01 | All lies and jests; still a man hears what he wants to hear

[sinistral]

WHO: the Winter Soldier (sinistral) and you
WHERE: Calibrations waiting room, calibration room, and network
WHAT: midway through the Calibrations cycle, the Agrii decided they needed another victim "he row"
WHEN: 06/28 through 07/10
WARNINGS: Literally every calibration room prompt will have elements of violence and torture (physical and mental).

---

SECRET TUNNEL
→ Waiting Room;

This is complete bullshit. Complete. Bullshit. The Soldier has strong feelings as it is about waking up in a place entirely different from where he'd gone to sleep. It had happened far too much in his life and invariably makes him tense and irritable; between HYDRA and the Atroma — and apparently these Agrii now — he's just done.

The tunnel looks nothing like the Marsiva or the other ships of the Fleet but has him on guard regardless. He's pretty sure they'd escaped that imprisonment, won their way free of the Atroma. Certainly he's seen no evidence of them in the year since. But perhaps they'd gotten too lax in their freedom, in the rush of exploration and enjoyment of each other's company.

It's possible anyway.

Still, he can't focus on that right now, and certainly attempting to break out hadn't worked. Had the impact of a metal fist against the wall woken anyone? Potentially not, if this really is like the Calibrations he remembers, the way sleepers couldn't be woken once they'd drifted off. Or perhaps people will hear it and come looking. Doesn't much matter to him and he gives it up quickly enough when he sees that it's not doing any good anyway.

Well, whatever.

After a last glare at the tunnel he returns to the interior chamber and proceeds to go over every inch of it. Under the Atroma, it was impossible to escape the Calibrations area until those beings decided their time was up. If this really is modeled after that there'll be no escape, but he still intends to make sure. Perhaps some detail has been overlooked.

→ Calibrations Room;

The room itself is plain, utilitarian. The walls might be grey, or a grimy institutional beige. The only furnishings are a large glass-and-metal tubular chamber in the corner and a metal table in the center of the room with a single lightbulb hanging above it; an old incandescent bulb sheds yellowy light on the surface of the table and not much further.

On the table rests a sniper rifle, a combat knife, and a mouthguard. There appears to be no one in residence.

NETWORK
→ Text;

The Drift Fleet. Atroma. Calibrations. If you know what I'm talking about, speak up.

[That's it that's the message.]

WILDCARD
→ Elsewhere;

Want something else? Have an idea? Hit me up at sometimesamuse or via PM. Open to wherever, whatever, and though I write starters in prose I'm more than happy to switch to brackets if it's your preference.

Comments

[sinistral]

Was looking more for others who had first hand experience.

[backoff]

No specification on the directory. Only stated if you knew what you are talking about. I do. All I want to know is if you ever saw the Atroma or did they always remain unseen.

[sinistral]

But you weren't a member of the Fleet?

[backoff]

No, I asked someone when they mentioned they have been through this before. I got answers, but I still have questions.

[ He doesn't want to keep bringing up questions to the same person. She's dealing with her own personal grievances. ]

[sinistral]

Who?

No, the Atroma didn't allow themselves to be seen. What other questions?

[backoff]

Sansa.

Did they use your calibrations against each other at all?

[sinistral]

I see.

[He'd hoped that she'd be home, not here, but apparently that's not to be.]

If it suited them. All that mattered to them was ratings; whatever made for a good show was fair game.

[backoff]

Were you two together then with Drift Fleet?

[ Sansa said the same thing and it still pisses him off. ]

The Atroma are assholes from what I'm hearing. The Agrii might be playing a different game. Not sure, just arrived not too long ago.

[sinistral]

Yes.

Your conclusion isn't wrong. How long is not too long?

[backoff]

Rough to say with how long the days and nights feel. Not sure how long we've been down in the tunnels. A bit before getting stuck down here.

[ It's the best he can do. ]

[sinistral]

I wonder if the Agrii can manipulate time, then. Confuse the senses.

[backoff]

[ This reply probably takes a few moments to come back. Since he probably dropped the tablet onto his lap. ]

I didn't think fully about that. It could be possible.

[sinistral]

The Atroma could, after a fashion.

[Really, he should probably use more caution when dropping these bombshells. C'est la vie.]

[backoff]

You could have started off with that. What else can they do? Any elemental damage?

[ This is fine. ]

[sinistral]

Could've if I trusted you. Still don't know who you are.

[It's never, ever going to be fine ever again.]

[backoff]

Cloud Strife.

[ How many more bombs are coming? It's going to be as fine as it gets with being in a room full of fire. But one could put out the fire if they knew what needed to be done. ]

And you are?

[sinistral]

[That name tells him nothing, but it's as he expected, really; the person had all but admitted his knowledge of the Atroma was secondhand.]

Nobody.

[This is fine...]

[backoff]

Is that what you really want to be called?

[ He's being honest. He doesn't know how to feel about the nobody name. ]

You have to be someone.

[ He could say Red and Cloud would roll with it. ]

[sinistral]

Don't have a name. I'm just the Soldier.

[backoff]

Soldier is better than nobody. Are you a Soldier?

[ He just wanted to make sure and keep track of all the military people. There's quite a few. Cloud's going to keep SOLDIER from his world to himself for now. Until he needs to talk about it. ]

[sinistral]

Of a sort.

[Soldier, spy, assassin: the toolbox is varied and not necessarily something he wants to reveal right away. Though if this truly is Calibrations the way he knew them, those facts may reveal themselves.]

[backoff]

Okay.



Did the Atroma use any elemental spells?

[ Cloud can be stupid with giving certain information away. But in his world of living he was a mercenary for hire for a bit until his destiny took him in a completely different direction. He's been a lot of things himself. And yes, he's going back to Atroma questions. ]

[sinistral]

Not that I observed. Too hands on, in my opinion.

[backoff]

Don't blame you for not. It would be nice to know. Were you mostly on ships or on a planet full time?

[ The Atroma could be pulling from a completely different source. Cloud's trying to figure out if this planet's energy could be used in the same matter besides for charging rods. ]

[sinistral]

No, I mean they could control us at their whims. Chips in our heads. Why would they have to get their own hands dirty when they could just use one of us?

The Fleet was ship-based. We probably spent as much time drifting as planetside, but in my time there, we never re-visited a planet. Each stop was new.

[Well now that's a worthy line of research, isn't it?]