Dri agreed with her.
Celeste figured why Aurora had difficulty stepping down from his position. How loyal were the forces?
She didn't know how hard they would fight for their Commanders.
No wonder other countries had problems with him. He could be anywhere and have complete control of his forces. Celeste didn't know.
"I should be going." Cersi said to them. "It was nice meeting you, Celeste." she nodded kindly and walked by them.
She was so formal, Celeste had noticed that. She gave respect where it was supposed to be given.
Celeste turned around to watch Cersi walk away. It was the first time that Celeste considered working for the department because she wanted to know just as much as Cersi. There were thing being kept from the people, like who the knew Adviser was going to be.
Celeste really didn't want it to be Aurora.
"You okay?" Dri asked her.
"Yeah, I just..." she didn't know what to say. "I don't know. I might be the only person who doesn't know what's going on."
"Celeste, I can tell you that millions of people have no idea what's going to happen. You're not the only one." he said to her. "I don't know what's going to happen either." he didn't want her to be stressed out.
She mashed her lips together tightly as she continued to look around, scanning the grassy area to find her parents.
They were together, talking to each other away from others. Sirus had said something, probably a joke that Aurora didn't find funny because he rolled his eyes and shoved Sirus away from him.
They didn't seem worried.
So she told herself that she didn't need to be.
It wasn't her business. She should mind her own.
Later that evening, Dri and Celeste were waiting in one of the hospital surgical rooms. Everything was already sterile and Celeste couldn't touch anything. Dri was sitting on the bed, a mask over his face, but he only breathed oxygen.
Clover had made his assumptions clear to both of them about the implant.
He told Dri what he was doing, what should happen, and what to expect when things went bad. He looked at the blue print, and he wasn't an engineer, so he based everything on what Celeste told him.
"He likes you." Dri said, his voice muffled by the mask. "He has this look in his eyes like he's ready to ask you out." He laughed quietly.
"I'm ready to be taken out." Celeste crossed her arms over her chest. "Clover's smart, too."
"Oh?" Dri was entertained. "I know you like the smart ones."
"I like tough ones too." Celeste smiled. "I do prefer army men if I'm being honest."
"I should get on that then." Dri had that same look that he described Clover to have. "After all this is done, we can definitely go somewhere together." He said.
"That's how you ask me?" Celeste had to admit she wasn't impressed.
"I can't exactly kiss your hand with a mask over my mouth." He said to her.
She thought it would be romantic if he made the gesture, then again she wasn't the romantic type. He was though. Celeste always called him a gentleman and he was.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips over his mask, where his lips would be if he wasn't wearing it. It was so easy for her to steal a kiss from him. He wished that he didn't already put the mask own. He could only imagine what it felt like to kiss her lips.
When she pulled away, she opened her eyes. Her maroon eyes were bright under the white lights. She smiled at him kindly, and he looked at her with the same look in his eyes. He really liked her.
"Try again after the surgery." Celeste wanted a do-over. Dri was finally ready but he couldn't do anything because he was about to have surgery.
Clover came over to them quietly and set a small container down on a silver tray. His surgical gloves were glowing, a small robotic system turning on by the bed. He hadn't noticed the two of them close together, or he chose to ignore it. He knew Celeste was taken, but he thought it was another girl.
For now he had to put that aside. He had to do his job, and he swore to do no harm, so he was focused on the surgery.
The implant was in the container, floating in fluid. It wasn't on just yet, but it was about to be.
"This is a high risk surgery because of your arm, Dri." Clover said. "I can't have you power it down because I need all neurons firing, but you might have a small glitch in your system for a few days because of the implant." He warned them both.
"Something I can fix?" Celeste asked.
"We won't know until after the surgery." Clover said. "It shouldn't take long, but it's spinal cord surgery so I don't know what will happen."
"You're great at this, Clover. You got this." Celeste hit his back, and though she thought she was gentle, he would say otherwise.
There were two men in the room in love with her.
Celeste has a big heart. She'd be with everyone she liked if she could. She tried to remain oblivious but she saw the way the two looked at her. It's hard to not notice that.
She left the room when Clover was ready to begin. She couldn't stay and watch, she didn't want to draw attention to herself. The surgery was a secret and it has to stay that way. Clover was working on his own. He said the surgery wouldn't last long, but what was long to him might be different for her.
She was gone for a few hours. She walked around, she tried to distract herself, she tried to keep herself occupied.
But she had to admit that she was a little scared for him. When she couldn't distract herself more, she decided to call Zinnia. At least talking to someone else might make her feel better.
Celeste spoke to a small hologram projecting from her tablet. She was waiting outside the hospital with a drink in her hand.
She was glad to see Zinnia's face.
She had to admit she was a little stressed out. Zinnia calmed her down.
"How's it going?" Zinnia asked her.
It was late in the evening and Zinnia was sitting in bed with her red hair tied up. She stayed up because she figured Celeste might be stressed out. She was waiting for her to call.
"I trust Clover." Celeste believed what she said. "But...knowing what I know, I'm scared for Dri." She admitted.
She's seen what happened. She was worried that the implant might malfunction.
"You said it yourself, Celeste. A ten percent increase is the change between some of the damages the implant could cause." Zinnia said to her. "All that number stuff is just noise to me, but you were so serious when you said it."
"I know, I just..." A lot has been going on for Celeste. She had to admit she almost didn't believe in herself like she did before.
She knew a lot more information now.
She wanted the implant to work. She wanted Dri to be okay.
"Tell you what, if it works out for Dri, you can put one in me, too." Zinnia said.
"I know what I want to put in you." Celeste had another thought.
"Aren't you in public?" Zinnia asked quickly after Celeste's comment.
"Yeah," she shrugged. "I think that's hot." She admitted, not ashamed.
"We need to work on that." Zinnia warned her. "You know I don't like it when you do crazy things in public."
"But at work it's okay-"
"It's only okay when it's just the two of us and it's not shift change. You nearly gave me a heart attack that one time."
Celeste remembered that one time. She began to smile as she licked her lips. She definitely remembered that one time. Zinnia shook her head.
"I hope Dri handles you better than I can." Zinnia said.
"You're okay with...well..."
Celeste didn't think Zinnia would be open to her being with someone else. Zinnia had a plain expression on her face as she thought for a second.
"If I'm being honest, I get a little jealous sometimes." Zinnia admitted.
She has to say that she's thought about it. She liked Celeste. And she did say she wanted a casual relationship, but knowing Celeste had eyes for another person co
uld make anyone jealous.
"But you look at him the way you look at me. And I know I can't give you things that he can. Why would I want to get in the way of that?" She asked.
It's like she had it figured out, but she has heard Celeste talk about Dri the way she does for two years. It's about time something happens.
"Plus, that's hot." Zinnia added, leaning her head on to her hand.
"I'm telling him you said that." Celeste smiled.
"He'd say the same thing and you know it." Zinnia laughed.
She wasn't wrong.
Celeste just needed to figure out if this was going to happen or not. But she also wanted to make sure that Dri was fine first. She hoped his surgery was going okay.
"I guess he would." Celeste said quietly as she looked up to the dark sky, seeing the stars and projections of light.
"He'll be okay, Celeste." Zinnia said to her, hoping she wouldn't have that lost expression on her face. "If you stop worrying, I'll..."
Celeste was staring hard when she saw Zinnia begin to lift her shirt up. She got just a peek of Zinnia's breast, a glimpse of her nipple. Celeste mashed her lips together when Zinnia put her shirt back down.
"It's nice to know you're in my bed." Celeste tilted her head to the side.
"You should be here with me." Zinnia smiled at her. "But I won't hold it against you for wanting to be with your boyfriend."
"You're great."
"I know." Zinnia liked the compliment. "I'll be here when you get back." she said to her.
Celeste felt a little better, enough to not worry about Dri. She had to have faith in Clover, and she trusted Zinnia's words.
"Everything is functioning fine." Clover said as he looked at the models for Dri's body. Celeste was relieved to know that Dri was okay.
For now everything worked.
"The only thing we have to worry about is interference from both systems." He turned everything off. "You might've made both of them, but they operate differently so watch out for that." He explained as he looked at Celeste.
"Thank you, Clover." She said kindly. "I really appreciate you doing this for me." she meant it.
She wouldn't have asked for his help if she didn't trust him.
"I hope it's not too much to ask if I...monitor him, too." Clover was careful to suggest. He was sure Celeste only wanted to give him limited involvement.
He already had access to so much. He's seen everything, helped Celeste make changes. He was just as guilty as she was.
When Celeste looked at him again, her eyes were kind.
Clover felt better asking. "After everything you told me I want to make sure I catch anything before it happens."
"That'd be great." Celeste agreed. "You're the expert on this stuff so I do need your help."
He began to blush. He looked away sharply somewhere else because he was slightly flustered. She was standing right next to him. He should've stepped away if he was that nervous.
Dri was awake, and he was just watching Celeste enjoy this moment.
Celeste wasn't oblivious to how people saw her. She knew she was a flirt, she knew she used people sometimes, she knew who liked her. She liked when people liked her. She liked the attention.
She liked seeing Clover blush. She thought he was cute.
When Clover left the room, still flustered, Celeste turned to Dri, a smile on her face. He knew what she was doing, but he didn't say anything yet. He just had this knowing expression on his face. If he wasn't careful, she would play with his heart, too.
He knew better.
"How do you feel?" she asked him.
"Fine." he answered, and added, "well, nothing's changed really." he said.
He didn't know how he was supposed to feel, but he felt normal. It was like nothing happened.
"So, I can...watch my memories?" he asked her.
"Yes." she answered.
"And I can show people what I've seen?" he asked.
It was like he wasn't listening those other times that she was talking to him. All of her words went in one ear and out the other apparently.
"Yes." she answered again.
This was the first test. He had the first working implant she had made, and she hoped it worked successfully.
"So...I can see your face over and over again?" he asked her as he moved strands of her silver hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear.
Her cheeks were turning red faintly. She looked down as she began to blush.
He got to see this again if he wanted. He would never be able to forget the way she looks, how she tried to hide behind her dark eye lashes. He could look at her forever, and he had the chance to.
How was he going to tell her that he was happy about that?
"I'm glad you're okay." she said quietly. She was worried about him. "Promise me you'll tell me if you feel like there's something wrong." she held his other hand and looked into his eyes.
She was serious about this.
"I promise." he said.
He was sure that everything would be fine. He trusted Celeste, and that meant trusting her work. She knew what she was doing.
So now she just has to watch and see. If she was lucky, she wouldn't need to worry about the implant malfunctioning.
Chapter Ten
A week later, Celeste had made another implant for Zinnia. It was the exact same as Dri's.
Both had tolerated it well. Celeste wasn’t surprised, she was cautious. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. For now, everything was normal and the implant was functioning fine. There was nothing to worry about.
“I don’t feel any different.” Zinnia said as she looked over to Celeste. “I thought I’d feel...superhuman or something.” she shrugged.
“That’s a little out there.” Celeste said to her. “But now you can watch your memories, so that’s pretty cool.” She down played the idea, but she knew it was more than that.
What Hariette came up with, what Celeste finished, it was a start to something incredible. But in the wrong hands can be used for war. Celeste knew how important it was to make sure that this project stayed a secret, and that she watched Dri and Zinnia closely. She had Clover’s help as well.
"Yeah, you created a good weapon." Zinnia snickered.
"You love your conspiracy theories don't you?" Celeste said.
"Imagine another country getting a hold of your blue prints. Imagine the spies that could get secrets and information." Zinnia said.
"My blue prints are buried pretty deep and I coded it." Celeste wasn't that concerned. "No one's going to get it."
That's not what worried her.
"At least I have a way of proving to you when you're being oblivious." Zinnia saw the good part in this.
"I'm not-"
"Scatter brained? Yeah, you are." She laughed when Celeste tried to defend herself.
Celeste did have a habit of wandering around. It was no surprise. She has a lot to think about and she likes seeing this. Of course she would find herself somewhere she's not supposed to be.
"Now I can show you." Zinnia turned in her seat, leaning her head on to her hand as she looked at Celeste.
She was going to enjoy this.
She had to admit Celeste did make something powerful. And Celeste wasn't evil, it's not like she intends to start a war. Celeste just wanted to help, and she did.
"Ladies, ladies." A young man had walked over to where they were sitting, and he had a friend with him as well.
They wore similar uniforms, black slacks instead of skirts. Dark shirts, silver badges on their chests. It was cold outside so they had on jackets as well.
Celeste and Zinnia turned in their chairs to face them. It was almost time for shift change. The two young men were early.
"It's been a while." One of them said.
"We saw the two of you last week." Celeste said, but she smiled at them. "When are you retaking your exam, Faye?" She asked one of them.
He has bright green eyes and silver hair,
just like hers, but shorter. "Next week." He answered. "I'm telling you right now, I'm going to be a pilot."
"My cousin passed his exam on the first try." Celeste said. "He told me it was easy-"
Faye nudged her shoulder, not excited to be teased since he was nervous. "It's not easy, okay. Aerospace engineering is not fun." He was stressed out. "Especially when it's focused on aviation."
Zinnia looked at Celeste, not exactly impressed with Faye's frustration. "Celeste is an aerospace engineer, too-"
"Ah," Celeste had to stop her there. Well, she was going to correct her in front of the young men. "I'm a mechanical engineer." She said. "With a focus in aerospace, electrical, and chemical science." She added.
"Yikes." The other man said. "You must've hated school with that one." He almost didn't believe she did all that.
"Apparently, I was the only one ready to jump from the tallest building." She said plainly.
Did she make her life more complicated? She acknowledges that she did. But she couldn't say the thrill of coming out on top wasn't satisfying. Well, it was for a little while. After that, she wanted to do something low stress.
"So, why are you here then?" Faye asked. People always asked her that when she tells them what her expertise was in.
She could avoid the questions if she didn't brag. Though that was something she didn't want to compromise.
"You could be anywhere with that kind of flexibility." Faye said to her.
"You must find it boring here. Why aren't you actually engineering stuff?"
"I do it privately." Celeste said. She thought it was better. "I take too many days off so the System is close to changing my status to dependent."
"That's not surprising." Faye snickered with his friend.
Celeste showed up when she felt like it. She could do that because she does work privately as well.
"I pick up projects to make up for my 'lack of contributions'." She air quoted the phrase because she's gotten multiple notices from the System before.
"Work for the government then."
That was said like it was an easy solution, but it didn't interest Celeste as much.
"So I'm forced to do everything they want? Not interested." Celeste already decided against that years ago. She wanted freedom to do what she wanted. "Private companies are more flexible anyway."
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