* Togo enters the office. "You rang?"
<Brett> [Sho' 'nough, by the time Togo gets in there, Lydia is behind her desk. 
She motions for Togo to shut the door.]
* Togo does so, and sits down.
<Brett> ["I have an assignment for you and your ward."]
<Togo> Just us? *shrugs* Lay it out for me.
<Brett> [She pushes a file across her desk. "It's a simple mission.  One that
normally shouldn't even be given to our unit.  The target is Luigi Gabriello,
Italian mafia boss based in Potsdam.  You'll be working with Gabriel and Pavla. 
In fact, he specifically requested both the mission and your assistance."]
<Brett> ["Normally this type of thing would be left to the police."]
<Togo> But?
<Brett> [She shrugs. "My guess is Gabriel wanted an easy assignment for Pavla's
first mission.  She only has a small amount of training and isn't ready for more
dangerous opponents."]
<Togo> And he wanted maximum fire support because his bodyguards will be armed?
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "That and Gabriello's right hand man is an illegal genmod."
She opens the file to an average-looking guy with red hair. "Joseph O'Riley.  He
can generate flames, like your ward.  He has some skill from fighting the
police, but he shouldn't prove too difficult for you."]
* Togo nods. "How many bodyguards doees Gabriello travel with, and what kind of
arms? Pistols, uzis, AKs?"
<Brett> ["It's hard to say.  We're assuming at least 6, not including O'Riley. 
They may have uzi's, but more likely most of them have pistols.  Gabriello isn't
very big time."]
<Brett> ["You need to take Gabriello himself alive.  His men are expendable."]
<Togo> Not a problem. Are we cleared with the local authorities?
<Brett> [Lydia nods.]
<Togo> Good. Hate having to limit tactics because of a need to not alert the
local cops. Defeats the purpose of carrying 8 different guns and assorted other
munitions.
<Brett> ["I wouldn't reccommend causing undue property damage."]
<Brett> ["Mr. Winterbaur can fill you in on any other details.  Would you send
Mr. Engels in on your way out?"]
* Togo grins. "I'll try not to use the LAW unless I have to." *gets up and heads
out*
* Heinrick has joined #office
<Brett> ( Togo, head out :X )
* Togo has left #office
<Brett> [Inside, Lydia is sitting behind her desk.  She gestures at Heinrick to
close the door.  "Have a seat, Dr. Engels."]
* Heinrick closes the door. "Normally, I would prefer to stand but it has been a
hectic last few days. Thank you." He takes a seat and sits upright in it, hands
across his knee.
<Brett> [Lydia folds her hands on her desk. "I understand you've forbidden Keiko
to leave her room?"]
<Heinrick> Unless it is for reasons of training, yes. I am making certain that
she is being provided with food at the moment. It will probably not last for too
much longer.
* Heinrick speaks calmly and without blinking.
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "I see.  As long as she's able to continue her training, I
have no objection to your disciplinary methods.  But I would like to know why
you decided to ground her."]
* Heinrick shakes his head and sighs a little. "It is quite a list actually. Are
you certain you care to hear it?"
<Brett> [Lydia nods.]
<Heinrick> Very well.
* Heinrick settles back and continues. "Firstly, she disobeyed both the overall
planning of the mission and a direct order from Ms. Tavares to stay close. I was
unable to follow, as due to the condition of my arm I would have only been a
hinderance on the last remaining terrorist. Thus Keiko should have and was under
earlier orders to default authority to other guardians present at the time."
<Brett> [Lydia listens patiently.]
<Heinrick> Secondly, the specific manner in which she disobeyed was exposing
herself individually to a known risk of which she was a particular target of.
Keen judgment of my wards is something that I value, Miss Sohn. And a key part
of my training. This did not demonstrate to me clear judgment when acting on her
own."
<Brett> [Lydia nods slowly and waits for Heinrick to finish.]
<Heinrick> Thirdly, the results. She had managed to get herself severely wounded
in the course of her duties. In my opinion, this was lucky. The potential
consequences of her actions were far worse.
* Heinrick smirks. "And fourthly. Because she would not listen to the previous
three reasons when I tried to explain them to her."
* Heinrick pushes up his glasses. "This kind of behavior overall could put the
team as a whole in danger. Not to mention my ward in particular."
<Brett> [Lydia frowns. "I trust you remember my initial assessment of her?  Do
you think she needs to return to the facilities for additional treatment?"]
* Heinrick tilts his head towards Lydia. "Not at this time. But I am keeping a
particular close eye on her. Especially to see how she reacts to this most
recent discipline. This will be a first for her."
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "Keep me informed."]
* Heinrick nods slightly. "Was that the main reason for asking for my presence?"
<Brett> [Lydia nods.  "I had to make sure she doesn't need to go to the facility
for further modification, you understand."]
<Brett> ["If you could send Ms. Tavares in on your way out..."]
* Heinrick chuckles. "Sadly I do....may I ask one more thing though?"
<Brett> [She nods.]
* Heinrick tilts his head slightly and looks at Lydia. "What is the status of my
previous request?"
<Brett> ["Still pending."]
* Heinrick frowns slightly. "I see. It would be unfortunate to let it go on too
long..." He shakes his head and shrugs. "Well, I suppose it cannot be helped.
Good day, Miss Sohn."
* Heinrick stands slowly and heads out.
* Roseli has joined #office
<Brett> ( Heinrick, get out :X )
* Heinrick has left #office
<Brett> [Lydia is sitting behind her desk when Rose enters. She motions for Rose
to close the door and have a seat.]
* Roseli does, in fact, close the door and has a seat. She offers Lydia a stick
of gum.
<Brett> [Lydia does not take the gum. She does stare Rose in the eye for several
minutes, though.]
* Roseli takes the gum back, then. And is stared at. If she's unnerved, she
doesn't show it.
<Brett> [After several long minutes, Lydia speaks. "Rose, we've known each other
for some time now and I can't help but feel happy whenever I see you. You surely
feel the same, right?"]
<Brett> ( Erm, wait. Wrong line. )
<Roseli> (Uh, WHAT?)
<Brett> [After several minutes, Lydia speaks, "Mrs. Tavares, do you know why I
called you here?"]
<Roseli> Seem to be calling everyone here.  No idea why, though.
<Brett> ["I see." Lydia pushes a file across her desk towards Rose.]
* Roseli picks up the file and opens it.
<Brett> [The file details the death of a Harvey Bachmann, janitor at Amtek
Commerce's Potsdam branch.  He was found dead on the 14th floor of the building,
apparently shot in the shoulder while cleaning an office.  Forensics report the
bullet was from a high calibur rifle and came from outside the building.]
* Roseli looks at that, then nods. "I see." She continues flipping through the
file. "Looks like it matches Jamie's tank."
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "There's a 99.5% probility, yes."]
* Roseli closes the file, putting it back on Lydia's desk. She sighs and rubs at
her eyes. "The first target, probably... Jamie reported a sniper and I told her
to take it down, but we found two other snipers later."
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "Most likely, she misidentified the target."]
<Roseli> Yes.
<Brett> [Lydia stands up. She folds her hands behind her back and strolls over
to her window. It's a small office, but it's on the corner, so she gets a nice
view. "First she shot an ally, and now a civilian. I don't have to tell you how
bad this looks to the higher ups."]
<Roseli> No, you don't.  She's very different from when she shot that boy,
though; her personality's undergone heavy revision.
<Brett> ["I know that.  They don't.  Or rather, they don't care.  They only care
about the fact that she shot two friendlies."]
<Roseli> Hm.
<Roseli> What do you want to do?
<Brett> ["Minister Bernstein is demanding that, at the very least, she be bonded
to a second person.  This time, we can't stop that."]
* Roseli blinks and actually jumps up from her chair. "We can't do that. Isn't
that excessively dangerous? And-"
<Roseli> The problem isn't that she has trouble following directions, or that
orders aren't clear enough!
<Brett> ["I know that.  We both know that bonding her to a second person would
be completely pointless, since she's only in the field with you."]
<Roseli> Then why is he demanding this?
<Brett> ["As strange as it sounds, I think he's trying to do her a favor. 
Zukunft are the ones calling for her to be purged this time.  They've recently
gotten the funding to send more genetically modificated agents to us, as long as
we have spots open in the roster.  Surely you noticed how quickly they replaced
Ms. Nahr?"]
<Brett> [Lydia turns around. "They're all too eager to dabble in creating agents
with different abilities, then sending them to us for a while, and discarding
them for new ideas at their leisure."]
* Roseli shakes her head, still rather in shock. "Training new wards takes time
and risk."
<Roseli> Isn't there a chemical danger to binding Jamie to another person?
<Brett> [Lydia nods.  "Dr. Siebert estimates she'll lose approximately ten years
of her lifespan."]
* Roseli frowns.
<Roseli> While it's unlikely she'll live that long anyway...
<Brett> ["Not to mention, due to the nature of her ability, Jamie's operational
capacity is longer than the rest of the wards."]
* Roseli nods.
<Roseli> Any other options?
<Brett> ["However, we also have to consider Doctor Schuhmacher is in our
custody.  If they get him to cooperate, they can replace Jamie a hundred times
over."]
* Roseli doesn't wince at that, but she completely tenses up and looks rather
like she wants to punch Lydia for even suggesting that idea. But she doesn't!
<Brett> [Lydia almost softens! But not quite. Almost though! "I understand your
pain.  However, the fact remains that Jamie shot two friendlies.  She has to be
punished.  If you've got a better idea, you'd better let me know soon."]
<Roseli> I can deal with her.  She's my responsibility, and something like that
shouldn't be unchecked.
<Roseli> But this is an accident.  A problem of misidentification, not malice,
ignoring orders, or even poor judgement.
<Roseli> I'll rectify the problem as best I can with a training regimen.  That's
the most effective solution.  No loss in funds and actually deals with the
problem.
* Roseli does, incidentally, relax as she speaks.
<Brett> [Lydia shakes her head. "That's not enough. Saying 'we'll train her
better for next time' isn't going to placate them."]
<Roseli> Hm.
<Roseli> How about modifying her so she can better identify targets.
<Brett> ["Absolutely.  But your missing the point.  Zukunft wants to recall her.
Section 1 is using her as an example to call us ineffective. And Minister
Bernstein is demanding additional bonding."  She sighs. "I'll say it again. They
want her to be punished."]
* Roseli scowls and paces. "Look, Lydia, I understand. But I am THIS CLOSE to
turning Jamie into a more functional person and therefore a more functional
agent. Punishing her on that level will only create a massive backslide, much
like the last time they called for her head."
<Roseli> I can offer effective solutions, but doing something purely to appease
the higher ups?  That's not what they hired me for.
<Roseli> So if we're going to do it, tell me what I need to do and let's get it
done with.
<Brett> ["Unfortunately, that IS the reality.  If we don't appease them, we
could be gutted.  Most of the personel here would be assimilated into Section 1.
Those who weren't would have their minds wiped.  And all of the wards would be
purged. I'm not willing to let that happen."]
<Roseli> Then what do we do?  Bind her to someone else?  Tell them that we did
and don't do it?  Purge her?  You tell me.
<Roseli> I could take the blame if that would go over better.  She is my ward.
<Brett> ["You could. But even I can't predict what that would entail."]
<Roseli> Hm.
* Roseli chews her gum some more and picks up the file, stopping and flipping
through it again. A quick look and she tosses it back on the desk, going back to
pacing.
<Roseli> (Yeah, she's not saying anything else right now. ;P)
<Brett> [Lydia does nothing!]
<Roseli> (Hey, I can't give you an order to give me an order!  That's not how it
works!)
<Roseli> No other ideas, then.
<Brett> [After some time, Lydia speaks again. "If you want to take the blame,
I'll make a note of it to my superiors.  I can't guarenteee it will have any
effect."]
<Roseli> Probably not.  They have a full report of the events.  Anyone paying
attention can tell that it's a case of misidentification.
<Roseli> Will send them a written statement, though, explaining the situation
and causes, as well as what I'll do regardless in order to ensure it doesn't
happen again, however.  With your blessing.
<Brett> [Lydia nods.  "This incident wouldn't be nearly so much trouble if it
wasn't compounded by the previous one.  But I'll see what I can do."]
* Roseli rubs at her eyes. "Wish they considered Jamie a purged Haruko and Ten,
because that's practically what she is."
<Brett> ["So is Pavla Novakova."]
<Roseli> Your point?
<Brett> ["They don't see the wards in those terms.  They're merely assets. 
Although in Jamie's case, she's beginning to fall into liability status."]
* Roseli shakes her head. "None of these kids are going to reach the point where
they'll be a true asset at this rate."
<Roseli> Well.  What do you want to do?
<Brett> [Lydia glances at the mountain of paperwork on her desk and rubs the
side of her head. "Sit on the beach and drink coffee.  But as for what I'm going
to do, I'll stall for time.  You write your letter, and we'll see where we can
go from there."]
* Roseli nods.
<Roseli> So I know for the future...
<Roseli> Are you more in favor of a second bonding or a purge?
<Brett> [Lydia pauses.  "Second bonding.  A replacement would have to be
retrained from the start, and would set our operations back significantly."]
<Roseli> Duly noted.
* Roseli pauses, then says, "Going to get on that letter. Want me to send it
through you?"
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "Please."]
* Roseli nods and goes to the door. She opens it, glances back, and says, "If
you want any coffee, have some in my office."
<Roseli> Pretty strong and no beach, but.  Least I can do.
<Brett> [Lydia sits back down. "Maybe later.  And Ms. Tavares?"]
<Roseli> Yes?
<Brett> ["I don't have to tell you what will happen if Jamie makes another
mistake of this magnitude."]
<Roseli> No, you don't.  I'll do my best to see that it never happens again.
<Brett> [Lydia nods. "Please do."]
* Roseli leaves and shuts the door behind her.
<Brett> ( Off to Jamie's? )
<Roseli> (I'm kind of tired, so maybe off to bed.  I do need to work some stuff
out with you and Gryph, though, on the assumption that I might not be able to
mini everything.)
<Brett> ( Y'sure you don't wanna go talk to Jamie? :X )
<Roseli> (Okay, I'll go talk to Jamie. ;P)
<Roseli> (The other thing Rose really doesn't want to deal with is the
possibility of conflicting, bound orders.  When that happens, which one would
take preceden e?)
<Roseli> (+c)
<Brett> ( I dunno! )
<Brett> ( Probably the last one given. )
<Roseli> (Ugh.)
* Jamie has joined #office
<Roseli> (Basically, if she's bound to two people, then, Rose is, like, half a
guardian with all of the job.)
<Brett> [Roseli finds Jamie in the rec. room! (Not an office)]
* Roseli walks in. She's looking unusually tired and flustered, and she glances
around. Oh, it's a Jamie! Who can describe herself.
* Jamie has been doing research on non-digitised gun info. (Because if she'd
been doing it in her head she'd have done nothing at all but stare into space
the entire session.)
* Roseli walks over to her ward, careful to not step on any manuals. "Any luck?"
* Jamie shakes her head. "Togo. Said he would help."
* Roseli nods.
<Roseli> If anyone would know, it's him.
* Roseli sits down next to Jamie.
<Roseli> Turns out you killed a janitor last mission.
* Jamie gets a slightly worried look and nods.
<Roseli> Unacceptable.  I know it's an accident, but we can't afford to make
accidents in this line of work.
* Jamie shrinks in on herself as she draws her legs up and wraps her arms around
them, she doesn't look at Rose as she stutters. "S'sorry."
<Roseli> Doesn't cut it.
* Jamie swallows, but doesn't say anything.
<Roseli> You can't say sorry to an innocent who's dead, and you can't say sorry
to the innocent who dies because you second guess yourself.
<Roseli> The only way to deal with this problem is to rectify it.  That means
more training.  Intensive training.  Going to see about modifying your eyesight
so you have an easier time with identification, but that will only do so much.
* Jamie nods as this addition makes more sense than the sentances that proceeded
it.
<Roseli> You do realize why your killing the janitor is a problem, don't you?
* Jamie thinks for a moment before venturing. "He... he wasn't one of the
snipers?"
* Roseli nods. "And?"
* Jamie thinks  some more. "Could have warned them off?"
<Roseli> No.
<Roseli> He's not only one of the snipers, Jamie, he's one of the people we were
supposed to protect.
<Roseli> Blitzkrieg is built to protect people like him.  Innocents.  That's one
of your jobs.
* Jamie lowers her head and doesn't say anything.
<Brett> ( The other is strip dancing at the bar down the street. Man, you guys
been slackin' on that one. )
<Roseli> So you understand when I say that your killing him was a big problem. 
Those civilians are why you are here and why I am training you.
* Jamie starts to shake her head, catches herself and then nods.
* Roseli eyes her. "You don't understand. Don't lie to me, Jamie."
* Jamie winces and nods.
<Brett> ( Stupid humans :X )
* Roseli frowns. "Another thing we'll have to work on."
* Roseli gets to her feet. "Put those manuals away. You can talk to Togo about
guns later."
<Roseli> Right now, I want you in the holoroom.  Meet me there when you're done
here.
* Roseli walks off.
* Jamie nods and starts picking up books.
<Roseli> (Okay, end here.  I'm not up for actually running a training thing
atm.)
<Brett> [Hokieday.]