Agent Washington (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
parannoyed) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
piper902020-09-22 05:56 pm
parannoyed) wrote in piper902020-09-22 05:56 pm
Entry tags:
A Clear and Consistent Manner | [locked/encrypted] cw: mention of shock punishment in narration
[Wash is quickly learning that Jorgmund isn't the hardest to lie to. One of the benefits of working with middle management in a corporation instead of army leadership, he supposes. They bought that the egg stasis containers Wash tampered with were hit by acid spray during battle, and they even bought his excuse for why they failed the mission objective, why he hadn't acted as a "corrector."]
[Nobody died, after all. Wash pointed out that he'd gone into a conflict where they hadn't even assigned a field leader and walked out with everyone alive. And aren't the New Hires a very expensive and difficult to replace asset, as well? Or else they wouldn't have the shock collars to ensure their compliance.]
[Jorgmund had agreed with his assessment and told him his performance was adequate, and that his assessment of the situation was correct.]
[Then they'd shocked him, told him they expected better than "adequate" in the future and that he wasn't supposed to follow through on a correct tactical assessment unless they told him to.]
[Wash can tell they're trying to soften all they're doing with faux benevolence and nice words with everyone else - why call them "New Hires" if not to make what they're doing seem normal and reasonable? He wonders if they're dispensing with that faux softness with him because they know he's competent enough to see right through it - and because they have an extra bit of leverage to ensure his total obedience regardless of what they do to him. It's a daunting prospect, having to work with people that think there's nothing he'll say no to and who know there's more of chance he'll never fight back than some of the other New Hires.]
[But for now, at the very least he gets to keep both his life and the implant, and now he has to focus on continuing to keep them. To do that, he needs this group to be able to meet their mission objectives (and he doesn't dare risk sabotaging that again). And to do that they need to get their act together. It's not their fault that last mission was disorganized and sloppy, it was Jorgmund's for sending a bunch of brand new agents out there with the regulars, with unfamiliar equipment, and having not even met yet.]
[But it's still a problem that needs to be resolved.]
[It'll also be a lot easier to perform to expectations when they're not randomly getting almost-murdered.]
[After the self-executing encrypted code executes (something he won't tell Jorgmund about on the off chance the resistance here is effective enough to actually get them all out, but will keep in his back pocket if needs it) he gathers intel first, quietly lurking and reading.]
[Then he introduces himself like someone who's used to walking into different situations and immediately bossing everyone around, as ones does (if you're a Freelancer, at least). His voice is clipped and a little stiff, but occasionally dips into dry and sardonic.]
I'm Agent Washington. I may have run into some of you on that mission with the aliens...
[A pause.]
From Aliens.
But otherwise I'm new here. I need a sitrep and an overview of your defense plans so I can recommended improvements.
Also, who's in charge here? I know Jorgmund hasn't appointed anyone formally - because I asked - but you had to have made some kind of decision informally.
[Because the alternative is total anarchy and who lives like that??]
Then again, that mission in Pilton was a disaster, so if you haven't chosen a leader internally, why not?
[Look at Judge Judy all up in here.]
[Nobody died, after all. Wash pointed out that he'd gone into a conflict where they hadn't even assigned a field leader and walked out with everyone alive. And aren't the New Hires a very expensive and difficult to replace asset, as well? Or else they wouldn't have the shock collars to ensure their compliance.]
[Jorgmund had agreed with his assessment and told him his performance was adequate, and that his assessment of the situation was correct.]
[Then they'd shocked him, told him they expected better than "adequate" in the future and that he wasn't supposed to follow through on a correct tactical assessment unless they told him to.]
[Wash can tell they're trying to soften all they're doing with faux benevolence and nice words with everyone else - why call them "New Hires" if not to make what they're doing seem normal and reasonable? He wonders if they're dispensing with that faux softness with him because they know he's competent enough to see right through it - and because they have an extra bit of leverage to ensure his total obedience regardless of what they do to him. It's a daunting prospect, having to work with people that think there's nothing he'll say no to and who know there's more of chance he'll never fight back than some of the other New Hires.]
[But for now, at the very least he gets to keep both his life and the implant, and now he has to focus on continuing to keep them. To do that, he needs this group to be able to meet their mission objectives (and he doesn't dare risk sabotaging that again). And to do that they need to get their act together. It's not their fault that last mission was disorganized and sloppy, it was Jorgmund's for sending a bunch of brand new agents out there with the regulars, with unfamiliar equipment, and having not even met yet.]
[But it's still a problem that needs to be resolved.]
[It'll also be a lot easier to perform to expectations when they're not randomly getting almost-murdered.]
[After the self-executing encrypted code executes (something he won't tell Jorgmund about on the off chance the resistance here is effective enough to actually get them all out, but will keep in his back pocket if needs it) he gathers intel first, quietly lurking and reading.]
[Then he introduces himself like someone who's used to walking into different situations and immediately bossing everyone around, as ones does (if you're a Freelancer, at least). His voice is clipped and a little stiff, but occasionally dips into dry and sardonic.]
I'm Agent Washington. I may have run into some of you on that mission with the aliens...
[A pause.]
From Aliens.
But otherwise I'm new here. I need a sitrep and an overview of your defense plans so I can recommended improvements.
Also, who's in charge here? I know Jorgmund hasn't appointed anyone formally - because I asked - but you had to have made some kind of decision informally.
[Because the alternative is total anarchy and who lives like that??]
Then again, that mission in Pilton was a disaster, so if you haven't chosen a leader internally, why not?
[Look at Judge Judy all up in here.]
Re: [video]
[This is not happy fun time alternate dimension movie night Wash. There is definitely a coldness in his voice at times, and the times it's not icy it's either a little flat or dryly sarcastic.]
[His tone relaxes just slightly but only slightly.]
From what I gather, two people got attacked, Jorgmund already doesn't care about everyone's safety, and field ops are sometimes an inch away from disaster. I was tossed into that mission with only loose orders, no chain of command, and weaponry I'd never trained on.
All because Jorgmund doesn't care.
Because they don't, we all have to. And that involves organization and self-discipline.
text
we are all aware that the situation is fucked. we're coping. love the enthusiasm but spend a hot second getting to know the turf before you break out the backhoe.
text
[And stops for a second and digs down deeper past the current annoyance with his situation, past the anger, past the need for control.]
[The need for control that's there partly because his life has been a roller coaster lately that he never asked to get on and that he wants to get off.]
[He tries to remember what it was like, what he did, what he said, back when he was reassuring teammates. When he actually was able to talk to them because they were fighting shoulder to shoulder instead of him just silently recovering their equipment and destroying their corpses.]
[He takes a long breath on his side of the screen.]
That situation on the mission was out of control. This entire overall situation is out of control.
And it's not the first one like that that I've faced recently. When I say I don't care about having friends I'm trying and failing at saying I'd rather be useful than liked.
For a number of reasons, these last few years I've only managed the one, and it's been getting harder to manage even that.
Re: text
we are, each of us, dealing with being in a super fucked situation, far away from home, no idea if we'll get back, very little idea what's going on, while in the hands of people who don't care if we live or die
i can see you freaking out all over this post and chummer, we're freaking out too. but they way you are freaking out is making people think you're an asshole, which isn't productive, because as you've observed, the only way we survive this is as a team.
do some deep breathing exercises and take a minute to internalize that you don't actually have a handle on the situation and that's okay. you'll get one. we're pretty good at supporting each other and you sound like you have some training so you'll find a groove fast.
Re: text
[In the past he'd be sitting there eating food through his helmet with his friends rolling their eyes at him the entire time, and that still...worked. They gelled. He got his balls busted but they gelled and the greatest hurdle was the stupid leaderboard and the competition it fostered. But people like York or North didn't go in for that.]
[He'd even been able to work with those Reds and Blues.]
[You know, before shooting some of them.]
I'll work on it.
Even if that just means I don't talk to anyone outside of wherever I'm most useful.
["I'll deal with having trouble talking to people by not talking to them outside of them using me for something" is...not really a normal way of thinking but he doesn't seem to notice.]
Re: text
Re: text
[The "welcome back to trying to make new friends in high school"ness of it all is settling in.]
Re: text
Re: [video]
[ Wash is completely correct in his assessment, and Robbie’s trying really hard to not get off on the wrong foot, because he wants to be heard without them dissolving into an argument about military and superhero values for what seems like the tenth time. Although it might actually be the first time, so maybe it’s a right of passage. ]
You’re not wrong. They’re going to keep throwing us at face-eating leopards, and everyone needs training. But people are going to dig their heels in if you keep asking kids what kind of flowers they want at their funeral.
no subject
[A pause.]
Judging from how he looks, I wasn't much older than that when I enlisted. We weren't teenagers, we were recruits-in-the-making. It's hard thinking of teens that age as actual kids.
But I've gathered it's different in other places.
no subject
[ Robbie rubs his chin thoughtfully. ]
I think you can’t enlist until you’re 18, but I know it’s not the same in Brainy’s universe. All the different planets have own laws, and I think some of them take species into account.