it's alright once you're in the air

[teamsad]

Who: Jessica Drew & YOU!!
Where: Alpha Tower & around LA
When: Mid-February, various times
What: The most awkward member of Alpha Force is back in town.
Warnings: N/A

Alpha Tower; day of Jessica's arrival
Jessica never liked going through the lobby - she has to deal with receptionists, avoid people, take elevators, all kinds of unnecessary annoyances. Instead, she takes the aerial route. The landing area on top of the building is meant for helicopters, but works just as well for flying superhumans, and the heat of the sun reflecting off the windows of the tower is more than enough to generate the lift she needs to make it there.

She touches down lightly, scans her handprint on the security pad beside the roof entrance and takes the stairs into the building... only to stops when she reaches the first common area. It's quiet. She's been here when it's this quiet before, but the silence seems heavier this time. Everything feels emptier. Maybe it's just the knowledge that the team's so small now...

"Is anyone home?" she calls out, still hovering near the door to the stairwell. "Hello?"

Beachfront; evening
Jess hasn't been able to fly for months. That's the nature of undercover work - you keep your head down, pretend to be someone else entirely, try not to wear your flashy superhero costume where other people can see you... Which is all well and good, except that she can't fly without hers, and she's been getting restless in Madripoor without being able to take to the skies.

Now that she has the chance to, she's taking advantage of the evening breezes off the ocean and gliding through the skies over the water, occasionally diving and spinning in ways that would probably send her plummeting into the Pacific if she lost lift... but it's worth the risk when she's been unable to do it for so damn long.

Eventually she lands on the sand, reclining on a dune (still in full costume) to watch the sun set as she catches her breath. Flying (or, really, gliding) when it's not part of your powerset is a lot more exhausting than it looks.

Comments

[chapterfiveversenine]

"Geth are a species of compound AI," Legion explains. "We network to increase our intelligence. There are 1,183 geth runtimes within this platform."

[teamsad]

"Oh....kay..."

Well, all the 'we' makes more sense in light of that. The fact that he's a robot - or a computer program, or a bunch of programs, or whatever - doesn't bother her; actually, it might help a little, considering it's probably not at all susceptible to her pheromones. It's just new people at all. The people she knows are used to her stunted people skills.

"I've never heard of you before." Geth in general, Legion specifically... either one, really.

[chapterfiveversenine]

"We crash-landed upon Earth six months ago," Legion explains. "You were still on assignment at the time."

[teamsad]

"I see." Jess folds her arms over her chest, studying him with a faint frown. "That's not very long. What made you decide to join Alpha Force?"

Is that prying? It feels a little like prying, but with the team so small now... She can't really afford not to know her teammates at least a little.

[chapterfiveversenine]

"It was a tactically superior distribution of force," Legion responds, clasping their hands behind their back. "We had adequate combat skill and had fully learned standard operations protocol from CONDOR. Increased Alpha Force ranks should bolster civilian morale after the loss of Druid, Fissure, and Zoom."

[teamsad]

Only a part of that is an actual motivation... and not one she much understands, given it's a robot who only just landed on this planet. It doesn't need to care about the people here. ...maybe the robot is just a better person than her.

"And that matters to you? Their morale?"

[chapterfiveversenine]

"Morale is an important part of organic function," Legion says. Their faceplates ripple. "We understand that ensuring that the populace experiences a feeling of safety is a general objective of superhero work."

[teamsad]

Jess frowns a little, running a hand through her wind-tousled hair.

"I... guess so. Sort of. It's not something I spend a lot of time thinking about." She really sees superheroing as more about punching the bad guys in the face, but... yeah. That's a good reason too.

[chapterfiveversenine]

"Improved morale leads to calmer and more effective civilian action during crises," Legion explains. "A civilian who witnesses an understaffed Alpha Force arrival to a scene of crisis may become discouraged and fail to act efficiently. A civilian witnessing a more fully-staffed Alpha Force arrival will be reassured of their safety and will perform necessary safety and evacuation procedures more effectively."

[teamsad]

"That's... true..." Jess answers slowly, lips twisting to one side in thought or annoyance. She is not a strategist. She doesn't want to be, because she doesn't like thinking things ahead all that much. She doesn't exactly like getting schooled by a robot, either. "Is that a problem with geth too?"

[chapterfiveversenine]

"No," Legion says. "Geth lack emotions. They are an organic response originally evolved to ensure adequate motivation for survival and reproductive tasks. We do not require them."