Page 93 of Tracked and Taken

Thane comes on the shared channel.

“Vosk.”

“Thane.”

“Approximately twenty-six warm bodies on thermal. Six at active metabolic levels. The rest low, consistent with sedation. Life support active behind the decommissioned hull. The station has been running for years with the registry saying scrapped.”

“Twenty sedated.”

“Twenty.”

Twenty. We came for one male.

“That is not three kidnappings, Tael.”

“No.”

“Thane.”

“Torres.”

“Your Korrhai family was three.”

“And Xor’s overnight research cross-referenced my case against the Severin BioSystems hardware log we pulled from V-6. The same hardware is flagged across at least four other open cases in the Velarkis corridor. The cargo shell you already have has moved more than three cases. Xor is compiling a full brief. For now: we are breaching the right facility, and the facility is much worse than we briefed for.”

Tael’s hand tightens on the console.

I put my hand over his. I do not plan it. His skin is five degrees warmer than mine. Last night that heat was everywhere.

His eyes come to mine.

“Tael.”

“Nat.”

Not Natalie. Not sweetheart. Nat.

The bunk. The ten-minute chime. His mouth on mine because neither of us was ready to stop.

“We go in. We get Torek. We document what we find. We get out. We come back with whatever it takes to shutter this.”

“Copy.”

Thane: “Vosk. I have the Bay Seven biometrics on my overlay. If Torek is in there I can read his signature once we are inside. You take the ventral hatch. I take the primary airlock. We converge on Torek and extract.”

“Copy.”

“The rest of the mates, we cannot extract alone. We tag what we can and comm Flossie.”

“Copy.”

Tael turns to me.

“Stay on my six, Natalie.”

Not a suggestion.

“On your six, Tael.”