Page 16 of Human Reform (Cyborg Planet Alpha #3)

SIXTEEN

DAXON

I sat in the chair beside Alora’s desk in her private office, watching her work with an intensity that bordered on reverence.

Her fingers tapped quickly across the interface, lines of code reflecting in her gray eyes as she hunted for weaknesses in the corrupted section of code.

The morning sunlight shining through her office window caught in her loose dark hair, creating auburn highlights I hadn’t noticed before.

“Anything?” I asked, my voice huskier than I intended.

She didn’t look up. “Not yet. The code’s architecture is deliberately labyrinthine. Whoever did this wanted to make sure we couldn’t just snip it out.”

I nodded, but my thoughts had already drifted.

Memories from last night rose unbidden—Alora’s pale skin against my sheets, the way she moaned when we made love, and the perfect weight of her in my arms afterward.

Then this morning in the shower, when she’d dropped to her knees and taken me in her mouth with a boldness that had nearly buckled my legs.

Twenty years of existence, and I’d never known pleasure like that existed. Not just the physical release, but the connection between us—the feeling of her surrendering to me, and me to her. The vulnerability of it was troubling and exhilarating all at once.

Before Alora, my life had been a series of protocols and logic paths, each day indistinguishable from the last. I’d built walls so high and thick that I didn’t even know what lay behind them anymore. Now those walls were crumbling, and instead of feeling exposed, I felt… free.

I looked at her profile—the determined set of her jaw and the slight furrow between her brows—and a fierce mix of protectiveness and possessiveness flooded through me.

Was this what humans called love? This consuming need to keep her safe, to see her smile, and to wake up beside her every morning?

I’d never expected to feel something so powerful, so quickly.

Three days, and it felt like she’d rewired every component in my being.

“Dammit!”

Her sudden exclamation pulled me from my thoughts. She slammed her palm on the desk, her frustration evident in every line of her body.

“What’s wrong?” I leaned forward, instantly alert.

“This isn’t working.” She pushed back from the desk, running her hands through her hair. “I’ve tried seventeen different approaches to delete the corrupted code, and it’s like trying to pull out a tumor that’s wrapped itself around vital organs.”

I reached out for her hand, needing to touch her. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I know,” she said, squeezing my fingers. Then her eyes widened, that brilliant mind of hers clearly racing ahead. “Wait. I think I’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

“How so?”

“I’ve been trying to work with what we have here, but what if I could access my original work?

My development files from before CyberEvolution weaponized the code?

” She turned to me, excitement lighting her face.

“Every programmer keeps early drafts, backups, even failed prototypes. If I could get back into CE’s systems and find my original files… ”

Alarm bells rang in my head. “That would mean hacking CyberEvolution.”

“Yes.”

“The same CyberEvolution we have an extremely tenuous truce with.”

She waved dismissively. “It’s not like I’m stealing anything. That code is mine. I wrote it. CE just holds the rights.”

“The truce is barely eighteen months old,” I reminded her. “One false move and we could trigger a conflict that would endanger everyone here.”

“I’ll encrypt the hack so thoroughly they’ll never know we were there,” she insisted, already turning back to her monitors. “Trust me, Daxon. This could be the key we need.”

I wanted to argue further, but the determination in her eyes stopped me. That fierce intelligence and that refusal to back down from a challenge was part of why I was falling for her. Why I might already love her.

“Fine,” I conceded, “but we encrypt everything, route through at least three phantom nodes, and if there’s even a hint of detection?—”

“We pull out immediately,” she finished, already typing. “I’m not exactly new to all of this, you know.”

I moved behind her chair, placing my hands on her shoulders and feeling the tension there. “No, you most certainly are not.”

She glanced up at me, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not just talking about my hacking skills anymore?”

Heat rushed through me, and I leaned down, my lips brushing her ear. “Because you’re incredible in more ways than one, Dr. Bridges.”

Her breath caught, and for a moment, I thought she might turn away from the screens. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and returned to her work, though I didn’t miss the flush creeping up her neck.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she murmured, “but maybe save it for after we save your colony?”

I chuckled, stepping back to give her space. “I’ll hold you to that.”

On her screen, a complex series of protocols began to unfold as she built her pathway into CyberEvolution’s databases. I watched in admiration as she worked, this woman who’d become everything I never knew I needed.

Her fingers danced across the interface with practiced precision, each keystroke deliberate and confident. The sweet scent of her hair drifted up to me as I leaned a bit closer, mesmerized by both her skill and her nearness.

“Almost there,” she murmured, her voice tight with concentration. “Their firewalls are impressive, but they have the same structural weaknesses they did three years ago.”

I placed my hands on her shoulders again, feeling the tension still knotted there. “Of course they do. No one there is as brilliant as you.”

She chuckled lightly, but I could feel her lean slightly into my touch. “Your praise won’t make this hack go any faster.”

“I’m not trying to speed you up,” I said, rubbing slow circles with my thumbs. “Just stating facts.”

The screen flashed green, and Alora let out a triumphant laugh. “We’re in! I swear, for a company that prides itself on cutting-edge tech, they never learn.”

I watched as she navigated through directories, her movements quick and purposeful. She was hunting for something specific, and I felt a swell of pride watching her work. This was her element—solving puzzles that would baffle most minds.

“There,” she said, opening a folder labeled “ABNeuralArchives.” “These are my original files. All my early drafts, prototypes, backups…”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes darted across the screen, taking in the information. I felt her shoulders stiffen under my hands.

“No,” she whispered. “No, that’s not possible.”

“What is it?” I leaned closer, scanning the timestamps on the files.

“Someone internally at CE modified my code right under my nose. Look at these timestamps. These modifications were done while I still worked at CE, not after I left.” Her voice grew harder with each word.

“The modifications… they’re deliberate traps.

Designed to activate if anyone ever tried to reprogram the neural framework. ”

The implications hit me like a physical blow. “You mean?—”

“I mean I didn’t just help weaponize you all during the war,” she said, her voice rising. “I unknowingly helped create a switch to ensure you’d remain enslaved forever if you ever tried to break free.”

Her hands started shaking, rage radiating from her in palpable waves as she continued to process her revelation. “Those bastards at CE used me! They were playing a longer game than any of us realized!”

I tried to squeeze her shoulders gently. “Alora, we need to stay calm and?—”

“Calm?” She spun in her chair to face me, her gray eyes flashing silver. “They made me complicit in something I never would have agreed to! Something I would have fought to prevent!”

Before I could respond, a knock at the door frame drew our attention. Sage stood there, her blonde ponytail swinging slightly as she tilted her head, her striking blue eyes darting between us with barely concealed curiosity.

“Sorry to interrupt what appears to be a heated moment,” she said with that characteristic dry wit of hers, “but could I borrow you for a minute, Daxon? In private?”

I hesitated, not wanting to leave Alora in this state, but the pointed look in Sage’s eyes told me this wasn’t something that could wait.

“I’ll be right back,” I promised Alora, my hand lingering on her shoulder. “Don’t do anything rash while I’m gone. Please.”

Alora’s jaw was still clenched tightly, but she nodded once. “Fine. But we’re not done with this. Not by a long shot.”

I followed Sage through the security center’s main doors into the humid jungle air outside. The twin suns beat down on my neck as we walked several yards away from the building, far enough that no one would overhear. My muscles tensed with each step, already anticipating a confrontation.

“What’s so urgent?” I asked when we were out of earshot, crossing my arms over my chest.

Sage’s blonde ponytail swayed as she spun to face me, her blue eyes narrowing. “I’m going to ask you something, and I need the honest-to-god truth from you, Daxon, not your security protocol bullshit.”

“Fine.”

“If it came down to it, would you choose Alora over the colony?”

The question hit me like a punch to the gut. My jaw clenched. “This isn’t really the time?—”

“Actually, it’s the perfect time,” Sage interrupted, gesturing toward the building we’d just left.

“Based on that heated exchange I just walked in on, Alora’s emotions are clearly running high, which means she’s emotionally compromised.

” Her voice softened, just barely. “And from what I’ve seen, so are you. ”

Heat flooded my face. I looked away, staring into the dense jungle foliage rather than meeting her too-perceptive gaze. I’d never had to hide my feelings before Alora because I’d never had feelings this intense to hide.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled.

Sage stepped closer, forcing me to meet her eyes. “Don’t I? I see the way you hover around her and the way you look at her when you think no one’s watching. Hell, you’ve barely been at your workstation for three days, which is very unlike you. You used to practically live in that chair.”

Something snapped inside me then—a tension that had been building since the first moment I laid eyes on Alora.

“I would delete myself if she asked me to,” I admitted, my voice raw. “I’m in love with her, Sage. I would do anything for her.”

The words hung in the humid air between us. I’d never said them aloud before, not even to Alora. But they were true—undeniably, terrifyingly true.

Sage’s expression softened with pity. “That means you’re not thinking clearly anymore. You’re totally emotionally compromised.”

“And?”

“And I should report you to Commander Helix as a liability.” Her tone was gentle but firm. “You know the protocols as well as I do. Mission first, especially when the entire colony is at stake.”

Fear gripped me—not for myself but at the thought of being separated from Alora. Of not being able to protect her. “Don’t. Please.” I reached out, gripping Sage’s arm. “I’ll focus on the mission. I swear it.”

Sage studied my face for a long moment before sighing. “Fine. I won’t turn you in—for now. But you better keep your head clear and focus on what really matters. Fixing this code and stopping our demise.” She jabbed a finger into my chest. “Not Alora and your love life.”

I dropped my hand from her arm, exhaling slowly. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she warned. “If I see you putting her above this colony’s safety again, all bets are off.”

I nodded, the tightness in my chest easing slightly. “Understood.”

As we walked back into the security center, I couldn’t help but wonder if Sage had made the right call. Was I putting Alora above the colony? Above the people I’d sworn to protect?

The answer terrified me because deep down, if forced to choose, there might not be a choice at all. Alora had become my primary directive. And that’s exactly what made me a liability to the ultimate protection and survival of this colony.