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

[brooklyn_boy]

"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."

[sinistral]

“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?”

[brooklyn_boy]

"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."

[sinistral]

“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.”

[brooklyn_boy]

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."

[sinistral]

"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.

[brooklyn_boy]

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."