We Shadows

Chapter 6: biding time

Cameron missed having Libba in the offices. She missed having people who actually knew what they were doing instead of having to check every single thing.

"Stop frowning, your face will freeze like that," Harper remarked. "What can I do?"

She managed to smile at him. Harper had insisted coming to work with her since he could do most of his work on his holo-rib. He was allowed to shuffle around a little with a cane, but he was liable to overdo it and land back into the medical bay.

"Nothing," she sighed. "This is just taking a little longer than expected. Dickenson is smart but it's just too much paperwork for him to do on his own. Willa needs time to get faster, but we don't have enough people to let her have that time. And I don't know if adding a third new person is going to make anything faster."

"Then talk to Vertov and Levi and get Matisse back to personnel," Harper suggested. "Levi can take someone new, it wouldn't kill us. It's not like we have any idea what we're doing from day to day."

"Levi doesn't have a plan?" Cameron questioned and repositioned herself to return to approving pay transfers.

"Oh he does. We're cleaning up the transcripts from Earth and constructing a timeline, extracting the data packets and getting the blueprints and whatever else we find to the correct department. But we're making up the rules as we go. We have no idea what Earth sent and this division was created a week ago. Adding another person changes nothing.

"Merci, I'll talk to them," Cameron sighed, swiping through the approvals. "Having Matisse would let us get home earlier."

"Babe, I don't mind," Harper replied. "I would just be sitting at home. At least here Levi doesn't have cross the whole base to find me."

Cameron had taken a couple chairs from the meeting hall and Harper was draped across three. He wasn't so pale anymore and he was gaining a little weight. She smiled nearly every time she looked his way, just happy that he was safe and alive. It kept her focused on getting her department back together, before her time off, she couldn't imagine wanting to take a break, but now, she wished she could go home earlier and they could cook dinner and relax together.

Someone knocked on the doorframe and Cameron looked up from her work to see Keller. He peeked in the room and then gestured for Tyson to enter.

"I have a couple questions," he told her. "But I can come back if you're busy."

"No, come in."

Harper waved from his position lounging on the chairs and Tyson pulled his holo-rib out of his pocket. He looked a little nervous.

"What can I do for you?" Cameron inquired.

"I want to make a short video for people getting out of cryo," Tyson said. "But I also am booked with appointments. I know that you are little short staffed, but I was hoping you could point me in the right direction for some help."

"I'd help," Keller offered.

Cameron turned toward the door, surprised that Keller was still there.

"It sounds interesting," he admitted. "And I was born on the base. You two weren't. Most of the people in archives and personnel were born in space."

"He has a point," Cameron agreed. "Do you have the time?"

Keller shrugged. "I can make time, so long as you're fine with it, Cameron. Our work isn't exactly time sensitive so long as it gets done. And I think it's a good idea. I know that a lot of people would be less confused if we had a way to catch them up quickly. That is, of course, you're pas mal with my help."