xp_logs | Hope and her eyes-and-ears network

xp_trance posting in

Hope has a meeting with her little eyes-and-ears network

After a final glance at her watch Hope clicked to open the special software Doug had given her, CJ, Cara and Ian, so they could talk safely. The symbol turned on the screen for a long minute, but finally it resolved in the faces of CJ and Cara, with Ian still being 'called'.

"CJ, Cara, it's good to see you again. Really glad that you could find a moment in what must be a really crazy time for you." Hope commented with a fond smile. "It's been too long."

"Hey there!" Cara said, waving at the screen from her end. "No worries, it's never not crazy lately, to be sure, but I'll always try to make time if you need me." Her eyes flicked down and checked her watch for just the briefest of instants just the same, but the smile on her face never changed.

A few moments later, Ian's screen illuminated. At first, it was barely lit, until he reached over and turned on a lamp, squinting as the light filled the room. "Hey guys...." He sighed, looking at all the screens. "I'm late, aren't I? Sorry. Classes here are intense, and I basically had to invent a sick grandma to get out of study group."

"We were still saying 'hi', so not too late." Hope replied with a small smile on her face. "I hope your classes are at least interesting." Her face turned serious as she continued though. "Let's try to make this quick. I also have an idea I want to talk about with Ian and CJ later on if that is okay with you?"

CJ opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. For a moment, it appeared as if the screen had frozen, then she sighed, showing that she'd been stumped for a response. "Um," she paused again and nodded, "O-okay." Taking a deep breath and hoping she wasn't blushing, CJ gathered her composure, "Shall we begin?"

"Sure." Hope struggled to keep the faint blush down as she realized what CJ probably thought she was referring to. "CJ, Cara... we have all read about the proposed laws and that the Mutant Registration Act is being discussed everywhere. Can you say anything about what you are hearing around DC. How serious is it?"

"Pretty damn serious, unfortunately," Cara answered with a sigh. "Thankfully, the judiciary is putting the kibosh on things wherever and whenever it can, but it doesn't seem to be deterring the current administration."

CJ did her best to push the distracting blush in Hope's cheeks away, switching into professional mode. "That is what I've been hearing in public, essentially that it's a non-starter, but I have tracked an increase in congressmen meeting with lower court judges. Even if the judiciary were to impose a stay or review on the legislation, I think there's a good chance that it could turn into a protracted fight." Biting her lip, "From personal, hmm observation, the core group pushing this bill are true believers. I think if they found out that I'm a mutant- well, they certainly have the power to make people vanish."

"If you have the chance to send me some of the names of those who have been meeting with their positions on the political spectrum... that would really great." Hope nodded at CJ. "Ian, what is the mood you have been feeling on the military, especially with everything going on?"

Ian hesitated before answering. "It's tough to really pinpoint exactly what's the mood. I mean, depends on where you are. I think though the majority of people are in the middle, just watching what's going to happen. There's your usual far right movements, who are all 'go MRA' and the odd lefties quietly speaking out, but I think a lot of people are hoping this will all go away." He shrugged, almost apologetically. "To be honest, this is a military school. It's always been more far right. I don't know that we're going to see protests or anything like they would in Cali."

"I do not think any of us would expect them to do that." Hope noted. "On the ground level here things are not getting any better either. In District X there has been an increasing number of hate crimes against mutant, though it are mostly things like vandalism. I have been picking up the same in other known mutant areas."

Hope paused a long moment, thinking. "I've been thinking... during the whole incident in September we did a lot of work in mapping where various senators and representatives on the state level stand... do you feel it would be helpful to do something similar on the national level? Most likely there are already various bits of information out there... we just have to gather in combine it."

"That does make sense," Cara agreed. "Gathering that sort of information together and sharing it amongst ourselves would definitely be an asset to us all." She rubbed her chin for a second as she thought about it before nodding. "I'm in. Let's do it."

"You are talking about-" CJ paused and looked to be taking a moment to try and read everyone's faces- despite the fact her mutant ability didn't work if it wasn't used in person. Finally, she continued, "I'm all for preventing this movement from gaining any traction, but we are talking about mapping every member of congressional and state governments from Key West to Seattle. I'm certain there would be a benefit to this...but the amount of time, energy- not to mention resources that we'd have to devote to it...it just doesn't seem feasible."

"No, that is indeed impractical for the size of the group that we are..." Hope agreed, thinking out loud. "That is why I was thinking of starting at the federal level, but even there we have hundreds of people. And the states can make things just as hard for mutants... that we saw in Virginia. But I do not have other better idea's...."

"And are you planning on moving to Washington?" CJ's statement was difficult to read- it was something between eagerness and sarcasm. Taking a breath, she shook her head and pressed on, "Sorry, no...I mean, right now, I'm the only one here. Do you think you can free up some resources? I have some people I think we can trust- I'll vet them properly, of course- but this endeavor would be easier if I had more...boots on the ground, as it were."

"More people would make it easier, this is true," said Cara. "I'll do what I can on my end to assist. Between all of us maybe we can realign things and redistribute all our resources to help make things smoother." She was already making notes on a notepad next to her computer, writing furiously just off of camera.

Ian gave a half-hearted noise of approval. "I'll help anyway I can, but I can't work miracles. Between classes, training, and my half hour of sleep a day, I don't have much time to infiltrate. All I can do is be an ear to the ground, and let you guys know if things start moving over here."

"That is all we can ask from you. And I am still glad to have you on our side." Hope replied, a small, but warm smile on her face. "And Cara, CJ... I agree with you. I am worried on safety issues, but we need more people. CJ, how about you get me some of the name as well. In addition to you two vetting them with your abilities, I can ask Doug to run a deep background on them..."

CJ nodded mechanically, "Okay, I will send that along before I head to bed...with notes, a couple of them may raise some flags, but...I trust them, and they won't betray me."

"Thanks CJ. Hope to see them soon."