Chapter 4—Simone

THE NEXT MORNING, SIMONE awoke with a contented smile on her lips, the memories of the previous night still fresh in her mind. She stretched languidly, savoring the delicious ache in her muscles—a reminder of the passionate hours she had spent in Tiberius's arms before they finally roused themselves to return to the colony near dawn.

As she rose from her own bed, she caught sight of herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushing at the sight of the love bites peppering her neck and collarbone. Tiberius had been insatiable, his lips and teeth leaving a trail of marks across her skin, each one a brand of possession that sent a thrill through her.

Dressing quickly, she made her way to the lab, her mind already buzzing with ideas and theories. She couldn't wait to dive back into her work, to lose herself in the intricacies of her research—and yet, a part of her remained tethered to the memories of the night before, her thoughts continually drifting back to Tiberius and the way he had made her feel.

As she entered the lab, she found Izzy already hard at work, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tinkered with one of the diagnostic machines. Simone cleared her throat, and Izzy looked up, her eyes widening as she took in Simone's appearance.

"Hmm..." A sly grin spread across her face. "Someone had a good night."

Simone flushed, her fingers self-consciously tracing the marks on her neck. "Izzy..."

"No need to be embarrassed." Izzy chuckled, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm happy for you, Simone. It's about time you let loose and had some fun."

Simone rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. "It was... incredible," she said, her voice dropping to a hushed whisper. "I've never felt anything like that before."

Izzy's expression softened, her eyes shining with genuine warmth. "Love can do that. Makes you feel things you never thought possible."

Simone's breath caught in her throat at the word "love," a sudden fluttering in her chest. Was that what she felt for Tiberius? She had been drawn to him from the moment they met, captivated by his strength, his loyalty, and the depths of compassion that lay beneath his gruff exterior, but love? The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Izzy reached out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't overthink it," she said gently. "Just let yourself feel for once. You deserve to be happy."

She nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Izzy was right. She had spent too long denying herself the simple pleasures of life, too focused on her work and her ambitions to allow herself to truly live, but Tiberius had awakened something within her, a fire that burned brighter than any scientific curiosity, and she could no longer ignore it.

Pushing aside her tumultuous thoughts, she turned her attention to the work at hand, her mind immediately zeroing in on the problem she had been grappling with for weeks. She moved to the central console, her fingers flying across the holographic interface as she pulled up the schematics for the biocircuit interface.

"I've been going over my father's notes again," she said, her brow creasing in concentration, "And I think I might have found a way to power the biocircuits without overloading the system."

Izzy's eyes lit up with interest, and she moved to stand beside Simone, peering over her shoulder at the display. "What did you have in mind?"

Simone took a deep breath, her mind racing as she pieced together the fragments of her epiphany. "We've been trying to draw power directly from the fusion reactor, but the energy output is too volatile. We need a way to regulate the flow and modulate the energy before it reaches the biocircuits."

She tapped a series of commands, and a new set of schematics appeared, this time depicting a complex array of circuits and conduits. "I think we can use a modified version of the energy regulators we developed for the colony's power grid," she said, her voice quickening with excitement. "If we can integrate them into the biocircuit interface, they should be able to handle the raw power from the reactor and distribute it in a controlled, stable manner."

Izzy's eyes widened as she studied the schematics, her mind no doubt already whirring with calculations and potential modifications. "It's brilliant," she said, her gaze meeting Simone's with admiration, "But the regulators were never designed to handle that kind of energy output. We'd have to make some serious adjustments to the circuitry, maybe even incorporate some of the shielding protocols we developed for the mining drills."

Simone nodded, her lips curving into a smile. "Exactly," she said, her eyes sparkling with determination. "It won't be easy, but if we work together, we can make it happen."

Izzy grinned, her excitement mirroring Simone's own. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, rubbing her hands together. "Let's get to work."

For the next several hours, the two women lost themselves in a flurry of calculations, simulations, and prototypes. They worked in tandem, bouncing ideas off each other and fine-tuning their designs with a level of precision that bordered on obsession.

Time seemed to blur, the world around them fading into insignificance as they pursued their goal with single-minded focus. Simone's earlier distractions melted away, replaced by the familiar thrill of scientific discovery, and the rush of adrenaline that came with pushing the boundaries of what was possible.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they stepped back from the workbench, their faces flushed with exertion and triumph. Before them sat a sleek, compact device—a fusion of cutting-edge technology and ingenious design, a masterpiece that promised to revolutionize the field of human enhancement.

Simone reached out, her fingers tracing the contours of the device with reverence. "We did it," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "We actually did it."

Izzy slung an arm around her shoulders, her grin wide and infectious. "Of course we did," she said, her tone brimming with pride. "You're brilliant, Simone, and I'm not too shabby myself."

Simone laughed, the sound bubbling up from deeply within her chest, a release of the tension and excitement that had been building all day. In that moment, she felt truly alive, her heart swelling with a sense of accomplishment and possibility.

As she gazed at the device, her mind raced with the implications of their breakthrough, the potential it held for not only their research but for the betterment of humanity as a whole, and yet, beneath it all, she couldn't shake the thought of Tiberius, the memory of his touch, his kiss, and the way he had made her feel like the most cherished, most desired woman in the universe.

Warmth bloomed in her chest, a realization dawning that this—this perfect fusion of scientific discovery and human connection—was what she had been searching for all along. Anything was possible, and the boundaries of what they could achieve were limitless.