Mission 01: Action

[unspangled]

Who: Steve Rogers (AU) + Open
Broadcast: N/A
Action: On the Marsiva; Around the SS Heron
When: February 26-28; March 2, post Shuffle

[ The Marsiva ]

[ This is not the Steve Rogers you are looking for. Unsettled, in completely unfamiliar surroundings, he spends much of his time lurking in whatever corner he can find, listening in on snippets of conversations that don't involve him simply to try and figure out what happened. Where he is. He wanders what limited space there is, exploring the confines of this strange vessel, making a mental map of where things are.

He does not voluntarily initiate conversation with anyone the first day, only taking care to note where the washroom is, where the recreational areas are, where he can find food. It's not until the second day, with the same faces and same smells and the same sense of solidity that Steve lets himself believe, just a little, that this might not be a HYDRA plot. That he hasn't been captured and dragged back to Siberia for reconditioning. That this isn't a complete mindscrew. Possibly. Hopefully.

Maybe it's shortly after that potential revelation that Steve starts looking for somewhere he can get a drink. ]


[ SS Heron ]

[ And then he wakes up on a strange ship for the second time. Because nobody seems to know what moderation means. Can't a guy be kidnapped in peace? Can't he have more than a few days to get aquainted with the idea of extraterrestrials and game shows and how GOD DAMN BIG space really is? No? Well, fine then.

The confetti burst outside his door is just adding insult to injury.

Pudding isn't the worst thing he's ever eaten, though. And he can't taste anything really off about it. (Like mind-altering or sleep-inducing drugs). That's a plus. So the next logical thing to do is explore this ship. You know, in case he has to break out of it in a hurry. For reasons involving intergalactic kidnapping. And other things. ]

Comments

[unspangled]

[ He looks away for a moment, staring into space under the guise of checking his personal space perimeter. Natasha might see through it, but it's doubtful anyone else will. ]

Was he a good man?

[ And be 'he', Steve obviously means the other guy carrying his name. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[She pauses, not entirely sure how to answer that. It doesn't exactly see a trap in it, but it's complicated.

After a moment, she shrugs.]

I think so. Better than me.

[unspangled]

[ He turns back now, expression skeptical. Visibly skeptical like he's allowing her to see this particular emotion. On purpose. ]

Debatable. Word is that you got out.

[outstandingbalance]

Like to think I did. It's a process.

[And when Rogers would have met her, would have remembered her, she'd just gotten a lesson in that. She traded he KGB for SHIELD, then SHIELD for the Avengers, and finally left the Avengers for whatever she was doing now.

Hard not to see the shades of grey there, morally speaking.]

[unspangled]

Everything is a process.

[ He remembers some things, a first-hand experience that only a few people would, like being sent after the only Black Widow to get out. He remembers almost all of his kills. He remembers the collateral damage too.

Where his immediate word was once shades of grey because HYDRA only allowed him monotone crayons to color in his world, he's starting to eschew the middle of the spectrum for each end. To narrow his focus a little. Black. White. Good. Bad.

To skim the surface of how deeply he fell. ]

You're a good opponent, [ he finally adds. Although Steve isn't sure, exactly, what he means by it. ]

[outstandingbalance]

Must be. If I weren't, doubt I'd have survived facing off against the Winter Soldier three times.

[But here she is. Might be luck as much as skill, and the fact that she hadn't been his—or Barnes'—primary target in Odessa.]

And you're not wrong about that. At least as long as we're still alive.

[unspangled]

Yes, I suppose. [ He huffs out something between amusement and a sigh. ] Being alive is the more important part.

[outstandingbalance]

It's a good start. [Spoken with the air of someone who's done some less than savory things to stay alive. And she knows it. But here they both are.]

I should probably let you settle in, but if you have any questions I'm around.

[unspangled]

It's a start. [ Jury's out on if it's a good thing. ] Yeah, I should. Keep exploring. I'll let you know if something ... if questions come up.

[outstandingbalance]

[All things considered, Natasha will call that a success for first contacts; she'll stop while she's ahead.

Even if she's not sure she believes him, it's not really about if he means it now.]