revivalproject | 02 | I'd like to make myself believe

Entry tags:

02 | I'd like to make myself believe

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!

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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.

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.

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."

Familiarity is, he supposes, a boon. The smile still surprises him however, as they had not interacted much before. As he understood it, his inability to be the Bucky Barnes that Steve remembered stood between them as a ravine, impossible to cross.

Then again, he also understands that Steve had found a Bucky Barnes more to the shape his mind wanted.

"Perhaps not proclaimed as entertainment, but still trapped in what amounts to a cage." Albeit a broken, run-down planet of one, but still: from what he can gather, there's no true escape. A space need not have barred walls and locked door to be a prison. Then again, he perhaps has a unique view on it, considering that his prison was his own mind. "A soft touch can hide a cruel grip."

And kind words mask cruel intentions; he's well acquainted with both.

Bucky's words hit Steve harder than he would have thought they would. When they had first arrived here, Steve had been suspicious and angry. Over time that has faded. He couldn't help but be endeared a bit by the charming gifts and letters and their attempts to help. But Bucky is right, now, and Steve feels a bit like a fool for ever having dropped his guard. It's been so long since he's been a fighter. Part of him forgot that there was something underneath all of that he could retreat into.

"You're right. That, plus Calibrations makes me worried that things are not what they seem." Steve considers for a moment and comes up with a thought.

"Their SOS message. If you're planning to go, there might be answers on their ship. Not in the places they direct us to, but perhaps hidden in the computers or elsewhere. This rescue mission could be a good chance to get intel if we keep everyone else distracted."

"Anyone who's fool enough to take at face value the words of creatures who won't even show themselves deserves what they get." A harsh viewpoint perhaps, but no less true in his mind. The distance and anonymity can mask far too much; had they not seen that with the Atroma?

Had he not been that as the Winter Soldier?

He leans against a broken bit of wall, legs crossed at the ankle. The casual posture belies the readiness he feels, the constantly-on-guard state of being that he thinks will always be a part of him. He may have broken away from HYDRA's programming but the skills are too deeply-ingrained in him — and too useful. He expects that usefulness is behind why he's here: his particular skillset makes him a very useful tool.

Then Steve mentions that if though, that possibility, he rolls his eyes again. "If? Would anyone actually stay, stranded here with no apparent avenue to leave? Interest in the journey or not, getting on a ship bound elsewhere at least presents the possibility of going somewhere. Whether or not a chance to escape presents itself, it seems worth investigating."

At least Steve seems to be of a like mind in the idea that this journey could be a chance to gather information as well. The Soldier has already considered the possibility; it's one of the things he's kept in mind while scavenging for supplies. "No offense," he begins, "but you're not the most subtle spy. An important objective but it needs people whose skills match the mission."

The Soldier's words smart but it was nothing Steve had not already been thinking. He'd gotten soft in all this time away. Even with the Atroma, there had only really been the one fight to take part in. It had been many years since he stood on the front lines and that showed in his mentality. But not anymore.

"I wasn't planning on being the spy," he says with a bit of a smirk. "I'm planning to be the distraction."

Subtly is not one of Steve's top qualities and he knows that. The Soldier, on the other hand, had it in spades. If anyone could get in and out quickly and without being caught, it would be him. They had no idea what they were facing, out there. The people going for intel had to be elusive and strong in case there was a fight. The job was made for him.

"You could pick some people who you think could assist and lead them. And, in the meantime, I keep all their eyes on the shiny shield."

"If you've been distracted lately, you should be well acquainted with causing one."

A dig, albeit one without much heat. He couldn't imagine being comfortable enough in a place like this to attempt the sort of settled lifestyle that some people seem to have adopted, but the Soldier also realizes that what he considers a normal, comfortable existence doesn't exactly mesh with most people's idea of normal.

"You do know my primary function was infiltration and assassination, right?" he asks, even though he suspects that Steve knows. When the Winter Soldier was deployed, the survival of any handlers was often secondary to the completion of the mission: acceptable losses in HYDRA's eyes, as long as their weapon returned to them intact, and with an increased kill count. He doesn't pretend to be any sort of leader figure.

But needs must, he supposes. "And you have suggestions for this team?"

Steve can't help but snort a laugh at that. Good shot, Soldier. Well aimed, as always.

"I'll manage. When in doubt, just break things. Usually works." At the assassination comment Steve just nods. He knows. Of course he knows that. He's read all the files and, even without that, he knows. It doesn't bother him, though. The skills transfer well enough. What bothers him more is the 'primary function' terminology, but he won't say anything about it.

"We don't know what we're going to find out there. If you have a lean team, being able to fight will be necessary." Now. Suggestions? Steve considers.

"The telekinetic users will be helpful to both teams. I would say take either Wanda, Billy, or Cal. Tony too would be useful. Or Reeve. Anyone who can work with foreign computers. Cal might hit both of those with BD, actually..."

He just calls it as he sees it.

And cocks one eyebrow, deliberately more expressive than his usual. "And when things decide to break back?" Not that there's a particular incidence of that between them, oh no. But it's an important consideration of every mission: collateral damage. He doesn't imagine Steve would be as heartless as he about it, and that could certainly impact things.

"The larger the group, the bigger the target," he agrees. A small team is best, if a stunt like this proposed plan is to be successful. What he doesn't understand is why Steve seems so convinced on him as a supposed leader. In fact, he should ask that, once Steve finishes listing off names.

"Why do you want me to lead?" Could he do it? Probably very likely. What he wants to know is why Steve wants him to do it, what motives the other man has.

"If they break back, I don't think we hit them hard enough. Second time is the charm, maybe. But we'll be smart about it. The goal is to keep the heat off of you and your team. That's the priority if you don't have fighters to watch your six."

As to the next question, Steve isn't completely sure, immediately. It just came to him as the smart plan. He analyzes his thought process to track it back to the original spark and comes back with nothing particularly groundbreaking.

"Because I know you can do it and you're the right person for the job," he says easily and with a shrug. "You have the best combination of stealth and offense to direct your team and protect them if things go south. You hone those skills whereas a lot of people," He tilts his head to indicate himself as included in this list, "Have let things slide."

He shrugs again and sums it up:

"I trust you to do it right."

“You know I’m not a team operative.” Yes, the Winter Soldier has been deployed as part of a team, but never as a member. He is a weapon, albeit one who can improvise as necessary. And while he has issued orders to other operatives during missions, their survival was always, always a secondary concern.

He does narrow his eyes at the admission though. It’s as good as admitting a weakness, and he doesn’t know why Steve seems so comfortable in so doing. “You don’t like what I am, but now you find it useful?” An extrapolation on his part, based on past conversations and interactions, and trying to fit those pieces into current words.

How many times is he going to roll his eyes in this encounter? Yet another, right here and now. “How thick are you planning to lay it on?”

"I am not laying it on." He laughs a little. "I think maybe you forgot some things about me and my talking style."

He shrugs though and tries to make this sound a little less flowery and more concrete. Soldier has been mission-centric for awhile and the things that mattered were outcomes, not reasons. Facts. Facts alone.

"It's not that I don't like what you are. You're right that I have trouble accepting it, but that is because I don't like what was done to you. But that is my thing to deal with, not your problem.

"The skills you have are what we need for this mission. No matter how you got them, they are yours now and you use them for your own purposes. It's your call and I think it would be good to lead a small team for recon. If you disagree, that is fine."

“And has anyone else ever been brutally honest about your talking style? Just curious.” There had been a recording in the museum he visited, all confident and empowered. He supposes that it’s on purpose, a leader meant to rally his followers, manipulating morale in his favor.

HYDRA hadn’t needed such tactics. HYDRA told the Soldier the identities of his targets, and he eliminated them. A rousing speech wasn’t necessary, and he has little enough response to it now.

Even if Steve does have a point: he is ruthless, and trained in a manner that few others are.

He sighs. Leading a mission isn’t high on his list of wants, but he can’t deny that this whole supposed rescue operation does present an opportunity to gain more knowledge about their captors and he’s unwilling to give up that chance. He recognizes too that he doesn’t know enough to improvise alien technology, not with any degree of speed — which might be of the essence. “A small team only. Self sufficient. People who will hold their own if we’re compromised; I’m not a babysitter.”

Steve laughs, surprised by it. "Honestly? A few times. Probably not enough. Feel free to take out the red pencil."

At the request he sobers up. The Soldier isn't one to baby some of these more green agents. Whoever is going for intel needs to be as ready and aware as he is. The reason the Soldier is so ideal for this is that he can see threats from far off and knows how to move fast and unseen. He can't do his job if he's focused elsewhere.

"We'll make sure we have a team that will work. No babysitting. This has to succeed. We have no idea if we get another crack at it."

"I doubt you'd pay attention to it." It's just a feeling he has, just a hunch.

But it's not important right now, not in the grand scheme of things. Not when there exists potential to find out some information. They can agree on one important point: no one knows if they would get another chance at this. Very likely they won't, or not any time soon anyway. As distasteful as he finds the idea of working with a team — and yes, babysitting to some extent — there isn't enough time to gain all the skills necessary to make it a one-man operation.

"The best course is to plan as if this is the only opportunity. Very likely it will be." Operations like this tend to fail once someone discovers what's happening. From there, the timetable will be very small.

Steve swallows back his smirk and the comment that, yeah. He was probably right about that. Not important at the moment. He settles into a more serious mood and nods.

"They definitely had their ship far enough away that they didn't want to risk us finding them. Doesn't make me feel confident that they are on the level." He crosses his arms over his chest.

"Gather everything you can. I'll pick up anything I stumble over but just grab everything you possibly can. We can look at it in detail later when we have more time. Getting it is the important part."

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02 | I'd like to make myself believe

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