“…Serket, go call in a containment team” Lieutenant Tovera said calmly as she issued orders to the other squad members for cleanup and securing of the area. Tyche nodded and left the hidden room; not that she needed much encouragement to get out of the building anyway. The smell of old burnt mummy and dust was starting to get to her and her tie could only do so much to block the smell.
Passing the ruined threshold of the door to the center house of the cul-du-sac, Tyche looked skyward. Still sunny. Figures. She should have known better, any time it is sunny in Angelus, no matter the reason, it always seemed to be a bad omen. As she stepped further into the front yard, Tyche called in to HQ dispatch and gave a brief report to the officer on duty and requested the necessary teams to report on site as soon as possible.
With that done, her thoughts drifted to her temporary teammates.
Lieutenant Tovera. Tyche wasn’t sure what to make of her yet. She seemed tough as nails and no-nonsense. Could easily be one of those strictly by-the-book types. Or just as easily, one of those sorts that only cared about getting the job done right. She hoped it was the latter. That would make this whole mess, no matter how temporary, that much easier to deal with.
Sergeant Gottfried. Some sort of Esper that could also manipulate biology. She shuddered, wondering what kind of freaks were being churned out of Psi Sector and that creepy institute now. Not that she had a problem with Espers in the first place, but an Esper that could rewrite her genetics by touching her seemed to go a little too far in her mind; she loved her appearance! As an officer, he seemed to know what he was doing, though she received a similar vibe from him that she had herself: a desire for an easy tour. Apparently he was better at it because he outranked her. Still, he seemed kind of cute…
Officer Tshuva. A Clade, what sort and for what purpose, Tyche wasn’t exactly sure. Probably a fox, but created for what purpose, she couldn’t guess. Either way, something must be wrong with him, TAVROS seemed to have more personality than Jaden did. As a potential member of XSWAT, she could certainly see his uses. He was smart and seemed to have some sort of connection with machines on some level, if his ability to control those drones was any indication. If she had to be the one to make a decision right now, she would give him a pass, if only due to his usefulness out in the field…especially if he could use more than just two drones.
Officer Findley. Some sort of paramilitary reject or something from the mainland. An impression based entirely off of his general attitude (which she could only describe as somehow being worse than hers) and obvious military experience. She wasn’t sure what to think on him. His skill and ability were well above standard and that alone meant something. However, something about him just seemed off, like she shouldn’t trust him with her spinner. Besides that, he somehow managed to put Tovera on edge, already Tyche could see the groundwork being laid for the sparks that would soon fly between those two. As far as whether or not to pass him, well, it wasn’t her decision to make and she was thankful for that.
Officer 404…? No, that doesn’t sound right at all, despite that being her last name, if Clades even came with those normally. Like Jaden, Tyche wasn’t quite sure of the type or purpose. Claire seemed almost like some sort of extra fluffy cross between a cat and a dog with an extra heaping dollop of cute to match. As an officer, Tyche was even less sure of what to make of her. On one hand, she was about as bright as a box of not-too-bright rocks, but on the other Claire possessed an almost supernatural knowledge of firearms and police procedure. Not only that, but she was a superior shot with anything she had in her hand. Tyche wasn’t even sure why she was tasked to work with the Clade the only things that she could help Claire with she didn’t even need, and the things that Claire needed the most assistance with, Tyche was abysmal at herself. XSWAT is funny like that… Still, Tyche would pass her easily, if only to make sure those stuffed-shirts in the force got a good healthy dose of cute on a regular basis.
Thinking more about her temporary partner, Tyche couldn’t help but view Claire as some cute cross between a pet that should be protected and given an endless supply of hugs and a younger sibling or sidekick who only served to make the Clade that much more adorable.
"Nope nopenope nope nopenopenope nope nope!" Claire emerged from the house in what could only be a state of distress. Hands covering her little triangular ears, she zipped right past Tyche and came to a stop not far from the remains of the front door that Tovera and Findley had relocated to the street. Okay Claire, calm down. It's your first time in the field. The not-dead but dead thing is dead-dead now. Everyone's okay now. Everyone here is nice. Even Officer Findley. You're doing just fine, now.
She was shaking a little. Despite the warm weather, she curled her tail around her legs. A full five feet of fluff. It wasn't the first corpse she'd seen. There were a few down near the forensics department a few times when she went to see Angie. This was just the first one to move on its own. It wasn't the walking corpse that unnerved her the most, however. It was what was on that tape that Officer Tshuva was dictating. How could anyone do that? Why? Why would you do something that not-pleasant?
Claire pulled another muffin from her satchel. That would calm her down. It's hard to stay not-calm when eating a muffin.
Tyche was ripped from her thoughts as her partner escaped from the house as if it were on fire. She resisted the temptation to peek inside to see if the place had, indeed started burning. It wouldn’t surprise her in the least, as it was quite possibly the least fortuitous thing that could happen at this point, and it was still sunny out.
“Claire?” She inquired making her way to the Clade. “Claire, are you alright? Did something happen downstairs?” Tyche stopped a reasonable distance from her partner, not wishing to crowd her or somehow make things worse.
The sound of Tyche's voice snapped Claire back to the here and now. Tyche? Right. Evaluation. Not-good to lose it on the first day. Ninth Squad wouldn't have lost it, would they? She finished the mouthful of crumbs and tried to regain at least some composure as she turned to face her FTO. "I'll... I'll be fine. J-just a little not-calm." Her ears were flat against her hair as she tried to steady herself. "D-downstairs is fine too. We were just gathering evidence, and there was the recording equipment, and and Occifer Jaden was saying what was on it, and it was, it was so very very not-pleasant!"
Tyche lifted a brow and then smiled. “I see.” She stepped closer to the new officer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it? It may help to get it out...trust me, I should know."
"I-I don't want to think about it," the young Clade wrung her hands around the strap of her satchel. "There were people and the things and... I don't wanna think about it. I'm not thinking!" She held her eyes shut for a moment before her ears stood straight up. She looked at Tyche with her head tilted to the side. "Wait... How do you mean you should know? Did something happen to you?"
Tyche couldn’t help but shake her head in kind amusement. “Oh… well…” she shrugged. “This sort of thing comes with the territory by being in XSWAT, you’re going to see, hear, smell, taste, feel and have senses that you didn’t even know you had assaulted and generally experience things that you would rather not.” She paused, noting Claire’s possible confusion. “…let me put it like this; I needed the use of a bucket after my first time in the field. That you managed to keep your lunch down today says a lot about your character.” A genuine smile now, followed by a conspiratory whisper. “I’ve seen guys bigger and meaner than Findley crying after some cases.”
The thought of someone like Findley crying seemed kind of strange to Claire, but the imagery did bring a smile to her face and a slight snicker. It took her mind off of the things she had witnessed today, things best not to dwell upon, and allowed her to recover a bit. Back to business. This was an evaluation after all, and she had to do her bestest. She flicked her ears and straightened out her lapels. She smoothed out the fluff in her tail and brushed off some of the dust on her uniform. It wasn't so bright and shiny anymore, but what could ya do? "Thanks Tyche, I needed that. Just needed something to get my mind off of the... whu.... yeah... I'm, I'mma have another muffin, want one?"
Tyche grinned seeing the emotional turnaround. “Not a problem. Us girls gotta stick together and watch out for each other after all! And yes I think I could use a muffin too.”
"Exactly!"
She peered at Claire’s ever-present satchel and lifted a brow. “How many muffins do you have in that thing anyway? Is it like an extra-dimensional space to the land of muffins and sweets?”
"I bake a few dozen every morning." came the reply, which seemed to also ask 'Doesn't everybody?' The Clade looked at her bag and raised a confused eyebrow, as if expecting it to suddenly overflow with cinnamon rolls and other pastries. "Land of muffins and sweets? They have one of those?"
Tyche pulled her metallic candy-apple red sunglasses down her nose and peered at Claire over them. Was she serious? Another smile. “Honestly, at times I wish they did. Be a lot better than this place, that’s for sure.”
Claire looked at the houses around them, and then to the overgrown grass. "Aww, I don't know. This place just needs a little care. And fewer not-nice people. Then I'd bet it'd be alright." She nodded with sincerity at the thought. Everything just needs a little care.
“I…” Tyche’s response got caught in her throat. Ok, yeah, she was serious. “Yeah…that seems about right.” She murmured as she wrapped her arms around Claire and hugging her. Tyche just couldn’t help herself at this point. On one hand the Clade seemed so innocent and naive and at others completely oblivious to her surroundings, both of which were interrupted by honest-to-god professionalism and expertise. “I just wish it was that easy.”