In spite of himself, Aiden turned to look back at her. The deep pain etched into her features sent a surge of guilt through him, even when he told himself she was an AI and didn't actually feel anything. “Imagine how it is for me,” he replied quietly. “If you're capable of such empathy.”
He stepped up to the door, about to walk through, when she spoke at his back. “We'll reach the HAE base in a few hours. Please at least consider what I've said, and not just for your sake or even mine. Do it for your crew, for all of humanity.”
He allowed her no sign he'd heard as he walked away.
* * * * *
Aiden bit back his annoyance as Lana stood from her temporary workstation the moment he entered the bridge, coming over to him with an expression of concerned sympathy on her face.
The young woman had been overly solicitous of his welfare ever since Ali's betrayal, seeming to realize how deeply it had wounded him. But while he couldn't complain about the kindness she showed, the fact that she was also worried about the welfare of his comp-the Caretaker, and kept insisting he not be so hard on her, was seriously getting on his nerves.
“How are you, Captain?” she asked.
He forced himself to smile brightly. “Never better.” Which was certainly true enough; at the moment he had a hard time seeing things ever getting any better. At least where his love life was concerned.
Or his war with the Deeks, assuming he didn't want to join up with the robots who wanted to rule humans for their own good. No red flags there.
Speaking of robots, Ali seemed to have meant her request for him to consider her offer. She gave him the next few hours to enjoy the bridge and his other crew members without hovering nearby, waiting on his decision.
He would've liked to claim he spent the time productively, seriously considering the issues and examining the available data to decide on the best possible choice. But he'd made his decision pretty much the moment she'd asked, so he mostly spent the time the way he usually did: trading insults with Barix and veiled barbs with Belix.
At least Lana offered more pleasant conversation, as long as he ignored her making googly eyes at the gunner every other word. At least his weapons officer was mended enough to have the use of both arms back, although he moved his right arm a bit stiffly in spite of his best attempts to act back to fighting fit, and it was still swathed in skin and nerve regrowth patches.
Still, if HAE ended up stabbing them in the back, at least the young man should be able to shoot straight.
Enjoyable as it was to spend time with his crew, eventually the bridge door whisked open and Ali swept inside, back in her plain disguise. “We're almost there, my love,” she said briskly. “I hope you'll forgive me, but I took the liberty of inviting the scientists onto the bridge to observe our arrival at the hidden base.”
Aiden fought to hold back a scowl. “You've certainly become fond of taking liberties, recently.”
She ignored that. “Most of them had at least some knowledge of this place's existence, but this will be their first time actually seeing it in operation. Witnessing the sheer scope of it. Since their work had a significant impact on its existence, they deserve a chance to share this moment.”
No doubt they did. “That's a very reasonable point,” he said, more curtly than he'd meant to. “Interesting you didn't bother to raise it with me before going over my head and just doing it.”
The way Ali wordlessly returned his gaze suggested he was being childish; even though she felt more and more like a stranger since her change, he still couldn't help but feel silly under her stare. So he bit back a sigh and nodded.
Aiden had gotten used to the Caretaker directly interacting with the ship, computer to computer technically. Even so, for some reason it bothered him more than usual when she didn't even make the pretense of entering any commands or communicating verbally to invite the scientists in.
Instead, a second later the door opened and the five men and women hesitantly stepped inside. The Caretaker stood and joined them, offering a warm smile and quiet words to set them at ease as she directed Linus to the empty workstation between Aiden and Barix, and the others to seats at portable terminals around the edges of the bridge. That left them one seat short, so the Caretaker gave up her own workstation and stood at Aiden's shoulder.
That left him bracketed by Terra to one side and Linus to the other. Which wasn't a bad thing, since he got along with the older man well enough and was actually pleased at a chance to be close to the willowy woman. Perhaps for the last time. As for Ali, she'd spent more than a little time standing at his shoulder like that, usually in more intimate moments or to offer her silent support.
And maybe she meant to convey that same feeling now, but with her looming just out of sight behind him Aiden didn't feel particularly supported or loved. Actually, he felt like he was being watched over, as if she was a superior officer who didn't trust him to handle his duties properly. Which only served to decrease the sense of control he felt over his own ship.
So he stood, stepping away from the pilot's chair. “This is your show,” he told the Caretaker. “Care to do the honors?”
Ali gave him a thoughtful stare before easing into the seat, probably guessing at least some of his motivation for the magnanimous gesture. He had a hard time caring, as long as
