Mecha Loli Gets a Job
Summer 2021, Week 1
Tuesday midday
Police Headquarters, City Centre
Luna
An email is sent to the Police Headquarters from the address '[email protected]' with the title 'Authorized Emergency Response Individual Application'. The email contains a short message and an attached pdf. The message reads:My resume is attached though I must admit there is not much substance to it. But there is a very important reason for that! I'm an Evo from another world and so I haven't really been here long, nor was it really my choice to come here.. But that aside, I want to help people and I have the abilities to do so! I hope after considering everything that you decide to give me a chance to at least demonstrate what I can do, I'm sure once you see it for yourself that you'll find my help irreplaceable!The attached pdf does not contain a whole lot of information, but it is honest and detailed. It describes how she and her sister taught themselves much of what they know as they were growing up, but otherwise have no education. It also details the business she started when she started selling the Computer Operating System she developed based on the programming language of her home world, LoliOS, though she gives credit to her sister for a good deal of the work that was really difficult. Finally, she details her abilities. Her ability to summon the mechanical creatures of her home world is given the most emphasis as useful for both offense and defense, but she also describes what she can do with her gauntlets and hoodie/mask. Pictures are included within the pdf of the equipment she uses, as well as pictures of a few of the creatures she can summon. Among these pictures the most notable is what looks to be a mechanical lion.
Chief Butler
An email is returned to the address as follows:Dear Miss Luna, My office is incredibly interested in speaking with you about your application. Considering some of the details in the resume, we may need to discuss a more appropriate arrangement, but you commitment and accomplishments demonstrate the need to meet in person. Please find a list of available appointments below. Sincerely, Chief Butler
Luna
Luna locks in the next available appointment time and quickly sets a reminder for it within her HUD. She writes up a reply thanking the Chief but holds back the urge to send it, deleting it in the end. "Gotta look professional, right? Right. No need to reply here..." she says, a determined look on her face as she starts heading towards Leadenhall. The appointment she chose was for much later that same day, so she heads in that direction but kills time along the way. Several hours later she ends up walking into the building 10 minutes before her scheduled appointment, just before her reminder triggers. She is wearing her iconic hoodie and gauntlets, but the gauntlets are opened slightly along a seam and her real arms are pulled out of them which leaves the gauntlets hanging to her sides. Am I excited or am I nervous? Both? Both. she thought as she just barely manages to refrain from showing the feeling outwardly. She quickly walks up to the first person she can find that seems to work here. If there is a counter between them and it is taller than Luna, she puts her arms back into the gauntlets as she gets close and then grabs hold of the counter before using the gauntlets to pull herself up high enough to easily look over it. "Hi, I'm Luna! I should have an appointment coming up soon."[x1 Minor, -1 EP 14 Remaining]
Storyteller
The Desk Sergeant looks down at the tiny, strangely dressed, little girl and gives her a smile. "Well, hello, Luna. How are you? An appointment you say? With your Mommy or Daddy?" He waves over another officer who smiles and asks whose kid this is, and the Desk Sergeant just shrugs and they both turn back to the girl. "If you let us know their name, we can find them for you."Luna
"My appointment is with Chief Butler, about my application for the 'Authorized Emergency Response Individual' position!" She says excitedly before trailing her expression into a rather large grin. She continues to hold herself up, remarkably still for having to hold up her entire body weight for so long in such a way.[x1 Minor, -1 EP 13 Remaining]
Chief Butler
The two officers turned into three, and they were all smiling at the girl. One of them, a little more focused on what she was saying rather than what she looked like, heard her mention the AERI interview, and went off only to return a minute later followed by a thin older man with an ever-present smile. "Shouldn't you all be working on something? I know our guest is interesting, but she's not here to be gawked at by officers of the law." Chief Butler said as he rounded the desk, cup of coffee framed by the curl of his lips as he took a sip. The officers immediately dispersed and got back to work as the Chief held out a hand to the girl. "Luna, I'm Steve. It's great to meet ya. Follow me and let's have a chat."Luna
As the Chief speaks up Luna lowers herself down from the counter and turns around to face him, pulling her arms back out of the gauntlets once more. "You must be the Chief," she says excitedly, taking his hand and giving it as firm of a shake as a 10 year old could. "It's nice to meet you too, Steve!" She seems eager and is quick to follow.Chief Butler
Leading them to his office, he casually strolled through the halls while making conversation. "You got here alright? I'm assuming didn't drive, which is lucky for you. Traffic is a nightmare in the city." Giving a light chuckle he held the door open for her as they arrived at a large office in the center of the HQ. 'Chief of Police' was written on a plaque across the front, and the inside was--pretty bland actually. A few bookshelves, a nice desk with two guest chairs. A few pictures of the officers from different departments, and one of the Chief and who must have been a Government Evo in uniform from some years ago. Moving take to take a seat behind his desk, he gestured for Luna to take the other seat. "Do you need anything? I can have Stacy bring you in something?" He pressed a button on his phone to call Stacy in, knowing she'd take a minute or so, and decided to prompt his second question to the young girl before him while they had to wait. "While she gets here, tell me, Luna, why do you want to be an AERI."Luna
"Yeah, I had nothing important to do so I walked over slowly and passed the time on the way. I'm still trying to get used to the city, but I should know as much of it as possible if I hope to have a job like this." she says as she makes her way into the office, taking the seat as he signals her to. "I could use some water, thank you! .. Like I said in my email, I want to help people and I believe I have abilities that could be of use. My sister can help too, but she's stuck at home, in our real home, and I can't open a portal large enough to travel through yet.. This may not be my world, but I love this world and I'm stuck here anyways so I want to do what I can!" Her large grin returns as she finishes answering the question.Chief Butler
Steve's blue eyes seemed to twinkle as she talked, his smile never faltering. Most people, especially people who had just met him, would have a hard time saying whether the face he put on was genuine or a mask. People who knew him for years, would have that same difficulty. As Luna asked for water, Stacy had come in and heard, so she hurried out and returned with a glass for the young lady. The Chief, meanwhile, seemed to mull over what she had said, taking a sip of his coffee as he pondered his response. "Ambitious, Miss Luna, and it shows how good of a heart you have. Helping people is a difficult goal to maintain when you get older. The world goes from black and white to shades of grey, and normally here I'd say something about how the young have an innocent view. I read your resume and report though, and I don't think innocent mind really applies to you, does it?" A small frown took the place of the smile as his voice lowered. "Just you and your sister, in that world. And now you're here in a different place trying to make your way through it. Commendable." Another sip, a shorter pause. "There is the elephant in the room of course. You're, by all accounts of the United States and her laws, a minor below the working age. And there are some strings I can pull; changes we can make to your job title and all that. Before I do any of that, I have my second question." "Why should you be an AERI?" His facial expression changed for just a moment, but it was long enough to let even a 10 year old know this question was deeper than the first.Luna
It was nearly instantaneous when her psychological mask fractured, something about the mention of her circumstances in the context surrounding it was enough to make the cheery attitude she had exhibited until now essentially vanish. In its place was a more neutral expression, but the nervousness she had been hiding was now starting to show through a bit. Even still, she didn't hesitate to answer the question. "It has been said that for evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing. I refuse to do nothing, but by the laws of this world I cannot act on my own; As such, it follows that I should pursue a position of authority that allows me to do what needs to be done. I should be an AERI because for every day that goes by as things stand, there's another set of potential victims I could have been there to save.." Her expression shifted slightly as she spoke, bits of sadness and anger showing through as she spoke various parts of her answer, but her red eyes never changed from the fiery determination they showed deep within.Chief Butler
Steely blue eyes mapped her change in expression with a slightly increased twinkle. As she finished speaking, a silence settled over the room, broken only when a creak of the Chief chair sounded out when he stood up and walked around his desk to stand in front of it. Putting a wrinkled hand on Luna's shoulder, his smile broadens. "That, young lady, is an excellent answer." Grabbing a file from the top of his desk, he opened it and looked through a few pages before handing it to Luna. "This is our plan for the AERI program. As you'll notice it's pretty simple. Step one is to gather a team of AERIs, go over the authorizations and rotation schedule, create plans for various situations. I'll be honest with you Luna; this here is a pilot program. One that's necessary in more than just Victoria I feel." "I've lost 3 officers to one walking battery this week alone, and it's Tuesday. One guy, out of a population of a few dozen bad Evos. And there's very little we can do to stop anyone strong enough to be a danger. We knew we needed people like you, Evo's who cared, to even the playing field. So, we made the program and it's fair to say we're winging it." Moving back to his chair and taking a seat, he leaned back in it to talk a bit more relaxed to the young girl, satisfied her heart was in the right place. "Let me first state I'm not going to give you blanket authorization to go out and catch bad guys. First of all, capable as you are, you are a child. To the world around you, you're a child. Sending out a child would be eaten up by the media. That is until they can see what you can do. So, we will work on that first, help the folks get comfortable with it or use you under the radar." "Second, no one goes out alone in any Emergency Response team. So, we will have to wait until we get enough of a team, at least someone who we can say is 'supervising' you." He tossed up some air quotes around that world, "and to make sure you're safe. I hope you understand both of those point?" "That's not to say you wouldn't be doing anything, which brings me to my third question. Luna, how would you feel having your first assignment being building a AERI framework for others to use?"Luna
She looked over the file as he spoke, only looking back up when he was making his second point. She simply nodded at the question of if she understood. I've certainly learned that kids my age don't think like me, I guess unique circumstances call for unique measures.. "A framework? You mean like a more complex system for recruiting and organizing?" She pauses for a second and looks away as the figurative gears start turning in her mind. "I could come up with something, I already have a few ideas actually." she says confidently just before a thought comes to her and she suddenly speaks it aloud in a surprised tone. "And if other cities start using the system I come up with, it'll further credit my capability to the public! Wait, is that what you were hoping for?" she asks, looking back at him as she does.Chief Butler
"Exactly, Luna. The Police have a system. So do the Fire and EMT Departments. What we need is a system that can link with those systems, task out our AERI's, categorize threats, call for backup, all those sorts of things. And I've been up to my neck trying to think of it!" He hands flew around as he listed things off but the smile, that grandfatherly smile, never faltered. "What we need is a system for AERIs to use and to recruit 'em. We also need a few more things, like equipment. I figure with your background you could help with this, and you're right, having a fully functioning AERI system that we can credit to you, that would go a long way I think."Luna
"Yeah, I can do that. And my big sis can help with equipment, she's the one who made my gauntlets and I'm certain she can build anything with the right materials. So does this mean I have the job?" she asks with a hopeful look on her face.Chief Butler
"Yes, it does. Officially, for right now, you are a Limited Authorized Emergency Response Individual, a LAERI. Your authorization extends to working in any of the three departments to gather information on how they operate. Soon I'll be getting a dedicated office for the AERI's to work out of, but that'll be a secret between the team and I." Digging into his desk, he pulls out another folder and hands it to do. "Fill this out. It'll get you your key cards and ID cards, which will hopefully stop people from stopping you every few minutes to ask where your parents are." Standing and offering his hand, Steve spoke with some seriousness. "Luna, I hope you understand I don't treat most kids like this. But I can tell you're not a kid, not entirely. You're special and right now I need special to protect my city. Not everyone will act that way mind you, and it's safe to say that right now you're the bellwether for this program. Do us well, okay?"Luna
The hopeful look turns into a cheerful one as he gives the answer, and when he hands her the folder, she quickly opens it and gives it a quick look through. "That would definitely be helpful.." she says with a weary smile. She stands up as well and takes his hand again to sign the verbal contract with the handshake. "I'll do my best, Chief!" she says assuredly in response before giving him another large grin.Chief Butler
"Good. Now, off you go. You have work to do Luna. I'll expect you here at the end of the week for a report and hopefully a meeting with some other members of the team, if we can get some."Luna
She gives a slight bow before turning to leave the office. That went well she thought as she left with a smile on her face. Back in the lobby she goes through the folder and fills out all the applications rather quickly before going back up to the Desk Sergeant and handing them to him.
Type
Record, Historical
Medium
Digital Recording, Text
Authoring Date
June 22, 2021
Authors
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