We Shadows

Chapter 9: dirt and grime

Lully was amazed at the transformation of the hillside with the tents and equipment and people rushing about. While Harriet and Oliver had been serving breakfast, Esperanza decided to make a portable med kit that she could wander around with. If no one would come to her, then she wanted the tools to help them where they were. Lully tried to help, but ended up being in the way, so he stood to the side as she set up her pack.

"Do you not have printing yet?" Oliver asked him. "I hadn't realized you'd be a permanent addition here."

"Not yet. Emerson is in charge of the printer until we have materials," Lully replied. "I'm the backup for now. But I can get out of your hair if you need," he added, not wanting to make Esperanza's quarters any more difficult on this trip.

Oliver shrugged. "I don't care. Just seemed odd is all."

Of course, Lully didn't stay long after. He kissed Esperanza goodbye and then wandered down into the camp, finding Emerson hovering over the printer like a worried parent.

"Everything pas mal?" he questioned.

Emerson sighed, wiping his hands off on his pants. He looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Had something gone wrong?

"The tent isn't as sealed as the base," he said. "And there's a fine sand that's getting into the gears. We need some sort of better cover; I've spent all morning cleaning the rotated thing out."

"If you would have called me, I would have helped," Lully told him, dismayed. "What can I do now?"

"Please call Vertov and tell him to print us a slip cover," Emerson said. "I think I have us mostly clean. And I want to tie down one of the entrances; only critical personnel can be in here; if we cut down traffic, then we might keep it cleaner longer."

"Do you want me to stay here or stay out there then?" Lully inquired.

"Out," Emerson said. "You can nicely tell people to leave me and the printer alone. I think I'm too irritated right now to be kind."

He gave Lully a half grin. "I come all the way out here and I have to stay in a tent the whole time. It's definitely not fair."

"We can trade off?" Lully offered.

"Non. You get along with Canary members better than I. People like you better than me."

"They like that I'm a reputable troublemaker, not actually working with me," Lully countered.

"That's close enough," Emerson grinned. "Merci, Lully."

Lully stepped out of the tent, careful to keep the flaps as shut as he could. Bell was heading to the tent, his first hurdle. Her hair was piled up on her head with pieces sticking out of however she was keeping her hair up.

"Is Emerson in there?" she asked. "And do we actually have materials? I need to print some things."

"He is, but you can tell me what you need," Lully said. "We're having a dust problem; Emerson even kicked me out. As for materials; it depends."

She huffed, twirling a lock of hair and tucking behind her ear.

"I'll message him then," she sighed. "What are you up to then, door duty?"

"Basically," Lully admitted. "What are you up to today?"

"We should have our first iron ore this evening, so I just need to get the generator lines hooked up," she said with a grin. "And we'll have steel filament by morning! But like, not enough to print so much as a chair. But then we can start hauling back to the base and print real things. That's so sunshine." She twirled around and pulled out her holo-rib.

"Tell Emerson to eat something," she called and headed back to her station.

Lully wished they did have enough to print a chair, especially if he was going to be standing here all day. People passed his spot with a wave or nod and he focused on remembering names. He needed to be better about such things; before his present job, he hadn't interacted with people half as much as he had programming the printers. Now, with half the base clamoring at his office, he realized he had never taken the time to learn others' names. Out here, he would have to greet people and chat. He messaged Vertov about the slipcover, hoping that could make its way out to the site soon. That would take a load off Emerson's mind.

Curie had become the new head of exploration. She seemed so quiet, but Lully had seen her shout down printers who had taken too long in a print estimate. She didn't wave at Lully, but he always got the impression that she blamed him for any print errors. It was only his job to check the queues against materials and credits. He had nothing to do with allocation time and machine work; that was Emerson's job.

Pollack had been close with O'Keefe and had expected to be department head after him, but with the changeover and new vote, Edison had taken leadership. Lully never wanted to be a department leader; he didn't want his work to follow him home and become who he was. Pollack didn't seem too put out by the vote; Edison's hair was turning silver in the last few cycles.

"Lully, what are you doing?"

Lully blinked back his thoughts and smiled at Joan who was clearly trying to get past him to talk to Emerson.

"We're having a dust issue," he explained. "I've been tasked with keeping the rabble out."

Joan raised an eyebrow. "I'm hardly rabble."

"Well, non," Lully admitted. "I was distracted. I'm sure Emerson is waiting for you. Unless you just want to relay a message to him?"

"It's nothing serious; we're just about to start excavating," she explained. "He wanted to take the printer offline incase the vibrations upset it. I am surprised how fragile those massive machines are."

"They don't move well," Lully admitted. "Do you want to go in?"

Joan shook her head. "I don't want to jeopardize anything. Just let him know."

Lully messaged Emerson; a little ridiculous since they were a meter apart, but at the idea of having to take apart the printer if it got too gunked up, he didn't want to dismantle a machine out here.

Emerson poked his head out of the tent.

"Opening this tent isn't going to ruin the printer in seconds," he remarked. "Hopefully. Bell keeps messaging me; what did you tell her? She seems to think that I might be starving."

A rumble started up, surprising Lully and Emerson. They both turned toward the loud sound.

"Mining is loud," Emerson sighed. "I wish Vertov could have been the one who came out here. I don't think I like the outdoors."

"We haven't even been here a day," Lully laughed, clapping his friend on the back. "You like the lake? This is the same thing."

"You're moonshy," Emerson complained. "We go to the lake to have fun. This isn't fun to anyone who isn't Bell who I think would rather be here than the lake. She keeps sending me pictures of rocks and dirt. It's a good thing I like her, Lully."

He gave Lully a sad smile. Lully wished his friend were happier with his partner. He tried not to bring up Esperanza around him, but it wasn't Lully's fault that he and Esperanza got along so well.

"After all of this, we'll have all these tents and equipment," Lully remarked. "You and Bell could go explore on some weekend. Gather all the rocks you'd want."

"I want?" Emerson scoffed. "What am I going to do with rocks?"

___

A slowish chapter, but I had to get back in the swing of things, and the base will become...more exciting soon. Perhaps too exciting. And Lully could use the break. 

And I'm back! I'm going to stick with one update a week until I have more of a buffer under my feet, because I don't want to have to take another hiatus. This past six months have been some of the hardest in my life, and I'm really grateful that y'all have been so understanding. Thanks for reading!