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“He’s been known to throw me over his shoulder a few times.” Vegas grinned. “Since you’re here, you can help us figure out these next matches. Nobody goes home until we hit today’s targets. Since Solan is working off the station this week, I have no excuse to sneak off early.”

“You’re as bad a slave driver as Diadora.” Heather read the next file and frowned. “This is too weird. There’s no way in a black hole minute that a Rolon should be around a woman this fertile. He’d lose his mind.” Rolons were renowned for their inability to control themselves when they were within spitting distance of a fertile human. It was something to do with the scent the woman gave off. It sent the Rolon stir crazy. They would fight anyone they could get their hands on and had been known to trash entire rooms when they were in a lust rage.

The door to the office slid open. A station bot scurried in. They came in different designs—from cute mouse-sized to waist height. This one looked like a metallic spider, with its eight legs and shiny bulbous body.

It had taken Heather a while to get used to them and not shudder when they scuttled in. She’d cured herself of that particular phobia by adopting one as a pet. Even so, this model always looked like it was about to jump on you and rip your face off with its metal limbs.

She peered at the bot. In fact, this one really did look like it was about to jump on her.

It stopped two feet from her desk; its front legs lifted in the air as if scenting her location.

“What’s up with this bot?” Heather inched her seat back.

“Relay your information,” Vegas said to the bot.

The bot shifted from side to side.

“Maybe it’s on the fritz. The little ones get confused.” Nell stood and walked over to the bot. “Bot, what is your purpose here?”

The bot scuttled back. Its legs curled under its body, and it launched itself at Heather.

She screamed and batted the bot away, feeling its metallic legs dig into her skin. “Get it off me.”

Vegas leaped from her seat and grabbed the bot. It scuttled across the desk out of reach before flinging itself toward Heather again.

Jumping from her seat, Heather raced around the desk, staying away from the metallic grasp of the bot. It was small, no bigger than the palm of her hand, but there was no way she would let it get its evil little legs attached to her.

“What have you done to upset this bot?” Nell asked, standing on her seat, keeping well out of the fight.

“Nothing! Bots don’t hold grudges. I take care of my bots. I have a pet one. You’ve met Ernie.” Heather continued to jog around the desk as the bot scuttled after her.

“Maybe that’s why this one isn’t happy,” Vegas said. “It doesn’t like you keeping one of them as a pet, something you know you shouldn’t do.”

“Ernie is my buddy. He likes living with me. He’s even got his own bed.” In her spare time, Heather tinkered with electronic things. It was a hobby she’d had since childhood. She’d discovered Ernie malfunctioning in the corridor six months ago. She fixed him, and he’d been her pet ever since.

“Maybe this one isn’t angry,” Nell said. “It also wants to be your pet. It realizes it’s onto a good thing and wants you to adopt it. Ernie has been spreading the word about his cushy life in your room.”

“There’s no way I’m having this crazy bot anywhere near my room.” Heather dodged out of the bot’s way. “I’d wake up in the middle of the night and find it strangling me.”

“What do you do with Ernie?” Vegas asked.

Heather sped up. The bot matched her pace. “What do you mean?”

“How do you protect yourself from Ernie in case he goes wrong?”

“He won’t go wrong. He sleeps at the end of my bed sometimes.”

Vegas laughed. “That’s normal?”

“He’s fine. I never worry about Ernie. This one though, it needs to go for a check-up. He’s seriously misbehaving.” Heather grabbed her tablet off the desk and swung it at the bot.

The door slid open again. Diadora Hardwick stood there. Her cold gaze slid to each of them in turn before settling on the rampaging bot.

“This isn’t our fault,” Vegas said.

“I’ve heard those words come out of your mouth before.” Diadora stepped into the room. “What’s going on? Have you finished your work?”

“We were about to.” Heather swung her tablet at the bot again as it tried to grab her ankle. “We were interrupted by this malfunctioning bot.”