reporting for duty

[wronganswer]

who: Anderson & Eddie
what: Anderson's first day on the police force.
when: ???
where: Police HQ
warnings: None!

[ She really should be past nerves by now.

She's not, though. Anderson isn't even past them at home, to tell the truth, it's just that she shuts them off to do her job. But the fact is that she's not only a borderline pass, she's a confirmed fail, more than once, who got shuffled through the system due to need for her abilities. She's all too conscientious that she's no one's first choice, and she's not sure if that'll change here. Everything seems softer, less violent-- is it ironically true that where she's too compassionate to be a proper Judge in Mega-City One, she's too hard to be a proper detective here?

That really would take the cake. It wouldn't surprise her remotely.

Anderson is determined to do her best regardless. The locals, native and foreign, deserve someone looking after their interests, protecting them, and she wants to be that person. She's absolutely committed to learning the laws she needs to enforce and not backsliding into Mega-City One's fascist dictatoriums. First step: report for training, explain her abilities, request special assignments to catch up on the gaps in her knowledge base for this setting, whether it's legal, weapons comps, geographic or cultural. She's no less set on this course just because the setting has changed.

Feeling hideously underdressed in her distinctly-lacking-in-armor police officer's uniform, she nonetheless takes comfort in the Lawgiver strapped to her side and the other Judge's tools she's kept on her. She takes one step into Eddie's office and waits, more like a military cadet at attention than a new co-worker, and says promptly, in an even tone: ]

Sir. Reporting in for training. I'm Anderson.

Comments

[causational]

[For some reason that Eddie isn't entirely able to justify to himself, he's been chosen to do some job shadowing and on-the-job training with one of the brand new arrivals, Officer Cassandra Anderson. When the chief had given him the assignment, she'd said something about him having been a new arrival that adapted well, something about him having a 'strong moral compass' that had made Eddie straighten his back and beam a little.

After being handed her file and dossier, learning what he can about where she came from, he's starting to feel a little daunted by the task. It seems like a brutal place, totalitarian and very hard, which is...well, frankly pretty opposite from his style in general. He's always been ambitious when it comes to his career, having done everything possible to get promoted to detective before 30 back in Keystone and Central City, and managing it in only a couple of months here. But ambitious is different than hard, and hard doesn't mean she lacks a moral compass or anything either.

Maybe it's just a case of hoping opposites will attract? Eddie tells himself that the intention is probably to have them rub off on each other for both their benefit. That settles him a little, enough that when she steps into his office and stands at attention as if she were in the army, he feels less anxious. His confidence is genuine and not of the fake-it-till-you-make-it variety that he sometimes has to work with, when he stands and smiles a broad, sunny smile at her.]

It's good to meet you Officer Anderson. I'm Detective Eddie Thawne. If you want to just call me Eddie, I'm fine with that.

[He holds a hand out, offering a shake, realizes only after the fact that maybe her world doesn't have handshakes. Too late now.]

Thanks for being on time.

[wronganswer]

[ It's so totally not what she associates with reporting to a superior that she blinks, nonplussed, for a full moment before responding. She subtly relaxes then-- and without a mental check, since Anderson is firmly trained not to go psychically digging into heads that outrank her. If she was meant to have that information, she'd be given it.

In the Hall of Justice, she's not the only psychic, and running amok without repercussion is just not an option. So she doesn't consider it here, and although she doesn't smile back, exactly, she does shake his hand, comfortable and easy. ]

No problem, Detective. [ Titles. It's a compromise; she can't bring herself to use first names while on the job, but if he doesn't want to be that formal, she can drop the sir. Maybe. Mostly. Until she forgets. ]

I'm eager to learn the ropes so I can start pulling my weight. This is pretty different from what I was doing in Mega-City One. [ Which she assumes he knows already, since at home her higher-ups know every detail about her. ]

[causational]

[It's not unexpected, that she goes straight for the title. Eddie's never minded just being called "Detective," so he just smiles right through it and watches as she blinks and settles and doesn't smile but does shake his head.]

I think you'll be pulling your weight in no time. So, I have a couple questions for you right off the bat, just to get to know each other. First, what would you like me to call you? Is Officer Anderson good, or do you prefer something else?

[Stepping back, he gestures to the chair across from his desk, and plops back down in his. Eddie's not exactly a stickler for rules, though he definitely follows the important protocols, and takes things seriously.]

You mentioned that this is different than what you were doing back home. I've read your file, obviously, but I'd appreciate it if you could tell me in your own words what a normal day was like there, you know? What you did in the course of work. Just so I can get a feel for how well our ideas about police work match up.

[wronganswer]

Just Anderson. [ Her title is actually Judge, like a mode of address, but it seems odd and out of place here. Still true to her as a person, something she'd worked so hard for she is reluctant to set down, but Anderson is conscientious that she is not a Judge here.

She's a police officer and eventually a detective, but those are something else. That is very clear to her. Especially having me Eddie, who could not be less like Chief Judge if he'd tried.

Anderson takes her seat, not at attention anymore but not exactly casual, either. It's not uncommon to be informally interrogated by her S.O. after a case, and an interrogation would be exactly what it was. She doesn't think that's quite the case here, but habits die hard. She's expecting to be questioned, and here it is. ]

A normal day. [ She lets out a silent breath. ] ... It's not going to match. I already know that. [ She realizes that might be too combative, and tacks on, ] Just so you don't think I'm going to try sentencing anyone here. I'm aware we don't have that power under the law, and I want to enforce the law, not my own idea of justice.

[ Those are always safe words to say, always. She's so indoctrinated to think that law enforcement is meant to be faceless and soulless that it honestly does not even occur to her there could be some other version of a platonic ideal of an officer. ]

[causational]

Anderson.

[It's spoken like an acknowledgement, with a little nod of his head, and a smile. When she takes a seat and explains that it's not going to match, and explains that she knows what she can't do, what power she has under the law and all of that, and he shakes his head a little.]

No, no. I didn't ask you that to try to beat it into your head that 'it's different here' or any of that. Of course it's different here. It was for me too when I first started. I'm not expecting it to match. Honestly, I'm only asking to get a feel for how different it is for you. Knowing that really helps me while I'm trying to get you oriented.

[A pause, and the smile widens, softens just a little, it's warm and very genuine.]

I appreciate how committed you are to upholding the law and justice. But I'd also like to hear a bit about your idea of justice. If you don't mind.