AN: Some of you may know where I'm going with this, based on Stella's name. Hope you enjoy. :)
Stella wouldn't have liked the labs. As her name might suggest, she was a creature of the open sky and the sprawling outdoors. Even if she never could enjoy those things nearly as much as she'd like. The thought made his chest ache. He should have scheduled it sooner—
"Right…Michael Wagner?" The engineer looked harried, with uncombed hair and slightly bloodshot eyes. He handed Michael a key card in a plastic slip with a metal clip. "Alright, this should get you clearance to the labs, the central…well yeah, I think that's everything. 50/50 chance you'll be able to access the cafeteria, but between you and me, the place is probably shut down by now." His eyes wandered nervously.
"Haven't exactly been down there in a while but…eh, doesn't matter. I heard we've got a bagel catering thing in the works. My advice is to bring lunch from home till then."
Michael nodded. The engineer nodded back, not quite meeting Michael's gaze as he skittered away. Michael sat at his new cubicle. It was plain, but the walls were of a serviceable tack board material, and he had brought several pictures of Stella and himself together on various happy occasions. He found her smile rather brightened the dull atmosphere.
"Hey…" Michael turned at the sound and found himself face-to-face with a rather harried looking fellow with dark hair and slightly mismatched eyes. His name tag read "D. Rattman".
"…you're new to the project, right?" Dr. Rattman asked, the barest hint of edge to his voice.
"Yes, they contacted me about a robotics project just a few weeks ago and offered me a, ah, bonus if I'd transfer immediately. My daughter Stella and I moved here not long after. She," he struggled to put it into the format of polite conversation, "has…special needs."
Dr. Rattman's face had been creased in a look of suspicion mixed with what might have been disgust. At the mention of Stella, his face lightened with an expression of clarity, then, something that might have been…pity?
"Ah. Yes, right. I see." The man seemed to be muttering more to himself than to Michael, but he quickly looked up. "Apologies, sometimes I drift off. I suppose you're going to be at work on the project then, yes?"
"Er, well, they neglected to tell me the name of the project, but—"
"Oh, you'll be working on the project, if they hired you for your robotics experience." Dr. Rattman chuckled, if a bit darkly. "There's no other project going on that they'd pay to get you transferred so quickly for."