Page 10 of Human Reform (Cyborg Planet Alpha #3)

TEN

DAXON

I walked through the moonlit pathways toward my quarters, the silver glow from the twin moons illuminating the stone beneath my feet.

My fingertips still tingled from where they’d traced the curve of Alora’s waist, and my lips burned with the memory of hers pressed against them.

The taste of her—something subtle and sweet—lingered, making my heart pound in a rhythm I couldn’t control.

She had initiated that kiss. Leaned up on her toes and pressed those soft lips to mine with a hunger that matched the storm building inside me. When I explored her neck with my mouth, the small gasp that escaped her had nearly shattered my resolve.

I hadn’t wanted to stop. The urge to take her there, beneath the alien stars with the river’s melody surrounding us, had been overwhelming.

But engaging in such activities outside, exposed to potential danger or observation, would have been reckless.

Even more concerning was how my judgment seemed to evaporate when she was near—a significant liability when we faced an unknown threat.

Our essential mission to identify the saboteur and eliminate the glitches made everything else secondary—at least it should. Yet I couldn’t regret crossing that line with her. Not when her touch unlocked something I’d sealed away since gaining freedom from the war programming.

For two and a half years, I’d hidden behind duty, keeping everyone at a careful distance. But Alora demolished those barriers just by existing, making me want to leap into uncharted emotional territory with her by my side.

“That’s quite the smile,” a familiar deep voice broke into my thoughts.

I hadn’t even realized I was smiling.

Aeon stood near the entrance to my quarters, his imposing figure blocking the doorway. The scars on his forearms caught the moonlight, a permanent reminder of what we’d endured.

“Just… recalling a successful day of system diagnostics,” I replied, trying to straighten my face into its usual neutral expression.

Aeon crossed his arms, his blue eyes knowing. “The same way I used to ‘successfully calibrate medical equipment’ whenever I spent time with Olivia?”

Heat crept up my neck. “I don’t know what you?—”

“Save it,” he interrupted, his voice holding no judgment, just understanding. “I recognize the symptoms from a mile away.”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s unprofessional. A complication we can’t afford right now.”

“You think I don’t remember saying those exact words?” Aeon chuckled, a sound that would have been unthinkable during the war years. “The moment I laid eyes on Olivia, everything changed.”

“She makes me feel… happiness,” I admitted, the word still unfamiliar in my mouth. “It’s irrational and potentially compromising, but?—”

“But you can’t imagine not having it now,” he finished.

I nodded, leaning against the wall of my quarters. “How did you navigate this?”

“Poorly, at first,” Aeon admitted. “Take it slow. Don’t let it compromise the mission. But, Daxon…” He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Don’t fight it, either. Let her see the real you. That’s what turned Olivia’s fears into something else.”

“And if she still leaves when we’ve fixed the code?” The thought created a physical ache in my chest.

“Then at least you’ll know you didn’t hide behind protocol and logic when something real was offered to you.”

I considered his words, nodding finally. “Thank you.”

“Get some rest,” he said, stepping aside to let me enter my quarters.

Rest, however, proved impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw storm-gray ones looking back at me. I imagined my hands tracing the curves of her body, memorizing every inch like secret architecture. I could almost feel her pulse beneath my fingers and hear her breathing quicken.

I woke with the twin suns’ first rays slanting through my window, my heart pounding as if I’d been running.

Dreams of storm-gray eyes and soft lips lingered, making my chest tighten with an unfamiliar ache of anticipation.

I didn’t methodically rise and prepare for the day like I’d done countless times before meeting Alora.

Instead, I launched myself from my bed, driven by an impulse I couldn’t name.

The shower lasted barely two minutes. I dressed in record time, yanking on my black tactical pants and fitted T-shirt emblazoned with Planet Alpha’s emblem. My fingers fumbled with the boots’ fasteners—something that had never happened before. What was this urgency? The need to see her face?

I practically sprinted across the dew-dampened stone paths that connected our settlement, dodging early risers who gave me curious glances.

My usual measured stride was nowhere to be found.

The humid jungle air clung to my skin as I moved between our buildings, their metal and composite facades gleaming against the backdrop of emerald vegetation.

When I reached her suite, I paused, suddenly conscious of my racing heart. I took a breath, keyed in the access code, and stepped inside.

Alora stood by the window, her long dark hair gathered in a french braid. The morning light illuminated her pale skin and the faint freckles across her nose. When she turned and smiled at me—truly smiled—my knees nearly buckled.

“Good morning,” she said, her voice still carrying that slight huskiness of recent sleep. “Someone’s eager today.”

“I…” My vocabulary seemed to desert me. “I wanted to ensure you were properly situated for today’s work.”

Her eyebrow arched. “At sunrise?”

Heat flooded my face. “Efficiency is critical.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Her knowing smile made something twist pleasantly in my stomach.

As we walked to the security center, I found myself standing closer to her than necessary, my hand occasionally brushing against hers.

Each accidental touch sent electricity through my veins, intensifying the magnetic pull I felt toward her.

I kept scanning our surroundings, strangely alert to any potential threats.

Mine to protect, something primal inside me whispered.

The thought startled me. Two days ago, I’d never met this woman. Now I couldn’t imagine her not being at my side. More disconcerting was the realization that since we’d kissed, I hadn’t experienced a single violent episode—no uncontrollable rage and no memory lapses.

“You seem deep in thought,” Alora commented as we approached her private office inside the security center.

“I’ve noticed something… unusual. The glitches I was experiencing—they’ve stopped since you arrived, and we’ve become closer.”

Her eyes widened with interest. “Really? That could be significant. Maybe my presence is triggering your reprogramming to work harder, overriding the corrupted war code.”

That was certainly an interesting possibility—something that maybe could be explored further if needed as a potential solution or remedy even.

Inside her office, Alora’s fingers flew across her workstation after her biometric scan unlocked the system. Relief washed over her features as she verified no one had tampered with her work from yesterday.

“I’m installing a tracepath to the external system grid,” she murmured, more to herself than to me. “And some diagnostic traps. If our saboteur makes another move, we’ll know where it’s coming from.”

I watched as she overlaid the reprogramming code with the original wartime corrupted coding, her brow furrowing in concentration.

“Daxon,” she said softly, her voice tightening. “Look at this.”

I leaned in, my chest pressing against her back and my chin nearly resting on her shoulder. Her scent—lavender and clean rain—flooded my senses.

“There’s deep node fragmentation here,” she pointed out.

“It’s causing the reprogramming to slow its learning process.

Combined with this malicious section of code…

” She turned to me, our faces inches apart.

“If this continues, all of you with the original architecture still embedded could revert completely to your wartime states. You’d lose everything you’ve learned—all your experiences, your emotions, your… ”

“My feelings for you,” I finished, cold fear slicing through me.

The prospect of losing these new emotions—this capacity to care, to desire, to need her—terrified me more than any battle ever had. I’d only just discovered this part of myself, this ability to feel something beyond duty and logic. The thought of returning to that sterile existence was unbearable.

I grabbed her hand, gripping it perhaps too tightly. “We have to fix this soon.” My voice came out rough, almost a growl.

Before Alora could respond, a loud crash followed by shouting erupted from down the hallway. My head snapped toward the sound, every muscle tensing.

“What’s happening?” Alora whispered, her fingers tightening around mine.

Without answering, I bolted from her office, pulling her behind me as we raced down the corridor. The moment we burst into the main operations area, chaos greeted us.

Sage—normally the most emotionally balanced among us—had Tegan pinned against his workstation, her usually smiling face twisted in rage. Her blonde ponytail whipped around as she lunged for his throat.

“You’re all complicit!” she screamed, her voice raw and unfamiliar. “You’ll destroy everything we’ve built!”

I didn’t hesitate. Breaking into a sprint, I thrust myself between them just as Sage cocked her arm back.

Her fist connected with my face instead of Tegan’s, and I felt the sharp crack of cartilage as blood erupted from my nose.

Pain exploded across my face, but I remained standing, grabbing Sage’s wrists before she could swing again.

“Sage, it’s me,” I gritted out through the pain as warm blood streamed over my lips. “It’s Daxon.”

Her blue eyes were wild and unseeing. Behind me, Tobin moved with swift precision, locking his arms around Sage’s torso and dragging her backward. She thrashed against his hold, her strength amplified by whatever glitch had seized her programming in that moment.

“Call for sedation,” I ordered, wiping blood from my chin with my sleeve.

Alora rushed to my side, her gray eyes wide with fear. “You’re bleeding!” Her hands fluttered to my face, her gentle fingers assessing the damage.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, even as blood continued to pour.

Her fingers trembled against my skin. “This is all my fault,” she whispered. “My code is doing this.”

Before I could contradict her, she’d already raised her wrist communicator. “Olivia, we need you in the security center. It’s Daxon. He’s hurt.”

“I’ll be right there,” came the immediate response.

Sage’s struggles had weakened as Tobin maintained his grip. The blank rage in her eyes slowly receded, replaced by confusion and then horror as awareness returned.

“I… what happened?” she mumbled, staring at my bloodied face. “Did I do that?”

The distress in Alora’s expression cut deeper than the physical pain.

Her face had drained of color, and she looked ready to collapse.

I wanted to gather her into my arms and tell her that none of this was her doing, but the security center was filled with witnesses, and Commander Helix and Olivia would surely be here any moment.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Olivia rushed in, medical kit in hand, her practiced gaze immediately assessing the situation.

“Let’s get that nose looked at,” she said, guiding me to a nearby chair. I sat reluctantly, more concerned with Alora’s frazzled state than my own injury.

Alora backed away, wrapping her arms around herself. The wall she’d begun to lower between us was reconstructing itself brick by brick, and panic surged through me at the sight.

“Don’t,” I said, reaching for her. “This isn’t?—”

The security center doors hissed open, cutting me off as Commander Helix strode in. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a severe knot, and her gray eyes narrowed as she surveyed the scene.

“Report now,” she demanded, voice clipped.

I quickly stood, ignoring Olivia’s protests. “A minor incident. Sage experienced a glitch episode but has recovered. The situation is under control.”

Helix’s gaze traveled from my bloodied face to Alora’s pale one. “This looks more significant than minor , Daxon. I’ve received notification of elevated stress markers from both of you.” Her sharp focus landed on Alora. “Dr. Bridges appears particularly affected.”

“She’s concerned about the code, Commander. Not about me.”

Helix’s eyebrow arched skeptically. “Is she? Because my readings indicate emotional instability in both of you beyond professional parameters.”

“The situation is under control,” I repeated firmly. “We’ve identified some concerning patterns in the code and were discussing solutions when Sage’s episode occurred.”

Helix studied me for a long, uncomfortable moment. “I’m keeping a close eye on this project, Daxon. And on you. Don’t give me reason to doubt your focus.”

After she left, Alora mumbled something about needing space and retreated to her office. Olivia finished taping my nose, her touch gentle but her expression worried.

“Alora’s blaming herself,” Olivia said quietly.

“I know.” I flinched at more than just the physical pain. “I’ll talk to her.”

But first, I needed to gather myself. I returned to my workstation, absently wiping the lingering blood with a cloth Olivia had given me. I pulled up routine security protocols to distract myself, scrolling through recent changes when something caught my eye.

There, encoded within a seemingly innocuous protocol update, was a lockdown directive targeting Alora. It would automatically confine her to her quarters if certain parameters were triggered—parameters so vague they could be interpreted almost any way. The protocol signature was Tegan’s.

White-hot fury burned through me. My fingers flew across the keyboard, immediately disabling the protocol and erasing all traces of it. Every protective instinct in my body screamed to confront him, to make clear that no one threatened Alora—not while I existed.

I looked across the operations floor where Tegan had returned to his station as if nothing had happened. My hands clenched into fists. I could be at his throat in three seconds, demanding explanations and making him understand exactly what would happen if he tried anything like this again.

But Commander Helix’s words echoed in my head. She was watching me. If I showed any sign I was compromised emotionally, she could remove me from this assignment—from Alora.

That was unacceptable. I would protect Alora, but I needed to be smarter about it. This silent deletion was just the beginning. From now on, nothing and no one would threaten her without going through me first.