[outlander psl au]

[womanofvalue]

The ground was saturated with so much rain that Peggy thought she might be washed away, but just because the plains were soaked didn't mean that the drills stopped. The soldiers didn't know it yet, but the landings were going to arrive sooner than anyone wanted and that meant no one can be untrained, lest they end up paying with their lives on those beaches. Today, when the fog rolled in, her superiors informed her that she would be running orienteering with her men, eliciting a sharp 'sir, yes, sir' from Peggy before she took the maps to her own private tent in order to brief the Lieutenants.

Leaning over to study the map, her stubborn engagement ring catches her eye. It had managed to escape from where she had tucked it away, just like all her thoughts about Fred. Their engagement was a terse and stressful thing. When she had announced that she was going into the field with the SSR, he had threatened to leave her. It had been her mother that had convinced Fred to wait Peggy out, insisting that once the war was over, things would change.

As much as Peggy was fond of Fred, she was beginning to see the splinters in their engagement turn to wider cracks, chasms so wide that you could lose sight of the love you once shared and guided you towards that engagement. Carefully, she pushed the ring back, securing it with one of her brassiere straps. Snapping her compass shut, she gave the objective and the orders. "I'll be out in the field to keep an eye on each platoon. The first to reach the objective will not run additional miles," she promised.

"The others will be doing laps around the base, respective to their finishing position." Folding up the map, she handed one to each of her four Lieutenants. "Let them look at it for a few hours, then to the navigator." With a few more orders, she allowed them to prepare as she herself got ready. She tugged on knee-high rain boots, an overcoat, and despite the misty fog in the air, she double-checked that her hair and makeup was in good shape.

Several hours later found Peggy in the thick of drills, listening to the shouts of men in the distance as they worked their way towards her and the objective. Standing there with a brolly, she glanced at her pocketwatch and decided mentally that she would see the first platoon in no more than forty-five minutes. Clasping the watch shut, the echo of it was drowned by another sound -- one that didn't belong. The sound of twigs and branches crunching made Peggy reach for her pistol, simply to be ready.

"Phillips?" she called out, thinking perhaps something had happened and she needed to recall her men. She saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a man in the fog and she found herself inexplicably drawn towards him, mainly because it simply didn't make any sense. "Who's there?" she asked, when it was clear that the man she was seeing didn't bear resemblance to anyone on base. This close, she could see that his hair had a strange look to it, not to mention his clothes. "Has there been an accident?" What could have happened to render the man in such a state?

(Peggy also did not need to allow her conscious thoughts to become aware of how handsome the man was, despite the fact she feared she was already a lost cause, given the way she was filled with a renewed warmth and how her gaze lingered)

They were inside a ring of large stones, which she vaguely recalled the locals warning her about. She had paid little mind, marking them perfunctorily on the map before moving on, but now she had to wonder if the talk of strange rituals wasn't at least a little true. Forty-five minutes. She had forty-five minutes until the men arrived, surely she could deal with this surprise in that time.

Comments

[bearstheshield]

"Ma'am, this is our training base. We leased it from the U.K.," Steve says politely. He's firm but unfailingly polite as he doesn't want to antagonize their host and ally. He has no idea why the field would be double booked but he's willing to cooperate with the feisty woman in front of him if it keeps everyone happy.

"Today is May 16th, isn't it? We booked this field for May 16th."

[womanofvalue]

"Yes, May 16th," she agrees, crossing her arms over her chest as she raises her chin defiantly in order to argue with him, right up until the point that she has NCO's at her ankles, demanding to know who won. "And I assure you, we have not leased out an inch of this land, not when it's so important to our drills."

"Which, you seem to be a part of some training exercise," she says, which is what baffles her. She checks her charts again, shaking her head. "Who's your commanding officer? I'll need to have a word with them about jumping on my exercises. How on earth do they expect the landing to go smoothly if we can't muster a few drills?" she demands.

[bearstheshield]

"I report to Nick Fury, ma'am," Steve says. He doesn't have a commanding officer in the traditional sense but he still answers to S.H.I.E.L.D and to Fury. If she needs to know more details than that, it's not his place to give them. In many ways, Steve is a rank and file soldier. While he takes initiative in the field as his rank warrants, he's also very cognizant of his higher ups and the respect they deserve. Her question is better directed to Fury than to himself.

"Colonel Nick Fury with S.H.I.E.L.D?"

[womanofvalue]

She has absolutely no record of them on the chart, which is only making her frustrations mount. Her patience is absolutely at its shortest when she hears footfalls behind her. "Well," comes the disdainful sound of Hodge, seemingly on his own, "I was told to scout ahead, but I didn't realize it would put us alone."

Peggy realizes that in the fog and with the sightlines, he hasn't seen the other man. She steps forward to deal with this new disaster, clocking the rest of them as five minutes away. "Not now, Hodge," she says impatiently.

"Why? There's no better time for you and me to get acquainted. I've seen the way you look at me," he says, "forget that ring, I know what a gal like you w..." His words evaporate in a yelp as Peggy takes his fingers and bends them back, hopefully fracturing them enough to teach a lesson, but not enough to put him out of commission. She punches him for good measure and gives him an order to rejoin his unit before she storms back to the other man.

"If you don't want that to be you, you're going to explain why you're on my training field," Peggy says, fire in her eyes, "We are at war, I have months before we land on Normandy, I have no time for your lies. You're coming back to base with me, but until I am assured you are actually one of us, you're coming as my guest," she says the word as though it's interchangeable with prisoner.

[bearstheshield]

Steve suddenly realizes that something terrible has happened. Normandy? The war had been over for sixty some odd years now. Why did this woman think they were in the middle of preparing to invade occupied France? There's something strange going on but for now, he thinks he needs to go along with her and do what he can to prove that he doesn't mean any harm to the Allied War Effort.

"I'll come along. But I promise you, ma'am, I'm not a spy. You can test me as much as you want but there's nobody I would rather be allied with than the great USA."

[womanofvalue]

Peggy is still on guard, her posture ridiculously straight. She needs to be firm and defiant in the face of men who don't believe in her, but she also doesn't understand what on earth has happened to this soldier that he's so confused. "For now, I'll keep you close at hand," she insists. "If you are a spy, time will tell. If not, you seem like you might be an asset, if your Avengers are willing to spare you," she notes.

Letting her gaze slide over him again, she instantly knows what he could be useful for. "There is a mission," she admits. "Most of our soldiers are in the midst of prep and I can do most of it alone, but I need some muscle. If you are trustworthy, we may just press you into some work."

[bearstheshield]

"I would be happy to serve, ma'am. I'm here to do whatever you need me to do," Steve promises. He doesn't know how he's managed to end up in the 1940s but he's going to do everything he can to help the war effort until he can figure out how to get back to his own time and place. He's just too honorable, too forthright and too patriotic to abandon his allies and if there's a job that needs to be done, he'll do it.

"I appreciate you giving me a chance and not throwing me in the brig."

[womanofvalue]

At least he seems to respect her more than Hodge. Peggy still isn't sure she trusts him, but she doesn't have time to think of that now, digging her whistle from its cord when the men come over the hill to join her at the stones. She hits the end button on her stopwatch and nods. She offers mild praise, mild rebukes, and goals for next time before sending them back for dinner.

That leaves her with whomever this is standing with her in such ridiculous garb. "Stop calling me Ma'am," is her order. "I'm Agent Carter," she says, thinking that perhaps eventually, she'll offer a first name. "Who are you, and why would your superior officer send you out in such ridiculously inappropriate clothing?"

[bearstheshield]

Steve looks down at his suit and realizes that, yes, it's actually pretty ridiculous looking. The kevlar weave is pretty good at stopping the bullets that his shield misses but overall, the effect is that he's donned an American flag and it's over the top patriotic. He's always been proud to wear the stars and stripes, for certain, but it's not exactly something that blends in.

"Well, Agent Carter, this is kevlar. It stops bullets. As to the colors? I just really love serving my country."

[womanofvalue]

She doesn't even flinch once, not finding the joke particularly amusing, not after the day she's had. "Come on, march," she gives the order, pointing for him to walk in front of her. He might not seem like a threat, but she also doesn't want to take any chances. He might seem like the typical all-American handsome man with looks to spare, but she also would never live it down if he managed to get one over on her.

This is why she needs to be cautious. "Your name," she says, as she starts to walk. "Your real name, please."

[bearstheshield]

"Steve Rogers," Steve answers, careful to keep himself in front of her as she'd directed. He's not looking to get on Agent Carter's bad side, especially when it seems like somehow he's a man out of time. It seems impossible but, then again, most things about his life are impossible. This is just the sixth impossible thing he's heard since breakfast.

"Captain Steven Grant Rogers, US Army."

[womanofvalue]

She'll look him up when they're back at the base. She's sure that they can afford a telegram to make sure they're not entertaining a German spy who's simply learned to act like an American. The uniform seems to patently ridiculous that she imagines it has to be some setup. Watching him go, she tries not to let her gaze linger on his perfectly displayed arse, but it is a touch hard when she's put him before her.

"Captain Rogers, welcome to England," she says. "We have only a few months before the largest operation begins in this war. If your little Avenger unit isn't already working with us, then there's something else you can do. Provided you are who you say you are, but the records ought to show it, soon enough."

[bearstheshield]

"I'll be happy to help in any way that I can," Steve says. He hopes there's someone in this war with his name because otherwise he's going to be in a world of trouble when they can't find his enlistment records.

"How far have you gotten in the drills for this operation? You don't have to answer if it compromises security."

[womanofvalue]

She's not planning to answer until she has her answers about precisely who he is, but his curiosity is something she notes. "Right now, you can march," she informs him. "You know, now, what will happen if your story doesn't check out. I don't take kindly to liars, no matter how handsome and charming they may seem," Peggy remarks calmly, tucking her clipboard in against her side.

"I should be asking you what role the Avengers have in this," she counters.

[bearstheshield]

"I'm telling the truth. If there aren't records to back that up, please know that I am not attempting to sabotage your efforts here. I hate the Nazis as much as anyone, I promise, and I'm not looking to do anything that's going to harm the Allies or their war effort. I'll swear that on the Bible."

Steve had been raised Catholic but, over time, he'd lapsed in faith. He's wondering if he ought to try and pray a little harder now and hope that somehow, some way, there's a record of him so he doesn't get thrown in prison.

[womanofvalue]

"I'm not very religious," is Peggy's calm reply, offering him fair warning that she's not about to just trust him. Still, he seems like an ally, but a good spy can seem like anything. She's learned to be exactly that in her own missions and she'll not be taken advantage of because she lets her guard down.

She signals for the base. "Come with me, Captain," she commands. "You're not leaving my sight, not until I can prove you are who you are." She's still struggling to understand where he could come from without her noticing, aware that she's ignoring all those ridiculous stories from town.

[bearstheshield]

"Yes ma'am," Steve says, trailing her heels. He's not looking to cause any trouble and anything he can do to prove his loyalty, he's going to. He's always been loyal to a fault and while it's a rare quality in his era, it's one that's important to him to have.

"I'll scrub latrines if you want. I'm here to do whatever is necessary, no matter how unsavory. That's what a soldier does."

[womanofvalue]

He's either telling the truth or he's a very, very good spy. Peggy knows which one she hopes it to be, but still, she's not about to let him go regardless of the outcome. She gets him to the base and directs him towards one of the offices where she can start pulling files. With him in a chair, she works and sends her contacts, but her efforts are proven fruitless when she has nothing to show for it.

Her face falling, Peggy leans on the cabinet and checks with the intelligence on base to see if he's a suspected spy for the other side, but they have nothing either. "Could be," Phillips tells her, when she stops to ask him, "that you just got the help you need to rescue Erskine."

She knows she needs to leave soon, get to Castle Kaufmann if she's going to get Erskine out. While she has to do the last part of the mission alone, she also needs to get there.

"Or is there a problem with him?"

"None," Peggy remarks curtly, "I simply don't know if I can trust him. There's something strange about him." Still, as she returns to where she's left Captain Rogers, she also knows she'd rather bring him along than Hodge, who's been Phillips' recommendation. "On your feet," she says. "It's time for a briefing."

[bearstheshield]

"I guess everything checked out, then?" Steve is trying to play this as nonchalant but he would be a liar if he didn't feel his heart rate double. If he gets pegged as a German spy, he's not going to have the luxury of being a prisoner of war. More than likely, he's going to be tortured for information and executed - unless England is more forgiving than most.

That is the worst case scenario, though, and he has to hold onto hope that it's all going to work out. The last thing he wants is to jeopardize the war effort.

[womanofvalue]

"The opposite." She sounds confused and a little taken aback, but she's not entirely sure what to do about it. "There's nothing about you, not from our side or the other." It means that she's going to have to be wary and at the first sign of danger, Peggy has absolutely no problem taking this man out, no matter how much bigger than her he seems. Breathing in sharply, she gestures for him to go into a room.

"Is there anyone to alert about your absence? Your Avengers? Wife?" she asks, unsure why she'd asked that last part, but rather than be embarrassed, she simply keeps a steady look on her face.

[bearstheshield]

"I don't think so," Steve admits. "If I told you something, something a little crazy, would you try to believe it? Because I'm not sure how much I believe it myself but I need to be as honest with you as I can be and I don't want to keep anything from you. You've given me a lot of latitude by not throwing me in the brig so I think I owe you the honesty in return."

He doesn't know how this is going to go down, at all, but he's going to take a chance on Agent Carter.

[womanofvalue]

Peggy's not entirely sure, honestly. After all, this man came out of nowhere in strange garb, looking like a madman, but she's also about to take him on a secret mission and she needs to know all that she can learn about him. "You can try me," she allows, not willing to promise one way or the other whether she's going to believe whatever this 'something a little crazy' might be, even as her imagination starts to fill in gaps without her meaning it to.

"Are you not really a soldier?" she ought to wait and let him tell her, but she needs to know that, first and foremost.

[bearstheshield]

"I am, and I am a captain in the US Army. I've just not been born yet," Steve explains. "Something happened when I got near the standing stones. I heard this weird buzzing and everything just kind of faded away. When I staggered back down the hill, I had a splitting headache and it was colder - it had been sunny and bright the day we were doing our training exercise - and you are all part of my past."

He pauses for a moment. "For me, this war was over fifty years ago. The Allies win the war."

[womanofvalue]

She wants to accuse him of having her on, but despite her instant reaction to not believe him, there's something that makes Peggy hesitate. Her arms crossed her her chest, she waits and lets her mind parse through the evidence. He's mad, she knows that, or is he? What if he really did somehow make it back in time? There's been legends about those stones for ages, but why would he come here? Why would Peggy be the one to find this madman.

She leans over to find a pair of non-descript civilian clothes, pushing them in his direction. "Change," she says. "You can't go wandering around looking like something out of a USO show," she says, still not sure whether she fully believes him, but she does believe that he's not from around here.

[bearstheshield]

"I never was much for the song and dance," Steve agrees. He ducks into a men's bathroom to change and while the clothes fit, the shirt's a tight fit and stretches across his chest; Steve is certain you can see every muscle. The pants at least aren't quite as tight but they're a lot tighter than he'd normally wear a pair of khakis.

He tugs at the shirt self-consciously as he walks out. "Do I look less like the featured entertainment now?"