We Shadows

Chapter 16: unique opportunities

Lully helped load the hover, sending it with yet another batch of steel filament. Bell was a driving force in the camp, waking before everyone and having processes run at night. Lully had been recruited since the slipcover had arrived and Emerson didn't need him at the moment.

"Your skin is turning darker," Bell noted. "Looks good."

Lully glanced down at his arms full of steel spools. He hadn't noticed.

"How?" he asked.

"UV rays from the sun react to the melanin in our skin. I ready about it in prep for this. I worked with Madison; I would just turn red out here, so we developed a skin cream I've been using."

"I didn't realize how broad research was," Lully mentioned. "You have worked on a lot of projects there."

"Project managers get to pick who they want on their team," Bell explained. "I'm good at research, plus having me on the team means that we get priority at the printers. Not very fair, but it means I work on a lot of projects."

She flipped her air out of the way and then scooted the spools closer together to fit more equipment and people. Curie was sending people back to the base; the iron seemed like it was panning out, and she wanted to get builds back home to get ready to install the critical fixes that could now be printed. Lully wished that the group included him and Esperanza, but as long as the machinery ran, they would need medical out here.

"You seem pensive," Bell remarked as they dusted themselves off.

Joan gave them a nod and began ordering others to get their bags onboard.

"I have a lot on my mind," Lully admitted. "It's strange out here, don't you think?"

Bell looked around at the barren landscape. "I suppose. I think soon we'll be able to call this place a home, but right now, sure. But think of all the progress that has been made. The atmosphere is breathable; we're planting trees and grasses. The more growth we have, the more work we can do. If we had run out of iron on our own, we would have had to scrap the Aeneid. No way we could have managed this."

"You seem to be doing well on your own," Lully remarked.

Bell snorted. "Sort of. Mostly because I'm working twenty-hour days. Ibsen promised he'd send help with the next hover, but I'm not holding my breath. What about you?"

"I'm waiting around for Emerson," he said. "Hoping nothing breaks, but if it did, we would be ready to print it. Or any other needs we might have. It's strange. Esperanza is on call if a person gets hurt; I'm on call if machinery breaks down."

"We need both," Bell agreed. "Anyway, I should test the iron bath and make sure we're at suitable chromium levels. See you!"

Lully sighed and headed back up to the medical station. He didn't like feeling useless, especially with so much on his mind. He wanted a full day of work that he wouldn't have to think about what Oliver and Jacques had said the day before. He didn't like thinking about the possibility that his friends were the problem on the base.

"You look so worried," Esperanza noted when he entered the tent. "Is the printer pas mal?"

He nodded. "Oui, the printer is fine. I just have a lot of things on my mind."

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. The midday meal was coming up soon. The additional vegetables back from the hover trip this morning were being added to the pot that Oliver was blanching. The steam made the tent hot and sticky.

"Let me get my medical kit and you can walk me down to the excavation," Esperanza told Lully.

She grabbed her large bag, swinging it around her shoulders before heading out into the bright sunshine. Lully followed her, weaving through tents that were being packed up. Many people were going back to base today.