Kor'ven (Warriors of the Karuvar Book 2)

by Alana Serra

  Kor’ven

  Alana Serra

  Juno Wells

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

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  Also By Juno Wells

  1

  Kor'ven fer Zevar, Head Engineer of the Earth Waystation Selene, let out a note of agitation. Something wasn't adding up. Literally. He'd been staring at lines of implant code for what seemed like full orbits, poring over the data from Karuvar and human readouts, but still he was no closer to proving his theory.

  As one of the foremost experts on implant technology--from an engineering standpoint; he left biology to those who could not comprehend numbers--Kor'ven dedicated his long life to understanding and perfecting the very thing that allowed his species to adapt and survive. For Karuvar, the implant was as vital an organ as a brain or a heart—never mind that parts of it were made of metal. Truly comprehending the nature of the device was integral to the continued evolution of all Karuvar, and yet Kor'ven's hypothesis directly challenged popular theory.

  He believed that the Karuvar as a whole had tampered with their implants beyond what was practical for a healthy, functioning species. The proof was in the birthrates. With the exception of the new mating programs--and Kor'ven did feel those were most assuredly an exception--no Karuvar pair had been able to conceive a child in nearly two decades, as the humans called them.

  Kor'ven knew why this was, but he was a scientist, and as such was not prepared to approach Pathfinder Drol'gan, the leader of the Karuvar, on belief alone. He needed hard data. Tangible facts. Preferably test subjects who could prove his theories even to the least scientifically inclined Karuvar.

  And so he performed his duties amid the rest of the staff at Waystation Selene, fixing implant malfunctions and issuing upgrades to Karuvar and human alike. But when his expertise was not required for a more immediate task, Kor'ven locked himself in his office and lost himself in years and years of data.

  Numbers had always been soothing to him. Many Karuvar found solace with a weapon in their hand, but Kor'ven felt far more comfortable with a working data set. Numbers were a universal, quantifiable way to understand everything about the universe, and in his very humble opinion, that knowledge was far more useful to the species as a whole.

  Not everyone agreed, of course. The other Karuvar working at Waystation Selene, and indeed those that docked nearly every day, had differing ideas about the continuation of the species. Nearly one year ago, First Guardian Verkiir had found a mate in a human woman named Mei'gahn. They had a son now, Vazik, but rather than wait for science to prove the kit was viable, the humans and the Karuvar had colluded in creating a mating registry.

  Now, each and every day, Karuvar and humans found hope in one another. It was a noble goal, but ultimately one Kor'ven felt was going to fall short if the matter of the implants wasn't addressed. The Pathfinder's implant had failed just last year, and there were reports of others doing the same. The time for one-off fixes must be at an end if they were to ensure the viability of the implants in a new generation.

  He heard the swipe of what the humans called a key card, the sound drawing him back to the present. As only two other beings possessed such access to his office, he was able to prepare himself.

  Either he'd been paid a surprise visit by Drol'gan, or it was merely his assistant, Teiv. The first seemed unlikely, but far preferable. As the door opened with a hiss, Kor'ven could already tell he was not going to get his wish.

  "You will not believe my good fortune this day, Kor'ven," Teiv said, as chipper as the Earth songbirds that persisted amid the ruin.

  "As I do not believe in serendipity, you are likely correct," he said dryly, recording a few more anomalies in the data.

  Teiv ignored this, as he was quite accustomed to disregarding what he likely considered to be Kor'ven's lacking personality. He could not help it if he appreciated the solid, dependable nature of facts over fate, though.

  "I have found her," the younger Karuvar exclaimed, coming to stand in Kor'ven's peripheral only because he could not insinuate himself directly between Kor'ven and the data.

  He sighed, setting aside his work to indulge his assistant. Wide, amber eyes stared back at him, filled with what Kor'ven could only describe as unrestrained jubilation. It was enough to crack even his carapace, and he found a small smile tugging at his lips.

  "Found who?" he asked, though some part of him was afraid of the answer.

  Perhaps it would not be as he thought. Perhaps Teiv had tracked down some brilliant Karuvari scientist who could take him on as her apprentice rather than Kor'ven himself.

  That hope was immediately dashed by the love-struck look that filled his assistant's eyes like a thick, sticky sap. "My mate!"

  They did not speak of the mating project. It was not their area of expertise, and Kor'ven was not comfortable discussing it. The reasons for such feelings were not anything he had shared with his assistant, but he expected his desires to be respected nonetheless. As such, he returned his attention to his work.

  "She is perfect, Kor'ven," he said wistfully, like a youngling who'd glimpsed his first female and had decided he would very much like one for his own someday. "Her hair is like spun fire, and her eyes are the color of a newly born galaxy."

  Kor'ven doubted that. There was no way to adequately describe the birth of stars and planets, and he did not imagine they could be found in any female's eyes.

  "I know you don't approve, but--"

  "I have no opinion one way or the other," he clarified, "so long as it does not interfere with your work."

  "--but my heart soars for her. I cannot wait until we are mated."

  This, at least, was enough to catch Kor'ven's interest. His brow furrowed, scale plates pulling downward, and he looked at his assistant once more.

  "Why are you not yet mated?"

  It was a simple matter. Even if Teiv had met his supposed mate at Waystation Selene, there were plenty of rooms into which they might abscond. Mating was a biological process and could be achieved easily enough.

  Teiv merely gave him a patient smile. "The humans are not like us, Kor'ven. They require more care. Human females are to be wooed. They need roh'manz."

  Teiv struggled with the human words. To be fair, Kor'ven would have struggled with them as well, and he certainly had no idea what they meant. The difference was, he had no urge to find out.

  He took no real issue with Karuvar males syncing up with human females, though he did wonder how much of it was authentic, and how much was a result of code-tampering. Human females were certainly nice enough. Soft. Pleasing to look at. Most of them smelled like some kind of freshly plucked flower.

  But they were not for him. He dreaded the day his implant vibrated, alerting him to the presence of one who supposedly matched up perfectly with his own genetic code. He dreaded it because he knew how easily those results could be manipulated, and the last time his implant had vibrated…

  Well. It was an abject failure, and nothing more needed to be said about it.

  "So long as the pursuit of roh'manz does not interfere with your work," he said,
more gruffly than he intended.

  Teiv's ears drooped, and Kor'ven felt a pang of guilt. An unwanted emotion, but it accosted him nonetheless. He held no contempt for his assistant's potential happiness. Teiv was a bright and eager youngling--for he was not enough of an adult for Kor'ven to think of him as anything else. He possessed a sound mind, but also a heart that was the equivalent of the tender underbelly of some long-dead Earth beast.

  Kor'ven knew what it was like to rest all of his hopes and dreams upon a specific outcome, and he knew what it was like to have that outcome fail him so horrendously.

  So he would play the role of gruff, unfeeling scientist, and he would instruct Teiv in doing the same, should the time ever come. Though he deeply hoped it would not.

  As for his own mate? Kor'ven had long given up hope of ever finding her. At this point, the chances of his implant resonating a second time--and the chances of that female being a true match--were unfathomably bleak, according to the numbers. And if Kor’ven knew anything, it was that the numbers never lied.

  2

  Addison Monroe glanced out the window of her office at Waystation Helios, a smile on her face. As focused as she often was on her work, she made a point of looking out into the atrium every now and again, just to remind herself why she’d worked so many late nights and nearly every weekend for the past eighteen months.

  A vibrant meeting area greeted her--a space bathed in sunlight, filled with creature comforts for both the human and Karuvar societies. It was often the first place mates found one another, and the connections that charged the very air of Waystation Helios were no less magical to Addison than they had been on that first day, when Meg Cauthran had matched with Verkiir.

  Some of Addison’s colleagues disputed the existence of anything so frivolous as “magic,” but Addison believed magic and science went hand in hand. Science was more than its parts; more than the predictable firing of neurons. When every incredible part came together to create a cohesive whole, that was magic. Completely verifiable and quantifiable, but no less amazing.

  And that magic happened every day at Helios--ever since they’d rolled out the Matchmaker program. When it came down to the science, the Matchmaker program was just a series of algorithms that scanned several well-maintained databases to determine which human and Karuvar might have matching implants. But the magic? That played out right before her eyes.

  A shy, young Karuvar male had docked at Helios two months ago, hoping to find a match. The programmers in charge of the Matchmaker were absolutely puzzled when, after a solid month, they still hadn’t found anyone for him. Some suggested transferring him to Selene or another Waystation, just in case the database wasn’t complete, but Addison encouraged him to stay.

  He had, and now he was meeting his mate for the first time. The woman who’d arrived at Helios that morning had not registered her implant--she just felt drawn to the center. Such a curious thing, likely inspired by biochemistry and some primitive instinct. In a word? Magic.

  Now they were together. Just talking for the time being, but every couple of minutes, they drifted closer. The sight of it--the existence of that enigmatic pull--made Addison smile.

  “The Matchmaker find anything for you yet?” a familiar voice asked.

  Ashley Cauthran, Meg’s seventeen year old sister, had been working at Helios part-time for over a year. She was more interested in older human technology, but the job suited her well. Her presence as Addison’s assistant had been a blessing… and sometimes a curse, because the young woman was the nosiest person Addison had ever met.

  “Not since the last time I checked,” she said, returning her attention to her computer.

  “And how long ago was that?” Ash asked. “Because you’re looking at that couple like a dog drooling over a bone.”

  Addison knew better than to blush. Ash would take that and run with it. So she simply turned a flat stare on her young friend, one blonde brow arching finely.

  “Okay, don’t give me the Smart Science Lady look, it’s not fair,” she groused.

  “I don’t know any other way to look,” Addison said, the hint of a smirk ruining her illusion of innocence. “And to answer your question, I think it was a few months ago. You know I haven’t had any time to worry about anything other than Vazik’s implant.”

  There were other reasons, of course. Addison’s gaze flicked to the framed picture of her mother she kept on her desk. Ash didn’t need to know anything about that, especially when she wouldn’t argue with Addison’s logic to begin with. The work they were doing was of vital importance for humanity and Karuvar society alike. As the first kit born to a human mother, Vazik was proof that both species could continue… together. Today was the moment of truth, though. The moment they’d been working toward for months.

  Today was the day he was to receive his implant, the thing that would define him; that would allow him to not just survive, but thrive in this new world. Failure was simply not an option, and so Addison had spent every waking hour ensuring the implant was strong from a bio-engineering standpoint.

  “God, they can’t get here soon enough,” Ash said with a teenager’s fatigue. “Meg’s been driving me and Verkiir up a fucking wall for weeks now. If you thought she was bad when he had his first exam?” She shook her head. “Boy, you’re in for a treat.”

  Addison laughed softly. She’d met with Meg recently, and she had indeed witnessed the woman’s frantic concern over her son.

  “I can’t say I blame her,” Addison said. “New mothers are always overprotective.”

  “Doesn’t help that she’s got Drol’gan breathing down her neck, talking about ‘the future of the species’ and all that.”

  Addison snorted at Ash’s almost perfect rendition of the Karuvar Pathfinder’s lofty voice, every syllable carefully enunciated.

  “I imagine he can’t help it.”

  She’d long studied the Karuvar--she knew all about the crisis their people had been undergoing before the mating program was created. It would undoubtedly be a crisis again if Vazik was unable to receive an implant, but Addison was confident that would not happen.

  “He here yet?”

  She glanced over at Ash, expecting exactly what she saw--the girl fully occupied transcribing medical charts, her face turned away. She wasn’t blushing. Addison couldn’t see even the hint of rosy cheeks. But her expression would still give her away; they both knew it.

  “Drol’gan, or his son?” she asked, unable to help herself.

  Drann, the next Karuvar in line to be Pathfinder, was a sweet boy from everything Addison knew. A bit naive, and he likely needed more of an edge before he succeeded his father, but he would be a good leader some day.

  He was also a huge distraction, though. Ash’s crush wasn’t well-hidden. Everyone assumed their implants would sync when they came of age, but until that time, Addison counted on having to do her assistant’s work whenever Drann was around.

  “I mean, they’re both coming, right? It’s kind of a big deal.”

  “It is, which is why I need those charts put into the system before they get here.”

  “You got it, boss,” Ash said; a meager attempt at tweaking Addison in return.

  But she was too focused on her own task. Sparing one last glance out the window, she returned to making her final check. This implant would be perfect. She would stake her career on it.

  The Zavellan docked at Waystation Helios precisely at 1300, exactly when Meg and Verkiir were set to arrive. Anticipation swelled in Addison as she heard the telltale sound of the hydraulic lift coupled with the pleasant ding that rang out whenever someone was seen through one of the exterior hubs.

  With Ash’s help, she finished getting the room set up, fending off the reporters that had come to observe. She took no issue with them being present--the world would want to know, and she was happy to have the scientific collusion between human and Karuvar shared with any and everyone who cared to listen, but she had no interest in being
plied with questions before anything even happened.

  A small team was assembled including a medical doctor and another bio-engineer, just to ensure a flawless procedure. Freshly sterilized equipment was presented, and Addison finally brought in the implant, leaving it in its locked, glass case.

  The Pathfinder and his son were the first to arrive, and Addison greeted them with the respect they were due, graciously sidestepping Drol’gan’s flirtatious comments. He was incorrigible, really, and had been from the day she’d met him. But it was always nice to be appreciated.

  The truest smile she wore came when Meg finally arrived, though, carrying Vazik in her arms. The woman had become her dearest friend, and it was always a treat to see her. Not to mention the fact that her son was absolutely adorable.

  He had the same gold skin and gold eyes his father possessed, along with nubby little growths that Verkiir assured her would sprout into full horns when he reached puberty. His face was softer, though, round and full like his mother’s. He did not possess much of the Karuvar scale plating or the tail, but she knew many of these adaptations would eventually come from the implant itself.

  “Goodness, he’s gotten even bigger than the last time I saw him.”

  And that had been a mere week ago.

  “He should be. He eats like a mutant horse,” Ash commented, still retaining her humor despite the fact that she certainly had blushed at Drann’s presence.

  “He eats what he needs,” Verkiir said, shooting his sister-in-law a half-hearted glare. “He will grow to be strong.”

  “He’s already strong,” Meg said, hefting him to the other side of her body. “Don’t let him anywhere near your hair. He’s fascinated with it right now.”

  “Noted,” Addison said with a smile.

  The Pathfinder greeted the mated pair while Addison and Ashley helped Meg and Vazik get situated on the exam table. It would be easier if his mother held him. The procedure wasn’t extremely invasive, but there would still be a bit of pain, and the lights and sounds would likely frighten him.