“Nor should you,” Loka grumbled, shooting a glare at Hoan. He did not want Heather encouraged to do anything else to put her in danger.

“She knows her stuff,” Hoan said. “Heather’s an asset.”

Loka gritted his teeth. She might be an asset, but he didn’t want to put her at risk.

“I’ll keep out of harm’s way,” Heather said. “But you’re not preventing me from helping.”

Loka felt he was fighting a losing battle. “Perhaps you can assist. You must stay out of danger, though.”

“You admit I am useful?” Heather smiled up at Loka.

“You might have a few uses.”

She nudged him with her foot. “Admit it; you like having me around.”

Loka stifled a smile. “It is not disagreeable.”

Hoan chuckled again. “That is Loka’s version of a compliment. Take it while it’s on offer. He doesn’t give them out often.”

“I will.” Heather nodded, her expression growing serious. “I promise you. I won’t get this wrong. I won’t go sticking my fingers into things I shouldn’t again.”

Some of the tension in Loka’s shoulders eased. “That is reassuring to hear.”

“We make a great team, but only when I’m conscious.”

Loka liked the sound of that. He loved the idea of having Heather on his team.

Heather pulled her knees up. “I know you’ve got my back. I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Loka resisted the urge to bellow, sucking down the sound until his lungs ached. Heather had identified him as her protector. That was a key part of mate bonding.

She tilted her head. “Is everything okay?”

Hoan studied Loka. “He is repressing.”

Loka glared at him. “I am not.” He needed to have words with Hoan. The Picar kept nothing secret.

“He wants to bellow.”

Heather’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“He is happy.”

“I am.” Loka exhaled, hopeful his bellow was in check. A strange growly hiccup shot out.

Heather’s laugh was startled sounding. She leaned forward until her mouth touched Loka’s ear. “I am imagining you bellowing. It’s scary but lovely. Thank you. Now, can we get to work?”

Loka nodded, his horns quivering with pleasure. “After we have laid down the ground rules to keep you safe.”