trans_9 | Interview With A... [closed]

Entry tags:

Interview With A... [closed]

[[OOC: Right after this]]

Jonas fired off a message to the crew, new and old, and another specifically to the newly-released crew member apparently known as 'Punchy'. This was going to be awkward. They certainly could not turn down anyone with an interest in computers and hacking, but if Punchy was going to insist on speaking and typing in the manner he had demonstrated, Jonas was going to...

...Well, he was going to continue to feel a little embarrassed that he was capable of understanding what Punchy meant without needing a translation filter. He was pretty sure he could blame the brain-patterns he picked up from Chase Stein for that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thankfully, Punchy has no trouble finding Jonas. Thankfully, because he's going to need all the good will he can get for this job after hacking Soren's account - even with his overinflated sense of importance, Punchy's aware of that.

Unfortunately, having never had a job interview in his life, his idea of an opening statement to Jonas is "hey, dawg, so I hear you got some mad hustling you could use some chipping on?"

"[You must be Punchy,]" Jonas said, looking the aforementioned teenager up and down. He was suddenly very happy he had decided to stick with the cape and not go for a yellow coat on his costume. He gestured toward a nearby work station "[Please take a seat.]"

He thought for a moment. "[I feel that I ought to warn you that there are werewolves on board, and that I have no idea if they'd take offense to being addressed as 'dawg', so you might want to keep that in mind. Just a thought.]"

"Yo," he says, taking the seat.

"I'll keep it up here. Thanks for lettin' me know," he says gesturing to his head. "A lot of peeps around here seem to feel all igged on because of the way I talk."

He shrugs, then motions to Jonas' costume. "What's with the diamond on your threads? In your threads?"

Jonas could not quite help cracking a smile. "[Some people here are not actually speaking English. The ship has a translation matrix that allows us to communicate with each other; so it is hard to say how your speech is translated into their native languages.]" Actually, that was a very interesting from a linguistic perspective, but now was not really the time. "[They may feel that you are doing it just to be irritating.]"

He blinks and glances down at his chest, hooking a gloved finger through the diamond-shaped window in his uniform. "[Likely, exactly what is with your codpiece.]"

"I ain't trying to front on no one. This is just how I be," he says, tapping his chest with his Puppet. "Oh, the bling? Wearing that sort of shit around your neck'll just get you strangled or snagged, so I decided to double up on it protectin' the goods."

Possibly not the best way to start out an interview, he thinks. "So, uh. Where you got needs in Programming?"

"[Ah, perhaps a different reason then,]" Jonas said. Though he very much doubted it, since "codpiece-bling" was at least several steps above "chest window" on the scale of clothing choices to announce that you are actually quite sexy and should be paid attention to. Perhaps even erring on the side of 'trying too hard'.

"[Never the less, it will take people some time to get used to it,]" he continued on the subject of Punchy's chosen dialect. "[Once they do, it may just be written off as another of many crew member quirks.]"

He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. "[Primarily, we work with the other departments in Engineering to make sure that both the technology we have built here and the technology that has been brought from the various realities is in good working order. We also may be called upon to assist Neuropathy with their repairs to the ship itself, as well as engaging in cyber-warfare when necessary. While you have already demonstrated considerable talent in the area of hacking, I do have a few questions. Do you have any experience in counter-hacking?]"

If Punchy were the type to wear cologne, his favorite brand would be Trying Too Hard, by Le Wannabe products. Even though Vision honestly looks like a Christmas toy from the Freezeezy Peak level of Banjo-Kazooie, he still is less of a fashion disaster than Punchy, who remains convinced that all superheroes should have their names scrawled on their chest in Lucida Handwriting font.

"Kind of a shame you ain't got any G's in here who'd speak the lingo." He shrugs, looking a bit like he wants to get off the topic of how he talks. It rarely is a conversation that ends well.

"Yeah, I got plenty. When I was a kid I used to set up anti-government sites, you know, untraceable accounts, automatic IP scramblers, virus blocks, that kinda shit. Wrote most of the raw code for them myself. Turned some major creeps in to the FBI too, untangling their own security measures."

This all feels so formal. It's a far cry from how Punchy's usually used to doing his tech work - either half-naked and eating gummi worms in his bedroom, or tuning out his classmates in the school cafeteria while listening to Dr. Dre. Vision seems so stiff and professional. But this still seems like the best place for Punchy's skills to come in handy.

"Basically, you got grief, I can pick up what you need quick. Code always made a way more sense to me than any other slang."

Jonas leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his thighs.

"[All right,]" he began. "[I was going to ask you more questions, but I see now that it would be a waste of both of our time. I know what I need to know.]" He began ticking points off on his fingers.

"[First, you have demonstrated impressive hacking skills. The omnicoms were designed by an alien genius from the thirty-first century, so you are clearly equipped for counter-hacking. Second, I can assume from your costume that you can keep a level head under pressure. Third, when informed of the rules of the network, you apologized. Fourth, you clearly use your hacking powers for good and not evil, as per your last answer. And fifth...]"

Jonas grinned suddenly at Punchy. "[You clearly have a strong sense of your own identity, and while you are willing and able to work with other people, you will not let them tell you who you are supposed to be. I respect that. If you want to be in Programming, I am not going to stand in your way.]"

"For real?"

There is no way Punchy was expecting this to go that well. Or for his costume to imbue him with an aura of level-headedness (rather than just bad fashion sense). He listens with a dopey grin as Vision ticks off the rationale behind taking him on. And here he'd been assuming Vision was just humoring him and had decided upon his entrance not to hire him.

Also, he hacked into a system designed by aliens? So totally Independence Day. Although Punchy would rather be Will Smith than Jeff Goldblum.

"Dawg, that's dope. You're super chill. Thanks for the solid, Vision." The excitement and gratitude make his voice get a bit high-pitched. He clears his throat and drops back to a manly tone befitting of a superheroic Programmer. "Where do I gotta get started?"

"[All I ask is that you make an effort to communicate clearly in emergency situations,]" Jonas said. "[There will be times when we will need to scrape together every spare second that we can, and we will not be able to afford the mental translation time.]"

He sobered and forwarded a communication (http://trans-channel.livejournal.com/358841.html) to Punchy's omnicom. "[Our most pressing concern is locating and rescuing some former crew members from a current, unknown crew member. This is all the information we have right now, look it over and be aware that the person will hopefully try to contact us again. When they do, do what you can.]"

He pressed a few more buttons. "[I have also sent you an overview of the other projects that we are doing and who is currently working on them. Look over them when you have the time. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them to me.]"

He nods. He'll have to mentally translate his speech too, but he imagines he's a little more familiar with wangsta-to-English conversions.

He takes a look at the communication. So, a rescue mission? How totally heroic. "Yeah, boss, I'll take a look at this ASAP. Looks like it's seriously AFU."

He reaches his left hand out to shake Vision's. "Thanks for everything. I won't let you down."

It is a little strange being called 'boss' -- it reminds Jonas of when he, technically, used to be Nathanial Richards. Not that Eli, Billy, or Teddy had ever called Nate 'boss', but...

Bah, he will feel sorry about his friends still being asleep later. He smiles and takes Punchy's proffered hand.

"[I trust that you will not,]" he said. "[If you have any other questions about the ship, feel free to ask me those, too. There is little point in my gathering experience just to sit on it.]"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Interview With A... [closed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject