Page 3 of Human Reform
“Congratulations, universe.Your sense of irony is really something spectacular.”I pulled again at my restraints.“I hide for three years, and karma still tracks me down across the goddamn galaxy.”
I forced myself to breathe.To think.The cyborgs at my cabin had worn that strange emblem—an alpha symbol overlaid on a planet.Did that mean something?Had they established their own world after the war ended?
The bracelet from Tim felt heavy on my left wrist.They’d left it on me, at least.Small mercies.
“Tim, wherever you are, I could use some of your military training right about now,” I murmured.“Step one: assess the situation.Step two: identify exit strategies.Step three: don’t panic.”
I was failing spectacularly at step three.
The monitor on my right wrist beeped in response to my spiking heart rate.I stared at it, an idea forming.If I could hack Earth’s security systems, surely I could?—
“Come on, Bridges.Engineer your way out of this.”
I twisted my right wrist, studying the device from different angles.If I could just reach the interface with my fingertips, maybe I could?—
A distant sound of footsteps in the outside corridor froze me mid-movement.
“Later,” I whispered to myself.“For now, play along.”
I closed my eyes and forced my breathing to slow.Whatever they wanted from me—revenge, information, or worse—they wouldn’t find me an easy target.Three years of solitude hadn’t softened my edges.It had only honed them.I was Dr.Alora Bridges, and I would escape this alien prison somehow.
TWO
DAXON
I staredat the holographic display of Dr.Alora Bridges’ vitals.Her heart rate was elevated, and her neural patterns had spiked in jagged red lines across my screen.She was awake now, and she was afraid.My fingers hovered over the interface, tracing the erratic pattern of her heartbeat without actually touching it.
“I thought the sedative would last another hour,” I muttered, watching as she tested her restraints on the video feed.
The security center’s dim lighting cast everything in shades of blue, including my own reflection in the glass of the display.I looked tired.I felt… something else.Something I couldn’t quite name.
“She bit you?”I asked, turning to Aeon who stood surveying the central operations hub.The glow of displays illuminated the sharp angles of his face.
Aeon rubbed his hand reflexively.“And kicked me somewhere considerably more vulnerable.Your candidate has spirit.I’ll grant you that.”
A laugh escaped me before I could contain it—short and unexpected.I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed.“Spirit seems like an understatement.”
“You seem amused, Daxon.”Aeon’s eyebrow arched with suspicion.“That’s an unusual response from you.”
I straightened, schooling my features back into their normal stern position.“I am merely… impressed by her self-preservation instincts.She’s resourceful, which confirms my selection was optimal.”
“Of course.”Aeon didn’t look convinced.“Her heart rate is concerning, though.”
“She just woke up restrained on an alien world,” I said, surprised by the defensive edge in my voice.“Elevated vitals are to be expected.”
I toggled between her bio readings and the actual visual feed from her room.She was beautiful—more striking in person than in the file image I’d studied.Long dark brown hair fell around her shoulders, and her gray eyes flashed with defiance rather than fear.My body responded in ways I couldn’t rationalize.Heat spread across my chest, settling uncomfortably lower.
This reaction was… inefficient.Distracting.Yet I couldn’t stop watching the rise and fall of her chest as she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
“I should go assess her condition,” I said abruptly, standing from my workstation.
Tegan snorted from across the room.“Assess her condition or assess something else?”
“Her psychological state impacts our mission,” I replied, too quickly.
“Sure.That’s what has you all… tense.”Sage’s eyes flickered to my clenched fists.
I ignored them, focusing on regulating my breathing.This wasn’t like the glitches—the sudden bursts of aggression and war memories that had been plaguing us for months.This was different.Quieter.More persistent.
