( video )

[mucked]

Who: Peggy Carter + OPEN
Broadcast: video
Action: s.s. starstruck
When: mid-morning

[ ah, tea. however-bloody-many leagues into deep space and there's still provision for tea. nearly two months on, and she can at least depend upon leaves steeped in hot water as some sort of intergalactic lingua franca. cheers the soul, really. it isn't perfectly like her preferred cuppa on earth, but it suffices. and so this morning finds her sitting within arm's reach of the starstruck's comms, while her fingers wrap around a mug of that precious brew. ]

-- The battle that happened before we came across the planet. Is that a common occurrence? Bouts of cackhanded shooting, followed by the fortuitous retreat of our opponents. [ to be fair, she doesn't really know if it was all bad shooting. she's no expert in space-warfare. everything looks a little cackhanded when there's no ground to anchor your view. and let's not begin to count all the things she doesn't know about nebulas. more importantly: ] How often does the fleet come under enemy fire? Can they even be called proper enemies? Can anyone explain why were being shot at?

[ she's still new here, and she craves answers. but even she can hear that grinding note of too much tension in her voice. she knows it's time ease off the throttle. peggy takes a long (savoured) sip of tea and regains a measure of her own composure. ] Heavens, but it'd be nice if these godawful food pastes could be slapped together in a combination that even slightly resembled a Garibaldi. Tea isn't tea without a biscuit.

Comments

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[mucked]

I get by. Even without the Garibaldis.

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[reconstitution]

That's good.

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[mucked]

[ she wants to ask him if he remembers anything else -- remembers her any better. she wants to probe at him and learn whether he's her barnes, doomed to a tragic fate instead of mere death.

she wants to do a lot of things, but has long since learned to hold her breath. pace her curiousity. so instead: ] What about you, Mister Winter? Do you like biscuits?

[ she tries not to assume things based upon what she'd known of the other man. she leaves him room to be different, if he needs be. ]

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[reconstitution]

[ Unfortunately, nothing more has really dislodged itself regarding his memories. The ones he does have are toned in sepia, faded at the edges. Not for lack of wanting, of course. The good ones just seem a lot harder to come by. ]

I don't recall if I've had one. I've had a cookie, though.

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[mucked]

Cookie. Biscuit. Close enough as makes no difference.

[ not really. there is a difference, but it's not worth the smarmy squabble. ] Did you like it?

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[reconstitution]

I did. Allen's crew-mate made them.

[ He would listen to your squabble any time of day, Peggy. ]

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[mucked]

You ought to furnish me with something of an introduction.

[ a statement -- less a question, because she doesn't feel the need to make requests. but it's also something of a challenge. she can't help but test the edges of his comfort. ]

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[reconstitution]

I haven't met her. But he could?

[ He could probably ask Allen to make some sort of introduction, although he has only ever talked to him twice before. ]

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[mucked]

I would like your help in this venture -- if you're willing.


[ a test it is, then. ]

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[reconstitution]

I will see what I can do.

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[mucked]

You're meant to say yes, Agent Carter and come visit.

[ all because she wants to see him again-- ]

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[reconstitution]

Sorry. Yes, Agent Carter.

[ The second reply comes after a delay. ]

You want me to visit?

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[mucked]

I'd like that. Certainly.

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[reconstitution]

Whenever you'd like.

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[mucked]

Would today be too soon?

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[reconstitution]

Why would it be too soon?

[mucked]

For all I know, you've got plans.

[ and she does him the mild courtesy of not assuming he has none. ]

[reconstitution]

There's nothing. Rendezvous in one hour?

1/2

[mucked]

One hour, Mister Winter. I'll be waiting.

2/2

[mucked]

[ the feed blinks a moment -- as if more text might be forthcoming. something sweeter -- something kinder. but then the feed shuts down. ]

action;

[reconstitution]

[ The feed cuts off, and Winter looks down at it for a moment before tucking it away in order to move. It's only the second time he's actually seen her in person, and there are mixed feelings. He remembers her, but only vaguely- that one memory played over and over like a bad recording. She knew him, and he knows that she did, but he had trouble connecting with the memories like they're his. ]

[ Once it's closer to their rendezvous time, he borrows a shuttle over to her ship. Looking around the cargo bay, he contemplates whether he should seek her out or simply wait- they'd never gone over that bit. Habit dictates that he waits until she's there. ]

[mucked]

[ she isn't long in arriving -- a minute after him, perhaps, and with the sound of pumps clacking against the floor as an early warning of her appearance. as suggested by her appearance upon the comm devices earlier, she's dressed in one of the ship's plain jumpsuits. peggy's hair hasn't been curled today, but it is pinned back with an elegant sweep. space living, it seems, comes with certain sacrifices.

upon entering the cargo bay, she sticks her hands into the jumpsuit's pockets. and -- after a moment -- she conjures a polite smile. it doesn't quite reach her eyes, although she's quite convinced her safety isn't at risk by asking him here. jim has put her worries to bed on that particular sticking point. ]

I'll never come to terms with it, I don't think. Hopping bloody space ships as easily as one visits the flat next door.

[reconstitution]

[ The sound of her heels will always give her away- she has a very distinct gait. Purposeful, trying to prove her power, more than capable. Regardless, it makes him stand at attention until she is in the cargo bay.

He offers her a curt nod when he's greeted, stepping forward, but not too far into her space. Winter's space is important to him, and he wants to do the same for her. Besides, he gets the feeling in his gut that she'd cuff him behind the ear if given half the chance in the right situation. ]

It takes adjustments. This place is... [ Freeing. Oppressive. Slightly terrifying. Wonderful. ]

Different.

[mucked]

[ she smiles -- because it's polite to smile, and because he's him somehow. somewhere, beneath all that hair and metal. he's him, and she owes him a smile or three. ]

I miss mud. Isn't that daft? Mud, of all things. Didn't see much mud in Manhattan and I didn't miss it then. But I miss it now.

[reconstitution]

[ He may not be the one she hopes, but somewhere underneath all the programming and distrust, that man is there. Hidden and dusty, but there's potential. He shakes his head, keeping his position. ]

You miss the battlefield. [ He misses it, too. ]