First Entrance

[from_the_outside]

 The first thing she wants to do when she winks into existence is drop to a knee and snag the concealed SIG at her ankle, train it on whatever or whoever moves first, before seeking out the center of command for wherever she is, and demand they explain why they snatched her from her apartment in the middle of a totally normal evening, folding laundry on the couch while keeping one eye on the surveillance camera covering the door to the apartment building.

She doesn't.

Kate Newton wouldn't, because Kate Newton doesn't have an ankle holster or weapon in it. Kate Newton probably doesn't have the first idea of how to fire a gun, and Sharon's been Kate for so long now that her own instincts get swallowed the second they appear, in favor of Kate's more timid ones.

She does, however, take stock of her surroundings: dim lighting and a gleaming bar top -- a restaurant or club of some kind. Uniforms -- so she's surrounded by some sort of...military organization, or one nearly as organized.

And, stars.

Her eyes track to the the panoramic view offered by the windows, and while she'd never admit to fear, she has to say she's more than a little perturbed.

Fury is going to have her head if something happens to Rogers while she's lost in space.

Comments

[usescontractions]

At least the first person to approach is a young woman who isn't in uniform. While most would probably give newcomers a few moments to get their bearings, Lal isn't so blessed with a normal understanding of such observances.

"Can I get you a drink, or perhaps something to eat?" She spouts her well-rehearsed line with an odd tilt of her head, her tone polite but not quite... right.

[from_the_outside]

There's something off about her. Maybe it's the slightly blank expression on her face, or the just-shy-of-natural tilt to her head, or how she doesn't seem to blink...or it's a combination of all those factors, skating suspicion up Sharon's spine.

"No," she says, flat. Light refreshments aren't exactly her top priority, just now. "Can you tell me where I am?"

[usescontractions]

"This is Ten Forward, named for its position on deck ten of the USS Enterprise. It serves as a lounge for the ship's crew." Her brow furrows as she speaks, her head angling the other way. "If you are not familiar with the layout of the ship, the computer can be accessed with verbal commands. It can provide you with comprehensive directions."

[from_the_outside]

"The Enterprise."

Even flatter.

"I'm on the USS Enterprise."

She looks around again, and while there are no green alien women, and no Shatner-lookalikes, she's got to admit the uniforms look familiar. "How the hell did I get aboard the Enterprise?"

[usescontractions]

"I don't know." She answers, with a slight raise of her eyebrows. She's not particularly surprised by the woman's reaction, but it is not quite the same as others she's encountered.

[from_the_outside]

"Oh, good."

It's desert-dry, and she takes a deep breath through her nose, lets it out slowly. "Are you a crew member? Who's in charge?"

[usescontractions]

"Not officially. I work here... To study interacting with humans. Guinan is in charge of Ten Forward, and Captain Picard is in command of this ship" At least that much, she can answer.

[from_the_outside]

"What do you mean, studying interacting with humans?"

Sharon does not, it must be admitted, like where this is headed.

[i_got_vision]

And a cowboy. Maybe a little incongruous, what with all the space-surroundings, but there he is.

He has no idea what's going on either--well, if they're in space then they're in space. There's no doing anything about that, besides seeing what happens. Maybe he's not happy about the situation, maybe he doesn't like being plucked from existence somewhere and dropped down somewhere else with no say in the matter, but he can make the best of it.

So he's friendly, like he always is.

"Sure are a lot of stars out there," he says. "Even more than in Wyoming."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon's not happy.

A large part of her current state of discontent is due to having been unceremoniously teleported to an unknown spaceship, sure. That would be enough to make anyone a little cranky.

Still, spaceships she can deal with, given enough time and information. No, the thing that's really grinding her beans right now is the fact that Steve Rogers is here, too. ble

Of course.

Fury's instructions had been crystal clear: she was to shadow Rogers, keep an eye on him, protect him in the case of an emergency -- but under no circumstances aside from the threat of bodily harm was she to drop her cover, which means that as long as Rogers is here, she's not Sharon Carter, Agent 13; capable and professional, cool and collected.

Instead, she's Kate Newton, who has no idea how she got here and isn't likely to be much help in finding out.

"I haven't been to Wyoming," she says, glancing from the windows to the cowboy, "but it's definitely got DC beat."

[i_got_vision]

"I've never been to DC," he says with a grin. "So we're even. Especially if you're not from here either, and have no idea how or why you got here. But folks seem friendly enough, and they got soldiers to make sure there's no trouble. Some people handle surprises better than others, it looks like."

And some people are much better armed than he is, and those are the ones you really don't want having a bad reaction to being surprised. Well, it takes all kinds, and those folks in the yellow shirts seem to have it all under control.

[from_the_outside]

He talks a lot.

He talks a lot, and he doesn't seem in the least perturbed, while she's starting to wonder if Fury's begun actively screwing with their heads now, as some sort of mysterious training measure. "Like you?"

If any one here looks like they're handling the surprise well, it seems like it would be this joker.

[i_got_vision]

"Well, I did have plans tonight," he admits. "Some guy all the way from Vienna was gonna do a piano recital, one night only, and we paid good money for tickets we can't even use. But who knows, maybe someone here can play."

He lowers his voice a bit, glancing around. "See that lady over there, the one all in black? She came in with me, and she's... well, sensitive. If I look worried, she'll worry too. No sense upsetting her when we don't even know what's going on."

[from_the_outside]

So, yeah. She can get that, especially considering the guy she just spotted, talking to a little girl near the door.

This all just got a lot more complicated.

She glances at the woman he mentioned, and gives a quick, tight nod. "Okay. I get that. No worrying."

Her glance tranfers to the panoramic windows showcasing the millions of stars around them, and she shakes her head. "I'm on the USS Enterprise with a cowboy. What's to worry about?"

[i_got_vision]

"Oh, there's still plenty of things to worry about," he says. "Like what exactly is in the drinks they serve here--is it really bourbon, or is it from somewhere else? And how hard it is to learn that game those folks there are playing with that fancy chessboard. Those are perfectly valid worries."

They're also very minor, which is the point. Little things that might be in their control, as opposed to the overarching when and how do we get home.

[from_the_outside]

The tension in her stance winds down as he talks, good-natured prattle that has her breathing something like a wry laugh as she shakes her head.

"Chess, I understand. And as long as they've got actual coffee, I don't give a damn what else they serve."

Her eyes slide to the panoramic windows again, and narrow. "I wonder why we aren't moving."

[i_got_vision]

"I think they have coffee--I haven't tried any myself, but it looks and smells like coffee. Restaurant coffee, not trail coffee."

Probably tastes pretty good, too. If they're still here in the morning, he might order himself a cup.

"I wonder what it looks like when the ship's moving. All those stars out there--I bet it goes really fast."

It's all the same to him that they're not moving just yet. Gives him some more time to adjust.

[stark_spangled]

Good news, Sharon.

(Or really, really bad news, depending on how you want to look at it.)

The only reason Steve's still in the room, and not storming off to find the command center, is because a little girl attached herself to him almost the moment he walked in. A scared little girl. No matter what Steve's feeling, no matter how angry he is about this turn of events, he can't bring himself to leave a little kid by herself in a strange place. So he's sitting at a table at the highest level of the room, his back to a window so he can see everything clearly, quietly talking to the girl when Kate walks in. He figures at first it has to be some kind of trick.

"Hey, kiddo? Sit tight. I've gotta go talk to someone," he murmurs, rising from his seat. He stands there for a moment, just looking at Kate, wondering if somehow it's his fault she's here. Limbs heavy, he makes his way over to where she is.

"Kate," he says when he's still a few steps away. "Uh. Hey."

[from_the_outside]

Crap.

There's about a half a second she can disguise as not-entirely-fabricated astonishment while taking stock of the situation: despite being bodily transplanted to this unknown location, this doesn't appear to be a life-or-death scenario. No one is attacking, and that means her cover stays intact.

Whatever brought them here can bring them back. Right?

"Steve!"

It's not hard to fall into Kate's relief and concern, or let it flood across her face, relax her shoulders. Kate would not be perturbed by Steve Rogers appearing in a place that is going to make protecting him exponentially more difficult. Kate would be relieved as hell to have Captain America there to take charge.

So she is.

In fact, she comes closer to him, Kate's bewilderment the perfect excuse for Sharon to keep in close contact. "So, did the landlords decide to remodel without telling us, or what?"

[stark_spangled]

He smiles, both impressed and relieved that she can make jokes about this. Suddenly, he has no idea what to do with his hands, so he sticks them in his pockets.

"That's one heck of a remodel," he says, glancing around the room. He sobers a little, and gives her an up-and-down that's more careful than lewd. "Are you OK?"

[from_the_outside]

Here's the thing about Steve Rogers -- not even Captain America, everybody's favorite hero, who stands for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, who is as American as apple pie and Times Square -- he is a nice guy.

He's legitimately a good person, sweet and a little shy and sometimes quiet. His charm never comes off as forced or studied, and he's never been anything but polite and gentlemanly towards Kate.

It's almost enough to make her feel bad about doing her job.

So here they are, on board what appears to be a spaceship with some eerily familiar-looking personnel, and he's concerned for her. Would Tony Stark take a second to check in with a casual acquaintance before taking some kind of ill-advised and probably violent action? "I think so."

One hand goes to her belly, and she gives herself a quick onceover -- jeans that hide her ankle holster, broken-in Chucks, a soft, faded t-shirt -- and looks back up at him, letting a small, nervous smile try to pull at the corners of her mouth. "At least, I seem to be in one piece. You?"

[stark_spangled]

His eyes follow her hand, brushing the softness of her t-shirt, but just for a second. He keeps his focus on her face and that nervous smile, mirroring it with one of his own.

"For the most part," he says. "I was on my way to work, so I managed to bring some things in with me. Haven't needed them yet. Uh, people here haven't tried to cause any trouble, so you don't have to worry about that. At least not right now. Some men in uniform have been through, and I think they're about to establish a perimeter."

It's hard to say. Steve would much rather have them by the lapels demanding answers, but when you've got a kid in tow you've got to keep your questions light and polite. As polite as you can manage, anyway.

[from_the_outside]

He breaks it down in the most calming way possible: letting her know he's able to react if things go south, but that he hasn't needed to yet; noting that the uniforms here seem to know what they're doing and are taking control of the situation.

It's all very reassuring, but then, she knows he's good at what he does, and that he was good at what he did: a situation like this, where tensions could be running high and people might start panicking, is right in his wheelhouse.

(Aunt Peggy always said he had a way with people, that for every bully who tried to silence him or shout over him or make a joke out of him, there were people who couldn't help but listen.)

So she nods, because Kate would cling to even the hint of normality and take it as a sign that things will turn out all right, and Kate would be at a loss to say much more after a brief pause than: "I think I'm going to be late to my shift today."

[stark_spangled]

"You and me both," he says with a sympathetic grimace. He wonders if Fury will come looking for him. He knows SHIELD doesn't like having him off the grid.

It almost makes this all worth it.

"Do you want to sit?" he asks, pulling out a chair for her. "I got some answers from an officer when I first came in. Not much, but enough so I can give you the basics of what's happening. I'm, uh. Actually glad I'm not the only one here. I mean, it's nice recognizing someone."

Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say. Telling someone you're glad they got abducted, too, doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like the compliment he meant.

[from_the_outside]

Pulling out chairs. She bets he opens doors for people, too, and offers to carry heavy grocery bags for old ladies. Who knew old-fashioned manners actually existed?

"Thanks," she says, taking the seat and sounding relieved to get off her feet. Her eyes stay on him, leaving her looking up at him throughout the minor verbal fumble, and it's...

Cute. That's the word. It's an alien thought: he's her mission. And the mission is what counts, not bumbling, weirdly comforting words.

But it's actually a useful reaction to have, so she lets it flash across her face, amused and a little embarrassed, as she reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "No, I know what you mean. I'm glad I'm not here alone, too."