video + text + action

[mucked]

Who: Peggy Carter & YOU
Broadcast: Y, fleetwide.
Action: Aboard the Starstruck, if you like.
When: Today.

[ a video feed flickers to life, and fights for a moment to adequately focus on its subject. peggy carter sits in the kitchen aboard the starstruck, cup of tea and her elbow and half a biscuit in her hand. dabbing at crumbs, she sets her food aside and offers the network a bright smile. ]

That message -- the ominous one, in the bizarre language? It put me in mind of the sort of cryptograms and puzzles you might see in the Sunday paper. [ her expression is cheery enough, although she's not being wholly honest about her interest in such games. she won't be the one to say the words bletchley and park.] I loved them. Them, and crosswords. I thought maybe some of you might like them, too. [ ... ] We could do a few together. I'm not saying we all join a club, exactly, but back home they were always better solved in good company.

Let's start you off with one that's easy enough. But there's no shame in needing a hint, if needed. For what it's worth, the text I'm attaching is, in its deciphered form, English -- not yet certain how the augments' translation will handle it. We'll see.

BLSTKBC YLBSFKGISRX XL QIYT SL SFVBWIKAKJR STR QKBZ VX V XSRVZU EIFELXR — V ELKBS LB OTKYT STR XLIA QVU NKM KSX KBSRAARYSIVA RUR.

[ -- and then an afterthought: ]

...By chance, has anyone been brewing their own beer?

Comments

[mucked]

[ coolly: ] She'll speak French. I would wager all my credits that she can speak French. Try it on her, if you like, and see where it takes you -- but be prepared for her to realize, in short time, that I'm the one who told you so.

[ she's clever. she sees the strings and the ties and the moving parts. ]

[uprightness]

She won't speak English to me even though she knows it, I'm beginning to think she might not want to in any language. She did take my jacket when I offered.

[ there's at least that. ]

[mucked]

[ a mild smile -- of course she did. she can already imagine the sort of face she'd put on to inspire such pity and kindness. ]

At this rate, you'll run out of jackets.

[uprightness]

I got some new ones.

[ he shrugs, relaxing in his seat before adding, ]

Had to whack about two hundred moles for them but it was worth it.

[mucked]

You're far too gallant for your own good, Steve. [ she's likely said it before; she's likely to say it again. ]

[uprightness]

Don't know about that.

[ he says with the same easiness, a hint of a smile sitting at the corners of his lips. ]

I did take the bigger half of that biscuit.

[mucked]

To save me from a cavity, no doubt. [ a shake of her head. it's all play. ]

[uprightness]

I guess you caught me.

[ he raises both hands, an easy surrender. evidently, dental care is a new priority on the captain america schedule. he almost tells her that he thinks there must be a captain america themed toothpaste for children but on second though, that might be too much of an ammunition at once.

eyeing her teacup, he suddenly seems to remember something. ]

Actually, I have something for you, hold on.

[ he hops out of his seat and returns a moment later. ]

call it an early Christmas present.

[ a fine time for it as any, after all. he places two boxes of Twinings earl grey in front of her. ]

[mucked]

[ -- at first, her expression is a bit miffed. something 'for her' or not, she seems not to care for his coming-and-going. but then he's back, and saying something about christmas, and she seems to lose herself in a heady moment of appreciation. there it is: two compact butter-yellow boxes. the lettering looks more modern than she's used to, but the logo is unmistakable. ]

Steve, [ she breathes. a tilt of her head and a brief grit of her teeth. it's not hard to guess: ] You won them, didn't you? On the Marsiva.

[ whack-a-mole for jackets, sure. my ass. peggy plucks up one box and examines it with a keen eye. ]

You shouldn't have.

[uprightness]

Yeah, I did.

[ while they weren't exactly what he was aiming for, he was more than a little glad to receive them. the true reason he spent so many hours in the game room lays in his pocket; a light, welcome weight of a compass he isn't used to be without. it was a relief to get it back, even though the very reason it means so much is sitting right there across the table. ]

Pinball. It was kinda fun.

[ well, during the first fifteen minutes or so. he's more than a bit happy with this. he would have wanted to get her something grander than tea but it does seem to make her happy and that's more than enough for now.

It won't do for a Christmas gift but for an early present, why not. ]

Thought you'd like them.

[mucked]

I more than like them, Steve, [ she concedes. and she thumbs at the cardboard, almost eager to tear the package open right now and sniff the sachets. but peggy resists. after all, she's got a cup already at her elbow.

for now, she makes do with turning one box in her hands. ] Although I feel a little put to shame. I've nothing for you. Not until Christmas.

[uprightness]

I think I'll manage. I'll take one of those tea bags sometime - that brand I rather like.

[ it was tea rather than the odd mixture of herbs that tried to pass for some here. the only thing worse than that was space's excuse for coffee. ]

Christmas isn't that far away.

[ they'll have to do something for decorations, the looks of the ship simply won't do. ]

[mucked]

[ hm. at that, she allows her nails to dimple the box -- creating little indentations. it looks as though she might pop the lid there and then... ]

Want a cuppa? [ domestic, she isn't. but peggy looks like she might genuinely relish the opportunity to simply sit and drink good tea with him.

christmas could wait. ]

[uprightness]

[ there isn't even a fraction of consideration before he nods. ]

why not - I'm not getting anywhere productive with your riddle.

[ he frowns at his notepad, as if willing to letters to rearrange themselves for his sake. ]

[mucked]

It's not a riddle -- [ she laughs as she stands, popping the lid and holding the box up to her nose so she could inhale a deep dose of the tea's scent. ] It's a code. A rather rudimentary one, actually. A simple single substitution cipher.

[ peggy puts the kettle on. ]

Need a hint?

[uprightness]

This is really encouraging.

[ he laughs, shakes his head as he looks at it, tilting his head. ]

You mean, you replaced A with a different letter and changed all the others after that?

[ what he knows, he knows from books, from hours of reading when his sickness forced him into bed rest. ]

[mucked]

Precisely so. [ child's play. and she doesn't spare his pride by hiding how easy she believes the puzzle ought to be -- nothing is much gained from coddling anyone, especially him. he excels in so much; he can suffer a bit of slip-back on this particular skill. ]

Give it a little patience. Some trial and error. You'll figure it out before the tea's done.

[ and she'll deign to give him that hint, should he require it. ]

[uprightness]

[ he eyes her with a small smile. he is reminded, suddenly, of camp lehigh, of how she had fascinated him with her curtness and her strictness coupled with a strong sort of faith. he huffs an amused yes ma'am that feels incredibly fitting for this moment.

reaching for his pencil again, he sets to work, determined to see this one through. there are scribbling and erasing of letters, one after another and a frustrated little that's not even a word before he fixes his mistake so the entire thing becomes, slowly, more sensible. ]

huh.

[ his smile is victorious. he has no doubt it took him more time to solve the thing than it took her to create this little code and yet. there is an air of surprise there, though and he turns to look at her. ]

It is a bit of a riddle, if one is expected to recognize it. I would never have taken you for an avid Shelley reader. I gotta say I like the story of how it was written more than the book itself.

[mucked]

I wouldn't call myself avid, [ she's quick to clarify. ] But my education was full and thorough. And the sentiment stuck with me.

[ if she flashes a hint of pride in her smile, then it's in his recognition of the passage. ]

Don't much care for the plot itself. It brims over with hubris.

[uprightness]

[ he thinks back to Ultron and shakes his head ]

I think I know what you mean.

[ he had seen far too many monsters for one lifetime even without the fictional ones. ]

[mucked]

I imagine you do. [ she stands near the kettle -- at alert, because it's a few seconds away from bubbling.

clearing her throat. ] But I thought I might put together a fresh code or puzzle every month. Maybe every two months. See if they get any bites.

[uprightness]

Making them harder each time - will they always be classic literature?

[ with a hint of amusement: ]

I'll have to see if the library on the Iskaulit has Moby Dick.

[mucked]

Not always. I can't stomach the predictability. [ the kettle clicks, and so she goes about the business of pouring them a pair of cups. she has a half-tea still sitting abandoned on the table, but she decides she'd rather enjoy this one with him. bad habits pervade, of course, and she steeps each cup with its own bag of tea -- only after the deed's done does she realize she ought to better ration them. it inspires a passing frown which soon disappears. ]

No, I think I'd better keep people on their toes.

[uprightness]

Well, at least this way we will all have practice if another coded message comes.

[ the kitchen is suddenly filled with the familiar scent of earl grey, a sudden reminder of home. ]

Not a bad deal for pinball.

[mucked]

[ practice is exactly her point -- and when he recognizes it as such, she smiles. part of her still feels vulnerable when he reads the fragments she leaves behind in sentences or in silences. but she needs to learn how to trust him more often with the littler things; she'd already trusted him with the big ones. ]

Depends. How many hours?