driftfleet | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: The Vision
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The Caprine
When: At the Shuffle, evening of the 20th

[He doesn't appear immediately on the Caprine, of course. First he's rudely deposited onto the hospitality deck of the Marsiva, but although he grasps the reality of the situation quickly enough it takes some time to process it all - the uncovered memories of his time here, the juxtaposition of his new situation with the events at home, and then a crushing disappointment as he scans over his newly-acquired communicator and realizes he can't put in a transfer to the Windrose, because his ship doesn't seem to exist anymore.

So that's how it's going to be.

He figures it won't be long before he's assigned to a new ship, and sure enough he's popped over to the Caprine in all his maroon-skinned android glory. He shakes the confetti off and pulls up a video broadcast.]

Good evening, members of the Fleet. I am the Vision, recently of twenty-first century Earth and one of the Avengers, if that means anything to anyone. [Yes, he's still technically an Avenger, even if he's been a bit AWOL lately.] If there's anyone here who knows me, I'd like very much to know that you're here, and please don't hesitate to ask me if you'd like anything from me. I seem to be on the Caprine this time around.

[And then he looks a little wistful.

Does anyone know how long it's been since I was here last? It's been two years for me subjectively, but I'm aware that often has little to do with time passing in the Fleet. I was on the Windrose. [Captain of it, in fact.]

Thank you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That I would readily believe. Their inconsistency with regards to powers is something to behold. [Does he need better ratings to be able to phase through a hull? Are they saving it for when he needs better ratings? How does the ratings system actually work, anyway?]

Actually, it has nothing important on it at the moment. Better now than ever. [He offers it out to her.]

[She takes it, still looking unsure.] We can probably get it working again but there's a chance it won't. I mean, assuming I do short it out. Are you sure?

I think it would be better to know now than to have it happen by accident and learn then. I can live without a communicator for a short time if it breaks, and I've always itched to take one apart regardless.

Okay, just remember you said that. [She sets it down on a table before slowly waving a hand through it.] Feels normal. [In as much as she feels anything while doing it. Solid once more, she picks it up and tries to turn it on, but the screen stays dark.]

I have defeated it. [She says while handing it back to him.]

[The Vision bites back a laugh, having expected something a little more dramatic.]

And this happens with most electronics, normally? [He pokes at the communicator a bit.] Power supply, I think. Shall we head to Engineering next?

[In comic it probably would have been drawn with little jagged bolts of electricity around it but something this small and portable doesn't really have the same level of spectacle that something still connected to greater power source would have provided.] To destroy it too? When will my reign of terror end?

But yeah, that's pretty normal. Sometimes sparks or small fires depending on what it is and how connected it is.

Goodness, no. To see if there are any spare parts for it. It should be a simple fix, I think. [If that's where spare parts are still kept, anyway. Perhaps the communications officer he has yet to meet has some if not?]

That could be priceless as a sabotage mechanism in the right circumstance. Though I imagine it's accidentally caused some heavy repair bills as well.

That's too bad. I was really excited about embracing my new life of crime. [She smiles at him, happy to walk that way.]

It has sparked some heated problems a time or two. [Beware the puns.] But you should see me take down a sentinel.

[He snorts. Those puns are so bad even he understands them.]

Remind me what a sentinel is to you, again?

Giant robots built to kill mutants.

The human high counsel sends them over and doesn't bother programming to tell the difference between the mutants trying to enslave and kill them and the mutants trying to stop them.

Edited 2018-08-01 19:40 (UTC)

[His step actually falters a bit at that.]

Like my creator, then, only he was against all of humanity and not only ones born with slightly different genetics. [Yeah, he still thinks of the mutants as humans, because to him "human" is a broader classification.]

Edited 2018-08-01 19:47 (UTC)

[She won't correct him. From a certain perspective it doesn't require correcting. He did make a distinction which is enough for her at this point.] Maybe so though these don't often have much autonomy. I don't know much about your creator.

Ah, less so, then. Still, it's a shame robots were used for such an evil purpose in your timeline. It's difficult enough to try to convince people I'm trustworthy as it is.

[Grump grump. Although he doesn't actually seem upset, because he's back on what's become of his ship with friends he'd never remembered he had. Right.]

I don't suppose there have been any upgrades to Engineering available?

You're obviously trustworthy and anyone who doesn't get that has their own issues to work through. [She smiles at him and then that next question MELTS IT RIGHT OFF HER FACE! Not literally.]

...Technically. [She doesn't like where this is going.]

[Oh no, that's not the reaction he wanted to see!]

What's wrong, Kitty? Are they problematic somehow?

[He can only imagine....]

[This isn't the first time she's explained it and last time it was someone new on the ship and didn't want to make her uncomfortable and now it's someone returned who she cares about and respects and doesn't want to seem unreasonable. She knows there's a futility to this fight, but it's one she can't quite give up. Just because she's facing an intractable enemy doesn't mean she shouldn't try to hold some kind of line against them. This is hers even if others don't agree or understand.]

Those upgrades don't just change the ship. They change us as engineers. As people. [She's not sure that's enough to make her point, but she isn't sure this is even something he knows since they are newer introductions.]

Ah.

[That's significantly different from the ship upgrades. If it affects the augment directly rather than just the components, it's not terribly different from changing augments in the first place - but that doesn't mean he can't see why Kitty would be worried. Rather, as someone who's had his own head tinkered with by several different people, he understands it better than she might think.]

You worry it might affect more than simply your engineering skills, then.

[Yes, Atroma can do this to them at any time, but it takes a certain amount of devil-may-care attitude for someone to actually give their consent to it. Not something anyone with more than a casual attitude toward powers would be jumping at the chance to do, in his experience.]

No... Not exactly, but how do you really separate those things? It's all in my head and part of who I am. I know I can't stop them from shoving things in there or suppressing things, but I don't have have to give them permission either. [But this isn't soley her permission to grant or deny. It feels almost as wrong to tell Vision he can't do it as it does for her to do it herself. Not really fair to the crew either when it could be life or death later. Maybe even because of this conversation just to make better TV. But she still hopes he won't knowing how she feels.]

[He nods. He does, at least, seem to be taking her warning seriously. Upgrades might be tempting, but--in so many ways, he's already proven he can adapt and change to situations on his own merit. Does he really need Atroma facilitating that?]

Much like I'm unable to separate how much of me is unique to myself and not an influence of one of my creators, or of the Mind Stone. [He taps the yellow gem in his forehead and it flares briefly.] Would I still be me without any of those components? Would I still be me if I added in something else?

[She nods. Obviously, she came together in a different way. It took a lot longer for one. She likes to think there is still some core unique traits that make her undeniably her, but she's also an amalgamation of everything she has experienced and learned. She's the way she is because of her parents, the X-Men, the people she's fought, and the people she's loved. There's always more building her up and evolving her but getting these sudden downloads of information doesn't feel right to her. It's not something she wants to choose or to have done to her without her permission.]

I don't know.

Back in Marina there were times when they would alter our memories for a day—adding, subtracting, and changing. I still felt like me at the time, but I'd make choices I wouldn't normally have made. It could really screw things up once everything was back to what passed for normal and hurt other people who counted on me being a certain kind of way.

We're always changing. I just want to get there on my own. Wherever there is.

That must have been terrible for you. Here we call it an augment "glitch", but that was deliberate on their parts?

[The Fleet may have its problems, but at least it's better than that.]

Then we'll just have to research ways to do that without the augment upgrades. If I could see the data beforehand, I wouldn't mind, but as you say--

[He smiles a little.]

Let's find a way to get there on our own.

Sometimes they said it was a malfunction. Sometimes it was deliberate in hopes of helping with our rehabilitation. Somehow. I think it was probably always intentional. I think it is here too. [She doesn't have a lot of faith in their captors, but she figures their devices work a lot better than they seem to.] Probably great for ratings.

[She's relieved when Vision sounds moved by her plea. There's still those feelings of guilt over wanting to protect herself, possibly over the added protection of the crew, but like he said, maybe they can find their own way.]

Thank you. Really.

[He snorts and speaks with a dry tone.] Though I can't say if torturing us for money is at all better than for their own purposes, at least one of those is a motivation I'm entirely familiar with.

[He loves humanity, okay, but sometimes there are just douchebags.]

I trust your judgment, Kitty. Especially in a situation I've been gone from for this long.

Edited 2018-09-07 16:06 (UTC)

I don't know if there's any justification for something like this. Maybe if we were all like me—out of chances back home. But most of you aren't.

[She hopes his faith is well placed. All the more reason to bulk up the ship in other ways.] I was thinking maybe we should work on some weapons or defensive capabilities for the ship that extend beyond Atroma technology. That way we have greater control over it. Especially when we don't have a security officer.

[~~yes well, only because he's not from the end of the movie~~] A reason and a good reason are two different things, naturally.

I like the idea. [Though it's still slightly unreal that Wrath isn't here anymore.] And I have many of Tony Stark's designs stored; we could see what is and isn't adaptable with the materials at hand.