02 | I'd like to make myself believe

[sinistral]

WHO: the Soldier (sinistral) and you
WHERE: network and out-and-about
WHAT: pre-voyage preparations
WHEN: after the Agrii announcement; before heading onto the ships
WARNINGS: none expected aside this asshole's attitude; will update if necessary

---

NETWORK
→ Text;

If anyone tries field stripping one of those Agrii weapons
You might be in for a shock
Just FYI

[Can a text sound pissy? Because this one most definitely is.]

TEMBA
→ Exploration;

In the wake of the Agrii communication — and people weren't kidding about the communication skills there — and the apparently inevitable excursion into space, the Soldier is making use of his time by combing through the ruins looking for potentially useful equipment. The weapons had been interesting yet disappointing as well; he considered himself something of a weapons expert, but the gun's workings had escaped him, even with the knowledge from the Atroma added to his own base skills.

He's definitely not happy about that.

To work out the frustration — from that, and from this whole Agrii situation — he's out and about the run-down city: exploring, scavenging, and yes, pushing himself into as much of a workout as can be had in the landscape. Occasionally something might catch his eye, or perhaps your character is more the sort to try to flag him down.

→ Wildcard;

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. Want to handwave a vaguely-met-during-Calibrations so we don't have to go through the first meeting/introductions thing? I'm perfectly fine with that, just give me a heads up. Has your character met one of the other Buckys and wants to go for the whole mistaken identity thing? Go for it!

Comments

[seeingscarlet]

Are you all right?

[sinistral]

I will be.

[seeingscarlet]

You know I can heal you, yes?

[sinistral]

I do know.

It was just an electrical shock. I've had worse.

[seeingscarlet]

[Oh, she knows, just secondhand.]

That was a different time. It is no trouble for me to help a friend

[She is not going to force it on him - that wouldn't really be helping. But sometimes brains are jerks and one has to be explicitly told that something really is okay.]

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve sees the Soldier from a few paces off and stops dead mid-movement. He knows well enough that doing so has made him more conspicuous than if he'd just turned around and kept walking, but he can't help the instant reaction. Seeing him again after so long--and in person--is like so many months ago in the Energy Storm; Steve is seeing a ghost. But, at least this time, he knows he won't be led off a cliff by getting closer.

Or at least he hopes he won't be.

"Soldier?" He wants to announce his presence even though it has to be completely unnecessary at this point. Steve keeps his hands loose at his side, expression neutral. "Hey. You...finding things alright?"

Steve Rogers: Captain Small Talk.

[sinistral]

Apparently nothing about Steve is ever going to be subtle. He wasn't subtle in the Fleet — if this is the same man; Sansa has told him that he's here but told him too that, like the Fleet, the Agrii believe in doubles — and he's certainly not subtle now. May as well just paint a big target on his back (or chest, or arm) and scream hey punk, over here!.

He's not thinking about from where the vernacular of that thought comes.

At the hail he stops his own movement and turns in acknowledgement; he'd noticed the man some moments ago but probably doesn't need to point it out. Eyes sweep up and down his form, taking in details — and yes, performing a threat assessment. The habit has served him well in the time since he left the Fleet, a behavior he's taken and turned into something he chooses to use. And in his eyes, Steve clearly feels that he needs to present himself as a non-threatening entity, given the posture he takes.

"Finding a lot of useless, broken planet," he replies, voice neutral. Steve can probably interpret that statement in several ways, and the Soldier figures that'll likely give him an idea of what the other man wants.

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve nods and moves absolutely no closer considering that wasn't really an invitation. It wasn't a brush-off either though, so that was something.

"When I first got here, it was worse if you can believe it. We've actually made some progress getting it going again. Not as nice as some of the planets we saw in the 'Fleet, of course..."

He looks at the Soldier carefully for recognition. Proof that this is who he thinks it is.

[sinistral]

He rolls his eyes at the mention of the Drift Fleet; it's confirmation on both their parts, though he'd had perhaps more of an advantage in that Sansa gave him a heads up regarding Steve's presence. "Yes, it's me," he replies regardless, turning half his attention back and the mess that is the immediate landscape. For a moment he thought he'd seen movement, but it must have been a trick of the light.

He's still keeping one eye on it.

"I've been told that this planet is akin to what the Fleet was: the place to which we're returned, when we're not sent out on the whim of these Agrii." It's probably clear how distasteful he finds the idea of captivity by these aliens.

[brooklyn_boy]

So it is him. It is Soldier from before. Steve can't help but smile at that confirmation. Even if they hadn't quite broken the ice, before, Steve is still glad to see a familiar face. Especially one that knew what happened before.

At the Soldier's next question, however, the smile dims a little.

"I didn't think so when we first got here. We weren't entertainment but instead here to help. The Agrii have been...relatively kind in comparison to the Atroma. But just recently having Calibrations again and their radio silence? I'm not sure what to think. There are a lot of questions and not many answers."

[out_of_order]

The message had been a troubling one, and there's no way to figure out anything more than that something had happened. Like everything else, it was another unanswered question, but maybe they'd be able to get some answers. Maybe they might not like them either, but surely the chance to get off-world isn't something to miss.

Unsure of how feasible it would be to get the replicator up and running to help with preparation for a journey ahead, he's been giving more attention to the latter, but keeping an eye out for parts or things that could be used to fix the former. The Soldier's not the only one who's out scavenging, although currently Cal's looking for tools he might need should their ships need a tune-up during the trip out. There's only so much one can do with a welding arc, after all.

[sinistral]

The Soldier knows that he's far from the only one out scavenging about the planet for useful bits and pieces, but the city seems large enough to not be atop one another. Either that or this particular cluster of buildings doesn't appeal to most, maybe potentially because of the large amount of rubble. It's a lot of work for the possibility of very little return, but he won't know that until he tries.

Still, there's no reason to get in each other's way; the area is plenty big enough. Until he encounters what looks like a door, blocked by a beam that's too heavy for even his strength to move. Figuring that if it's that hard to move, then whatever's behind the door might be untouched, he thinks it's worth considering a teamwork attempt.

"Hey," he hails the other man. "Come look at this."

[out_of_order]

He's aware of the other person in the vicinity, but it's only when the other breaks his silence that Cal finally has a better look at him. Familiar, the face, and given it's been a while ago since the last (first?) time he's seen him that the padawan supposes the man's finally decided it's kind of pointless skulking around.

Hopping down from a pile of a collapsed wall, he holds his balance as he skids the last few feet to the ground, transitioning into a casual walk easily enough as he makes his way over to where the man is. Over his shoulder, the rectangular head of his little droid head peeks, borbling curiously.

"What've we got?" he asks, more to break his own silence than expecting an answer if he can see what's there. It's clear enough to see what the other has found, and setting his hands at his hips, Cal studies the situation of the blocked door, nodding. Could be worth looking into.

[sinistral]

He watches with appreciation as the other man smoothly makes the transition from rubble to ground. He doesn't move in quite the same way the Soldier does, but he nevertheless can recognize the command over one's body needed to make such a series of maneuvers look natural.

He blinks, a little taken aback, at the appearance of the robot head. That's different for sure; he wonders if it's from this place or something the man brought here. This isn't the time to ask though, and he refocuses on the man's face as he approaches.

"Maybe nothing," he replies, gesturing to the blocked-off door. It's clear from the positioning of the debris that no one's been inside for a while. By that logic, anything useful inside should be relatively unscathed. Of course, there's a big if on there being anything useful inside in the first place, but one never knows. "But maybe something."

He really hopes it's something. After the confinement underground and the less-than-pleasant experiences therein, even a small victory will be welcome.

"Can't shift it by myself without bringing too much of the rest of it down though. Could use a hand." He's not sure if this guy will be much help, but appearances can deceive.

[out_of_order]

"Maybe something," Cal agrees, coming to the same conclusion that a blocked door meant things left untouched within. Hopefully, anyway. From this perspective it's impossible to tell what sort of damage might have been done to the interior. Still, it's definitely worth a shot.

Stepping closer to the doorway, the padawan sets a hand on the beam as he tries to have a look at where it's wedged, nodding as he considers the man's words.

"All right. Let's give it a shot," he says. The droid clinging to the back of his rigger vest hunkers back down as Cal looks to the Soldier, stepping back a bit to see where he'd position himself first.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I would recommend not hurting yourself. Perhaps you're impossible to kill but I can still die of shock.

[sinistral]

I'm pretty impossible to hurt too.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Don't be reckless. Please?

[sinistral]

Who, me?

Exploration

[doubled_speed]

Wandering was a thing Tommy did when he got bored or stressed or things like that. And frankly, it had not always gone well for him with men from the WWII Era. The last three times he'd run into one in the wild landscape, he'd almost been hit. Here was hoping that wasn't true this time as well.

Because Tommy heard someone moving and followed, until he was there, approaching from an angle that should mean the person could see him coming.

"Yo, someone out there?"

[sinistral]

With the angle of approach taken by this newcomer there's no way to avoid notice. The Soldier thinks it must be on purpose; the landscape offers plenty of places to hide, should a more secretive vector be desired, and this man chooses not to do so. So, deliberate approach.

Now to figure out why.

He's pretty sure he recognizes the approaching figure, for a passing definition of recognition related entirely to having been locked in that underground bunker with a set, limited number of people. They don't have an acquaintance per se, but recognition counts for something.

"Maybe someone is here," he answers. "It depends on what you were looking for."

[doubled_speed]

Looking for someone? Hardly. But when Tommy steps out and looks at Bucky from a distance and then smiles. Yep. Knows this one.

“Not really looking for anything, Scruffles. Just needed to take a walk. And fuck if people don’t try and punch me amid the trees for doing nothing but showing up. Rude.”

[sinistral]

"Uh..." Scruffles? That's a new one to him. He's been called worse, certainly, but hardly ever anything so confusing. Then again, the guy is also smiling at him, so he can't help but wonder if it's another case of mistaken identity.

"Were you expecting to be punched?" Out of that whole slew of words, it seems like where he should start.

Text

[heeeyadora]

HA! You all right?

Text;

[sinistral]

Annoyed more than anything else.