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Ki’Remi stilled, limbs freezing.

He waited for someone, anyone, to challenge her.

To call her reckless.

To demand an alternative approach.

No one did.

So he spoke from the shadows at the back of the gallery.

‘Nada. There is no way this procedure will go ahead.’

The murmuring died at once.

Heads turned, startled at the sudden timbred utterance from the darkness.

Issa froze, her shoulders tensing before she tilted her head toward the sound.

Her eyes landed on him.

She arched a brow as a flicker of surprise went through them.

Followed by a dance of amusement.

‘Commander Sable,’ she greeted, the curve of a smile tugging at her lips. ‘Didn’t realize you’d graced us with your presence.’

‘Dr Elaris,’ he acknowledged, his rasp clipped, as he pushed out of his seat.

He strode into the light, remaining at the top of the gallery, dominating the room, arms crossed over his massive chest. ‘Interesting concept, but I won’t allow it.’

Both her brows now rose in bewilderment and curiosity. ‘Why is that?’

‘You want to link your brain to a patient’s live neural pathways while performing a high-risk excision,’ he growled, his timbre edged with steel. ‘Do you grasp the potential catastrophic failures that could occur?’

‘I understand them intimately,’ she intoned, eyes narrowing.

‘Then you appreciate why this isn’t happening.’

Her jaw ticked.

‘The neural interface would permit me to make meticulous adjustments in real-time,’ she argued. ‘No delay, no second-guessing. I would discern with precision what the organ needs before I even make the cut.’

‘What if something goes wrong?’

‘It won’t.’

‘That’s not an answer.’

She exhaled, frustration sparking in her gaze.

‘If a mistake happens, an autobot won’t be able to correct it in time either,’ she pointed out. ‘However, I will because I’ll have a direct consciousness and spirit connection. An awareness of the patient’s pain and pinpointing the exact location to alleviate their suffering.’

He jolted.The fokk was this mind and soul mumbo jumbo?

‘Nada,’ he bit out. ‘The universe’s most sophisticated drone does the cutting. You guide it.’

A tense silence stretched between them.