cwn and mendez talk

<•Antioch|GM> The briefing among the Protectorate capes ends quickly -- longer for some than others, with Cwn struggling to write a formal incident report with no experience in that field whatsoever.
3:09 PM What reassurances she gets that she didn't fuck up are muted, with everyone present more concerned about Forgemaster's absence -- and when the audio files are retrieved -- the news of his defection.
3:09 PM Meanwhile, Director Mendez finds that things have gone to shit in several different ways in her absence, with the only consolation being that her prisoners are still secure. She's sent out a memo to the offending parties, but a sharply-worded letter is no substitute for an old-fashioned, face-to-face bawling out.
3:09 PM Cwn's (now found) phone buzzes with a message.
3:09 PM "You're needed at the Director's office." ||
3:15 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "Shit." I grumble as I grab my pants off the floor. I don't think the director will appreciate me showing up in my underwear. I throw them on quickly and make my way to Mendez's office. I'm 90% sure she's going to rip me a new asshole.
3:15 PM I stop outside the door and knock a few times. "Director Mendez... It's Gwyn."||
3:16 PM M<Mega|Mendez> "Come in!" is the somewhat terse response.||
3:18 PM S<Saff|Cwn> I open the door and step inside. I'm panicking, and it probably shows on my face. "You wanted to see me? Is this about.... Look... I... I tried my hardest and I'm really sorry about the property damage and the foam and..."||
3:21 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I pointedly ignore her oncoming panic. "I am glad you found your phone, miss Pryce. I would've hated to have to fetch you for this meeting." I motion towards the seat opposite my desk. "Please, have a seat."
3:21 PM I make a bit of a face as I look at the few loose pieces of paper still strewn across the floor. I do still need to clean that up, but I'm half-tempted to tell Findlay to do it, when he next gets here.||
3:23 PM S<Saff|Cwn> I sit down in the chair and begin bouncing my leg as fast as I can. Shit. Shit. She's going to rip me sixty new assholes and then fuck each one without any lube. "I'm sorry. I... I was so panicked by the sirens last night I forgot it... It... It won't happen again, ma'am."||
3:25 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I nod. "I'll make sure it won't. That phone is the most important piece of equipment you possess. It /briefs/ you-" I shoot her a somewhat annoyed look "- and keeps you updated on your situation. It also allows you to keep everyone else updated on what's going, so that they will not, say, shoot you on accident when caught in disorienting smoke."
3:27 PM I sigh, trying to soften my features into something more sympathetic. "It will also stop you from panicking, because you can use it to know what's happening around you. It will help you feel and be more in control of the situation, do you understand?"||
3:28 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "Yes, ma'am." I look down at my hands and watch as my armor tries to solidify itself on my skin. "I'm sorry. I let everyone down last night. Everything that happened was my fault. I understand if you want me off of the team."||
3:29 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I snort at that. "Your performance tonight was beyond my expectation," I tell her. "Trust me when I say that you are the person I am currently least upset with."
3:29 PM "You did well, Gwyn."||
3:30 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "What?" I blink a few times in disbelief as I stare at the director. "I... But I... Destroyed property. And flashbanged myself. And let Caitiff get away with Forgemaster."||
3:33 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I hold up my hand to stop her. "You tried to find countermeasures to Caitiff's smoke to the best of your ability and, on purpose or not, set off the containment protocol for our containment cells, making it impossible for him to get in, which we thought his goal would be."
3:34 PM "A lot of things went wrong last night, miss Pryce, mostly due to-" I grit my teeth "- miscommunications within the department, and while I will not deny that you could've done /better/, you did not do /badly/."||
3:38 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "Oh. I um." I say. For once neither my brain nor my mouth are working. I take a second to push my hair off of my face and shrug. "I tried. But um. I still feel bad that Forgemaster..." Defected? Ran away? Did what I did to Blackjack? "I tried to get him to come with me. And if I had been more forceful, or if... Maybe if people just liked me more. Though. I
3:38 PM guess I don't do a good job of making myself likeable." ||
3:40 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I sigh. "You could not have known that Forgemaster was his target. His defection is... troubling, but that is on him and Caitiff, and not on you."
3:41 PM "You made two mistakes last night, and once you've addressed those, I have a question for you. Do you know what those mistakes were?"||
3:43 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "I um. Not having my phone?" I ask. "And um... Taking the grenades in the first place?" I'm at a loss. No one's told me jack shit, and... Caitiff tried to get me to go too. I should have thought that he would go after Forge too. But... now probably isn't the time to say that.||
3:44 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I nod. "Exactly. Your phone would have gotten you through that door, and you are in no way cleared to use grenades, as you are clearly not capable of handling them properly."
3:45 PM "Now, do you know how to apply a gas mask?"||
3:45 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "Um. I guess? I did it last night and I was okay." I shrug. "Forgemaster said it looked okay too."||
3:46 PM M<Mega|Mendez> "Have you ever used one before?"||
3:47 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "No, ma'am." ||
3:49 PM M<Mega|Mendez> "Then let me assure you that the gas mask is not what protected you last night, because I do not think Forgemaster is any better a judge of the proper use of a gas mask than you are."||
3:51 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "But... I was okay?" I'm not exactly sure what she's getting at, so I simply look down at my hands. K I L L and H A N D are still tattooed on my knuckles. Not exactly what I want to see right now. "The only time I felt sick was when I um. Used the grenade. I assumed that was from the shock."||
3:53 PM M<Mega|Mendez> "The flashbang, yes," I say. "From what we know of your power, bright flashes of light makes your power less effective."
3:53 PM "I am going out on a limb here, but I believe your smoke makes you immune, or at least highly resistant, to Caitiff's smoke."||
3:55 PM <Saff|Cwn> "Yes um. Light makes my shadows dissipate. It's rather uncomfortable." I shift awkwardly in my seat. "But... Immune? I guess it's possible? But... What does that matter? He got away."||
3:58 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I nod. "But he's not out of our reach," I say. "We'll get him, Gwyn, and I think you'll be an asset by the time we do."
3:58 PM "But I did not just call you here to compliment me, I'm afraid. Tell me about yesterday afternoon."||
3:59 PM S<Saff|Cwn> This time, my shadow armor fully forms over me. "I um. They... they promised me they wouldn't say anything to you."||
4:00 PM M<Mega|Mendez> I set my jaw. "Yes, so it would seem."
4:01 PM "But you mentioned it in your report of last night, which led to me asking them a few pertinent questions." I'm rather proud I managed not to swear at them, to be honest. "I'm not happy with any of this, I hope you understand."||
4:04 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "I... I understand, ma'am." I already feel like I'm going to throw up. Shit. "Can I um. Explain? Because I understand this... This looks bad. I know."||
4:06 PM M<Mega|Mendez> "As upset as I may be with Deputy Director Findlay regarding his secrecy on the matter, I do believe he handled the rest of it well. It did not take a lot of time for the report to reach me, once I asked for it, and I watched the footage associated with it."
4:07 PM "I was, initially, impressed with how you handled Sirocco's, frankly, inappropriate comments, and I would have commended you," I look at her, "until you attacked him."||
4:12 PM S<Saff|Cwn> "I... I lost control." I say, before getting up from my seat to pace. Sitting still just... isn't jiving with me right now. "When I get... Restless... It doesn't take a lot to set me off. If Caitiff had showed his face last night I would have tried to hurt him." I turn around so that the director can't see my face, and start to press on my wrist wounds
4:12 PM again. "Dr. Freeman already yelled at me. He doesn't like me very much. I spoke to Valiant as well. I feel like I've disappointed him the most."||
<Mega|Mendez> I hold up my hand to stop her again. "Miss Pryce, I believe it would do you a world of good if you didn't assume people disliked you. Dr. Freeman has nothing but your best interest on his mind, and if he did yell at you, I can guarantee it was because he was shocked at what happened."
9:36 AM I sigh. This is going to be a risk, but I may as well. "Do you know my full name, miss Pryce?"||
9:39 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "No ma'am" I say, shaking my head. I don't even bother to address her other concerns. It'll just be a losing battle. No one else seems to realize how much everyone dislikes me. "I don't know."||
9:40 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I set my jaw, not entirely happy, but, well, she'd no doubt find out eventually. "My parents named me Sahara Moonflower Mendez," I tell her, giving her a look that should let her know not to make a habit of repeating it.
9:41 AM "We are no longer on speaking terms."||
9:42 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "Because they named you after a desert?" I snort. "I'm no longer on speaking terms with my parents because I very publicly became a criminal. There's a reason people don't like me, director. Sirocco only tried to remind me of that."||
9:46 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I shoot her a look. "I'm sure you can imagine, miss Pryce, how my contemporaries treated me. It's not a name, you see, that makes people respect you, and while I may not be much of a brawler anymore, I left quite a number of bruises to persuade my classmates to call me 'Sarah'."
9:47 AM "But the problem here was not that I punched people to stop them from making fun of me, miss Pryce. The problem is that I /had to/, do you understand? I had nowhere else to turn to for help, to the point I took measures into my own hand."
9:49 AM I sigh, relaxing a little. "But you do, Gwyn. You have us. I understand that you're desperate to prove yourself, to show that we can rely on you, but I want you to understand that you can rely on us, as well. If you want us to respect you, you need to respect us."||
9:51 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "I. I'm sorry. I did apologize to Sirocco, for what it's worth." ||
9:54 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I nod. "Good, but you need to start taking this more seriously, and that includes letting us know when problems arise. Things have been hectic, and you have slipped through the cracks a little, for which I apologise. I cannot promise that things will get better in the next few days, and I know this is asking a lot, but I need you to hold on, pull yourself together for the next few days."
9:54 AM "Days in which you'll help us take down Caitiff. Do you think you can do that?"||
9:54 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "You're going to let me
9:55 AM Take out Caitiff?" I say, a small smile breaking out on my face. "I can do it. Please let me."||
9:57 AM M<Mega|Mendez> "We'll have to find him first, but we have a decent idea of what he wants, now. You won't be doing it alone, but if I'm correct about your immunity, you'll play an important part."
9:58 AM "But until that time comes, I need you to prepare. I need you to train and I need you to keep your shit together, am I clear?"||
9:59 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "Yes, ma'am. I'll do whatever you need. I can do this. I /have/ to do this." ||
10:02 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I hold up my hand. "Take a deep breath there, miss Pryce. I need you calm and reasonable more than I need you excited." I can't help but smile, all the same. "Consider what you want to do to prepare, and don't hesitate to ask the right people for advice or equipment."
10:03 AM I frown, looking at the incident report again. "Am I correct in my assumption that you did your physical immediately following the incident with Sirocco? Including the shooting range?"||
10:06 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "Yes, ma'am." I say, though I cringe when she mentions the shooting range. No one particularly needs to know what I was thinking during that. "Passed everything. Well. Minus shooting. I'm a crappy shot." ||
10:08 AM M<Mega|Mendez> Someone handed her a gun. After she had a mental break. During which she self-harmed.
10:08 AM Clearly I need to send out another memo.
10:09 AM I rub my temples, trying to get my breathing even and steady. None of that was her fault, and I prefer to direct my anger at actually deserving targets.
10:10 AM "Very well," I say, breathing out. "I believe that's all, unless there's anything you would like to mention?"||
10:13 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "I um." I stop to brush my hair off of my face. "Caitiff, last night. He tried to get me to come with him. That's why... That's why I should have thought about Forgemaster." I shrug and rub my thumb over one of the wounds on my wrist. "He was like me in a way. Shut off from everyone. Not quite belonging. He just had to deal with it longer. And I didn't
10:13 AM think." ||
10:21 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I sigh, rolling my shoulders a little, before nodding. "We'll get him back, too. Make sure to be more prepared, next time, but don't dwell on it overmuch. Shit happens, and you held your own in a hectic situation that caught you off guard."||
10:22 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "The other thing. Um." I frown. "I didn't see Gigawatt at the briefing last night. Is she... okay?"||
10:24 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I blink. Right. She didn't know yet. "She was... captured, on a recent mission with Feral. She is currently being held hostage to ensure our, erhm, non-aggression towards a certain group."
10:25 AM "She won't be there for long, I promise. We are getting her back, first priority."||
10:26 AM <Saff|Cwn> My eyes go wide. Shit, not Gigawatt. We shared onion rings. I liked her. "Let me go. I can help." I say, stepping back over towards Mendez. "I can do it. Please. Let me get her."||
10:29 AM M<Mega|Mendez> "Your devotion does you credit, and I won't rule it out, but who I send depends on where she is and what her situation is."
10:29 AM "I will, however, keep you informed on the situation as it develops."||
10:30 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "Okay. Sorry I just. She was nice to me." I shrug. "I know that sounds silly. But it meant a lot."||
10:31 AM M<Mega|Mendez> I shoot her a small smile. "I understand and I think she'll appreciate it."
10:31 AM "Will you be alright, in the meantime?"||
10:33 AM S<Saff|Cwn> "I think so? It's mostly just... I've been going stir crazy just sitting around and all. Training might help."||
10:34 AM M<Mega|Mendez> "Good," I say. "You know who to call if any of that changes, until then, keep at it. And check your phone."||
10:35 AM S<Saff|Cwn> Again with the fucking phone. "Yes, ma'am."||
10:37 AM M<Mega|Mendez> "Excellent, dismissed."||
10:38 AM S<Saff|Cwn> Guess it's time for me to go back to my room, take my pants off again... and read the fucking briefings.||
10:38 AM Saff|Cwn → Saff
10:39 AM M<Mega|Mendez> After the door closes behind her, I take a deep breath, count to ten, and then hurl my stapler at the wall.||