(no subject)

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha Romanoff
Broadcast: Fleedwide
Action: Iskaulit to start with
When: 16 Nov

Video

[The broadcast is brief and obviously accidental. A young girl's face appears on screen, confused and tense, then almost at once her brows draw down and together in an intense frown. Her expression is dark and thoughtful as the feed shakes, then cuts out entirely.

For those paying attention, the corridors off the Islaulit can be identified behind her before the transmission ends.]

Action

[When she wakes up, a young Natasha finds herself in what appears to be a small dance studio. Unfamiliar, but not too shocking. The mirror, the barre, the wood flooring, are all things she's accustomed to. It isn't where she expects to be, but it is somewhere she would expect to wake up in a general sense, in a general way.

Waking up somewhere strange isn't completely shocking either.

It's not until she ventures out into the rest of the Iskaulit that she starts feeling out of her depth. She can't place where she is, even where she might be. There's no outside. The structures are nothing like she's scene before. The computers are completely alien to her. The people are worse. She avoids them, of course. At least at first. Sneaking through shadows and hidden corners, in ducts if she's lucky enough to find access. She observes what she can, trying to work together the situation as she can, applying what training she can. But how much she can do is limited.

Tiny spy is out of her depth.

Which is what forces her to come out of hiding. (Maybe that was the point?)

When she finally lets herself be approached, she's already determined to put on a lost, scared face. It's for the best. That way people will underestimate her. Trust her more. It's a good plan.

The expression might not be entirely fake, though, and she can't entirely hide her suspicious skittishness. The end effect isn't entirely unlike a stray cat begging for food.]

((OOC: Augment glitch? Come play with smol murder ballerina.))

Comments

[mucked]

[ -- peggy harbours no reason to hide her surprise, and so she doesn't. her chin raises, and she gives voice to a sharp decided hm. her mouth tightens into a line as she decides how to proceed. cognizant, of course, that she must be purposeful and deliberate in order to reply in the same language.

the girl spoke in russian, and it was not translated -- and so she must read the same deliberation and purpose into her words, too. ]

I do. [ peggy answers. succinct. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[That's a surprise. Natasha leans in, not breaking character. She's young. She's lost. It's natural for her to react.]

What's going on here? Where is this?

[She also smells the gunpowder. Which means this woman is armed.]

[mucked]

It's a long story.

[ -- syllable by syllable, her russian proves itself. peggy appears comfortable in the language. easily mistaken for a native speaker, unless someone is paying very very close attention. ]

But it begins and ends with outer space -- the stars, and travelling among them. You've been brought here. We all were.

[outstandingbalance]

[She lets that sink in for a few heartbeats. Lets it sink in, but doesn't let herself believe it.]

That does sound like a story. There's nothing like this in space.

[mucked]

[ there are more things in heaven and earth, horation, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. but shakespeare translates poorly into russian -- at least, on the fly he does. so peggy watches the girl's face. she notes the lack of outright shock. the stern, but uncertain expression. ]

No, I didn't think there was either. But lo and behold -- here we are. [ ... ] Were you just brought in?

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha sways a little at that, making a noncommittal sound. Apparently, if Peggy is telling the truth. She's not sure she's ready to admit it though.

She plays along, not liking the situation any.]

[mucked]

[ well! a stoic little russian redhead who more than likely came in with the last shuffle. peggy rubs the back of her neck. ]

Where were you assigned?

[ maybe if she tracks down the girl's ship, she can have a word with its respective captain. ]

[outstandingbalance]

Assigned?

[That feels like a trap, but if it is, Natasha doesn't understand it. Maybe she's supposed to let slip a mission or a station... but if she is, she's not sure what it might be.]

I just woke up here.

[mucked]

[ here? now, that's curious. peggy supposes the atroma might have made some sort of administrative error -- but it's more likely that something simpler is afoot. a young girl, lying.

but why? ]

Here? Heavens. How bewildering. The Iskaulit is far from inviting.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha shrugs, glancing away. Non verbal agreement that it hasn't been pleasant without actually saying it.]

Where else is there?

omg that html blunder.

[mucked]

Other ships. Smaller ships -- I live on the Starstruck. [ she tests the waters with an offered hand. ] Peggy Carter.

w/e w/e

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha hesitates, torn between keeping her distance and taking advantage of an offer for closeness. It's tempting to try to steal Peggy's gun, if she can.

Natasha saves the thought; her teachers wouldn't be impressed with breaking her cover story so early.

But the option is on her mind.]

Natalia.

[It's a common enough name. She does take Peggy's hand in the end.]

[mucked]

[ -- the conclusion she comes to is swift(ish). but only because she's come across some three or four of these augment problems before, wherein someone's age had been dialed back. and natalia and natasha are not the same name at all. and yet peggy must also process the red hair, the russian language, and the obvious inconsistency of waking up here on the iskaulit. occam's razor, once again. ]

Natalia. [ she repeats. and then, squaring her shoulders, speaks again: ] Come with me.

[ best get her to the starstruck, peggy thinks. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[It's not just Peggy's words that set off alarms for Natasha. It's also the way her posture shifts at the name. It speaks to recognition, and that combined with the command puts Natasha on the defensive.]

No. Why should I?

[Still in character, but more defiant. The situation just changed.]

[mucked]

Because we have food on the Starstruck. And good black tea.

[ and because she's more than a little concerned what might happen should someone else get stuck dancing this dance with natalia.

even so, she's still a little girl. so: ] And a dog.

[outstandingbalance]

[That is pushing too far, offering too many nice things. To Natasha, to attempt to entice her is transparent.

When that line is crossed, Natasha doesn't hesitate. She dives in aiming a punch for Peggy's midsection. She expects to take the other woman by surprise, to hit her, to follow up by grappling her down and finally taking her gun.

She's fast, too. But she doesn't have her older self's experience, strength, or brutal efficiency.]

[mucked]

[ -- ever since she realized who she's likely dealing with, peggy had expected something like this. enough that she's prepared to stiffen her abdomen and soak the blow because that's the risk of trying to be open in the first place. she might bruise tomorrow, but she's no stranger to bruising.

more importantly, she follows it up with an easy pivot -- moving the side of her body where the gun is holstered away from the girl. it's underneath her jacket, hanging at her side. and she'd rather not pull it on natalia, either.

peggy could hit. and peggy could hit hard. but whatever the girl's training might be, she isn't really her enemy. so instead, she reaches for the girl's wrist with the intent to twist it up behind her back. ] I don't want to hurt you.

[ but her tone is clear. she would, if she had to. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Whether or not Peggy considers Natasha an enemy, it becomes quickly and abundantly clear that Natasha doesn't see it the same way. She tries to twist out of her grip, though, rather than attacking again, though. At least there's that.]

What does what you want have to do with anything?

[mucked]

-- Because I'm the Captain.

[ it's somewhere between exaggeration and falsehood. they aren't on her ship. peggy tightens her hand on the girl's wrist and goes as far as to push her (not entirely gentle as she does so) against the corridor's wall. ]

Do they teach you 'chain of command' in those -- classrooms?

[ the last word is spoken just flatly enough to suggest she means anything but. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[The look Natasha gives Peggy is bordering on feral, but not afraid. Looks like at least one of them had a lot of anger as a child.]

They do. You are not my commander.

[mucked]

Not yours, no. But of something and of some people. And I don't take kindly to anyone going for my gun. [ a none-too-gentle reminder that she is the little and dynamic catalyst of these close quarters. ] Anyone.

[ peggy exhales -- more annoyed, perhaps, than angered. her grip is pragmatic. ] What will happen when I let you loose again?

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha stills, not trying to fight her way out again, though there's still a tension in her, waiting to break free if the opportunity presents itself.]

Let me go and find out.

[mucked]

[ -- she stands at a crossroads. the girl is volatile, clearly, and there is a twisting guilty part of her that fears letting 'natalia' loose on the iskaulit. but hauling her, bodily, back to the starstruck comes with its own dangers. ]

Even if you run, [ peggy assures her, ] you'll be welcome on the Starstruck. We look out for each other, here. This isn't like home.

[ when peggy lets her go, it's paired with a wide retreating step. she intends to be just out of reach. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[She doesn't run. She does scramble back, reassessing her tactics. She's not convinced that she can't beat Peggy in a fight, but she does think twice about trying again.]

I'm not going to be tempted so easily.

[Still sort of offended by the idea she'd be lured in by food and a dog. Even if there were things to be said for food. And a dog.]

[mucked]

[ -- so. this is a negotiation. she expects no less, really, from a girl who possibly comes from the same training philosophy as dottie underwood. it's always about the give and the take.

exhaling, she concedes: ] What would tempt you?

[ it's time to bargain. ]