A good half an hour of persuasion later, Heather was finally out of bed.

Her cheeks flushed when she realized she was wearing different clothes, a soft cream set of pajamas. It was super soft and could easily double as lounge wear, the kind of thing Heather would wear during a late-night movie marathon. Her gaze shifted to Loka. “Did you change me?”

He glanced over from where he was trying to get his food replicator to create something edible. “Your clothing was damaged.”

“You got me out of my clothes while I was unconscious?” Heather was not ashamed of her body, but she liked to know who was going to see her in only her underwear.

Loka placed down the bowl he held. “From the tone of your voice, I’m picking up that you’re displeased.”

Hoan was sitting on the couch. His gaze grew interested as he watched their interaction.

“It’s just that, well, we don’t really know each other.”

“We are getting to know each other. You said we are now a team. Teammates look out for each other.”

“And get them out of their clothes?” Heather glanced at Hoan. “Does he do that for you?”

Hoan’s laugh turned into a cough as Loka glared at him. “No, Loka has never changed my clothing.”

“I would if he needed that doing,” Loka said. “You needed something clean. Was that wrong?”

Heather studied his face, trying to work out if he’d taken a sneaky peek as he’d taken her clothes off. He most likely did; he was male. She realized she didn’t hate the idea. “It’s okay.”

Loka nodded. He glanced back at her before returning his attention to the food replicator. “This is still not operational. You will have to forego your waffles.”

“I’m not in the mood for waffles anymore,” Heather said, “although I can eat breakfast food anytime of the day or night. Maybe waffles another time.”

She felt nervous around Loka, now she’d had time to think. He’d helped her twice, once when the bots had tried to throw her out of the airlock, and again when she’d almost electrocuted herself. He must like her, but he was so uptight about his work, acting like he didn’t trust her.

Heather still smarted when she recalled how Loka had reprimanded her when she’d touched his experiment. She hadn’t meant any harm; she’d been curious. She was interested to learn more about what he did and what made him tick.

She smiled to herself. She could be like that with her own ambitions. Heather had her future all planned out and wanted no interference. Nobody got in the way of her saving for her dream space pad, no matter how cute they looked as they tugged on their horn and tried to get the food replicator to make waffles.

“We need to see how they’re getting on in engineering,” Heather said. “Maybe they’ve figured out what that weird code is and are fixing the problem while we sit in here.”

“When I was there earlier, they were trying to figure out where the code originated from. If we can do that, we can shut it off,” Hoan said.

“Our research also needs saving,” Loka said.

“Agreed,” Hoan said. “I checked earlier. Power has been restored to the cooling units. Not everything has spoiled. Most of the bacterial analysis will need to be started again.”

“If you’re looking for a gopher to help with the experiments, I wouldn’t mind,” Heather said.

“What’s a gopher?” Loka shook his head. “It doesn’t translate.”

“A cute, furry creature. They’re hard-working and diligent, just like me.” She grinned at him. “They do the grunt work. The sort of thing nobody else wants to do, but it has to be done to keep everything running. Making sure pipes get unblocked when the sewage gets stuck, restocking shelves so people don’t run out of their favorite beer, that sort of thing.”

“Your skills run higher than that of a gopher,” Hoan said.

Loka grunted and then nodded. “It is best we conduct our experiments on our own. You might bring in contaminants.”

Heather saw Hoan hiding a smile as he ducked his head.

“Loka has a certain way of doing things.”

“The right way,” Loka said.

She scowled at Loka. He still didn’t want her help. They weren’t a real team. Pushing aside her disappointment, Heather focused on their immediate needs. She wanted to find Vegas and her friends and make sure they were okay. She needed to figure out what this code was and make sure the space station didn’t blow up. If Loka wanted to get protective over his research and exclude her, that was his problem. She had enough going on not to start worrying about an uptight Picar’s precious experiments.

“Something is happening.” Loka took a step back from the rumbling noise emitting from the food replicator. Three enormous waffles flopped out of the replicator.

“Wow! They’re huge.” Heather jumped to her feet.

“They are not normally this big?” Loka speared one with a fork and studied it carefully as if he expected it to attack him.

“They’re not normally this big.” Heather held out her hand. “These are the size of my head. No, the size of your head.” She laughed. Suddenly, she did want waffles. Giant ones made by Loka.

“I should throw them away,” Loka said. “They might not be safe to eat if they have mutated.”

“There’s no way you’re throwing away giant waffles.” She hurried over and grabbed the one he’d speared on his fork. She sniffed it and then took a small bite.

“It’s acceptable?”

Heather closed her eyes. “This is incredible. You’ll have to make me waffles more often.”

“I can make you waffles whenever you want them.”

Even though Heather still had her eyes closed, she could hear Loka was smiling as he spoke.

She opened her eyes as she stuffed in more waffle. She held out a piece for him. “Would you like some?”

“They’re all yours.” Loka shook his head. “I’m more of a savory fan.”

Heather shrugged. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“I’ll try some waffle.” Hoan jumped up and held out his hand.

Loka smacked Hoan’s hand down. “No waffles for you. These are Heather’s.”

“It’s fine. He can have some.” Heather yanked a piece off and handed it to Hoan.

After giving it a careful sniff, Hoan ate it. “It’s chewy and sweet.”

“The perfect waffle,” Heather said.

Hoan nodded. “Loka, I approve. You can make me waffles as well.”

Loka eyed the waffles with disdain. “I only make waffles for Heather.”

She grinned at him. Loka was her waffle bitch.

“After you’re fed, we’ll head to engineering,” Loka said.

“We should split up,” Hoan said. “I can check on engineering, and you two see to the lab experiments.”

“And Ernie, I need to see how he’s doing.”

“Good idea,” Loka said.

“Can we also stop by My Single Alien?” Heather said. “Vegas might be in the office still trying to match aliens and humans. We need to update her as to what’s going on. Knowing Diadora, she’ll keep everyone there working until the station blows.”

“It’s on the way to my lab,” Loka said. “We can see your friends if they are there.”

Heather looked down at her soft pajamas and bare feet. “I need some clothes that are more suitable for doing combat with angry bots.”

Loka looked up sharply.

“I’m teasing, but a work jumpsuit might be more practical. Thanks for these, though. It was nice not to wake up in clothes that smelt singed.”

Loka nodded and turned away. “You are welcome.”

Heather smiled. Loka seemed almost bashful in her company at times. How she could make such an enormous alien go shy on her, she had no idea. Despite what he’d said about his own females not being interested in science geeks, they can’t have overlooked Loka when they caught a glimpse of his size and his skin, which was a beautiful dark bronze, almost matching his horns. He was a stunning alien.

Heather had also seen Loka glancing at her when he thought she was distracted. There was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite place. It was more than curiosity. Her stomach warmed, and her smile widened. Could this alien genuinely be into her? Not into her because she was a strange curiosity he wanted to know more about.

She sighed. If only they were a few years farther down the road. She would have enough money saved for her space pad, and the My Single Alien outposts should be up and running. She’d love to do that with Loka.

The timing sucked, but there was nothing she could do about it. Loka couldn’t get in her way now, slow her down, and take her mind off her mission. He might make the best, biggest waffles she’d ever tasted, but this alien was not for her.

Heather finished the first waffle and eyed the other two. She could definitely manage at least one more.

“Ready to go?” Loka turned toward her. His gaze followed hers to the remaining waffles. He lifted them both up and handed them to her.

“No, I’ll never manage them both.”

“Take one. I will save the other for you.” He carefully wrapped one waffle in a small cloth bag and placed it inside his clothing.

Loka must have some nifty pocket Heather didn’t know about. “I can eat and walk. We’ll stop at my quarters, so I can grab some clothes.”

“I’ll head back to engineering,” Hoan said.

“We’ll meet back here in two hours,” Loka said, “unless the comms come back online before that.”

They said their goodbyes and headed into the corridor. It was still gloomy with only low-level emergency lighting.

Heather saw several groups of people hurrying toward them. She slowed, recognizing Jenny from the café. “Hey. Where are you going?”

“Helga has advised everyone to hole up somewhere safe.” Jenny flicked her red curls off her face. “Not that there are many places. The bots just trashed the café.”

“Where are you going?”

“The docking bay. We’re going to check the ships and make sure we have enough space if we need to evacuate.”

Heather let out a breath. “It’s that bad?”

“It’s getting that way.” Jenny glanced along the corridor. “Stay safe.”

Heather watched her hurry away and catch up with her group.

Loka touched her arm. “If you want to go with the other humans, I will understand.”

“No way. I’m staying with you.”

Loka gave a satisfied grunt before striding ahead of her. He stopped in front of her door. Of course, he knew where she lived. He’d been leaving her coal gifts for over a month.

“Come in.” Heather opened the door and gestured for Loka to follow her. “I’ll only be a minute while I get changed.”

Loka grabbed her around the waist and threw her to the couch before covering her body with his.

Heather’s breath shot out of her as she felt his hard, heavy body pin her down. “What are you doing?”

“There is a bot in here,” he whispered in her ear.

She peered out from under his arm. “It’s Ernie.”

His grip on her arms released a fraction. “Your pet bot? Are you certain?”

“Of course. Let me up.” She smacked against his chest.

Loka didn’t move.

“Honestly, Ernie won’t hurt anybody. Well, I have programmed him with an attack mode. It only activates when I say a certain word.”

“What’s the word?”

“If I say it, Ernie will kill you.”

Loka snorted. “A tiny bot could not kill me.”

Heather pushed against his chest again, not hating the fact she was squashed under Loka. “My bot is different. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of him.”

Loka finally released her from his hold. Heather jumped up. She spotted Ernie in the doorway of her bedroom. “I bet you thought I’d forgotten about you.” She ran over and scooped him into her arms. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better. My reboot and repair were successful.”

Loka was right behind her, a menacing presence as he glared at the bot. “It responds to affection?”

“I like to think so.” Heather tickled Ernie’s head. “Although probably not. I like to spoil him.”

Loka poked Ernie with a finger.

The bot’s green sensor glowed red for a second.

“Don’t do that.” Heather swatted his hand away. “He doesn’t like that.”

“It is a bot. It likes what you program it to like. I’m not certain you should have it here. What if it becomes corrupted by the code and attacks you?”

“It won’t happen. He’s on a closed circuit. The other bots work on a hive mind system. They all get the same programming and updates. When Ernie was damaged, I removed him from the circuit. He’s a bot on his own. I’m his only family. He won’t be affected by the code trying to rip apart this station.”

Loka didn’t look reassured by that.

“You can hold him if you like. I promise you. He won’t bite.”

“I’ll leave the bot cuddling to you.” Loka gestured to her bedroom. “You should get changed. We have much to do.”

Heather gave Ernie one last cuddle before setting him down. “I’ll be right back.”

She shut the bedroom door behind her, hurried to her wardrobe, and pulled out a clean work jumpsuit. She owned seven jumpsuits. One for each day and all the same color. They weren’t exactly fashion items but were tailored to fit and meant Heather didn’t have to think about what to wear every day. Grab a clean jumpsuit, climb into it, and off she went.

Shimmying into her jumpsuit, Heather grabbed socks and boots and pulled them on.

She returned to the living area. Loka was studying the pictures of her space pad.

He pointed at the pictures. “Is this yours?”

“In my dreams.” She smiled as she adjusted the zipper on her jumpsuit. “It will be one day. I’m working toward it.”

His eyebrows rose. “Have you selected a planet you would like this building to be on?”

“Somewhere warm,” Heather said. “I have narrowed it down to a dozen possible planets.”

“With a breathable atmosphere for humans?”

“Of course. Nothing barren or too hilly. I’d like an ocean and friendly locals. I know not all aliens love humans, but I want to integrate. I’d like to run a bakery alongside my matchmaking work.”

“A bakery? That’s different.”

She shrugged and scuffed her feet on the ground. Heather rarely talked about her dream with anyone. It felt silly when she said it out loud. “It would be a matchmaking bakery. My Single Alien is negotiating setting up outposts in any galaxies that have a peace treaty in place. The plan is to have bases in every area where it’s safe to do so. It means aliens won’t have to travel to a main space station like this. They can drop in, meet me, and discuss their requirements. It always helps when you talk to somebody face-to-face and get a sense of what they really want.”

“I can see how that could work.”

“Sometimes, individuals have this idea in their head, and when they talk it through, they realize it’s not going to work. You, for example, might think you want a six-foot, bronzed goddess with long red hair and dimples.”

“I do not. I like my females’ small with blonde curls.” Loka looked back at the pictures.

Heather grinned. “When you talk it through with an expert, you’ll discover you want someone who is adventurous, friendly, and likes making cakes.”

Loka’s smile was cautious. “Are you describing yourself?”

Heather blushed. “This is all hypothetical.”

“You would run a My Single Alien outpost in a bakery?”

“It would work. Everybody likes cake. Well, maybe not you. I can serve savory treats, as well. We could have something nice to eat and drink as we chatted about love. I could have couples events, where aliens and humans meet and decide if they like each other, a sort of My Single Alien speed dating event.”

Loka tilted his head to the side. “Speed dating?”

Heather laughed. “It’s an Earth thing.”

“Perhaps it is something I could try?”

Heather’s smile faded. “You are looking for a mate?”

His gaze shot to her, and he looked away. “Now is not a good time for me to find somebody.”

“You’re saving for your own space pad?”

Loka nodded and let out a sigh. “Something like that. This project will take several years. After that, I’ll gain a significant promotion. I’ll have a say in where my next post will be. I would like to find somewhere I can call home, find a partner, and have children. Until then, I have little control over my future.”

“Then you’d better make sure you do an incredible job of mapping this galaxy,” Heather said. “It can’t be much fun being ordered to go wherever your boss tells you.”

“Is your boss different?”

Heather shuddered. “Actually, no. She works us hard. Diadora expects results and demands answers if I don’t deliver.”

“I map the stars, and you map aliens.”

“What you do is a lot more impressive than me.” Heather petted Ernie’s head and then walked toward the door.

Loka caught hold of her elbow. “It’s not so different. I believe what you do is actually more important. Without My Single Alien and your skills, many aliens would not have access to fertile females. You help people have families. That is most important.”

The earnest look in Loka’s eyes made Heather smile. She patted his hand. “I agree. Some people think it’s nonsense, but without good matches, you don’t have good babies.”

“So, you see, your work is more important than mine.”

“Let’s call it even.” Heather appreciated Loka trying to make her feel important. But she wouldn’t have a clue how to map this galaxy. The work he did would save thousands of lives as people knew what areas of the galaxy to avoid if they didn’t want to be sucked into oblivion.

Loka nodded. “It is good to have a dream. Make sure you hold onto yours.”

“You too. You never know. I might find you your perfect match at my bakery outpost when you’re ready.” A shiver of disappointment ran through Heather. She liked Loka.

Sure, he was uptight and too intense when he came to his work, but he was also sweet and protective. He’d spent ages working on the food replicator to make it work. She’d only suggested waffles as an offhand idea, but he’d set to work, wanting to make sure she was happy.

Heather couldn’t recall any guy ever doing that for her. The most romantic thing a previous boyfriend had done when it came to getting her breakfast was roll out of bed, pull on yesterday’s clothes, and wander to the local store. That was on a good day. Most days, she ate breakfast alone.

Whoever was matched with Loka, when he was ready to find his mate, would be a lucky woman. If he came to her to find his match, Heather would do her best to make sure he got a dream partner. But not her. Not now. If he was still single in five years’ time, then who knew.

“Let’s go to my office,” Heather said, shaking herself from her thoughts.

Loka nodded and followed her out of her quarters.

Heather turned back to Ernie. “Guard my quarters. Only Loka and I are allowed in here. Anybody else tries to get in, you blast them.”

Ernie’s sensor glowed red as he stationed himself by the door.

“Good boy.”

“Your bot can blast people?” Loka asked.

“He can. Nothing that will kill them. It will give a nasty sting and make them think twice.”

“That’s... impressive.”

“Thanks. I think so.”

They hurried away, following the curve of the station’s corridors, until they reached My Single Alien’s office.

“Let me go first,” Loka said. “The area might have been compromised by bots.”

Heather was more than happy to let him go first. She’d had enough angry bots and electric shocks to last the rest of her life.

The door slid open. Heather peered around Loka. Vegas, Nell, and Avril sat around the desk, piles of files in front of them.

Heather stumbled back as Diadora came into view. She hadn’t expected the big boss to be there.

Vegas spotted Heather. Her eyes widened before she shook her head.

It was too late for Heather to escape. Diadora saw her and strode to the door. “Where have you been? We have matches to make.”

“I’ve been trying to fix the station.”

Diadora glared at Heather. Her gaze ran over her. “What’s wrong with your arm?”

“Heather has been injured. I have been taking care of her.” Loka placed a protective arm around Heather’s shoulders.

Heather grimaced. That was never a good thing to do in front of Diadora. She hated her staff dating.

“Who are you?” Diadora’s gaze turned icy.

“He’s with me.” Heather shuffled to the side, inching out of Loka’s warm grip.

“You are needed here. You don’t have time to spend with this alien.”

“I had a situation to deal with.”

“I care nothing for your situation. Get in here and help with these matches. You have targets to meet.”

“Is the database running?” Heather asked. “We have access to the algorithms?”

“Don’t try to argue about this,” Vegas muttered. “We tried and failed.”

“You were able to make matches before you had access to our database. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your old skills?” Diadora asked.

“No! But using the database makes it easier and faster.” Heather took a step back. “I’m helping Loka. We found a code—”

“This Picar does not require your help.”

“Actually, I do.” Loka stared down at Diadora.

“What do you need from this human?” Diadora sneered. “She works for me.”

“Her skills are required elsewhere. She has been helpful in identifying the problem with the space station.”

“Heather can fix the station? Highly unlikely. She can barely make a good match, without getting extensive help.”

Heather opened her mouth to protest but saw Vegas shake her head again. She snapped her mouth shut. “I think I can help.”

“Help us by making more matches. I have a report to complete for the Council of Representatives. They want to know why a disproportionate number of Draxdans have received matches over others.”

“Because they’re kind and friendly and sweet to their mates,” Heather said. “There you go, report complete.”

Diadora raised a hand. It was her cybernetic hand. The one that could snap necks.

Heather swallowed and took another step back. “I can’t.”

“You can, and you will. Get in this office right now.”

“If there was any other way, I’d do it.” Heather kept backing away. She grabbed Loka’s arm and tugged him along with her.

“You work for me,” Diadora snapped as she followed them into the corridor. “You will come here and do your work if you value your job.”

“I do value my job.” Heather continued to scuttle backwards. “But I won’t have a job if the space station blows up. I know I can stop it. I know I can help.”

“If you want to have a job here tomorrow, you will give up this ridiculous mission and do what you’re paid for.”

Heather looked up at Loka. “Run!” She spun on her heel and sped away, ignoring Diadora’s shouted threats of sacking and pay cuts.

Loka was right alongside her.

They raced around the corner, and Heather slowed.

She groaned and slumped against the wall. “I’m in so much trouble.”

“Your boss is a horrible person. She should not have threatened you.”

“Diadora has her moments of being truly terrifying. Occasionally, she comes good. I don’t think she’s going to let me forget this. I just lost my job.” If Heather had, that was it; all her dreams had gone up in smoke. No outpost, no bakery, no space pad of her own.

“I will speak to her,” Loka said, “make her see sense.”

Heather caught hold of his arm. “You’d be wasting your breath. All Diadora cares about is hitting the Council of Representatives targets. She doesn’t care how it’s done. She will care that I disobeyed her orders.”

“You were right. Without a station, you can’t do your job.”

Heather threw her hands up in exasperation. “Exactly. Diadora won’t think that. Even when she’s calmed down and realized what I’m saying is true, she won’t care. If our targets aren’t met, it’s her head on the line.”

“Are you sure you want to keep working for My Single Alien?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Despite Diadora being tricky, I love my job.” Heather sighed. “Forget about my lost job. Let’s check on your experiments.” She grabbed Loka’s hand, and they hurried to the end of the corridor.

Again, Heather let him lead, so he could do his alien macho thing and make sure she was safe. She sort of loved it.

Loka spent a few moments checking out the experiments, his hissing sighs growing louder as he did so.

“I’m guessing it’s not good news?”

“Most of these will need to be destroyed.” Loka scowled as he scooped up a handful of dishes and threw them into the trash chute. “That’s weeks of work lost.”

“And your mother’s DNA?”

“Safe for now. But it will degrade if not stored correctly.”

Heather made sure to keep out of Loka’s way as he worked. She’d seen how uptight he got when she interfered. She didn’t want him to snap again, not after facing off with Diadora. Heather still couldn’t believe she’d just done that. She’d never stood up to Diadora before.

She hoped she could talk her around. Maybe Vegas could talk sense into Diadora and stop Heather from losing her job.

She couldn’t worry about that now. This thing was bigger than Diadora and her obsession with matchmaking targets.

Heather lifted her gaze when she realized Loka had gone quiet. He was staring at her. “Is something wrong?”

“I need a lab partner. Will you help me?”