Page 44 of Tarek

The adult turned toward me. "Sheriff Korvak?" he asked.

"That's right."

He gave a shallow bow that was barely more than a nod. "Bevit Grix, Child Unification Services. Thank you for meeting us. The arrangements have been rather complicated, and I appreciate you taking responsibility for Vrann's final leg of the journey."

I shook his hand. "It's no trouble. I'm glad I can help."

Grix smiled, then turned slightly toward the boy. "Vrann, this is Tarek Korvak. He's the sheriff of New Haven, and he'll be traveling with you to your new home."

Vrann looked at me again, his expression still cautious. I lowered myself into a crouch so I wasn't towering over him.

"Hello, Vrann. I'm pleased to meet you. Have you traveled much before?" He shook his head. "Well, then, you'll have to tell me what you think of the Alliance transport. It's a good ship, from what I've heard, and the journey to New Haven shouldn't be too difficult."

"Will it take a long time?" he asked quietly.

"About two days once we're aboard and underway."

His fingers tightened around his bag strap. "And then I'll be with Thalen and Evan?"

"That's the plan. They've been expecting you, and they've been getting things ready for you."

"Clovira told me about them," he said. "Thalen and Evan. She said they have a son."

"There's a boy named Jason, from what I understand." That much had been in my job’s information packet, as it included a colony census.

Vrann nodded, taking that in. He didn't say anything else, and I didn't push him. Knowing someone's name was not the same as knowing them, and I suspected he had plenty of questions he wasn't ready to ask yet.

Grix gave me a brief update on the paperwork and the arrangements for Vrann's belongings. Most of his personal things were being transported separately, with the exception of the furniture that his new family had chosen to provide. The boy had everything he needed for the journey, and the documents authorizing his transfer into Thalen and Evan's care were in order.

"Clovira sends her love," Grix told Vrann gently. "She'll be settling into her new community soon, and your family has promised to keep in touch every week."

Vrann looked down at his shoes. "She said she'd comm me."

"She will," I assured him. "And you'll be able to tell her all about New Haven. I expect you'll have plenty to tell her once you've seen your new home."

He nodded, although he still looked uncertain. It was understandable. Whatever the adults had decided, he was the one who had to leave the only home he'd known and travel to a place he'd never seen, to live with people he'd only heard about quite recently. I couldn't make that easy for him, but I could make sure he wasn't left to manage the journey alone.

Grix handed over the final documents and gave Vrann's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You're going to be well looked after. Thalen and Evan are good people, and you'll have another boy in the household to play with."

"Jason," Vrann said softly, as though repeating the name might help him get used to it.

"That's right," I replied.

Grix and I exchanged the remaining formalities. Then he gave Vrann one last hug, told him to be brave, and promised again that Clovira would comm him. I watched the boy wave as the social worker left, his expression solemn but no longer quite so frightened.

"Ready to get something to eat?" I asked him.

He glanced up at me. "Can we get something sweet?"

I laughed. "I don't see why not. We have time before we need to board tomorrow, and I suspect you're going to need a few treats to make this trip more interesting."

His smile grew a little more certain. That, I thought, was a good start.

The next morning, Vrann and I were waiting near the Alliance transport's passenger gate when Bob's message arrived.

I had expected a schedule update, or perhaps another set of instructions about the final leg of the journey. Instead, the notification announced that the colony's AI had sent me a priority message containing my official match information so I could prepare for our imminent first meeting. I stared at the screen for a moment, the moment feeling too large for a moment.

I'd applied for the position of sheriff, knowing the colony was using the Mylos and Dragonii treaty's matching program to help bring people to New Haven. I had completed the necessary screening and accepted the possibility that a match might be found for me. I had also understood the odds. Many more thousands of applicants who had taken the test and not been matched than the few thousand who had. I had tried not to dwell on the prospect that I’d be in the much, much smaller group. My life had been full enough without imagining a person who might never exist in my future. The odds had been in my favor, and my star’s granted mate had been in the registry. Only the protocols had stopped me from knowing who he was until we were within hours or less of meeting in person for the first time.