✨ XIMILIA TOWN HALL MEETING ✨ ( video/audio/action )

[farr]

[ some morning in the middle of the week, during their return to the station, an invitation will be taped on the door of every orber. though the calligraphy would suggest this must have been typed on a computer and printer, each invitation is actually very carefully hand-written and reads as follows: ]

[ the idea is for everyone to meet in the mess hall at the intended time, but if some choose not to attend, the meeting can still be accessed by the earpieces, allowing all orbers to watch or listen in and contribute however they wish, no matter where they are.

however, for those who do decide to attend, the mess hall features a full display of bagels and donuts, along with plenty of fresh coffee, all to help everyone wake up and feel refreshed for the meeting that's about to take place.

a makeshift little stage, arranged by stacking together a few metal boxes is at the center of the room, atop of it being the one and only rita farr herself, with a bright optimistic smile. when she sees enough people present and settled, she speaks up, loud and clear: ]

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our first Annual — or monthly, or however we decide to do it — Town Hall meeting! Thank you all for coming and please enjoy the food to your heart's content. For those who don't know me, I'm Rita Farr. Now— though my name does appear on the invitation, this is hardly about me. This is about all of us.

After our ... last mission, it became quite clear that our group could use a bit of improvement with how we approach our next missions moving forward. And I thought the best way to plan for that is to allow all of us an opportunity to discuss how we all feel about what we've done well and what we could do better. After all, everyone deserves a say in this, right?

[ she points behind her where a giant board is on display on an easel, once again, hand-written with careful and precise calligraphy in giant letters: ]


Here, I've written some sample questions we can all try to offer answers to, but the floor will also be open for any other questions and suggestions that anyone might have. Remember, there are no wrong answers! We're all here for an open forum discussion. But before that!

[ she reaches over to the board, pulling it off to reveal another one behind it. this one reads as follows: ]


Please consider the "Keys to Success", not only on our missions, but as we talk together in this room right now. We'll go ahead and take turns either stepping up here on the stage or speaking out from wherever you are. There are no microphones but the earpieces should get your voices out to everyone. Now, who would like to start?


( this post is open to all! the idea is that everyone is taking turns in each thread to speak out to the entire group (whether from within the room or from elsewhere), but thread-jacking and hopping around for discussion is the key here! feel free to run wild with ic suggestions or questions regarding mission layouts or planning or whatever floats your boat (ic complaining/protest is always an option too). though rita is organizing it, it's open to whatever people are inclined to discuss. )

Comments

Audio/Action

[bindsthedead]

For the first question, I think we should discuss things ahead of time, and organize ourselves. If nothing else, knowing who's familiar with advanced technology, and who has enough magical skill to identify any devices or forces we find would be very helpful.

I think that in general, we should trust the people of the worlds we visit to understand the problems they face, and their likely solutions, better than we do, and assume they are acting in good faith until we have proof otherwise. If they say that resolving things peacefully is the best path, we shouldn't be violent, and if they say that they've tried nonviolent solutions and all attempts have failed, we should listen to them and make sure we understand why, before we insist on trying again. They're the ones who will have to live in the world after we're gone, after all.

And yes, there are going to be some exceptions to that, like if everything turns out to be an orb created illusion or what we thought was an afterlife might have actually been a space ship, but in those cases, what we need to do is realize that what 'everyone knows' isn't helpful, and pursue other means of investigating, rather than trying to find the right person to tell us the answers.

As for our approach to the orb, I think our first task should always be to locate it and make sure we know if it's in a bargain or not. If it isn't, we can just take it, although getting to it won't be easy.

[If it was, someone else would have already taken it and made a bargain.]

If it is in a bargain, we should approach whoever has it and try to understand what they want. If it's something we're willing to offer, we should help them- we might even be able to solve their problem without them making a bargain, if we're very lucky. Stealing it, or attempting to take it through force, must be an absolute last resort.

[Sabriel remembers Braccia, and she does not want to repeat that experience.]

[firstroar]

Unfortunately... [he looks over with a sympathetic frown.] That just leads us all in circles. If-this, if-that... All speculation, even when limited data is given us.

There is...so little time to take in information...let alone prepare contingencies...for contingencies. Even...based on experience.

[deaddrop]

[Natasha lets most of the conversation pass easily, listening to different opinions, but there is one thing Sabriel mentions that she does want to add her voice to, if only to agree with the point.]

Having a better idea of people's skill sets and abilities could be very helpful. There's a lot we can't predict going into things, but knowing what we have at our disposal where could streamline things.

I think I have a fairly good idea who has medical knowledge. [That much had been fairly easily accessible.] Outside of that, things get more hit and miss.

[spacedisaster]

Hi. This sounds like a good idea, not only for the missions but for our daily life at the station too.

The forms should be strictly voluntary, though, since not everyone might be comfortable sharing the extent of their abilities, but aside from that it a sound idea.

[ He only wants to voice his agreement with Sabriel's proposal, it's all. ]

action

[callada]

[Rosinante turns up a few minutes early and finds himself a seat off to the side so he's not blocking anyone's view. He's got a cup of coffee to go with his cigarette, as well as a notepad and pen. As people talk, he's either taking notes or jotting down ideas of his own.]

First off, I do want to point out something everyone's mostly been doing well, which is communication. The earpieces make it easy, but it's still easy to forget. Update your teammates when things go wrong or right so we can make informed decisions. Sometimes there's not a lot of time to debate, we just have to make a call then and there. Outcome's best if we know what's going on elsewhere with other people, especially in large cities like the last one where it's easy to have no idea what's going on somewhere else in the city.

Now, with the last mission, I think it's been reinforced that we're visitors to these places. I've said it from the start, I'd prefer to leave these places better than we found them, but we do have a tendency to... cause problems. Not through bad intent, we're just a lot of people who aren't from these places. We have different mindsets, different cultural backgrounds, different priorities, and maybe it's best if we just focus on getting the orb and getting out. Even when that's hard, even when we want to help. We have to keep focused on the broader mission.

[Probably none of this is controversial at this point, right? Time to wait and see if there's still any dissent.]

[bindsthedead]

That's a reasonable approach, if the orb is unclaimed, as it was in Viveca's world.

But if someone has it... We can ask them to hand it over, but often, those who have it have some goal they're desperate to achieve, and won't hand it over until they've accomplished it. 'Staying out of it' and 'Recovering the orb as soon as possible' would be contradictory goals.

And the one time we tried to steal an orb in a bargain... it was a disaster.

[farr]

Originally, I was of the belief that staying longer on the planet would simply be an act of contributing to a good deed — helping to make sure the locals were comfortable after the climax of their war. But —

[ she brings her hands together, folding her fingers together almost nervously as she recalls her days during those extra three weeks on the planet. the way they were all disgusted by "that giant woman". ]

I know from experience — both recently and prior — that we should learn to accept when we aren't wanted, however good our intentions may be. And I've begun to agree that we should do better about laser focusing our efforts on the mission in capturing the orb.

We shouldn't completely ignore anyone in need of help, but there's such a thing as overstaying our welcome.

action

[legalcy]

[Minimus arrives trying to hide his excitement, though failing as he takes a seat with a pile of notes and his personal datapad in his arms. ]

I first wish to thank Rita Farr for organizing this meeting in a timely and organized manner. [He stands while he speaks, his hands held together even though there is no slideshow presentation behind him.] I was worried after the latest mission that this sort of outcome was the norm, but seeing this discussion take place offers some hope that we can organize ourselves as the orb-hunting mission group we were gathered to be.

Now- [He reaches the datapad. The workings of a formal document pop up on the screen as he scrolls through his notes.] I was in the middle of drafting a sort of "guideline" document on how to interact with the native populace. I took some inspiration from my species' Code of Conduct, but that was written with Cybertronian action during wartime in mind. For those with experience in interacting with planets that may or may not have developed interplanetary travel, I wish to add language from your universe's protocol.

I wish to have this signed by the crew and submitted to Viveca before our next mission, or prior to the following, if additional reviews are to be held.

[firstroar]

[he frowns at...............UH IS HE PEOPLE-SHAPED OR ROBOT-SHAPED....................well whatever HE FROWNS AT THIS PERSON.]

"Guidelines."

What does it say? More specifically.

action.

[groupiedrifter]

... Honestly, I don't give a crap what everyone decides on in the end, as long as I can do decent work where I'm at... but I think people need to understand one thing: we're not removing these orbs from worlds 'cus they're only sometimes bad for the planets they're on. The whole reason we're extracting them in the first place is because they cause harm and feed on chaos. People keep talking about respecting the societies they're in by giving them the choice to use the orb, but that completely contradicts why we're even there in the first place. If you think they have a say in that much, then we shouldn't even be allowed to step foot on their planets to disrupt anything. We gotta accept that we're idiots immediately disrespecting these worlds by being there for the sake of removing something in their possession.

I get it, okay? 'Why do we get to use the orbs to fix things and they don't?' Well, for one, they did use the orb once before we arrived. And generally, it ended in people getting hurt, or screwed over. There's no safe way to implement the use of the orb on a planet, and we're there to ensure people don't use the orb on their planet. They don't have safeguards to use it like we do. We pay for our debts by collecting the orbs and completing goals. You've all seen how fucked up our payment methods can be, too; the orbs are just as cruel to us as they are to those people.

So I gotta say, from this point? I think we shouldn't ever allow the orbs to make choices. Because that's what it's gonna be, if we hand over the orb: it'll be the rogue orb, making a brand new shitshow for that planet to endure.

[He hesitates, because he doesn't want to talk about it. The incident wasn't very long ago, but he'd be a fucking moron not to admit where a large portion of his decision stems from. Sure, the other orb bargains, they were pretty bad too, but. But...]

... Hell, I don't have to be the one to remind you of what an orb's capable of without even having a deal in progress. [He quiets, biting his lip.] Most of you remember the fact that an orb sought out the genocidal aliens living in my head, right? They found the most violent member of our crew on that train, and they gave them a way to try to murder you all, just for the possibility of conspiring with them to make a new deal. One that would have ended in the total destruction of that planet we were on, guaranteed.

I can safely say, I don't even trust the orbs aboard this station, let alone ones that have been thriving on destruction all this time out there in the distant corners of the galaxy. At this point, I'll be honest — I feel trapped by it some days, and it's just something I live with now that I'm this deep in it.

... So, uh. anyway. Guess it doesn't matter if I end up outvoted on this someday, but. That's just my two cents. I'll try not to shriek about anyone else's opinion. I think we're all kind of tired of yelling over each other anyway.

[bindsthedead]

I think that's reasonable. However, there's one complication- we cannot take the orbs while a bargain is active, and they're frequently in a bargain when we arrive- it's what they do, after all.

So while the last two missions have involved unclaimed orbs, most of them haven't, and we need to be clear on what we'll do not just if an orb is unclaimed, but if it's claimed.

action.

[firstroar]

[Blue's not quick to speak up here, rather listening and trying to glean the temperature of the room telepathically from his wheelchair.

eventually, though:]

...I don't know...if I find...anyone directly in the wrong. For our faults. [besides himself of COURSE.] Unless the goal is to...compromise morals and means...to mold everyone's wills into a more singular form than what already stands...

Because unless we are given...more time, more detail...to plan. To study...before we make landfall. Then...much of what we do...can only be the fruits of our efforts in the moment, I think.

[farr]

Well, the intention of this is definitely not to blend us all into a single hivemind.

[ not for rita farr, who will always like to stand out in the spotlight instead of morphing into a group. even if she's trying to at least do better in a team. ]

There's no way to set an exact flawless plan for these things, especially when things happen as fast as they do once we're on the mission, but I do think a little more organization prior can at least be beneficial. Such as being better aware of everyone's skills and capabilities, having emergency protocols in place, communicating more when we discover new information that's beneficial to the group as a whole — those kinds of things.

action

[deaddrop]

[Natasha comes to listen more than to speak up. Which isn't to say she won't have opinions or offer them as they come up, but her first objective here is to get a read on the mood of the orbers in general. It's already clear that many of them are feeling the sting after the last mission, and not without reason, but also she's already seen that reaction isn't entirely universal.

The bagels and coffee don't hurt, either. She hasn't had breakfast yet and it would be a pity to let the food go to waste.

Which may also extend to the meeting in general, actually. Rita has clearly put a lot of time and energy into trying to foster a productive conversation. While the calligraphy might be a little much, it would be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste.]

[homeostatic]

( Arriving a bit late, with a mind to mostly listen, he quietly makes his way to the table of breakfast articles, joining Natasha at the small assortment of beverages. Slightly unfocused, he shakes out an ache in his hand and goes for the coffee pot. )

Coffee, Ms. Romanoff?

action;

[blackfire]

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

ota;

（ itachi is not here in person, he has sent a clone. the clone is dressed very simply in a tanktop and loose drawstring pants, and it lingers on the sidelines, cinnabar-red eyes alighting on the attendees like a shadow. it is functionally expressionless, and does not take food or drink.

it offers no commentary on what is being discussed, nor does it step forward with any opinions. should anyone venture nearer to it, it will give them a nod and ask in a politely neutral tone, ）

What are your thoughts on this engagement?

[construing]

〈 “dead inside” reflecting on the outside: 〉 Too early. Need coffee.

〈 the sum of her thoughts tbh 〉

action;

[victorylap]

[ Rodimus doesn't like meetings, but he's here in person - mostly to listen and maybe comment. He does like to be in charge, after all, but he's also acutely aware of his own newcomer status.

So maybe he shouldn't say a whole lot just yet.

But he's here, which is better than the alternative. ]

action—

[shumi]

( kakashi can spare a clone to attend the meeting, especially since rita went out of her way to curate and send out the invitation. it was an amusing thing to find on his door, one he can understand the rationale behind, even if he retains a certain amount of skepticism towards it. showing up in a dark "I'M ONLY HERE FOR THE FOOD" t-shirt and a black pair of pants, the clone has a customary mask and plain headband covering most of his face.

he appropriately heads for the refreshment table, but rather than partake in the food and drink, he simply flips open a book and begins to read.

not to worry, of course. he's paying attention. it's unlikely to hear him offer up an opinion first, but feel free to pull him into a conversation or leave him to his devices. )

[shadysided]

Hey, what's with the mask? You planning on stealing some hubcaps off our cars?

[sorry, she's distracted by your everything.]

action—

[aurable]

I'm sorry I'm late. [ Drift slips in five after the appointed time, trying to keep his head low and treading carefully around the potential to interrupt anyone. He poured a cup of coffee that he couldn't drink and just held it because he needed something to do with his hands while standing. ]

There was a miscommunication — completely my fault — I had trouble reading the invitation left on my door. The written English language is easy to parse, but I couldn't make heads or tails of [ He awkwardly motions to one of the signs' flowing, impeccable caligraphy. ] All that.

[legalcy]

Ah, the cursive font. Not used in formal documents, rather in letters, poetry, and personal diaries. [He nods to himself, digging up what he's read in the past millennia.] I could show you the alphabet. It will help you pass more easily as an organic if the situation comes to pass.

action —;

[lateness]

[ As if the Doctor could resist the call of a good doughnut, and perhaps noseying about — in person and not on his communications device. He does so like a good face-to-face encounter when given the choice.

When it's his turn to speak, he gets to his feet, stick-straight, and clears his throat. He opts for a more serious tone this time around, which might be surprising to some, but expected by others. This isn't, after all, a matter to take lightly. ]

Hello! Hello, can you all hear me? Yes, yes, good, right — I'm the Doctor. [ He gives a little wave with the hand not holding onto a chocolate glazed doughnut. ] Now, I've been with this crew since we first set foot on Gyeongje and recovered our very first orb, so I've seen the way these missions have changed a number of us. Of course, not only that but I've seen the different ways the orbs affect each world we've been to and what effects they've had on us as a team.

We've all got our strengths, certainly, and I think all of us have some form of good intentions but the problem is that we've got about sixty-some sets of intentions all going in all different directions.

There's a rule in time-and-space travel — which I suppose can lend itself to the sort of space traveling that we do — and that is to observe as much as you can without getting involved, and to interact with the world we visit by following its rules and customs. [ He's got his own set of personal rules too, but he won't recount them here. ] I've traveled for two-thousand-some years now, and I suspect I'll travel for hundreds of years more after this face, and while I've helped a good many planets I would never presume to know one better than its locals — and I think that's where some of us got a bit mixed up.

What happened before those last weeks in E-23b really shouldn't have happened, certainly not by our hand, and certainly not when we already had the orb with us. [ Not to speak of retrieving Viveca's body from the Chacier House which did wind up being a good thing in the end, but could have ended very, very badly for some of the team. It's the sort of risky calculation even the Doctor, for all his risktaking (and delighting in it), couldn't agree with. ] You see, while we do have our designated job to do, we are still tourists in a way, and we shouldn't forget that. Refocusing on why we were sent down to a planet in the first place, with the knowledge that removing the orb from that planet will allow it to recover and return to its former glory already — that's what we ought to do. Because — you see, because it doesn't actually need us as much as we think that it might.

And believe me, all right, I've made mistakes just like the ones we'd made on E-23b once or twice before. Hard not to when you think your experiences are universal. But they aren't, not always.

[ He, too, had to learn this the hard way. ]

Suppose what I'm saying is that in the event of something like this occurring again, we really ought to take the time not to get too caught up in it all, to remember that it's better not to make too big a splash, and to remember that the orb put in place on that planet is already the thorn we're to remove. Once we've removed it, well, then our job is done. Every planet will carry on without us, trust me, it will. I've seen it happen. And while it might feel like we're abandoning a planet to its own devices when some of you might think, 'shouldn't we do more to help?' what we're doing isn't pointless, and we are helping. I'd argue, we're helping the very best way that we can.

[ He pauses, and then lifts his doughnut up. ]

And these doughnuts are very, very good. Think I'll take another one before we're through here.

[business]

Spoken like a true relic, grandfather.

( two thousand, yeesh. that's even older than his dad was. still, rhysand says it playfully, with no shortage of fondness. )

You're of the mind, then, that taking the orb is always the right decision? Removal is synonymous with aid, and should be our focus. Yes?

action;

[hatejakku]

[ There's a man standing in the back of the room, leaning against the doorjamb. He looks like he hasn't slept in a day or so, the truth of which is anyone's guess since he's rarely been seen since the last mission.

But as luck would have it, he had intended to search for something to drink late in the night when he noticed the invitation on his door. And while he doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to keep screwing up much more. Not to mention that he owes Rita a hell of a lot...

So. Finn's here, staying quiet and not really offering commentary. Sadly, he'll eventually turn and leave, deciding that this whole thing probably won't change any mission or his decisions on them. Feel free to catch him before he goes or run into him while he's on the way out.

Or just ignore him. Honestly, he's just as surprised as everyone else that he made an appearance. ]

[homeostatic]

( There will be no ignoring of any kind, just McCoy bringing over a large cup of joe, and a gentle shoulder squeeze. )

Glad to see you made it.

Action; Just a sleepy guardian

[spacedisaster]

[ Peter is here for various reasons: The first one is that he owes Rita a solid for saving his sorry life (and Finn's) when they were trapped under the rubble. The least he can do is show up to the meeting after she obviously put that much effort into it. The second is that he agrees with her that the team needs more cohesion. And third...well, there are free donuts. 

He's brought Rita a box of homemade chocolates truffles, with a little card that simply said, 'For miss Farr' and signed with a 'P.Q.'. The card is mostly to make sure she gets the chocolates before any of the hungry gremlins of the station try to snatch them for themselves. Peter is also a hungry gremlin, so he understands the temptation.

He spends some time munching on a donut and only very occasionally voicing his agreement with some ideas. Peter is looking a bit sleepy, which is why he's appreciating people's insights but not saying much himself. If anybody wants to chat, or bring him a cup of coffee, he won't say no. ]

[coordination]

[ Your coffee savior is here, Peter. ]

Are you even listening? [ A remark made because of how sleepy Peter looks right now. ] Here.

[ The coffee is near black, which is how Yzak prefers it, so hope you like it that way. ]

Action

[cruelyethuman]

[Entering with seconds to spare before the meeting starts, the Darkling finds a place to the back of the room, leaning against the white walls of the ... mess hall. A cup of black coffee is cooling on the table next to his elbow as he writes notes in a small, leather book.

This is... something.

A meeting. With no discernible leadership, and with too many people just waiting for a chance to hear their own voice join in on the conversation.

They are all strangers to each other, and his gaze slips to the few faces in this crowd that he knows, faces that might actually make even the Black Heretic feel a sting of something, should a mission go sideways.

Trying to follow the flow of power, to find the voices that stills the chatter. The ones that are listened to, he sips his coffee quietly.]

[choicely]

[ Yennefer, perhaps predictably, arrives significantly later to the meeting — there was a point when she might not have come at all, and considered otherwise right up until she decided to at least venture in for a short duration.

There's a cup of something steaming in her hands that she's made significant no move to drink, but she steps to stand against the wall, joining a familiar figure cloaked in dark colors who seems predetermined to observe rather than engage directly with the various conversations playing out in front of them. ]

What I can garner so far is some people mostly just enjoy hearing themselves talk. [ She says it only as loud enough for his ears to catch; she's distinctly shied away from relying on the network these past few hours, the least of which because certain parties in this meeting are using it to broadcast their little speeches. ]

action.

[peasant]

[ halfway through rita's speech, alina quietly slips through the door. she's a stark contrast to that peppiness: bleary-eyed and barely functioning, mouth furrowed into a frown. it grows exponentially the longer her groggy gaze hones into that one word swirled elegantly on the board: trust.

not likely. not today. also things she's decided she's not functionally capable of doing today: this.

her snort is a too-loud thing she muffles the instant it jars through the chatter, looking rightfully sheepish from her place lingering by the door. what makes for a quick entrance makes for an equally quick escape, in her experience. it's with that pre-planned exit strategy in mind that, like a raccoon sorting through the wreckage of everyone's leftovers and trash, she seems to shuffle closer and closer to the refreshments table.

she might as well take what she can before she sneaks her way back out.

it's not subtle — too many surreptitious glances over her shoulders, too much blatant pocketing of chocolate-glazed doughnuts into her sweatpants' pockets. she's relied on escaping attention for far too long to have mastered the art of tact, and this is no exception. once her pockets have become noticeably heavy and lumpy with stolen goods, she pours herself a cup of coffee for good measure.

— and immediately spits it back out into its styrofoam casing, at the first experimental taste. ]

[shadysided]

[Somewhere in the meeting (which is a nightmare, really, Ziggy hates group activities for a million reasons) there's a PSSSST noise, and if Alina looks to the left, she'll find Ziggy standing at the door with a heavily stacked plate of food.

Apparently, this is goblin-to-goblin conversation.]

Let's scram.

action;

[ruinously]

[ He comes, of course he does. He comes to listen, to hear what people have to say, but he doesn't really have much to contribute that hasn't already been said in some shape or form.

So instead he shows his face, sat at a table with a bottle of liquor in front of him, people watching, and writing in his journal. He's kept one for years, and while he doesn't have his one from home (he should really ask if Viv can get that for him), he's copied most of what he can remember into it; sketches, stories, information about monsters he's fought, and ones he hasn't.

For tonight, he's using it to take notes. ]

[finials]

How much of that have you had already?

[ ratchet's holoform is frowning as he plucks the bottle up from off the table in front of dean, eyeing it. he settles a moment later with a weary grunt, then sets the bottle back down, on the other side of ratchet's hand this time instead of next to dean. ]

What've I missed? [ he doesn't much care, given that his priority is and will always be medicine and his patients, but he does like to have some idea of what's going on with the rest of these people. ]

action;

[bossily]

[Clara's been tucked into one of the back corners of the room, listening and observing rather than saying anything to anyone. She has plenty of thoughts about what should or shouldn't be done, but keeps them to herself until there's a lull in conversation.]

Why is there any question about what should be done to prioritize the orbs? The priority should always be finding and retrieving them. We're not meant to be envoys on these planets we visit. It's going to wind up tearing us apart.

[She ducks her head for a moment.]

And I don't know about you lot, but it'd kill me to see that happen.

action;

[bindsthedead]

We can't solve all their problems. But if the orbs are in the hands of someone who's either causing those problems or trying to fix them...

[Sabriel shakes her head.]

Well, we learned early on that stealing them isn't an option. So given that most of the time, the orbs seem drawn more to drive and desperation rather than cruelty-

[Cheruvia and the Highest one excepted, of course.]

Helping them deal with their problems, offering a non-orb based alternative, might be the fastest way to recover them.

( action )

[cheapbastard]

( billy still feels like right shit but that's gonna be par for the course, ain't it? he's used enough doses of the temporary v that he's already signed his death warrant and now all he can do is wait it out and let it happen.

but, he knows if he locks himself in his fucking room, people are gonna get suspicious and shit so he goes to this town hall meeting and finds an open seat and drops in it.

he stretches his legs out, a manspreader at his worst, and ignores everyone that tries to step past him or sit next to him. he's in that kind of mood and sitting around with everyone here, listening to gripes and bitches isn't gonna make it better.

but he's here to listen, to at least keep up with this place so he thinks that wins him some brownie points. )

action;

[chrysology]

[Ed is taller, having had to figure altering his clothes since he got back, that they could fit him again. He's still kind of reeling from everything he just went through back home. From the last mission and all. But he attends the meeting, once he finds the note about it. Figuring at the least, he should show up, at least to listen and agree with others, if not to give his own opinion as well. He's aware others here are older, have more experience, for all that a lot of the time he himself gets underestimated. For all that he himself can be a bit cocky sometimes.]

For the specialized responsibilities, I guess that depends on how open we all are. Some of us might not want everyone knowing our abilities or such if there's some sort of stigma against it back home? I dunno. But if something needs fixing or to be made, I've helped out with my alchemy before. That is - basically, I can take something and use the base materials to make something else. Like metal, I can transmute it into cutlery, a weapon or whatever. Just as an example. Just so long as I know what something is made of. And I'm not trying to make more of something than I have to work with initially. I've helped Newt, but he's better with the technology side of things, given he's from way after what I last recall back home in the 1910s.

[So he is still learning the more advanced technology to some extent. In comparison to others that are far more used to it. To working with it. But Ed does want to help as best he can at least. And he has never been shy about his alchemy, only cautious about using it in some of the missions if people there might not react so well to it.]

The orbs.....I know they're the priority. But I'm not willing to kill to get them. And I'd want to try help out where we can while there, at least. I'm not sure how well staying behind like last mission might work, that isn't usually an option for us to wait and get to try help out for so long. And I think a lot of it will depend on the situation, the people there, the locals. They're the ones, like Sabriel said, that will have to live with the aftermath of whatever happens with us taking the orb. Trying to help them figure alternatives? Instead of the orb which we are supposed to take? I dunno. We've all seen the consequences of the orb's presence at these places. And it is why we are sent out. To get them and bring them back to the station. I'll get as many as I have to, if it means I can fix things back home.

[To get Al his body back. Ed has to remind himself of that. Even if there's still some lines he won't cross to do it. That is the end goal, for him. What he wants to figure fixing with his regret.

Otherwise, he's probably quiet, listening to others and their opinions, while downing some of the offered food and drink in the process. And probably eating more than one might expect from him. Given he is eating for Al too.]

action

[unclesam]

An important thing to remember that perhaps we could all take to heart is that self-flaggelation doesn't yield anything and isn't the same as accountability and improvement. And that goes for the barbs you direct at yourself as much as it goes for what you project onto everyone else.

[ Sam's seen and heard enough to know that much is true. Wandered out on some especially unnecessary vitriol, grabbed jello shots from Yelena, came back in. He couldn't not be here. Even if it drives him mad, this sort of cyclical discussion that rarely ever yields true results and in which emotions rile up. In which people would rather shout their cynicism than pull together. It makes him think back to Secretary Ross pushing on people's guilt in order to push through poorly though out, kneejerk regulations that ultimately served nobody but himself. A poor grab for power and control. And the Avengers had torn themselves apart over it. The discussions in here don't feel all that different to the point he starts wondering when, down the line, they'll come to blows with each other. Put 60 people in a room and you'll have too many different valid viewpoints to come together sensibly. But he's not here to argue that. ]

There's a line between accountability and letting hypotheticals dictate what we're all here to do. Uninvoled observation is a non-starter, else we wouldn't be here. You can disagree with me all you want, and I'm certainly not advocating that we're tryna fix every systemic issue we encounter on foreign worlds. I dare say few of us have an in-depth understanding of the political realities of the worlds we're from. But you don't gotta be a politician to realize inaction when you're already involved in any capacity, when you do not have the know how, intel and infrastructure to remain a truly neutral observer, is as much a choice as action is.

[ Dry as bone, that part. ]

It's fundamentally incorrect to argue that we leave a mess behind wherever we go. Frankly, you can miss me with that take. Don't let anyone say you ain't done any good just because things got messy. That's how you spook people into becoming bystanders. And I don't know about you, but I ain't gonna stand idly by every single situation I encounter on the thought that I might overstep or might make a mistake.

Consider that even in the face of people hating or scapegoating us for what went wrong, and it's without a doubt important to take that to heart and consider what we could and should do better, we ultimately helped do a lot of good - in our last mission as well as the ones before, and you absolutely cannot lose sight of that. If we lose ourselves in too many hypotheticals when the variables will shift on every damn mission, we're just gonna freeze.

Besides, if we go down that path, we might as well start picking apart hypotheticals about what coulda gone wrong had we stepped up less. It ain't helping anyone to do that. And it goes without saying that we can absolutely do better. We all, individually and and as a group, can always try to do better. My advice is... don't do what's easy - do what's right, to the best of your knowledge, to the best of your ability.

Accept that for everyone you help along the way, there's gonna be someone you fail on some level. Accept that people will hate you for trying and succeeding as much as they'll hate you for trying and failing. It sucks. It don't mean you fold, or have a go at others who were tryna help people. Cynicism's the easy part. Get comfortable with the hard part, too. It's as simple and as complicated as that.

[ He rubs a hand over his face. Crosses his arms, then gestures to the room at large. Frankly, he knows the bad takes his words might get. And he gets it - he's seen enough people think they know better and make choices on behalf of others, and where that can lead. Team Iron Man was never wrong about that part of it, after all. But you can't strawman and hypothetical your way through life and wash your hands clean of doing the right thing just because you don't wanna step on toes or are scared of failing, either. ]

And look. Perhaps it's time we step up and acknowledge that we all suck at seeking help when we need it and are much too used at ignoring warning signs in ourselves and others that indicate help is necessary. Because it seems to me that much of what went wrong recently was either good intentions we have absolutely no business clipping, or people needing help none of us were equipped to see becoming necessary. Perhaps it's time that instead of trying to run at every situation alone as fast as we can, we try and look to our team. That might not always be possible, of course, and you might not always like it. But end of the day, this ain't a one man show.

And I'll be the first to admit that I could do better leading with example on that. I'd stick my neck out for every single one of you because that's what you do when you exist in a community, but I also know damn well I get caught up in acting and taking risks on my own. If you take anything away from what I'm saying, maybe let it be this. You ain't alone. Involve others in what you're planning and doing if you can, on and off mission. And reach out when you're drowning - on and off mission.

[homeostatic]

( McCoy sits up from where he's huddled beside Minimus, watching and listening to Sam with an expression of hopeful relief.

If their gaze happens to meet, he just nods, and gives him a covert thumbs up. )