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“We feed it something it doesn’t like. Something that harms it. If it works like a virus, that could be the answer.”

“We slam the code with antibiotics?”

“Now who’s being a nerd?” Heather nodded. “That could work.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go deal with this alien scum sucking code and get our space station back.”

Chapter 19

Loka’s heart raced as he continued his fruitless search for Heather. She wasn’t in any of the cells. Every one had been emptied and searched. They’d found several groups of scared humans and had set them all free, urging them to remain hidden.

They were in the last cell. Heather wasn’t in there.

Loka caught hold of the shoulder of a black-haired woman as she hurried past. “Do you know Heather Roberts?”

The woman’s eyes widened before she nodded. “I see her in the Enchanted Captain sometimes.”

“She wasn’t in the cells? She wasn’t taken?”

“They didn’t bring her here. I haven’t seen her. Sorry.”

Loka dropped his hold on her shoulder, and she raced off after the others.

“We will find Heather,” Hoan said. “She will be here somewhere.”

“She must have been in that cell we discovered,” Loka said. “That’s the only explanation. Somehow, the females overpowered the cyborgs and escaped.”

“Wherever she is, we can help the most by fixing the station and getting it back under our control,” Hoan said. “It will be easier to find her then.”

“I need to find her now.” Loka massaged his forehead, his claws scraping across his skin.

“If this place blows up, then there will be no chance of that happening,” Hoan said. “Let’s get internal comms back online. We’ll be able to scan for Heather, and we can send a message asking her to join us.”

Loka looked along the corridor again, desperately seeking Heather, willing her to be standing in front of him with her cute smile.

“As entertaining as it is to watch your heart control your head, this is the best course of action.” Hoan clapped a hand on Loka’s shoulder. “Sometimes, logic and science need to supersede emotions.”

Loka scraped his hand down his face. “I am not emotional.”

“You sort of are. It’s fun to watch. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“I have complete control of myself.” Loka knew those words were a lie. His heart wasn’t beating out a normal rhythm. It was all to do with Heather. He’d feel better once he saw her again.

“Come on, brother. Let’s make our way to engineering. We will find your female. Science will rule the day, once again.”

Loka shook his head, a tiny smile on his lips as he followed Hoan. He made sense. It was the right course of action, but every part of Loka told him he should keep fighting and searching for Heather.

This love business was tricky. It wasn’t letting him think rationally. Getting to engineering and fixing the problem was the right thing to do, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

As they hurried to engineering, the emergency lighting flickered on and off.

“Not a positive sign,” Hoan said. “If the code is messing with the emergency systems, we’re almost out of time.”

“Then we’d better hurry.”

The doors to engineering were open when they arrived. The gap wasn’t big enough to allow Loka through, but with some not so careful forcing with his horns, he widened the gap.

Smears of blood decorated the room as they entered. It appeared engineering had put up quite a fight when they’d been attacked.