"He'll find me here. Falyn stared up at the white ceiling, a brown square of fabric clutched in her hands. He will.

The Federation scientists had originally wanted her to work in a heavily guarded future–bender complex on–world. They'd utilized techniques ranging from luxurious fruit baths to painful electrical shocks to force her to comply. Knowing it'd be impossible for her destined mate to free her from that complex, Falyn had resisted the Federation's efforts and had refused to work. Eventually, the Federation gave up and they had moved her to her present station, a station orbiting nowhere.

Falyn laid the fabric over her face and breathed in, smelling engine lubricant and stale perspiration mixed with a hint of musk. She closed her eyes.

Darkness. Nothing. There was no image of the mate this Federation mechanic was destined to love for a lifetime.

"Failure," the automated voice chirped.

"Fuck." Falyn tossed the cloth across the chamber, disgusted with herself for the three failures in a row.

John caught the square in one hand. "You have two more assignments to complete." There was no sympathy on his scarred face. "Complete this cycle and you won't have to report in until the next cycle."

Buying us more time. "Fine." Falyn settled back on the support. "Verify connection." She touched the sensors attached to her forehead, the machine reading her brainwaves, recording any predictive images she saw.

"Connection verified," the female voice confirmed, her robotic tone carefully calibrated by her Federation handlers to increase productivity.

Once, she'd had a human assistant, a nurturing female she'd called Mom. When Falyn reached maturity, Mom had been dismissed, her presence deemed a distraction. Also eliminated were windows and communicators and any other unnecessary contact with the outside.

She was a prisoner, caged in a world of monotony, trapped due to the powers she'd been born with. Her only company was machines and John, the companion android the Federation had begrudgingly given her to burn off her distracting sexual needs.

Soon, I'll be free. He'll come for me. Falyn forced herself to relax.

John passed her another square and Falyn plopped the red fabric on her face, discouraged by her failures and expecting nothing from this new assignment.

A woman looked up, her singular blue eye sparkling, and she smiled, displaying a cute gap between her front teeth. Freckles dotted her skin, visual proof that, unlike Falyn, she'd recently seen the sun. Her nails were neatly trimmed and short and her smock was splattered with bright colors. A caregiver...children. The mystery female's happiness layered over her, the emotion as alien as she was.

"Identification successful."

"Lucky her." Falyn sat up and lobbed the cloth to John. He was dressed in the black leather he also wore, the man she'd seen for herself, the rescuer she impatiently waited for. "Status?"

"You'll know when he arrives." John pressed his lips together, expressing his displeasure, her android programmed to not appreciate her questions, his intolerance preparing Falyn for her future life with him.

While Falyn had merely guessed at her destined love's personality based on the snippets of him she'd seen, she knew John's appearance was identical. His black hair was cut ruthlessly short. A deep scar sliced his left eyebrow in half and continued down his tanned cheek, his missing brown eye replaced with a technologically enhanced orb. More scars circled his neck, remnants of a prison stay. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow and his big body rippled with muscle.

"One more assignment," John ordered.

"One more." I have to be strong to earn his love. Falyn fell back on the support, every cell in her exhausted body screaming a protest. "Verify connection."

"Connection verified."

The decadent fabric smelled of expensive cologne. A bureaucrat. Falyn's top lip curled with distaste. One of the villains who locked me up.

A male immediately dominated her thoughts. He was small and refined with a cold false smile plastered on his aristocratic face. His icy eyes narrowed. He sniffed with disdain and turned away, showing her his slender shoulder.

"Identification successful."

"Unlucky him." Falyn ripped the connectors from her forehead, wincing at the sting. "I never promise the love will be returned." The machinery retracted into the wall.

"The Federation makes them believe the love will be returned." John towered over her. "Get up." He grasped her hand, his palm solid and rough, and he pulled her upright, the tiled floor cool against her bare feet.

"Yes, and they tell me I'm a guest." She rolled her shoulders back and her joints popped, her muscles sore from hours spent working. "The Federation lies. Guest implies I'm free to leave."

John directed her into their sparsely decorated sleeping chamber, the Federation deeming that personal effects interfered with her productivity. "We will leave." He yanked at the flimsy straps of her gown and the fabric fluttered to the tile, revealing her body, naked other than the collar around her neck. Her nipples tightened, stimulated by the cold air and his rough treatment. "On the bed. Assume the position."

Punishment. A frisson of trepidation crept up Falyn's spine. She climbed onto the bed and knelt, lowering her torso, stretching her arms on the bed and tucking her legs under her ass. "What did I do wrong?"

"You complained and you questioned." John pushed her hair over her shoulders and placed a metallic tab on the back of her neck below her collar. "Does he look like a man who tolerates either?"

"No." She closed her eyes, both dreading and welcoming the pain, the training necessary to prepare her for their escape. "I deserve level five, twenty counts."

"Count."

An electric pulse zinged through her body, emulating the pain Falyn felt every time she dared to leave her quarters, and she spasmed with agony. "One," she cried out. A second pulse followed. "Two." She curled her fingers into fists. I can do this. "Three." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No emotion," John reminded her."