Cleaning… Nik's nemesis. His grimace deepened while hunched over a connection interface, and his patience wore thin. The STM was operational, but the repackaging process was grueling and demanded rigorous cleaning. He and Ari had meticulously built each component, so cataloging each item became a huge chore.

  Nik hissed when he felt a sharp sting on his hand. Blood welled up from a fresh cut on his finger - a parting gift from a rogue edge of housing metal.

  "Ridiculous," he grumbled, tossing aside his grimy rag. While tending the cut, Nik's mind wandered. It wasn't just the cleaning bugging him. It was everything that came with their newfound success, starting with the endless audiences of the most influential brass in the country. They had demonstrated the STM to virtually every government official in Congress, the President's cabinet, and even a few alphabet agency spooks.

  When the project began, all the self-important jerks overseeing Nik thought it was a joke. Nik could remember when no one gave a rat's ass when he or Ari took a copy of the software to work on at home. That ended up playing out in Nik's favor. When they had their first successful transmission, the first thing Nik did was bootleg the program. It wasn't a second too late either because the STM was immediately swaddled in red tape.

  Their treatment had shifted drastically from indifferent oversight to stringent security and confidentiality. The irony wasn't lost on Nik, but the change in their status carried a new set of challenges. Challenges that were pissing Nik off.

  Nik suddenly realized he'd returned to cleaning the same bloodthirsty housing unit for the third time. He took a moment to stand up and crack his back.

  Nik wished they could've gone public and open-sourced the code, but the government’s sole mission was to bury their invention in thick layers of clandestine hush. Unfortunately, at some level, he knew it was probably for the best.

  Nik smirked at a vision of some redneck attaching an RCP to a rusty hotrod motor. His famous last words right before erasing himself. "Let's 'git this sucker cookin'!"

  Nik let his amusement subside before shifting his attention across the lab. At least Ari seemed to be in his element.

  "You know the drill. Flawlessness foremost," the heaviness in Ari's voice revealed the same weariness that Nik felt. "If we screw this up, the resulting Gordian knot will breed nightmares." Nik was glad he wasn't in charge of the hardware portion. He was never one to care about how aesthetically pleasing something was, nor was he the design-oriented type. That was Ari's domain. Nik was the geek who preferred the quantum physics and programming side of the project. With a resigned sigh, he returned to the huge bin of parts he had slowly filled throughout the day.

  "I wonder where they'll let us build them," Nik's thoughts echoed Ari’s after the night in the pub. But at the rate things were going, the STM would never be built.

  Before Nik could descend into another rant within his mind, the doors to the lab swung open. "I'm looking for Doctors Niklos Krylov and Ariel Sai." A cold and authoritative voice boomed out suddenly. Nik wheeled around to see a group of men who seemed to have wandered out of a military recruitment poster.

  A sudden silence fell over the room as everyone ceased their work, focusing on Nik and Ari. A palpable tension filled the air, making Nik's pulse quicken.

  Nik locked eyes with Ari. With a shrug, the two meandered towards the imposing retinue. As they approached, Nik observed the group's apparent leader. A stern figure with a rod for a spine who looked like stress was his morning coffee. Nik couldn't stand military types.

  "I'm Dr. Krylov. What can we do for you, gentlemen?" Nik asked as he approached. The officer nodded to the men behind him. They shut the door and began patrolling around the lab's perimeter, shutting the window blinds in their wake. All that remained was an uncomfortable artificial light.

  Nik's fingers curled tightly in his pockets. He looked over at his partner, but unsurprisingly, Ari found the itch on his neck stubble more interesting than the unfolding situation. Even now, the man was a detached reptile.

  Satisfied with the fresh gloom, the bearish officer produced a pair of black binders and introduced himself.

  "I am Colonel Parker, and my task is to reassign you."

  "Reassign?" Ari asked, taking one of the binders. Colonel Parker considered Ari and Nik momentarily, seeming to size them up. He turned his attention to Nik, who didn’t slouch and kept himself relatively clean. His staple cotton button-up would have been white if it didn't wear the stains from cleaning all day.

  "It's come to our attention that this breakthrough technology is a matter of national security."

  "National security?" Nik parroted. Colonel Parker continued unabated.

  "The Department of Defense has concluded that this technology has the capacity for gross misuse in the wrong hands. So we are moving it, all related materials, and necessary personnel to a more secure location. Nothing, and no one, is to leave this room without documented approval and signed NDAs.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Nik could feel heat building behind his ears. "Excuse me, but this program was classified as an open Department of Transportation project. I don't see how-"

  "And now it's been reclassified–Highly classified," Colonel Parker interrupted sternly. Nik could feel his stomach clench as the frustration he had harbored all day began bubbling up. "Believe me when I say we were not expecting a result like this when we heard of your project." Nik felt his head crook backward indignantly. The Colonel didn't seem to notice. "Please look over the information in the dossiers. It has your new location assignments and itineraries. Also, we have a detachment of personnel ready to assist in the move."

  Nik could have crushed rocks between his teeth. In the blink of an eye, things had gone from steady to a vomit-inducing rollercoaster he couldn't escape. He had a feeling the damn military might swoop in, but he'd been holding onto the hope that the STM would stay within his and Ari’s grasp.

  "Ari?" Nik looked over to see his friend fervently skimming through the thick binder in his hands, digesting the information like a scientist studying a particularly intriguing specimen. He hadn't even brushed aside his hair while absorbing the information.

  After a moment, Ari shut the binder. His expression was sobering. "It says here that we must be cleared through Special Operations Command. Are you planning on deploying STMs?"

  The Colonel scowled, effectively changing the temperature in the room. "That information, unfortunately, has been withheld even from me for the time being. You will find out more when you complete your relocation."

  Images of the STM repurposed as a tool of war churned in Nik's stomach. The metallic taste of fear rose in his mouth.

  "Do we have a choice in the matter?" Nik huffed.

  "Not really, no." The finality of the Colonel's tone made Nik want to strangle his fat neck.

  Ari must have sensed his anger because he quickly interjected. "If that's the case, when do we begin relocation?" Nik detected a hint of excitement in Ari's voice, but he quickly pursed his lips when assaulted by Nik's harsh gaze.

  "Immediately," Colonel Parker replied. He turned back and nodded to a subordinate who opened the door behind them. A group of uniformed men strode into the room in an orderly fashion. Satisfied with himself, the Colonel returned to Nik and Ari.

  "Captain McMurray has been assigned as the point of contact for this assignment. If you need additional resources, please direct your requests to him." The Colonel motioned to the blonde officer leading the men into the lab. With a final nod, he and his entourage made their exit.

  Ari was the first to speak after they left. "What kind of Gamertag do you think guys like that have?" Ari asked.

  "The Spread Eagle," Nik grumbled. Ari snorted loudly, trying not to laugh. "And we'll have to change our own Gamertags now that we've been conscripted. I'm not looking forward to being feared online as The-Suprise-Rectal-Exam."

  "Well, that's not exactly fair." Ari's voice cracked. He opened his dossier. "After all, we are getting a pay raise." He pointed out a small box on an official-looking form.

  "Listen, I don't really care how much we're getting p-p-paid?" Nik lost his train of thought when he saw the figure at Ari's fingertip. "That's… a lot of bacon."

  "And we love bacon," Ari grinned. It took a moment for Nik to peel his eyes away from the outrageous salary, but the anxiety of their situation quickly returned.

  "Listen," Nik said more seriously, "I don't care how much money is involved. You've got to promise me we won't let them turn it into a weapon." Ari paused. Nik could tell he hadn't considered the idea until now.

  After a moment, he nodded. "I promise I won't let them make it a weapon." Ari reiterated.

  "Good," Nik sighed with relief. "Now for a more important matter. How the hell are you going to tell your wife and daughter?" The color drained from Ari's face.

  ***Ari***

  "Can we please turn the temperature up? It's colder than the devil's tits in here." Ari had finally lost his patience. They had been working in their new home for over a month, yet no one seemed to know how a thermostat worked.

  "I'm sorry, sir, but we have to get permission from the base command to turn the facility heat up." Captain McMurray explained again. He had been a thorn in Ari's side since he met the asshole.

  "Then go get permission already," Ari retorted.

  "The paperwork has already been submitted, Dr. Sai. It just needs to go through the proper channels," McMurray reassured.

  "Are you flipping kidding me?" Ari was about to lose his shit. "You mean to tell me that you need an official paper trail to crank the heat up a few measly degrees?" Before the beleaguered captain could answer, Ari stamped off toward Nik's workstation.

  "Can you believe how inefficient things are around here?" He fumed.

  Nik looked up from his work with a smile. "But think of all the bacon, Ari." Nik’s sarcasm hit Ari straight in the gut.

  "Doctors, the first housing prototype is ready!" Captain McMurray announced while rushing up to the two.

  "See?" Nik said. "At least we have a little good news." Ari's mood didn't lighten. Nik nodded to the captain. "Alright, don't just stand there. Lead the way." With a nod, McMurray began navigating to the back of the gigantic warehouse-like building. Ari and Nik followed him through the maze of workstations that had popped up like weeds over time. Every day, there seemed to be new faces or equipment.

  Ari suspected more had been brewing behind the scenes, but he didn't want to mention that to Nik. When they reached the manufacturing workshop, the captain stopped and held out a hand, inviting them to take the lead to the primary assembly station.

  "After you, doctors," he beckoned. Nik nodded, but Ari ignored him completely. He was still mad about being frozen half to death. Instead, Ari followed behind Nik, quietly seething. His ire vanished the instant his attention fell on the prototype standing before them.

  "Wow," Nik exclaimed. "That looks…. Techy." Ari found himself rooted to the spot. Techy was the wrong word, in his opinion. He had spent weeks designing and supervising the prototype components. This was his first time seeing it fully assembled. He only had one word to describe it.

  "Majestic." He whispered. No longer was the STM a crude cylinder with a webwork of cables enshrouding it. Now, it was a sophisticated glass-like pod with a simple conduit attachment to a quantum computer. Everything was decked out in a clean metallic finish. There were even well-orchestrated indicator lights over the sliding door to the crystalline chamber.

  "Gentlemen," McMurray announced. "If you approve of this product, we can proceed to the next development of operations."

  Nik and Ari snapped their eyes over to the captain. "Next development?" they asked in unison.