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“All night. It must be midday by now. I’m not sure of the time. The cyborgs removed our comm devices.” Hoan gestured around him. “Some of this lot have been placing bets on if you’d ever wake up.”

Rubbing his eyes, Loka realized they weren’t alone in the cell. There were twenty other aliens, all looking like they’d gone a few rounds with cyborgs.

“I hope you didn’t place a bet.”

“Only that you’d wake up.” Hoan leaned his head against the gray cell wall. “It looks like you took quite a beating.”

“I was trying to get Heather off the station and send a message for help. The Banti saw the ship leaving and dragged us back.”

“Banti?”

“We believe they’re behind this. They’re not the only ones. They are separating aliens from humans. Heather figured it out. She realized the strange matches from My Single Alien made no sense. The code interfering with the station’s systems originated from the matchmaking agency. It’s been making bogus matches so Banti have access to humans.”

“The code spread from there?”

“It appears so.” Loka rubbed the back of his neck. “Whether that was intentional or not, I don’t know. Maybe they just wanted access to human females through the agency, but then realized it wasn’t working.”

“They came to Prodigy to take what they could?”

“The malicious code will destroy this place before long. They need to grab their assets while they can.” Loka studied Hoan, noticing bruises and scrapes on his skin. “What happened to you? How did you end up in this cell?”

“I was assisting in engineering when taken,” Hoan said. “The code was getting into every system. As soon as we fixed one thing, another would break. We’d restore emergency power and the heating went off. We’d restore the lights and the comm system went off-line.”

“Intelligent coding,” Loka said.

“That’s not a Banti speciality.”

“Heather identified two different aliens involved,” Loka said. “Banti and Vincole, the blood-thirsty muscle and the brains.”

“What plans do they have with the humans?”

Loka shuddered. “It won’t be anything good. They have been denied access to the agency’s work. They most likely want humans to abuse or impregnate. Heather believes the Vincole want to take over running the matchmaking agency. I think they want to expand their illegal auction practises. Whatever their purpose, it doesn’t end well for the humans.”

“The Banti might simply want the humans as a delicacy.”

Loka’s head dropped. “I have failed Heather. I tried to get her out and keep her safe from danger. I did not succeed.”

“Heather won’t hold it against you. She stood a better chance with you by her side than she would have on her own.”

Loka raised his head. “I am fond of her.”

Hoan smiled. “It doesn’t take a genius scientist, such as myself, to figure that out.”

“We have been getting to know each other.”

“You like what you know?”

“I do. Very much.”

“Even though you aren’t seeking a mate?”

“Heather has a certain way of engaging me. I find myself thinking about her when she isn’t around.” Loka rubbed a horn. “I made a mistake by not setting her free. I proved to her that I am not good enough.”

“Did Heather tell you that?”

“She did not need to. I believe she never would. Heather is kind.” Loka sighed. “I showed her I cannot be relied upon. A better alien would have protected her.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Hoan said. “I heard from some of the others in here about the failed attempt to get off the space station. Several ships were destroyed. You are fortunate to have been returned safely.”