video;

[usaf]

[ The video opens on Carol at the airfield where she works, finishing up some maintenance on a Cessna Skywagon. She has a rag in one hand and a wrench in the other, her phone propped up on something to capture the scene. ]

There have been some more... informal polls online lately. [ She's looking at you, Bow... ] For once, I have a more serious question to ask.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what I'm going to do with my time here. So far, I've been assigned the job of Flight Instructor at Heropa Airfield, which... Don't get me wrong, it fits. I can do it. But it's not exactly what I've been training my whole life to do. Back home, a... while ago, admittedly... I was in the Air Force. And I heard that imPorts can join the Air Force here, but there's a caveat: They need to be registered first.

I've been here a couple months now, but I haven't registered yet, because I don't know how I should feel about the government having my name on a list. That's why I'm coming to you, for... advice, I guess? Opinions?

Should I register? Should I not? What are the pluses and minuses to each option?

[ Okay, that's enough sincerity for one afternoon. Carol's face breaks out in a sarcastic grin. ]

Or if you just want to tell me your favorite animal, that's fine, too.

Comments

( text | un: wardwell )

[sathan]

We don't really know what they want. They tell us that it's to be a superhero but what has come from it except more danger?

[usaf]

The danger comes to us whether we register or not. Whether we try to be a hero or don't. So is there really a point in resisting?

video

[made_up_names]

That's a good question. I did? But I sort of didn't have a choice, I guess.

[usaf]

What do you mean, you didn't have a choice? Did someone coerce you?

[ Concerned Aunt Carol Mode Activated. ]

[hatestrashcans]

You know for me the second question is harder, right?

[ Shapeshifter jokes. *shrug* ]

I figure the government knows who we are already: We're all on a list with our powers. And we're trackable through the nanites anyway. The biggest minus is probably that it makes you a target for people who don't really like the American government, but since you want to join the Air Force, I'm guessing that's not a deterrent for you.

Then again, even with what they know, it's way easier for me to hide than 99% of imPorts, so the risk I'm taking is different.

[usaf]

What, you mean the first hand experience doesn't cement for you which is your favorite?

[ She teases. ]

Joining the Air Force is what I've wanted to do my whole life. I got there, it was taken away from me, and now I'm here, where it's an option again, but I have to jump through these hoops to get there. I just don't know if it's worth it.

video

[sonofgold]

I ended up registering for job reasons, and because I was considered a minor when I came here. I'm still not sure I did the right thing, though.

[usaf]

What makes you doubt your decision?

video

[swordsense]

[Adora addresses the camera from her room, not the most exciting place...but it's what she's got. It's...pretty pink, NGL.

Settled on her bed, cross-legged, she does her best to look serious.]

I registered immediately. There don't seem to be any real downsides? I mean, our name is on a list that they already have. They give us money, and don't ask or force us to do anything except not break the law. Which I wasn't gonna do anyway.

...and we can unregister at any time? So, I don't really see why I wouldn't take a deal that doesn't have any downsides. More money, freedom of movement, in exchange for basically nothing seems like a pretty good deal.

Also, I like horses best?

[usaf]

[ Add some model airplanes and get rid of some of the pink, and it looks a lot like how Carol's own bedroom had looked when she was Adora's age. ]

I should have figured you for a horse girl.

[ Guess some things never change. Girls love horses, even today. ]

I guess you make a good point. If they ever draw a line I don't want to cross, I can always walk it back.

text | un: joker

[criminallysane]

I'll tell you the hand-to-Barnum truth: I couldn't stomach the idea of the tattoo.

Just imagine, walking around with a big honking REGISTERED imprinted on you! It's like those awful I VOTED stickers, except it's a part of you.

At least UNSETTLED gives a more honest representation of what's inside my tin!

[usaf]

You're going to have a tattoo no matter what, and you WANT it to say "UNSETTLED?"
That just makes it look like you can never make up your mind.

Audio: StudentPilot

[helpdesk_hero]

People like us? Our names are always on lists, Carol. It's just a question of which list you're on. The one where you teach people to fly, or the one where you're free to fly the way you want to.

[usaf]

They can't stop me flying. Or, well... Then can stop me flying past the moon, for some reason. [ She's still pissed about that. ] But they aren't going to tie me down, registered or no.

Video

[choosetruth]

Your name's on the list either way. It's just a question of which list you're on.

[Georgia adjusts her sunglasses.]

I registered immediately. Until such a time as they ask me to do something that goes against my beliefs, I'm willing to stay that way.

[usaf]

Have they asked you to do anything so far? Or is it just a, "don't call us, we'll call you" sort of thing?

voice;

[lempereur]

If you were comfortable joining the military back home, I don't see any reason not to register here. I am not registered myself, but it doesn't seem all that different. It would be less responsibility than you had before, if anything.

[usaf]

I wasn't given all that much responsibility back in the military I was in, either. They didn't want women seeing combat, so they relegated us to test pilots. Which, if I understand correctly, is the same thing they do with imPort enlisters here.

Permavid

[governorkang]

I've been Registered for over five years now and so far there hasn't been any attempt to force me into doing anything I don't want to do for the government.

[usaf]

Five years?

[ So he's been here about as long as Jaime. ]

And in all that time, they never called on you to do anything you weren't comfortable with?

audio; un: Kaal Drellik

[a_gaggle_of_ghosties]

I can guarantee you're already on a list. You may as well just sign on as a show of good faith.

[usaf]

What if I'm not particularly inclined to show any good faith to the people who basically kidnapped all of us?

text; un: no ordinary girl

[justaddh2o]

I got the impression that it didn't matter much whether I did or didn't, they still knew more about me than I knew about me. I registered because of the stipend, personally.

[usaf]

That's fair. Doing it for money reasons is I suppose as valid as any other motivation.

video;

[duelo]

First of all, thank you for your service.

[ Derek's going to get that out of the way first. It's something he says to anyone who served in the military back home and even if she's not from his home, she's from America from the sounds of it. It's a respect thing. Soldiers live and die to protect their entire country the same way Hales lived and died to protect Beacon Hills. ]

Second, I've registered for the stipend and benefits of easier travel and, really, only because I had a feeling that I might be given a little more freedom by willfully registering myself. God knows they already have enough information on and about us, never mind the nanites; they don't need us to register to track us, but if we do, we're giving them some semblance of permission to call on us to protect them, I suspect, when they need it. In exchange, there are a few perks.

[ He leans forward a little, expression drawn with thought he honestly hadn't bothered with when he'd registered for himself. He wants to be a willing part of this community because what the hell else has he got going for him? There's nothing back home. Derek wants a new life here, so he might as well be grateful enough for it to acquiesce to an implied request from the government to do what he already planned on doing anyway: protecting this place and the people in it. ]

I think it's just up to you whether you want to let them think that you're cool with them tracking you and knowing entirely too much about you and your past or if you want to stick it to them enough to let them know that you don't appreciate that shit and you're not going to enable it. But if you want to join the military here, I'd say you need to just weigh which would be more important to you: being able to join the Air Force or letting the government know you're not interested in bending to their requests.

[ Then, he gives her a lopsided sort of smile and shrugs. ]

And, obviously, wolves are the best animals, hands down.

[usaf]

[ Carol smiles. ] Thank you, for saying that.

[ Not many people show the proper respect to the Armed Forces. Less so these days than back in Carol's time. She appreciates the nod. ]

Travel isn't a problem for me. I can get wherever I need to go, without the porters, so long as it's no further than the moon.

[ She laughs. ] I am known for trying to "stick it to the man."

[ But would she put that aside for the opportunity to serve again? She'll have to think about that one. ]

Wolves? Why wolves?

Video

[callmesuperboy]

[ Conner is soaring in the air, and smiling as he watches her video. ]

I registered. I believe in the chance of a government to prove itself. For good or ill, and for me, the chance to help them, both in their efforts, and simply by being here, well, it seems better than the opposite.

[ He grins at the camera he is holding in front of him as he flies. The sky is blue as blue can be behind him. ]

Someone smart once told me that decisions are made by people who show up.

[usaf]

[ Okay, that catches Carol's attention. Usually she's the one browsing the internet in midair. ]

Careful, you'll drop your phone.

[ She grins back. ]

So, in this case, "showing up" would be registering to help the government with whatever they might ask of us?

Video

[lonered]

You know, Shiro and I have been looking into that. The Air Force thing, not the registering thing.

[Because, after all, he is registered. Keith shrugs a little and drops his gaze to look at the tattoo on his arm.]

They've got us on lists whether we're registered or not. That's my thought on it anyway. And for the moment they aren't asking us to do anything objectionable to stay on that list. If and when they do, it might be time to change my mind.

[Keith is playing along, more or less.

Oh. And also.]

Hippopotamus.

[usaf]

Yeah? Sounds like the Air Force might be seeing an influx of imPort volunteers soon.

The good thing is, you can apparently change your mind at any time, and switch back to "Unsettled." So you're not signing your life away.

[ She smirks. ] Hippo, huh? What about your wolfy friend?

video;

[goodtobebad]

Eh, they wouldn't let me leave the country until I registered. So far, haven't noticed any other difference.

[usaf]

Again with the travel restrictions... First I couldn't leave the planet, now you couldn't leave the country...

[ Those two things are equal, right? ]

video;

[bifroster]

That's a really good question.

I registered mostly for the financial reasons. I have no intention of becoming a superhero or anything, but I get why some people would be concerned about their name being on a list.

[She is sure that her name is already on SHIELD's list back home. How else did they secret her away to Sweden of all places when Loki came to attack New York? Not that she was going to forgive them for doing that any time soon.]

But aren't our names already on a bunch of lists back home? Birth records, social security forms, school registrars? It might have to do more with the purpose of that list than an actual list.

video;

[usaf]

Sure, that makes sense. But those are lists I'm used to. This may be America, but it's not our America... It's essentially a foreign government. And without knowing what they're going to do with my name once it's on their list, I'm not sure I just want to blindly jump in.