12th Transmission -- Audio

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Oh hey Keep. It's Ironhide again. And boy does he sound unhappy.]

Tell me, lord.

[There is so much derision in that word, it should be a curse, not a title.]

Where are those who go missing? Do you send them home, to their "vanished worlds"? Or are you keeping them locked up!

[Something big and heavy impacts a wall.]

Answer me!

[... Finding Lea missing isn't sitting well with the big old bot.]

Comments

[Audio]

[snowtop]

J--Just...

[He sighs. He's in no mood to argue.]

B-- B-Be careful?

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

There is a system here.

If they kill me, I will just return.

[Audio]

[snowtop]

B-But-- you-- y-you still...

[You still die, Ironhide.]

A-And what if-- w-what if i-it's like on th-the... E-Elegante? It... it wasn't f-free passes for-- forever...

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

Three times, and your optics blacked out. Yeah, I remember.

I can live with that. Only got one good one anyway.

[Audio]

[snowtop]

B-But the-- th-the rules are... th-they're different, h-here. W-When you die, y-you-- you lose your m-memories.

F-For a while, a-at--- at least.

[But he hasn't met anyone who's died three times or more...]

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

They come back. Nothing else happens.

[Audio]

[snowtop]

But-- we-- w-we don't know f-for sure. A-All I'm saying is, wh-- w-why-- why p-push it?

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

Why not? Why not push until we do?

[Audio]

[snowtop]

B-Because-- we--

[But Xanth breaks off. Ironhide has a point; someone should figure this out eventually. Xanth just wishes Ironhide didn't sound so damn determined to find out at his own expense.]

... I-- I don't know. I-It just-- i-it sounds... r-really d--dangerous.

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

My entire life has been dangerous, boy.

What is one more risk?

[Audio]

[snowtop]

O-One more risk... it m-might be-- th-the risk, th-the... the last risk, y-you know?

[But he's lost the argumentative tone, and it's not coming back.]

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

... You okay, boy?

[Yep, we're just avoiding the subject here.]

[Audio]

[snowtop]

I-- I'm f-fine, I'm just--

A-Are you?

[Audio]

[heavyweaponsbot]

...

Yeah. Everything is fine.

[Ironhide speak for "No, but I'm not going to say so out loud".]

[Audio]

[snowtop]

[Xanth knows that's a lie. Even if he didn't know Ironhide, he'd need only to look at Ironhide's initial post to tell.

But he lets it go.]

Okay.

[He lets it go, because that's all he can do.]