Video.

[flightforfreedom]

[ For such a chatty guy, Poe doesn't seem to post to the network all that much. And today? He looks decidedly less than chatty.

He's standing on what seems to be the tarmac of a military airfield, dressed very purposefully and carefully in his full Air Force formal uniform, the double bars on his epaulettes marking his rank as Captain. He isn't usually a man for pointless theatrics. (Pointless stunts is another thing altogether, but this doesn't seem to be about that either.) Clearly, the uniform and the setting have a point.

So he gets right down to it. ]

As you may have heard by now, the State Department has declared a national state of emergency thanks to the mess that's going on, and looks like it's getting worse, fast.

I've been asked to talk to all of you on behalf of the brass, here.

While the military has been - uh - less than enthusiastic about hiring imPorts as a whole, and we're still barred from active duty, they've decided to open up recruitment during the current crisis. Just not exactly for the Army.

Essentially, they're looking for super-powered personnel who are equipped to help handle all the damn weirdness that's going on. They're putting together Emergency Response teams, debriefing and giving a little training, then sending them out into the wild. Mandate is to suppress and contain inter-dimensional anomalies and try to stop the things from spreading.

I know a lot of you have mixed feelings about the Military on this world. Trust me, they've got mixed feelings about you, too. But as long as we're living on this planet, we're sharing it, and if everything is going tits up, then it's going to happen to all of us. We may as well work together.

Anyone already on super-powered teams is probably better off staying where they're at - though I can help coordinate you with Government efforts, if you're interested.

Anyone looking to sign up as Emergency Responders should know that only Registered imPorts can apply. Sorry folks, I didn't make that rule, I'm only here to repeat it.

[ He clearly looks a little uncomfortable, though what exactly about the circumstances or what he's saying is making him feel that way is unclear. ]

Regardless of what you think about any of this - for all intents and purposes, and however long you've been here: this place is our home. I don't really care how you figure out to protect it or who you do it with, but we all need to stand together before everything falls apart.

[ He stares at the camera a few more seconds, and then the screen goes black. ]

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

I'm pretty sure my best friend would get mad at me if I went out without serious body armor. Dying once is more than enough for me.

[Which is going to be hilarious when he almost dies in a destabilization related situation in the near future, but hey, what does he know?]

Logistics is a specialty of mine, and I'm good with computers. And good enough against more mundane combatants to be able to handle myself in dangerous situations. I've been doing this sort of stuff since I was in my teens.

[flightforfreedom]

Yeah, that's a mood. Not something I really want to repeat, either.

[ He's already on his... tenth... here.... ]

Alright. Good to know. I think getting a logistics team together will help out a lot of people, let us react faster.

[ He sends a link to the e-form for applying. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Poe, stop dying. It's bad for your health. But David laughs at the form, leaves it to his system to complete most of it, and Poe will have it back within minutes.]

Good. Just wish I had the person I knew back home who could sense out dimensional distortions actually around. He was great for tracking, would probably be just as good at finding.

[flightforfreedom]

Wait, this happened to you guys back home?

[ His eyebrows raised. ]

How did you deal with it?

[helpdesk_hero]

Ever try pursuing a cosmic horror being across dimensions? It can be tricky. And terrifying. Not the being. What you see and learn about yourself.

Dealing with it is... hard.

[flightforfreedom]

No, I can't really say that I've had to do that. Most of the horrors in my universe are unfortunately very single-dimension beings.

[ Otherwise maybe he could get them to leave. ]

Well... I can't really say anything about the psychological fall out of all this. Force knows I barely understand it even when it's normal war. But did you guys manage to stop things moving between dimensions?

[helpdesk_hero]

[Oh dear, he's Jedi adjacent. Interesting. David doesn't know what to do with that.]

Of course not. Things that can move between dimensions tend to have that as an inherent power.

[flightforfreedom]

[ Poe doesn't know what to do with it either, in all honesty.

He sighs. ]

Great. So much for a lucky break on that one.

I don't think these things have that as an inherent power, though. So I think there's gotta be a way to stop it.

[helpdesk_hero]

No. In fact, I doubt this is specifically a problem with 'these things' and more a problem with us and this place. This world, right here, it's destabilizing. And that I don't know how to fix.

[flightforfreedom]

I'm not so sure it's us.

I mean, I know that this stuff is related to us somehow, but...

Everything was pretty stable for a while there. I know a lot of the natives say it's our fault stuff is happening, but I'm not so sure it is.

There's gotta be a direct cause. And that means there's gotta be a direct fix.

[helpdesk_hero]

We're brought here by potentially ripping the barrier between worlds. From my understanding of the history of this place, that's been happening for a very long time. So it is viable that the natives are correct.

And from my experience, direct cause does not equate to direct fix

[flightforfreedom]

I guess. [ He doesn't sound convinced, though. This whole thing bugs him, but he's a man of instinct, not thought. Trying to figure this all out is way above his pay grade. ]

Not every time. But I'm sure as hell hoping it does this time.

[helpdesk_hero]

[David is all about figuring things out.]

I wish you luck in finding your switch to flip. I'm going to look more for the band-aid route.

[flightforfreedom]

At this point, buddy, I'll be happy to take either.

[helpdesk_hero]

[He resists the urge to say 'not your buddy'. Adults. They're frustrating.]

I wish you luck with that. I'd suggest talking maybe to Jane Foster. She's a genius about strange travel phenomenon. I'll work on helping herd cats over here.

[flightforfreedom]

[ Sorry David. There are plenty of adults that find Poe very frustrating, too. It isn't just you. ]

Alright, I'll hit her up.

Good luck.