driftfleet | may-time mingling (starstruck!)

And so you should. [ ... ] It's that very pragmatism that recommends you to the position.

... Thanks.

Ah... just so we're on the same page, is there anything in particular you'd like me to take care of or back you up on?

When I was First Mate I found it useful to stay up-to-date on any sort of paperwork that might be helpful. Hard copies of the ship roster as it changes, or taking note on paper of when we put in for upgrades. I'd rather we have our own records of that sort of thing than always depending upon the Atroma's computer systems. [ a rueful smile. ] Not very glamorous, I know.

[Ahsoka looks briefly appalled.]

On paper? But-- nobody's used paper for centuries! ... Millenia, even!

Maybe so. [ peggy is patient -- not only because she can see where ahsoka's speaking from, but because she's grown accustomed to her own allies from the future underscoring the luddite's qualities of her own era. ] But paper can't be accessed and altered by the Atroma, unlike pretty much every electronic system aboard these ships.

It may be old-fashioned, but it's secure.

[Ahsoka sounds nothing so much as like a plaintive teenager whining with her mom as she says:]

Can't I just write it in code?

Codes can be broken. Sometimes, all too easily.

[ not that she doesn't appreciate the suggestion. peggy nearly tells ahsoka that she'd let it slide so long as it's a code she can't herself break -- but despite peggy's history at bletchley park and breaking axis codes, she has to accept that there might be forces within the atroma with more deciphering skills than she herself possesses. ]

And people can steal papers.

[She sighs, resigned.] But-- fine. I'll write it out.

People can steal papers. It's true -- but people won't steal these, since I'm trusting you to safeguard them. [ a little cheeky, if she's being honest. there's a smile behind her eyes. ]

I'm not sure why anybody would want to steal or change the boring stuff on a ship's log, but... I'll take care of it.

The devil is always in the details. [ she shifts on her chair, and then deigns to outline a particular scenario that's been haunting her thoughts ever since she'd grown accustomed to such digital systems -- coupled with the horror stories of what has happened to winter at the hands of hydra. ]

These augments seem to be plugged directly into our brains. Who knows what the Atroma can do to us via that conduit -- if they've managed to give us knowledge we shouldn't otherwise have, what stops them from deleting things we know? Imagine a scenario where the Atroma wanted to simply erase one of our crewmembers from our very memories -- our very thoughts -- our only clue remaining to us might be those paper records that are, admittedly, quite dull to keep atop of.

I sound paranoid. I know. But I suppose it ought to be the captain's job to be paranoid for everyone else, so they needn't be.

[Ahsoka grows somber at that, crossing her arms in thought as she listens.]

... No, you're right.

It wouldn't even be the first time they've messed with us. Brain-wise.

Apart from those horrid shared dreams, I've only been able to observe some...manipulation of emotions. Of behaviours. [ peggy resists the urge to card her fingers into her hair and touch the augment at the base of her neck. ]

Have they gone further in the past?

It was during that time when we were doing the whole shared dreaming thing, actually.

There was something... wrong with the ship. [She doesn't know how else to put it.] But every time I went to investigate, it was like my attention was directed elsewhere. Every time I noticed something, I couldn't remember what it was later.

Mind control is an insidious thing. Were it not still so deplorable, I would almost consider us fortunate that the Atroma appear mostly interested in our entertainment value. [ and yet she still doubts the veracity of that claim. ]

The brain -- human or otherwise -- is a delicate part.

You... sound like you're speaking from experience.

[ peggy nods -- patient and welcoming when it comes to ahsoka's assumption, and willing to confirm it for her with more detail than she might have given half a year prior. but if she's learned anything since arriving in the fleet, it's that a shared pool of experience and information may very well be essential to their survival. ]

Well, yes. But before the Atroma's augment, I'm happy to say I dodged that particular bullet and never came under anyone's sway myself. But I've gone up against forces who are not above using hypnosis and brainwashing as tools of conquest. [ ... ] Like the man who wreaked havoc on the Winter Soldier's mind; however, you'll forgive me if I don't delve into the private details.

Oh-- no, of course. I just thought... I don't know, if you'd come across it before, maybe you'd have some knowledge of how to combat it.

Perseverance. An emotional connection stronger than the artificial blockades left by the enemy. Patient, painstaking de-programming. There is no easy fix, I'm afraid. But my experience doesn't include technological advancements quite like these augments. God knows, maybe one of our brilliant science types might be able to reverse engineer anything that happens because of the augments.

I feel like you'd have to be a neuroscientist and an engineer at the same time...

Or a Force healer. Either way, both of those things are outside my realm of expertise. I know enough about engineering to fix a broken ship or prosthetic, but... honestly, that's about it.

We'd need Stark back. Either of them, to be honest: father or son. They may both be pains in the arse, but they're brilliant.

Wait-- there were two? I only noticed Tony...

He was pretty clever though, huh? Even if he was kinda full of himself.

Howard Stark is a colleague of mine. He was here for a brief stint -- and he holds the dubious honour of being Tony's father, and may also be the one person who can give the younger Stark's ego a run for its fortune.

If I'm being honest, I was shocked to learn he even had a son. Howard was never the settling sort. Not as I know him, at least.

It's a pity he left. Or-- both of them, really. I was getting his help with an engineering project, but I can't complete it on my own.

What were the two of you working on?

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