Le Palma's city center unfolded before us as we approached, a sprawling array of lights and movement, alive with people and technology. The colors blurred together in a patchwork of neon signs and holographic projections. Towering structures of metal and glass rose around us. I'd never seen it like this before.

<<A new appreciation for everything is normal,>> Doli said.

The streets were buzzing with a lively sort of chaos: folks moving along the marked paths, cars gliding by in neat lines, and delivery drones darting overhead like little robots on a mission. Even with so many people around us, everything seemed to have its own kind of rhythm. There were green lines on the pavement to help people find their way, exits were easy to spot, and little alcoves offered spots for folks to step aside.

"Hey, are you doing alright?" Ashley asked while giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

I held her fingers a little tighter. "This is just what I was looking for!"

"Wait, you've never checked out Le Palma's?"

"No, not like this."

As we reached the center of the city, I glanced up at the sky. We looked up and saw this huge dome made of connected see-through panels, giving us a clear view of the night sky. The stars were twinkling through the glass, those tiny pinpoints of light that really made us think about how vast the universe is. I totally zoned out for a moment, forgetting all about the noise and the crowd around me. All that was left was the incredible vastness of space to look forward to. Ashley leaned into me, releasing a tiny sigh. I clutched her tight, trying not to think about tomorrow's worries. Regardless of how refined medical research had gotten, brain surgery remained delicate and complicated. If something went wrong, I may sustain permanent harm, or worse. Even if everything went well, I'd be leaving Ashley behind.

Le Stilla's restaurant emerged ahead, its entryway lit with delicate, exquisite illumination. Our chauffeur pulled up to the entryway, and I was the first to step out, offering Ashley my hand. The dish was amazing, with rich, nuanced flavors blended in ways that appeared to dance over my tongue. I made an effort to savor each meal and remember every taste.

But it wasn't the food that held my attention. It was Ashley: her smile when she caught me staring, the soft brush of her hand against mine when she reached for her glass, the way her foot occasionally traced a teasing path up my calf beneath the table.

She made me ache for more than just this moment. I wanted more time, more of her, more of everything. The knowledge that this might be our last night together hung over me, unspoken but ever-present.

And this time, when dinner was over, we didn't return to my cramped academy quarters. She led me to her apartment instead, more spacious, more private, exactly what we both needed.

As we stepped inside, she tried to speak, but I silenced her with a gentle kiss. "Shh," I whispered against her lips. "Tonight is just about us, and I'm not wasting it, not anymore."

***

We had barely fallen asleep when Doli alerted me. <<Captain, apologies for disturbing you, but it's time.>>

I yawned, looking down at the beautiful woman in my arms. <<That's okay, we both knew we'd not get any sleep.>>

"Ash," I whispered.

The whites of her eyes shimmered in the moonlight. "Time?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Let's go," she said.

"People will be watching, right?" I asked.

"General Torven's people will be there," Ashley warned. "But don't worry..."

"I am," I said. "Can't help it."

I pulled her to me, holding tight. Then, eventually, I let her go so we could both get dressed.

The base itself still had fresh graduates wandering around. A couple of them were holding hands, and several were sitting out by the lake talking.

Ashley reached for my hand, and never even shied away as we approached a group of others from 271.

Reaching the lab, we went inside, and the dim lighting cast long shadows across the equipment. I made my way over to see Doctor Francine, there were two other techs as well, those I'd seen around but never really met.

In the observation room above, I could make out the unmistakable silhouette of General Torven, along with another figure standing partially in shadow, someone I couldn't identify.

Doctor Francine nodded tersely as I approached. Like most of the medical staff, he believed we were simply transferring the completed Doli program. He had no idea about our triple-layer strategy.

Doctor Hinada saw Ashley drop my hand, but she never spoke about it. "We're ready when you are for this."

"I want one check over," I said.

Then, I made the final preparations for the holographic Doli-2 transfer. The Coalition and Brakers' prize, or so they thought. By the time this was complete, and I was happy, it was 0130. Ashley stood by the main console, her face a mask of professional composure despite what we were about to do. Everything we were doing rode on these transfers working, not just for us, but for Andri's father. Once the holographic Doli-2 was removed from the academy systems safely, and she was checked over, the General was going to take her to the Brakers and exchange her for Andri's father tomorrow.

"Transfer protocols locked and loaded," I announced, trying to keep my voice steady. "Once we initiate, there's no going back."

"General Torven is already in the observation room," Ashley replied, looking to Tera and checking her tablet. "And there's someone else with him I don't recognize."

<<They're watching everything, Captain. The security feeds have been accessed seventeen times in the last hour.>>

I gave a slight nod, acknowledging Doli's warning without speaking aloud.

"Doli-2, status report," I called out, turning to the holographic interface that hovered above the main console.

Doli-2's avatar materialized, a perfect, polished representation of AI elegance. "All systems optimal, Captain. Transfer protocols initialized and ready. Estimated completion time: 42 minutes."

"Let's get this show on the road, then," I said, keying in my authorization code. "Begin primary sequence."

The lab's lights dimmed further as power redirected to the transfer systems. Doli-2's hologram expanded, filling the central area of the lab with streams of code and neural mapping diagrams. The main display showed the progress: 2% complete.

"The military systems are reaching out," Ashley noted, her fingers flying across her console. "Handshake protocols initiated."

I moved to the secondary station, monitoring the data streams. Everything looked normal, exactly as we'd rehearsed. Perfectly ordinary. Too ordinary.

<<We ready to deceive them, Doli?>> I asked.

<<Ready, Captain.>>

<<Then run diagnostic sequence Theta-Nine.>>

<<Initiating diagnostic,>> she replied. <<Shadow protocol is active. We're feeding them sanitized data streams while the actual transfer is being modified.>>

I kept my eyes on my screen, not wanting to give anything away. What Torven thought he was getting was the holographic Doli-2 in her entirety, a revolutionary AI with advanced neural mapping capabilities. What he was actually receiving was Doli-2 minus the critical evolutionary algorithms that made Doli herself unique.

We'd carefully excised the parts that allowed for true growth, true consciousness, leaving them with an impressive but ultimately static system. Meanwhile, the physical decoy waited in the secondary lab, ready to serve as the "discovered secret" should anyone look too closely.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Transfer at 15%," Doli-2 announced. "Neural pathways aligning with military parameters."

Ashley moved closer to me, ostensibly checking my work. "Everything okay?"

I nodded, fighting the urge to rush. Rushing would cause mistakes, and mistakes would get us caught, or worse.

"Transfer at 27%," Doli-2 updated. "Core memory structures integrating."

A soft alarm beeped from Ashley's console. She frowned, tapping rapidly at the screen.

"Problem?" I asked, tension climbing up my spine.

Doli's voice came through our private neural link. <<They suspect something. Counteracting with layered security protocols. Remember, they must believe this holographic version is the real thing.>>

I watched as the progress bar continued its steady climb: 35%, 36%, 37%...

"They're requesting direct access to her core architecture," Ashley said, her voice raised. "Claiming they need to verify system integrity."

I shook my head. "Standard protocol requires the transfer to complete before verification. Tell them it risks corrupting the neural patterns."

Ashley relayed the message, her posture rigid as she waited for their response. After a moment, she relaxed slightly. "They've backed off. For now."

The minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness. I'd postponed my regular treatment for this, and the fatigue was starting to weigh on me, but I pushed it aside. This was too important.

"Transfer at 85%," Doli-2 announced. "Final integration sequence commencing."

Ashley's console beeped again. "They're trying another approach. Scanning for dormant code segments."

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. "How thorough is their scan?"

"Very," Ashley replied grimly. "They'll find the missing pieces if we don't do something."

<<Initiating countermeasure,>> Doli communicated through our link. <<Creating false positives to distract their scanning algorithms.>>

I watched the security feed of the observation room. General Torven was leaning forward, his brow furrowed as he studied his screen. Beside him, the shadowy figure gestured at something, their face still obscured from my view.

"They're not buying it," I muttered. "We need something more convincing."

Ashley met my eyes, understanding immediately. "A controlled failure?"

I nodded. "Minor enough to be believable, significant enough to distract."

Her fingers flew across her console. "Memory buffer overflow in section 12-C. It'll look like an encoding error."

On cue, one of the secondary displays flickered and went dark. Alarms chimed softly, and Doli-2's hologram wavered momentarily.

"Transfer interrupted," Doli-2 announced, her voice modulating to simulate concern. "Buffer overflow detected in memory sector 12-C. Rerouting through auxiliary channels."

The security feed showed immediate results, Torven and his mysterious companion scrambling to analyze the new problem, attention diverted from their deeper scan.

"Transfer resuming," Doli-2 stated after thirty seconds of precisely calibrated chaos. "Recalculating completion time... New estimate: 97% complete. Finalizing in three minutes."

<<It worked,>> Doli confirmed. <<They've abandoned the deep scan to focus on the buffer recovery.>>

The final minutes of the transfer passed in tense silence. When the progress bar finally hit 100%, I exhaled.

"Transfer complete," Doli-2 announced. "All systems operational within military parameters. Disconnecting from the Academy networks."

Doli-2's hologram contracted, shrinking back to its standard size before flickering out entirely.

On the main display, a simple message appeared:

CONNECTION TERMINATED.

Ashley stepped away from her console, moving to stand beside me. "First phase complete," she whispered.

I shook my head. "Not yet. We need to confirm they're satisfied."

She checked her tablet. "General Torven is sending... confirmation of successful transfer. They're running initial diagnostics now." A pause. "They're satisfied, Piotr. It worked."

I allowed myself a small smile. "Phase one complete."

"Now we rest," Ashley insisted, her hand on my arm. "You skipped your treatment for this. You need to recover before we attempt phase two."

I looked at Doli's physical form, our eyes meeting across the lab. "You'll be ready?"

"I'll be ready, Captain," she responded aloud. Then, through our link: <<Don't worry about me. We have time before the next phase. Rest while you can.>>

General Torven left with his entourage less than ten minutes later, he wanted to make sure everything would go to plan for the exchange in the early hours of the morning.

Doctor Francine seemed satisfied with the successful transfer as well. "I'll prepare a treatment regimen for you in the medical bay," he told me, gathering his equipment. "You need proper medical attention after skipping your scheduled dose."

"I'll make sure he gets there soon," Ashley assured him.

Once Doctor Francine and the other medical staff had departed, I remained in the lab, staring at the empty space where her hologram had been, still unsure about the shadowy figure who had accompanied him.

"You should be resting," Ashley said, returning from seeing off the General. The dark circles under her eyes betrayed her exhaustion.

"Not yet," I replied, turning to face her. "We need to complete both remaining transfers first."

"That wasn't the plan," Ashley argued. "The plan was for you to rest while I prepare for Doli's transfer. At 0200 hours. When the night shift is minimal."

I shook my head. "I need to be there for the transfer. I'm the only one who fully understands the neural mapping architecture."

"The Captain is correct, Major. The probability of successful transfer decreases by 47% without his direct involvement."

Ashley looked between me and the dormant Doli's form, frustration evident in her expression. "Piotr, you've been pushing yourself too hard. We didn't sleep at all, and you skipped your treatment—"

"We can't go to the medical bay now," I insisted. "Doctor Francine still reports to General Torven. If I show up there, they'll know something's wrong."

<<We need to keep up the ruse,>> Doli confirmed. <<Deceiving him is important while you get me to my new body.>>

<<Okay,>> Ashley replied.

"We'll need to improvise," she said, moving to a storage cabinet. "There's an emergency medical kit here. Not as effective as what Francine should have had but it'll help you stay functional."

I nodded, "Do it, I'm staying. The rest I can make up for later," I finished for her. "But a failed transfer might kill Doli permanently."

Ashley studied my face for a long moment before nodding reluctantly. "Fine. But we get you set up first. No exceptions."

"Agreed," I said, already turning back to the workstation to begin preparations for phase two—the physical decoy transfer that would serve as our second layer of misdirection. After that would come the real challenge: phase three—permanently transferring Doli's true consciousness to her new body and erasing all traces of her existence from the Academy's systems.

An hour later, I was hooked up to an IV treatment and laying in a makeshift bed next to the housing unit and computer systems. Ashley had done her best with the emergency supplies.

The whole base at this hour was ghostly quiet, illuminated only by the soft lights essential systems and the pulsing blue light emanating from Doli's physical form. Ashley entered first, scanning the room before signaling me to follow. She locked the door behind us with her override code.

"Security systems?" I asked, fighting back the fatigue that had been growing stronger since I'd postponed my treatment. My hands had a slight tremor to them—nothing I couldn't control, but noticeable.

"Looped footage is playing on all cameras," she confirmed. "As far as anyone watching is concerned, this lab is empty and powered down for the night.

"Perfect. First the physical decoy activation, then the true transfer," I said. "Doli—"

"Captain," she said loudly. "Your vitals indicate increasing strain. Perhaps we should reconsider—"

"Not an option," I finished for her, moving to the main console. "This is more important."

<<Your neural patterns show increased fatigue,>> she communicated privately. <<Skipping your treatment was unwise.>>

"Treatment is going in okay. You should be feeling better," Doctor Hinada said, then looked at Ashley. "I'd ask him to stay calm and lie back, but that's not happening."

"No," I admitted. "But all the more reason to get this done quickly," I replied, fingers already dancing across the keyboard. "Status report?"

"All preparations complete," Doli responded. "Physical decoy is staged and ready. True integration protocols prepared for final transfer afterward."

I began typing, my fingers slower than usual but still finding the right sequences. "We'll need to sever the connection to the Academy mainframe completely before we begin the full transfer. Otherwise, the system will detect the power surge."

Ashley moved to a secondary terminal. "I can reroute power from the backup generators. It'll look like a standard systems test."

"Do it," I instructed, continuing to build the transfer sequence. "Doli, initialize neural mapping protocol Sierra-Echo-Victor-Echo-November."

"Protocol initialized," she confirmed, her physical form moving to connect directly to the main transfer apparatus.

The lab's lighting dimmed further as power redirected to our systems. On the main display, a complex three-dimensional model of Doli's neural architecture appeared, billions of connections, decision pathways, memory structures, all pulsing with activity.

"Beginning phase two transfer," I announced, initiating the sequence. "Activating physical decoy systems."

The progress bar appeared: 1%, 2%, 3%...

"Power levels stable," Ashley reported. "No unusual activity detected on the network."

Doli's old body, her physical decoy lay in the transfer chamber, connected by a web of cables and neural interfaces. Her blue core pulsed in rhythm with the progress bar. Meanwhile, hidden behind a secured partition, the true body vessel waited for the final transfer.

<<It feels strange, Captain,>> came her voice in my mind, somehow distant already. <<Like I'm being... stretched.>>

"That's normal," I assured her, both aloud and through our link. "Your consciousness is being mapped to the new architecture."

The transfer continued smoothly past the 30% mark, then 40%. I allowed myself a moment of hope. Maybe this would work without complications after all.

At 47%, everything went wrong.

Warning lights flashed across my console. The progress bar froze, then began to fluctuate wildly.

"What's happening?" Ashley demanded, moving quickly to my side.

"Neural pattern destabilization detected," the system announced. "Transfer integrity compromised."

System Warning: Neural Sync Critical

Neural Sync: 12% ↓

Merge Threshold Breached

Initiate: FINAL INTEGRATION? [Y/N]

Function: Emergency consciousness convergence. Piotr + Doli

WARNING: This protocol is irreversible.

I frantically scanned the readings, cold dread settling in my stomach. "The physical housing is rejecting portions of the neural pattern. The mapping algorithm can't reconcile the differences."

Doli's physical form jerked suddenly, the blue core flickering erratically.

Trait Unlocked: Final Integration – ACTIVATED

Triggered by: Simultaneous system collapse, AI rejection, and Piotr's compromised neural stability

Effect: Full empathic-logic merge initiated

Function: Consciousness convergence protocol in progress. Memory synchronization initializing.

<<Something's wrong,>>

<<I can't... hold... together...>>

System Override: Merge Protocol Engaged

Memory Isolation Active

Host Consciousness: Split

Doli Status: Anchor node assigned

Cognitive Restructure: Initiating...

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