text;

[alittlesweptup]

As apparently no one else is going to do it:

We're running missions to go digging dirt on the UE's past, but we need people to be doing info gathering here as well. Meaning we ought to have someone(s) go meet with this timeline's version of the Initiative to get as much information as possible. I know we're all feeling very cozy at the moment, but let's not pretend that it can't or won't change at the drop of a hat. Fortifying ourselves in bunkers isn't going to do us much good if we don't know what we're supposed to be defending against in the first place

Now as Christ knows I can't do it (I think we're all more than aware of what my version of diplomacy consists of), that means we need a set of proper volunteers - preferably with experience in this sort of field. If you or anyone you know might be suited to it, speak up so you can find one another and get a bloody away team wrangled

Comments

[commentboxtroll]

so maybe i did my best to forget how hopelessly dysfunctional everyone here is
any bites from people who aren't completely underqualified yet?

[alittlesweptup]

Welcome home we're all proper fucked

Just Mike up there though whether he counts as qualified or not is up for debate. Frankly I'm not entirely sure how to measure that given the typical track record here for 'sitting with a thumb up the arse'

[commentboxtroll]

which is no real change
and as i really don't know Mike up there, i'll assume no for now
what kind of information do you specifically want from them?
because we don't have enough goodwill from them to bargain for "everything"

[alittlesweptup]

Whatever they'll give us. We're on the same side and if we can scrape together something sensible to offer them in exchange then all the better. But I'd rather not poison the well by being an arsehole right from the start

[commentboxtroll]

last i checked, they don't honestly believe we're on their side, they're just tolerating us.
what do we have to offer? obviously we aren't giving them the transporter or the spaceship.
if anything, we'd need to figure out what they need and then steal a whole lot of it from the past for them, so i guess that's what the first meeting (assuming we get one) should focus on.

private;

[alittlesweptup]

[He'd rather this be public, but Lowell had locked of his messages and if he's mentioning the man by name it might be better to keep mum--]

We'll get one. Lowell said he could pull some strings and get them to talk to us, so that sounds like as good a first step as any to me. Offering the proverbial olive branch or what have you

private;

[commentboxtroll]

[ A private filter? Well now he feels all special over here. ]

if Lowell can manage that, then you can count me in.
just keep in mind that chances are they're going to ask for weapons and i can already foresee other people wanting to argue over whether we go through with it or not until it doesn't matter anymore.
that isn't something we can afford.

[alittlesweptup]

[Look at them, talking like sensible people. So heartwarming.]

Frankly we're already doing a brilliant job of arming people who are less than qualified; I don't see the problem in passing out a few weapons from the armory to them if it convinces them to work with us

But I can appreciate that it wouldn't exactly look good if we rolled in and bickered and hen pecked one another through the entirety of a sit down with the lot of them

[commentboxtroll]

[ Caesar's always been the sane man in the room, so there's no big surprise. ]

doesn't matter.
someone's bound to take offense at us arming someone who isn't ourselves even if it makes no sense.
doesn't mean it'll stop us, just that you may want to consider how open about every detail you want to be with some stuff.

[alittlesweptup]

To my mind, you lot talking to them should be of the same mind and damn the rest. As much as I'd like to get some kind of communal agreement on this nonsense, it's clearly not going to happen any time soon. If no one wants to chip in to this, then I'll be buggered if they have any place to complain afterward about not being consulted

[commentboxtroll]

for what it's worth, i agree.
i'm just making sure you're aware, though i suppose you ARE the king of people being upset with you, which makes the warning pretty redundant.

1/2

[alittlesweptup]

Won't be the first time, no

2/2

[alittlesweptup]

[And then a minute or two later:]

Honestly I'd rather not be in this sit down at all not because I think it'd hurt our chances with the new Initiative, but it'd sure as hell put a damper on whatever results we get in the eyes of the other transports. Even more than it'll do regardless, I suppose

That said, it's looking less like an option

[Inflated sense of self importance? Maybe a little bit.]

[commentboxtroll]

do you honestly care what the other transports think or do you just not want your face at the forefront of all these politics again? because i did that with the spaceship deal and that got us the DITR.

definitely turned out not to be the outcome i actually wanted.

[ Or in other words, if you want something done right, do it yourself, Charlie. ]

[alittlesweptup]

Honestly? I was tentatively hoping there'd be more than a few people with the brains to do the job so I didn't have to

[He's not built for politics.]

But it's a moot point. If someone steps up to do the bloody thing then more the better. If I've got to, then fine. Might as well make an easy target for people as that's apparently the only thing they can hit

[commentboxtroll]

[ Caesar is, in some ways, but that also carries the knowledge of exactly why he wouldn't want to be involved in politics. ]

if no one else does, i can give it a go.
but an actual group would still be best. what i typically rely on to get my foot in the door doesn't really apply in this world, so they might not even give someone my age the time of day.

[alittlesweptup]

I'll see if I can't wrangle together some likely suspects, though at this rate don't be surprised if you're on the list. Lowell should have a date for us soon

[Somewhere out there, Charlie is aggressively scrubbing his face with his hands. What a train wreck.]