Welcome to the Illyria!

[statusreport]

Stardate 58561.8: Day One

Now that you've all got your room assignments and communicators, it's time to explore this ship. Please check out the deck plans to figure out where you're going. You can read about some of the existing crew members you might run into here.

Even those of you who may feel right at home on a spaceship will find that the Illyria is definitely a bit... different. Mostly because she's kind of a wreck right now. Whatever it was that threw the ship all the way out here to wherever we are, it really did a number on the ship itself. There's a lot of damaged areas, and several of the ship's systems have been compromised. You'll find that the replicators don't always work right (I asked for hasperat and I got pok tar!?), the turbolifts are unusually persnickety (I said bridge, not engineering!), and the environmental controls in your quarters may not do as they're told (why is it snowing in Room 4J?). Several corridors are blocked by debris, and more often than not the lights are flickering if they're on at all.

So what will you do? Help clean up the mess in the hallways? Try some bizarre alien food in the mess hall? Try and infiltrate restricted areas to get a peek at the ship's systems? Feel free to make your own top level comment, and treat this as a big mingle. Get to know your new crewmates, explore your new home, make friends or enemies, and whatever you do, don't try the gagh. If you need the captain or the first officer, please let a mod know, but try and stick to threading with your fellow new recruits!


(Don't worry about the entry tags for the moment, they will be added shortly. Before we throw ourselves into missions on alien planets, we wanted everyone to have a chance to get to know one another, so please use this opening log as an opportunity to kick off some CR with crewmates and bunk buddies, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask a mod!)

Comments

[fist_of_hydra]

"Living as it comes is the only way to do it." Bucky's eyes were dark in a way that had nothing to do with the colour, haunted by too many bad memories and worse nightmares. "Enjoy it while you have it."

What little tension had seeped out of him came right back again as Mack stepped forward. He stared at the offered hand for a long moment, trying to figure out what he should do. He knew what he was supposed to do - even he wasn't so far gone he'd forgotten about shaking hands. He just wasn't sure he wanted to let the guy get a grip on him.

"Bucky," he finally replied, but didn't reach out. "Barnes. Can't say I much want to sleep in ice, either, so call away, I guess." Not that he was planning to sleep here at all, but that was a separate issue.

[notalwaysstrong]

Mack gives Bucky another appraising look up and down, mostly due to his words and partly due to the fact he won't shake hands.

He's not mentioning it, though, noticing the tension suddenly jacking all the way back up to 11 when he stepped forward. Instead, he raises his hand to the combadge and taps it to activate it.

"Uh, I'd like to speak to someone who can make it stop snowing in room 4J?"

"This is Engineering. We'll add you to our list. Hold tight." "Thanks."

[fist_of_hydra]

Bucky's grateful when the man doesn't make an issue of his refusal to shake hands. He's not trying to be rude, and the last thing he wants to do is piss the guy off and start a fight. Especially since it seems like Mack is doing his best not to start one, either.

And now they were left standing there awkwardly in the snow. Swallowing, Bucky forced himself to engage a little more in the conversation, instead of just reacting. "You military? Or mercenary?"

An American in the desert in '09, wearing clothes like that and carrying himself the way this man did, there weren't really many other options.

Was he HYDRA, was the question Bucky really wanted an answer to, but it was unlikely he'd get one. He tried to reassure himself that even if Mack was HYDRA he was unlikely to be high enough to even know who the Winter Soldier was, let alone have his activation codes.

Of course, he'd never expected the meek United Nations appointed psychologist to have his codes, either. He literally couldn't trust anyone.

[notalwaysstrong]

A smile, there. He wasn't wearing any identifying flashes or anything, but his clothing was practical, and his boots were standard issue. It wouldn't take a genius.

"US Army. I'm a clerk with the 303rd Logistical Studies Group."

That meant desk job... Not someone you'd expect a man like Mack to take sitting down.

[fist_of_hydra]

Given Bucky was wearing clothes that were at least close cousins to the ones Mack had on, it definitely hadn't been a stretch. But really, the man could have been in a frilly dress and Bucky still would have gotten the clues from his body movements.

Which was why the answer of a desk job was surprising. And instantly suspicious. Either he'd been injured in some way Bucky didn't see and benched as a result, or he was lying. Possibly an undercover agent of some kind?

Or maybe he'd just gotten sick of the killing and bleeding and dying, and transferred off the field. Bucky could sure as hell understand that desire.

"You've probably already noticed, but I'm kinda... twitchy." That had to be the understatement of the century. "Don't surprise me, don't sneak up on me, and for God's sake if I'm stupid enough to fall asleep in here, don't wake me up. No matter how bad it sounds." His mouth twisted in something that definitely didn't manage to be a smile. "You seem like a nice guy. I don't wanna kill you."

[notalwaysstrong]

"Only kinda?" Mack remarks, smirking slightly. "Thanks for the warning, only in life or death, that acceptible?"

If not, Mack sure isn't above leaving his new friend to his fate, but he'd rather not have another voice in his head. Because one of Bucky's theories is right; he's special forces. The Logistics role is merely a cover.

"How 'bout you? Since we're playing military or mercenary."

[fist_of_hydra]

((BTW I swear that wasn't fourth-walling, I don't even know the series your guy is from! Given the way he looks in the icons, the name of the show, and the military way he's coming off, that was totally a guess on Bucky's part about him not really being a desk jockey. Please feel free to tell me if I'm having him read too much into things.))

"I could kill you by accident, so 'life or death' is relative." Bucky said the words flatly. It was a warning, not a threat or a boast. "I can tell you're a tough guy, this ain't dick waving, okay? I'm more dangerous than you think. I don't want to kill anyone else. Especially not someone I didn't mean to."

He pondered how best to answer the rest of the question. God, how did he even begin to explain the last seventy years of his life to a random Army grunt? In 2009, the guy wouldn't even know what HYDRA was, unless he was part of it. Might not even know what SHIELD was, they'd been pretty secretive.

"I was US Army," he finally said. "A long time ago. Held as a POW for... longer than I wanna think about. Now I'm just trying to keep my head down. Not succeeding all that well, lately. This place... might be the best thing that coulda happened to me. Might be the worst. Dunno yet."

It's cool!

[notalwaysstrong]

And Mack raises his hands. "Alright. Fair enough." He doesn't want to provoke this guy any further. Whether it was true or not, he was definitely convinced he was dangerous and, given his appearance and how twitchy he was, Mack was inclined to agree with him.

"Well, for me, it's definitely better than cataloging boots and ammo." Mack admits with a shrug. "I'm sorry you were captured for so long. It must have been really hard."

[fist_of_hydra]

"Hard." Bucky laughed harshly, the sound matching his earlier twisted smile. "Yeah, that's one word for it."

Anyone would break, given enough time and pressure. He knew that. In his head, he knew that. But it was still hard not to feel guilty for being the guy who did break.

Everything in his gut wanted him to react positively to this guy. Like him, even. Mack seemed like he'd have fit right in with the Commandos.

Of course, he also seemed like he’d have fit right in with the STRIKE teams HYDRA had sent as the Soldier’s backup on occasion. Brock Rumlow had come across a similar sort of no-nonsense, hard bitten but loyal trooper.

The worst of it was, that still made Bucky want to feel at ease in the guy’s presence. STRIKE or Commando, that familiarity of a fellow Army brother-in-arms was hard to shake.

“Do you buy the party line they’re feeding us? This Starfleet organization, I mean.” He started exploring the room further, poking at the computer and replicator, though he kept his distance from – and one eye on – Mack. “The whole peace and unity and exploration thing. Sounds too good to be true, and that usually means it is.”

Alexander Pierce had truly believed he was saving the world from itself with what HYDRA was doing, after all. Best intentions didn’t just pave the road to Hell, they built the whole Goddamn place.

[notalwaysstrong]

"I can't even imagine." Mack commiserates, his tone low, respectful, but not pitying. He's been taken himself, both in SERE training and in the line of duty. He can imagine, but... Everyone goes through it differently.

"I find it hard to believe and hard not to. I mean, they took us in, but they could easily be the reason why we're here." He frowns, folding his arms again. "Bein' paranoid ain't no way to keep going, but... I dunno. I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled."

[fist_of_hydra]

“Is it paranoia if they really are after you? It’s the only thing that kept me alive and free for the last two years.” Bucky shook his head. “Even if some of them, even if most of them really do believe in the ideal, it only takes one rotten apple at the top of the heap.” He knew that all too well.

He paused again and considered. It was something he did a lot, always evaluating and second guessing his own thoughts, trying to make sure they were his and not what HYDRA had put in there. “Allies? We can watch each other’s backs. If I see something suspicious out there I’ll tell you.”

Not that he would trust Mack to keep his end of the bargain even if it was made. But if the man didn’t, Bucky would be no worse off than he was right now, as long as he didn’t rely on Mack. And if the man did hold to it, that would tell Bucky something, and they’d both be better off.

[notalwaysstrong]

"Even if it is, apparently, we're too far from Federation space for it to even affect us." He grunts. "I've had dealings with the captain. I'm inclined to trust her decisions."

If only because she was willing to compromise on his release after his... eventful appearance in Sickbay. She shows prudence and commands respect. Mack can get behind that.

"Allies. If only to make sure we don't get screwed over by our hosts."

[fist_of_hydra]

“Her? The captain is a woman?” Bucky had run across mentions in his research on modern day that women were more ‘liberated and empowered’ than they had been in his time, but the truth was that he’d seen little evidence of it.

Certainly HYDRA had maintained the status quo, the upper echelons filled with old white men, just as they always had been. A few scattered men of colour, but if there were any women, Bucky had never encountered them. In the STRIKE teams, yes, once or twice. And even that had surprised him.

[notalwaysstrong]

"Yeah." He frowns at that reaction. How long had this guy been under, exactly? He didn't look too old to be surprised by women in charge. "Captain Palu Imania. And she ain't human. At least, not fully."

[fist_of_hydra]

“Huh.” Maybe at least some of their enlightened philosophy wasn’t entirely bullshit. Unlike many men of his time, Bucky had no issues taking orders from a woman. Or at least, no more than he had taking orders from anybody. Nor did her being part alien – presumably that’s what Mack meant, not that she was Enhanced or Inhuman as Bucky understood the terms – bother him. A commanding officer was a commanding officer, whatever shape or gender they wore.

“What kind of impression did you get from her? A good one, I gather, but what was she like?” A good captain didn’t necessarily guarantee there were only good people in her crew. But a bad captain almost certainly did mean there would only be bad people following them.

Funny how that worked.

[notalwaysstrong]

"She's willing to compromise. Willing to give second chances." He remarks, frowning. "She ain't an idiot, though."

[fist_of_hydra]

“Well, that’s good. Nothing worse than fucking incompetent brass.” Bucky’s words carried the exasperated weight of just about every army grunt throughout time. “Except maybe the ones that only see you as little counters on a board. Then again, at least if they’re competent, their plans have some chance of not wasting the lives of their men.”

[notalwaysstrong]

"I've been under command of both, and, trust me, I'd prefer to be on the field with incompetance than be micromanaged by it."

He shakes his head.

"Captain Imania doesn't seem that sorta type."

[fist_of_hydra]

“Well, that’s good, at least.” If they had to be stuck on a military ship – and it was being run like one, whatever they might say about Starfleet being a peaceful organization – Bucky would rather have a competent captain who cared about her troops to at least some degree.

The more time he spent with Mack, the more he was relaxing despite himself. On top of that sense of military brotherhood, the man clearly understood at least some of Bucky’s issues, and was being careful not to trigger him. How many people out there would have known enough to take that care?

He still wasn’t willing to sleep in a room with the guy, but he thought at least he wouldn’t mind sharing the quarters in all other ways.

“Doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop snowing in here any time soon.” He conceded defeat to the environmental systems with a sigh, looking around at the slowly growing snowdrift that covered their floor. Hopefully whatever substance the floor was made of could take a flooding. “I fucking hate ice. Seen more than enough of it to last a lifetime. Should we get outta here?”

[notalwaysstrong]

"Sure. I was planning to go wandering, anyway. See where I can poke my nose into."

A smile.

"I won't be offended if you don't wanna join me."