driftfleet | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: the Vision and YOU
Broadcast: Video
Action: On Lyndia
When: Video is now, action through the duration of the system

[Video Broadcast]

[The video clicks on to a tunnel opening up to a spectacular cavern with what looks like a lava waterfall, casting an orange-red light onto the surroundings even though it's fairly distant. After a good long moment, the view swings back to the tunnel where a few sparkling rocks are embedded in the gray stone walls.]

I'm pleased to report that one can indeed find diamonds down in the lower mines, though they tend to appear rather close to lava flows. I'd advise caution if you'd like to seek them out, but I am reliably told the natives will craft them into a number of tools for you if you can acquire them.

[There's a brief hissing sound from behind the camera, and he quickly sets it down. The sounds of a scuffle and a high-pitched screech are heard, and after a moment he picks it back up again.]

Ah, and do watch out for the cave spiders if you traverse this deep. They're rather large.

[Action throughout the month]

[The Vision doesn't spend all of his time looking for underground treasures, of course. This is a great planet for some flying, especially when it means checking out some staggeringly giant trees and looking for novel fruits to bring home for testing, or gathering wood for various construction projects. There's also all of the neat tech to be found in the populated areas underground, so he can also be found shopping for upgrades, new media for the library, spare parts, and of course creature comforts. Maybe they even have some donut powder! And since it's been so very long, he can even be found at the water park wearing a ridiculous little yellow Speedo and looking like he's thoroughly enjoying the screaming crowds of young people on inflatable tubes.

Lastly, for those few who might remember, his birthday was officially set as May 16th last time he was in the Fleet, and it's quickly approaching....]

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Oh, so it's part scientific study, and part spider killing stress relief.

[That's admitting a little more than he'd like, but the Vision has shown a great amount of discretion in their conversations thus far. He doesn't think that's going to change now.]

I'd like a little more weight to it, to be honest, but that was the trade off for a metal I could maintain without special equipment. [He flips the knife over in his hand, over to the other hand, and back to the first.] Not as smooth as I'd like, but practice makes perfect.

I always find it beneficial to work science into my pursuits.

[He gets a bit of a smile at the knife-work. It's always been fascinating to him how some people handle weapons like extensions of themselves, as someone who doesn't tend to use weapons at all.]

What would you think of a plasma blade? We had several people with those, once. Or would you have to handle it to be sure?

[He's specifically thinking of Wrath with her sword, but he has to admit they've had a few Jedi with lightsabers as well. He'd quietly geeked out about it.]

I’ll keep that in mind.

[There are people who would turn that into some kind of innuendo. He’s not one of them. But his companion raises an interesting question, one he can actually answer in more depth than is probably desired.]

I’d want to handle it first, learn its feel and how it feels to me. Too many people think that the blade is the weapon, and such things interchangeable. It’s not; the person is the weapon. The blade or gun or whatever is just an extension of the body.

[In his eyes it’s easy to see people who believe — and embody — such versus those who do not.]

[It's a good answer, and the Vision actually seems engaged and interested in the response.]

No, I can understand that it's the skill behind it that draws a line. You can I could hold the same blade, and one of us could kill a spider with it in milliseconds while the other would take full seconds at least. [Your friendly neighborhood android really isn't great with knives.]

Plasma provides an interesting challenge, I think. It's so light as to be nearly weightless, yet it can melt or vaporize most materials on contact. Your expectations of material resistance would be significantly altered. ["Like a hot knife through synthetic butter", Wrath had said.] But it would need to be recharged every so often, being an energy weapon.

Just means that one of us needs a little more practice. [Preferably not the way he'd gotten it, but he does note with some interest that his companion doesn't prefer knives. Something to keep in mind maybe, in that his mind can't help but catalog advantages and weaknesses.

Plasma sounds interesting though — and not without its own drawbacks.]

That sounds interesting, definitely something I'd be willing to try. With a couple modifications, since it doesn't sound like I'll be rolling the flat of a blade like that across the back of my hand.

I prefer defensive fighting, if it comes to that. A pity that's not always a realistic option.

[And if this is giving Bucky a little more information about his strengths and weaknesses? Well, it's not entirely unknown for the Atroma to cause issues with people who aren't even Winter Soldiers. Having someone besides Wanda who could take him down isn't a bad thing. He doesn't want to have to ask her for that.]

Not if you were overly concerned with keeping the hand in working condition, no. [He pauses slightly.] I could build one, I think.

Speaking of options, how good a sniper are you?

[Which is totally a normal question to ask, right? Right.]

Already been through the whole hand and arm replacement thing once. Don’t think I’d want a repeat. [It’s not exactly easy to mention it, but it’s also pretty obvious to anyone looking at him that his left arm isn’t natural. No sense in pretending otherwise.] A pet project perhaps?

[He shrugs.] I am better at programming automated weapons systems than using them myself. My skill level is equivalent to the targeting system; consequently, I am not what you would consider a prodigy, which seems to be necessary in the sorts of scraps we get ourselves into. Clint Barton is our distance man.

[You know, when he's not under house arrest. And also not fighting his friends, which put him under house arrest in the first place.]

Given that I've improved my ship as much as I can, I must find some way to keep occupied during our drifting segments. Forging diamond tools will only take so long.

Damn. [It's muttered quietly, though the next question comes a little louder.] And hand-to-hand?

[Because this is a totally normal conversation to have with one's compatriots, right? Especially while looking for giant spiders?]

I suppose having a project does help pass the time. [He spends most of his time working out, training, or reading. But he knows those sorts of activities don't appeal to everyone.] If you do manage it successfully I'd be interested in seeing the results.

Oh, I far prefer that. My style is a hybrid of hand-to-hand and aerial support. Being able to change my own density means I can throw quite the punch.

[Maybe he'll get a chance to demonstrate on a poor unfortunate spider, if one of them is dumb enough to attack him.

...And reading would be more of a hobby if it took him longer than a few milliseconds to consume any given book.]

Oh, certainly. My ship hasn't much in the way of weapons experts any longer, I'm afraid. What good would a knife be without some experimental data?

Even against someone you considered a friend?

[Where are all the spiders anyway? They're suspiciously absent, which means either they heard the two of them coming, or there's a potentially larger predator around these parts. He kind of hopes it's the second.

And stop being an overachiever, Vision. Take at least a dozen milliseconds to savor the book.]

I don't know what kind of data you'd be looking for, because I don't think the way I handle knives is very normal. But you can count me in.

[He's quiet for a moment.] No one's told you about Germany, then? Yes, if it were necessary, though I wouldn't like it. I'd like for it not to be necessary.

[But things don't always turn out the way they'd like, do they?]

"Normal" is an outlier in a situation like this, you understand. Every resident of the Fleet is remarkable in one way or another. Data, however, is data.

No. But I also don't talk to half of the people from our world. [It's just a fact. Conversations with people he's "supposed" to know rarely go well.] Perhaps I should just ask plainly instead of talking around it: if I were to be triggered, can I trust you not to hesitate in an attempt to stop me? To skip the foolish ideas of "saving" and go right for the kill?

[Things absolutely do not turn out the way they'd like. But this certainly isn't the first time he's dealt with such feelings, and he doubts it'll be the last.]

I suppose you're right. In that case if you'd like data for how I handle weapons, I suppose I could oblige you.

That is understandable. [Regrettable, perhaps, but--he deserves a chance to figure out who he is, without it being shaped completely by the expectations of others.

Though the continuation of the thought provokes a visibly surprised reaction. He's silent for a moment, considering.]

I understand the request and I respect it. I--could try. But, frankly, you're a better fighter than I am. It might not be successful.

[He purses his lips.] If I had Wanda with me, yes, the two of us would be able to easily overpower you. But it also wouldn't be necessary to go for a lethal blow in that case, because she can use her ability to act as a restraint.

[He just shrugs. It's no secret that he's not comfortable around most of the others. It's no one person's fault of course, unless it's his own. But at the same time he refuses to be shamed for wanting to be his own person, and not the construct someone else's imagination.

He does note the surprise though, and tries to decide if it is surprising to him. The Vision has always seemed a logical sort though, so he chalks it up to the turn of conversation being unexpected more than the request.]

I suppose that's all I could ask. [That someone — someone he'd almost say he trusts — would try. He'd hoped for an affirmative, trusting in the Vision to know how dangerous an unleashed Winter Soldier could be, but he hadn't anticipated the other man being so frank about his comparative ability.

He also hadn't anticipated him mentioning Wanda.] I suppose then I will have to ask her as well. But I don't trust that our captors don't have plans to set that part of me loose.

[It's the closest thing to trust he could expect from the man, actually, and it feels oddly flattering - in that way that asking someone to kill you is flattering. Things are complicated sometimes.]

It would probably upset her to be asked, frankly, but better to deal with that now than if something were to happen and be unprepared for it. You are--not wrong to think that it is within the realm of possibility.

[Which is all he's going to say about that, except to grimace. They don't have the same kind of medical team here now that they had back then....]

[At least he's not asking for help killing himself, which is a thing that exists in some cultures.]

I know it's possible. I was told it's happened before. [He doesn't have all the details, but he doesn't really need them. Just knowing it's possible, and knowing what he's capable of doing, is enough.] I know it's likely to be an uncomfortable conversation for her. I wouldn't want to put either of you in this position, but I don't trust our captors. And I know exactly what I can do, and how I can be used.

[It's not a comfortable thought, knowing how easily he could decimate his own crewmates, how he could be turned against others in the Fleet. But it is a necessary thought, because it could happen.]

[Goodness, yes, who would ever do a thing like that ~~oh wait it him~~.]

Yes. [He sighs, also not elaborating.] And I do trust her more than I trust the Atroma, at the very least. Enough so that the benefits of having her by my side in a fight would outweigh the very real risks. [Having someone like that, who's both his weakness and his strength, is complex. But he doesn't even need to think about it in this situation: it would absolutely be worth it.]

[WHO INDEED?!?]

I would hope it'd never come to needing such action. But I also don't know how realistic such a hope is, especially given what we've seen in this place.

[The fact of the matter is that things are sadly, unpredictable, and he can't trust his own brain. And there are very few people in the Fleet that he'd trust as being both willing and able to stop him, should it come to that worst case scenario. There are even fewer he would ask.]

'Never' is too long a time to make promises. Not about their actions, at any rate.

[He smiles tentatively.]

But I will make a promise about my own. I will pay whatever price is necessary to protect the innocent, whether that price is in my own blood or that of my friends.

Exactly.

[He's not sure this is something to smile about, but there is something about feeling that he can trust the Vision with something so serious that reassures him, just a little bit. He's still not at all comfortable with the Fleet (or indeed in his own skin) but it's better than nothing.]

We are agreed in that at least. I know what I am capable of; I would prefer those skills be used for good, not ill.

I understand.

And I hope it's a choice we never have to make.

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