The door slid shut behind him, the lock engaging with a decisive click.
“Damn it!” I kicked the door, pain shooting up my leg. “Damn you, Aeon!”
I paced the room, fury and frustration boiling inside me. The kindness he’d shown with Serena, the way he’d gently carried her, the genuine concern in his eyes—had I imagined all of that? Had I projected humanity onto him because I needed to believe my captors weren’t monsters?
I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in my hands. The worst part wasn’t the captivity itself. It was the disappointment. For a brief, foolish moment, I had felt a connection with Aeon. I had seen something in those piercing blue eyes that seemed to understand me.
SIX
AEON
I approached Olivia’s new quarters with a weight in my chest I couldn’t quite name. The morning light cast long shadows across the colony as I placed my palm against the security panel, simultaneously turning the physical lock with my other hand. The door slid open with a soft hiss.
“Good morning, Dr. Parker,” I said, stepping inside.
Olivia sat perched on the edge of her bed, already dressed, her eyes narrowing at my entrance. The room—though I’d personally ensured it contained comfortable furnishings, adequate lighting, and proper climate control—remained undeniably a cell to her. Her captivity hung between us like a physical presence.
“Time for your orientation,” I announced, trying to keep my voice neutral.
She crossed her arms. “My prison tour, you mean?”
Something twisted in my gut. Guilt? Regret? These feelings were still new territory for me, emotions I was learning to process without the benefit of preprogrammed responses.
“This isn’t...” I started and then stopped. It was exactly what she thought. “The medical bay has equipment you need to better familiarize yourself with.”
“And if I refuse?”
I met her eyes. “You won’t. Your medical instincts won’t let you.”
Her mouth tightened, but she stood, brushing past me in a deliberate way that avoided physical contact.
“I’ve been locked in here all night,” she muttered as we walked. “Is that how it’s going to be? Treated like a criminal?”
“The confinement is temporary,” I said, each word heavy in my mouth. “Until we establish trust.”
She laughed bitterly. “Trust? You abducted me!”
“For the survival of our people,” I countered, my voice coming out harder than intended.
“Your people, not mine.”
We reached the medical bay in tense silence. I opened the door, gesturing for her to enter first. The facilities gleamed under bright lights, equipment humming softly.
“This area houses our prenatal monitoring systems,” I explained, pointing to a row of beds with overhead scanners. “Modified from standard human designs to account for cyborg physiology. You had some experience with a slightly different model of this yesterday with Serena.”
She barely looked at me, moving instead to inspect one of the scanners. Her fingers trailed along its surface, professional curiosity momentarily overcoming her anger.
“Your calibration is off,” she said flatly. “You’ll get false readings on fetal development.”
I moved closer. “Show me.”
She pointed to settings on the display. “This should be adjusted for the increased metabolic rate. And this…” Her finger tapped the screen. “Needs to account for enhanced neural development.”
“Can you fix it?”
“I could,” she said, her eyes meeting mine coldly. “Am I just your tech support now?”
The barb stung more than it should have. “No. Like I told you, you’re crucial to our survival. To prevent our mothers and children from dying.”
