Support Admin (
supportadmin) wrote in
academyooc2014-01-20 08:39 pm
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Entry tags:
test drive meme
The Pan Pacific Defense Corps was usually offered any of a variety of local buildings to set up their testing centers. For reasons of access and availability, most testing clinics were set up in central areas for any given community. Those of the PPDC staff on hand vary in their personal intensity. Some of the men and women wearing Strike Group insignia seemed overly serious, to the point of frowning with intensity at some of the youngest checking in for this testing round. Those from the K-Science division are tight with nervous energy as they direct prospective cadets through various activities. Everything was meant to measure potential, looking for that spark that meant they had somebody who was Drift Compatible. The majority of people were turned away after the first series of seemingly random tests, officials looking in eyes, placing odd looking contraptions over heads, asking for people to play a series of short games, one even in a virtual reality set-up. |
|
![]() |
If you are still here now, you've made it past the first cut. You'll be sat down in a room with the rest who have made it this far, then systematically led into smaller interview rooms as pairs. If you came with a partner, they're your first interview candidate. If you came on your own, all your interviews are random assignment. All who have been asked to stay are required to sit through and conduct a series of short peer to peer interviews. The questions are straightforward.
|
![]() |
Congratulations! You have been judged Drift Compatible, and sent home to pack after giving a definite yes to the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. The next thing you face down is the flight into Santiago, Chile, and the subsequent drive in to Valparaíso's Shatterdome. You and the rest of the crowd of soon to be PPDC Ranger Cadets have been gathered together to wait for the old bus scheduled to take you to the Shatterdome. While waiting in the open air, those from any Northern Hemisphere countries may find the summer weather strange. Today's high is going to be in the upper 80's, and there's not a cloud to be seen that's not clinging to the distant mountains. Welcome to Chile. When the bus arrives, it's another hour ride out toward the coastline to get to the Shatterdome. Even better? The bus Air Conditioner is broken. Safe travels, Cadets! |
Please set up your own scenarios as you like. The above two scenarios are suggestions. Anything goes! |
no subject
"Not really, but I don't like green much." That's a much lighter question, and Kate can appreciate it. "What's yours?"
no subject
She hides her grimace well, limiting it to a slight narrowing of her eyes. Being able to assess people with these sorts of questions is a fascinating process. She's not sure she's appreciating it all that much.
"Have you been through many of these interviews today?"
no subject
"No, this is my first one. How man of these have you been through?"
no subject
"Ah, this is my third one. I'd thought the questions might be random for each interview, but the list stays the same. They're setting up basic standards. Psychological profiling is a difficult business."
As if that explains the questions chosen. "For example, why ask if someone has children? What about answering that question yes or no say about us? They make interesting choices. I'm still surprised no one is asking for us to count backward from one hundred in sevens."
Her smile gains an amused tilt. She wouldn't have minded the mathematical interlude.
no subject
She wouldn't really mind that question. But she can see why it wouldn't pop up in this interview.
no subject
Yes, she knew it would be. She had to resolve herself to understand as much as she could from all these different perspectives. No matter how alien, or seemingly stupid.
Neither of which she felt at present. It's a nice respite.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Kate rereads the toolbox question. She's not sure she's even seen the inside of a toolbox before. "Do you do a lot of building?"
no subject
Her fingers find the short ends of her hair, thumb and forefinger twisting the strands together in idle motions.
no subject
"I've never really used a toolbox," she shrugs. It's jut a fact about herself. Her dad would always call people in to fix things if they broke.
no subject
"How about children?" What a direct and invasive question!
no subject
"I'd guess we'd have to learn about the Jaeger Mechanic toolboxes. If we're using machines like that, we better know how they work." Especially if something goes wrong out in the middle of the mission. It's not likely to happen, but it's a possibility. Though it's not one that Kate likes to think about. "I doubt all of us are going to become pilots."
no subject
"It isn't possible, even if each and every one of us proved Drift Compatible with more than one partner. The cost of Jaeger manufacturing and maintenance is very high. From what I understand, there are currently no more in production. Only one of the Mach V's has been finished."
They were entering the picture as reserve troops. Sakura wouldn't deny there is appeal in the possibility, but just as she sees that appeal, she also sees the practical realities that joining the program allowed her. Access to higher education and career paths the PPDC would help fund, in return for continuing service.
It's one way to get to medical school while still supporting her family, for all the disapproval they felt for her particular decision. For them, nothing less than piloting would be excuse enough for what she's done.
"We must be of assistance in whichever way we can. Completion of the program could still mean years of waiting for another piloting pair to retire, or for the next wave of Mach V's to be completed." If they ever would be.
no subject
"The handful of us who stay will be." She hopes. There's something to be said for piloting a Jaeger, and stopping a kaiju in direct combat. But there are entire crews devoted to making the machines run. If she can't be a pilot, she'd settle for making sure the machines don't malfunction. (But she'd much rather be in the pilot seat.)
"Why'd you apply?"
no subject
It'd be nice, but it wasn't everything.
"Duty," she says in the end. "I had to try. I wanted to, also. I don't want to sound like I'm here for anything other than what I want! It's a chance to make a difference, no matter what happens from here."
no subject
"I get that." She doesn't have a reason to be here besides her own desire to help. Even if she is incredibly apprehensive over sharing her mind with somebody else. But who wouldn't be?
no subject
"Have you ever been to South America before?" Chile sounds so far off from anything Sakura knew, it's difficult to imagine.
no subject
no subject
"The Kaiju have been a Pacific danger," she says, hands folding neatly in her lap. "They haven't been interested in crossing into the other seas."
no subject
no subject
Sakura shakes her head, knowing it's irrelevant. Talking about oddities in Kaiju attack patterns isn't part of this interview, or anything more than junior speculation.
no subject
"Anyway, maybe we'll get a class on kaiju attack patterns." That's something that sounded useful. And there have been enough that there's probably a decent amount of data to look over.
no subject
no subject
"We're going to have to work up to it." And it'll probably be at least three months before they get anywhere near combat simulations like that.