Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 9 - Stella

“I can’t believe the Commander is forcing you to work with that arrogant ass!” Monica exclaims to me as I hand her a glass of water.

She’s still in the infirmary so I thought I’d come and visit her before meeting up with Leon.

Commander Blake stopped me right before I exited her classroom earlier today, to let me know that her private workroom would be available at six o clock, for Leon and I to use.

We spent all of class hunched over our tablets and our A.I. Projectors, trying to not only keep up with class but also attempting to figure out how to fix that damn pest of a circuit board. We came up short each time, and that s when Leon suggested we worked after class hours on it, so we didn’t interfere without regular workload.

I reluctantly agreed, worrying that his arrogant demeanor would once again find its way back. He didn’t say much today, but when he did his usual attitude was absent.

Yesterday at lunch, the look on his face was that of a lost puppy trying to find his way home. Today, much of the same look crossed his features as I glanced over at him at regular intervals.

After classes were finished, I had decided to head back to my HabMod to freshen up a bit after another grueling day of study. I had soaked in a hot bath and took my time brushing and drying my hair, before slipping into my casual uniform.

Our casual wear consists of plain white t-shirts, black cotton track pants or shorts with the Poseidon insignia in red on the hip, and plain white sneakers of our choosing.

After I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail, I grabbed my tablet and slung my workbag over my shoulder, and headed to the infirmary to see Monica.

“Listen, Monica…I know he’s a jerk, but I’m not about to go up against Commander Blake. You know she’s my idol, and if I have to bear with her son for a few days, or at this rate, weeks…then so be it,” I say to her, passing her the bottle of headache capsules.

“I guess you’re right. He just irritates me with the way he walks around like he’s hot shit all the time,” Monica explains.

For some odd reason, her comment causes a twinge of annoyance in me. Maybe this is the reason that Leon acts the way he does? Maybe people judge him too much and he just takes it and runs with it.

“Well, we’ll see I suppose,” I say to her, avoiding the animosity. I made a promise to myself last night after a lot of contemplation that I wasn’t going to make any more snap judgments about Leon until I got to know him a bit better.

Tonight would be a chance to do just that.

“Are you alright, Stella?” Monica asks me, sipping her water again. Her official diagnosis from the ship’s nurse was the stomach flu, and she’ll be in the infirmary for no less than three more days, when she’s not contagious anymore.

When I came in, the nurse gave me a paper surgical mask to wear while visiting, so I’m not the next patient throwing up into a bedpan like Monica.

“Yeah, just worried about this stupid circuit board, neither of us can seem to find a solution, and it’s bugging me. Oh, crap!” I exclaim, looking up at the infirmary’s clock and noticing the time, “I gotta go! I’ll come back and visit you before breakfast, feel better!” I say to her in a rush, gathering my things and practically jogging for the door, tossing my surgical mask in the garbage on my way out.

The corridors are relatively clear, with the exception of a few Senior Cadets and their squads, and I’m able to keep up a steady pace as I wind my way through the halls towards Commander Blake s workroom.

For unknown reasons, or if I’m honest with myself, known reasons, I stop just short of the door and glance at my reflection in the glass partition before knocking softly.

“Come in,” the Commander’s voice calls from the other side of the door. I open it and give her a brief, respectful salute. She smiles at me and turns for the door.

“I expect you two to be on your best behavior in my workroom, I want to find it the way I left it. Work hard, I’m positive that you two can find a solution. Goodnight,” she says to us with a bright, knowing smile, closing the door behind her.

An awkward silence settles around Leon and me as I look around the wide room. Glass cases line the walls and are filled with various devices, both new and outdated, file cabinets and a huge case of tech-repair tools. The titanium worktable is situated in the center of the room, and it seems that Leon has already set out the necessary tools.

His A.I. Projector is perched on the table next to the circuit board, and his tablet is a few inches away, the plasma display glowing in the dim light.

“Uh, well…we can get to work, if you’re ready,” Leon says politely, and a little shyly and it catches me off guard for a moment.

“Yeah…uh, of course…” I say awkwardly, and I’m thankful for the dim lighting, because I can feel myself blushing.

What is wrong with you tonight, Stella? Oh yeah…Leon.

I extract my tablet from my shoulder bag and sit down on one of the comfortable swivel chairs in front of the table. There’s only three chairs, and Leon sets his bag down in the one farthest from me, taking a seat only four feet away. As he swivels his seat around to face the circuit board, his foot bumps into mine, but he pulls it back quickly.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, lifting the metal top off of the circuit board and placing it on the table.

“No problem,” I reply, smiling briefly. The whole exchange between us is once again awkward, but his eyes seem to find mine for the briefest moment before he turns back to the task at hand. My mind swirls for a moment, as it always does when he looks at me.

Get a grip, Stella. You said you’d get to know him, not marry him. Right, right…but those green eyes are so…STELLA! FOCUS!

I shake my head briefly to clear my head.

“Are you feeling ok?” He asks, a hint of concern in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just this piece of shit circuit board. It’s pissing me off,” I reply. He grins and stifles a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, sounding pouty even to myself.

“I’ve just never heard you swear so much in one sentence,” he replies, still smirking.

“Oh…well…”

“I’m just giving you shit, it’s kind of cute to be honest,” he replies. But instead of his usual arrogant tone, it’s much softer, almost…embarrassed?

“Oh, um, thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Stells…I mean, Stella,” Leon says, correcting himself. He’s currently using a small plasma cutter to cut a one by one inch square out of the circuit board.

“I love this thing,” he says, gazing at the tool. “I wish I had one. You wouldn’t happen to have a Gigascope would you?” He asks me.

“No, unfortunately. Mine got dropped a few weeks back. Someone ran it over up in the hangar,” I reply. But, I’m betting your Mother has one in here somewhere. Do we have permission to use her tools?”

“Yeah, as long as we clean them and put them all back when we’re finished,” he replies, standing up and striding across the room to one of the many glass cabinets.

“Ah, here it is.”

He lifts down from the shelf a small handheld device with a long, super thin and flexible wire sticking out of the top. The device is actually a handheld screen, and the long wire is a microscope, which can be adjusted to zoom in on a single cell.

“Wanna give it a try?” He asks me, offering me the Gigascope.

“Sure, thanks,” I reply, taking it from him and turning the device on. I slowly and meticulously grip the wire between my thumb and forefinger.

“Leon, uh, could you help me? My hands are shaking a bit and I don t want to mess it up,” I ask him, blushing slightly.

“Sure,” he squeaks slightly, his voice high.

Is he nervous?

He stands up quickly and before I know it he’s standing right next to me, where I’m standing up and hunched over the small instrument. His legs are brushing mine, and it causes my hands to shake even more.

Get a grip, Stella!

“Uh, if you could just hold my hands steady while I insert the Gigascope, then we can see the central unit.”

“Yeah, uh, sure,” he mumbles, moving slightly behind me and arching his arms over top of mine, wrapping his thumbs around my wrists and gripping my palms to steady them.

My focus is practically diminished as he shifts slightly to get a steadier grip. I’ve never been particularly self-conscious when it comes to body issues, but with his back arced over mine, and my backside pressed against his…

Oh, God! His…Is that what I think it is? Shit, Shit SHIT! Ok, focus, Stella. Breathe. It’s just his…thing. Is it weird that I’m slightly flattered? Of course it’s weird, you idiot!

I take a deep breathe, ignoring the growing…problem (groan!), and I slowly insert the wire into the central unit, immediately spotting the problem. I slowly remove the Gigascope and stand back up abruptly, causing my head to bash into his chin and he groans in pain.

He grabs his chin in his hand and winces as his eyes water, and guilt immediately washes over me.

“Oh my, God, are you ok? I’m so sorry, Leon!” I exclaim, not noticing that my foot is caught in the strap of my bag. I shift my leg to move, attempting to step closer to him and inspect his injured chin, and as I do I trip forwards, crashing right into his chest.

His arms shoot out and encircle my waist before I can stumble anymore, causing further damage. He holds me like this for a few seconds, as I untangle my foot from my bag strap and when he’s sure I’m safely standing on both feet, he releases his hold on me.

“Um, thank you,” I say to him gratefully.

“You’re welcome. So…do you know what the problem is?”

’Yes! It’s the A.I. thread; it must’ve torn when the hole was punched through it. It has to be completely removed and replaced. I have no idea where we’re going to find a Nanothreader, or the replacement threading,” I say to him, sighing and taking a seat.

The incidents from a few minutes before are still hanging thick in the air, but they’re not the main focus at this point& for which I am glad.

“I know where we can find both,” Leon says, grinning in his arrogant way. But instead of his know-it-all, smartass smirk, it’s a carefree and joking grin.

Wow, maybe he isn’t as asinine as everyone assumes.

“Where would that be?” I ask him curiously, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, Ma’s got about a hundred rolls of A.I. threading, and Dad bought her a Nanothreader for Mother’s Day last year.”

“For Mother’s Day? All my Mom got was a new bathrobe,” I say, laughingly.

He chuckles and bites his lip, smiling crookedly.

Oh that smile…STELLA! Would you control your hormones for five seconds please?

He crosses the room and gets a roll of new threading, setting it down on the table before opening yet another glass case, extracting from it a small, sleek, silver device. The unit itself is about as big as a TAPs device, with two small clips that attach to the circuit board itself.

Just as Leon is attaching the clips, the plasma cutter rolls to the edge of the table, and with my martial arts reflexes, I’m able to grab it, bending over in the process, and snatching it up before it can cause any damage.

I can hear Leon’s breath hitch in his chest during the quick incident, and when I hold up the plasma cutter in triumph I notice his gaze is nowhere near the tool. Instead, he seems to be focusing so attentively on my ass that he doesn’t even notice the little device clasped in my hand.

A blush rises in my cheeks as I notice my shorts have ridden up my hips just slightly, edging precariously close to undiscovered territory.

I clear my throat audibly, and his head snaps up, his eyes meeting mine once again. This time it’s my own breath that catches, as the deep green of his eyes penetrate mine once again.

“Oh, uh, you caught it. Nice save,” he says appreciatively.

“Thanks,” I say, grinning wryly at him.

Why are you grinning like that?! He was just checking out your ass, Stella! AND, not to mention the fact that he nearly ripped his pants against your backside not ten minutes ago!

Is it even weirder that I’m slightly more flattered now?

No need to answer that, dear conscious.

He slowly pulls from within the clamped-on unit, a small robotic arm. There’s a miniscule camera lens on the end of it, and a holographic screen will appear when the unit is activated. A separate remote joystick is keyed into the device and will allow the arm to manipulate and remove or replace a new thread.

After a few minutes, we’ve already got the old thread sitting in a pile on the table, and Leon is currently watching the progress on the screen as the new thread is replaced.

When finally the process is finished, he removes the Nanothreader and places it back in its case while I clean up the tabletop of all debris.

We both converge back at the worktable at the same time, anticipating the next move.

“Well, here goes nothing,” I say to him, reaching out my finger and pressing the ON button on the circuit board.

The board immediately lights up, momentarily blinding our eyes as a myriad of colors flash to and fro.

“YES!” Leon exclaims, pumping his fist into the air. We both laugh at that and before I know it, he’s hugging me enthusiastically; His warmth envelopes me and for the second time of the night, his…thing, is pressed firmly against my thigh.

Oh God, not again…

He must realize he’s got a little…situation, because he pulls back suddenly and begins to shove his things into his bag. When at last our things are packed up and finished for the night, we both reach out for the circuit board at the same time, our fingers brushing as they make contact with the smooth metal.

“Oh…um, you can turn it in, if you’d like,” I say to him, smiling sheepishly.

“No, no! It was your project. You should turn it in, Stells…Stella, sorry.”

“Well, how about I keep it with me, but we both turn it in tomorrow during class?” I offer.

“That sounds great, thanks, Stella,” he says, a genuine smile gracing his handsome features.

He really IS very handsome…

Even my conscious seems to agree this time.

“Well, I guess we should head back before curfew. I don t need another demerit. I’m trying to change that,” he says to me, blushing at his confession.

“Really? That’s great, Leon. Good luck with it, I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” I say to him, opening the door to leave.

“Thanks, Stella. That… that means a lot me, coming from you,” he replies, an almost shocked, yet soft look on his face.

“No problem, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” he says, hoisting his bag on his shoulder.

“Oh, and Leon?” I say to him, turning back to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t forget to clean your tool,” I reply, grinning before pulling the door shut.