driftfleet | ✮ ( 001 ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ / ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ )

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✮ ( 001 ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ / ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ )

I knew I should have looked up 'reality shows' a few months back.

[ The man who appears on the screen is currently looking at what seems to be a little notepad before adding the word 'space' next to the words 'reality tv'. Really, he could have done this space setting if it included an inter-galactic war or helping planets in peril.

But in all honesty, Steve Rogers: entertainer has never been his career choice and it's not his forte, either. At least now the whole thing doesn't include singing and girls in scandalously short skirts. ]

My name is Steve Rogers, currently aboard the SS Pathstone. I've done a little bit of reading while aboard the Marsiva. I understand there are those who are trying to help the people on the moon we're visiting, if there is anything you need, I'd do whatever I can do to help.

[ you might catch a glimmer of red and blue and silver just behind him. A wink as the light hits metal ]

The same goes for going home. I imagine people have already looked into ways for us to leave this place. No one should be taken anywhere against their will. I'd like to hear about the information you have managed to collect and I'll do everything I can to make sure everyone will be able to go home safely.

[ you all get a little smile. he's so awkward at these things, can you tell by now. ]

I heard I've missed quite a party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The SS Tourist?

[ there is exactly one moment of a beat as he writes it down. ]

I'm on my way.

[ first and foremost and forever, Steve is a soldier. He had his share of missions since the war has ended, fighting alien armies and a robot with the sense of humor of one Tony Stark. This here is another mission, help the moon and the planets, bring people home, stop the organization from kidnapping more innocent people into this weird place. ]

[ ok - that was easy. and sudden. ]

Right, I'll wait for your shuttle.

[ why does he suddenly feel the need to salute before signing off? what exactly is he getting himself into, here?

he heads to the cargo bay to await the shuttle, leaning against the wall. ]

[ one day, Steve Rogers will learn to take a step back from being a soldier and try and speak like an actual person and have a life but it is not this day. He takes his shield with him, just in case and leaves the other weapons carefully hidden in his room. He won't meet any of those people armed. They are all the same here, after all.

The man who walks out of the shuttle will have only what appears to be a metal shield in blue and red with a single star in the middle, other than that he will look like any other guy out there.

Aside of his height and size, he'll offer a hand as soon as he walks down. ]

Winn. It's good to meet you.

[ jesus, it's like meeting james all over again, if he were kinda scary and sort of armed. he wasn't really prepared for the formidable height. he tries to return a firm hand shake, hoping steve's won't crush his hand -- he looks like the kind of guy who very easily could do that. ]

Ah -- likewise, Steve. Nice...shield.

[ he understands the defensive instinct, but it's still giving him an uncomfortable feeling. ] So hey some good news, so far nobody's needed one of those here -- let's head over to my room. [ he starts leading the man through the corridor ]

It's been - with me for quite some time.

[ in a way, he feels a bit out of place without it. he still remembers putting aside all of Howard's gear to choose it, a prototype that serves him until this day. He remembers Peggy shooting at it.

At him. it. he was never really sure. ]

No threats or signs of hostility?

[ that's good news, at least. ]

Other than mass kidnapping and involuntary brain surgery? Not yet.

[ the fear that some of his projects would change that is very real, though. if he gets too close his best case scenario is getting sent home - and while he would have worked towards that when he just arrived, the thought of going home alone now, back to his oblivious existence not knowing that kara needs his help, that kitty even exists, is a torment he doesn't like to linger on - other scenarios include being sent off to another arena of whatever this experiment is, or being disposed of altogether. the risks are real and terrifying but doing nothing isn't an option either, not when kitty's life hangs in the balance.

he leads steve to his room and shuts the door behind them. it's a basic room, not yet properly personalized. what distinguishes it from others most is the sheer amount of notes; piles of notebooks, notes with equations glued to the wall. ]

Make yourself comfortable.

[ he sits down on the bed, it's not the most hospitable or comfortable situation to be in with a stranger, but they'll have to make do. ]

Before I say anything I need to like, make sure you understand the stakes here. They could be listening to us right now. For all we know, these things in our heads could take us out if we become too problematic - there's no evidence, it's just a worst case scenario theory but there's no evidence contradicting it, either. They hold all the cards, and we hold -- a whole lot of unsubstantiated theories. You sure you wanna talk about this?

[ his eyes go over the notes, taking in what is written there, trying to make sense of it all. he's not a man of science, steve is. above all, he's a man entirely out of his time even before his arrival here. he's used to needing to catch up. as he talks, he sits up straight. ]

I fought wars before. I'm ready. Whatever happens to me, it doesn't matter if I can even try to help the people of this world.

[ always captain america, it would seem. ]

Yeah - hopefully it won't come to that.

[ ok, take it down like, 10,000 notches, man. ]

Ok so the basics people seem to agree on are - this isn't any of our dimensions, it may be a pocket universe, we're not sure. The important part is that it's somehow connected to all our worlds - probably by something on the Marsiva - and it exists outside the space-time continuum. What that means is we can live entire lives here but still go back to the exact point in time we left back home. This isn't the only pocket dimension - a lot of people have been to worlds like these before, some to even multiple. Most of those aren't as peaceful. We're implanted with an augment when we get here - it gives us a skill, but we don't know what else it does. Questions so far?

[ well, you know what they say. you can take the man out of WWII. well the second part is pretty clear. ]

So far, so good.

[ he's quite thankful for the out of space and time part of it all. he had the pleasure of missing out on chunks of time before and he never really caught up since the last thing he needs is to miss out on more. ]

Back where I come from we had people coming from another world, Asgard. I can't - tell you how they did it, it involved a lot of Asgardian magic.

[ which has been trouble since the beginning but ]

Maybe a similar force is being used here.

Could be. My universe got a visit from a speedster, but I doubt that's their MO here, not a lot of room for momentum on a space ship -- problem is all we've got are theories. The solution is on the Marsiva but we can't get on there -- and when we were there nobody found anything anyway. There're some people here who can use -- magic.

[ which to him are superpowers yet undefined by science. but they all have a basis in it, they have to. ]

But they're as stuck as the rest of us. Another thing you need to be on the lookout for - alternate realities mean alternate version of people - you, people you know - they can have the same face but be completely different.

We had one too.

[ a painful thought. pietro's loss has been hard on all of them but wanda has never quite healed from his loss. she never will, he knows. losing someone so important leaves a mark, steve wore the mark bucky has left until he found him again under the mask of the winter soldier. ]

there are many here from my world but they all seem the same.

[ for now, anyway ]

And no one has ever seen these kidnappers?

A speedster visit? Was it the Flash?

[ if he keeps visiting multiple realities affected by the atroma, maybe eventually he'll figure out a way to find them -- it's not something to pin his hopes on, but any sort of hope of a rescue is nice at this point. ]

No sightings, there's been one announcement by them since I've been here, but it was basically just creepy. [ a reminder that they're being watched, controlled, toyed with. ] They either cover their tracks well, or they don't need to [ because god knows what their implants are capable of ] cuz so far they've been impossible to track.

-- No, I'm pretty sure he wasn't using code names.

[ he nods at his words ]

I've been meaning to ask, are all our messages on these things recorded by us, too? if I wanted to see previous entries on these would I have access to those?

Yeah, here let me show you.

[ he pulls out his communicator, and takes him through the step-by-step process of accessing entries. it annoys him to no end that he can't accomplish the kind of tasks he wants to on the network, but at least the basics he's been able to pick up easily enough. ]

You gotta remember every time you say something on here, anyone could be listening - not just our hosts. We have some inscription options, but they're pretty mild as in - they're pre-programmed. [ this network's giving him hell - but some people were given a network-friendly implant. information is never fully secure. ]

[ he frowns a little. Man he does miss the pre-war days where things were simpler. ]

So - if I use these options, it'd be like a - text?

[ is that right? throw a man a bone, Winn, this is really hard for him ]

It'd be exactly like a text, yeah.

[ right down to the big brother intercepting and reading it part. ]

Wanna try sending me one?

Yeah - thanks.

[ he smiles, starts tweaking with the thing ]

I'm getting better at technology but these still confuse me.

[ you just have to admit you're an old man, steve ]

Then get calling me down - cuz helping people with their tech problems is actually in my job description.

[ he's seen worse, and it wasn't even just here, sad as that is. so steve gets a smile in return. ]

I'll definitely be doing that.

[ he sends a text, makes sure the encryption is right ]

Got through ok?

[ he shows him the message on his own communicator ]

Just fine - the most important thing to remember with these is get the contact right, you don't wanna accidentally text the whole fleet.

-- that's important.

[ he nods. if steve rogers ever accidentally texted his entire contact list, short as it may be, at home then he doesn't speak about it. ]

How much have you been able to determine about the network that connects these?

Not a lot. [ can you tell how badly this frustrates him? he feels betrayed. networks are his home, his life's blood, his best friends, and this one is not yielding to his magic. ] I can't trace their payments, I can't access the servers, basically all I've been able to do is use the pre-supplied functions.

[ he looks at steve. how can he say it in a way this guy'll understand how unlikely and severe that is? ]

-- imagine you not being able to punch through a wall. [ he just looks like the wall-punching type. what are those biceps, dude? ]

you'd be surprised, I remember not being able to very clearly.

[ for all that it was 70 years ago. he smiles a little, gives him a pat on the shoulder. ]

you'll figure it out. we're lucky to have someone who knows what they're doing then it comes to these things.

[ god knows steve doesn't ]

[ he's not sure he believes him, and it kind of shows, but he still appreciates the attempt. in a way, steve reminds him of james. for the first time, he finds himself really missing the guy. ]

It all depends on why I'm having such a hard time. If it's a matter of time, yeah I'll get it. But if it's something to do with the implant - we won't get anywhere until we manage to bypass it.

[ he doesn't address the compliment because even though it's been repeated to him by so many people - kara's lucky to have you - he's still not sure he believes it. for all his theories, he hasn't been able to achieve anything meaningful yet. unless one counts migraines, that is.

but he won't give up, either. ]

You've been told to leave them alone, right? Trying to yank them out's as terrible an idea as you'd think it is. [ and not just because they're something attached to your brain. ]

I've been warned.

[ he nods, looks at the comm before looking back at him ]

You think that thing can work against us like that?

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