The line had been crossed at the exact moment Elián removed his hand from Kael's
chest.Not when the containment field was closed again.
Not when Commander Hale looked at him as if he were a problem that needed to be
solved.
Not even when she returned to her room, her body still trembling with the
memory.of the contact.
The line had been crossed when his pulse refused to return to normal.
Elián stood in front of the mirror for several minutes, observing his ownThe reflection
was as if it were that of a stranger. His eyes were brighter than usual, his
breathing still deep. He placed two fingers on his neck to measure his heart rate.
He remained
stable. But not
indifferent.
"This is unprofessional," he
muttered. The phrase sounded
hollow even to him.
She had promised to observe, not to get involved. To analyze, not to feel. And yet,
every thought returned to the same point: the warmth beneath her palm, Kael's
breath.aligning with theirs, the silent certainty that something essential had been
recognized.
A soft knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Dr. Rowe," said a female voice. "Commander Hale requires your presence. Now."
Elián closed his eyes for a second before answering.
-I'm on my way.
Hale's office was austere, dominated by floating screens displaying biometric
data, behavioral logs, and neural response graphs. At its center stood a frozen
image: Kael, kneeling, head held high.
—Sit down—the commander
ordered. Elián obeyed.
"What he did today," she continued, "violates at least five containment protocols
and one interspecies ethics protocol."—Ethics is not violated by recognizing conscience—Elián replied. —It is violated by
ignoring it.Hale looked at him with calculated coldness.
"Kael is not a citizen," he said. "He is a subject in custody."
"It is a conscious living being," Elián replied. "Capable of feeling, reasoning,
and responding emotionally."
—That's precisely why it's dangerous.
Elián placed his hands on the armrests of the chair, restraining himself.
—Dangerous for whom?
The silence that followed was heavy.
"For order," Hale finally replied. "For control. For the narrative that..."keeps this
place running.
Elián understood more than she intended to say.
"I'm not going to report what happened today," Hale continued. "But in return,
your interactions will be restricted. Indirect observation only."
"That won't help stabilize him," Elián objected. "The contact calmed him down."
"Exactly," Hale replied. "We don't want dependency." Elián felt a
pang in his chest.
"Dependence or bond?" he asked. Hale
leaned forward.
—Don't play with words, doctor. Bonds breed rebellions.Elián held
her gaze without looking away.
—Or they generate changes.
The commander joined the group.
—This conversation has ended. You may leave.
Elián left the office with an uneasy certainty: he wasn't just being watched.
as a scientist… also as a risk.That night, the K-7 complex fell into an eerie silence. Too orderly.Too still.
Kael was awake.
Not because he couldn't sleep, but because his body refused to.
The memory of the touch remained alive beneath his skin, like an invisible mark. It
didn't burn. It didn't hurt. It was something deeper… a persistent resonance that
kept him alert.conscious, dangerously present.
The Kha'Reth were no strangers to the bond.
From a young age they learned to recognize vital harmony. It wasn't common. It
wasn'tIt was sought after. It simply happened, like an inevitable alignment.
And when it happened…
It could not be ignored without consequences.
Kael rested his forehead against the cold wall of his
cell.Elian Rowe.
A frail human, seemingly. Rapid pulse, shallow breathing, an honest gaze. And yet,
stronger than many warriors Kael had ever known.
Because I hadn't touched it to control it.I
had played it to accompany him.
That was the truly dangerous part.
The next day, Elián tried to keep himself busy. He reviewed reports, analyzed data,
and wrote technical observations that didn't even begin to describe what had
actually happened. Every sentence seemed insufficient, incomplete.
In the mid-afternoon, he received an unexpected notification.
AUTHORIZED ACCESS — NIGHTTIME CONTAINMENT SECTOR
Elian frowned.
I hadn't requested
anything.He activated
the communicator.
—Commander Hale?"Consider it a test," the voice on the other end replied. "Passive observation. Five
minutes. No contact."
Elián knew that this was a trap… or an opportunity.
I wasn't sure which one.
The nighttime section was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The lighting was low, almost
intimate, designed to reduce aggressive stimuli. Kael was sitting in the center,with
no visible chains, just the minimum containment field surrounding it.
When Elián entered, Kael immediately raised his
head.Her golden eyes softened.
"You said you'd come back," he said.
"Not today," Elián replied. "Not like this." Kael
bowed his head.
"The lines that shouldn't be crossed always get crossed at
night." Elián felt a chill.
He kept to the indicated distance, his hands behind his back.
"I can't get close," he said. "Not this time."
Kael watched him silently for long seconds.
"But you're here," he replied. "Your body chose over your fear." Elián
closed his eyes for a moment.
"This can't go on like this," he said. "It will put us both in danger."
"Danger?" Kael offered a faint, sad smile. "I'm already doomed. You still are."You
have a choice.
Elian opened his eyes and looked at him intensely.
"Don't underestimate yourself," he said. "Your existence matters."
Kael slowly got up and approached the edge of the field.
"Then tell me," he asked. "Why are you trembling?"Elián only realized it was true when he tried to deny it.
"Because I know how I feel," she replied. "And I shouldn't."
Kael placed his hand against the field. The energy vibrated gently.
"I should feel it," he said. "And yet... I've been forbidden to."
Elián took a step forward without realizing it.
—Kael…
"Don't cross," he warned gently. "If you do, there's no going back." Elián
stopped inches from the edge.
The air between them seemed heavy, dense, as if the universe itself were holding its
breath.
"I don't know what this is," Elián said. "But I know it's not an
illusion." Kael closed his eyes for a second.
"Then remember this," he said. "The bond doesn't need contact to exist."The
system issued a soft warning.
—Time's up.
The field intensified slightly, separating them a little
more.Elián stepped back, his heart pounding.
"I'll be back," he said. "I don't know how... but I will."
Kael looked at him with a certainty that made his skin crawl.
-I know.
When Elián left the sector, he knew that it was no longer about scientific curiosity
orprofessional empathy.
It was an election.
And on the other side of the containment field, Kael understood something with
absolute clarity:The line that should not be crossed…
It had already fallen far behind.