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Getting the internship in Dr. Mensah's office was a big fucking deal. Nollie wrote two essays, secured five different references from prior teachers and supervisors, gave two interviews (one in a group and one solo), and had to pass a background check to get the position. Dr. Mensah only took five interns each year, and it was a really valuable experience, getting to observe the day-to-day governance of Nollie’s home up close. It was also a great chance to make connections with leaders of the subordinate governmental offices, which could turn into job offers once Nollie finished their civil servant certification. It was more than a kid whose whole family worked in soil reformation at a terraforming site could ever dream of, really.
So, it was sort of a disappointment when Dr. Mensah left for a two month survey trip only a month into Nollie’s year-long internship. But then only four weeks after that Nollie, along with the rest of Preservation, heard that the survey trip had been aborted because Dr. Mensah and the rest of the team had been attacked on the planet by a corporate survey group. A month was enough for Nollie to have developed a (near) hero worship level of admiration for Dr. Mensah, so they had been scandalized by the story. A couple months after that, the news that Dr. Mensah was missing arrived. Nollie and the other interns, Kenda, Chelis, Tara, and Nik were being shuffled from department to department at the time in an approximation of the diverse experience they had been hired for, and they were all worried sick for Dr. Mensah.
Then, one morning, Nollie woke up to a feed message stating that Dr. Mensah had returned to Preservation, and that Dr. Mensah was getting right back to work, and that Nollie’s internship with her was resuming today. Nollie was thrilled. The interns’ group-thread on the feed was abuzz, wondering what had happened, what would happen next, what they would find out about what happened in the Corporation Rim due to their proximity to Dr. Mensah.
Nollie made sure they were dressed their best and reported to work right on time. Their pass let them into Dr. Mensah’s office suite for the first time in months. They met Kenda and Chelis outside Dr. Mensah’s personal office, and the three of them walked in together.
As soon as Nollie saw Dr. Mensah, they noticed how tired she looked. She seemed thinner than she had been before the survey mission, with dark circles under her eyes and a wan, gray cast to her skin. Even though she looked exhausted, Dr. Mensah’s voice was as warm as always when she said, “Kenda, Nollie, Chelis, it’s wonderful to see you again. I’m sorry for how this internship experience has shaken out so far for you, but I want to make it up to you now that I’m back. Do you know if Tara and Nik will be here today?”
Nollie politely bowed their head. Chelis said, “They’re on their way, Dr. Mensah. They should be here soon.”
“Good,” Dr. Mensah said, and started to give them some instructions. That was when Nollie noticed the other person in the room, and unintentionally stopped paying attention to what Dr. Mensah was saying, because Nollie had never seen this person before, and it didn’t make sense for them to be here. They were young, way too young to be a government officer with any official reason to be in here. Their skin was much paler than Dr. Mensah’s, a golden-brown tone like Nollie’s own, and their features looked nothing like Dr. Mensah’s or anyone in her family that Nollie had met or seen photos of. The unknown person was sitting on the couch, shuffling through paper documents with a perplexed, frustrated expression.
Nollie felt confused, and under that, a hot surge of jealousy. Why would Dr. Mensah hire another intern when Nollie, Kenda, Chelis, Tara, and Nik were already here, devoted, and underutilized?
After they were finished for the day, Chelis said in the intern’s feed group-thread: Who the fuck was that in Mensah’s office today
Kenda: What I just thought it was one of her nieces. nephews. Nibling? Nik did you see pronouns on their feed id
Chelis: No way they don’t look like any of her family members we’ve met
Nik: No feed ID it was weird. Like they were a station security guard or something haha
Nollie: I thought they were a new intern
Nik: Me too tbh Mensah kept talking to them in the feed on an encrypted channel but I saw the traffic on the network
Tara: Wtf then why aren’t they working with us. Also did they have to go through the interview process too? If they got fast-tracked as an emergency hire that’s kinda not fair.
Chelis: Why would Dr. Mensah need an extra intern right now. A lot of our work today was kinda pointless honestly
Nollie: Well why else were they there? It was weird
Kenda: So who’s going to ask them
Chelis: HAHA no way did you see them scowling at counsel member Ephraim like he’s not the highest ranking person after Dr. Mensah? Not me nope
Nik: Seriously
Kenda: Okay then who's gonna ask Dr. Mensah
Tara: That’s the only thing that sounds scarier then asking them. Tbh
When Nollie got ready to go to their internship the next cycle, they felt a little silly. Perhaps they, and the other interns, might’ve jumped to conclusions a little bit by assuming someone who was in Dr. Mensah’s office for unexplainable reasons was another intern who hadn’t been introduced to them. It was probably a one-off thing, maybe a junior officer from one of the departments, consulting Dr. Mensah on their area of expertise.
They had seemed awfully young to have finished a civil servant certification, though. Whatever. Nollie was resolving not to think about it again.
Or at least, they resolved not to think about it again until they got to Dr. Mensah’s office, and that person was still there. Nollie couldn’t help but be immediately suspicious.
“Good morning, Dr. Mensah,” Nollie said as they walked into the office and bowed their head. They were a little early, so the other interns weren’t here yet. Nollie peeked at the person, but they didn’t even acknowledge Nollie’s presence. That was rude, Nollie thought.
“Good morning,” Dr. Mensah returned. “I have to send a couple statements to the Preservation Press Corps today. The drafts are mostly complete,” she told Nollie, “But there’s comments on a few of them from Dr. Bharadwaj. I was wondering if you could edit them for me today. Please send them to me when you’re done so I can approve them and submit them tonight.”
“Of course, Dr. Mensah. Have you already sent them to me in the feed?”
“Oh, I’ll do that right now.” Dr. Mensah picked up a touch screen interface and bit her lip as she signed into it.
While she was busy, Nollie turned to the strange new person. They were sitting on Dr. Mensah’s couch, where she sometimes let Nollie and the other interns work if they were having a slow day. The person had a kind of vacant look in their eyes, like they were working in the feed. Nollie said to them, “Hey.”
They jumped a little and turned their body towards Nollie, but they didn’t meet Nollie’s eyes.
Summing up all the courage they could, Nollie said, “I’m Nollie. It’s nice to meet you. I hope we can work well together.” They tried to make it sound as friendly as possible. Maybe if the strange person was a new intern, they’d been shy and self-conscious yesterday. Nollie supposed that if they themselves had been hired in an unusual way and then dumped into an already established friend-group of interns, Nollie would definitely be shy and self-conscious themself.
But then the new person pointedly turned away from Nollie without replying, and immersed themselves in the feed again. Nollie burned with embarrassed anger.
For a while, the status quo was that whenever Nollie and the new intern were in the same room and Dr. Mensah wasn’t looking, Nollie glared at the new intern and the new intern ignored Nollie. Nollie and the other interns had, at this point, concluded that the new intern must be a new intern, because they were there every day.
They were also clearly favored by Dr. Mensah, which infuriated everyone. They were always with Dr. Mensah or in her office. The rest of them usually only worked in Dr. Mensah’s office when Dr. Mensah needed to directly supervise them, or when they were taking notes for Dr. Mensah during a meeting. The new intern was always in Mensah’s office when Nollie showed up in the morning to get their daily assignment and they were always there in the evening when Nollie went in to say goodnight.
It was really frustrating to be outclassed by someone who clearly hadn’t gone through the normal application process, since they hadn’t been present at the group interview for the finalists with everyone else. If one of the other finalists had been hired because there was extra work, Nollie and the rest would’ve happily welcomed them on board.
On top of the favoritism, it was the fact that the new intern acted like they were so much better than Nollie and the others. They still hadn’t talked to anyone, and they ignored Nollie and the other interns whenever someone asked them a question. Nollie sometimes thought about complaining, but sometimes they were rude when Dr. Mensah was in the room with them, like that first time Nollie tried to talk to the new intern, and Nollie didn’t want to complain to Dr. Mensah about the new intern’s behavior when Dr. Mensah had already tacitly approved it by not saying anything.
Then, on Nollie’s day off after a few weeks of this new arrangement in Dr. Mensah’s office, the intern group-thread suddenly popped off.
Tara: WHHAAAAAAAAAAT [embedded newsfeed link: Leaked photos: A rogue SecUnit is present on Preservation Station.]
Nollie blinked, looking at the photo. It was a picture of Dr. Mensah, her friends Dr. Bharadwaj and Pin-Lee, and the new intern. Nollie had a split-second of furious jealousy that the new intern had gotten to spend time with Dr. Mensah, Dr. Bharadwaj, and Pin-Lee on their own before Nollie realized that the photo was identifying the new intern as… the rogue SecUnit.
Nollie: What
Nik: What
Kenda: Wtf
Chelis: Uh
Nik: The new intern is a SecUnit????????
Tara: No idiot why would the SecUnit be an intern it’s a SecUnit
Chelis: Is it bad that I’m sad that Dr. Mensah is more interested in spending time with a SecUnit than us. Like I know she’s our boss not our friend but it kinda hurts haha.
Nollie: Are we dumb
Kenda: Yes
Kenda: Supremely
Nollie: So like. How do you apologize to a SecUnit for giving it dirty looks constantly?
Nik: Wait what
Tara: NOLLIE you were getting in staring matches with the SecUnit?
Nollie: Well I didn’t know it was a SecUnit either!!!!!
Chelis: We were just like. Hanging out with a SecUnit for weeks not knowing it. That’s crazy oh man
Nik: You’re way too ballsy Nollie, what the heck.
Kenda: Is anyone else less intimidated of it now that we know it’s a SecUnit
Nollie: Yeah I guess. All it ever does is sit on her couch.
Nollie: Seriously though how do you apologize to a SecUnit. I feel bad okay.
Tara: You got yourself into that one Nollie