Page 13 of HaL

He leans back, his frustration becoming more apparent.

“I know you have not had a lot of dealings with many other races, but the Korgons have an advancement that we still have not been able to duplicate. They can dematerialize themselves and other objects at will, and they can do it with an accuracy that’s frankly infuriating. We’ve experimented with the same principle and can initiate the process, and we can even maintain it under controlled conditions for a limited time. But we cannot guarantee the outcome. The transition is still too unstable. That is why I refuse to let anyone use our version outside a controlled environment.

The Korgons do not have that limitation because they have no care about the consequences. They do not value life the way we do. If one of their people disappears during a failed transition, they consider it an acceptable loss. Their only concern is whether the technology works often enough to be useful.”

“And apparently, it does.”

“Every time we have boarded one of their ships, we have found certain systems rigged for immediate destruction. They know exactly what we are looking for. The moment we gain access, specific modules begin destroying themselves, sometimes before our teams can even reach them. We’ve recovered fragments. Components. Partial schematics. Enough information to know that the technology is real and that we are missing some fundamental piece of the theory.”

He frowns.

“But every time we try to reproduce it, something goes wrong. The transition becomes unstable. The coordinates shift. The materialization point isn’t precise enough. We have even had successful transfers that could not be repeated under identical conditions. So, while we are trying to perfect the technology without risking anyone’s life, the Korgons are using it as a weapon. And now they know it can be used to infiltrate us, bypass our defenses, and take someone before we even know they are there.”

His voice lowers.

“Dawn was lucky. Thankfully, SiN and Destiny got to her before the Korgons could take her farther. But we cannot rely on luck the next time.”

Father folds his massive arms, his expression angry.

“Were they able to disable the Korgon ship?”

“Yes, Destiny is hauling it to Falcor now for repurposing. Between ViN, SiN, and EvO, the Korgons on board were quickly eliminated, and no others were found, except for a few rare animals on board, which are being returned to their home planets. From what we can tell, Dawn was the only other sentient being on board. However, while searching the holding cells, they found evidence that other humans had been there previously. They also recovered garment fragments and a small link from what your grandfather called a watch. The really bad news is that they found an Earth pod in the cargo hold.

EvO is extremely upset now that we know some of the pods were either missed or knocked even further off course. SCOUT is scanning all possible routes again, but I fear we will keep finding random evidence like this for a while. After all, Ember, Miya, and Ginger were all located in different locations when found.”

“How many know that Dawn is here?”

“Several, but none that will leak the information to anyone. It will be logged that she perished, and hopefully that will keep her safe until we can come and retrieve her.”

A growl leaves my throat, and I feel my beast emerging. “She is going nowhere!”

Father gives me a rare smile. “Am I missing something, Son?”

“Dawn is mine, and I will fight anyone who tries to take her from me.”

Father’s entire form appears on the other side of the room, and I stand as he looks at me, then Dawn, who has no idea the violence about to erupt in this room around her.

“Your mating marks … they are pulsing, HaL. Are you saying that Dawn is your mate?”

“Yes!”

A huge smile breaks out on his face. “Congratulations, as this does change things. The compatibility these humans have with my sons always surprises me, and I wonder if it is because you all have a small part of me in your essence or simply the Lord of Light playing matchmaker?”

Before he can say anything else, Troza walks in. “What is all this growling I am hearing in here? If you have upset my patient, young male, you will not like the consequences …”

Her voice stops the second she notices DaR, and for a tic, I see something pass between them I have never noticed before.

“Commander, forgive me for interrupting.”

“Troza, it is a pleasure after all these years. It is good to see you looking so well.”

“Thank you, Commander. The Lord of Light has blessed me tenfold. Has our HaL told you about Dawn?”

‘OUR HaL????’ This statement seems to settle heavily in my mind.

“He has, and I will say I am shocked and thankful all at once. Now the only question is: how is a human going to live on Hallister? We all know your species cannot live long-term anywhere else.”

“Commander, I have a few females working on insulated, internally heated garments, but I still believe her survival will be a challenge. Soft skins are not designed for extremes, neither hot nor cold.”