ten_fwd | [Brig:] April Fools' Arrests

It's not very often a passenger is taken to Deck 33, and for good reason. Deck 33 is where the brig is located. If you're unlucky enough to find yourself there, you'll notice that there are security officers standing guard outside the brig, as well as one stationed inside. The cells are separated by forcefield to prevent further incident between prisoners, and while it looks and sounds like there is no barrier between the cells and the room at large, there is no crossing over until the forcefields are lowered.

There have been incidents on the ship before, isolated ones and minor infractions, but this is a whole new ballgame. Q's latest game has wreaked havoc among the passengers, turning even the most polite among them into disturbers of the peace, in ways both small and — regrettably and dangerously — large. Security has been scrabbling to keep up (the ones who weren't affected by the events themselves, that is), but it's safe to say the brig has never been this full before.

Should a passenger make an inquiry after someone at one of the computer terminals, or access the directory on their PADDs, if the person they're looking for is here their location will be noted as 'BRIGGED' in bold font. Visitors are allowed entrance after they check in with the guards on duty, but no one is allowed to be alone with the prisoners. Once the prisoners are back to normal, they will be released.

Assuming they cause no further mischief, of course.

[ooc: Bit of a delayed OTA brig log for those who were requesting one. More info here.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This isn't Steve's first infraction here by a long shot, but each time he's engaged another passenger has been out of pure self-defense or in defense of those who couldn't defend themselves. By now he knows most of the Security personnel by name, enough that he puts in a request for who he gives his report to. It takes a few hours before they're done with him, but by the time they are he's cleared and thanked for his help, which leaves him free to move about the ship again.

Naturally, his first stop is the brig.

He nods to the officer on duty as he steps in, shield still strapped over his back, and moves to the cell where they have Khan. What he knows about this guy is that he's strong, and dangerous, and has some sort of chip on his shoulder. That could be said about a lot of the men Steve's put away, but only a few of them have managed to leave him with cracked ribs. Like Khan's injuries, they've already started to heal.

He doesn't say anything at first. He just stands outside the barrier, feet shoulder's width apart and arms crossed over his chest, and watches him from under beetled brow.

"I hear you're making this room a home base," he remarks. "You should put up some curtains."

Hours have passed, long enough for him to have cleaned the blood of his face and hands, and at the moment Khan resembles nothing so much as a lion lounging in its cage. From his spot against the wall of his cell, Khan can hear every scuff of footsteps, every quiet word that passes between the guards. Steve's arrival doesn't go unnoticed, but it isn't until the man stands before the barrier that Khan even deigns to open his eyes.

"Given that my room is next door, I thought I'd spare them the trouble," he responds, not troubling to keep the sardonicism from his voice. A pale, considering gaze, sharp as cut glass, lingers on Steve for several long moments.

He can read the military service in the man's stance and hair, his nationality in his accent - but it's his strength that's drawn Khan's attention. His strength, and that shield. He's no Augment - not one of Khan's, anyway - but meeting someone who could best him in combat was rare enough to rouse his interest.

Rising smoothly to his feet, Khan prowls closer to the barrier, hands laced behind his back. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

Edited 2015-06-03 21:37 (UTC)

"Really? I thought the shield did all the talking for me," Steve says with such sincerity you could almost miss the sarcasm. If his accent didn't give him away, his attitude definitely would have.

He doesn't move, doesn't flinch. He knows when he's being sized up, but he's doing the same to Khan so he figures fair is fair. He's breathing normally, standing straight, and that should be as much of a clue to Khan as the healed nose is to Steve. His brows twitch just slightly as he files that away.

"Steve Rogers," he says. "I'd shake your hand, but you know."

There's a pause before he continues. "Looks like you heal up fast."

"Khan Singh." Never let it be said that Khan isn't a polite tyrant. He unabashedly surveys the man in front of him, cataloging the easy stance and the lack of pain. Increased healing as well, then - even more interesting. He inclines his head.

"The perks of genetic augmentation," he allows, raising a knowing eyebrow. "As I'm sure you're familiar with."

Because humans don't move as fast, hit as hard, or think as quickly as Khan and his siblings - and now this man, too. He'd suspect Starfleet of trying their hands at their own augmentations, if Steve weren't so obviously another displaced arrival.

"American, then?" Something that's not usual. Earth had long been united under a single banner - but for Khan, the existence of a United States is only a year in his past, and he remembers the attitude well.

Cool blue eyes track his movements, and the only real response Steve gives to that offhanded remark is the subtle uptick of his smirk. So he's smart, too. And not just smart, but he shows the kind of strategic thinking and tactical genius that tells Steve there's probably more alike to them than just brute strength and rapid healing. He could mention the skinny punk who grew up on the streets of Brooklyn before Erskine found him, but he's not going to give Khan an inch.

Not that he really thinks he needs one.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" he says, more for confirmation than any actual threat. Looks like that sarcastic edge isn't going anywhere fast. "European?"

Beneath the small talk there's another edge running through Steve's mind. In his experience, meeting other people like him almost always goes sideways. He wants to know who this guy is and how he ended up the way he did.

"Indian, technically." Not that he looks or sounds it. Is it a bit gauche to claim the nationality of the country he had conquered? Perhaps, but it's close enough. He'd been created there, after all.

Lacing his hands behind his back, Khan meets Steve's gaze with his own. His mind hovers, briefly, between continuing the small talk and goading the man a little over his obvious pride - and then settles firmly on the latter. When he smiles, his expression is innocent, but his tone is a dry as the Vulcan desert. "Not as such, no. It's just that after my brother conquered North America, finding an actual American has been rather rare."

An exaggeration, to be sure. It had been rare after he woke up, but only because people had largely stopped referring to themselves as any one particular nationality in earnest, and had just embraced their common humanity. Still, it's an exaggeration that suits his purpose; to get a rise out of the other man.

He's taken by surprise by that, but it's not so obvious that it disarms him. For someone as proud of his country as Steve is, he's hardly nationalistic when it comes to how he sees the rest of the world. He doesn't like bullies, doesn't matter where they're from, and things are so rarely what they seem.

He can tell when he's being provoked, and while he's not so pure of intent that it keeps his hackles from going up, the obvious way Khan does it just makes him laugh. It's just an exhale, barely a sound at all, but the wry twist of his mouth bears witness to it. He's almost reminded of the way Schmidt likewise tried to play to his pride.

"Yeah, well, not my America, pal," he says, tracking Khan's movements with the careful scrutiny of a decorated officer. Or a hunter, in the way one watches large prey they find equally dangerous and ready to put down. "Still a free country where I come from."

Unspoken in his body language is the promise that it's going to stay that way, so long as Steve has anything to say about it. "So is this what you do with your time? Pick fights with other people, until you find one who can kick your ass?"

[Brig:] April Fools' Arrests

hey, he did warn you

he doesn't react well to an arm around the throat, bro

wow speaking of throats have you seen Kirk's lately? no? u mad bro?

kirk is a little shit and got what was coming to him

wow such language

don't you language him, you're not his father

and aren't we all glad for that