I Am A Soldier:

Headcount. Who all here remembers the Elegante? Speak up.

[There's a couple reasons for asking. The general headcount, and asking a few important questions that came up when he spoke to Zuko.]

Need to figure some things out.

[The com crackles. Ironhide shakes it. He hasn't bothered to go find his "living quarters". Not yet. He has a far more important job to attend to.

When the comm finally starts up, the voice on his end is deep, faintly accented, and still very angry.]

Autobots. Come in. Respond! I have lost your signals... answer me!

[When there is no immediate response, he snarls into it, then goes silent for several minutes.]

...

Where is this place?

[When the comm is picked up, Ironhide starts out perfectly calm and composed.  Even so, there is an odd quality to his voice that isn't usually present.]

For the last time...

[And then he promptly bellows into the comms.]

MAKE UP YOUR MIND!  

Autobot!  I am Autobot!  Not... What is the meaning of this!  Bumblebee, Ratchet.  Respond.  Are you still... hmnf.  Is anyone else ... different?



((ooc: Thanks for the humanizing, captain!))

[There's a brief shot of Ironhide's face.  He looks, as per usual, disgruntled, while he toys with the comm.  Behind him are flashes of piles of objects, ranging from cardboard boxes of what looks like leather, to a neat row of plants in empty bottles.]

...

Need a favor.  Someone.

[That's all he says before the feed clicks off.]

Are we taking down the female, or what? I grow tired of waiting around for a plan.

Who went to that Nirvana place?

If I do not hear a response, I am going to go and sit on the female.



[TRUE TO HIS WORD, Ironhide has started to roam the halls, looking for trouble in the form of a screaming little girl. medicalofficer is welcome to be there with him, and anyone else can run into him. But his primary target is JennJenn.]

What is this.

If I see one more "I told you so", or "You are all fools", I will break the one responsible! This is no time for that! You can gloat to your sparks' content after we are out of danger! Hmnf!


There was mention of mirrors. Keep away from them.

And if you are unable to defend yourself, you will go and locate someone who can. They are your new friend until this is over. Bunker down. Ride it out. And save your insults.

Probably have better ones by then, anyway.


Autobots. There are four of us. Work in pairs or alone, but know what our duty is. Mikaela, if you need me, call.

Stupid to ask if anyone is hearing things. I want to know instead what we intend to do about it.

... Anyone remember those... tanks? Belowdecks?


[He doesn't say anything more on that subject, figuring if anyone saw them, they'll know what he's talking about. Plus, this... brings back severely unhappy memories of that venture down below.]

[There's static for a few moments, before the comm actually picks up the very subdued voice.]

Ratchet... I... need you. Please.

Help.

[All of the above fall under things he would never... ever... say over open comm lines like this. Thank you very much, Captain. There's a pause, but anyone with decent hearing can hear him muttering to something--or someone.]

It will be fine... going to be okay... quiet now.  I have you... Going to be fine... not going to hurt much longer... hush.


[Aren't auditory hallucinations fun? He has not left the hall the elevator dumped him into. And he likely won't on his own--thanks to being blind from Infected Passenger Spit, badly damaged, and with absolutely no sense of direction, the old boy's stuck on Deck 12.]

... so this is what we recieve from our captors, hmn? A reminder of all we have been taken from?

Hmpf. Foolish. Should just leave us be.

[Ironhide is still in the bar, for all interested parties, where it's warm and he's left relatively alone. Or so he believes. He's currently hunched up in a corner, being a brooding black lump. One of the picture-type gifts from the tree is in his hand, and if anyone approaches they may get a brief look at what it is.]

[Anyone still of the proper age and memory will notice something is... different... with Ironhide's voice.  He sounds... not nearly as rough and ragged as usual.  His vocals sound almost... new.  Or closer to it.]

...

What is this?  Don't remember being here before...  What happened to the battalion?  The Commander...?  Any of you out there?


[ooc: Ahahah scaled back in age to pre-war times 8D Have fun.]