I stood to the side of the small arena watching both Laene and Kayle trade blows. Laene was Kayle's counterbalance so the fight was purely physical since Kayle couldn't use his psychic abilities against his opponent's shielding.

"You've grown weak, Kayle, relying on your eyes to do your battles for you," Laene jabbed at his old friend. "You can't fight this battle with your mind."

Kayle grinned, his light blue gaze raking over his opponent and the small circular arena they were sparring in, "On the contrary, friend, all battles should be fought with the mind." With an artful sidestep, Kayle faked Laene into a sidelong dodge, allowing him the opportunity to land a solid punch. He split Laene's lip with ease, "I just have to figure out what you're thinking the old fashioned way," he flashed Laene a pleased smile.

I couldn't feel Laene's emotions like I could the others in the room, but I could see them plain on his face. It wasn't anger or pain, instead, Laene looked pleased. We were, after all, a Riniere, a war party of sorts, specifically tailored to the jobs they were employed to do.

With nearly indestructible bonds forged throughout our formative years together, we'd all formed our own Riniere once we'd all reached maturity and had been inseparable ever since. What one of us felt, the others felt too. Kayle's ability to outmaneuver Laene despite fact that he couldn't make use of his ability to forcibly read and change Laene's thoughts was an incredible step. Kayle and Laene both beamed.

I could feel the soft hum of pleasure from my friend, along with the unfiltered emotions flitting around in the large sparring room. Mostly though, I felt the muted itch of pain and discomfort, but underneath it all there was a tingling in my palms. The others were worried.

The Val'Dornn had come to Earth to institute our Temani Bercari, or Searching Soul in one of the human tongues.

Prince Roan, fifth to the throne and ruling Lord of our ship Aarond Form, had led us to the small blue planet with the guidance of our deities. And yet, in 472 days not a single match had been made. No Val'Dornn to travel to the surface of the planet had encountered the end of their soul's tether.

It had been a few generations since the last Temani Bercari, so we warriors didn't quite know what to expect. Those who worked with genetics like Kados --another in my Riniere -- assured us that the beginnings of a new Temani Bercari were a slow process of discovering the compatibility between Val'Dornn and the new races genetics.

Kados insisted the scientists were getting closer and there were certainly more and more partial matches. More and more males traveled to Earth to visit their possible soulbind. The general populace and likely most of the government officials were unaware of that fact. But, each male came back alone. Their faces betrayed nothing, but I could feel the disappointment and a profound sadness from each one as if it were a physical weight they carried with them.

It had been 472 days, almost a year on our home planet. We were restless. I knew we were meant to be here even now as I looked at the view screens showcasing the space surrounding our ship, my gaze was drawn to the small blue planet. A faint tugging sensation pulled at my attention and frankly my soul. She was down there on that planet.

Laene and Kayle bickered somewhere off to my right, absently I wondered where Addric was. Kados, I knew, was in the science bay working tirelessly to decode the human females genetic combinations.

Not for the first time I wished we had pressed for full DNA disclosure and not just the opt-in system we had now for the Earth females. That or we should have bartered for the right to walk freely amongst the human populace, at the very least we could encounter their females even if they didn't enter the --what did they call it -- the lottery. However, one tenant of our agreement with the planets government was that the Val'Dornn would not and could not set foot on Earth surface unless in response to a genetic match in one of the participants DNA.

"Esayr!" Laene shook me lightly, bringing me back to the present and out of his own thoughts. At his friends touch all the emotions and feelings constantly flitting through my mind quieted into a worrying silence. For a moment I could hear my heart, my breath, even the blood rushing in my ears. It was disquieting.

"What?" I glanced between Laene and Kayle, a questioning look on my face. Laene let go of my shoulder and the emotions resurfaced again hope, joy, and relief. The bells were ringing. I'd missed them while I was thinking. My own hope soared with the sounds of the bright high bells chiming.

Every male in the sparring room turned almost as one to the large double doors that lead to the innards of the ship, waiting. Who will it be? Who will go down to Earth this time? The age-old adage: "The Temani Bercari bends to an Empath's spirit" rang in my ears. It was true that Empaths tended to be the first to begin the Temanus Ilharus, the Bonding Souls. It could be you. You are an empath, after all. She could have joined the lottery. I shoved down the thought. There were thousands of Val'Dornn warriors on the Aarond Form, all of them searching for their compliment. I was only one in thousands.

Whoever it was, as long as they found their female it would be a boon to all of the Val'Dornn. True research advancements could be made from the study of her DNA before and after she and her male were bound. Finally, they could locate the exact chromosomes that determine a Val'Dornn bound female, instead of simply guessing.

Suddenly the double doors flew open. Collectively, all of the males held their breath.

Kados stood panting in the doorway, a wild jubilant look on his face, "Esayr!" His voice echoed in the silent room.

Hope and excitement bloomed quick and hot in my chest. I almost choked on my own emotions, the quiet quake of the other males emotions threatened to make mine overflow.

"Esayr it's you! She matched you!" Kados had grabbed me by the shoulders.

Laene's gentle touch on my back helped to settle the emotions that threatened to bring me to tears amidst the group of males congratulating me.

I let out a ragged gasp, "What do I do?" This is it. This could be your female, the bond to your soul, the one whose soul was knit from the very same weave as yours. You've traveled so far. You're searching could finally be over. All of their searches could finally be over. Again I forcefully pushed the thoughts away. I'd felt the sadness of too many males. I don't know if I could bear the crush of dashed hope, and yet still that hope grew in my chest unchecked.

"Come with me, my friend," Kados half dragged and half led me out of the sparring room, down the metal hallways into the science wing and farther still into the genetics lab.

There was quiet murmuring in the genetics suite. Three males turned our way when we entered each of them beamed in our direction. The room smelled clean, bordering on astringent. The premises needed to be kept in near spotless condition to avoid contamination. And yet, just under the scent of whatever cleaning supplies were used here, I could scent a sea salt breeze and faint undercurrents of something sweet.

"--the sample was collected from the Tampa Genetics Lab." Kados continued on talking oblivious to the fact that I hadn't been listening.

It took all of my effort to listen to what he was saying.

"One of our agents there, one with Kylosk ancestry so as not to draw suspicion from the populace, is almost certain he remembers her. She came in with a friend. The reason she was so memorable was that she refused to have her picture taken without her," Kados held up a small picture, likely taken at the moment she had agreed to give her DNA.

The picture showed two rosy-cheeked females locked in a tight hug. They were both laughing.

The faintest tingle at the back of my skull caused the hair there to stand up on end. I rubbed at that spot.

"The female that you matched to is --"

"-- the blonde one." I don't know how I knew, but as soon as I said it I knew I was right. I turned to look at my friend who'd been working tirelessly to unlock the secrets to the Human Genome.

Kados looked surprised, and then slowly a smile began to tug at his lips. His expression turned to one of excitement, "Yes, your female is the blonde one."