We Leapt Into the Sky

Chapter 8

Kendra leaned against the lab bench near the tangled mess of cords and adapters. She sipped her drink. Across from her, Antony stared blearily into his coffee.

"You and Seph are looking for a route into the lower levels of the caverns, yeah?" she asked.

"Yep. Taking the drone to find the tunnels the machines have closed off."

Seph entered the room, suited up and carrying a large black canvas bag. He nodded to Kendra and then Antony. "Hey. You still good to go today?"

"Yeah, I'll be ready in a few."

He hoisted his bag up higher on his shoulder. "Sounds good. I'll be out in the garage."

Antony drained the rest of his coffee. "I think he wants to get out of here without getting cornered by her this morning," he said in a low voice, eying the door to the computer room.

"Fair enough," she said, waving to him as he strode away.

Bria's voice carried from the adjacent computer room, muffled by the door. "I realize the tenure clock extension should be accounted for under the other provisions. I'm saying that it needs to be codified specifically under—uh-huh. Alright. Let me call them when I get a chance, then."

Kendra rolled her eyes. Worrying about her tenure clock, now? She didn't understand.

Bria entered the room, clutching her tablet. She silently inclined her head toward Kendra and approached the equipment on the opposite side of the room. Kendra sat in the old office chair, wheeling herself from one piece of equipment to the next, collecting diagnostics data.

Plastic creaked as Bria moved a small laboratory balance, lifting it off the bench and muttering to herself. She jabbed the plug of an adapter at it. Then she swore under her breath and returned to the pile of cords to hunt for a different adapter, her shoulders hunched.

"The other balance used one of the light gray adapters, if that helps," Kendra said, leaning back in the chair.

"Ah. Right."

Bria dug through the cords, her agitation obvious. Kendra weighed the risk of initiating a conversation with her. They did still have to work together, after all. The chair squeaked as she stood, stepping toward Bria.

"Is everything okay back home? In your lab, I mean," Kendra asked, her tone carefully neutral.

"Is it that obvious?" She turned to her, eyes red rimmed and wide. "I'm trying to coordinate some things back home. I realize it isn't ideal, but there's little I can do about the timing."

Bria swept her auburn hair back behind her ear. "That's why I would prefer to finish diagnostics for good. It's just another thing on my list right now, and I want to fulfill our commitment to the company."

"I get wanting to check it off the list. Lowering the cognitive load and all that," Kendra said.

"Even here, I have to think about my lab. Consider what research and partnerships will help garner funding in the future."

What about your colleagues here? Kendra thought. Instead, she asked, "But you like it, right? Leading a lab, mentoring and all of that?"

"I can't see myself doing anything else," Bria said. "My mom and grandfather were both professors, and I know they enjoyed seeing me grow up to be a researcher, too. My grandfather only stepped away from teaching a few years ago."

"Long career. What kind of research did he do?"

"Bacterial genetics. Ran his lab for one hundred and twenty years." Bria smiled. "I take it having your own lab has never appealed to you?"