Reverse Engineering

"Let me take the blows

That were meant for you

Let me help you with the trials you\'re going through

Let me keep you safe from the world outside

Let me wipe away the tears that fill your eyes.



Let me keep you from experience you need

Let me bind you with my selfishness and greed

Let me stifle you let me have control

Let me smother every aspect of your soul..."



Assemblage 23, "Let Me Be Your Armor"



Ophelia sat with Noella in the bedroom that had been prepared for her, windowless and dark. Noella patted Ophelia\'s shoulder, trying her best to be comforting, as Ophelia lay stretched out on the soft white sheets, staring up at the light fixture on the ceiling.



"Don\'t be upset. He doesn\'t mean to scare you."



"Yeah. I remember Doctor Klein as being a bit insensitive." Ophelia sighed. "I didn\'t think he would ever become a murderer."



"He\'s not a bad man. He\'s doing it for people like us, who reject the Pantheon. For our safety, and our ability to progress."



Ophelia cocked her head. "So you\'re not a believer?"



Noella giggled. "You thought I was? My township was. I was exiled here to Sol\'s surface. They thought I would starve, or drown. Fortunately, Dr. Klein found me when he started building the launch pad and everything else that\'s down here. He offered to take me in as long as I supported him in his work. I\'m lucky."



"Do you like him?"



Noella sighed. "I respect him. He makes me nervous."



"You don\'t like him, either."



"No, I do. I don\'t know how I feel about it. I\'m glad he took me in." Noella smiled. "At least there\'s that. Are you going to help him?"



"I don\'t know. Not yet. I\'m not convinced I should."



"I see." Noella seemed disappointed. "I suppose that\'s all right. I think he\'s right. Then again, look what happened to me."



Ophelia bit her lip. "What exactly happened?"



"Everyone I knew followed the Pantheon, except me; then again, there might have been a lot who didn\'t want to say. It was just a slip of the tongue to someone I thought was a friend. I didn\'t think it was going to do anything to chant over the new community center, and so they gave me a choice--execution, or exile. I picked the latter, and they sent me off on the next ship to--well, anywhere, and it was a supply ship Dr. Klein had ordered to Sol. And here I am."



Ophelia sat in silence. "Noella?"



"Yes?"



"Can I--can I just think for a minute? About what you said."



"Sure. I\'ll go check on Doctor Klein." Noella stood and left Ophelia\'s room. The light fixture remained dark, and Ophelia stared straight ahead, at the door, the empty bookshelves, the empty dresser, the bare desk, and thought.



---------------



Alexander sat alone in his lab, goggles pushed up onto his forehead while he labored over the metallic skeleton of a telescoping robot. Pursing his lips, he held the boxy skull in place and started to use a small drill to carefully screw a motherboard into its slot.



Noella waited for the noise of the drill to stop before she knocked on the frame of the open door. "Doctor Klein?"



"Noella." He put down his work and stood to greet her.



"I was just wondering if you needed me to do anything else tonight."



"No, I think I\'m fine. I would like a little coffee, but only if it\'s not an inconvenience."



"Of course. I\'ll get you some. Is that all?"



"Yes. Thank you." She shuffled out of the room, her worn sneakers making a repetitive scuffing sound on the floor of Klein\'s lab. "Noella?"



"Yes, Doctor."



"I know tonight was upsetting. Are you all right?"



"I\'m okay. Can I tell you something?"



Hesitantly, Alexander seated himself on his workbench, gently seating her by his side. "I suppose so."



"It was cathartic, a little bit. After starving topside, being pushed away on a cargo ship."



"That\'s good, then." He seemed relieved, but still uncomfortable. "Well, if that\'s it--"



"Well, not exactly. I wanted to thank you for taking me in. Please don\'t ever think I\'m ungrateful." Noella leaned forward, close enough to taste his breath, smelling the soap he used to shower. "I\'m so glad you found me." Her own breath choked in her throat as she placed a brave kiss on his pale cheek, slipping her hand into his cold fingers.



His hand tensed around hers, but did not let go.



"I\'m sorry. I shouldn\'t have. It was forward of me. Doctor Klein--"



"Quiet." He leaned his cheek against hers. "It\'s all right." With his free hand, Alexander drew Noella closer to him, turning her anxious face upwards to his, and kissed her lips, brushing her cheek with the tips of his nails. It was difficult to keep from smiling as her tongue slipped into his mouth, and she didn\'t act to stop him until he broke the kiss, leaning her against his chest. He savored the sensation of her heartbeat falling into sync with his.



"You aren\'t mad," she marveled from somewhere below his chin.



"I am very, very not mad."



"I\'ve been wanting to do this since you found me," Noella confessed.



"I know." He smiled as she started to unbutton his shirt. "I could tell."







**A/N: The second part took me forever to write, being sappy does not come easy to me. But now Noella has vested interest in Ophelia\'s decision...woo, intrigue! See next chapter for more.