The lab was abuzz with activity when Jon and Mikaela arrived. Sam was setting up the machines, no larger than a couple cubes while Gene set up the robotic arms. Several more cubes were set up to the side, in line for the configuration.

Sam’s tone had lightened from the earlier interchange. “Hey, Boss, did you give Jon the two-dollar tour?” followed by a chuckle. “You know, there’s always magic behind the curtain!”

Gene just shook his head and tended to connecting the robotic arm to its base. “You’re a nut, Sam.”

Mikaela just shook her head as she pulled out three chips required for the setup. She checked their integrity and slipped each one into the cubes. Slowly they pulsed. She looked at Jon. “The installs are automated with these chips. We’ll have to train the basic movements here, then make final adjustments on the floor.”

She handed Jon another set of chips similar to the three she had so he could start on the next set, then looked at her watch. She sharply exhaled and uttered, “Where is Scott?” She looked at the door and tapped her hand against the table. He’s always late. Why would tonight be different?

She turned back to the machines she was installing and saw they were finished. She popped out the chips and moved them a table by the robot, then came back. “Let’s build them all this evening, then train them tomorrow. We have 14 sets to get through. I hoped it would just be an hour, but looks like it might be a little longer if Scott’s a no-show.”

Jon looked over at Mikaela. He knew the look on her face, a mix of disappointment and displeasure. He’d seen it long ago. He knew this is why she was always so hands on with the work; she had a hard time trusting others to just show up.

15 minutes later, the door flew open and Scott, breathless, came in. “Sorry I’m late…”

Mikaela held up her hand, holding up three chips. “No excuses. Here are the chips, get to work.”

Scott stammered and his face turned a little red. “Sure thing, Boss.” A smell of tobacco followed behind him. He snatched the chips and took three more machines to start the install.

Gene piped up. “Well, Mikaela, I have the test robot set up. Want to come check it out?”

Mikaela walked over and Gene showed her all the connection points. “I also bolted it down temporarily, you know… should anything happen.”

Mikaela smiled with pleasure. Gene always delivers and thinks ahead. “Thanks Gene, great work. Why don’t you get out of here for the night?”

It was only the second genuine smile Jon had seen from her since they arrived at the lab. Jon wrapped up the next machine and looked up. “Looks like we have about three to go — one for each of us.”

Mikaela looked over. “No way, that’s great!” She looked at her watch and realized it had just reached 18:00. Her smile grew. “We’re basically on track.”

Sam pulled on Mikaela’s arm. “The machines are all here. Do you still need me?” He was almost timid suddenly talking to Mikaela. Jon couldn’t make heads or tails out of the interchange. Mikaela however didn’t seem surprised.

She knowingly blinked her eyes and looked at the door. “Get out of here. See you in the morning.”

Sam thanked her and quietly slipped out.

Scott and Jon finished up their final machines and Mikaela wrapped up hers shortly afterward. Jon could see exhaustion in Mikaela’s face and spoke up. “Ready to shut it down for the night, Mike?”

Mikaela looked up for a moment. “I’ll just be a few more minutes. I have some final things to wrap up. You two go ahead and head out.”

Scott bolted to the door, ready to leave. “Bye!” he shouted as the lab door shut behind him.

Jon pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Mikaela. “Mike, you haven’t changed.” He placed his hand on her device, and she looked up. “You need to stop. Dinner – let’s grab a bite and catch up.”

Mikaela forced a grin and pocketed her device. She shrugged, took a deep breath, then responded with hesitation, “Okay.”

Sam looked at Jon, then back at Mikala, then back at Jon. “Mike, you know this guy?” Sam sneered.

Mikaela took a brief moment and brushed Sam’s inquisition off. “Yeah, we worked together back on Earth ages ago. Got a problem, Sam?” Mikaela’s eyes locked with Sam’s, daring him to push.

“Oh, okay.” Sam stuttered. He wouldn’t challenge her after the look she gave him. “Guess we should get to work, Boss. What’s the plan?”

Mikaela straightened herself and began walking the team through the schematics. “Sam, you and Gene will need to head to storage bay eight to pull the machines now and take them to the lab. Jon, you and Scott meet me up in the lab on deck four at five, I mean 17:00, and we’ll start the builds. Everyone without an assignment have the night free. Meet back here at 8 tomorrow.”

The three without assignments bid everyone good night and seemed to be a bit giddy as they wandered off. Jon walked over to Mikaela as the others walked off. “Want to give me an overview, Mike?”

Mikaela grinned a moment, then turned serious. “Why are you here? Did you know this was my team?”

Jon knew there was a chance, but it wasn’t definite. He shook his head no.

Mikaela pursed her lips, halfway not believing him. “We’ll, you’re here, so I may as well use you.” She hesitated a moment, then pushed a button on the corner of the blueprint. It shrunk into a more manageable size. “Nanobots,” she flatly spoke.

Jon was impressed. He hadn’t seen that technology previously. “Handy!”

“I may as well show you instead of pointing to pictures. Follow me.”

Mikaela led Jon to the lift and pressed deck 8 then scanned her wrist over the security control. They descended down toward the core. The lift door opened to a pitch black corridor. As Mikaela stepped out, rows of lights turned on.

Jon took it all in. Every level of the station seemed to have different builders. This deck was ultra modern, sleek, and cold.

“You will want to dress warm down here. It is kept cold to offset the heat generated by the machinery.” Mikaela walked forward pointing out the server room and leading Jon to the main floor. “Our robots will be installed here.” She scanned the security control. Double doors opened as a large room lit up.

Jon looked around then turned to Mikaela. “Did you plan all of this?” He was flattering her and truly impressed.

She blushed a moment, more from embarrassment than taking it as flattery. “No, I’m not that smart.” She stammered. “A whole team of engineers designed this. I just deal with the machines.”

He knew her better than her words, but he let her off the hook. “It’s an impressive project. Glad I’m a part of it.”

She smiled, and lightly tapped him with a punch in the arm. “I’m glad you are too.” She looked at her watch. “We need to get to the lab.”

He marveled at how she switched back into boss mode as they headed back to the lift. They loaded onto the lift and she scanned to head up to deck four. The lift door closed as the lights turned off on deck eight.

A voice squawked over the intercom. “Jonathan Riggs, check in.” The speaker crackled off.

Jon rubbed his eyes as he hopped off the bed. The lower gravity made him feel light on his feet as he crossed the room. He didn’t notice it earlier.

He spoke out. “Responding, Jonathan Riggs.”

A crackling voice came back on. “Meet up with your team at 15:00. They will be on deck 3.”

“Will do.” Jon then looked at his wrist. His brain spun a moment….15:00? Oh, 3:00…that’s right. His watch read 2:45. He walked over to his boots and strapped them on and headed out.

He walked out to the hall and made his way to the lift. The LED lighting cast a blue glow down the hall. The dim light washed out the faces of others in the hall. The overall drone combined with the lights was depressing.

Jon started questioning if he made the right decision. Should I be thousands of miles from home for a job I barely enjoy, just for the money? But what else am I going to do? Home was just a shell of what it was anyway, nothing remained to keep him there.

He boarded the lift and announced “Three”. The lift began to descend down into what felt like darkness. When it stopped, the door opened. Jon took in a breath before stepping out.

Deck three was the main gathering area on the station. The builders appeared to take more time in this area. Jon stepped out into an atrium dotted with vivid green plants and almost fresh smelling air. A small group of men were gathered nearby around a table with a blueprint laid across it.

Jon shook his head to himself. That must be the team. He made his way to the table. “Hi, Jon here. Is this Team Chi?” He pronounced chi as the Greek letter as kai.

The men looked up from the table towards Jon and stood straight. Directly across from him, a smaller framed person lifted their head.

Their short hair belied their gender. His eyes met theirs. Then he realized he knew those eyes. She smiled at him, but kept it under control. “Hi, Jon.” She glanced at the watch on her own wrist, more to gain her composure than to check the time, then looked back up. “Nice of you to join us.”

The sound of a metal door echoed into the hollow room as it screeched open. A man dressed in cargo pants and a heavy over sweater walked in. His boots thudded against the hard floor. His light eyes scanned the room.

The light was dim, but just enough to make out the details. A sterile white table with plastic chairs set in the corner. A small kitchenette was recessed into the wall to his left.

To his right, a doorway led to the head. It was compact, definitely only room for one to clean up. He sighed heavily.

Before him laid a small bed, sized for barely one. No sheets, but the surface was smooth. He walked over to it and set his bag down. The bed gave slightly to the weight of his pack.

He touched the surface of the bed to find it oddly comforting. It wasn’t what he imagined for the sterility of the room. He looked at his wrist; old habits of keeping time on his arm followed him. Plenty of time to relax before he needed to report in.

He moved his bag over to the table and kicked off his boots. It was nice to let is toes be free. He crawled onto the bed and rolled onto his back. It was then that he saw it.

Looking up, a large sky dome allowed him to see the darkness of the night and the glimmering of strange lights above. He rested his head on one of his arms and looked over the millions of stars floating overhead.

Soon he drifted off to sleep.