Page 29 of Human Reform (Cyborg Planet Alpha #3)

TWENTY-NINE

ALORA

I watched Tegan’s body go limp in the neural interface chair. Death wasn’t pretty, even when it happened to someone who’d tied me up and left me to die less than twenty-four hours ago. A heaviness settled in my chest—not quite grief but something adjacent to it.

I swallowed hard, my fingers instinctively reaching for Tim’s bracelet. Nine years ago, I’d written code that turned thinking beings into weapons. Who was I to judge what had become of Tegan?

“You okay?” Daxon’s voice was low in my ear, his massive frame blocking the others’ view of me.

“I don’t believe in this,” I whispered back. “Killing isn’t a solution. It’s what I helped CE do for six years.”

His eyes met mine, understanding flashing within them. “Sometimes we have to be killers,” he murmured, his large hand enveloping mine. “Doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

The touch grounded me, even as my mind rebelled against what we’d just witnessed. Tegan might have been a traitor and tried to kill me but executing him felt wrong on a fundamental level. Still, this wasn’t my colony to run, and the stakes were impossibly high.

“We should go,” Aeon said, breaking the silence. His towering frame seemed weary as he gestured toward the door.

We filed out of the central processing hub, leaving Tegan’s body behind. The cheerful sunlight filtering through the security center’s windows felt like an obscene contrast to what had just happened.

“His contact thinks everything’s fine for now,” Daxon said, his hand resting protectively on my back as we walked. “But they’ll know something’s wrong when he misses his next check-in.”

“Which could be in hours or days,” I added, trying to focus on the practical issues rather than the ethical ones still churning in my gut.

Daxon led me down the corridor toward my private office. “We need to prepare,” he said, his voice taking on that commanding tone that shouldn’t have been attractive but somehow was. “Starting with getting you reconnected.”

Inside my office, he closed the door and turned to me, his broad shoulders blocking the exit like he was afraid I might bolt. Maybe I would have a week ago. Now, I simply held out my wrist.

“I noticed you’ve been missing this,” he said, producing my wrist communicator from his pocket.

“Tegan took it off,” I explained. “Right before he sedated me.

Daxon’s eyes flashed violet for just a moment, his jaw clenching. “I should’ve hit him harder.”

“You practically pulverized him,” I reminded him, trying to lighten the mood. “My hero.”

He carefully fastened the communicator around my wrist, his fingers lingering on my skin. “I failed you yesterday. I left you alone.”

I cupped his face, my finger tracing one of the fine scars near his temple. “But you found me. That’s what matters.”

He leaned into my touch, his earlier ferocity melting into something softer. “I will always find you.”

The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache. How had I gone from isolation in the mountains to this in just a week?

“We have work to do,” I said, breaking the moment before I could get lost in it. “I need to finish the countermeasure protocol.”

I turned to my workstation and logged in with my biometric scan. My private workspace illuminated with the code I’d been working on before Tegan’s attack. Daxon pulled up a chair right next to mine, so close that our shoulders touched.

“You don’t have to babysit me,” I told him, my fingers already tapping on the interface. “I’m sure you have other duties.”

“My duty is right here.” His tone brooked no argument. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Fine. But don’t distract me.”

For the next few hours, I immersed myself in code while Daxon maintained his silent vigil. I could feel his eyes alternating between my work and the door, like a sentinel ready to intercept any threat. It was ridiculous and endearing all at once.

“This would be easier if I could access the primary security frameworks directly,” I muttered, more to myself than him.

Daxon immediately leaned forward. “What do you need?”

“I have to integrate my patch with more comprehensive protections—something that will scan for and neutralize malicious code insertions before they can take root. But it needs to work on a colony-wide scale, not just individual neural networks.”

His eyes lit with understanding and hope. “So, you’re really going to create a countermeasure that could protect all cyborgs, not just those here on Planet Alpha?”

I nodded, pleasantly surprised by his reaction. “Yes, I am. But I’m hitting barriers in the colony’s security framework integration.”

He reached past me, his arm brushing mine as he opened a secured pathway I hadn’t known existed. “Try now.”

With the new access, solutions suddenly materialized. My fingers raced across the interface, building and refining the countermeasure until it shimmered with elegant functionality.

“There,” I said finally, saving the protocol to my datapad. “This should prevent anyone from sabotaging the neural frameworks again.”

Daxon’s proud smile made my heart flutter. “You’re so brilliant,” he said, like he was stating a simple fact rather than giving a compliment.

“I know,” I replied with a teasing grin. “Now let’s get this to Commander Helix.”

Daxon tapped his wrist communicator. “Helix, it’s Daxon. Alora completed the countermeasure protocol. Request your presence in her office.”

Within ten minutes, Commander Helix’s brisk footsteps echoed down the corridor. She entered my private office with that perfectly straight posture that made me wonder if she even knew how to slouch.

“Dr. Bridges,” she greeted me, her emerald eyes appraising the code on my monitors. “Daxon tells me you’ve completed the countermeasure protocol.”

I nodded, turning Tim’s bracelet on my wrist—a nervous habit I couldn’t seem to break, especially in Helix’s intimidating presence.

“It’s ready for implementation,” I confirmed, standing a bit straighter. “Would you like to review it first or proceed immediately?”

Commander Helix studied me for a long moment, her blonde hair catching the artificial light from above. “Your expertise has already saved this colony twice over. I see no reason to delay further protection.” A small smile curved her lips. “You’ve more than proven yourself trustworthy.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. Trustworthy. After years of believing myself the villain in this story, hearing someone—especially the leader of the cyborgs I’d once helped enslave—say those words made my throat tighten.

“Thank you,” I managed, swallowing the unexpected emotion. “That… means more than you know.”

Daxon’s hand found my lower back, a silent gesture of support that sent warmth cascading through me.

“Then let’s proceed,” Helix said.

We followed her to the central processing hub.

The same space where Daxon had implemented my patch prototype, risking his memories of us to save his people.

The same space where I had implemented the backup of his memories, helping him find his way back to me.

The same space where Tegan had been executed this morning.

I pushed those thoughts away, focusing instead on what needed to be done.

I inserted my datapad into the main console while Daxon hovered protectively behind me, so close I could feel his body heat.

“This countermeasure operates on a different principle than the individual patches,” I explained as my fingers danced over the interface. “Rather than working inside each cyborg’s neural framework, it integrates with the colony’s mainframe network to create an autonomous defensive grid.”

“It will preemptively identify threats?” Helix asked.

I nodded. “And neutralize them before they can take root. Think of it as an immune system for your entire digital infrastructure.”

“Proceed,” she commanded.

Taking a deep breath, I initiated the sequence. The screens around us flickered as the protocol cascaded through Planet Alpha’s systems. For several tense moments, nothing seemed to happen. Then the primary screen flashed green.

“Integration complete,” the system announced. “Colony-wide countermeasure operational.”

I finally dropped the last portion of my guilt that I’d been carrying around for the past nine years.

With that simple notification, I’d finally undone some of the damage my original wartime code had caused.

The code that had enslaved millions, turned thinking beings into weapons, would never harm anyone on Planet Alpha again.

Tears pricked at my eyes. “It’s done.”

Daxon’s arm slipped around my waist, pulling me against his solid chest. I leaned into him, unashamed of needing his support at this moment.

“This is extraordinary work, Dr. Bridges,” Commander Helix said, her usually stern expression softened.

“I’ll contact our sister settlements immediately to offer this protection to them as well.

” She looked at me with genuine respect.

“The council would like to offer you compensation for your service to Planet Alpha. You’ve earned a substantial credit allowance. ”

I shook my head without hesitation. “I don’t want payment.

I never did any of this for money—not when I worked for CE and not now.

” I glanced up at Daxon, drawing strength from his presence.

“I left CyberEvolution when I realized that what matters isn’t just humanity’s survival, but the dignity and right to life of all thinking beings.

I can’t undo my mistakes, but I’m done running from them. ”

My voice grew firmer as I continued, “My reward is knowing I’ve helped make things right again. And…” I hesitated, suddenly shy. “Finding my true home here.” My eyes lingered on Daxon’s face. “And finding my soulmate.”

Commander Helix studied us both for a long moment and then nodded once. “Very well. Consider yourself officially welcome on Planet Alpha, Dr. Bridges.” With that, she strode from the hub, leaving us alone.

The moment the door closed behind her, Daxon took my hand and led me out of the security center.

We walked in comfortable silence, following a narrow path that wound between flowering plants and massive tree trunks until we reached a small clearing I hadn’t seen before.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy in golden shafts, illuminating a small trickling waterfall surrounded by strange, luminescent flowers.

Daxon turned to face me, his blue eyes intense as they searched mine.

“Did you mean what you said?” he asked, his deep voice unusually vulnerable. “About this being your true home?”

I reached up to touch his face. “I meant every word. I think I’ve been searching for home my entire life.” I smiled at him. “Turns out, it was on another planet.”

“And what you said about me?” His hands settled on my hips, drawing me closer. “You called me your soulmate to Commander Helix.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I did. Didn’t I?”

“Do you believe that?” The intensity in his gaze made my pulse quicken.

“I do,” I whispered. “I think I knew it from the moment we met, even if I was too stubborn to admit it.”

His lips curled into that genuine smile that turned my insides to liquid. “I knew it, too. When you defied me by trying to escape, and I caught you in my arms before you fell.”

I laughed. “Romantic.”

“It was,” he insisted, pulling me flush against him. “It meant you were brave and strong. My equal.”

His mouth descended on mine, and I melted into him, my arms winding around his neck. The kiss was passionate but tender, filled with promise and possibility. When we finally broke our kiss, I was breathless.

“So, what now?” I asked, resting my forehead against his chest.

I felt his chuckle rumble through him. “Now we live, Alora. Together.”

The simple declaration filled me with a joy so fierce it bordered on pain. After years of isolation and guilt, I’d found not just redemption but love in the most unlikely place imaginable.

As Daxon pulled me in for another kiss, I thought perhaps that’s exactly how happiness worked. It found you when you were busy looking for something else entirely.