We soon strolled toward the medical bay with Aeon walking closer to me than strictly necessary. The marketplace had thinned as people—humans and cyborgs—went about their daily routines. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around how normal everything seemed here. The few children playing. Adults laughing. Palm-like trees swaying in the gentle breeze. If not for the occasional glimpse of advanced technology, it could have been any small settlement on Earth.
The medical bay’s pristine white surfaces gleamed under the artificial lighting as Aeon keyed in the access code. I’d been here before, of course, but now I was entering as a teacher rather than a captive.
“Let’s start with proper examination protocol,” I said, donning the white coat Aeon had procured for me. “Your current methods are... Well, primitive isn’t even the word.”
Aeon’s jaw tightened momentarily, but then his expression softened into something almost sheepish. “We’ve been improvising.”
“Clearly.” I pulled out a manual ultrasound device. “First rule—this isn’t a weapon. You’re holding it like you’re about to stab someone.”
He loosened his grip, those large hands suddenly careful and steady as I guided them into position. “Like this?”
“Better.” Our fingers touched, and I withdrew mine quickly, ignoring the heat that rushed to my cheeks. “Now, the pressure needs to be even but firm. Not too hard.”
As I demonstrated the proper technique on a makeshift medical dummy, I caught Aeon watching me with intense concentration. Something was endearing about how seriously he took every word I said.
“You’re a natural teacher,” he said during a brief pause.
I shrugged. “Ben always said the same thing.” The mention of Ben’s name hung between us. “He believed in you, you know. In all of you.”
Aeon’s eyes met mine. “He gave us more than just code. He gave us a chance.”
My throat tightened. “And look what you’ve built with it. A whole society. Ben would be...” I swallowed hard. “He would be so proud of you all.”
For a moment, we stood in silence, the weight of Ben’s sacrifice filling the space between us.
“I still plan on going back home, Aeon,” I said finally, needing to clear the air. “But while I’m here, I’ll teach you everything I know. These women and children deserve proper care.”
Something flickered across his face—relief, gratitude, and something deeper that made my heart skip. “Thank you, Olivia.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” I handed him the ultrasound wand. “Your turn. Show me what you’ve learned.”
As he confidently positioned the wand, I allowed myself a small smile. Maybe this wasn’t what I had chosen, but I was needed here right now. For Ben. For these expectant mothers. And maybe, in some small way I wasn’t ready to admit, for the determined man beside me whose large hands betrayed a gentleness I would’ve never expected.
FOURTEEN
AEON
Later that afternoon, I sat alone in the archives room, surrounded by a sea of datapads displaying Olivia’s meticulously organized obstetrics protocols. My fingers traced across the screens’ surfaces, absorbing information at a rate that would have overwhelmed a human mind. Fetal development timelines. Complication indicators. Emergency procedures.
Yet concentration eluded me.
The memory of her naked body pressed against mine kept intruding—the softness of her skin and the catch in her breath when I touched her. My jaw clenched so tightly I thought my teeth might crack.
“Focus,” I muttered, swiping to the next page on placental development.
Through the glass partition separating the archives from the main area of the medical bay, I caught glimpses of Olivia instructing two medical staff members. Her hands moved with precise, confident gestures as she demonstrated a technique on a simulation model. Even from this distance, I could see the passion lighting her eyes when she spoke and the way her entire being came alive when sharing her knowledge.
Something twisted uncomfortably in my chest. An ache. Unfamiliar. Distracting.
I closed my eyes, letting my learning algorithms process the obstetrics data, but instead I found myself wondering what she was thinking. Was she regretting our night together? Was she feeling this same... whatever this was?
I had never questioned my emotional responses before Olivia arrived. They were simply data points—relevant or irrelevant to mission parameters. But this felt different. Messier. More human.
“Commander?”
I glanced up to see Tobin, one of our tech specialists, standing in the doorway.
“What is it?” My voice came out harsher than intended.
