LEADERSHIP EVALUATION

[enodiamod]

LEADERSHIP EVALUATION

Exploring the Riftlands can be a dangerous endeavor, even for Liminals, so it's always important that members of the Explorer Division keep their powers honed, their bodies fit, and their minds sharp. It's also important to ensure that those most qualified to be in charge are placed there. To that end, Samuel J. Thornton has called all the members, both primary and supplementary, together for their first Leadership Evaluation.

Thornton holds these evaluations every few months to determine who will be placed in charge when the Division divides into smaller groups to carry out different missions and investigate different areas. The evaluation has three parts: combat practice, an obstacle course, and the (much dreaded) written strategic/leadership assessment. The evaluations tend to take a few hours and moods among the Division members run the gamut. Some take it quite seriously, studying and training ahead of time and giving it their all. Some act as if it's just another requirement from Thornton and treat it like any other training session to be overcome or endured. Some only show up because they know if they don't Thornton will put them on administrative leave (ugh). Regardless, it's a big day for the Division.

During combat practice, each member will face off against a handful of robotic combatants with customized programming based on Thornton's assessment of their skills. This is held in a moderately-sized training room in the middle of the hall. During the obstacle course, each member will be given places to reach and tasks to complete throughout a maze of obstacles that run the gamut from shifting walls to collapsing floors to blasts with a numbing (and gradually paralytic) effect and beyond. The engineers in Operations and Security have really outdone themselves this year! This is held in the enormous training room at the end of the hall. During the written strategic/leadership assessment, each member will take a long, comprehensive exam designed to assess their reasoning, their empathy, their strategic prowess, and their leadership ability. This is held in a moderately-sized training room at the beginning of the hall that has been filled up with desks.

Non-Explorer residents from across the Station are also welcome to participate if they want to test their mettle, though they may find themselves being recruited by Thornton if they do exceptionally well. Otherwise, they are welcome to show up and watch the action through a series of monitors that line the basement hallway. Even the room with the written exam appears on one screen for some unknown reason. It's a bit of an event. [Non-Explorer Character A] even brings refreshments and has printed up some little flags and trinkets featuring the names of some more impressive (at least in their opinion!) contenders. Are they trying to be supportive or psych someone out or just trying to make a buck? It's hard to say.

» THE EVALUATIONS: Complete the form below to have your character's leadership evaluation scored. Only characters that comment here are eligible for leadership roles.

HOW THIS WORKS

Every few months, the Explorer Division will hold Leadership Evaluations. These evaluations will use player forms and RNG to determine which characters are going to be placed in leadership positions during upcoming explorations of the Riftlands. This doesn't translate to any particular power or authority in the game day to day, but is something for players to play off of and will change throughout the course of the game.

IC all characters in the Explorer Division must complete this evaluation. Even if a player doesn't complete this form OOC, it will be assumed that their character competed unless specified elsewhere.

Thornton is notoriously strict and difficult to please, so it isn't uncommon for evaluation scores to be absolutely brutal. But don't take it personally. He's just trying to help you realize your potential!

Fill out the form below to see how your character handles the evaluation!

<b>NAME:</b> <b>EXPLORER DIVISION?:</b> Yes (Primary/Returning), Yes (Supplementary/Returning), Yes (Primary/New), Yes (Supplementary/New), or No <b>EXPLORER LEADERSHIP?:</b> If your character is a returning Explorer, have they ever held a leadership position before? <b>POWER CONTROL:</b> On a scale of 1-10, how proficient is your character with their powers? Can they reliably control them and utilize them? <b>PHYSICAL ABILITY:</b> On a scale of 1-10, how physical fit is your character? Are they particularly strong or agile? Do they get fatigued quickly? <b>MENTAL ABILITY:</b> On a scale of 1-10, how intelligent, analytical, or strategic is your character? <b>EFFORT:</b> High, Medium, or Low. How hard is your character trying really? <b>ANYTHING ELSE?:</b>

» DURING THE EVALUATIONS: For those lingering in the halls waiting on their results, those watching the challenges play out on the monitors, and anyone else that's hanging around.

» AFTER THE EVALUATIONS: After the evaluations have wrapped up for the day.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

(CODE)

Comments

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack on call

[nolitangere]

Jack is present in case anyone gets injured during the combat or obstacle portions of the evaluation. He's working, so he won't be drinking and he's very seriously watching the proceeds.

He will be available to heal injuries, but note that he'll have to physically touch you, which means you'll be subjected to his brainworm song of the day. He also doesn't really have a ton of anesthetics on hand (just topical lidocaine and some aspirins), so if he needs to work ya body beyond superficial cuts and scrapes, it may feel uncomfortable to painful.

Finally, he does feel an odd little pull when Annie's up for combat practice. He jerks forward before he catches himself and then makes a frownie face. Hm. Didn't like that.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

Raine's been here less than an hour and he's already not doing too well with his personal resolution to stop bothering the Waldingers, so he decides it's time to turn his attention elsewhere. Maybe towards someone who is more annoying than he is. Someone who seems like a likely candidate for the mystery gifter, even. So, comically undisguised drink in hand, he sidles up to Jack in a quiet moment between evaluation participants.

"Having fun?" he asks, even though it's clear that Jack is not treating this like the spectator event everyone else thinks it is.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[nolitangere]

Jack turns to Raine, surprised. Annie told him Raine was one of her closest friends at the Station—involuntarily, Jack grimaces in anticipation of screwing this up. Because Annie also told him that Raine didn’t appreciate people trying too hard with him (too late for Jack), and that Raine was like a cat in that way. Jack gives Raine a once-over, wondering if Raine is about to do the sensible mid-sized sedan equivalent of biting his ankles.

“It’s a little stressful,” Jack answers truthfully. “I guess I never really thought about how dangerous it is out here.”

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

"It can be," Raine agrees, although he doesn't sound particularly fussed by it. He's been here for four years now; it is what it is. Besides, he's not really one for empty platitudes even at the best of times, and there's no point in lying to the new recruits. "Luckily we get to stay inside."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[nolitangere]

Raine is hard to read; he makes Jack feel uneasy. Jack is trying to match Raine's energy—what Jack assumes is nonchalance and a sort of levelness of spirit that Jack will never be able to attain—but this effort results only in Jack feeling like he's about to vibrate out of his skin.

"Only Explorers can leave?" He frowns a little. "Or do you mean, we don't have to go out into the field if we don't want to?"

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

Instead of answering this question, Raine just fixes Jack with a skeptical sidelong glance. To him it's not so much a question of what's allowed as it is one of what's sane. He's never really had any desire to go outside the dome, and barely even leaves to go to town most months.

"Dying to get out there?" he asks.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[nolitangere]

Jack catches Raine's glance; this was the wrong thing to ask, apparently.

"I wouldn't say that," Jack replies. 'Dying' feels a little pointed on Raine's part, especially since, for the better part of an hour, they've been watching their colleagues fight what Jack can only assume are killer robots kindly but temporarily set to stun. "I'm just curious, that's all."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

"You should do the evaluation, then," Raine says. It is impossible to say whether or not he's joking.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[nolitangere]

Jack shifts uneasily, folding his arms across his chest. This sounds like a challenge. He has such a hard time turning down challenges.

"I'm supposed to be on standby right now," he says. He's aiming for a tone that falls somewhere between 'matter of fact' and 'disinterested' but he's achieving neither. "I don't think it'd be allowed."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

"Everyone's allowed," Raine says, and leaves it at that. He stands besides Jack in silence for a moment longer, taking another sip of his drink, which is still disgusting. It's kind of growing on him for some reason, though.

"Thanks for the pies," he eventually adds.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[nolitangere]

“Oh.” Jack begins to uncross his arms, a little startled at the change of topic, but catches himself. “Don’t mention it. Not a big deal.”

It really wasn’t. Jack had felt only moderately egged on to do something, anything, that would make Raine smile, and who doesn’t smile at surprise Choco Pies? A leaf falling could trigger Jack’s competitive streak. He hadn’t thought much of it until Annie told him Raine didn’t go for things like that. Now he winces, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“It’s just like a thing, you know? You go on a trip, you bring back stuff for people,” he adds, trying to soften the blow.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack & Raine

[rainbowfish]

Raine does laugh now, and it comes off a little derisively even if he doesn't mean it to.

"Yeah, I'm familiar with the concept of giving people presents," he says. Not that he does it very often. He doesn't usually receive gifts, either - he's infamously unfond of owning things, especially idle clutter. But food is a good gift in his book.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack on call

[coulee]

rory offers jack a perfectly professional thanks-for-having-our-backs sort of nod when he passes by, as though they haven't butted heads multiple times already this week.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack on call

[nolitangere]

Just two professional guys nodding at each other at the killer battlebot showdown.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

Dorin isn't here in any sort of official capacity. Instead, he'd come along to be supportive and to follow the lead of his peers. Unfortunately, it's all a bit harder to watch than he'd expected. His well-honed caretaker instincts are making him fidget as each assessment unfolds and every non-trivial injury that's inflicted makes him frown or flinch subtly. Even his tentacles are twisting around restlessly on the inside.

Spotting Jack further up the hall, however, he does feel a small pang of relief. At least there's someone around that can help quickly and efficiently if it comes to that. He hesitates but gradually makes his way over to Jack, hooking his hands together behind his back as he offers the other man a small, tense smile.

"This is...something, isn't it?" he says quietly before clearing his throat and adding with what he hopes is a brighter tone, "They're all something. I mean. They're...very good at what they do."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[nolitangere]

Jack glances at Dorin as he approaches, not really thinking—his expression still a little tight with the residual tension of watching yet another one of their colleagues run headfirst into a trick wall. Jack will readily laugh at himself, but he's never been one for schadenfreude. Seeing someone else get hurt makes him uncomfortable. But once he registers that it's Dorin coming his way, Jack relaxes into a proper smile. He notes that Dorin has his hands behind his back, though whether it's out of habit or intentional, Jack can't tell. Either way, he's grateful for the gesture.

Some are a little better than others, Jack thinks, but that wouldn't be polite to say. Instead, he makes a noise in the back of his throat, something like agreement, then exhales heavily. "Director Thornton really isn't messing around, is he?"

"It makes you wonder what's out there, doesn't it?" There being the Riftlands, whatever remains in Burlington.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

Dorin registers that moment of change in Jack's expression, from tense to warm, and it leaves him feeling both grateful to his co-worker and uncertain about his decision to come over. Is the other man putting on an act for his benefit? He hopes not. But he doesn't know Jack well enough to be able to tell and he's already interrupted the man's thoughts. There's nothing to do now but stay.

At mention of Director Thornton's approach, his own smile wanes a little and he shakes his head. "No. He certainly isn't," he agrees, "But...he knows what's needed. Right? Or he wouldn't be in charge of something so important." While he does believe this, he knows it isn't the point, and Jack's next question leaves much less room for aimless affirmations. He finds himself glancing down at his shoes.

"...Yeah. My friend Noah's been out here for five years. And I...still don't think I understand it either. What it's actually like out there. What they actually do out there. Even with all the stories." Though it wouldn't be at all unlike Noah to keep the worst details from him. The older man is always trying to protect him. The realization sparks a sharp pang of guilt but he forces himself to look back at Jack all the same. "But I'm sure your being here will make things easier on them. At least."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[nolitangere]

That's nice of Dorin to say. Jack disagrees, but he doesn't voice it—he only laughs a little, pleasantly ambiguous. What will make things easier, he believes, is closed evaluations. But maybe spectators are part of it; maybe Thornton is testing to see how the Explorers perform under pressure. Or derision.

"Noah," Jack repeats, considering the name. He may have seen a 'Noah' on network posts, but he's not sure. "I don't think I've met him yet." Jack turns to Dorin more fully. "Did you come out here for him?"

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

"No," Dorin admits, giving another small shake of the head, "I came out here for me." Even now, it's difficult to put the feelings that sent him running back to IRIS into words. He'd felt shaken. Too seen and too out of place and too hopelessly other to try living out there anymore. Fortunately, though, Jack didn't ask. So he's able to focus on his friend instead.

"But Noah and I went to school together for a long time. So being here together, being roommates again, it's...sort of the best." He laughs sheepishly, but for the first time in the conversation, his smile fully reaches his eyes. After a pause, he adds, "You should meet him! Come over to ours sometime. I think you guys would get along." After a second, more hesitant pause, he asks, "...Did you come here for Annie?"

While Dorin doesn't know exactly what's going on between the two of them, there seems to be something going on between the two of them. And the idea's sort of sweet, honestly.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[nolitangere]

Jack watches Dorin's face change, how his smile becomes fuller as he talks about Noah. It's sweet—both the change as it occurs across Dorin's face and the sentiment behind it. And it makes Jack feel bad in comparison, meeting Dorin's sincerity with insincerity as he replies, "Yeah. I came here for Annie."

Technically true, but not true in the way Dorin is asking. So Jack is grateful to add, "And of course, that sounds fun. We should all hang out."

Here he pauses, frowns slightly, because while Annie and Noah must know each other she hasn't mentioned him as a close friend. Or even a friend. But that's probably nothing; Jack assumes Annie can get along with anyone.

Jack shifts, crossing his arms as he glances back into the combat training room. Nothing life-threatening seems to be underway. He turns back to Dorin again. "What do you mean, 'came out here for you?'" he asks, trying to be conversational.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

If Dorin realizes that Jack is being insincere, he doesn't show it at all. Instead, his smile takes on a knowing but somehow shy quality, as if he's been let in on something important and he's happy to be trusted. He nods in acknowledgment of what he's been told and in agreement for their shapeless future plans, before his eyes follow Jack's back to the monitors. Even with nothing especially dangerous going on, he feels his breath catch a little.

He's still looking at the hectic scene playing out in the training room when Jack speaks up again. It seems to catch him off-guard and when he looks back at the other man, his expression is difficult to read. "I just...needed a change. You know?" It's an answer. And, even if it's not a meaningful one, he hopes that it's an acceptable one.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[nolitangere]

That's a pretty big change, Jack wants to point out. Working for IRIS isn't something most people take lightly—working for IRIS at a remote station even less so. But there's something closed-off in Dorin's expression now, so Jack doesn't push it.

Instead, he replies, "I know." A combat robot takes a hit and begins to emit sparks on the monitor, and Jack changes the topic to something he thinks is safer. "Where did you go to school?"

Liminal boarding schools are always a potent source for commiseration.

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

There's a sort of relief in Jack's validation of his answer and even more in the shifting of the subject; Dorin perks up like a sunflower in the returning dawn.

"Shawangunk Ridge Educational Facility," he offers without hesitation, "It's one of the small ones and out in the middle of nowhere, but it's nice. Not far from here." There's an obvious fondness for the place in his voice, as if he were talking about his hometown instead of a boarding school.

"What about you?" It's the obvious but inevitable question and he looks sheepish but genuinely curious when he adds, "You...seem to know a lot of people."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[nolitangere]

"Oh, a Shawangunk guy." Jack squints, pretending to scrutinize Dorin, but whatever shrewdness can be found in his expression is undercut by the upturned corners of his mouth. "There was a shot putter on your track team—this was probably before your time—who was huge. We all thought that was his Liminal ability, that he could make himself absolutely massive, but I think he was just like that normally."

Jack laughs to himself at the memory of ordinary teenage bitterness. It's not a bad memory—as an adult, he can be grateful for what normalcy was given to him. For school rivalries, for inter-school rumors. For track meets.

"I'm one of those Fighting Johnsons," Jack replies. He assumes a sly look, but this too is just in good fun. The Lyndon B. Johnson Educational Facility has always been one of the bigger Liminal schools, perched at the edge of four major metropolitans with a considerable catchment. "The Johnson Educational Facility," he adds, somewhat sheepishly, in the (likely) case Dorin has no idea what he's talking about. "It was big for an IRIS facility. If it seems like I know a lot of people, it's just a numbers game."

DURING THE EVALUATIONS: Jack (on call) & Dorin (...not)

[dorinlee]

When it comes to Shawangunk Ridge, there's not much that was before Dorin's time. He'd been sent there not long after the place opened. And, while he'd never participated in athletics or even followed them particularly closely, he does know who Jack is talking about.

"Alec Cadwallader," he supplies helpfully, unfazed by Jack's definitely oh so critical gaze. Everyone had known Alec Cadwallader. The guy had been truly enormous; tall and broad and muscular in a way that was frankly unreasonable, especially for a teenager. But he'd seemed like a good guy too. "You're right, though. That wasn't his ability." He makes a point of not giving up this tidbit of knowledge just yet and raises his eyebrows playfully at Jack. Should he even be sharing such things with an outsider, after all?

The Fighting Johnsons means exactly nothing to Dorin and hints of confusion set into his features at this answer. At least until Jack elaborates and he lets out an awkward little laugh. He gets it. He's pretty sure he gets it. "If you say so," he returns, though he thinks Jack is probably just being humble. "Did you like it?"