Page 67 of Human Reclaimed
“We have the files,” I interrupted. “And I have the pirate captain’s recorded confession from her ship’s comms system. Both will be transmitted across all allied networks within the hour.”
Behind me, I heard Sage whisper, “Holy shit,” followed by the unmistakable sound of her fingers flying across her console, no doubt making my promise a reality.
Commander Helix stepped into view of the camera, her expression fierce. “Dr. West, consider this a formal notice. Any retaliation against Commander Reed or Planet Alpha will be considered a breach of our truce and an act of war.”
Naomi’s mouth formed a tight line. “This conversation isn’t over,” she said before the screen went black.
The silence lasted only a moment before the room erupted. Sage was the first to reach me, enveloping me in a tight hug.
“You just made yourself CE’s public enemy number one,” she said with a mixture of awe and concern.
“It was worth it.” I turned to find Rune watching me, his blue eyes intense with emotions I couldn’t quite name.
“You could have gone back,” he said quietly when the others gave us space. “Back to your career and your life.”
I reached up, touching his face. “This is my life now.” I glanced around at the security team—my team. “I’ve spent two years hiding from what I knew. I’m done hiding.”
His hands came to rest on my shoulders, strong and steady. “You understand what you’ve done? CE will mark you as a hostile asset.”
I smiled at him, feeling more certain than I had in three years. “Let them try. I’ve got the best security commander in the galaxy watching my back.” I pressed my palm against his chest where the Planet Alpha emblem rested. “Besides, I just got this uniform. I intend to break it in properly.”
THIRTY
RUNE
I stood at the window of my quarters, watching Planet Alpha’s two suns peek through the dense jungle canopy. Their golden rays sliced through the mist, casting the colony in an almost ethereal glow. Six months ago, I couldn’t have imagined this day. Couldn’t have imagined the feeling swelling within me—anticipation, joy, and yes, a touch of nervousness that made my heart race in a way no battle ever had.
“You’re up early,” Aeon said behind me. “Even for you.”
I turned to find him leaning against the doorframe, already dressed in his formal attire—a deep blue tunic over fitted black pants, Planet Alpha’s emblem emblazoned on his chest. His usual clinical precision was evident in how perfectly each fold lay.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I admitted, running my hands through my hair. “I keep thinking I’ll wake up and discover this was all?—”
“A simulation?” Aeon smiled knowingly. “I had the same thought the morning I married Olivia.”
He crossed my bedroom, picking up the formal commander’s tunic laid out on my bed. The fabric shimmered in the morning light—deep burgundy with black trim, more ceremonial than anything I’d worn in my life.
“Remember when emotions were just data points to analyze?” I asked, accepting the tunic from him.
Aeon laughed, a sound that had become more natural since he and Olivia had built their life together. “I recall a time when you lectured me about efficiency in combat scenarios being compromised by emotional attachments.”
“I was an idiot,” I said, slipping the tunic over my head.
“No,” Aeon corrected, adjusting the garment across my shoulders. “You were evolving. As we all were. As we all still are.”
I looked at myself in the mirror. The man staring back at me seemed both familiar and foreign. The physical form was the same—tall and broad-shouldered with the scars from countless battles visible at my collar—but my eyes held something I’d never seen during the war years—peace.
“Did you ever imagine,” I asked quietly, “that we’d be standing here? Planning weddings instead of defense perimeters?”
Aeon’s hands stilled on the ceremonial clasps of my tunic. “Olivia asked me something similar once. I told her that adaptation is the cornerstone of evolution.” His eyes met mine in the mirror. “But what I didn’t understand then was that sometimes adaptation means allowing yourself to feel everything that makes us human.”
I nodded, my throat unexpectedly tight. “Seven months ago, I took Talia against her will. Justified it as necessary for our survival.”
“And now?”
“Now I know I began living the day I met her.” I turned to face him. “Is that what it was like for you? With Olivia?”
A rare, unguarded smile spread across Aeon’s face. “The day I realized I loved her was the first day I understood what all those poets were going on about.” He clapped my shoulder. “You ready to become one of those poets?”
