Welcome to Steelheart (Adjunct)

Garowe international airport is, as would be expected of a country like Somalia, rather small and simple compared to the airports of developed nations. A humble concrete box covered in tan colored aluminium cladding, one disembarked right on the tarmac into the hot, arid Somali sun. It was a place where they still employed porters to unload luggage, while a private vehicle awaited passengers in the parking lot.

Steelheart’s primary office was far off in Bandarbeyla over 400km away, but they were more focused on operating the port. Mercifully, they had a bigger satellite office in Garowe, the capitol of the region, away from the government district. They were here as a business after all, nothing more than that. The company was still in a transitional phase, so they occupied a quickly refurbished 8 storey office building, all the glass curiously replaced with specially treated windows with a golden tint. The building’s paint was old and faded, it was pockmarked with bullet holes and some pieces of the walls blown out by heavy ordinance, laborers and masons at work to repair the damage. Rows of condensers advertised that the building was heavily air-conditioned. The company was working on setting up shop and had more important things to do than superficial optics.

A week ago Garowe’s tyrant, King Nagoyo, a man known for brutality and a hundred other things typical of dictators and warlords, had died under unknown circumstances and replaced by his more educated and level headed son, the new King Ndwandwe. He had managed to restore order to his city, but more importantly civil freedoms. People were now free to go about their business without fear of harassment from their government, and last week’s news of the military occupying the town was replaced with blue shirted, friendly police.

They hadn’t even hired a receptionist for the lobby yet and all of the signs were hand written. The Ground floor and the 5th had all the mundane staff facilities, including cafeterias and lockers, and workout areas. The rest were offices by division such as ‘Energy’ ‘Water & Sanitation’ ‘Mining’ ‘Agriculture’ ‘Finance’ and ‘Dabbler’. And yet, the ground floor lobby was filled with an unmistakable live piano playing in an office down the hallway. Connoisseurs would recognize it as the lively Rondo in D Major by Mozart, an upbeat tune that felt bizarrely out of place in this drab office building.

To say that Alexis Lovelace had overprepared for this journey was like saying the tarmac she initially stepped on was a touch hot.   She knew the core of Steelheart was relatively isolated due to the nature of their work, despite their offices in other cities.  The isolation of the home office combined with the relative newness of their endeavor gave her little sense of how they operated.  

 So, Alex had done the only thing she could to prepare an unknown situation.  Overprepare.  Supplies and weapons lay in horde and at her fingertips.  She had written code for sixteen new languages for her translation software on her computer.  She had even bought 'food bribes' to smooth along any tensions that arose with new coworkers.  

 Still, she tried not to let her nerves show.  Alexis smiled as she exited the plane like she was some sort of celebrity, shielding her eyes with her hand despite her sunglasses.  She could feel the heat rising off the asphalt as a physical thing.  She immediately broke into a sweat.  

 One of the porters was waiting to take the sleek black attaché case she held in one hand.  She smiled at him and shook her head.  She thought about what she wanted to say, and a phonetic translation across her HUD.

No, I'd prefer to carry this myself.   Thank you.  It is very hot today, isn't it?

"Maya, waxaan doorbidi lahaa inaan kan laftayda qaado. Mahadsanid. Maanta aad buu u kulul yahay, saw maaha?"

The porter smiled back and did not take her single piece of luggage, though he did escort her to the car.  After greeting and introducing herself to the driver,  she got in.  It was a whole new world it seemed.

It was a more pleasant ride than Alexis had expected. She placed her computer in standby mode and resolved to let the experience settle over her. The landscape was very beautiful. While it did not initially seemed as it would captivate, it had a stark beauty when she began to look hard enough.

This region had been occupied by humans since their species first developed. It was at the heart of who they were. It was romantic. So many first things were done here. The first song, the first word, the first broken heart. It had that energy. All of it came from here...

Fuck, she was nervous.

Maybe the first person to vomit before their first day at work had been here, too. Some ambitious early Anthropocene intern ready to take charge of his or her destiny.

When they arrived, Alex had been surprised by the building. While she had overhead aerial shots taken from recon satellites, it didn't prepare one for the realness of the thing. The handwritten signs, the heat, and the almost flirtatious piano music playing in the lobby made it seem a different world. Some might have called it drab, but Alexis could feel the energy here, too.

Alexis Lovelace put on her game face. Friendly, professional, aloof. She put her attaché case down on the floor and waited. With a silent command, she booted her system and made herself ready.

...Initializing.
...Adjunct Online.
...Good Morning, Alexis.

Minutes later the piano stops and from the hallway where the music came from, a line of preteens and teens were walking out, as they’d just finished their class. They were all bidding someone goodbye in German, one Frau Von Claremont. Staying in her corner of the lobby, avoiding the sun that came in through the entrance, Sophia Von Claremont bid her students goodbye in a very formal German.

“Auf Wiedersehen, see you tomorrow!” she bade her pupils farewell, and the polite kids also greeted Lovelace as they left, their parents having picked them up and waiting just outside. They looked at Alexis and bid her hello and goodbye in a mixture of English, German and native.
Only then did Sophia turn her attention to Alexis. Sophia was wearing a large flowy green dress, that covered her up completely. It was like she was dressed for some kind of re-enactment or period drama. There was a… uncanniness to her skin and overall appearance, which she complemented with a cheery German accent.

“Oh Guten Morgen! Are you here to deliver… no wait, you are one of the new arrivals! Frau Lovelace, wasn’t it? You must be famished from your aero plane voyage. Please, join me for lunch, I insist. I was tasked by Herr Schwarz – Mister Black – to give you the tour. My name is Sophia Von Claremont. I teach culture, arts, music and European European languages.” Only once the children had gone and the doors were closed did Sophia approach to shake her hand, and gently- but firmly- guided her to the cafeteria.  

The state of the cafeteria reflected the duration at which the whole operation had been going on. The entire kitchen section was taped off with some patched together blue tarpaulin, the unmistakable sounds of construction and installation audible, as such few came to dine in the cafeteria. Which was all well and good, as it meant privacy.

The dining hall itself just had plastic chairs and tables, and a hastily assembled display case. The selection wasn’t so impressive – a pile of native flat breads in one area, then USAID rations having been opened up and served as cafeteria selection. You had your disposable cups, plates and spoons, instant coffee, instant tea, instant juices, some pop tarts in vacuum seal, and a mere two selections for main course – spaghetti and beef meatball pasta, and lentins and beans, ready to eat in their USAID packaging.

“Hallo, Frau Claremont.” A single young local man greeted the musical teacher in a more joyful tone than your typical fast food worker. He retrieved something from behind the counter. It was a bowl of dark blood soup, with some bloody sausages floating about.

“Guten Tag, Steven. Ah, Danke. Zis is Alexis Lovelace, our newest recruit. Frau Alexis, Steven. He owned a bakery zat was shut during the civil war. He is our cafeteria head for ze time being.” Sophia graciously received her special ‘food’.

“Hallo miss Lovelace. Not much to choose from, but by next month we will have more food available. Meat or vegetarian? Coffee? Tea? Or Juice? Fresh bread? Pop tart? We also have... raisins, wheat snackbeards, trail mix... and cheese spreads and peanut butter sachets.” Steven asked, fetching a tray for Alexis.

The moment Alexis laid eyes on the woman, she knew they would get along. While her strange appearance was momentarily off-putting, her cheerful mood and her warm welcome did much to ease the butterflies in her stomach.

Alexis took the offered hand and returned the handshake in kind. She sent a mental command to through her HUD.

Translate: English to German - Greetings Ms. Von Claremont. It is my absolute pleasure to meet you.


"Grüße Frau von Claremont. Es ist mir eine absolute Freude, Sie kennenzulernen." That nicety done, Alexis followed her into the cafeteria.

It was certainly a place. There always had been construction going on in the City, but this somehow seemed far more slapdash than what she was used to. She looked at the assembled instruments of eatery, and then a vague frown crossed her features.

Steven, though, was a treasure. She smiled at him warmly. "Hello, Steven. Yes, meat is fine," she said. "But perhaps on my first day I can correct some small part of your woes? A gentleman of your skills should have a medium worthy of his skills."

Alexis waved a hand at the floor next to her, and a stack of crates appeared. Meats, cheeses, fruits, fish, breads... there were at least 12 crates of food there.

"Lines of supply are always an issue with a facility like this." Alex reached up and placed a hand on the man's arm. "Let me know if you need any help at all in the future. For now, I am being rude to Frau Claremont. Will you excuse me?"

When Alex received his permission, she loaded her plate with a selection of what he had available. She wasn't enthused about eating any of it, but she was curious what her coworkers were being subjected to.

"Apologies, I did not mean to be gauche." She cracked a pop tart in half and stuffed it in her mouth. She looked to be dying inside as she chewed. "Yum," she croaked.

Sophia observed as the resourceful girl produced some amount of foodstuffs from out of nowhere. Perhaps an extradimensional space? Impressive.
Steven looked at the food with exceptional delight. “Aya. Good thing the fridges are working. Will call some boys to put these in storage. Thank you madam.” He goes to a window and calls a few gentlemen enjoying their lunch breaks outside with some cigarettes, and hauls the food off to another location.

Sophia pulled out a solid metal bench over the flimsy monoblock chairs. Now that they were one on one, she let out a chuckle at her consuming the calorie dense American rations. Sophia herself waited for Alexis to get comfortable and begin her meal before she dug in herself, though half-heartedly stirring her own porridge and sausages. “Apologies for the rough operations. This building’s lease was only negotiated a week ago. The wonderful air conditioning two days ago. We are still expecting more cooks and staff, that we may begin serving fresh foods. Anyway. Tell me about yourself, miss Alexis. Where are you from, what have you done, What brings you to Steelheart… the usual pleasantries.” She paused to let Alexis answer her questions, add whatever else she wanted to say.

“Also I must be first to say. There was an agreement about the company’s atypical members being open to each other about their natures. So that from the first moment you know exactly what you are in for. Frau Hexe (the little witch) believes deception is… counterproductive to our goals. We do not broadcast it to the masses but we do not hide it obsessively either.”

Sophia showed Alexis her hand, and the colorful outer shell that was her skin and clothes was slowly torn apart from within, as she extended some very nasty black claws and placed them in her lunch. By some process of absorption, the porridge and the sausage were slowly drained, until only some solids and sausage causing remained. The claws then retracted, and slowly, the colored skin returned, good as new.

“What talents do you possess, miss Lovelace? May I call you Alexis?”

A young female staffer in a collared shirt arrived with a small wooden box, setting it on the table next to Sophia and Alexis. She apologized for the brief interruption, and did not stay long. “Ah. Your staff kit. Standard for everyone in the company. Identification card. Keys to a small house in the nearby neighborhood as your personal sleep quarters- air conditioned too, lovely.” Then she showed her the AKS-74 submachine gun and vest. “An armored vest, for any time you must go outside, alone for any reason- and a weapon and ammunition. If you have your own armaments or do not require them, they can be returned. The peace and order situation is tenuous at best... until we have a properly defensible compound of our own.”

The trick with the 'absorption claws' nearly made Alexis' jaw fall off. For all her assertions of being competent, she had the durability of a squishy human. The realization she was sitting across from a person that could kill her as easily as she could stack one of these monobloc chairs Alexis was sitting on.

However, Alexis had not made her way in a corporate setting without being able to be convivial toward people that intimidated her. 'Herr Hex' was right - it was entirely productive to know who you were dealing with. Strangely, Alex took a certain amount of comfort in that.

After a quick smile to the young lady that dropped off her kit, Alexis listened quietly to Sophia's explanation. When the time arrived to talk about herself, she decided to be honest. Sophia had been nothing but so to her, and she found the woman both delightful and charming. She did not travel half the world and uproot her life to collaborate with normal people. What was that movie line? 'It is nice to be working with proper villains again.'

So, going with the theme of full disclosure, she began:

"I believe the professional I spoke to called it what I do 'Social-based Psychic Adaptivity', though that's unwieldy." Alexis gave Sophia a tight, quick smile. "More specifically, however, I form bonds with things I interact with for a prolonged period. Eventually, I will begin to spontaneously develop powers in theme with those I am bonded to. These powers vary based on my needs - I have some say in what comes out. However, they will generally be in theme with the person or item in question."

"My bonds have something like four levels, though it can be more nebulous. With a superficial bond, I gain an understanding of a person's wellbeing. How healthy they are, general emotional sense, or heck, even if they are hungry or not. I also receive an intuitive sense of how far away they are and if they are in danger. At higher levels, I have been able to form a limited telepathic connection. The latter stages are when I begin to manifest new abilities."

"For instance --" With that, she reached down and brought her ever present attaché case up to show it to her. "While this looks like a fashionable work accessory, this is the only object I am presently bonded to. It is a compact but highly advanced super-computer partially wedged in an extra-dimensional space to make it portable." She placed it on the desk next to the new hire kit.

"Due to the nature of my link, I am able to interface directly with it. I do not need to input commands or code, I merely think about what I wish to happen, and the machine does the rest. Beyond that, the closeness of my bond has granted me the ability to shift a portion of my higher brain functions onto the processor, allowing me to access a greatly accelerated cognitive speed while still maintaining a human perspective."

"After this happened, the processor began to filter my sense data. It 'tags' things around me with helpful information, displaying additional information on my senses. For instance, I know Steven's exact height, an approximation of his weight, eye color, probable injuries. If I wished, my Neocortex would begin to immediately scan his social media profiles and pull information from databases to flesh out what I know about him. I know his present location and what he is currently speaking about." Alexis shrugged. "This is all managed in the background, of course. My computer has been keeping track of all of this ever since I landed."

"Finally, it allows me to touch an object," Alexis placed a hand on her new employee kit. It dematerialized in a brief whirl of light green mist, "and pull it into data storage. The amount of data used is commensurate with the complexity of the object. Large, regular shapes of matter are easiest. However, I can do more complex things if I wish. Living objects are the hardest - they have ongoing processes that my system must manage. If it does not, they wind up dead when they exit storage."

Alexis spread her hands, smiling. "Right now I am very much a utility and support specialist. But beyond my powers, I have experience as a troubleshooter and administrative coordinator. I'm originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, my parents are no longer with me." Even now she still felt a pang at that. "I am a Rhodes' Scholar and studied at Oxford, and have degrees in Business Administration, Psychology, and Communications. Minor things about me..."

She began to tap at the point of her chin, "I identify as non-binary, I love Thai food, my favorite movie is The Princess Bride, I am a tournament-level Street Fighter player, and I can't stand rude people." Her eyes twinkled for a moment. "I also have no work/life balance."

Sophia listened intently to the young woman who was eager to share her story. She paused at the right places and showed curiosity at the unusual mental abilities she had. “Interesting! Perhaps if we bonded, you can stretch your arms across a room! do go on my dear…”

Once it was time to speak computer jargon, Sophia was a bit lost. “Fascinating… I have seen a handful of extraordinary external powers, but never that of the mind. Though I’m afraid you lost me on some of those… computer languages.”

Sophia gave a smile of wonder at the storage ability. “Dabbler has something similar. You will love you see it. She will too.” She said with a hint of playfulness. Dabbler insisted on having a certain ritual when meeting new atypical individuals.

Once she ended her talk with some personal information, Sophia was always polite as ever. “You sound most capable, Frau Alexis. You will be of great help to ze company. Well I suppose I should share a bit of who I am as well, it is only fair.”

Sophia took a moment to gather herself and wonder where to start. “I am Sophia Von Claremont, born at the start of the 20th century, 1900 to be exact, in ze old Austro-Hungarian Empire. House Claremont were historians and royal courtiers. My father was a knight who protected ze old royal Hapsburg family. I saw my family and homeland fall around me, I rebuilt our library in Germany, and I saw ze rise of the Nazis, and much like all who oppose them, became their victim… zeir spezielle Wissenschaften Gruppe (Special Science Group), under Goebbels. They made me something much more zan human, yet also much less. I endured a Rip Van Winkle episode in the 70s and found a world so much more advanced. Sigh.” The memories were a sore spot to be sure.

“As such, I am officially here as a consultant on arts, culture and languages. I have a small team dedicated to reviving local customs and culture, much as my family did in Europe. My family background makes me familiar with the various languages spoken by the continent – German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, French, Italian, Dutch, Greek, Latin… and a smattering of Turk, Polish, Ukranian and Serbian. It is a confusing mess to be sure, as there are at least a dozen more languages and hundreds of dialects. I teach children who wish to study, work or migrate to Germany or England mostly. I also teach art and music. That is my day job. When the sun goes down however… I… solve problems. let us leave it at that.”

“It would be impolite to shapeshift in the cafeteria with too many people coming and going. Perhaps in Dabbler’s laboratory, where we shall go next. She insists you must undergo… the sorting hat. Have you eaten your fill? Do you wish to fetch some snack breads?”

Sophia would neglect to mention the state of the elevator. It was old, cramped, and had a mere 1,500 pound capacity, and Sophia took up most of that. Its lights blinked, it audibly creaked along its track. Much like everything else, it was due for a makeover, though not this week.

Alexis was eager to see the 'Sorting Hat', and no mistake. She remained a huge fan of Harry Potter despite everything that had happened with the author. Indeed, she practically salivated at the idea that her house - Hufflepuff - would be confirmed by a genuine magical hat. And to see an actual shapeshifter in action, well...

However, all that was secondary. What came first was what she had to do. Alexis reached out and placed her hand on Sophia's, fearless of any claws. She sought out her eyes and met them with a stare full of compassion. In a soft voice, so that Steven or his assistants would not overhear her, Alex said:

"Frau Claremont. Sophia." Alexis did not know if the physical contact with the strange vampire woman would be welcome, but she decided to press forward anyway. "I cannot begin to imagine what you have seen or suffered. I do not mean to be forward; we've only just met. However, if you ever wish to speak about your experiences or what you suffered, please know that I am always here to talk." She gave her hand another little squeeze, before retracting it.

"That may have been unprofessional. I am sorry if I have given any offense," she said, though her expression was anything but apologetic. Instead, she let her compassion shine through her dimpled smile.

"For now, though. Yes... I am well." Alex had taken small nibbles of each of the various foods. She seemed to have only the stamina for that only though. Finally, as the conversation drew to an end, she gave up and a turkey and pastrami hoggie materialized before her. It was still steaming hot and in the original deli wrapper. She shook her head and smiled at Sophia's offer.

Alexis stood and took the long sandwich in one hand. "Let's walk and talk. Your time is valuable and I don't want to keep Dabbler waiting." She took a giant bite of the sandwich, giving a moan of pleasure.

After entering the elevator, Alexis eyed it. It looked... sturdy? She hoped? She looked over at Sophia, and then waited for the elevator to make it's journey.

"You are very sweet, Alexis. Thank you." She simply said, keeping quiet on the fact that she was tempted to have a little taste of their colleague.

DABBLER'S FLOOR
Once they arrived at the top floor, there was only the small elevator lobby, the rest rooms, fire exit and the double doors to Dabbler’s space. The roof and ceiling had been fixed and expanded to about a storey and half, 15 feet, so there was more headroom here on the top floor.

Sophia opens the double doors to the lab and expanded to a full 9 feet tall. A 9-foot-tall vampire lady. “Ah, that feels better. Like finally being able to stop holding in one’s gut. Hmmm.” Sophia looked around the gigantic mess that was Dabbler’s floor. Aside from the small corner that had a cot and coffee machine, the entire floor had been dedicated to shelves, chalkboards filled to the brim with physics and engineering equations, stacks of paper, and miniature projects of all sorts. But no Dabbler.

A giant mirror mounted on some kind of swivel in one corner, surrounded by notes on sun path, energy generation calculations and turbine schematics. At another part of the room was what was basically a stargate, though far from operational. An entire section of the wall meanwhile, was given over to very large amounts of exposed power cables, outlets, and a long table full of computers running energy and mining simulations. And many, many more. What made it worse was that there was no organization to it all- books on solar energy and solar plants were scattered on the floor on the opposite side of the room. Notes of every kind, printed or hand written were just taped to the walls, shelves and columns far away from their miniature.

To describe it Haphazard was an understatement. Anyone with OCD – heck even with the slightest modicum of organization- would likely suffer a stroke here. It was either hell, or heaven for those with a compulsion to organize and clean.

“What a mess. The line between genius and madness, I suppose.” Sophia sighed, looking around and finding a sound system. It was a computer that accommodated several wire adaptors to quickly plug in music players, but above it was an old-fashioned record player, for the benefit of the technologically challenged. Sophia browsed the shelf of classical records, but chose one at the bottom in a special wooden box. She took out the record and carefully placed it on the player.

FAMILIAR MUSIC

“Mmm. The last new music I listened to. Very wonderful. Operatic but modern, so far ahead of their time. Have you heard of Queen? I last saw their live show in 1985, before I went to sleep. Their lead singer… I had heard he expired not long after of an illness. Over 40 years, mein gott. So long ago now.” Sophia hands Alexis the wooden case with an upholstered inlay, to show not give. The art had faded but inside, there was a short cursive message. “To the Sexy Villain, Sophie. - Freddy xoxo”

Sophie set down the needle, and the music played on the speakers. The unmistakable opening of Bohemian Rhapsody began, in surround sound.

Is this the real life
Is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality…

DABBLER ARRIVES
A portal suddenly opened about 10 feet behind the duo and emerged a trio of large humanoid robots about eight feet tall and glowy red eyes. They took a few steps forward, then promptly keel over onto the floor. These robots were in horrible condition – almost their entire outer shells and much of the insides was rusted through, and they were covered in leaves, twigs and mud. More than a few big juicy creepy crawlies definitely slithered out from them. Otherwise, they seemed to be remarkably intact. That they managed to walk in their condition was a miracle.

“WHEW! These tin cans were built to last! Didn’t think they’d still function after being buried in mud for so many years.” Dabbler came in not long after the robots, shedding her Samantha guise to be a four-armed demon witch.

“Ah, Little witch. Welcome back. You’re just in time to meet the new girl. Alexis, THIS is Dabbler. In public, she goes by Samantha Black. As you can see, she is a mad, mad genius.” Sophia introduced them, the lady having deep respect for the operation’s crazy brains.

Dabbler was too cool for walking. She poofed over to Sophia and Alexis, and sure enough she only came up to the giant woman’s waist, possibly up to Alexis’s bust. She looked up at them. “Hey big lady. Could you be cool and bring these automatons over at those racks?” Dabbler asked Sophia first, thumb pointing at the pile of robots behind her.

“Jawohl, Klein Hexe (Of course, little witch).” Sophia used shapeshifting to turn her one arm into an elongated tentacle to get ahold of all three robots. Like little toys, she picks them up and neatly places them into their stations at the wall, held up by sturdier chains for study later.

Then she looked at Alexis. “Alexis…. Lovelace. Gimme a sec will ya.” Dabbler snickered, like remembering a dirty joke. She poofs over to her coffee station, opens the fridge beside her coffee station and retrieved a very tall glass of a mixed tan drink, obviously coffee and something else, a whopping 32 oz glass. Which she tops off with whip cream. With a big straw she sips it all in one big go.

Dabbler’s caffeine rush started immediately as she spoke at twice normal speed. She poofs over to Alexis, talking like Alvin the chipmunk. “So. Welcome to the operation! Do you like coffee? You think robots are cool? How about science? Yeah science is cool, check out the science!” She poofed over to the mirrors.
“Check this out. Heliostat tower. Mirrors. Solar power. Powers whole cities. WHOLE CITIES. It sets birds on fire! WE HAVE A DRAGON!” She pulled back some curtain and offered Alexis a view of the two heating towers that were already built on the outskirts of town. There ground around them were being demarcated for the mirrors that would harness the sun. The Heliostat towers’ construction was to be Sage’s great work in the coming months.

She poofs over to the miniature train station and points to the tracks. She pushes a mini mag train. “Next Gen. Magnetic rails! No friction. Super top speed. It goes woosh! WOOSH WITH ALL THE MO-NEYYYY!”

Then she hops over to the large circular archway. She slaps that metal gateway, which, from the large empty space and lack of inside parts, says it’s far from operational. “Do you think with portals? I think with portals! I GET PORTALS ! YOU GET PORTALS! PORTALS FOR EVERYONE! IMAGINE INSTANTLY WALKING THROUGH IT AND ENDING UP IN NEW YORK OR LONDON OR ON THE MOOOOON WOULDN’T THAT BE COOOOOOL!”

Dabbler’s true power. Getting on peoples’ nerves. Sophia massaged her head, when she literally was incapable of experiencing headaches. “Frau Hexe. What did you drink?”

“Sextuple caramel quadruple espressooooooo! Science. CANNOT. WAIT! AHAHAHAH!” Dabbler poofed around the room some more, sometimes not even stopping to explain the madness she was trying to show.

“Frau Alexis. You mentioned something about being able to bond and influence the minds and state of others?” Sophie inquired, hoping maybe she could help with the "Dabbler" dilemma.

Have you ever been hit by a train?  That was what the 'Dabbler  Experience' was like for Alexis.  She did not know why the woman was looking for alternative sources of power when Dabbler alone could power the continental United States for a month on one cup of that witch's brew she was sucking down.  

Almost as a defense mechanism, Alex conjured a cup of soothing Jasmine tea, pleasantly warm and soothing, complete with saucer.  She apparated a second one for Sophia as well as she let Dabbler's words wash over her. Quickly, she had given up attempting to follow the stream of words and had outsourced the task to her supercomputer, relying on her enhanced cognition and her ability to instantly catalog things she viewed.

Dabbler was going over her various projects, of course, but in the slipshod fashion of people who were both excited and too into their specific discipline to go into a great many details.  A scrolling log began to form in her HUD as Alexis followed the manic woman from object to object, making sure to extrapolate as much information as possible.  Even as Dabbler spoke, Adjunct began to work to smooth out the minute details so she could focus on big picture aspects.

Projects Under Development Notes
 Lead Researcher: Samantha Black, Dabbler

     Heliostat Towers
      * Need Environmental Impact Study on local Avian Population.
      * Ask about Energy Storage; possible export?

    Draconic Presence
      * Verify Actual Dragon
      * Diet/Food Source?
      * Possible Smelter?

    Magnetic Rails
      * Outreach to Various Local Factions Regarding Rail Lines

    Portals
      * Possible points of vulnerability; need hardened facility
   
Finally, when Sophia asked her question, Alexis answered, "I can bond with people and better understand them.  But influence?  Not so much.  At most I can merely know what they are trying to say or think. My power cuts through ambiguity.  This," she waved a hand to the rat's nest they currently found themselves in, "I could sort and catalog.  I would need to spend another couple of hours here though to get the ball rolling.  Then I would get a sense of her."  She paused.  "If you would like me to do that, I can.  I could also... sort all of this to make her better able to function."

The next song on the album came up as Dabbler's manic presentation ended.

Ooh you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me
It's you you're all I see
Ooh, you make me live now, honey
Ooh, you make me live

"So much to do! SO MUCH TO DO! Energy! Water! Hydroponics! Gateway experiments! THE SECRETS OF THE COSMOS!" Dabbler babbled, and she seemed like she had a lot more poofing in her. Sophia laid a hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back, offering her jasmine to her instead.

"Take a breath, Klein Hexe (Little witch). You've been at zis for a week nonstop now. The Science can wait. Let Alexis organize your things. You have not even begun preparations for presentation to ze departments." She said. Sophia wasn't intellectually inclined as her peers, but for a vampire she exhibited good maternal instincts.

"HAAAHAHAHAH... haaa.... haaah... Yeah. Yeah. presentation. Give the local officials something to chew on. Yeah.  What are we doing again?" Dabbler did finally calm down and talk at her normal pace, which wasn't that much an improvement.

"Sigh. Sorting hat? But it seems Frau Lovelace has already sorted a place for herself- your laboratory." Sophia suggested, still not completely convinced at the sorting ritual as nothing more than a juvenile but fairly harmless prank on Dabbler's part.

"Awww. It'll only take a jiff. SO! Ya wanna see muh hat, newbie?" Dabbler looked at Alexis.

The song seemed particularly appropriate given what Adjunct was about to do. Even as the initial few cords began to play, Alexis reached inside her own mind. Inside her memories she could recollect various people - her parents, her high school friends, the people she had dated, her coworkers. Each of them had a feeling for Alexis, even so far removed in time and space. For as a consequence of her power, Alex was deeply aware of each of these.

Life was connection.  A web of threads and ties with a hundred different people and things we don't even think about.  A favorite pair of shoes that seemed to make you run faster, an old couch that seemed a bit more comfortable, the touch of a friend's hand as they comforted you.  Each of these had a power; it was something Alexis could tap into.

Placing her hand on a surface, she felt her heartbeat desync for a moment with her autonomic functions. A thread of connection stretched forth from her mind into Dabbler's, binding Adjunct's very being to hers.  Her heart began to beat again, but this time it was in the sextuple-caramel-quadruple-espresso'd frenzy of Dabblers.  It was like some mad gnome had an 808 drum and was pounding a staccato beat inside her head.  

Alexis felt... good.  Really good.  They were doing stuff, right?  She was meeting new people and making a fresh start of things.  She felt a buzzing energy sweep through her as whatever maniac drive Dabbler possessed overtook her.  She was excited.  For everything.  FOR ALL THE THINGS.

Of course, at this nascent beginning, the bond was tenuous.  She'd have to stay with Dabbler for at least a couple hours for it to cement. All she had was a vague sense of Dabbler's feelings and motivations.  The urge to create, to invent, to explore.  She had to tamp down her urge to immediately begin geeking out with her about everything.

Alexis removed her hand from the table it had been resting on, a huge smile on her face.  "I would absolutely love to see anything you have to show me!"  She all but shouted, her eyes wide with excitement.

Her HUD displayed what she already knew.

...Bond: Samantha Black, Dabbler
...Level 0 (1): Nascent (Temporary)
...14% Complete.  
...1.7 Hours Remaining
...Powers Obtained:  None

...Current Effects
...Bio-sync: Complete
...Quantum Entanglement (Level 0 - Complete Bond to Enable)
...Neural Interface (Level 0 - Complete Bond to Enable)

Dabbler put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. From high up in the rafters a raven familiar flew towards them, carrying a rather patchy looking wizard hat. Dabbler set up two chairs next to each other. The raven perched on Sophia and looked at Alexis with curiosity.

She looked at her hat and actually spoke to it. “Hat. Sort.” The droopy hat seemed to come to life by itself and stood straight up. However, it wasn’t exactly like Hogwarts.

“Well take a seat and put it on your head. See what the hat has to say.” She said with a cheeky grin.

Once picked up, the hat’s defensive mechanism would trigger. However, as it was in Sorting mode, it was not going to messily eat anyone. Dabbler’s Hat of devouring opened its maw to reveal its yellowish fangs, only to change its demeanor at the last moment to that of a friendly puppy, a large and moist tongue licking the hands of whoever held it. It was not a particularly talkative hat. Yet. That was it, the prank Dabbler liked to pull. Depending on how it was taken she’d be rolling on the floor laughing or, if someone was wise to it, she’d go “aww.”

When the hat made it's appearance, Alexis looked at it apprehensively. She considered for a moment if this was necessarily wise, but then she glanced to Dabbler and got a sense of... mischief? Ah, this was a prank. A normal person might simply smirk at a trick and stride over to their seat and mock the person as they allow them to put it on their head.

Adjunct, however, was working.

The Bond was all, and the Bond had needs. She sensed that Dabbler would be intensely disappointed if the prank flopped; it apparently had before. So, instead of what the 'normies' would, Alexis decided to play into it.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" She practically screamed. "Get it away, get it awa-aay!"

Alexis began to scramble away from the hat as if it were a tentacle covered monster out for her blood. She began to climb what appeared to be a pile of discarded machine parts like the hat was even now on her heels. "I can feel it! It hungers for flesh! Sophia, you have to run! Run and save yourself!"

Promptly, she took off one of her expensive business shoes and promptly threw it at the hat-beast.

"AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Dabbler was rolling on the floor laughing indeed. The hat ate the shoe in one gulp then went inert.

The hat became immobile once it was not held. It did not have any built in way to move itself. Whether or not Dabbler chose that deliberately or simply overlooked it was hard to tell. It was a hat, it simply had no need to move itself, that would be inconvenient.

Once Dabbler had her laugh she picked it up, and it was much more compliant in its master's hands. "Hat, open." she commanded, and the hat obliged. Dabbler reached into it- her whole arm- and fetched Alexis's shoe. It was intact, though a bit damp for reasons best left unknown.

"Okay. you're cool. Welcome to the Dabbler floor." Dabbler was feeling the sugar crash now. One does not down a sextuple-quadruple and not fall unconscious. "I think. I think... I'm gonna take that break now." Dabbler was so tired she didn't do the poof, but rather walked over to her cot and crashed. hard. Auntie Sophie fixed up Dabbler's blanket and covered her properly.

"Well. I have an afternoon class to handle. You can get acquainted with her research... get settled in, then the work truly begins tomorrow. Auf Wiedersen Fraulien." Sophia said, then heads towards the rickety elevator.