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 Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:52 pm
The Ivysaur settled down at his desk. A few days had passed since he had begun. Interviews had been conducted. Those pokemon who hadn't found teams were given compensation in exchange for their reports and a few of those that had had been called in candidly as well. He had a fairly clear picture of what had happened to the individual teams... not a perfect one but a fairly good one.
Now all that was left was to write letters. One for each team, one more for each recruit who had taken on a new team and perhaps a few more. It was paramount to the purpose of the expedition that what had happened be understood and those who needed the lesson most dearly were the least likely to comprehend it. The letters, as simple as they were, were hopefully a solution. At the very least, perhaps it would prompt a few to visit him so that things could be discussed in person as needed.
[If you wish to be bumped to the top of the queue, or if you wish to have your characters visit Serrin before he writes their letter, please leave me a note in the OOC. If you wish to respond, your team rooms are the right place!]
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:13 pm
Team Moonlighter This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the five of you in Team Moonlighter. The attached letter is addressed specifically to Nidhyana.
Overall, there were certainly what I would call "mistakes" made. The way you split left both your weakest fighters and weakest rescuers together and, even in light of that weakness, the decision was made to carry on rather than attempting to rectify it in order to act more efficiently. This is purely a tactical error and, in light of the results, not one I can justifiably criticize you for. In spite of the cleaving of your group, Nuna and Mana continued to operate with a mixture of caution and hardheadedness. Both are virtues that are best tempered by one another. A willingness to act in spite of risk is both admirable and dangerous. Please use that caution to see to it that you embrace the former more than the latter. You can't learn from some mistakes.
Still, in the future, practice greater prudence in splitting up. Given how you all acted in isolation of one another and in the face of danger, I have trust in you to succeed greatly in more tangible situations should you give yourselves the care you need.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Nidhyana To put it simply, you've found yourself in an effective if somewhat socially dysfunctional team. The four of them are a consistent clash of personalities but if you can navigate it, and I believe you can, you'll find yourself in good company.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:42 pm
Team Essence This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the four of you in Team Essence. Since I feel it's necessary to address each of you in a more personal manner, I've included attached letters to each of you. Obviously, this isn't directed towards either of the children.
From what I gather, you don't quite agree with what happened or why. That's fine, to an extent. Not everything has to be seen eye-to-eye. If you feel you can no longer accept instruction from me, then I would remind you of the invitation to take such things up with me in my office. I'm never absent for more than a half hour, aside from meals, and you're free to visit at any time of the day.
With that said, I still hope that you can take the importance of the lesson to heart. Although the danger was not real (we would never send anyone on a suicide mission for a multitude of reasons) the feelings it brought forth were. The fears and passions you felt can be a weakness. Once felt, they may be tempered into something that will carry you through the most dangerous trials. I hope you will temper them. Regardless of your feelings, towards each other or myself, I would never hope to sign a death report for one of your members.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Leader Neo To put it concisely: you have both the guild's and my own apologies.
At a greater length, what happened to you shouldn't have happened. The pokemon who participated were generally screened and our staff were prepared for whatever could happen in order to insure that on the rare chance something did happen, it could be handled with few exceptions. Unfortunately, your case was an exception. You took a graver wound than you should have. Instructions to attack were to incapacitate, not to seriously injure and the guild can only apologize for what happened. The only defense of it I'll offer is that it's a part of the grim nature of your work. Unfortunate things happen. This does not lessen them but it is important to recognize their nature.
Still, what happened to you shouldn't have happened. I would never intentionally see my guild members hurt. Please take the time you need to recover.
Also, although less pertinent, everything I've heard suggests you did wonderfully in all regards. When an actual situation comes around, it's comforting to know I'll have a reliable team leader on the field.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
[A second piece of paper is contained within the envelope.]
P.s: Your partner set the jungle on fire. This deeply concerns me; the act itself was fairly fruitless given the situation, as such efforts would be pointless against a Houndoom. Either Nyx saw fit to do so regardless of the poor results or his mind was so addled by desperation that he didn't consider this. Either way, this isn't a minor issue. If we hadn't been prepared for what happened it he could have claimed hundreds of lives by leaving many with nowhere to live. However much I can empathize with feelings of desperation and terror, this degree of callousness is an obvious concern. Please keep a careful eye on your partner so as to see to it that he does not engage in such reckless, destructive behaviour in the future. Ideally, avoid areas in which his flames could destroy large expanses of life.
Honestly, this isn't a small problem. I hope you can take this as a sincere concern. Burning down the jungle isn't a joke.
For obvious reasons, please do not show this segment to Nyx. Co-Leader Nyx I'm going to be very straightforward in saying this.
If you set fire to another natural habitat, the consequences will not end with a sternly worded letter.
For now, I'm willing to assume that what happened was the result of exhaustion and desperation. Don't make me regret this decision, Nyx. You seem like a fine guild member but what you did could have ruined hundreds of lives. That's not acceptable for a rescue team.
With due courtesy,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Member Air If this letter seems odd, it's because what I received through reports is incorrect.
You did well. In spite of your fear, you did well. When your team reached a wall, you used your capabilities to smash through it. I hope you will continue to cultivate such skillful transformations in order to help your team out of tough situations. I'm sure that your flexibility will become something that your team will rely on.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Lux You'll find a good team with them. Neo is somewhat idyllic. It's a rare and precious trait. Tempered by experience, I believe he'll be a wonderful team leader and I doubt you will regret your decision.
Please use your skills to look after them until they reach that point.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
[A second piece of paper is contained within the envelope.]
P.s: Please keep an eye on Nyx. I'm concerned that he may act in poor character should an emergency happen.
For obvious reasons, please keep this note to yourself.
Serrin could only sigh as he glanced back at the report. He really hoped he wasn't making a mistake by not taking action.
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 12:54 pm
Team Sunstrike This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the four of you in Team Sunstrike. The attached letter is addressed to Vyra. Normally I might have written a letter to each of you but I feel it would likely be best if each of you could consider what is said uniformly.
You did well. You approached the victims with care, identified yourselves clearly and addressed dissent reasonably. These are the kinds of traits I hope to see when it comes to handling victims in a search and rescue.
Skye. I hope that this has been a chance for your eyes to open a little bit. What you felt was something that you're going to have to be prepared to feel again in the future and, more importantly, it's also what others feel when the same happens to you. The duty of the captain is to both protect and to be protected, because in many ways a team is nothing without their leader. They're incapable of saving or being saved. Treading that border is a difficult task but one of the utmost importance.
Quil. There will continue to be things only you can do. I hope you continue to rise to the challenges ahead.
Zahra. How was your first rescue mission? It was fake but the experience is no less real. I heard you worked quite hard and I'm glad to hear that. I hope you continue to do so.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Vyra Sunstrike, huh? You did strike me as a bit of an odd duck when we were getting things organized. Well, that's fine too. They're a good team filled with good people and I'm sure you'll find your decision to have been a good one.
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 5:36 pm
Team Catalyst This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the three of you in Team Catalyst.
To be candid, I don't have much to comment on in regards to your performance. This isn't a particularly good or bad thing. Your team had no significant failures as rescuers but between one of you getting grabbed early and another abandoning their post to search, there wasn't much to judge you on. Kent did fairly well but not phenomenally. Of course, I'm not judging the abandonment. As I said before, there's not a right or a wrong answer in this situation. From what I heard, Arlyn was quite upset. This is not good or bad. Passion, desire and fear are all valuable and dangerous emotions. Saving lives is important but so is protecting your comrades. In the end, there's little for me to comment on for your team. I hope that, in some regard, what happened here was a good chance for you to appraise both yourselves and one another. A person's true character rises to the surface quickly in times of desperation and perhaps this will be a chance for you to examine one another deeply.
However, in the future it's prudent to move as a unified group until you've properly scouted the area. Be careful not to split up until you have a firm and complete grasp on the situation. Staying together, in the worst case, weakens your efficiency as a group. Splitting up, in the worst case, can be quite dangerous. But perhaps splitting up as you did is not carelessness, but confidence in one another? I can't say.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 6:33 pm
Serrin stared. He had been abundantly clear and exceedingly straightforward in his original letter. The dressing-up aside, it had really only been two lines. As he read through the letter, it was hard for Serrin to tell what he was more impressed by. The intense rationalizations that Nyx utilized were terribly skillful. His admittances were tactically made and careful enough so as to give as little ground as possible while still superficially agreeing to what Serrin himself had originally stated. Everything was draped so thoroughly in conditional claims and contextual arguments that it was obvious how strongly he intended to implicitly rebuke any kind of responsibility or blame. The excuses were just plausible enough to not be dismissed entirely while offering the highest degree of denial possible. He then steered deeply into "admissions" and a "willingness" to accept guilt, in spite of the fact that he was no doubt aware that if he had caused any truly severe damage it would have been in the first letter. He had accepted "guilt" in the least meaningful way possible while simultaneously portraying himself as a willing participant. It was all quite impressive.
What was also impressive was the thorough arrogance it displayed that Nyx was actually convinced that such a letter would somehow better his position. Had he not responded and simply acted properly, Serrin would have eventually ignored him. Had he responded back and accepted what had happened without any rationalizations, Serrin would have been more likely to forgive what had happened as a victimless crime of passion. He would have been someone to keep an eye on, but not someone who was perceived as directly dangerous. No, this letter only solidified the concern that Serrin felt. Anywhere Nyx went was in as much danger as Nyx could provide. Simple self-importance could have excused it but Serrin had reports from the ground. Nyx's attitude wasn't simply concern, it was plainly visible rage. Nyx would have been better off had he simply given it a bit of thought and realized that he was unlikely to trick a much older, much more experienced pokemon. In light of the apparent personality issues Nyx held, Serrin supposed that the letter itself wasn't unexpected. It was dripping with passive-aggressive vitriol.
Well, it was enough to warrant a response to hit the point home. Nyx could be whatever kind of person he wanted to so long as he played within the rules.Co-Leader Nyx I'm glad to see that you are willing to sincerely accept responsibility for your actions. Fortunately there was no significant harm to the jungle due to the quick response of the prepared pokemon we had. As I wrote before, your punishment for the time being will end with a stern letter.
On the same note, I'm pleased to hear that you will never create such a situation again. As you said, there are few right or wrong answers. One of the merits of experience, however, is the ability to divide these from one another. The simulation you participated in is both the first and last of its kind. We will never again engage in such an activity. Of course, in any situation outside of such a simulation and the preparation involved, what you did would have caused immense damage to both the land and those around you. Your flames barred others from pursuing you and in any other situation would have spread too fast and too viciously for a normal response to contain it within a reasonable time. Given an inability to suppress such a blaze, a mixture of both the fire itself and the smoke inhalation would surely kill your team. This would be even more egregious on missions that your team undertakes independently, as you lack powerful water types. Air may be skillful, but skillful and powerful are two different things. Such actions would also summon more harm than help in such situations, as locals would be quick to descend upon you for your transgression. Even if you express confidence, the kind of damage you could cause creates such a magnitude of risk so as to allow anything other than a complete and total guarantee to be an unacceptable amount of risk. The minor benefits of causing such a blaze are vastly outweighed by the risks in any situation. This is even more true with the adoption of an extra team member as your team's ability to protect one another has now improved. It was not helpful to cause the fire in the jungle and that is only more true now.
Of course, as I stated before, this was a test to expose people to desperation. I will not discount your claim that you feel your actions were suitable but given the situation it's not at all unreasonable for ones perception to be poor. This is fine. It is the duty of the older and more experienced pokemon to guide and instruct younger and less experienced pokemon such as yourself. Now that you have experienced such fear and now that we have spoken on the risks and the lack of benefit regarding such course of actions, I expect you to have both the mindset and the knowledge necessary to handle such situations in a more fruitful manner.
Unless you wish to suggest to me that the death of hundreds of pokemon is a worthy tradeoff in exchange for killing your partner, as you would have had the guild not been prepared.
With Sincerity,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:21 pm
Team Aura This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the three of you in Team Aura. The attached letter is addressed to Solanine.
So, this was a bit of a "baptism by fire" for the two of you in more ways than one. It's a bit unfortunate that your team was pulled into this--you, along with another team that hadn't yet completed any missions, weren't the "intended" target of this affair. Unlike the other team, the two of you were pulled apart quite quickly. This was largely aimed at teams who had had some time to grow to know one another so that they could be given the experience they needed to truly understand and work with one another even in the most dire of affairs and, accordingly, this was certainly a much more "dangerous" and dramatic affair than a completely novice team should have been exposed to. Sorry about that.
On the other hand, you did well. When I heard that a completely new team had not only been involved but split apart completely I had feared the absolute worst. My expectation is that the pair of you would end up fearful, or that you would perhaps even leave the guild entirely. I'm pleased to see that this isn't the case on either count. In spite of what happened being an exercise far beyond a level at which you could be expected to perform, you performed as I would expect of a more experienced team. The only fault I'll find in your actions is that you, as a few other teams did, split up from one another immediately in order to cover more ground. It is better to bear the risk of too much safety than it is to bear the risk of too much danger. In the future, try to stay together a little bit longer in order to appraise the situation before spreading out. We can only order you about as a whole. It is up to the team leaders to choose the safest and most effective course of action for their individual teams.
I expect great things from you.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
P.S: The Zangoose has been thoroughly disciplined for acting outside of instruction. Mistakes happen but that behaviour was strictly combative and wasn't suitable for the assigned task. Recruit Solanine Unfortunately, as Team Aura is quite a new team there's little for me to say about them. I hope you'll find them to be a good team. They've done a fine job proving themselves. Welcome to the guild.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:37 pm
Team Synchronicity This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one is addressed exclusively to Riley and Keiran of Team Synchronicity. The attached letter is addressed to Ivilon.
I'm going to cut to the chase. You did fine. You're both veterans, you both know how to conduct yourselves. I don't need to say more about how you handled yourselves, you're both more than experienced enough to appraise that.
We have had 25 years. The guilds are once more "new" and those who join are naive. We have overwhelmingly attracted the unprepared. We have people who see the guild as a "safe" or "easy" paycheck. We have people who joined as a way to direct their attacks. We have a lot of people who want to be heroes, who want to be "good". They're people who have seen bad things but rarely those who have personally experienced them. As veterans, you know very well how things were before. Death is an inherent risk. Loss is part of the job. The only way to prepare yourself, the only way to guard yourself against these things is to experience them. The guild now has that experience. Many people are upset with me because of how it happened.
They are now prepared for real danger and they are prepared to protect themselves against it. I would rather a living guild that hates me than a dead one that thinks I'm a "good" person. I did not undertake this effort halfheartedly. I would rather accept that hatred than those deaths.
If you can't accept this, then I invite you once more to seek me out.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Ivilon Riley and Keiran are both veterans. They have experience and they'll do well in guiding you through the various trials you should expect to face. However, they have their own problems. I hope you'll do well in navigating these problems, as they're by far the greatest obstacle that lies in front of team Synchronicity.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:17 pm
Team Forge This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one is addressed primarily to Murdock of Team Forge, though it's not particularly private. The attached is directed towards Skullbasher.
Murdock. You did quite a bit of fighting, huh? Well, that's okay too. I wouldn't expect much else from a Mercenary Captain and people like you are needed too, even on rescue efforts. Though due to Cerrin's absence you didn't really get the "full" experience of the test, I hope you can recognize the value of it vicariously: many are were not prepared for the danger that inevitably lies ahead. Recognize the frantic nature that many of them embraced in the presence of fear and loss. As a Mercenary, you will have to face that fear on a regular basis. Be prepared for it.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
P.S: Whatever kept Cerrin from attending, I hope there are no issues. We don't require perfect attendance, as it is expected that guild members will withdraw themselves from such expeditions if they feel incapable of performing as is necessary. Recruit Skullbasher Murdock will treat you well. I think the two of you will get along nicely.
P.S: Is your name a cultural thing? I'm honestly curious.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 1:52 pm
Team Fortuitous This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the three of you in Team Fortuitous.
I'll be honest in saying that I'm not really sure what to say. You did well. Not exceptionally, but well. In the future, be more careful about splitting up before you have an in depth understanding of your surroundings. If you otherwise keep on doing what you're doing then you'll do just fine.
I'd have really liked to be able to say more in this letter but I suppose that "no news is good news".
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:01 pm
Team Phantasm This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one is directed towards Erinn. The attached is towards Cassiel.
I'll be honest. I'm a little surprised that you're here. I know your parting from the guild was not on good terms and I know you've always been fearful. Although I had an inkling as to who you were when I saw you run out into the forest, it wasn't until I properly reviewed everything that I knew for sure.
Not to say that I'm unhappy to see you here. It's nice to see people from the past come back. It speaks well for both what happened and what will happen.
I don't think a letter really suits the kind of exchange you would want so I'm instead going to remind you that my door is open.
Just remember that the content of a person is based not on "what" or "how" but on "why". That goes for both of us.
Your "why", at the very least, gives me some hope for the future.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Cassiel To be simple, I get the feeling that you never quite approved of what I did.
That's fine. A good guild member has to know both when to question and when not to. There's a delicate line between trust and blindness. There's a delicate line between inquisition and opposition. I think you know where those lines lie.
There is, for me, a delicate line between risk and foolishness.
If I cross that line, perhaps you'll be among the first to speak it.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:36 pm
Team Spectre This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the two of you in Team Spectre.
You were very efficient. I appreciate that deeply. Results are, in most ways, paramount in this line of work. Someone who acts poorly but delivers good results is intrinsically more valuable than someone who acts well but delivers bad results.
However, the truth is is that someone who acts well and delivers good results is superior to either. To be blunt, Atius, your efficiency was mediated exclusively through your strength. Had you been dealing with pokemon who were oppositional or something too heavy for your to easily move, the manner with which you carried yourself would have seriously harmed your ability to help others. I thoroughly appreciate that you are a mercenary team and not a rescue team but it is expected that all teams will act within their roles with a measure of grace. There will be times in your mercenary work that are not dissimilar to this. Callous words can start fights. Careless actions can cause others to be hurt. Victims can turn into enemies.
While you were more effective than your captain, I feel you have a great deal to learn from her.
Ghost: I hope you will act more proactively in order to lead and teach Atius. Although you were quiet, I believe you performed well. Please continue to do so.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
P.S: While I may not be your direct leader, the authority of any given head over a team is second only to Veilmys or that team's appropriate head. This is especially true in guild-wide efforts as all such efforts are to be considered sanctioned by all five leaders.
When you're on the field, I am your leader.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:58 pm
Team Verruckt This is one of a series of letters that I'm sending to every team. This one, of course, is addressed to the three of you in Team Verruckt. The attached is addressed to Rose.
Well... Good job, there's not really any other way to put it. Viper, I unfortunately cannot speak much for your performance due to how early you were knocked out. Mortimer, your actions were deserving of praise. By going back into the jungle with a hurt leg, you showed a willingness to risk your own life beyond the standard and beyond necessity. That's the kind of drive that I wouldn't expect from a team not devoted to rescue. The only criticism I'll note is that you really need to be a bit more careful with yourself; you would have been an easy target in a real-world situation. Knowing when to step back is also a virtue. You can't help if you're dead. Though in this case, it's perhaps a blessing that you didn't. Although I'm quite confident that Rose would have been found by someone else, it's still the truth that you averted a potential catastrophe. Good job.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse Recruit Rose Mortimer is a good man. Viper has definite problems.
I'm not the Treasure Hunter head but if something happens you should come find me. I'll make sure it gets set right.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 1:57 pm
He was half surprised that he got a response, especially such a thorough one. He had only written it as an afterthought that stemmed from curiousity. Still, it was kind of nice to get a response so he felt it was only suitable to write one back, if at the very least to confirm that he had received it.Recruit Skullbasher Dear Skullbasher,
That is a wonderful reason to take a name and it most certainly explains the otherwise odd choice. Aspiring to live up to a legend of the past is always a good thing to do within reason. Just remember that the best way to honour a legend is not to live up to it but to add to it. Without knowing the legends I can't say if you'll do that but I get the feeling you'll manage.
Your offer to regale me with the history of your lineage is one that I will have to decline for the time being. My schedule must be flexible on order to respond to the demands of the guild and it must be focused, first and foremost, on the members under my immediate command. If we have a time of peace long enough to allow us both to relax, I would be happy to hear your stories.
With Regards,
Serrin, Rescue Leader of Eclipse
No, it was better not to dwell on such things. It wouldn't do him any good.
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