ELARA HAD GREASE IN HER HAIR. She huffed as she made her way to the sink, bending over and turning on the faucet, her hands carefully practiced as she rinsed out the grime without wetting more than she needed to, no water splashing about as she grabbed a towel, drying it as best as she could. A common occurrence, she felt no rush to return back to work, keeping the easy rhythm she had when she worked, turning back around to survey the scene before her.

Living in the fourth largest city of Rashion, Vesta, she worked with the others in her sector as an android maintenance repairwoman. Unlike the sector adjacent to theirs that handled the manufacturing of parts, the workers set in an assembly line and focused on only a sole piece of their work, she and the others in their large warehouse garage focused on the full android, often working on one individually so as to increase productivity. It was a strange concept, seeing the synthetic creatures that seemed so much like herself so lifeless and unresponsive, yet not dead.

It was strange, reviving them, as if she held within her a source of life, a power that few possessed, and it was a rather terrifying concept, especially when she lived with an android whom she had brought to life by herself, unsanctioned and unclaimed, it was a dangerous feat, let alone existential.

"How many did you complete?"

She jumped when she heard the sound of the foreman speaking into her ear via the communication device imbedded within her when she first started working, looking towards the catwalk where he was watching, leaned over the railing and surveying the floor, landing on her, eyes narrowing when he found her by the sink.

"Twenty-seven," she replied, wincing when she caught his surprised expression; the average was meant to be thirteen, but, of course, she just had to double the proficiency, get all the others to hate her and raise suspicion in the higher levels.

The last thing she needed was to explain that she had gotten the inner workings of androids down to a science, to the point where, if she wanted, she could build her own, at home, without the need of manufactured parts from the factory.

But she wasn't in any mood to be imprisoned, so she simply gave him a sheepish smile, shrugging. "The repairs were minimal and I was able to make my way through them, the others did much more work."

"I doubt it," he said shortly, and her stomach dropped as she watched him give her a proud smile, "Go home early. It is always important to reward good behavior and have an example for the rest of the crowd."

"I don't—" she began, but she was silenced by a more stern look, a clear indicator that this wasn't truly a reward, and certainly wasn't up for discussion.

Puffing out her cheeks, she sighed as she grabbed her food pack, keeping her head low as she made her way towards the exit of the garage, pressing her wrist against the scanner, signing out for the night and focusing on the sound of the one-way door keeping them inside sliding open rather than the sound of the others grumbling and whispering at her early leave.

Competition was key on Rashion, but always taken at the expense of all its inhabitants; no one wanted to be made an example, positive or negative, and everyone always seemed to forget the entire concept when they themselves weren't used as an example.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she looked up at the darkening sky, the neon signs of the grimy buildings lighting up, a sharp contrast to the filth it illuminated. She sighed as she looked towards the skyline, able to glimpse the tops of the buildings in the central city of Rashion. The city where there were no sectors, where the elite lived, everything clean and pristine. It was a joy to visit when allowed, but living there was a fantasy few could stomach without dying of pure want.

Shaking off her thoughts, she made her way home, stepping lightly and remaining in the light, steering clear of the shadows. She wasn't afraid of her city, however, it was her home and there was nothing inherently awful, save for the crime, and she happily plodded along, maneuvering through other passersby, looking out at the nightclubs and various other nighttime events that were beginning to open, still waiting for the pink in the sky to fade and make way to the stars that were assumed to be there, as the smog and pollution blocked out the twinkling sprites that, as a child, she had always so dearly loved.

As she neared her living complex, she passed by the restaurant next to it, stepping inside and blinking against the harsh white light, her feet tapping against the tile as she stepped into the kitchen, the sounds of shouting and the smell and smoke of cooking filling her senses.

She dodged around the various cooks and workers bustling about, making her way towards the exit, reaching out and grabbing the plastic bag waiting for her by the edge of a counter closest to the door. Without another word, she pushed out and into the back alley, shuddering as she carefully stepped around the trash and towards the side, making her way back towards the street, then into the doors of her building which led only to stairs.

Climbing up the stairs, careful to not touch the graffiti stained, grime covered walls, she thought of all the things that she needed to pick up the next time she went shopping, her stomach churning as she thought of the android parts she could potentially need to appropriate, still unsure as to how long she could keep up her dance, despite having kept it up for so long.

Stopping on the fifth floor, she made her way down the hall, fishing out her keys and careful not to make any eye contact as she opened her door and stepped inside, toeing off her shoes as she stepped onto the brown carpet, walking towards the kitchen counter and setting the bag on top.

Every person was given a place to live, no matter what, however living conditions were placed on the emphasis of rank, vocation, relevance to society, and the number of family members that would be inhabiting the area. Androids did not count as family members unless they were stated as being children or partners, but those androids were specifically designed and tagged beforehand, and if one were to obtain one during a stay, they would be relocated accordingly. But if it was a household android, they were given the room outfitted within each and every building room, as was customary considering the commonplace androids held, though there were rooms and buildings that were designed for those with low income that could not afford an android of their own.

Because she earned enough, Elara was able to upgrade to a two-bedroom despite already having been given a nice—nice by her city and sector standards, at least—living quarters. There was truly no need, but she felt a sense of discomfort at the knowledge that Sean, the android whom she had not paid for, was living in a room less than her own. She didn't own him, they were simply friends, though a free android was unheard of and neither wanted to admit that he was free, as that was dangerous and uncalled for on too many extremes.

He was simply her android that she wished to treat nice.

Speaking of, as she made her way to the couch where her provided telescreen sat, she heard a door creak open, footsteps padding on the carpet in an even pattern, headed towards her.

"Hello, Elara, how was your day?"

She smiled up at the android who moved to sit down next to her. Sean was the only operating model of his kind, the others long since decommissioned and sent away, and she had found him on her last year of schooling before she had been sent to work, fixing him up with the training she had been given, and he had been with her ever since. The officials of Rashion knew of his existence, but since Elara had the necessary forms filled out, they couldn't take him away, as he seemed to be in proper order, whatever that meant.

"Someone called control on the neighbors downstairs, as their intimacies had become too loud and occur at nearly all times of the day, so they are currently being processed, so at least everyone will sleep well tonight," he said, and Elara grinned, laughing as he smiled back.

Androids couldn't feel emotion, but they were good at synthesizing it for the Qui Hominem, Elara's species. Elara wasn't always quite sure with Sean, however, as he tended to make the jokes as well, and seemed to be able to correctly processes the jokes she created, which other androids couldn't do. She chalked it up to a programming choice that had been taken away from the newer models, as Sean was one of the first, and simply appreciated having someone to laugh with.

Turning on the telescreen, she grabbed the plastic bag, bringing it back and flopping onto the couch, leaning against Sean who made a face at the food she was eating, but knowingly keeping his mouth shut.

"—Nova Corp officials are coming to discuss the growing tensions between us and our sister planet, Coymia. While there is controversy as to why the Nova Empire is inserting itself into our engagements, we can only hope that they might be able to diffuse tensions and keep us from war, though not all agree..."

"It's getting worse," Elara sighed, taking another bite of her food, "What do you think's gonna happen?"

"I have a few theories, though it all ties together, what with the morality disputes as well as technological outcries, not to mention the uprisings," Sean said, and Elara frowned, tilting her head towards him.

"Uprisings," she parroted, wracking her brain from some sliver of memory about hearing about rioting; the streets of her sector and city were fine, as far as she knew.

"The east cities have been having issues with androids leaving and disobeying. That's why the factories are working so hard to ship out more parts, it's not only a matter of concern, but also a matter of profit," he explained, and she snorted, shaking her head.

"I bet it's all a tactic," she said, but Sean stayed silent, not agreeing or disagreeing, and she shifted, trying to change the subject.

"I was made an example of today," she sighed, angrily shoving another bite of food into her mouth, "Which means sabotage tomorrow."

"Is there a way to request that you remain unseen?" Sean asked, and she shook her head, unable to keep from smiling at his voice and naivety, despite his high speed processing.

"We're kind of trapped here," she pointed out, and he tutted, wrapping his arms around her and raising his temperature, a soothing warmth that relaxed her, giving her a feeling of safety, secure in the home that she had.

"Trapped has a negative connotation," he pointed out, and she snorted, settling deeper in his arms as she changed the channel to entertaining media, smiling when she caught sight of a drama the two were rather fond of.

"I'm content to be in this situation with you," she said, her head now in his lap, and he smiled down at her, nodding in acceptance, both turning their attention back to the telescreen.

It wasn't a complete lie, she was content to be with him. But she would rather be somewhere else. Be in a nicer place with him, have a more sustaining job, get out of the sectors and into the main city. The main city, that was her goal. But it was a goal that was so out of reach, she should just give it up. But she'd rather kill herself out of sheer want than want for nothing at all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 07.23.18 )

Meet Elara and Sean! They're like super great platonic partner roommate bros and I love them and I'm really proud of the world I'm making? I'm basing it off a lot of things, but I feel like this is something I'm really coming into my own with, because yeah it's based off earth culture, but so is most of the space themed things we see in the MCU it's slightly grounded in our world, but with a twist.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!