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The drakeen core chirped excitedly and began to move, then spun in a rapid circle before careening into a crate. He recovered, legs skittering wildly across the floor as he responded to her thoughts with enthusiastic overreaction.

"Easy," she murmured, trying to narrow her focus. "Just walk normally."

Spot staggered like he was drunk, one leg moving smoothly while the others jerked in different directions. She couldn't help laughing at his comical movements.

Then suddenly, without warning, images flashed through her mind, foreign and disorienting.

A battlefield viewed through multiple optical sensors, plasma fire streaking overhead.

The sensation of being connected to a massive weapons system, power thrumming through circuitry that extended far beyond Spot's current form.

Then a final, fractured impression, terror and pain flooding through the neural link as a pilot's consciousness flickered and faded. She yanked the band off, gasping.

"What happened?" Jex moved closer, a hand out in case she fell.

"I saw..." She looked at Spot, who had gone still, sensors dimmed. "I felt her dying. Spot's pilot."

Jex nodded slowly. "Memory fragments. His neural net must have preserved them."

Mira knelt beside Spot, gently touching his casing. The connection, brief as it was, had fundamentally changed how she saw him. Not just a machine with quirks, but a being with history, with trauma.

"We'll practice more later," she said softly. "And I'll be more careful."

Spot's sensors brightened as he gently bumped against her hand.

"Thank you," she told Jex, rising to her feet. "This will help."

Spot danced in tight circles around her, front legs waving in the air as a series of happy chirps filled the bay.

"Yeah, yeah." A grin spread across her face. "You convinced me. Just don't make me regret it."

As Jex moved back to his workbench, Mira watched Spot's celebration. A smile tugged at her lips despite everything. Whatever happened, at least she wasn't the only one refusing to stay discarded.

* * *

Davis trudged up the Lady's Dream's ramp, every muscle complaining after hours of fruitless questioning at K ell's lab.

Fucking scientists and their cryptic bullshit.

The guy had answers about Davis's changing DNA locked in his oversized brain, but getting straight information from him was like trying to nail water to a wall.

The ship's recycled air hit him as he stepped into the corridor, carrying that familiar metallic tang that meant home and something else. He tilted his head, drawing a breath over his tongue.

Mira was close. He could smell that distinctive mix of ship soap and something uniquely hers.

He rounded the corner to the cargo bay, and there she was, datapad in hand, checking inventory. His pulse kicked up instantly. She'd avoided him since the other night, when she hadn't returned from getting snacks. And now she ignored him as though he didn't exist.

"Hey," he said, aiming for casual and missing by several light years.

She glanced up, and her expression shuttered. "You're back."

Not a question. A flat statement that hung between them like a dead thing. None of the warmth he'd gotten used to, none of that light in her eyes when she spotted him across a room.

"Just got in." He shifted his weight. "Heading out for supplies?"

"That's the plan." Her fingers tapped the datapad screen, attention firmly deliberately not on him.

"I'll come with you."

Her shoulders stiffened. "Where's Jesh?"

"Still at the lab. K ell wasn't exactly an open book.

" He leaned against a nearby crate, keeping his distance.

There was no sense in crowding her when she was already looking for exits.

"She stayed to hack his research database.

Said she'd have better luck with his files than listening to him talk in circles. "

Mira nodded, still not looking up. "Makes sense."

The conversation died faster than enemy combatants in a Reaper ambush.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when movement caught his eye.

Something skittered through the cargo bay door, metal feet click-clicking against the deck plates.

His hand was on his sidearm before he recognized what it was.

"What the hell?"

Spot. But not the Spot he knew. The little drakeen core wore a gray external casing with maintenance markings stenciled across it. A small antenna bobbed from its back, and service lights blinked in regulation patterns.

A ghost of a smile touched Mira's lips the first crack in her armor since he'd arrived. "Jex built it. Camouflage so Spot can blend in planetside." She knelt, examining the disguise. "Not bad, right?"

Spot danced in a circle, sensors brightening, showing off his new look. The little bot chirped happily, practically preening.

"Smart thinking." He watched as Spot positioned himself next to Mira, the protective movement so obvious it was almost funny. "Ready to head out?"

"Just need to grab my jacket from storage."

"I'll help Spot get situated on the ramp," he offered. "Meet you there in five?"

She nodded, already turning away.

The moment she disappeared, he crouched beside Spot, keeping his voice low. "Come here. Quick."

Spot obeyed, zipping over with an inquisitive chirp.

Davis reached into his jacket and pulled out a compact blaster. The weapon was small but nasty military-grade with the serial numbers filed off. The kind of thing that could drop a charging Vorrtan if you hit the right spot.

"Listen up," he whispered, glancing over his shoulder. "I need you to protect Mira. At any cost. Got it?"

Spot's optical sensors fixed on him, blue light suddenly intense. If a war machine could look skeptical, this one did.

"I'm serious." Davis leaned closer, voice dropping further. "If anything happens, anything at all, you keep her safe. Even from me, if necessary. Understood?"

The drakeen core studied him for a long moment, then chirped softly and nodded. The gesture was so human that it caught Davis off guard. Reaching out, Spot grabbed the weapon with one of his front arms, then tucked it away underneath himself, concealing it completely.

"Good." Davis straightened as Mira's footsteps echoed down the corridor. "And not a word to her about this."

Spot flashed his sensors once, then skittered toward the ramp, suddenly all innocent excitement again. He shook his head. The little bot could definitely act when it wanted to.

Mira appeared, shrugging into her jacket. "Ready?"

They disembarked the ramp in silence, stepping onto the steelcrete landing platform that served as Taarian Prime's main spaceport.

The flat, utilitarian surface stretched before them, dotted with vessels of various sizes.

Beyond rose the ancient stone walls of the city, weathered and imposing against the pale yellow sky.

The local guards at the main gate barely glanced at them as they passed through.

The moment they cleared the threshold, the sounds and smells of the city's market exploded around them.

He bit back his grimace. Market day meant the narrow streets were packed tighter than a smuggler's hidden compartment bodies pressing against bodies while vendors shouted prices from booths crammed into every available space.

His senses went into overdrive. Between one heartbeat and the next, he could pick out conversations from fifty feet away, detect the ingredients in food carts before seeing them, and track the movements of pickpockets working the crowd.

"Shit," he muttered, blinking hard as a jab of pain lanced through the side of his head.

Mira glanced at him, the first hint of concern breaking through her wall of indifference. "You okay?"

"Fine." He straightened. "Just a bit of a headache."

He stayed close to her as they navigated the throng, making a mental note of every person who brushed past or looked her way too long. A merchant with wandering eyes tracked Mira's profile a heartbeat too long. Davis stepped between them and glared the guy down.

Spot stuck to Mira's heels like he'd been magnetized, sensors constantly scanning their surroundings. The little bot was having the time of his life, optical array whirring as he took in the sights and sounds of his first excursion.

"Medical supply vendor should be in the eastern quarter," Mira said, checking her datapad. "Then tech components."

Davis nodded, scanning ahead as they turned down a side street lined with more specialized shops. He'd begun to relax, just a fraction, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Something was wrong.

Two uniformed figures walked down the alley toward them. Local security, by the looks of them, their posture screamed authority and trouble. He tensed as they noticed the three of them.

"ID verification," the taller officer demanded, stepping directly into their path. His gaze swept over them, lingering on Spot. "State your business in the eastern quarter."

"Supply run," Mira answered smoothly, producing her documents. "We're with a merchant vessel on pad 12."

The officer took the credentials, eyes narrowing as he studied them. His partner circled, positioning himself behind them.

Heat flushed through Davis's system, and sweat beaded on his forehead. His vision sharpened, colors becoming more vibrant, edges more defined. His hands curled into fists as his muscles tensed for action.

"These seem in order." The officer handed Mira her paperwork back, suspicion still evident in every line of his body. "And him?" He nodded toward Davis.

Davis pulled out his documents, conscious of the changes happening of his elevated heart rate, the feeling of his pupils contracting into pinpricks, and the strength surging through his limbs.

The second officer was standing too close to Mira.

Every cell in his body said the man was a threat that needed eliminating. Now.

"Where'd you get the service bot?" The second officer prodded Spot with his foot. "This model looks customized."

"Private purchase," Mira replied with an easy smile. "All registration is current."

"We'll need to see those papers, too," the first officer insisted, stepping closer to her.

Davis moved before thinking, inserting himself between Mira and the officer. His hand shot out, fingers closing around the man's wrist with crushing force.

"Back off," he growled.

The officer's eyes widened, his face paling as he looked into Davis's eyes. The man's hand dropped toward his weapon.

"Davis!" Mira's sharp voice cut through the fog in his brain. She slipped between them, one hand pressing against his chest, pushing him back. "Officer, I apologize for my colleague. We've been on a long-haul run, and he's sleep-deprived and cranky. You know how it gets."

Her hand trembled against his chest, but her voice stayed steady as she pulled out Spot's documentation and handed it over with a strained smile.

The officers studied the papers. Finally, the first officer handed everything back.

"Move along," he ordered, avoiding looking at Davis. "And keep your friend under control."

They watched the officers disappear around the corner. The moment they were out of earshot, he rounded on Mira.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "You don't trust me to handle the situation?"

She stopped walking, whirling to face him, her face a mask of anger. "Trust you? You nearly attacked a security officer! Your eyes changed. In public."

"I had it under control."

" Bullshit . The changes are accelerating, and you're hiding how far it's gone."

He flinched. "That's not -"

"Don't." She held up a hand, stepping back. "Don't lie to me. Not again."

He felt sick. "You heard me and Jex talking."

"About the Ophiuchian DNA?" She laughed, the sound brittle as glass. "Oh yeah, I heard everything. How it's changing you mentally as well as physically. How you specifically asked him not to tell me."

Shit.

"Mira, I was trying to protect you -"

"From what?" Her eyes flashed. "From the truth? Or from making my own decisions?"

He reached for her, but she stepped back out of the way. "I was going to tell you. I just needed time to understand it myself."

"Trust is a two-way street, Davis." Her voice dropped, the anger replaced by something worse. Resignation. "You made your choice when you decided to keep the truth from me."

His stomach twisted. "What are you saying?"

She looked away, watching the crowd flow around them. "After this mission, I'm leaving the Reapers."

The statement knocked the air from his lungs. "Mira -"

Mira held his gaze for a second before turning away. "Finish the supply run. I need some air."

She walked into the crowd, Spot following behind, the little bot swiveling back once to look at him before scuttling after her.

He stood frozen in the middle of the market street while people flowed around him.

Words failed him as he watched the gap between them widen. She was slipping through his fingers, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Ironic. In this moment when he needed his humanity most, it had never felt further away.