“Doc, I think I need a tune-up.”

I stalked through the crowded level, ignoring the press and the stink and the chaos and the noise all around me while I waited for her to answer the commlink.

“I’m still in the lab. I’ll get prepped.”

She didn’t bother asking for details. If we thought there was something wrong, we were to report in.

That was one of the hard and fast rules of our lives.

First was loyalty to the Pack.

But a close second was to check in as soon as possible if anything seemed weird.

Weird, of course, was a relative term.

Doc had tweaked every batch of us, just a bit. Alright. More than a bit. And within each batch, she’d made individual adjustments.

For most of us, there weren’t any problems.

But even though I hadn’t been decanted when it happened, I knew about Garrett.

We all did.

The one who’d gone mad, the rage consuming him until he was nothing but a shell that killed.

The one who Ronan, Erich and Hakon had hunted down, brought back to the Daedalus, for Doc to fix.

Ronan had told Conner and me, all the youngest batch, of how she’d cried when she realized she couldn’t.

We’d been the last of her boys to be created. She’d made no more after us.

Was there something wrong in my code, too?

“Hop up, kiddo.” Her dry voice held the faintest tremor to it.

I stripped and got on the examination table, watching Doc. She looked older than before the destruction of the Daedalus and her imprisonment by the General.

Maybe that accounted for the tension set into the lines of her mouth.

Maybe she was thinking about Garrett, too.

“Hold still.”

I hissed as she slid the cold circlet over my temples, the sensor pad wriggling slightly as it adjusted to my skin.

Damn thing always creeped me out.

She began the scan over my body.

“Report symptoms,” she commanded.

“I’m angry. Angry all the time.”

She frowned. “No you’re not. You’ve never been one of my grumpy boys.”

“I think I know how I feel.” I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached.

Doc rested her hand on my shoulder briefly. As much as an apology as I was going to get. I relaxed slightly.

“I just mean you’ve never been angry before.”

And that was true. I didn’t used to be.

“It started on the Star.”

Her face paled.

Ronan had told her what had happened to us there. I hoped he hadn’t shared too many details.

“It wasn’t what they did to me.” It was too late to try to reassure her now, probably. “It was... It was what they did to Nadira. And Loree.” I hated saying her name aloud, knowing she didn’t feel the same way towards me. Void, didn’t even remember me.

She pulled back, frowned. “Loree. My patient? Red hair, nice girl. Bit of a smartass?”

“Yes,” I bit out. “That Loree.”

“Didn’t realize you knew her.” Doc checked her tablet again. “You’re fine. Showing a lot of stress. But all in all I don’t think you’re deteriorating.”

“That makes no sense. When she’s around I can’t focus, can’t think straight…”

She pulled the sensor off my head and I sat up. “Come in for a daily workup for the next while, and we’ll keep an eye on things.”

“Thanks, but what should I do about Loree?” I bit my tongue. “I mean, about how I’m reacting around her?”

“I should’ve gotten somebody to come out and give you boys dating advice, apparently.” Doc turned away to put away her tools. “Void knows I wasn’t much good at it.”

The idea of Doc dating froze my brain for just a moment so that I missed her next few words.

“As long as you’re not too much of an idiot, I’m sure it’ll work out.”

Don’t be an idiot. That seemed like a reasonable goal. I could aim for that.

“Are you in there, you, you old quack?” a voice hollered from the far end of the lab.

“Damn,” Doc muttered. “That woman, she’s such a drama queen.”

I goggled, staring at Doc and her tablet and her brilliant brain that let her conceive of ways to shuffle and splice the genomic code of anyone, anything.

Who could she possibly think was over-dramatic?

An older woman, braids bound behind a kerchief, came stomping in through the lab, carrying a solemn little girl.

Of course. Granny Z, former pirate Queen.

Doc broke into a broad grin when she saw the toddler. “Come here, Vicki, let’s talk about what you’d like for a new pet.”

Vicki held one arm up but kept hold of one of Granny Z’s braids.

“Both grandmas today,” she declared.

Granny Z and Doc glared at each other, then surrendered to the demanding will of a three-year-old tyrant.

“Of course,” Doc conceded. “What would you like to do?”

I grabbed my shirt and snuck out before Vicki wrapped me around her tiny fingers, too.

Back on the deck, the edgy feeling skittering under my skin returned, pooling into my gut.

I needed to find Loree.

No.

I wanted to find Loree, but she’d made it clear she needed space.

The thought of her wandering alone, vulnerable, on the station, drove a wild spike of rage behind my eyes.

Except she wasn’t alone. Nadira was with her. And I knew from the Star I shouldn’t underestimate either of them.

I remembered, even if she didn’t.

A growl from the commlink broke into my thoughts. “Why haven’t you logged some rack time yet?”

“Still wired. Nothing big.” The last thing I wanted to do was explain the situation to Davien.

After the destruction of the Daedalus, he’d found Kara. Or she’d found him. I hadn’t gotten clear on the story yet, but obviously things had worked out for them.

It didn’t look like that was going to be the case with me and Loree.

“Kid, didn’t you just get in a few hours ago?”

“Yeah, but I’m not old yet.” As soon as the words left my lips, I knew I’d made a mistake.

“Fine,” he snapped. “Go meet up with Lorcan. He’s helping the new guys with the patrol on section 28G.”

Not just the Lowers. The Unders. The half-lit wild underbelly of the station. Perfect. I headed down to the sub level and lost myself in the routine of stopping trouble before it started for the next few hours.

Orem station might not have true night and day, and ships came in and out of the dock at all hours, but by the time we’d broken up the fifth bar fight of the evening, I wondered if maybe Granny should consider enforcing a mid-afternoon closing time, even in the wildness of the Under levels. Some of those places didn’t look like they’d been shut down in years. Void, some of their patrons might have been drinking in the same dark corners since they opened.

Not really my problem, but the guards Granny Z had recruited to help keep Orem safe, if not legal, were looking a little ragged.

“That’s it for me tonight.” Lorcan stretched the kinks out of his neck as we left the guardhouse.

“The next team should be heading out in an hour or so,” I said. “I’m going to grab a bite to eat, then give them a hand.”

Lorcan shook his head. “That’s a lousy idea. Come on.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and dragged me off with him.

“What are you doing?” I pushed against him, then gave in.

“You know better than to run full out unless you need to.” He spun me away then used the ultimate threat. “Don’t make me tell Doc on you.”

I snorted. “What’s your idea of downtime? You’re not heading back to that shop where that woman made all the little trinkety things, are you? You couldn’t stop talking to her earlier.”

“Jewelry. Not trinkety things.” Lorcan shrugged. “Nicely made stuff, actually. But no, she’s probably closed for the night.” He headed down the deck. “You’ll find out when we get there.”

Back up in the Lowers, we hit a residential zone. Kids ran in and out of buildings while a few adults clustered on steps, watching over them while chatting.

The patrol shift, the shock of seeing Loree, all of it must have caught up with me, because I couldn’t keep the puzzled look from my face.

“Not what you were expecting?” Lorcan said.

“I’ve given up expecting anything sensible from you,” I grumbled, but followed him up the stairs of a small building, nestled between two of the larger hives.

Eris opened the door before he knocked, her long curls spilling over her shoulders, black squiggles on the bright pink loose top.

“Come on in, Connor’s cooking dinner.”

A few steps from the door the entryway opened to a sitting room. A soft tan couch took up a quarter of the space, with other chairs and small tables pulled around in a messy circle, as if visitors were expected.

Of course.

Lorcan had pinged them while we were on patrol.

Around the corner of the room Connor stood at a counter, slashing at a pile of vegetables with a long knife while a hot pan spat oil behind him.

“He’s getting better,” Eris teased.

“Only because you refused, and I don’t think the baby should only eat field rations,” he answered lightly.

“I know my limits.” She sank into the couch, then fought her way back to perch on the edge. “Granny keeps saying we should move into a larger house, but this feels enormous.”

Compared to the living quarters of the Seeker, it probably was.

Lorcan and I sat opposite her, and I examined the silver cube on one of the side tables curiously. “Never seen Nixie so silent. She get shy all of a sudden?”

Eris laughed. “Hardly. She’s been trying to get into Imperial System Security, see if they have new information on Stanton Grene. She’s taking their cyber defenses as a personal insult. It’s taking all of her resources.”

Connor glanced at the silver box. “The house is pretty quiet when she’s busy.”

I met his eyes and didn’t need to be able to read minds to tell how upset he was by that.

Not a bit.

“Here, try this.” Eris reached into a small box by the side of the couch and tossed Lorcan a bottle, then another to me, the chill of the metal refreshing in my grip.

“I’m not sure if I can handle the smell of more alcohol,” I joked.

“You’re the one who volunteered for patrol,” Lorcan said, and opened the top. “Besides, this is the good stuff.”

Eris grinned as I took a tentative sip, then another. Lorcan was right, it was.

“I’ve been doing a little distilling since I may be grounded in the next few months. I’ll need something to keep me busy.”

“When do you think it, I mean, the baby will come?” No points for being the graceful uncle there.

“We’re assuming this should take the normal nine months,” Eris started.

“But we’re not taking any chances.” Connor broke in. “It could be longer or shorter. Somehow Doc didn’t think about what would happen if we passed our genes on in the more traditional way.”

Connor carried a steaming bowl of greens and noodles to the table and helped Eris off the couch.

“Do you know if it’s a girl or a boy yet?” Lorcan asked.

“Doc and Nixie know, but I’ve asked them not to tell us.”

I cocked an eye at the silent silver cube. “How’s that working out?”

“She’s doing better now, really.” Eris slid into a chair at the table, and we followed suit. “Besides, I think she might be a little afraid. Doc and Loree each had a chat with her.” She glanced guiltily at me at Loree’s name, but I shook my head.

Here, with the warmth of my family beside me, nothing should bother me.

But the feeling in my gut stayed. Where was Loree?