voice!

[wronganswer]

[ It's not immediately after arriving that Anderson finally accesses the network. Out of sorts and deeply discomfited, she falls back on professionalism, as she's been trained to do, and scopes out the area first. This reconnaissance includes a brief mental skim of assorted passersby, mostly to gauge honesty and make sure this isn't an elaborate psychic-induced hallucinatory trap.

She's strong, but she's not invulnerable. She knows that's a possibility.

Except... it seems like it isn't, and she really is here, wherever 'here' is in the universe. After the two days she's spent poking around and reassuring herself of the reality of everything, though, that's not even the most incredulous part to her. ]

Looking for some information. [ Her voice is smooth, pleasant, a young woman's voice largely stripped of tone and easy to listen to. ] Someone told me there's no police here.

No judges.

How does that... work? Has anyone had experience with the intermediary system?

[ How can a place like this exist? It seems impossible to her. And just who is she, here? Who is she if not a Judge? ]

Comments

[wronganswer]

I hadn't thought about that, [ she admits. ] I haven't been off Earth. [ Though it's a possibility at home, she's firmly tied to Mega-City One, and had never even considered it.

Anderson knows better than most just how common it is for people to have lingering thoughts they're trying to evade. She has them herself. ]

I'm used to taking in perps doing that for me. You can't get distracted while you're in a firefight. [ It definitely has a way of clearing your head, and focusing you. She's truly not sure what she's going to do instead, here, but that's not his problem. ]

[warandpeace]

That's true.

Before I was brought to the Moira, I had a period of time in which I couldn't go into combat anymore. I missed the front lines a lot.

Luckily dispatch takes a lot of concentration, too. If someone does it the way I do, anyway.

As for Earth? This is my first time away from it, too.

[wronganswer]

[ In wry agreement, ] Dispatch is no joke. Sometimes it feels like the only lifeline I have.

[ Especially since Judges often get sent out solo.

It's too personal to ask about the rest of it, so she says, ] Anything I shouldn't miss, it not being Earth?

[warandpeace]

I think a good dispatcher, whatever sort of officer they might be, realizes that as much as someone out in the field can trust their skills they have to depend on the sound of the voice at the other end of the line.

Treating it like any sort of run of the mill job is unfair to the people out there risking their lives.

[He grunts thoughtfully.]

Try some of the planets that the Ingress gains access to. Otherwise, Kauto isn't overwhelmingly different from Earth.

[wronganswer]

[ There's a smile in her voice. ] Sounds like you're a good dispatcher. How often do you need to run rescue trips around here?

Other planets... That's pretty tempting. Anything I should worry about before I head out? [ Does she need backup? A flamethrower? Anderson is not really used to merry jaunts. ]

[warandpeace]

Sometimes the locals don't like us much.

[Something she needs to know about Kauto. He's not aware of how much that'll escalate.]

I usually recommend some standard items. A medkit of some sort. There are people that can produce healing potions too. It sounds ridiculous but accurate. Duct tape is usually a good standard, and rope. A multifunctional pocketknife. Weapons are usually restricted by access levels so you may have to depend on melee or non-lethal options.

And I don't run the actual rescue missions very often. Here I've mostly acted for financial arrangements. I would if I were asked.

[wronganswer]

Somehow I'm not surprised. They didn't ask for us to show up. [ And the ensuing strain on resources does not make friends. Boy, does she know that one.

Anderson might as well be taking notes for how purposefully she takes this in. ]

Understood. I'll have to brush up on my CQC. Does what passes for the local government ever organize anything, or are we on our own? [ Because she has no qualms with self-organizing if that's the case. ]

[warandpeace]

It's a double edged sword. If we didn't come, we would have died. There was no way off the planet our ship crashed on. Since then the Ingress has brought people here instead.

We're pretty much on our own. I actually theorize that the general populous is supposed to pursue their own law enforcement. There are agreed upon rules, except that if someone breaks them civilians have the authority to bring them in for mediation. I've not received a confirmation yet, but that's what it seems to be in theory.

[So yeah, there would be some self-organizing. Sadly.]

[wronganswer]

Not saying there was another option, but it's not something that makes you any friends, either.

[ She makes a quiet, thoughtful noise as she considers his theory. ]

I've heard some unfavorable things about the mediation process. Are we expected to self-police as well? Someone said before this, it was a democratic vote for locking people up.

[warandpeace]

I preferred the democratic voting system but that was restricted to the Moira. It was also before a stricter policy went into effect.

Essentially, death here isn't necessarily permanent. It is sometimes, but often people die and they can be brought back through means that I can't entirely explain. Ironically this made violent crime increase.

Because of that, the democratic policy for punishment was abandoned. While there was no corporal punishment even a fight with the desire to kill your opponent would result in being imprisoned in the ship's brig. We're not sure how they would know, but considering psychic abilities are more common than you would expect here....

Anyway, that was the end of the process aboard the Moira. As for self-policing, so far it hasn't seemed to be an issue since violence on the planet is frowned upon.

Off of it? Well...

Not sure what the consequences would be. The mediation thus far happened because the Ingress was tampered with. Not because of the violence that was intended after.

[wronganswer]

Death isn't permanent? [ she repeats, eyes widening, trying to let that sink in for a long moment. The implications are staggering, not just for law enforcement and peacekeeping but in general. Anderson doesn't even know what to make of it. Fundamental laws of existence have been altered to bring her here, sure, but death is death-- something she's seen all too much of, but is a constant. A sure way to remove a threat.

She's starting to see how you can end up with this bizarre, deluded system. Although she still thinks it's short-sighted, if not outright stupid. ]

... You make it sound like you haven't been here long. On the planet. [ She's silent for a moment. ] This all seems like an incredibly stupid setup, [ she says finally, perfectly blunt. ] Being ambiguous about the law leaves everyone vulnerable.

[warandpeace]

That it does.

We've not been here long. Approximately six months. The ability to resurrect was available on board the Moira but it is here as well.

It doesn't always work.

[He wasn't able to save Big Boss. A lot of good making peace with the asshole did, when he was too stubborn to listen to him warning him of danger.]

But I have no doubt the same can apply to the regular population if it does to us and that might skew their legal system further.

[wronganswer]

[ Now she lets herself sound openly troubled. ]

If it's inconsistent... do they have control over who they bring back? That's-- powerful. [ Literally powerful, as well as politically, as a means of control. ]

I can't even imagine what being uncertain about death would do.