Observe. Report. Coordinate.

Participants:

hana_icon.gif robyn_icon.gif

Scene Title Observe. Report. Coordinate.
Synopsis Wolfhound's commander welcomes their SESA liaison to her first day on the job.
Date January 22, 2018

Rochester, New York


It's late in the morning, and the Rochester airport is in full swing — what passes for full swing these days, anyway. The terminal halls could easily hold four times as many people as are presently moving through them. Yet there still seems to be a crowd as passengers filter out past a security station, a minor mob resulting from the offboarding of two different planes.

Hana has placed herself well back from the terminal exit, and eschewed the seats in what passes for its waiting area; rather, she leans one shoulder against the wall beside the outside doors, hands folded over the wolf's head of her cane. She watches the former passengers disperse out into open, unrestricted space with idle disinterest, not even searching for a familiar face. She doesn't need to; the technopath picked up a certain phone several minutes back, and so has no trouble whatsoever pinpointing Robyn's location within the crowd.

As the crowd thins, one woman in particular stands near the back of the disembarking passengers. Dressed head to toe in black, Robyn Quinn wears something more professional than her typical frilly attire; a suit accented with lace ends at the sleeves contrast with the black band pulled across and over one her eyes. Behind her she pulls a rather large suitcase - something which is telling in and of itself - and over her shoulder, a slung bag.

As she approaches the doors leading outside, she pauses, eye scanning around the crowd in an effort to make sure she hasn't missed the person she is here to meet, to make sure that she hasn't creeped into her blindspot. Her expression is flat, letting out a long sigh as she pushes the doors open and steps outside. It may have been a short flight, but this is the beginning of a long day.

"Quinn." Hana doesn't creep; she announces herself fairly, before the woman she is meeting can quite slip past her. It isn't until Robyn looks her way that she peels away from the wall, cane tapping faintly on the floor tiles in time with her left foot. The major is not in uniform, but the stark, unadorned black of her suit, its only apparent feature a discreet zipper line down the jacket front, approaches the same aesthetic.

Hana follows Robyn out the doors, taking a step away once they're through to ensure she remains clearly in the younger woman's view. She doesn't ask about the trip; doesn't offer to take any of the agent's luggage. Doesn't offer a word of welcome beyond the acknowledgment inherent in speaking her name. "Head for the garage," is offered solely to orient their progress, along with a tip of her head in that direction.

She has more to say, but it can wait for when they're not in public.

The call of her name results in the furrowing of the visible half of her brow, as Robyn stops, looking over in the direction of the source. "Major," she offers back with a slight inclination of her head. She likewise offers little else verbally beyond that tacit greeting. Once outside, she fights the urge to reach into her bag and withdraw a pack of overpriced cigarettes, a terrible habit she hasn't been able to kick since the war.

Instead, she offers another nod to Hana, turning and starting off in the indicated direction. Her gaze remains squarely ahead, only occasionally letting her eye flick over to Hana, trying to assess what she can about the tenor and mood of the situation. Hana, however, proves as unreadable - at least so far - as she's heard.

As they enter the parking structure, Hana strides slightly ahead, leading the way through the garage to a dark blue jeep of older model. She unlocks the driver's door and toggles the rest from its controls, casts a glance across the vehicle to Robyn. "Put your luggage wherever." Backseat, hatch, it's immaterial to her.

Once Robyn's squared away in the car, Hana navigates it out onto the road, turning towards downtown. The airport firmly behind them, she opens conversation directly onto matters of business. "What instructions were you given regarding your position with Wolfhound?"

Luggage placed gingerly in the hatch - it's clear that whatever Robyn has with her, she wants it handled carefully - Robyn settles her way into the car, hands folded into her lap and gaze straight ahead as the jeep starts its way to their destination. At Hana's question, she sits up a bit straighter, silent and collecting her thoughts for a moment.

"Observe. Report. Coordinate." Three simple words that sum up the mandate she has been given for this particular assignment. "Make sure nothing of concern is happening that SESA is unaware of." She pauses, finally looking over in Hana's direction. "Make sure Wolfhound's reputation is what we all thought it was." And not what it's become is implied in the tone of her words and the way she enunciates them. "I'm not here to interfere. Not unless there's reason to."

Hana inclines her head in response to the look cast her way, and to the words that preceded it. She remains silent for a moment, drawing in and releasing a breath, a flicker passing there-and-gone-again through her expression. "I will be frank: I do not like having you here, but I understand the necessity, and I have made that necessity clear to the teams." Her lips twist sideways; her tone turns sharp. "I do not understand what your superiors are thinking."

"Are you aware of just what a clusterfuck this could turn into, having you assigned to Wolfhound?"

"You would rather have," Robyn starts after a moment, looking back ahead, "Nicole Nichols?" She purses her lips, giving a slow shake of her head. "Yes." She is aware. "I offered to take this position," is an honest admittance. And perhaps not a wise one, but that doesn't stop Robyn from continuing, "I did not expect to be taken up on it."

Taking in short breath, fingers tap against her knees. "History is history, I intend only professionalism, Major." A beat. "There are few within the Agency that could provide the insight I have. I am aware of the potential complications." She looks back over at her. "I believe that we can all look past that."

The look that Hana slants at Robyn finds her awareness very much lacking. "Think bigger, Quinn. No one who looks at your position from the outside is going to believe for an instant that you are an impartial observer. No third-party agency. No reporter." She brings the car to a stop at a red light, waits with controlled impatience for the light to turn.

In the meantime, she regards Robyn levelly. "I will presume no less than competence on all sides. In fact, I want you to perform your job impeccably — and to cover your ass every damned step of the way." The light changes, and she drives on. "For Wolfhound. For SESA. And for yourself. Because when someone takes aim at you, we will all get hit."

When. Not 'if'. But then, it's Hana's nature to be a pessimist in that regard.

"I will remind you," she adds, an aside that is not at all an afterthought, "that New York is a one-party consent state."

The look Robyn gives back might indicate she doesn't appreciate being told how to do her job, but she keeps from vocalising anything along those lines. She knows better, after all. "Well." She cants her head slightly to the side. "I can assure you… by the book. Everything." She sits up a bit in her seat. "I've been briefed on the current Wolfhound roster." She read those dossiers multiple times. Not that she had really needed to, for most of them. "I know who I'm up against." At least in this respect.

She spreads her hands out in front of her. "Some people want blood," she opines. "For what happened." A small shake of her head, and she settles her hands back into her lap. "The best any of us can do is our best." It's clear that while Robyn has considered complications - several times - they are being viewed more severely than she had expected. A note, to adjust her approach accordingly. To think about this harder.

"That said." Her voice is a bit quieter, as she turns her gaze out the window. "I will be vigilant."

Hana finally turns off city streets onto a drive that runs the length of an industrial complex, bracketed on the other side by the silt-laden Genesee River. Parking the car in what is clearly an accustomed space, she looks to Robyn and nods once, a gesture that implies approval of the sentiments the agent has expressed. At least most of them.

"I will show you around," Hana says into the silence after she's shut off the engine. "You'll have access to all facilities, although an escort will be required for certain things, such as the armory and Tlanuwa," she adds, nodding in the direction of the aircraft down-yard.

"There's an office off the main hall you can use, and— " Her eyes flick towards the luggage in back. "— you can take your pick of the empty quarters."

"Mm." Climbing out of the vehicle, she takes a moment to stretch - too long stuck inside of enclosed spaces today. "Thank you." She turns, looking to Hana before she makes her way to the hatch to retrieve her things. "Five days a week," she says somewhat obliquely. "My time here," she clarifies with a motion to the bunker. "Most of the time, at least. I will be bringing a bit more." Whenever she ventures back into NYSZ again.

"Give or take," she adds - she is supposed to be here as much as possible, but life - and the fact that she still has a home and roommate back in the Safe Zone - may occasionally demand otherwise. "I will keep to myself." A promise as much as it is an assurance. "For now, though," she looks back to Hana, her impassive expression giving away to a small smile for the first time in the conversation.

"A tour would be nice."


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