driftfleet | text & action

Who: Peggy Carter + YOU
Broadcast: text, fleetwide
Action: aboard the starstruck
When: the days following winter's glitch

Damage report, please. Who did the Winter Soldier hurt? Casualties?

[ her thumb hovers. she nearly adds I am so sorry but thinks better of it, in the end. peggy carter is confined to her bed in the captain's quarters aboard the starstruck, propped up on a small mountain of pillows with most of her torso bandaged and wrapped. a pair of broken ribs, at least. she hasn't properly listened to her own damage report, yet. but the consistent throb in the side of her skull suggests winter's initial blow landed harder than she'd first anticipated. one eye is still puffed up, bruised, and swollen to the point where it doesn't see a thing. one half of her face is streak of black and blue now that the blood's been cleared away.

she doesn't use the network's voice or video function. her texts are slow, business-like, and methodical. and she'll text for as long as she can before someone with a busier body than her own shows up to confiscate her device. but she hasn't been able to adequately parse the information that flew quickly and efficiently in the hours following her own fight and black-out and lonely struggle to an empty shuttle.

even now, it's about all she can manage to toggle the privacy settings and message her first mate individually: ] Ahsoka. Please see me in my room. ASAP.

[ a torch must be passed, for the time being. and peggy has a lot of healing to do. visitors are welcome, whether they are aware of her bashed-in state or not. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So because the individual did not mean to harm, he did no harm? A person has every right to fear something destructive, in the wake of destruction.

[So, maybe he's projecting. Fearing an Angel has always seemed perfectly reasonable to him. He didn't want to hurt anybody, and yet...

Still, there's another side to look at, and Kaworu knows this from experience as well. It's impossible for him to be impartial, but perhaps he can at least try to be mild.]

I'm not saying that the individual deserves persecution. But he has done harm and could do harm again. If he does, measures should and will be taken.

You don't let something hurt your loved ones just because it isn't evil.

You mistake my meaning. I believe measures are required, but unless the root of the problem is addressed? Then we are merely piling bandages upon bandages and stop-gaps upon stop-gaps.

No well-intentional individual, however dangerous, deserves to live like that.

[Thankfully, Kaworu has enough tact not to say that he is willing to nuke anything at any time if it's absolutely necessary. But he is still projecting, despite how at odds it is with his personal beliefs. He's a hypocrite, of course. He has it in him to forgive someone he loves for putting everyone at risk and worse; but he feels that in his own case, humanity was right to fear and suppress him. And he feels that it would be right to fear and suppress the Winter Soldier.]

You and I have different views, but I still intend to protect [...] as many people as possible. [In Shinji's own words.] If you are present when something similar happens again, I'd like for you to be able to call me to action.

With all do respect, I'm not certain I could. I enjoy our conversations but -- forgive me, Kaworu, but I don't know you. Without knowing what calling you to action entails, I can't very well do so.

[ it's no particular aspersion upon him. but she has a man, here, with whom she went to war. and the avengers that he himself commands upon occasion. it's hard to condone herself calling anyone else in a crisis. especially an unknown variable. ]

[Kaworu has to acknowledge that he'd say something similar. He doesn't know all about Peggy's situation, but he at least knows that he wouldn't trust anyone else with Shinji.

But it's still uncharacteristically irritating. He feels frustrated, and almost worse than helpless — because he could help, but Peggy isn't agreeing to it.]

I understand.

But you seem capable, for what you are, and I would hope you won't needlessly endanger yourself.

[Some more hypocrisy, by the way.]

I often find myself endangered. But never needlessly.

[ the words are cold, but had they been more than text -- had they held video, or even a snapshot, then they might have captured the strange warm wry humour endemic to her personality. ]

See, you can't blame a person for worrying.

[He meant what he'd said — she seems like a hardy person. Tough. But she's just a human being, and sometimes that isn't enough. That goes for much of this Fleet. Shinji wants them to be all right; but how is Kaworu supposed to protect them if they're so stubborn?]

You would do well to meet Captain Rogers. The two of you would worry together.

[Kaworu's breath of laughter can't be conveyed through text, but...]

If we're thinking of the same person, I did speak with him before. You're right; he seems like a worrier. But that comes with having loved ones.

[ loved ones. well, she can't exactly dispute it without drawing odd attention to it. instead, she'll explain what's likely readily known: ]

His childhood best friend was the man the Winter Soldier used to be, in a sense. Before the programming.

I understand. Really, I do. But my best friend is here, too.

[ he's impetuous. keen to counter, it seems, when there's no argument being made. ordinarily, peggy might hold the patience of a saint for such a conversation. but it's harder when her sides fire up with every breath she takes. and it hurts just to read the screen.

so, a little too short: ] Then I imagine you can empathize with his position better than most.

text & action » fleetwide

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