Page 68 of Human Reform
“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.”
