(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

lol

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha already knows where she wants to start. Depending on what Peggy answers, her next questions might be different. Or she might back out.]

Who do you work for?

[mucked]

I work for my crew, on the Starstruck. [ peggy considers this truth, and adds: ] And I work for myself.

[ -- honest enough, though she wouldn't show otherwise if it weren't. as far as this place is concerned, the ssr is an anachronism. fit for a museum. ]

I don't work for the people who brought us here, if that's what you're asking.

[ it isn't, she suspects. but she's not about to start parading her association with either the british or the american governments. not until she has to. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha gives Peggy a long, flat look, before she starts to turn away.]

The deal is off. I will not go with you if you have no intention of telling me what I want to know.

[mucked]

[ peggy will let her go -- no desire to strong-arm her any more than she already has. but, before they part ways, she simply shoots back: ] Look around you. There are no flags in space. At least, none that you or I would recognize.

[ they are beyond loyalties. beyond nations. old thinking fails them in a new world. ]

[outstandingbalance]

Then no reason not to tell me who trained you, whose interests you serve.

[Natasha makes a little room between the two of them, then sits down with her back against the wall.]

[mucked]

[ a huff of almost laughter. the most honest answer to her question -- to who trained her to wrestle like that -- would be her brother, michael. but somehow she suspects that, too, will be met with contempt from this little creature.

peggy crosses her arms over her chest. ] I've lived here, amid the stars, for the last year. Serving my own interests and the interests of my crew. That wasn't a lie. But -- [ she relents, just a little. ] I'm from England. I was trained in England. Carry the passport, and so on.

[outstandingbalance]

MI6? [Natasha pushes more, probing for more information.] Or do you work for the American?

[mucked]

[ -- hm. technically, that's a second question. and technically, she said she wouldn't answer the second one until they hit the shuttles. peggy glances down the hallway, sucks on her teeth, and gives a little more ground.

'natalia' isn't the enemy, after all. ]

Back home, I worked for an agency that -- for most people who arrive here -- is little more than an anachronism. The SSR.

[ almost imperceptibly, she tenses. waiting to see if the shoe drops. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha considers that answer for a long moment, her lips compressing as she sorts through what she's learned. With Peggy, everything seems to be a back and forth, but the exchange exposes more information as she picks out the information.

SSR. If it means anything to Natasha, she doesn't give a sign. She also doesn't show any signs of confusion.

She stands again, brushing off her thighs easily.]

We will go to your ship now. I have four more questions.

[mucked]

[ it's funny, really. how readily this information might be shared between the older natasha and herself. not least of all because natasha seems to already know so much of it. in a sense, she almost relishes the chance to tell her anew.

she offers a curt nod, and begins to walk once again in the direction of the shuttle bay. ]

And I'll have four more answers. You've got the shuttle-ride back to the Starstruck to decide what you want to ask. I suspect you'll choose wisely.

[outstandingbalance]

[She intends to. For the time being, she simply considers what she's already learned.]

The second question will be on the shuttle ride. That was the agreement.

[mucked]

And you'll have the whole ride to decide on it. I'm only suggesting patience. You're welcome to ask it the moment you step aboard the shuttle, however.

[ a firm, almost monotone tone. no need to nudge the needle in either direction. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha watches her a long moment, silent as she considers what Peggy is trying to push her toward.]

I suppose we will see when I decide.

[mucked]

[ she allows her her silence. there's no need to crowd the commute with conversation. strides say more than words, sometimes. and peggy's is wide and certain. she knows where she's going, and she doesn't glance at 'natalia' too often -- unwilling to appear as though she's herding the girl.

peggy doesn't talk again until they reach the shuttle bay. she raises a pointing finger and indicates one particular shuttle. ] There she is. Shuttle Number 2. Terribly creative name.

[outstandingbalance]

Very original. [Her answer is uninflected enough that it's hard to tell if she's joking herself or indulging Peggy's own dry humor.]

And she will take us back to your ship.

[mucked]

[ -- she hasn't gotten a perfect bead on how familiar the girl has made herself with their circumstances. with space, with ships, with the notion of traveling through the stars.

so: ] Like a slightly less convenient ride in a car. Though, the shuttles practically pilot themselves. [ peggy taps the augment fused with the skin just behind her left ear. ] Part of the package.

[outstandingbalance]

[An intentional situation. Natasha doesn't want to reveal just out little information she has while she learns as much as possible. It's a delicate dance, especially for such a young individual.

She boards with Peggy none the less, and she looks as Peggy taps.]

I have my second question. [She asks as soon as they're on board.] Why do you want me to come back to your ship?

[mucked]

[ -- hah. her laughter isn't stifled. peggy nudges the latches in place and settles in the pilot's seat, although the shuttle will be flying itself. ]

When you went for my gun, I was ready for it. Others you may meet may not be. For everyone's sake, I'd rather get you off the Iskaulit. Enough blood's been spilled on it these last few months.

[outstandingbalance]

And you would rather that blood be spilled on your own ship? I'm not sure that is a better idea.

[She doesn't deny her own potential to be dangerous, though she thinks Peggy might be overstating the situation.

Or maybe she simply doesn't see the potential for violence as such a problem.]

[mucked]

My ship will keep the peace, if I ask them to do so. [ -- in this instance, certainly. she couldn't promise it would happen under any circumstances. ] I can't say the same for just anyone walking 'round the Iskaulit.

[ all it takes is for someone lacking patience or self-restraint, and someone with natalia's training could cause quite the ruckus.

once again, however, peggy doesn't deduct the follow-up question from the ultimate tally. ]

[outstandingbalance]

You are very confident in your crew's loyalty.

[It remains to be seen if her confidence is well founded, but Natasha is willing to entertain the possibility that it may be.]

[mucked]

I am. [ happily so, despite even its sourer elements. she has faith even in max. ] We're a family. We take care of one another.

[ this is an important distinction -- and she articulates it clearly. this isn't a unit or an agency or an organization. the starstruck is, first and foremost, a family by choice. they may not be in the fleet by choice, but she'd never want someone to stay aboard her ship if they didn't want to be a part of the crew. if they are loyal to one another, it is because they've earned it. ]

Most of the ships function similarly.

[outstandingbalance]

[Peggy makes that distinction, and Natasha sees what she's trying to do, but what she sees is a vulnerability. She sees a captain telling her that if she threatens any member of a crew, the rest of them are likely to respond as family, not as comrades in arms.]

I will remember that.

[mucked]

I'm certain you will -- [ dry. because peggy knows she'll remember it when the glitch is done, too. and because she doesn't doubt two members of the starstruck's crew would extend that same sentiment to natasha herself: steve, certainly -- and for all she knows? wanda, as well. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's interest turns to the shuttle itself, gauging whether or not she thought she'd be able to pilot this herself when she had to make an exit.]

Three more questions. You'll make me wait until we get there before you answer them?