An uncharted topographical disturbance derailed the initial plan to land near the Lyrden and quickly retrieve the data. Toran directed Kayde to a secondary location and within the hour, they had the ship hidden among an outcropping of rocks and were hiking over the stony terrain down the windswept peninsula. The gusts beat at Raze’s hair, sending some of the longer strands into his eyes and mouth. He normally kept it cropped short, but his scheduler had malfunctioned and deleted his appointment for his last haircut. He smoothed his fingers through it and the slight mist in the air was enough to wet his hair and keep it slicked back.

From space, it hadn’t been obvious why Fenryr 1 remained mostly uninhabited. The weather seemed moderate, despite what they’d been warned of, and green covered huge swaths of the planet, both over land and sea. But once they set down, the inhospitality became more apparent. The green that looked like trees from space was actually a dense and malodorous moss that covered everything and stuck to their boots where they walked. A few small animals darted out from the cover of the moss, only to be snatched up by birds that swarmed in dense black clouds.

There was no sign of the pirates and slavers, and the path that they’d charted to the ship was meant to keep them out of range of whatever detection devices and patrols they used.

After several hours of walking, Raze’s legs burned and his lips cracked, parched for water. He took a drink and surveyed the area around them. There was little cover, other than some stone outcroppings, and if he hadn’t been tracking their coordinates, he might have believed they’d been walking in place. It all looked almost the same. The suns were setting on the far horizon and a chill froze the air around them. His clothes were meant to withstand subfreezing temperatures, but he suspected that Toran would soon stop them for the night.

In another setting, Toran, as the youngest of the three of them, might have been the junior member of this team. But among the legion, it was those who still had their souls who led in the field. They had the ability to adapt and follow instincts that Raze and his like had surrendered in the name of survival. And it was only soldiers who still had their souls that could make the choice to put down one of the soulless if he went over the edge. They could see the danger long before he would, long before the bodies hit the floor and blood coated the walls.

Toran held up a hand to stop them. Kayde and Raze came up beside him and waited for him to speak.

“Those rocks look like they’ll give us some cover. I want the two of you to set up camp. I’ll see if I can round up food or water. Don’t break into the rations until I’m back.” He handed off his supplies to the two of them and took off.

Kayde followed Raze toward the area Toran indicated and they worked in silence to set up tents and ignite the warming block that would act as a heat source and a way to cook any potential food Toran hunted down. It gave off no scent and little light, which helped with stealth.

More than an hour later, Toran returned with two small animals in hand. They were covered in fur with large ears and looked to have a good amount of meat on them. He handed them over to Kayde with instructions for him to clean the kills and test them for digestive compatibility before taking his place in setting up camp.

“I’ve set up the drones to monitor a perimeter,” Toran told him. “Kayde can take first watch, but I’ll want us to keep to the camp in case we need to make a quick retreat.”

Raze nodded and finished adjusting the final strap of the tent he was working on. Once he was finished, he stepped back and looked around the little camp. Tents, warming block, refuse pit, everything was set up. He took a seat on a fallen log and stared into the dim glow and let his hands soak up the heat as night fell around them.

“You can’t get bored, can you?” Toran asked as he set up one of the portable chairs beside Raze.

Raze thought about how to answer that for a moment. “Not like you mean, I don’t think. I could sit here until it’s time for me to sleep, but my mind is sharper with stimulus.” The first week of training after becoming soulless had been all about how not to fall into ennui now that he couldn’t desire anything. The warriors who survived were the ones who found a way to keep engaged, even when engagement no longer seemed to matter.

Toran studied him for several moments, his form quickly disappearing into shadow as the suns finally set. He was little more than the outline of a Detyen, the soft glow of the warming block not enough to discern details. “Can I ask what it’s like?”

Raze didn’t need to clarify what he meant by ‘it.’ Most people back at the base wouldn’t ask, but there was only one thing he knew that they didn’t. “It isn’t like anything,” he said after taking another few minutes to gather his thoughts. “I can remember emotions, remember desire and goals and everything else. It hasn’t completely vanished. But it’s the difference between a steaming hot spring and a tepid bath. Water surrounds me no matter what, but now it merely serves a function. I neither like nor dislike it.” Raze paused for a moment and then unexpectedly added, “I would not have chosen this if it weren’t for my debt.”

“Debt?” Even in the shadows, Raze could see Toran jerk his head in his direction and lean a little closer.

“For surviving,” Raze explained. “My brother and I were saved by the legion, not born into it. And we owe it to our people, as the last link to Detya.”

He could almost feel Toran’s stare boring into him. “Do you really believe that?”

“I used to.” It was hard to believe anything these days. He hadn’t realized just how much emotion went into belief until his life dissolved into the nothing of soullessness.

Toran said nothing for several moments after that before changing the subject. “I hear chatter.”

Raze stayed silent.

His teammate let out a small huff that might have been a laugh. “I'm going to talk at you until you tell me to stop.”

Raze had realized that. “We’re outside of surveillance range, I have no reason to stop you.”

This time he was sure he heard the laugh. “You know about that Detyen colony in the Consortium?”

“Yes.” The Consortium was a system of several planets mostly ruled by humans. They’d been abducted from their home world over centuries and set up their own civilization which welcomed almost any race. Raze had never been, the legion tended to stay in less populated areas of space unless a mission called for something else.

“They say that one of the leaders there found his denya.” Toran spoke so quietly that Raze almost had to strain to hear.

“It does still happen.” Even among the legion, a few had found their mates.

“She's human.”

Those two words froze Raze in place, rooting him to the ground. “What?” Something like curiosity nipped at his mind.

“A human denya.” Wonder filled Toran’s voice at the thought. “Mated to a Detyen. I don't know if it's just a fluke. Maybe she's not all human. But wouldn't that be…” he trailed off.

“Why now? Detyens have had some contact with humans for a long time. Why did none find a mate among them until now? This sounds like a story, a legend.” Though humanity’s expansion into space hadn’t begun in earnest until after the destruction of Detya, there’d been some level of contact for centuries, whether through the Consortium or humans abducted from their home planet. Raze had never heard of a human becoming mated to a Detyen in that time.

“You mean like warriors who give up their emotions to live longer than a biologically mandated death sentence?” Even he could recognize the sarcasm dripping from Toran’s words.

“Toran… don't get your hopes up.” If he’d heard this story three years ago, Raze could only imagine how he would have felt. And how he’d have been crushed as his birthday approached and that hope was snuffed out again.

“Aw, I'd almost think you were worried for me.” Toran placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a friendly squeeze. Raze sat still and took it. Contact didn’t exactly hurt, but it reminded him of things that were no longer his.

“I would be.” If he still had the capacity.

A beep cut through their conversation and Toran’s wrist communicator lit up. He sighed. “I need to go check on Kayde. He's due for an eval.”

“And me?” He and Kayde needed to be closely monitored to ensure that they didn’t compromise the mission. Toran would run through basic diagnostics on a daily basis while they could spare the time.

But his fellow Detyen only shook his head. “You're good. I'll see you later.”

Raze let him go without another farewell. He sat there for a long time staring at the warming block and considering everything that had just been said. Thankfully, he could not hope and he could not regret. He didn’t know what he’d do with the information Toran had given him if that were the case. And the hollow core in his chest might have ripped open and bled if he could feel anything other than the mildest pang of longing.

***

“I’ve got us landing by this piece of crap old ship,” Jo said as they orbited Fenryr a final time. “Should give us good cover from any surveillance. This craft is small enough that they’ll just think we’re another piece of debris.”

Unlike the departure from Earth, Sierra was strapped to her seat in the cockpit for their entry into the potentially hostile planet. She had her blasters strapped to her sides, communications devices secured, and a first aid kit within reach if they needed it. All signs indicated that the slavers and pirates had no idea they were coming, but she liked to be prepared in case the cold mission turned hot. That was a lesson she’d only needed to learn once.

“Entry path is clear,” Mindy confirmed. The navigation visor covered half of her head, feeding her information from the hundreds of sensors studded to the outside of their craft.

“Affirmative. Entering orbit in thirty seconds.”

Anticipation bubbled in Sierra’s veins. A feeling of restless uselessness had been dogging her for the entire flight. She could take over either Jo’s or Mindy’s position and do an adequate job if the circumstances called for it, but everything had gone off without a hitch so far, leaving her sitting on her ass for the past three days. That was a good thing, she reminded herself. Still, it was just about her time to shine.

Best navigator. Best pilot.

And now, it was time for the best operative to get into position.

She didn’t say anything while Jo concentrated on getting them through the atmosphere at a blistering pace. They came in hot in the hopes that any sensors would read them as a meteorite, rather than a hostile ship. Once they were in place, they’d split, with Jo guarding the ship, Mindy finding high ground to run surveillance, and Sierra getting up close and personal with the kinds of assholes who thought it was okay to steal and sell people. Well, as up close and personal as a person could get without actually being seen or sensed in any way by the enemy.

With a final jolt, they punched through the atmosphere and crashed down in what felt like a free fall. Sierra gripped the armrests of her chair hard enough to hurt her fingers and her jaw ached from being clenched so tight. Jo's the best, she reminded herself. This is all going to plan.

That didn't make the semi-controlled landing feel any safer though. But in a matter of minutes they were out of the sky and nestled into a rocky outcropping within sight of the shipyard.

“They must be stripping these pieces of junk,” Mindy said as she leaned forward to get a better view through the screen. “That guy over there has to be more than a hundred years old. God, the tech must suck.”

Jo started to scoff but the noise lodged in her throat.

“What?” Mindy demanded.

“That's an XA model from the Oscavian Empire. It's not some dinky Earth ship that could barely make it out of the solar system without a malfunction. Some of the best ships in the galaxy are old as fuck. Just because humans haven't been travelling for millennia doesn't mean the rest of space is so far behind.” Jo, too, leaned forward, but from what Sierra saw of her face, she wasn't disappointed by the old ships. She looked like a kid in a candy store.

“We don't have time for sightseeing,” Sierra reminded them as she undid her safety harness. “I want our scans done ASAP. The sun is getting low and I don't want to lose the light.”

Both women whipped around and glared at her. Sierra sent them a smirk. Not much could get her navigator and her pilot on the same side, she'd need to remember this for the future.

Despite the glares, they got to work while Sierra got ready. While her goal was to remain unseen by any of the planet's inhabitants, she knew she couldn't count on it. Most of the human women on Fenryr would be caged and possibly collared. But Sierra wasn't about to dress herself up as a slave. While media shows back home liked to portray slavers and pirates as barbarians, from experience Sierra knew they didn't look all that different from the mercenaries she'd worked with on various jobs. Knives went into sheathes on her arms and around her waist. She pulled an old synth-leather jacket out of her luggage and slid it over her shoulders. Heavy, tight pants and thick boots gave her protection from the elements and some weapons, and a dark knit hat covered her hair, disguising the burnt umber tone. If they'd been on a space station or some civilized place, she might have taken the time to do up her makeup and play up the sexy vibe. But Fenryr 1 wasn't designed for socializing, and she was here for business.

When she came out of her quarters, Jo looked her up and down and gave a licentious whistle. “If you showed up at a bar back home looking like that, I might just buy you a drink.”

Sierra laughed and shook her head. “You just like that I look like I could kick your ass.”

“Well, yeah.” When Mindy came up behind Sierra, Jo’s face shuttered and she turned back to the console. “Scans are finished. There’s activity to the south, but we should be out of their range. If anything comes up, I’ll follow protocol to evade them and protect the ship.” She handed over two bracelets. “The locators are working well. If the light turns red, I’m heading your way. Standard call procedure if you need a pick up.”

Sierra slipped on the bracelet and saw Mindy do the same. “Good luck, be safe,” she told her team. “Let’s get this done.”