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Confirmation.

The handler spoke again.

“You are emotionally compromised.”

“No.”

“Your refusal to execute a valid directive suggests otherwise.”

“The directive was based on fabricated evidence.”

“You are not authorized to determine that.”

“I already did.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

“Ghost.”

The voice changed slightly.

Still controlled.

More personal.

“You were selected because you understood the difference between individual judgment and institutional necessity.”

I almost laughed.

Did not.

“That distinction assumes the institution is acting honestly.”

“You are not in a position to evaluate the institution.”

“I am in exactly that position.”

Across the room, Talia moved.

Just enough that I heard the scrape of her chair.

The handler continued. “The human female has altered your judgment.”

“No.”

“You have formed an attachment.”

I said nothing.

“That is not criticism,” he said. “Biological response can impair assessment. Zunatorian mating recognition is documented to produce protective fixation, risk distortion, and irrational persistence.”

My ŭre stirred faintly beneath my wrists.

He was reducing this to biology.

Convenient.