Chapter 30 · He means you

The Victor-shape cocked its head. "Commander Selena is compromised. She has manipulated the subject. She has concealed classified information. She has allowed a hostile pilot access to the core."

"He means you," Selena said.

"I figured that out."

"Shoot him."

"Why?"

"Because if you shoot me, the system will use my neural imprint to override your motor control."

Kane stared at her. "You knew that?"

"I know what I wrote."

"Not what Victor changed."

A pause came through the comm.

There it was again. The thing Selena never gave him: fear.

The Victor-shape lifted the pistol higher. "Subject, fire."

"Go to hell."

"Subject, fire now."

The Selena-shape stepped closer to Kane's cockpit. Even through the glass, he could see the fine line of tension around her mouth.

"Kane, listen to me. The trial is reading your hesitation as resistance. It will increase the pressure until you choose."

"You want me to shoot him."

"I want you to live."

"That's not the same thing."

"Today it is."

The Victor-shape fired.

The bullet stopped an inch from Selena's forehead.

The system froze the scene.