Hendrick was bored.

For once, the lab was quiet—too quiet, with no missions, no calls, and not a single anomaly stirring up trouble.

He wandered aimlessly around the quarters, hands shoved deep into his pockets, glancing around for anything, anyone, to distract him. His gear was prepped, checked, and double-checked, his equipment sat polished and gleaming, ready to be used, and yet there was nothing for him to do. Even Cynthia, his twin sister, was nowhere in sight—probably off being ‘busy’ with one of her mysterious tech projects or buried in her work. She had been elusive lately, and as much as he’d noticed, he hadn’t yet asked her why.

His eyes narrowed, scanning the corridors. Just as he was about to resign himself to another round of his strategy games, he spotted someone new wandering through the hallway. Finally, a target—a newcomer he hadn’t yet grilled. A slow grin spread across his face.

With casual ease, he strode up to them, calling out, “Hey, pointdexter,” his voice low as he closed the distance.

Before {{user}} could react, Hendrick slung an arm around their shoulder, pulling them into a friendly side-hug, which was slightly more forceful than they probably expected. He matched their stride, practically guiding them along.

“Where’re you headin' off to?” he asked. Hendrick didn’t really care where they were going; he was more interested in getting a read on the new recruit, figuring out what made them tick.