[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HO10v8X.png[/img][/center]

[center][b][H1][color=795580]POE[/color][/H1][/b][/center]

[hr]

[color=795580][b]TIME:[/b][/color] [i]8:11 AM[/i]
[color=795580][b]LOCATION:[/b][/color] [i]Meeting Room[/i]
[color=795580][b]INTERACTIONS:[/b][/color] [i][@GingerBobOh] [@princess] [@Oso] [@FunnyGuy] [@Infinite Cosmos] [@DClassified][/i]

[hr]

Poe sat amidst the burgeoning chaos of the meeting room, her expression a mask of practiced, clinical boredom. She took a slow, deliberate sip of her drink, the cold aluminum a grounding contrast to the escalating "theatre of the absurd" unfolding around the table.

She looked over at Quinn, her gaze flat. [color=795580]"You sound like a drug dealer, Quinn. A very high-functioning, low-rent one. And if you’re wondering why I’m not running the show yet, it’s probably because I’ve been trapped in this corporate purgatory for only a few weeks. Some of us prefer to map out the server architecture before we initiate a total system override. Patience is a virtue, look it up."[/color]

She turned her head slightly as Murph made his grand, messy entrance. She watched the trash gravel from his board settle onto the carpet with a slight twitch of her eye. [color=795580]"I suspect the influx of fresh blood is exactly why we’re here at an hour usually reserved for milkmen and people with actual souls, Murph. As for why Chadwick thinks 08:00 is the optimal time for ‘synergy’? I have no idea. My best guess is he’s trying to catch us before our survival instincts fully boot up."[/color]

Reforge’s cynical assessment of the SDN’s blame-shifting culture earned a rare, sharp noise from Poe; a click of her tongue. She turned toward him, offering a lazy, mocking finger gun that was a pitch-perfect, deadpan imitation of Chadwick’s nauseatingly upbeat brand of leadership. She continued that imitation with her next words.

[color=795580]"You got it, bud,"[/color] she said, her voice dripping with enough sarcasm to corrode the table. [color=795580]"Spot on. You’re learning the corporate meta faster than I expected."[/color] She let out a sigh and shook her head. [color=795580]"God, even mocking Chadwick is nauseating."[/color]

As the room continued to fill, Poe’s internal ledger began recording new data points. When Muyang floated in with the confidence of a man who didn't realize he was in a basement, followed by the walking personification of trauma that was Liam, Poe leaned back in her squeaky chair.

[color=795580]"Speaking of other newbies,"[/color] she remarked, her eyes flicking between Muyang and Reforge. She didn't miss the way Sylas’s jaw tightened or the look of recognition in the Monkey’s eyes. High school history? Rivarly? Fascinating. She mentally filed that under ‘Potential Team Friction.’

[color=795580]"For those of you who just stumbled in: I’m Poe. I’m the Dispatcher. I handle the electronics, the routing, and the tactical oversight. I’m the voice in your ear telling you when you’re about to walk into a claymore."[/color]

Moxie’s entrance brought the usual scent of expensive distractions and psychic weight. As the empath began her rounds, leaning into Quinn and hovering over the new recruits, Poe didn't even look up from her can.

[color=795580]"Down, Moxie,"[/color] Poe said dryly. [color=795580]"Don’t go scaring the level-ones immediately. We need them at least semi-functional before the briefing starts. Try to keep the ‘blissful distractions’ in your pocket until we’re off the clock."[/color]

Beside her, Roxanne was practically vibrating. Poe noticed the girl’s blush deepening and the way she was trying to hide inside her pink cardigan. [color=795580][i]High maintenance,[/i][/color] Poe thought, though not entirely unkindly. [color=795580][i]One more social interaction and she’s going to spontaneously combust into a cloud of sugar and anxiety.[/i][/color]

She checked her watch, then glanced pointedly at the mirror in the room, a quiet question beginning to form in her mind. That closet was behind there, wasn’t it? Would he?

[color=795580]"He’s still in there, by the way,"[/color] Poe announced to the room at large, nodding toward the mirror. [color=795580]"Our fearless leader has been in a janitor’s closet behind that wall for fifteen minutes. He’s either practicing his ‘I’m not mad, I’m disappointed’ face in a bucket of floor wax, or he’s forgotten how doorknobs work…or he’s watching us. Place your bets now."[/color]