“Bullshit. You know something.”
Sage stepped between us. “Save it for later. Security first.”
Tegan turned away, barking orders into his communicator, but not before I glimpsed something in his expression—guilt, maybe. Or calculation.
I leaned closer to Olivia, my voice low. “Stay close to me.”
She nodded, her green eyes wide but steady. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Her words sent a welcome wave of relief through me. For now.
I soon entered Commander Helix’s office with Olivia close behind me, her warmth radiating against my back as we stepped into the cool space. Helix sat behind her desk, her face hard as granite. The windows behind her framed a view of our colony—a cluster of metal and composite buildings rising from the jungle’s edge like a defiant statement against the wilderness.
“This rescue mission is nothing but a pretext,” Helix said, not bothering with pleasantries. Her fingers tapped a staccato rhythm on her desk. “Earth says they’ll only use lethal force if provoked, but we’d be fools to believe that.”
“You think they’ll attack regardless?” I asked, feeling my chest squeezing at the thought.
Helix’s eyes narrowed. “CyberEvolution and many Earth officials would love nothing more than to wipe us off the map. We’re living proof their control isn’t absolute.” She locked eyes with Olivia. “And you, Doctor, are their perfect excuse.”
Olivia stepped forward. “I could communicate with them. Let them know I’m?—”
“What? Safe? Working willingly? They probably won’t care.” Helix cut her off. “They’ll see a human doctor captured by ‘rogue machines’ and use it to justify whatever they’ve already planned.”
My fists clenched at my sides. The older programming in me calculated defensive strategies, but the newer, more human part of me felt a swell of protectiveness that went beyond tactical considerations.
“We need to evacuate the pregnant women and children to the caverns,” I said. “I’ll organize our defenses and arm anyone willing to fight.”
Helix nodded. “Do it. And, Doctor Parker...” She scrutinized Olivia. “Whatever happens, remember that your presence here might have started as coercion, but it’s saved lives. You’ve become part of this community, whether you intended to or not.”
Olivia’s face flushed. “I understand.”
We left Helix’s office and walked through the council chamber and out the front entrance. Outside, the air smelled of rain and soil and the sweet tang of the flowering vines that had begun to climb our outermost buildings.
“She’s wrong about them not listening,” Olivia said suddenly, her voice tight. “If I could just talk to whoever’s leading the rescue?—”
I touched her arm, feeling her pulse jump beneath my fingertips. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. What if they don’t listen? What if they’ve already decided we’re nothing but malfunctioning hardware?”
Her eyes met mine. “Then I’ll stand with you.”
Something broke loose in my chest—an ache both painful and exhilarating. I wanted to pull her to me right there, but colonists hurried past us, already mobilizing.
“We should check the medical supplies,” she continued, practical even now. “If there’s fighting, we’ll need everything ready.”
I nodded, marveling at her strength. This woman I’d taken unwillingly from her home was now preparing to face down her own people to protect mine. The complexity of emotions that stirred in me had no programming origin. They were entirely, chaotically human.
“Let’s gather the supplies now,” I said. “Then I need to organize our defenses.”
I didn’t say what weighed most heavily on my mind, though. I would die before I let harm come to her.
I watched Olivia’s hands move with practiced efficiency as we loaded the last of the surgical kits into the sterilized containers. Her face was set in concentration, a small furrow between her brows that I’d come to recognize as her focused expression. We had been at this for hours—cataloging supplies, preparing emergency kits, and setting up triage protocols. The medical bay had transformed into a fortress of readiness under her direction.
“That’s the last of the plasma substitutes,” she said, sliding a box onto the shelf. “We should have enough for at least thirty major traumas.”
My chest tightened at the casual way she quantified potential casualties. “Let’s hope we need none of it.”
She looked up at me, her eyes tired but determined. “Better to have it and not need it.”
Outside the windows, the colony buzzed with purposeful activity. Sage had mobilized security teams at every entrance point while others rushed to reinforce our most vulnerable structures. The evacuation of pregnant women and small children had begun at midday—a somber procession heading toward the cavern network that honeycombed the mountains to our east.
