driftfleet | ★ 1 | ACTION ★

Entry tags:

★ 1 | ACTION ★

Who: Bucky!Cap Barnes
Action: Throughout the Marsiva holding area
When: Feb 15-17-ish

[Bucky is new. He's new, and confused, and he figures the best way to get answers is to go find them. For better or worse, there's not a whole lot of space in which to find them, since he's limited to the same holding area as the rest of the passengers, but on the plus side, given that everyone else is confined to the same area, he's more likely to run into said passengers. When he spots someone who looks like they might be amenable to talking, he's very likely to approach.

For the most part, the faces are not familiar; he wanders the living area and the kitchen (where he's likely to stop and get some coffee, thank God that seems to exist here). He pokes his head into the bathroom and gym, too, and of course actually makes use of the former to take a shower on a regular basis. The gym he doesn't so much use as inspect and note; he's still too wary of where he is for anything resembling recreation, and thanks to the serum, he doesn't actually need to do much in the way of regular training to keep himself up. Maybe later.

Mostly, what will strike people is the fact that his face looks like the Bucky Barnes already on board, if you've managed to get a good look at that, but his hair is cropped short and his face is clean-shaven and his left arm is definitely not metal. All he's got to wear is the dark blue STRIKE uniform (sans helmet and shield) that looks - to some people, probably - like it should belong on Steve Rogers instead.]

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I won't disagree with that assessment.

[He smiles lightly and offers for Bucky to sit down nearby. Everything else aside, his body language bears almost no similarity to the Winter Soldier's, and that will be more than enough to tell them apart.]

I'm from a version of your future, yes. The last date I had was 2018, though it's been nearly three years on and off for me here. Have you had the timelines explanation yet?

[Hopefully? Yes. And also hopefully? He's already spoken to Natasha, who's always been better at handling this sort of thing.]

[Bucky returns the smile, and it's easy to sit as directed, even if not so easy to wrap his head around the rest of what he hears.

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, eyes on the Vision, clearly paying attention and doing his best to process.] I've heard there are people here from different ones, yeah, if that's what you mean.

I know Romanoff's not the Romanoff I know. [He pauses.] Steve, too.

I'm guessing I'm not the version of me you know.

That, my friend, is where it becomes complicated.

[Because, if nothing else--look how easily he tosses "friend" out there.]

When I first arrived here, a lifetime ago by my own standards, there was a man who called himself Jim--James Buchanan Barnes. He had fought HYDRA and led the Howling Commandos in World War II, and lost his friend Steve Rogers from a train in the high mountains. They called him Captain America, and when he found his friend again after many decades, Steve Rogers was called the Winter Soldier.

[He taps the arm of his chair thoughtfully.] Does that sound at least somewhat familiar to you?

[Honestly, the use of the word doesn't bother Bucky. There's no wariness or animosity in the Vision, only straightforward acceptance. It's nice, for a change. And at least it gets him the story straight, as best he can tell.

That story is... well. It's not entirely right. But it's not entirely wrong.] Kind of, [Bucky agrees. His lips quirk, though:] I don't go by Jim. And I didn't get promoted to Cap until Steve fell. I was Steve's second-in-command.

[And,] If my Steve's the Winter Soldier, he hasn't surfaced yet. To my knowledge. [Now there's a part of him that, knowing this, based on what Steve and now Vision has told him, wants to tear his way out of this spaceship and find his way home and corner Natasha and demand to know what she knows. She must know something - if anybody knows anything, it would be her. Her, or Fury.

[His hands grip each other tighter, between his knees, before he forces them to relax.] You can call me Bucky. Or Barnes. Or Cap, I guess. [But it's weird to be called that, when Steve is walking around.]

How long was he here? The - Jim?

[It's an easy word to use; out of all of the various individuals named James Buchanan Barnes, they had all, in one way or another, been his friend. (Or at least he hopes the current Winter Soldier will be. It's a work in progress.)]

Thank you. It's good to have clarification. [His eyes unfocus for a moment, thinking.] Then you may not yet know a man named Sam Wilson? When the time comes that you meet him, your Winter Soldier will not be far behind--if events track as they did in my timeline.

[And then his eyes refocus; he smiles a bit.] Several months at least, perhaps a bit less than a year? He became ship's captain of the Heron, and his successor was the Bucky that called himself Winter. I may stick with 'Barnes' for you, if you don't mind overmuch. It's a bit messy.

--I can only imagine that if we truly do have an audience, you're very popular with them. I'm the only one of myself that's been here.

[Bucky shakes his head.] No, I haven't met him. But that's - thanks. That's good to know. [It is, in as much as he can prepare for that. And... fuck, he's gotta prepare for that. He can feel guilty all he wants, but that's no excuse for not doing everything he can to be ready for if and when that happens. If his Steve is alive, then Bucky will be damned if he won't save him.]

Barnes is fine, I don't mind, [he confirms, a little wryly.] It is messy. I mean - hell, this whole situation is messy. [But Vision might be right - which is hella weird to think about, being popular with some unknown audience.] I'm not sure whether that's gonna be a good thing or a bad thing for me, but I'm not planning on letting it change what I do.

[Because he's not really excited about being a prisoner, even if the odds of escape aren't looking good.]

Can I ask... what you are? [He looks a little subdued.] Is that rude?

[quietly] I wish you success. It is not an easy journey.

[But he lightens up at the question, and from the little sparkle he gets in his eyes it's not unwelcome at all.] Not at all. I'm an android. [We'll just assume for a moment that Bucky actually knows the term.] If you recall, Mr. Stark had an artificial intelligence acting as his assistant at the tower in New York? [One who might sound familiar, in fact; the Vision had directly modeled his voice after JARVIS.] He got combined with a more advanced program and downloaded into a vibranium-enhanced body, and I am the result.

[Bucky doesn't respond verbally to the first statement, but the look in his eyes and on his face - quiet gratitude and determination - should hopefully say what he doesn't, out loud: Thanks. I know.

And as for the rest - he does know what an android is (mostly) and he nods when Vision mentions JARVIS - yeah, he hasn't missed the way Vision's voice sounds eerily similar, but it's just not a leap he might have made - in that way - on his own. His eyebrows rise; he's clearly impressed.] Huh. That's... [Weird? Amazing? Crazy? Cool?]

And now you're an Avenger, [he says - just reiterating it. He doesn't sound disappointed.] Is that what you wanted to be? [Because... he has no idea how all this happened, but he might be thinking it might have been with a purpose, rather than with the intent of giving the android options.]

[It's a lot to take in--all of it is, from the Fleet to people from Bucky's future to the Vision's android origins. The first few days in the Fleet can be like that, as he well remembers. And to have Calibrations on top of that--well. He hopes those, at least, will go easy on the new arrival.

He nods decisively.] Actually, yes. I have a great deal of fondness for humanity, and I'd like to help them as much as I'm able. As often as not, that means responding to threats.

[And then his expression softens.] Though there's less of that here, to be sure. In the Fleet, I'm the Engineering officer on the Twin Roses, one of the smaller ships. You'll be assigned to one as well once we're off the Host Ship. The only other Avenger with me there is Wanda Maximoff, if you've met her.

[Bucky does relax a little, at that - the fact that the Vision seems to have been able to make the choice, and is happy with it, matters a lot.] That is true, [he admits. Truer than he'd like, to be sure.] Not everyone would choose to do that with their life.

[So: Consider yourself good in his book, pretty much.]

I haven't, [he says, of Wanda.] Honestly... there seem to be a lot of Avengers here. [A pause.] Which is probably as glowing a review of this place's security as you're gonna get.

[Meaning: If the Avengers have not managed to break out, this place must be seriously hard to escape. He doesn't like that, but,] What's the motivation? For working. Does shit fall apart if we don't?

Edited 2019-02-21 00:06 (UTC)

No. But when we surround ourselves with those who do, it becomes only natural.

[He snorts. It's true, though really as a whole the Avengers are better at punching things than figuring out complex plans. Thor had, it's true, learned some valuable information by trying to punch his way out of the Marsiva, but as of yet that information hadn't led to an actual escape plan.] You're not wrong. The majority of the passengers come from some version of Earth, and often are from around the early twenty-first century. But there are others from entirely different worlds as well; some have magic or technology far more advanced than ours, and others have very little at all. The augments allow us all to know how things work here.

[Continuing the thought, he nods.] Yes. Once we're off the host ship, we're split into groups of, oh, about four to ten people and we're given smaller ships to crew. For the most part, they're self-maintained, but--if your ship has no Security officer, there are no weapons. No Pilot means you are trapped in an autopilot routine, no shields without an Engineer, and so on. We maintain them because they are our homes now, and no one desires a malfunctioning life support system. We use our funds to upgrade them so there are more shuttles or hot water or things to eat that aren't protein gel.

Or, in my case, I spend my funds on those things to help the rest of my crew feel more comfortable. I do not need to eat, you understand.

[Bucky lets out a soft laugh, at that.] I guess it does. [He did spend most of his life with Steve, after all. He can appreciate that sentiment.

He definitely considers what he hears, nodding with a more serious expression on his face.] So there are measures in place when people can't perform a function, but they're limited, [he concludes. To him, that sounds like someone wants to keep them relatively busy - but then again, busy people aren't people with a whole lot of extra time to plan escapes and revolts. And he can also understand the rest of it - working hard to make your home a better place. It's just... this isn't home, and that still bothers him. It's probably always going to bother him, and he might never stop looking for a way out.

But he does also understand the necessity of working with what you have, and focusing on what's in front of you. He gets the idea of waiting for your moment.

So I'm gonna be sent to a ship, when all this, [he waves at the common area where they're currently all trapped] is over. [Just making sure he's got the story straight.] And no one's... suffering, even with all the extra information jammed into their heads? I mean, this might be way off, but it seems like it'd be a little more par for the course for you - it's definitely weird as hell for me.

[He nods, agreeing with the first part of the statement. It certainly does help keep him from getting too bored, but then, he's also got the kind of mind that can focus on more than one thing at a time.

And, well. In so many ways, it is his home now. Not something he wants to try to explain to someone he's just met (sort of). Perhaps further along the lines, once Bucky knows him better.]

Yes, we're each assigned to a ship. Though don't be too concerned; you can always transfer to be closer to someone or to fill a vacant position, if you wish.

[And he tilts his head to one side, considering.]

Truthfully? It doesn't take long to acclimate to the day-to-day aspects of it all. Individuals may be taken aback when we encounter some of the stranger aspects, such as a large space station or a planet with bizarre features or some of the several species of aliens native to this sector. But as far as suffering--no. Not in my experience.

[Bucky hums at that - well, at least their assignments aren't permanent or completely out of their hands, though he does have to wonder if that ends up leaving ships in the lurch. It must work out all right, though, or he feels like someone might have mentioned... Or, at least, he hopes someone would have said something, but he can't rely on it any more than he can pretend his mind doesn't latch onto certain options, if he can request where he goes.

He does make a sound that's almost like a laugh, because,] Well. People can get used to just about anything, whether it's strange or not, [he says wryly.] I guess the question is whether it's a good idea for them to get used to it or not.

Either way, it's good to hear it's not, y'know. Giving anyone brain damage. I guess that'd sure make the ratings take a hit.

Do we, uh, stop at space stations and planets often?

[Oh, if Bucky mentions it, the Vision will be happy to tell him all about the giant kickass laser cannon he and Kitty built when their ship had been without a Security officer for a few months.]

Humanity is very adaptable. It's one of the aspects I like most about you; it speaks well to your ability to survive and thrive as a species.

[His mouth twitches. No, his experiences with the other Buckys have given him enough of a taste of brain damage, thank you very much.]

It varies a bit, but it's approximately a two-month schedule: we drift for a week or two, followed by four to seven weeks at a destination. Occasionally we'll drift longer, but you should have ample opportunity to walk in the light of a distant star.

[Bucky huffs a small laugh:] I guess that is true, yeah.

[He nods, though, making note of the schedule, such as it is.] You'd think that planets would be farther apart, [he murmurs dryly, although - well. What does he know? He's got zero experience traveling through space.]

Honestly, I'm less concerned with starlight and more concerned with threats. [His smile is wry, but a little tight.] You probably get that, though.

[He blows out a breath.] And if I'm here, then I'll work with what I have. [Which sounds like a good group of people... even if they don't really know him. That's... gonna be the weirdest part.] Thanks. For the information. Kinda feels like waking up in the future all over again, if I'm honest.

In fact, I have several theories about that. I'd be happy to expound on them at length, but they boil down to this: it's most likely our "drift" phases take place in a faster-than-light mode of travel. [Most people don't have the physics knowledge necessary for his full explanation, but he's happy to try anyway. It's a thing.]

Understandably so. Threats are relatively uncommon, but have come in both ship-to-ship and hand-to-hand varieties. What I've done is made sure my own shipmates are prepared to handle whatever we may come across, then coordinated with other ships as necessary. You may at the very least count upon the Twin Roses for any support you require; it's likely Natasha on the Vanquish will do the same. [Yes, he just voluntold his own ship for that. Some habits die hard--but he doesn't think Captain Kitty will object.

At that next observation, though, he smiles gently.] You're most welcome, Captain Barnes. The difference here, I think, is that it's foreign to all of us upon arrival. Each and every one of us has experienced this kind of disorientation. It's nothing more than kindness paid forward to help new arrivals.

[Bucky considers this; he also considers the likelihood that he might like to hear some of those theories.

That likelihood is actually not zero, but he can also accept the explanation he gets, for the time being. It seems reasonable enough, as far as anything can be.] Guess that makes sense. I mean, how else are you gonna get anywhere. It's a big universe.

[The rest, though - the automatic offer of backup, it means a lot. And Bucky actually looks a little relieved at that. He will take the Vision at his word - for the most part. He'll have backup plans, as soon as he knows enough to even make them, but the possibility of assistance pretty much never goes amiss.] That's - thanks. I appreciate it. I guess I'll just have to see where I end up.

[He does grin a little.] I mean, I know that if you've got Steve already that no resource is going to go someplace it's not best suited. [That does make him feel better than anything, really, regardless of whether Steve is in charge of anything. He generally seems to just end up that way, even if he didn't start out that way.]

And I appreciate the kindness. In general. [He glances around again, as if just really taking it all in.] Maybe by the next time someone new shows up, I'll know enough to do the same.

And if you need anything you think I can offer... just ask. [He means it. This is his job. This is his life. And being here hasn't changed that.]

Indeed. [Oh, he'll be happy to go into entirely too much detail, just say the word.]

Do let me know once you're assigned and we can plan accordingly. [And then he gets a smirk.] Although I will note that Captain Rogers has not been here very long; he has less control over resource allocation than you might imagine.

[He stands up and reaches out to give Bucky a firm handshake.] It would be my pleasure.

[He just might, down the line.

Bucky laughs a little, softly.] Yeah, the thing about Steve, though, is that he doesn't really have to be in control of anything for him to kinda take control anyway. I got some stories.

[But - maybe later. For now, he nods, looking pleasantly satisfied.] Yeah - I will. I'll let you know.

[He shakes, and smiles.] I'm sure I'll see you around.

I--would like to hear those stories, actually. [He blinks, surprised to admit it to himself.] I imagine they're rather different than the propaganda would have us believe.

I'm certain I will see you as well. Good luck, my friend.

[And he'll leave.]

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★ 1 | ACTION ★

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