Page 8 of Human Reform (Cyborg Planet Alpha #3)

EIGHT

DAXON

Together. The word resonated through me with surprising force.

I felt a strange mixture of relief and unease wash over me.

On one hand, having Alora commit to helping us fixed part of our immediate problem.

On the other hand, the discovery of this malicious section of code raised far more troubling questions.

Someone had deliberately sabotaged our people. Someone wanted us to suffer, to lose control, and to revert to our war programming. Was it an insider? Or had CyberEvolution found a way to infiltrate our systems despite our isolation?

I glanced around the security center where Tegan was reviewing perimeter reports and Sage was analyzing system logs. Could one of them be responsible? The thought made my jaw clench.

“What’s wrong?” Alora asked, her fingers brushing my forearm.

“I just realized you can’t work here at my workstation,” I said, my voice tight with unexpected disappointment. I’d been looking forward to having her beside me, watching her brilliant mind work while stealing glances at her. “It’s not secure enough.”

“You’re thinking the saboteur might be watching,” she whispered, immediately understanding.

I nodded. “We need to get you completely isolated with that system. Somewhere private.”

Her eyes searched mine, and I felt that strange electric current between us again. “You’re worried about me.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes.” The admission felt like surrendering a piece of armor I’d worn for years.

“Well then, let’s talk to whoever can make this happen,” she said, standing up abruptly.

I stood up, too, and quickly led her through the security center toward Rune’s office at the back. The morning light streamed through the reinforced windows, casting Alora in a golden glow that made my chest tighten in an odd way I couldn’t explain.

I rapped my knuckles against Rune’s door twice.

“Enter,” came his steady voice.

Rune sat behind his desk reviewing training schedules, his auburn hair catching the light. He looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Alora.

“Rune, we have a situation,” I said, closing the door behind us.

I quickly explained what Alora had discovered—the modified code, the deliberate sabotage, and the need for complete isolation to work on a solution. With each word, Rune’s expression grew more severe.

“You want to give her…” He gestured to Alora. “A stranger who wrote our enslavement code and has been here all of one day, complete access to our systems?” His tone was incredulous.

“I understand your concern,” Alora said before I could answer, her voice steady. “But whoever modified my original code wants you all to suffer. I don’t. I left CyberEvolution because I couldn’t live with what I’d helped do to your people.”

Rune’s piercing gaze shifted from her to me. “And you trust her?”

“I do.” The certainty in my voice surprised me. I’d never vouched for anyone this way before.

Rune rubbed his jaw. “The colony’s safety is at stake either way.”

“If I can’t fix these glitches, more of your people will suffer violent episodes like the teenage boy in the plaza yesterday,” Alora added.

“My original wartime code was modified at some point. Probably sometime during the aftermath of the war when all the cyborgs were being reprogrammed with the new free-thinking code.” She paused to steady herself.

“The malicious section of code is designed to reassert control of the wartime programming gradually in every cyborg who had that original architecture implemented in their neural framework. It will get worse as time goes on.”

Rune stood, his impressive height nearly matching mine. “I’ll speak with Commander Helix and Aeon. We’ll set up what you need.” He looked directly at Alora. “But understand this—if anything happens to our people because of your access…”

“I’ll personally ensure she answers for it,” I interrupted, my protective instinct flaring unexpectedly.

Alora shot me a look I couldn’t quite decipher—surprise mixed with something else.

“I’ll get her space prepared today,” Rune said with a curt nod. “Wait at your workstation with her while I speak with command.”

As we walked back to my workstation, Alora leaned close. “That was intense.”

“Rune has good reason to be cautious. We all do.” I guided her around a busy section of the security center, my hand finding the small of her back automatically. “The war isn’t a distant memory for most of us.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

I stopped, turning to face her in the middle of the busy room. “Don’t apologize for what you’re about to try and fix.”

Her eyes widened at my words, and something shifted between us—a recognition that we’d moved past blame and into partnership.

The security center faded away around us as we stood locked in each other’s gaze, and I understood what it meant to choose someone above duty, above protocol, above everything.

“I am going to fix this. I promised you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

“No. We are going to fix this,” I corrected, my hand moving to lightly brush against hers. “Together.”

An hour later, Rune’s footsteps echoed down the corridor before he appeared at my workstation. His expression was stoic as ever, but I detected a hint of something else—reluctance, perhaps.

“It’s done,” he announced. “Commander Helix and Aeon have approved Dr. Bridges’ private office and full system access.”

I felt a strange sensation wash over me—relief mixed with an unfamiliar anticipation that made my blood rush faster.

“Thank you,” Alora said beside me, her voice steady, but I caught the slight upturn at the corner of her mouth.

“Follow me,” Rune instructed, turning on his heel with military precision.

We walked down the curved corridor of the security center, past the main operations floor where Sage caught my eye and raised an eyebrow suggestively. I ignored her, keeping my focus on Alora walking just ahead of me. The way her braid swung against her back with each step was oddly mesmerizing.

Rune stopped at a door halfway down the hall from his office and pressed his hand against the access panel. “This is yours for now,” he said to Alora as the door slid open. “Everything you requested has been provided.”

The office was small but equipped with three high-definition monitors on a sleek desk, a personal datapad, and a separate processing unit that would allow her to work offline. A large window overlooked the jungle canopy, casting dappled light across the metal floor.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Rune said, nodding curtly before departing and leaving us alone.

I moved to her side as she approached the desk, her fingers hovering over the equipment with reverent appreciation.

“Let’s get you set up,” I said, stepping closer than strictly necessary. Her scent filled my senses as I guided her hand to the biometric scanner on her wrist communicator. “Place your hand here and it will sync to your personal identifiers.”

Her skin was warm beneath my touch, sending that now-familiar electricity racing up my arm. When she looked at me, those gray eyes with flecks of silver caught the light, and my chest tightened in response.

“There,” I said as the monitors hummed to life, displaying Planet Alpha’s primary security interface. “Full access, as promised.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, still standing close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her body. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t.” The conviction in my voice caught me by surprise.

I pulled up a chair beside hers and sat down, watching as she began navigating through the system with impressive speed and intuition.

“Are you planning to shadow me all day?” She glanced sideways, a teasing lilt in her voice.

“Security protocol.” I kept my expression neutral despite the warmth spreading through me. “As your handler, I need to monitor your initial system access.”

“My handler, huh?” Her lips curved up in a smile that did strange things to me.

“Among other things,” I replied, surprised by my own boldness.

For the next hour, I watched her work, completely captivated by the way her mind functioned—the elegant solutions she conceptualized, and the rapid connections she made between disparate data points. It was like watching a dance I’d never seen before but somehow recognized.

Eventually, I remembered my own duties. “I should probably check on a few things at my workstation.”

“Probably,” she agreed, not looking up from her screen, her fingers tapping across the interface.

I rose reluctantly. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll be here,” she said, finally glancing up with a smile that seemed to reach inside me and rearrange things.

I returned to my workstation and rushed through my daily security checks and alert clearances with unprecedented efficiency. Sage smirked as I practically sprinted through my tasks.

“Someone’s eager,” she called after me as I headed back toward Alora’s office barely twenty minutes later. I didn’t bother denying it.

When I returned, Alora was deep in concentration, her brow furrowed slightly as she studied complex code patterns across all three screens.

“That was quick,” she said without looking up.

“I’m very efficient.” I settled back into the chair beside her, our shoulders nearly touching.

And that’s where I stayed, long past any reasonable security protocol would require, finding increasingly thin excuses to remain in her orbit. I offered insights on system architecture, clarified colony protocols, and even fetched refreshments when she needed them.

As the twin suns began their descent, casting her office in amber and violet light, I realized I’d spent the entire day simply being near her, and it was the most content I’d felt since arriving on Planet Alpha.

“The sunset is beautiful,” she commented, finally leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms above her head, drawing my gaze to the curve of her body.

“Yes,” I agreed, though I wasn’t looking at the view outside. “Simply beautiful.”