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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

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Stark Spangled Banner Ch16: Till The End Of The Line

Summary: The launch is growing ever nearer and in a desperate attempt to stop it before it is too late, the renegade group are intercepted by the Winter Soldier. When he is unmasked, Steve finds himself face to face with someone he presumed dead a LONG time ago, his childhood friend, Bucky Barnes. Only Bucky has no idea who he is... Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Violence, bad language words, and some angst.

A/N: This was updated on 18th Sept 2020 to include a little more action at the beginning and a bit of creative license as to how the fight between Steve and Buck on the helicarrier went down, with the addition of Katie being there. Originally I deleted this part, but I found it...and thought it was actually pretty good...so here it is.

Open for tags- ping me an ask

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

"HYDRA doesn't like leaks," Sitwell continued to talk and try to plead his case as they drove down the freeway, heading back towards the Triskellion.

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it," Sam finally snapped.

"Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here," Nat said sticking her head between the two front seats from where she was sat in the middle seat next to Sitwell, Katie on her other side behind Steve's seat.

"We can use him to bypass the DNA scans…” Steve said, clearly having already thought it through. “That way we can access the Helicarriers directly, "What?! Are you crazy?! That is a terrible, terrible idea-" Sitwell began to protest but was cut off, his screams dying as he was pulled out of the car and thrown into oncoming traffic just as a sixteen-wheeler was going past. Katie let out a scream as Sam yelled “Shit” and there was a shot fired, a bullet ripping into the seat where Katie had been sat seconds before, Natasha pulling her to the side.

"Move!" Natasha yelled at Steve as she clambered through the middle of the two seat and onto his lap pulling him down away from the next bullet which was meant for him. Steve pulled on the handbrake and the person on the roof dropped down onto the street. All 4 of them in the car watched as he rolled and rolled and used his metal arm to slow his momentum before standing up. He was tall, well built, long dark hair whipping around his masked face.

“It’s him…” Natasha said, her voice almost a whisper, “The Winter Soldier.”

Katie aimed her gun through the windscreen, taking aim, when they were violently hit from behind causing Katie’s usual dead shot to ricochet off the side of the man’s arm instead of his head. The car behind pushed them closer and closer to him until he was able to leap back onto the roof, as Nat searched for her gun and Katie aimed hers upwards. Suddenly, a metal hand smashed through the windshield and pulled out the steering wheel from Sam’s hand.

"Shit!" Sam yelled again. Natasha, after having found her gun, started shooting at him but the Winter Soldier jumped onto the jeep behind their car that had started erratically pushing theirs along the road.

“Katie…!” Steve yelled, gesturing for me to climb into the front. "Hang on!”

She scrambled over the central gap between the front seats as Steve broke open the door with his shield pushed up against it, holding onto them all as best he could as the car began to flip. They dropped from the car onto the door as well as the shield and slid roughly along the street. Sam lost his grip and slipped away but luckily he only tumbled a few metres away mostly unharmed.

The three of them that remained hanging onto the shield quickly stood once they had come to a complete stop, the jeep that had caused the crash stopping as well, men all fully armed climbing out and one of them handing the Winter Soldier a grenade launcher, which he immediately used. Steve pushed Katie and Natasha out of the way and took the full force of the grenade with his shield which sent him flying over the bridge, just as the Winter Soldier reloaded and began firing at the rest of them.

They quickly dove for cover behind a car and together moved along the bridge, car by car, Natasha and Katie shooting back at the soldiers with their hand guns. Katie tossed one of my spare pistols to Sam who caught it, and started firing as well. This was working at keeping them at bay reasonably well, until they were forced to the edge of the bridge and the Winter Soldier shot another grenade at them.

There was nothing for it, they had to jump. Nat had her anchor so she leapt off, grabbing Katie’s hand as she shot up at the concrete of the bridge. They landed a bit heavier than normal, Katie rolling a few feet over the contract but she was soon back on her feet and running behind Natasha under the bridge. Nat skidded to a halt as they reached the other end, the shadow of the Winter Soldier visible on the ground in front of them. They shared a quick glance and with a nod they split up, Katie veering left, Natasha veering right. With a deep breath, Katie stepped out from the shelter of the bridge, took aim and shot her gun up at the Soldier and she saw his head jerk back, and then he removed his glasses. She had hit where she had aimed but it hadn’t done as much damage as she had hoped.

Ducking back under the bridge she carried on running and at this point she could hear machine gun firing and paused as she turned to see the fire trained onto a bus. Steve emerged from the end of it, rolling and picking up his shield and adding to the fray, Sam was firing at hostiles as well from his vantage point above.

“Go, I got this…”He yelled and Steve set off running once more.

Katie turned and looked across the way, the Winter Soldier was stalking between cars, presumably looking for them. She shadowed him, remaining a good distance away, as he rolled something under a car. Next thing she knew, there was an explosion and Nat had vaulted onto his back, attempting to tackle him that way. Katie sprinted towards her, and then slid across the floor, kicking at the back of his knee, making him stumble slightly but nothing more. She jumped up just as he flipped Natasha over onto her back and aimed a shot at him causing him to leap off somewhere to his right. Katie spun round, her gun aimed ready, looking for him but he was nowhere to be seen.

She started to sprint over towards Natasha, yelling at the screaming members of the public to get out of the way as she went, when she felt a searing pain in her shoulder. She gave a scream of pain, stumbled, and dropped to her knees putting a hand to the wound someone had just shot clean through. She backed up against a car, breathing hard looking around again when a thump from behind her had her turning to see that the Winter Soldier had hopped onto the hood of the car behind the one she was leaning on, gun aimed straight at her head.

Steve had heard that scream and he spun round to see Katie was pressed up against a car, her hand up against her left shoulder, her eyes fearful. As he turned to sprint towards her, the the Winter Soldier hopped up onto the car behind, taking aim with his gun Steve launched his shield with a loud grunt and It knocked the metal armed man off the car, but with practiced ease the assassin landed on his feet and made to shoot again but Steve was right there, on him, launching a knee to his chest. The Winter Soldier stumbled slightly, before he cocked his head to one side, threw his gun away and advanced on Steve. The two began to fight, furiously, Steve blocking the swipes the assassin took at him with a dagger, slamming him into cars with his shield.

Toe to toe they went, the fight was furious. Each landing blows which would under normal circumstances dispatched an opponent but here, they were pretty equally matched. The man was just as strong as Steve and The Captain realised that he had to be enhanced.

As the fight was raging between the two men, Natasha reached Katie’s side and dropped to her knees, ripping off her jacket and covered the wound with it in an attempt to stem the blood flow. "Alright, c'mon." She said wrapping her arm over her shoulders. "Get up."

She helped Katie to her feet, and the injured woman looked back in time to see the Winter Soldier launch himself at Steve. Steve managed to grab him under his chin, propelling him straight over the top of him in a huge arc, causing his mask to clatter to the ground right before the dark haired man landed gracefully on his feet. Steve stood up, waiting to see the face of the man who was causing them so much goddamned trouble, but when the guy turned round, he felt his heart stop.

Katie frowned as she watched as Steve stood stock still, staring at the now unmasked Winter Soldier who looked oddly familiar. It took her a moment but then she realised, he was familiar because she’d seen him in photos. His hair was longer, and he looked a little more ragged round the edges, but it was him.

Steve took a deep breath, his heart stopping as he looked into the man’s grey eyes.

“Bucky?” he gasped, frowning.

“Who the hell’s Bucky?” the man said. Steve paused, it sounded like him. It looked like him. It was him, but in the same way it wasn’t. What had Hydra done? The Soldier seemed to be thinking about something, before he shook his head slightly and aimed at Steve with his last remaining gun, but before he could shoot Sam swooped down, his wings once again attached to his back, and kicked him away but he didn’t stay down for long.

Katie looked around, and noticed that there was an RPG on the floor, she nodded towards it and Natasha picked it up, and aimed a well fired grenade over Steve’s head, forcing him to duck. It exploded where the Winter Soldier had stood, bringing the fight to an end.

Steve turned and looked and Katie slumped against the van, struggling to stay on her feet. It was then that black vans and jeeps surrounded them, and the former STRIKE teams piled out.

"Drop the Shield, Captain! Get down on your knees! Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!" Rumlow shouted out the orders. Steve did as he was told and placed his shield on the ground while holding his hands up defensively, not once taking his eyes off Katie, as she screamed in pain as a hand sharply grabbed her shoulder, pressing down on the injury. She was hauled forwards, stumbling, her hands roughly snapped in cuffs in front of her.

Steve started to struggle but a gun was pressed into the back of his head causing him to stop. He didn’t listen to what they were saying, he was too busy trying to make sure Katie was ok, and then there was Bucky. As he stood up and was shoved forward, he was directed towards an SUV, followed by Nat and Sam. He turned to see Katie fall as she was shoved forwards before being wrenched roughly back to her feet by Rumlow who grabbed her arm harshly and grinned as he leant down, his mouth inches from her ear.

“Of all the times I dreamed of getting you in handcuffs…” he said, loud enough for Steve to here. The soldier let out a growl in his throat as Katie bared her teeth at Rumlow.

“Fuck you.” she spat.

“Oh darling, if only…”

“I warned you what would happen if you touched my girl again…” Steve snarled as with a huge wrench he snapped the cuffs that were pinning his arms behind his back and kicked out at the soldier that was stood at the side of the SUV. He advanced towards Rumlow. who almost lazily pulled a pistol from his belt and held the barrel against Katie’s head.

“One more move Rogers and I’ll blow her pretty little head off.”

Steve stopped dead, swallowing, his eyes blazing as he looked at Katie, her face was contorted in pain from the shot in her shoulder. She fixed her eyes on his, and he took a deep breath and looked back at Rumlow.

“In the van...” Rumlow instructed.

And Steve knew he had no choice. With a last look at his girl he turned, bowing his head slightly. Once inside a pair of masked agents shoved him down, one giving him a harsh dig to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him as they clamped his feet in strong shackles to the side of the van, clamping his hands together in equally strong restraints in his lap.

Rumlow just laughed and threw Katie into the SUV, unceremoniously. She staggered to a seat as the doors swung shut behind them, the van starting and beginning to move only moments later.

Steve’s heart was in his mouth as he saw the extent to which his girl was hurt, the left side of her denim jacket was soaked with blood. She lay her head back against the seat and took a deep breath letting out a moan. It hurt. A lot.

“Katie…” Steve he said, making sure his voice was calm “Come on, talk to me, sweetheart.”

“You know…” she said, opening one eye. “I’m going to get one of my childhood friends shoot you, see how you like it…”

Steve took a deep breath, glad she was still able to make jokes, but also comforted by the fact she’d recognised Bucky too, and he wasn’t going totally crazy.

“Childhood friend?” Sam asked “You mean that dude, Robocop? You know him?”

“Bucky…” Katie whispered, looking at Sam “Steve’s Riley…”

“He was my best friend. One of the Commandos.” Steve said softly, looking at his feet.

“What?” Natasha questioned. “It can’t be…”

"It was him," Steve said "And he looked right at me like he didn't even know me."

"How is that even possible?" Sam asked in disbelief. "That was like, seventy years ago."

"Zola," Steve immediately answered. "Bucky's unit was captured back in 43'. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and..."

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Katie said gently as she grit her teeth through the pain in her shoulder. She was starting to feel a little light headed.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

He heard Katie taking a deep breath through her nose, and suddenly he was jerked back to the here and now. She needed help.

"We need a doctor here," Sam’s voice sounded out, beating him to it as she rest her head back against the seat. She was starting to feel really sleepy. Really sleepy.

“I think I need to sleep…” she muttered, softly and Steve instantly leaned forward, speaking in his Captain’s voice in a hope it would jerk her out of it.

“Stay awake. Eyes on me, doll”

"If we don't put pressure on that wound, she's gonna bleed out here in the truck...” Sam cut off and Steve turned to see why, watching with an open mouth when he saw the guard on the left whip out an electric rod, before flipping it and electrocuting the other guard before kicking and knocking them unconscious.

"That thing was squeezing my brain," Maria Hill complained as she pried the helmet off.

“Nice of you to show up…” Katie groaned, “We only called you like what, 12 hours ago…”

“Who's this guy?" Hill asked, ignoring Katie and nodding to Sam.

"Sam Wilson." Steve quickly introduced him, happy to see a friendly face. "Sam this is Maria. She's on our side." He added and Sam nods accepting Steve's word as Hill took out a set of keys and began to unlock their restraints.

Steve was by Katie’s side as soon as he was free. Her arms were released and she moved, crying out in pain.

“It’s ok…” he said as the truck stopped. “We’ll get you fixed up honey, I promise.”

"We gotta' get moving, Cap." Hill said, moving to the middle of the van. “Stand back”

What the device was he had no idea, but he didn’t care. It lazered through the SUV floor with ease and he turned to see Katie had now passed out. Giving a groan of frustration, he gently picked her up, and Maria dropped herself out of the SUV, then Natasha, then Sam who Steve passed his girl to gently. Once he was out, they rolled to the side, dodged down an alley and into another waiting SUV. Sam gently placed Katie on one of the seats, Hill passing Steve a spare jacket so that he could place it over the wound, applying pressure.

“Lay her flat…” Sam said, as the SUV sped forward “it’ll help stop the flow…”

With Sam’s help they managed to manoeuvre Katie so she was lay with her head on Steve’s lap. She murmured something and with his spare hand he gently carded his fingers through her hair.

“We’re not far out Cap.” Maria said, looking at him “Bout 20 mins or so. I’ll call ahead to medical, make sure they’re prepped”

He nodded and leaned back, lost in his thoughts. Bucky, Katie, Bucky, Katie… like a mantra it kept repeating in his head. Sam and Natasha were busy asking Maria questions, and he vaguely caught her answers-there was a secret SHIELD base outside town, no Hydra didn’t know, yes she was sure, yes she knew about insight and yes it needed to be stopped.

After what felt like the longest 20 minutes of Steve’s life they drew up to a stop outside what looked like a huge dam of sorts built into the side of a hill, and Steve stood up, easily picking Katie up into his arms, following Maria’s direction. They entered the large concrete doors into a brightly lit corridor and Maria shouted to someone who was running towards them dressed in a white coat.

"GSW. She's lost at least a pint!" Maria was shouting.

"Maybe two," Sam added.

He felt Katie stir in his arms and he glanced down to see her blinking, her eyes screwed against the light.

“Where…” she grimaced slightly at the pain both in her head and her shoulder. Fuck, she had no idea where she was or what had happened, other than she had clearly passed out.

“We’re safe.” Steve said, pressing his lips to her forehead, relieved to hear her voice even if she did sound like she was in agony.

"Let me take her," the doctor called out.

“No,” Steve said firmly, his grip on Katie tightening slightly “Show me where to put her.”

"They’ll want to see him first" Maria said to the doctor who nodded and gestured for Steve to follow him.

“Who?” Katie asked, blinking.

No one answered and they were led to a room at the back of the facility where Hill pushed aside the plastic divider to where a very much alive Nick Fury was sat up in a bed.

Steve felt his mouth drop open as Fury remarked. "About damn time."

The doctor came in behind them and gestured for Steve to place Katie into a seat so he could start working on her wound. He did so gently, his hand sliding into her hair once more as he placed a kiss onto the crown of her head, not moving far from her, his hand gently resting on her good shoulder.

“This is gonna sting a bit Miss Stark…” the doctor said, and she nodded, hissing as he injected the local into the wound, and her spare hand reached up to grip Steve’s.

“You ok?” he crouched down and she turned to look at him.

“Marvellous.” she said, sarcastically “This is the best day of my life.”

He chuckled, as long as she was being snarky she was ok. “You’ll be fine, won’t she doc?”

The doctor nodded. “I know it doesn’t feel like it but this is quite superficial.” he held up the bullet he had removed. “It hasn’t gone in too deep. You’ve just lost a fair bit of blood but I’m not too concerned, unlike him”

He gestured at Fury and Katie turned to look at him as Steve stood up doing the same.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache." Fury spoke.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," The doctor added.

"Let's not forget that," Fury chuckled. "Otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open," Natasha spoke to Fury. Her voice not accusing but hurt, "Your heart stopped."

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it." Fury replied

“Ok you’re done.” The doctor said and Steve turned back to see Katie who was now plugged up to a bag of blood. “Bit of rest and I’ll check your levels later.”

“Thanks…” she said, turning back to Fury.

"Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful," Hill informed Steve eyed her, remembering how defeated she had looked at the hospital when they announced Fury's 'death'. Either she hadn't known at the time, or she was a damn good actor.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust," the Director admitted.

*******

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility," Fury scoffed while throwing a picture of Alexander Pierce to the middle of the table they were all sat round once they had all finished telling each other what had happened at the various stages of the day. "See, it’s stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," declared Steve.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury added with a huff of a laugh, even though there was nothing funny about the situation at all.

“Ok so what do we do?” Katie cut in, “How do we stop it?”

Hill glanced at Fury before she leaned forward in her seat to grab the case which had been sitting on the table. She clicked the locks, opened up the top and spun it round to show them what was inside- 3 equally sized chips with similar designs of code etched into them.

"Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized," Agent Hill explained, opening up a laptop. She turned it around to allow them to see a simulated concept video of what she was saying. "We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own. One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We have to get past them, insert these server blades. And maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left-" Fury started but he was cut off by Steve who harshly interrupted.

"We're not salvaging anything.” He said shaking his head slowly, and he meant it. “We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We're taking down SHIELD"

"SHIELD had nothing to do with this." Fury tried to defend his organization but there was a derisive snort which cut him short. Everyone turned in the direction from which it had been issued.

“Sorry, did I do that out loud?” Katie said, sitting up slightly.

“You gave me this mission.” Steve said, turning back to Nick, shaking his head “This is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised. You said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed," Fury said waving around him as if it was somehow enough.

"How many paid the price before you did?" Steve snapped, voice still hard, as his mind turned to Bucky.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes." Fury sighed sitting back in his seat.

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalised that, too?” Steve’s tone was icy. He knew the director hadn’t been involved in whatever Hydra had done but he couldn’t help but feel angry. He took a deep breath and when he spoke again his voice was softer but still as stern “SHIELD, Hydra…” he shook his head gently “it all goes."

"He's right," Hill finally spoke, sadness tinged her voice.

Director Fury looked at every single person in the room. He made specific eye contact with Katie who raised her eyebrows, defiantly. Natasha didn’t react at all, which in itself was enough. Then finally he looked to Sam, clearly curious as to what he thought about the whole thing.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower," Sam vouched. Steve couldn’t help but smirk slightly.

"Well..." Fury leaned back and let out a sigh as he looked Steve in the eye. "It looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

Whilst Steve was glad, he took no pleasure in what they were about to do. SHIELD along with Katie had been his anchor after waking up and bringing the security agency to its knees made him quite sad, especially after Peggy, Howard and Chester had been its founders. Nevertheless it was the right thing to do and for the next few hours they sat discussing and eventually had the bones of a plan in which each person had a different role to play. Natasha would be posing as one of the World Security Council members, using a Photostatic Veil to bypass the security measures, joined by Fury. And, as Hill had somehow retrieved Katie’s Nova suit from her car (Katie didn’t even bother asking how) her, Steve and Sam would be the ones going from helicarrier to helicarrier with the chips and switching out the old ones with the new ones. Maria would be on the ground, making sure all was going to plan.

“We’re going to have to come up with another way to disable the encryption.” Nat said, looking at Fury as he took a sip from a bottle of water. “Pierce will have erased all of your clearance from the Triskelion system”

“Not all of it.” Hill said with a wry smile

“What do you mean?” Katie frowned, taking the chocolate bar Steve handed to her with a smile. The doctor was happy with her blood levels but told her to keep her sugar and energy levels high, as such, Steve was ensuring she ate enough by consistently passing her snacks from the pile that Hill had dumped in the middle of the table for everyone to munch on until pizzas arrived.

Fury looked at her, then to Hill, before he reached up and flipped up his eyepatch revealing his badly scarred right eye.

“I build safety switches into most things these days.” He said dryly. “There’s a scan of this eye hidden on an old database, a seemingly un-active one from the 90s... “

“So if we can access that database remotely, we can pull that scan across onto the active one and bingo.” Katie grinned, swallowing her bite of the Snickers.

“We don’t have the capacity to do that from here.” Natasha sighed,

“No, but JARVIS can" Katie said

“Alright.” Steve said, drawing himself up to full height “We only have..." he checked the clock on the wall. "6 hours until the launch." Steve nodded at the people who were watching him from their spots at the table. "Everyone, I suggest we get to it.”

There was a flurry of movement accompanied with the scraping of chairs as people pushed themselves away from the table, ready to put their wheels of the plan into motion.

****

“Hey JARVIS…” Katie said as she accessed the AI on one of the laptops

“Miss Stark…” JARVIS greeted.

“I got another favour to ask. I need access to SHIELD's old clearance scans from 1995. We're talking the high-ups, the OG's."

"Dare I ask why?" and Katie rolled her eyes at his response. Fucking Tony.

"Because." she answered simply in the hope it would stop him from questioning her. It did.

“It might take me a little while.”

“Fast as you can J.” she said, “We’re up against it here.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to contact Mr Stark?” he asked

“No, I don’t”

It took 30 minutes. Thanking JARVIS, Katie started to scroll through the database to get the name she wanted. She quickly scanned the information. The database was full of former SHIELD security clearances. Some had moved on to other places - CIA, FBI, etc. Others had to get new clearances when they moved up in the world of SHIELD, few had just simply died and left their clearances behind.

The one she was looking for was still alive, although HYDRA and Pierce thought otherwise. Fury had hidden an alternative retina scan under the name Carol Danvers. She had no idea if that was a significant name to him or just something random, but she didn’t really care. She pulled the access pass and sent it to the main database so they could use it when they got to the Triskelion without going through the backway again.

Taking a deep breath before standing up, she glanced down at the laptop before closing it and heading off to find Steve.

The soldier was outside, desperate for some fresh air, lost in his thoughts. He should have gone back for Bucky. He survived the fall, but Steve had left him. Left him to the clutches of HYDRA, who had brainwashed him into becoming their assassin. He ran his hand over his face and leaned against the railing, watching as the first tendrils of daylight broke over the horizon.

As always he was aware of her presence before she spoke, so he wasn’t surprised when she asked if he was ok, and turned to face her, letting out a sight.

“Not really…” he said, honest to a fault.

“You know, this is the right thing to do…” she said, as she slid between him and the barricade of the bridge so that her lower back was pressed against the rails.

“I know.” both his hands dropped to her hips. “I really wish you’d sit this one out”

“I can’t sit it out Steve. You know that.” she said “this is personal for me too. Besides, you need me.”

He understood. And there was no point trying to make her stay behind, she was probably the only person on the planet that could rival him for stubbornness. And she was right, they did need her.

“He’s going to be there.” Katie said gently, breaking the silence.

“I know.”

“Whoever he used to be, the guy he is now… I don’t think he’s the kind you can save, Steve. He’s the kind we need to stop.”

“I have to try” Steve said, eventually looking at her, pleading with her to understand “I can’t just give up on him.

She did understand, she understood perfectly well, and could only imagine what he was feeling at seeing his best friend, the man he had known all through his childhood, manipulated in such a way.

"We can never give up on those we care about, we can only try our best." she said. “Just...remember that he's not the same person he was seventy years ago."

He raised his eyebrows up slightly.

"Neither am I." he responded matter of factly. She held eye contact with him for a moment, but she knew there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise; Bucky was his best friend. He loved him and wasn't about to let Hydra take him away again and eventually she gave a soft smile.

“I know.” she said gently, just before he pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back, eagerly, the kiss grew deeper and his hands crept from her hips up to her hair, pulling her closer as he pressed against her, trapping her completely against the barrier.

Eventually, reluctantly, he pulled away laying his forehead against hers

“I love you.” he said softly

“I love you too.” she replied

He looked over her shoulder at the rising sun and took a slight step back. “Tell the rest of ‘em to suit up, it’s time.”

In the meantime, he had his own suit to get. One which he’d been wearing the last time he took those fuckers down. And he was hoping, albeit probably in vain, that if he did encounter the Winter Soldier, it would jolt Buck’s memory about who he was.

“You gonna wear that?” she said, gesturing to his chinos and jacket, her eyebrow raised.

Steve looked at her with a smirk. "If you're gonna' win a war, you've gotta wear a uniform. He dropped a kiss to her head and took off at a run.

Katie smiled as she watched him knowing exactly where he was going.

*****

“Comms on 6…” Hill said as Steve, Sam and Katie jumped down from the SUV on the side of the Potomac to the Triskelion, not far from where the control operations were. Katie was holding the case that contained her suit in her right hand. She’d confessed to Sam that she’d only flown in it a few times, but Sam wasn’t too concerned and neither was Steve. Sam had promised to fly with her in tandem, and Steve trusted the man completely despite only having known him a number of days.

“Rogers, Hill…” Fury spoke in their ears “I’ll open ours as soon as it is safe to do so…” he paused. “Good luck.” They silently and quickly made their way down the side of the Potomac. The first task was to disrupt the comms and security surrounding the Launch Bunker so that no one would know they were arriving. A simple EMP did that.

And then, just as Steve was about to kick the door in to the main room, it opened.

The techy on the other side simply stared as he was confronted with the 4 of them. His eyes flickered first to Steve, then to the Katie and Mara who had their guns trained on him.

"Excuse us," Steve shot the tech a pointed look. He immediately held his hands up and stepped aside to let them enter with a nervous, slightly scared look on his face.

They stepped inside, looking around at the remaining 8 or so people in the bunker, all of whom immediately raised their hands.

“You got exactly 10 seconds to get the hell outta here…” Sam said, looking around. They didn’t need telling twice, several of them tripping over in their scramble to the door.

“Bit dramatic don’t you think?” Katie teased, as Sam shrugged, a grin spreading across his face as she dropped her case to the floor. Steve gently pushed past her towards the desk.

“Which one is it?” Steve was looking for the coms button which would project his voice around the Triskellion. Maria pointed to one of the buttons and mics on the desk in front of her, where she was sat, tapping at the computer.

Steve looked at Katie and licked his lips, somewhat nervously. He had given speeches before, but none like this.

“If there’s anyone that can make people understand it’s you.” Katie encouraged, and he nodded, taking a deep breath, before pushing the button, his voice suddenly amplifying as it filled every speaker in the building.

"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there.” he took a pause before he continued “If you launch those Helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not,"

He finished and took a deep breath as Katie smiled at him and Sam looked up.

"Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" he quipped.

Steve looked at him, trying to keep his face straight, before he turned to Maria who smiled, nodding at the screen.

“Alright, I’m in…” she said, before reaching into the briefcase and handing each of them one of the new targeting chips. “Get in, switch them over, get out.”

They all nodded and Katie bent over, pressing her fingers onto the security pad on the case containing her suit. As it sprang open she stepped forward, the metal pieces connecting and flowing over her body, the dark navy and gold suit forming around her before the face plate slid down.

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen…” Sam muttered, and Steve smiled. He’d only seen her in it once before when she had been running a test flight. Katie turned to Sam and although he couldn’t see her face, Steve knew from her tone she was grinning.

“You aint seen nothing yet Sammy…”

The three of them made their way around the banks of the river towards the triskelion, Sam and Steve running, Katie flying behind them at a low height. Suddenly, feeling the vibrations under his feet Steve skidded to a halt, Sam doing the same. Katie landed behind them, and looked down.

“What’s that?” she asked as the floor vibrated below them, retracting her face plate. ”JARVIS, gimme a scan…”

“Below the Potomac river is a hangar…” JARVIS said, his voice sounding in Steve’s ear too. “And it looks like the doors are activated.” No sooner had he finished than Maria’s voice came over the comms "They're initiating the launch"

“Clearly your speech rattled them enough to bring it forward…” Katie said as the 3 of them headed to where the ground was opening and the Hellicarriers were launching.

“Hey Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" Sam questioned as he ran.

"If they're shooting at you they're bad." Steve answered. Sam extended his wings and flew off after the highest Hellicarrier, while Steve jumped down onto the launching bay beginning to fight, Katie flying behind him, doing her best to clear out as many agents as she could

"Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about," Sam suddenly reported.

"You alright?" Katie asked.

"Not dead yet," Sam answered

Together Katie and Steve fought their way across the bay, clearing as much of a path for Steve as possible, before Katie spiralled through the air and up towards the one she had been designated. Dodging fire easily as she went thanks to JARVIS’ evasion techniques, she landed with a clang on the deck.

“I’m in…” she said, before a barrage of bullets ricoched off her back. She turned, cocked my head to one side before she smirked.

“Hi fellas…” she said, firing up her repulsor beams and sending them their way, before shooting upwards once more towards the central control column.

"Falcon, status?" Maria demanded.

"Engaging," Sam reported, before a moment later "Alright, I'm in…oh,shit!” he cursed.

"Eight minutes," Maria warned

"Working on it," Steve’s reply was punctuated by a grunt.

When Katie’s carrier was clear, which didn’t take too long, there were nowhere near as many agents on this than there was on the other, she landed by the control panel and stepped out of her suit, chip in hand. Punching in the code Maria had given them, she swapped out the targeting disk and grinned as he pushed everything back into place.

"Alpha locked," she reported, stepping back into my suit.

"Falcon, where are you now?" Maria asked anxiously.

"I had to take a detour!" Sam’s voice was loud. Katie took off, bursting through one of the glass windows of the Alpha carrier to see Sam spiralling through the air, being shot at by Hydra missiles. She surged forward, shooting randomly, turning their attention to her as she twirled down towards the glass dome surrounding the next helicarrier before at the last moment going into a vertical climb upwards, meaning the beams hit the glass creating an entrance for Sam.

“Oh, honey you fly better than me!" Sam happily exclaimed and Katie chuckled as he dropped into the hole. A moment or two later he spoke again “Bravo locked," and he shot back out into the bright sky.

"Alright, that's two down. How's it coming, Cap?" Maria questioned

"Still working on it!" Steve repeated. And he was. He had no idea how he managed to end up on the damned carrier with the most agents on it but they just kept coming and coming, like a never ending swarm of ants. He kicked out, taking another one down with a huge roundhouse kick and felt a bite of frustration as Hill urged him on.

"Better step it up Cap." she said, then there was the sound of 2 gun shots before she spoke again “6 minutes”

It was then that Steve realised he was blocked in. Agents behind him and a quinjet was aiming at him from ahead. He had no alternative but to dive off the edge of the hellicarrier.

"Hey, Sam, Sweetheart…I'm gonna need a ride," Steve said easily as he fell through the air.

"Roger! Let me know when you're ready!" Sam answered easily.

"I just did!" he said, his voice remarkably calm for a man who was currently freefalling at a fast pace. Suddenly his arms were tugging upwards, and he was deposited back on the tarmac, Sam landing besides him.

"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look," Sam grunted and Katie laughed, firing at an agent that was left before she dropped down with a clang.

"Yeah, well, I had a big breakfast." Steve responded cheekily.

Sam was about to respond when suddenly a blur of black and silver flew out from behind a crate and tackled Steve off the edge of the helicarrier.

“Steve!” Katie yelled, immediately launching to go after him but something grabbed at her foot, crunching down.

“Right thruster is compromised…” JARVIS said, as whatever had gripped her suddenly let go and she looped in the air, trying to gain her balance with only one thruster. As she spun to look at her assailant she caught a glimpse of a metal arm grabbing at Sam’s wings, throwing him backwards.

Sam managed to stop his backwards momentum and started to shoot at him in response. Katie joined in with her repulsors and one of the weapon guns from her shoulder, the two of them forcing the Winter Solider to retreat.

“Steve…” she yelled into her comms, flying off the side unsteadily with the one boot working “JARVIS run scan…” “Captain Rogers is there by the port side…” he said, and to her relief she saw his heat signature pulling himself up at the side of the carrier. She turned, expecting to see Sam behind her but instead she saw the Winter Soldier charging forward and kicking him off the Helicarrier. Sam began to plummet, one of his wings not working so Katie dove after him, grabbed his arm and managed to land the pair of them, albeit rather un gracefully, on the roof of the Triskelion.

“Thanks…” he mumbled dusting himself off as Katie retracted my face plate

"Steve, are you okay?" Katie asked earnestly.

"I'm alright. I'm still on the helicarrier." Steve responded. "Where are you?"

“Triskellion roof.” She spoke.

"I'm grounded, the suit's down. Sorry, Cap." Sam sighed.

“Katie?”

“One of my thrusters is out.” she sighed, “I’m running on half capacity…but I can get up to you if I need to.”

"It’s okay, I've got it." Steve said “I’ll call if I need you.”

“Half capacity?” Sam looked at her.

“Have to channel double the power to the non-fucked boot!” she shrugged, holding it up “Or I fall…means everything else gets compromised.” “Huh…” “Tony’s working on it…” she muttered as they looked up at the 3 hellicarriers, her eyes falling on the one Steve was currently on. “He’s gonna come face to face with him…”

“Yeah…” Sam sighed “Maybe he can make him remember who he was.” “You don’t believe that any more than I do.” Katie observed, glancing at the Sam. He shrugged.

"Falcon, Nova…" Hill called through the comms.

"Yeah?" Katie paused, talking as she still remained with her eyes locked on Sam’s.

"Rumlow's headed for the council."

"I’m on it." Sam responded, unzipping his vest and nodding to Katie. “You stay here, he might need you.”

“Roger, oh and Sam…” she called after him. He turned to her, jogging backward “Give Rumlow a kick in the balls for me, really hard.” Sam saluted, grinning, before he turned on his heels.

“Steve…” Katie spoke in her coms, getting nothing but static.

“I can’t reach him.” Hill said, “And Charlie is still not locked. We're running out of time."

"I'm on it." Katie responded, taking off in the direction of the carrier.

“40% power… “ JARVIS instructed.

“Thanks J, can you run a heat scan, locate Captain Rogers…”

“Located… he is in the central area, near the control room…” JARVIS said, showing her the thermal image of 2 men going toe to toe, her stomach sinking. She surged forwards and flew through the glass of the control room just as Steve and the Winter Soldier fell over the edge of the platform they were fighting on.

They both landed hard but The Winter Soldier got up first, standing over Steve, metal arm gearing up to deliver another blow, but as he went to connect with Steve's face Katie blasted at him, landing in between him and Steve, sending him sprawling backwards.

“Katie…” Steve said, getting to his feet.

“Get to the control panel.” she yelled as the Winter Soldier came charging back at her “We don’t have much time…” As the metal armed assassin lunged at her she shot upwards, flipping in the air and sailing behind him, firing at his back. He flew forward but jumped immediately to his feet and fired his gun at her, the bullets bouncing off her suit. They continued this twisted dance until she got a little too close, and his metal arm gripped tight around her left gauntlet, the squeal of metal on metal rang out as he began to crush down with his fingers.

“Shit…” Katie mumbled, “JARVIS… full power.” “But Miss Stark…”

“Do it!” She fired the suped-up repulsor beams and it caused the winter soldier to fall hard backwards. As she wound up for another shot, she had just sent it his way only to see him pick up Steve’s shield using it to block her ray. It rebounded it straight at her, hitting the suit square in the chest and sending her straight through the glass windows of the carrier into the sky.

It took her a while to right herself, but eventually she flew back inside just as the solider stabbed Steve in the shoulder. Steve yelled, and head butted the man three times, which forced him to let go. As Steve turned to pull the knife from his shoulder Bucky made a grab for the targeting chip and Katie fired at him again, knocking him into one of the metal beams at the back of the carrier, his head making a horrible noise as it connected before he fell face down. Steve wasted no chance in grabbing the discarded chip and heading up to the control panel as she stood between him and the Winter Soldier.

“Systems are seriously compromised…” JARVIS told her. “If you continue using your repulsors the way you are, I fear you won’t have enough power to make it down…” “We’ll worry about that later J.” she said, as she looked up watching Steve

"One minute." Maria Hill spoke and she had barely finished when Katie heard the sound of a gunshot. She turned to see The Winter Soldier getting to his feet looking dazed but his metal arm held his gun aimed up at the control panel where Steve was still climbing. Clearly he was still out of it enough to miss, even a second time as another gunshot went off and Steve let out a yell, gripping at his thigh.

"Thirty seconds!" Maria said urgently.

As the assassin position himself and steady his gun taking aim, Katie flew forward, knocking into him just as he fired. The Winter Soldier landed on his back before Katie stood over him, one foot on his chest, in a last ditch attempt to buy Steve a bit more time. He grabbed at the leg of her suit, pulling it from under her and she crashed to the floor, the man’s metal armed rained blow after blow down on her suit, the glass eye holes cracking.

“Suit integrity is at 50% and falling…”JARVIS said and she did the only thing she could do. She fired her thruster causing her to shoot out from under his hold, colliding with a steel piece of the structure which send her ricocheting out of the side of the hellicarrier.

"Charlie locked." she heard Steve's strained voice as she continued to fall through the air, struggling to fire her boot back up again.

"Okay, get out of there." Maria spoke as Katie continued to plummet, JARVIS also speaking to her saying he was trying to stabilise her tumbling.

"Fire now." Steve demanded.

“NO!” Katie yelled as he boot suddenly kicked to life about 12 foot above the Potomac. She could hear Maria trying to argue too. But Steve wasn’t having any of it.

"Do it now." Steve yelled.

Maria’s sigh was heavy on the comms link but she did as she was told pushing the button that started the helicarriers firing at one another. The ships began to tear each other apart and as more shots hit the one that they were on the inside began to break apart.

“Steve… STEVE!” Katie yelled hovering unsteadily, only being able to use the one thruster. She instructed Jarvis to channel more power into it to keep her upright and then Sam’s frantic voice sounded in her ear.

"Please tell me there's someone in the air!"

"Sam! Where are you?" Nat’s voice sounded and Katie took a deep breath.

"Forty first floor!" He yelled as he got closer to the window. "Northwest corner!"

"Stay where you are!" Nat instructed as Katie swooped up to find him.

"Not an option!"

Her scanners picked him up and Katie spotted the helicopter Fury was flying a few floors below where it was supposed to be. She flew as fast as she could to grab Sam as he jumped out of the window of the collapsing building, catching him and tossing him into the helicopter flying in herself.

"Forty first floor!" Sam yelled as Katie retracted her helmet "Forty first!"

"It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!" Fury yelled back.

"Hill, where's Steve?" Natasha asked. "You got a location on Rogers?"

“He was on Charlie…” Katie said, looking over, swallowing. “That’s the one that hit the building…”

*****

On the carrier Steve had tried to make him remember, just one final time, remember who he was. It didn’t work. The man with Bucky’s face tackled him to the floor and he landed on his back against a fallen bar, head dangling off the edge. He was anchored by the assassin’s legs around his waist and the tight hold of his uniform with his flesh hand. The man looked at him, hatred etched in every line on his face and it broke Steve's heart. What had HYDRA done to him to make him this way? They had turned his friend, his brother, against him and there was nothing he could do but try and remind him of his life before. And then came the blows from the metal arm, raining down on his face.

With every punch that landed, along with the agony, memories flashed across Steve's line of sight – some of them to do with Bucky, bailing him out of a fight in an alley behind a movie theatre. Punch. A Thanksgiving with the Barnes family. Punch. Games of cards in the army camp. Punch. But the ones that came more vividly were of his girl. The way her face scrunched up when she laughed. Punch. The black dress she wore on their first date. Punch. The way they lay tangled in one another after making love, her hand threading through his hair. Punch. The way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention - like he was the best thing that ever happened to her.

He loved her. He loved her so much it hurt.

"You're my mission!" Bucky screamed out. Steve’s vision was blurry, his face was throbbing in pain; he was beaten, he knew that. But he just wanted Bucky to know how much he meant to him.

"Then finish it." Steve gasped out, pausing in an effort to get his breath back, "Cause I'm with you, till the end of the line."

He could've sworn he saw something in the man’s face shift. His eyes became wider, like he was panicking at the phrase. The metal fist was raised up high, but didn't move from its position. His chest rose and fell rapidly as his eyes softened, just slightly, and the metal arm lowered out of the wind-up. But before he could do anything else, a massive piece of steel from the helicarrier broke off. It crashed against the beam that Steve was up against. And then he was falling, as Bucky managed to hang on to the beam with his metal arm, a sick, twisted reversal of the incident seventy years ago when Steve had watched as Bucky fell into the snowy canyon below.

He plunged into the icy water of the Potomac, the light gradually growing darker, and darker as he sank further into the depth. It was a peaceful way to die, he supposed, after the brutality of the fight. And as his vision went, the last thing he saw was his girl’s face and the fact he was leaving her behind broke him just that little bit more.

I love you Doll, I love you.

*****

Katie engaged her helmet again and took off from the helicopter, flying alongside it for a short while as it circled the outside of the hellicarrier.

“JARVIS, you got anything?” she said, surging forward, but as she spoke her scanners locked onto Steve, where he was lay on the floor of the carrier, the Winter Soldier raining blows upon blows down at him, and he wasn't fighting back.

“What have we got left in the tank?” she asked desperately.

“25% power.”

“Should be enough…” she said, spiralling upwards towards them “Put everything we have into my thrusters.”

“Miss Stark…”

“Just do it…” she yelled.

She felt the power surge as she shot upwards but as she went, her scanners trained on them both, Steve she was hit by something falling from above and was sent crashing down through the floor of the carrier and then her repulsors cut out.

“Emergency back-up power…” JARVIS spoke as her suit fired up again, giving her just enough time to level out before she went head first into the Potomac. She weaved her way through the falling debris under the surface avoiding it before she shot upwards again, but there was no sign of Steve or the Winter Soldier.

“Miss Stark you need to land…”

“Yeah I know…” she said her voice cracking slightly “But I have to find Steve…”

In desperation she circled around the river, “Any sign?” she asked into the coms.

“Nothing.” Hill said “His suit doesn’t have a tracker…”

“Come on…” she mumbled, hovering in mid-air, her suit stuttering slightly. “JARVIS hit the scans again.”

“Running…” he muttered and she watched before the display locked onto him. He was quarter of a mile or so out from the Triskellion…and the Winter Soldier was pulling him out of the water onto the river bank.

With her last bit of remaining power she flew to them, landing behind the Winter Soldier. He immediately spun round but this time Katie saw fear in his eyes. They weren’t steely or dead like they had been before, instead they sparkled with emotion. For that reason she took a deep breath and stepped out of her suit, hands held up in a conciliatory manner.

“Bucky…” she spoke gently, glancing behind him to where Steve lay motionless on the bank. She bit back the panic in her throat at the site of him hurt and unconscious before she focussed on the man in front of her.

“Who are you?” his voice was deep and he looked at her. This was good, he wasn’t attacking. Taking a shaky breath she took one step forward and he instantly grew defensive and she stopped, shaking her head.

“It’s ok, my name’s Katie…I’m Steve’s girlfriend. You know Steve, right?”

His chest heaved, his eyes widened and for a split second she thought he was going to come towards her. Instead he stood to the side letting her get a full view of her man before nodding towards her.

"Get help." He said to her gruffly before turning and running.

“I’ve got him…” Katie spoke into her coms as she scrambled over to Steve, stumbling as she ran “South West bank, clearing in the trees…look for the sign…”

At that she shouted to JARVIS “Supernova Protocol…” before she dropped to her knees next to Steve, hearing her suit shoot upwards before it exploded with a bang. Her heart stopped for a second as she looked down at her man, letting out a sob as she noticed his chest was rising and falling slowly, the only sign he was alive. His face was badly beaten, his right eye almost completely closed. There was the knife wound on his shoulder, several deep cuts to his face, but it was the gunshot wound to the middle of his abdomen that worried her most. It was bleeding heavily. She pressed one hand to the wound to stem, her other stroking his battered face…

*****

Steve realised he wasn’t dead. He felt like it, god the pain, but there was a familiar voice, a familiar touch, one heavy on his abdomen, the other stroking his sore, battered face.

“Shh…its’ ok” she said. It was her. He tried to speak but she shushed him, “Baby I’m here.”

“Katie…” he opened his eyes, looking at her, those beautiful green eyes, and he realised he wasn’t ready to go. He didn’t want to go, not when she was here. The thought of leaving her behind, when they had so much to look forward to, a future, made him start to panic.

“You’re going to be fine…” she said. He believed her, but man he was so tired, and the pain. His eyes shut.

******

Katie sat back, hand still pressed to the wound and looked across the Potomac. Pieces of the helicarrier were still falling, splashing into the river. She had no idea how long she waited, it can’t have actually been that long, but it felt like ages as she simply sat, hand clamped over Steve’s abdomen, listening to the sirens ringing loud through the air as emergency responders got closer. In an odd way, it was all proof they had won. But at what cost?

She heard footsteps behind her and instantly wheeled to see Fury stood barking orders to 4 men following him with a stretcher, but she couldn’t really hear him. She stood up, moved back, in somewhat of a daze, to allow them access to Steve but once he was loaded onto the gurney she moved back to his side, taking his hand.

They emerged from the bank, and another medic made to drop a blanket round her, but she shrugged him off, her hand still round Steve’s until she had to let go as they loaded him into the ambulance which was parked in the clearing near the chopper.

“He’s gonna be fine…” Sam said as he appeared besides her, dropping an arm round her shoulders as she watched them anchor the stretcher in place. The paramedic inside the ambulance gestured to her, and she climbed in without so much as a glance back.

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loganspace · 5 years

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Nestled amongst themany indistinguishable structures of Microsoft’s Redmond campus, a multi-disciplinary personnel sharing an attention to detail that borders on fanatical is designing a keyboard… over and over and but again. And one more time for ultimate measure. Their dogged and ever-evolving dedication to “human components” reveals the amount of work that goes into making any share of hardware surely ergonomic.

Microsoftwould be identified primarily for its utility and services, nonetheless solid your mind back reasonably and you’ll acquire a collection of hardware advances which contain redefine their respective categories:

The genuine Pure Keyboard became once the first split-key, ergonomic keyboard, the fundamentals of which contain simplest ever been reasonably improved upon.

The Intellimouse Optical no longer simplest made the first surely in style leap away from ball-primarily based totally mostly mice, nonetheless did so in this kind of technique that its shape and buttons soundless manufacture its descendants amongst the most effective all-cause mice on the market on the market.

Endure in mind me?

Although the Zune is remembered more for being a colossal boondoggle than a mountainous song participant, it became once very worthy the latter, and I soundless bid and surprise on the usability of my Zune HD. Jog, critically. (Microsoft, begin offer the utility!)

More just no longer too long within the past, the Floor collection of convertible notebooks contain made courageous and welcome adjustments to a personal factor that had stagnated within the wake of Apple’s influential mid-2000s MacBook Legitimate designs.

Microsoft continues to be making hardware, after all, and in actuality it has doubled down on its capacity to present so with a revamped hardware lab stuffed with dedicated, extraordinarily detail-oriented folk which are given the tools they must rep as habitual as they desire — so long because it makes one thing greater.

You don’t rep one thing like this by aping the competition.

First, a disclosure: I would possibly likely perhaps well as smartly relate on the outset that this share became once performed surely on the invitation (nonetheless no longer direction) of Microsoft, which offered the different to consult with their hardware labs in Building 87 and meet the personnel. I’d in actuality been there sooner than once or twice, nonetheless it surely had constantly been off-document and rather sanitized.

Shining how attention-grabbing I’d discovered the set sooner than, I optimistic I wished to recall section and piece it on the possibility of seeming promotional. They name this personal of factor “access journalism,” nonetheless the 2d section is form of a stretch. I surely ultimate think these things is absolutely cool, and firms seldom expose their produce processes within the begin like this. Microsoft clearly isn’t the most effective company to contain hardware labs and services like this, nonetheless they’ve been within the game for a really long time and contain a charming and nearly too detailed process they’ve made up our minds to be begin about.

Although I spoke with in all likelihood a dozen Microsoft Devices folk one day of the tour (which became once soundless rigidly structured), simplest two contain been permitted to be on document: Edie Adams, Chief Ergonomist, and Yi-Min Huang, Famous Assassinate and Skills Lead. However the diversified folk within the labs contain been very obliging in answering questions and joyful to discuss their work. I became once in actuality taken aback and overjoyed to acquire folk occupying niches so suited to their specialities and inclinations.

Usually talking the work I got to peep fell into three customary areas: the Human Factors Lab, centered on very exacting measurements of oldsters themselves and the draw in which they work along with a share of hardware; the anechoic chamber, where the sound of units is obsessively analyzed and adjusted; and the Developed Prototype Heart, where units and materials can lunge from belief to reality in minutes or hours.

The science of anthropometry

At some stage within the Human Factors lab, human thumbs litter the desk. No, it isn’t a torture chamber — no longer for people, anyway. Here the corporate places its hardware to the test by measuring how human beings bid it, recording no longer ultimate straightforward metrics like phrases per minute on a keyboard, nonetheless high-speed stereo photos that analyzes how the pores and skin of the hand stretches when it reaches for a mouse button down to a bit of a millimeter.

The pattern right here, as in other places within the produce process and labs, is that it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well’t depend anything out as an element that can enhance or decreases comfort; the miniature things surely produce manufacture a incompatibility, and each so assuredly the cramped ones.

“Feats of engineering heroics are mountainous,” said Adams, “nonetheless they must satisfy a human need. We are attempting to quilt the bodily, cognitive, and emotional interactions with our merchandise.”

(Perhaps you recall this, as I did, as — apart from a assertion of cause — a veiled reference to a optimistic diversified company whose keyboards contain been within the news for diversified reasons. Of this later.)

The lab is a space in all likelihood comparable to a medium-sized restaurant, with sufficient room for a dozen or so folk to work within the somewhat about a sub-areas space aside for diversified highly particular measurements. Varied units of body components contain been space out on work surfaces, I suspect for my profit.

Among them are that space of thumbs, in miniature circumstances looking out like oversized lipsticks, each with a demanding surprise inside. These are all solid from staunch folk, starting from the small thumb of reasonably one to a monster that, must it contain began a battle with mine, I would renounce unconditionally.

Next door is a collection of ears, no longer simplest rendered in crude detail nonetheless with diversified materials simulating a vary of rigidities. Some folk contain relaxed ears, . And next door to those is a vary of noses, eyes, and temples, each representing a uncommon facial building or interpupillary distance.

This menagerie of components represents no longer ultimate a continuum of sizes nonetheless a vary of backgrounds and ages. All of them attain into play when creating and attempting out a singular share of hardware.

“We are attempting to make optimistic that that we contain now a various inhabitants we will have the option to blueprint on after we manufacture our merchandise,” said Adams. For many who distribute globally it is embarrassing to acquire that some community or one more, with wider-space eyes or smaller fingers, finds your product complex to bid. Inclusivity is a many-faceted gem, indeed it has as many sides as you are piquant to diminish. (TheXbox Adaptive Controller, for instance, is a singular and welcome one.)

In one nook stands an huge pod that seems like Darth Vader must emerge from it. This chamber, equipped with 36 DSLR cameras, produces an unforgivingly right reproduction of 1’s head. I didn’t produce it myself, nonetheless many on the personnel had; in actual fact, one eyes-and-nose combo belonged to Adams. The person you peep pictured there moreover works within the lab; that became once the first such 3D portrait they took with the rig.

With this they are able to snappily and with out grief scan in dozens or a full bunch of heads, amassing metrics on all approach to physiognomical aspects and creating an enviable database of both average and outlier heads. My head is mountainous, in screech for you to know, and my hand became once on the upper vary too. But smartly within a pair customary deviations.

So worthy for static look — getting reads on the panorama of humanity, because it contain been. Anthropometry, they name it. But there are dynamic components as smartly, about a of which they acquire within the lab, some in other places.

“When we’re evaluating keyboards, we contain now folk attain into the lab. We are attempting to position them within the most honest set doable,” defined Adams.

It’ll be defined that by honest, she method namely on the field of the honest positions of the joints within the body, which contain optimistic minima and maxima it is smartly to acquire. How will you rep a ultimate read on how easy it is to form on a given keyboard if the chair and desk the tester is sitting at are miserable?

Here as in other places the personnel strives to acquire both just data and subjective data; folk will relate they think a keyboard, or mouse, or headset is just too this or too that, nonetheless no longer sparkling the jargon they are able to’t rep more particular. By paying attention to subjective reviews and simultaneously just measurements, it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well align the 2 and see ultimate measures to recall.

One such just measure enthusiastic motion engage beads attached to the hand whereas an electromyographic bracelet tracks the activation of muscle mass within the arm. Imagine within the event you’la particular person whose typing appears customary and of uniform speed — nonetheless in actual fact they’re putting more pressure on their heart fingers than the others thanks to the shape of the keys or relaxation. They would possibly perchance likely perhaps well no longer have the option to relate you they’re doing so, despite the reality that this would likely perhaps consequence in uneven hand fatigue, nonetheless this combo of tools would possibly likely perhaps well repeat the reality.

“We moreover take a examine a unfold of locations,” added Huang. “Typing on a couch is terribly diversified from typing on a desk.”

One case, equivalent to a wireless Floor keyboard, would possibly likely perhaps well require more of what Huang known as “lapability,” (sp?) whereas the diversified in all likelihood desires to accommodate a uncommon posture and would possibly likely perhaps well abandon lapability altogether.

A closing size methodology that is somewhat unique to my data involves a pair of high-decision, high-speed gloomy and white cameras that can likely perhaps well even be centered narrowly on a space of the body. They’re on the right, under, with colours and arrows representing motion vectors.

A display cowl exhibiting somewhat about a anthropometric measurements.

These rep a extraordinarily detailed depth map by closely tracking the aspects of the pores and skin; one miniature patch would possibly likely perhaps well pass additional than the diversified when an particular person places on a headset, suggesting it’s stretching the pores and skin on the temple more than it is on the brow. The personnel said they are able to peep movements as small as ten microns, or micrometers (due to this truth you peep that my headline became once simplestlighthyperbole).

You would possibly likely perhaps be taking into consideration that right here is overkill. And in a technique it most indubitably is. But it is moreover ultimate that by looking out closer they are able to manufacture the small adjustments that space off a keyboard to be delighted for five hours rather then four, or to diminish error rates or wrist effort by noticeable amounts — aspects it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well’t surely even positioned on the field, nonetheless which manufacture a incompatibility in due direction. The returns would possibly likely perhaps well diminish, nonetheless we’re no longer to this point along the asymptote drawing come perfection that there’s no expose making additional enhancements.

The quietest set within the world

Down the hall from the Human Factors lab is the quietest set within the world. That’s no longer a colloquial exaggeration — the foremost anechoic chamber in Building 87 at Microsoft is within the document books because the quietest set on Earth, with an official ambient noise ranking of damaging 20.3 decibels.

You enter the room through a collection of heavy doors and the quietness, despite the reality that a void, sounds like a bodily medium that you just lunge into. And so it is, in actual fact — a shut to-total lack of vibrations within the air that feels as right because the nested concrete boxes inside which the chamber rests.

I’ve been in right here a pair times sooner than, and Hundraj Gopal, the jovial and highly expert proprietor of quietude right here, skips the same old tales of Guinness coming to test it etc. As a replace we talk relating to the value of sound to the person, despite the reality that they would possibly likely perhaps well no longer even imprint they produce mark it.

Naturally within the event you’re going to manufacture a keyboard, you’re going to are attempting to manipulate the draw in which it sounds. But right here’s an extremely complex process, particularly if, just like the personnel at Microsoft, you’re surely going to city on the dear aspects.

The sounds of person merchandise are very deliberately designed, they defined. The sound your car door makes when it shuts offers a technique of security — being sealed in whereas you occur to’re entering, and being securely shut out whereas you occur to’re leaving it. It’s the identical for a notebook computer — you don’t are attempting to listen to a clank whereas you occur to pack up it, or a scraping noise whereas you occur to begin it. These are the styles of things that space apart “top rate” units (and automobiles, and controllers, and furnishings, etc) they assuredly produce no longer attain about unintentionally.

Keyboards are no longer any exception. And section of designing the sound is thought that there’s more to it than loudness or even tone. Some sounds ultimate sound louder, despite the reality that they would possibly likely perhaps well no longer register as high in decibels. And some sounds are ultimate more stressful, despite the reality that they would be aloof. The look and regarded right here is what’s identified as psychoacoustics.

There are identified patterns to pursue, optimistic combinations of sounds which are shut to-universally loved or disliked, nonetheless it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well’t depend on that form of factor whereas you occur to’re, relate, building a singular keyboard from the bottom up. And clearly whereas you occur to rep a singular machine just like the Floor and its family they need unique keyboards, no longer one thing off the shelf. So right here’s a process that needs to be performed from scratch over and over.

As section of designing the keyboard — and take be conscious of, right here is in tandem with the human components mentioned above and the rapid prototyping we’ll contact on under — the instrument has to attain back into the anechoic chamber and contain a vary of checks performed.

A frail head mannequin extinct to simulate how people would possibly likely perhaps well hear optimistic sounds. The personnel gave it reasonably of a makeover.

These checks would possibly likely perhaps well even be painstakingly just, like a robotic arm pressing each key one after the opposite whereas a high-dwell microphone data the sound in supreme constancy and analysts pore over the spectrogram. But they are able to moreover be highly subjective: They elevate in trained listeners — “golden ears” — to offer their expert opinions, nonetheless moreover contain the “gen pop” everyday customers are attempting the keyboards whereas experiencing calibrated ambient noise recorded in coffee outlets and areas of work. One click on sound would be lost within the gargantuan-spectrum hubbub in a crowded cafe nonetheless stressful when it’s across the desk from you.

This suggestions goes both directions, to human components and prototyping, they assuredly iterate and elevate it back for more. This progresses every so assuredly through a lot of phases of hardware, such because the keyswitch meeting alone; the keys built into their steel enclosure; the keys within the closing shut to-birth product sooner than they finalize the keytop materials, etc.

Certainly, it sounds just like the process surely would possibly likely perhaps well lunge on with no spoil in sight if somebody didn’t stop them from refining the produce additional.

“It’s extra special that we ever ship a product,” quipped Adams. They’ll likely thank the Developed Prototype Heart for that.

Fast turnaround is beautiful play

Whereas you occur to’re going to be obsessive relating to the dear aspects of the units you’re designing, it doesn’t manufacture heaps of sense to must send off a CAD file to about a manufacturing facility someplace, wait about a days for it to attain back back, then peep for quality, send a revised file, etc. So Microsoft (and after all diversified hardware makers of any size) now bid rapid prototyping to turn designs around in hours rather then days or even weeks.

This wasn’t constantly doable even with the most effective equipment. 3D printing has attain a protracted method over the final decade, and continues to come, nonetheless no longer long within the past there became once a huge incompatibility between a printed prototype and the hardware that a user would in actuality withhold.

Multi-axis CNC mills contain been around for longer, nonetheless they’re slower and more complex to operate. And subtractive manufacturing (i.e. taking a block and whittling it down to a mouse) is inefficient and has optimistic barriers as a ways because the structures it must rep.

After all it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well likely sever it yourself out of wooden or cleaning soap, nonetheless that’s reasonably veteran-customary.

So when Building 87 became once redesigned from the bottom up some years back, it became once loaded with the most contemporary and best of both additive and subtractive rapid manufacturing suggestions, and the boom of the art has been constantly rolling through ever since. Even as I passed through they contain been putting in some unique machines (desk-sized things that had slots for both extrusion materials and weird and wonderful printer ink cartridges, a truth that for some cause I discovered hilarious).

The additive machines are in constant bid as designers and engineers propose unique instrument shapes and styles that sound mountainous in belief nonetheless must be examined in person. Having a bunch of these items, each able to rep a lot of objects per print, allows you to for instance test out a thumb scoop on a mouse with 16 reasonably diversified widths. Per chance you recall those over to Human Factors and peep which can likely perhaps well even be eliminated for over-stressing a joint, then compare comfort on the surviving 6 and pass on to a singular iteration. That will likely perhaps well all occur over a day or two.

Ever surprise what an Xbox controller feels desire to reasonably one? Factual print a huge one within the lab.

Softer materials became more and more valuable as designers contain discovered that they would possibly likely perhaps well even be built-in into merchandise from the open. For occasion, a wrist wrest for a singular keyboard can contain foam padding built in.

But how worthy foam is just too worthy, or too miniature? As with the 3D printers, flat materials like foam and materials would possibly likely perhaps well even be personalized and systematically examined as smartly. The utilization of a machine known as a skiver, foam would possibly likely perhaps well even be split into thicknesses simplest half a millimeter apart. It doesn’t sound like worthy — and it isn’t — nonetheless whereas you occur to’re creating an object that will likely be dealt with for hours at a time by the soundless fingers of people, the adaptation would possibly likely perhaps well even be subtle nonetheless gargantuan.

For more heavy-duty prototyping of things which contain to be made from steel — hinges, notebook computer frames, etc — there is bank after bank of 5-axis CNC machines, lathes, and more uncommon tools, like a tool that performs extraordinarily actual cuts the utilization of a charged wire.

The engineers working these items work collaboratively the designers and researchers, and it became once valuable to the people I talked to that this wasn’t a “right here, print this” situation. A ultimate collaboration has input from each facet, and that’s what appears to be going down right here. Any individual inspecting a 3D mannequin for printability sooner than popping it into the 5-axis would possibly likely perhaps well relate to the clothier, , these objects would possibly likely perhaps well fit collectively more closely if we did so-and-so, and it will in actuality add strength to the meeting. (Can you relate I’m no longer an engineer?) Making stuff, and making stuff greater, is a ardour amongst the crew and that’s a primarily artistic drive.

Making novel hells for keyboards

If any keyboard has dominated the headlines for the final twelve months or so, it’s been Apple’s ill-fated butterfly switch keyboard on the most contemporary MacBook Mavens. Whereas being in my see somewhat dreadful to form on, they perceived to fail at an improbable rate judging by the percentage of customers I noticed for my piece reporting concerns, and are somewhat expensive to interchange. How, I puzzled, did an organization with Apple’s produce resources rep this kind of canine?

Here’s a share of hardware you won’t wreck any time rapidly.

I mentioned the field to the community in direction of the dwell of the tour nonetheless, predictably and understandably, it wasn’t surely one thing they wished to discuss. But a brief whereas later I spoke with one in every of the people accountable for Microsoft’s reliability managers. They too demurred shut to Apple’s screw ups, opting as a replace to describe at size the measures Microsoft takes to make optimistic that their have keyboards don’t endure a identical destiny.

The philosophy is surely to simulate everything relating to the anticipated 3-5 twelve months life of the keyboard. I’ve seen the “torture chambers” where units are overwhelmed on by robots (I’ve seen these for my piece, years within the past — they’re brutal), nonetheless there’s more to it than that. Keyboards are everyday objects, they assuredly face everyday threats; so that’s what the personnel checks, with things falling into three customary categories:

Environmental: This involves biking the temperature from very low to very high, exposing the keyboard to mud and UV. This differs for each product, since some will clearly be extinct begin air more than others. Does it wreck? Does it discolor? Where does the mud lunge?

Mechanical: Every keyboard undergoes key checks to make optimistic that that keys can face up to on the opposite hand many million presses with out failing. But that’s no longer the most effective factor that keyboards endure. They rep dropped and things rep dropped on them, after all, or left upside-down, or contain their keys pressed and held at habitual angles. All these items are examined, and when a keyboard fails thanks to a test they don’t contain, they add it.

Chemical. I discovered this very attention-grabbing. The personnel now has more than 30 chemicals that it exposes its hardware to, in conjunction with: lotion, Coke, coffee, chips, mustard, ketchup, and Clorox. The personnel is constantly adding to the list as unique chemicals enter frequent utilization or unique markets begin up. Hospitals, for instance, must test a vary of harsh disinfectants that a customary residence wouldn’t contain. (Show: Burt’s Bees is it sounds as if depraved news for keyboards.)

Testing is ongoing, with unique batches being evaluated constantly as time enables.

To be beautiful it’s laborious to take into accout that Apple’s disappointing keyboard in actuality underwent this form of attempting out, or if it did, that it became once modified to outlive it. The number and severity of concerns I’ve heard of with them imply the “feats of engineering heroics” of which Adams spoke, nonetheless directed singlemindedly within the direction of compactness. Perhaps more torture chambers are required at Apple HQ.

7 components and the unfactorable

Your entire above are more tools for executing a produce and no longer or creating one to begin with. That’s a full diversified kettle of fish, and one no longer so with out grief described.

Adams told me: “When computers contain been on every desk the identical method, it became once k to simplest contain one or two styles of keyboard. But now that there are such heaps of styles of computing, it’s k to contain a decision. What form of work produce you produce? Where produce you produce it? I mean, what’s going to we all form on now? Telephones. So it’s totally context dependent.”

Is that this the right curve? Or must it is six millimeters better? Let’s are attempting both.

Yet even within the mountainous selection of all doable keyboards there are metrics that must be regarded as if that keyboard is to attain its role. The personnel boiled it down to seven extreme aspects:

Key whisk: How a ways a key goes till it bottoms out. Neither shallow nor deep is basically ultimate, nonetheless aid diversified functions.

Key spacing: Distance between the center of 1 key and the subsequent. How a ways can you fluctuate from “plump-size” sooner than it turns into miserable?

Key pitch: On many keyboards the keys produce no longer all “face” the identical direction, nonetheless are subtly pointed in direction of the residence row, on yarn of that’s the direction your fingers hit them from. How worthy is just too worthy? How miniature is just too miniature?

Key dish: The form of the keytop limits your fingers’ motion, captures them after they whisk or return, and offers a delighted residence — if it’s performed right.

Key texture: Too slick and fingers will perambulate off. Too tough and it’ll be miserable. Can it is fabric? Textured plastic? Metal?

Key Sound: As described above the sound indicates a vary of things and needs to be sparsely engineered.

Power to fireplace: How worthy actual pressure does it recall to drive a given key to its actuation point? Take below consideration this would likely perhaps and in all likelihood must fluctuate from key to key.

To boot to these core ideas there are heaps of secondary ones that pop up for consideration: Prance, or the amount a key strikes laterally (optimistic, right here is deliberate), snap ratio, engaging the suggestions from actuation. Tumble attitude, off-axis actuation, key gap for chiclet boards… and after all the inevitable switch debate.

Keyboard switches, the real mechanism under the important thing, became a significant sub-change as many firms began making their have on the expiration of some valuable patents. Therefore there’s been a proliferation of unique key switches with a vary of aspects, particularly on the mechanical facet. Microsoft does manufacture mechanical keyboards, and scissor-switch keyboards, and membrane as smartly, and in all likelihood even some more uncommon ones (despite the reality that the genuine contact-soundless Floor quilt keyboard became once reasonably of a flop).

“When we take a examine switches, whether it’s for a mouse, QWERTY, or diversified keys, we take into yarn what they’re for,” said Adams. “We’re no longer going to negate we’re scissor switch assuredly or one thing — we contain now all kinds. It’s about sturdiness, reliability, fee, offer, etc. And the sound and tactile skills is so valuable.”

As for the shape itself, there is in overall the divided Pure style, the flat plump style, and the flat chiclet style. But with produce trends, unique materials, unique units, and adjustments to folk and desk styles (you greater think a standing desk desires a uncommon keyboard than a sitting one), it’s a singular bid at any time when.

They composed a menagerie of keyboards and prototypes in somewhat about a phases of experimentation. Some contain been clearly by no method supposed for staunch bid — one had the keys pitched to this point that it became once like reasonably cave for the residence row. One more became once an experiment in how worthy a produce would be diminished in size till it became once now no longer usable. A handful showed diversified curves a la Pure — which is the right one? Although it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well theorize, the most effective approach to make optimistic is to lay fingers on it. So relate rapid prototyping to manufacture variants 1-10, then send them over to Human Factors and textual philosophize material the stress and posture ensuing from each.

“Jog, we know the gable slope must be between 10-15 levels and blah blah blah,” said Adams, who’s absolutely on the patent for the genuine Pure Keyboard, and so is set as familiar because it is probably going you will almost definitely perhaps well rep with the produce. “But what else? What is it we’re attempting to present, and the draw in which are we reaching that through engineering? It’s large enjoyable bringing all we know relating to the human body and bringing that into the commercial produce.”

Although the comparability is very grandiose, I became once reminded of an orchestra — nonetheless no longer in plump swing. Rather, within the minutes sooner than a symphony begins, and all of the players are tuning their instruments. It’s a cacophony in a technique, nonetheless they’re all tuning in direction of a optimistic key, and the din incessantly makes its approach to a nice personal of hum. So it is that a community of consultants all tending their sciences and creeping in direction of better precision appear to cohere a product out of the ether that is human-centric in all its components.

[NEWS] How Microsoft turns an obsession with detail into micron-optimized keyboards – Loganspace Nestled amongst themany indistinguishable structures of Microsoft’s Redmond campus, a multi-disciplinary personnel sharing an attention to detail that borders on fanatical is designing a keyboard… over and over and but again.

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