"That's the code for a biological threat. If, on my way back to Earth, one of my samples decides to try to eat me, or I discover something will cause a plague or outbreak, it would be considered a 'Goodbye, cruel world' situation."
“That’s ignorant.”
"I agree, but I don’t make the rules.” She made her way toward the console. “I don't understand, though. Why would Magnis consider an example of that scenario? What a strange malfunction."
"It could be enemy sabotage." X's voice was like gravel.
Sylvie straightened, hands on her hips. "Or it could be a malfunction from the landing, or from your people poking around in here."
"How can you be sure it won't happen again?" he asked.
She turned back to the computer. "Magnis," she said, "no more self-destruct nonsense, correct?" She felt as if she were lecturing a child.
"The override has disabled the self-destruct mechanism permanently," he replied.
Sylvie was surprised. "But you didn't recognize my 'overreacting' code."
"That code had been overwritten."
"By whom?" Sylvie wondered where this rabbit hole led.
"That information is classified."
"Classified from me? It was my code to begin with!"
"That information is classified."
Sylvie shot a glance at X. His face was troubled. At least he wasn't saying 'I told you so.'
She sighed. "Magnis, your programming has been tampered with. We're going to try and figure out what's happened."
Magnis remained silent, but his lights blinked twice, letting her know that he'd received her utterance.
"I want you to cooperate with these nice people, all right? Answer their questions. Tolerate their poking around in your bits."
"Affirmative," the computer said, blinking green twice.
Sylvie stepped away from the console. "He says he's harmless now, and apparently willing to be quite cooperative."
A loud noise resounded from just outside of the ship. The protective membrane was being withdrawn. They must have been monitoring the inside of the chamber. Had they seen the kiss?
She turned back toward X, but his deadpan expression gave her nothing. With his darkened skin, she was unable to discern his mood from a simple glance as well.
He pulled the cloak back up, his face now bathed in shadows. He seemed suddenly distant, as if, after showing her such vulnerability, he had to rebuild his hard exterior. He had begun to fall in love with her. The feeling was mutual, but not having shared that, she was the only one who knew of their common feelings.
From intimacy to nothing. His detachment irked her.
"It sounds like you might be right about someone fiddling around with my ship. Whether it was able to bring down the shield itself, or whether it was merely a distraction, I'm not capable of figuring out which, and unless you're an engineer, I don't think you are either."
He said nothing at first, though the weight of his gaze lay heavy on her. Finally he nodded and growled his response. "Let's go."
X redid her wrist bindings and took hold of the braided binding at her back to maneuver her out of the hatch, and then out of the chamber. She thought maybe he got a perverse enjoyment leading her around all tied up, but forced herself not to think of him like that. He was simply feeling vulnerable and the mood swings had to be fucking with him, too.
He sped down the hallway, forcing her to keep up, which wasn’t particularly easy.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
He didn't answer, but just kept walking.
