audio; [Transmission originating from: Megatronus's Temple]

[redshirtrobot]

So, I. I don't know how many people knew him, but I figured I might as well say something.

Shockwave - the big one - and his Driller have been missing. Sometimes they'd just go off on their own but usually not for this long. And I've looked everywhere. So I'm gonna call it.

They're. Gone.

[He pauses for a long moment before speaking again.]

I'll still be at Megatronus's temple to look after their things, until Megatronus makes me leave.

Comments

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

Which are the jobs no one else wants.

So basically you've trapped them into working for you because they're not good for anything else.

[Wow this is familiar and angering territory.]

Re: [video]

[primest]

I didn't do anything. I don't even work around them!

Besides, there was an entire section of the council devoted to keeping the little guys happy. Not being bogged down by a war helped, as well.

[he'll argue this until the cows come home, bro]

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

And what if there was a war? What then?

And aren't you a Prime, anyway? Shouldn't the people under your command matter? Because a lot of the time it can come down the the little guys at the bottom of the pyramid.

[This is an argument that Fracas will actually engage in. Whoops?]

Re: [video]

[primest]

There already was a war. The current system is the result of it balancing out after being thrown off by the Decepticon uprising.

[SIIIGH] It's a military rank, not the type of Prime you're thinking of. I don't have any of them under my command because I'm nearly at the top of the pyramid.

[he is literally the worst person to discuss this with fracas i'm so sorry] You're acting like all we do is dump our waste out on them, but like I said before - a huge part of the council as well as Alpha Trion himself is dedicated to making sure they're happy.

[except not entirely but what fracas doesn't know can't help his argument!]

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

Even if you're at the very top you have to look out for the ones on the bottom. Without them the whole thing crumbles.

And does Alpha Trion actually do th-

Wait. You mean Alpha Trion, like FirstForged Alpha Trion?
Like Original Thirteen Alpha Trion?

[Both confusion and a temporary derailment, good going Sentinel!]

Re: [video]

[primest]

I would, if I wasn't too busy dealing with other issues that are more important than a few disgruntled workers.

[HA HA MISDIRECTION] He's not a demi-god in my universe, but has the same amount of prestige in his reputation. So, stop trying to convince me we treat the little guys like scrap when they have it incredibly well off, considering.

[he'd be grinning at how Cool how universe is if he wasn't so angry. stop having opinions you're barely a people!]

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

If they're the backbone of your workforce and they're disgruntled it's probably more than just a few. Poor treatment leads to uprisings and then you will have another war.

Hey. Even if someone like Alpha Trion is in charge of it, I couldn't say how well they're treated until I saw it for myself. You're obviously biased in your own favor so I can't trust you as a source.

[He's been listening to those recordings that Other Him left too much, uh oh.]

Re: [video] sorry for editing that like a gorillian times omfg

[primest]

He's been keeping the same policies for hundreds of thousands of years and there's never once been any strikes.

Stop finding excuses; he's good at his job and if the Autotroopers or any other lower class work force didn't like it, then they'd have said something.

[video] no worries! edit as much as needed!

[redshirtrobot]

It's not an excuse, it's an actual concern. And that's like saying that if the Vehicons didn't like being tortured and thrown off a ship they would have said something. Which they couldn't.

Because their bosses are evil and crazy and will murder them.

So no, I can't trust what you say. Because you're one of the Autotrooper's bosses.

Re: [video] fills your inbox with 700 edit tags

[primest]

Autobots don't tend to murder those who speak out.

...Within our own, any way.

[GRIPS THE DEVICE RLY HARD]

I told you, I don't command any of them. They mostly work for the Police Force, not the Elite Guard. As then name implies. So, yes. Those are excuses which straight up ignore what I told you.

[video] watches them neatly stack

[redshirtrobot]

So if you don't straight-up murder them what do you do?

[Because Fracas might prefer the being murdered.]

Which means I can't trust your judgement because you don't even actually know how they're treated and we're back to where we were. Which is where I'm still suspicious about the treatment of these 'Autotroopers' from your world.

Re: [video]

[primest]

Allspark, there's other ways of dealing with problems that don't involve Megatron's way of murder and tyranny, you know. They have a union.

[...probably]

I work on the council, around Alpha Trion. Which often involves going to meetings where he tells us how well everything is going.

You're starting to repeat yourself. Are all Vehicons this whiny or is it just localized to you?

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

Do you have written documents stating that?

[Though a union is not a bad idea for home, hrm...]

I'm repeating myself because you don't seem to get it. But I guess I can't expect you to. You don't seem any better than the officers on the ship.

Re: [video]

[primest]

Of course I do, I have every single piece of documentation that could feasibly ever be required should a Vehicon start to question me on how the basic infrastructure of Cybertron works.

Oh, no. Looks like I left it in my other alt-mode.

[he's scraping up the floor of his room something fierce with his lance at all these replies! don't mind if you can hear it, it's nothing. you're not making him feel emotions]

I don't understand what else you want me to tell you. It seems you'll only be happy if they're treated like royalty.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

Then neither of us can confirm they have a union either.

[To be fair, most of the reactions he's use to are getting yelled at. So the scraping noise is uh... different and confusing.]

No, I'd be happy if I knew they were treated like people. So many low-ranked bots aren't, in my experience. Heck, I'd be happy if I thought you understood how hard it could be for them, but that's not something I can accomplish by talking.

[Where are the Ghosts of Christmas Different Tenses when you need them?]

Re: [video]

[primest]

Why don't you try asking Blurr about the worker situation, then? We're from the same universe and Primus knows everyone trusts him more than me for some reason.

[he's carved some... interesting words into his floor. thanks, fracas]

They are treated like people! The Police Force fully acknowledges that without them, they'd be completely bust. [he snorts] I could tell you that I know what it's like to have to work up from the bottom, but I doubt you'd believe me.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

I would, but he's in the Wastelands looking for people and I don't want to bother him unless he needs help.

[Hopefully no protoforms see them. No need to scar the next generation.]

Public acknowledgement and private treatment are two different things... but you have a point with that. And you never know; I was there to see Megatron work his way up from the bottom, after all.

Re: [video]

[primest]

They can't publicly say 'hey really need you guys!' then turn around and tell them they're all useless scrap heaps. That's just... not what Autobots do. Besides, Alpha Trion would have a conniption if he knew any of the social classes were given less than adequate representation or treatment.

[let him just... avoid mentioning all those lectures trion has given him in the past]

Everyone has to work their way up. It's impossible to start off anywhere except the bottom.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

You might be surprised what bots will do. On both sides of the battle lines. I don't know your Alpha Trion but. He seems like a decent guy.

[Oh who is he kidding, Fracas would be too scared to talk to him.]

Keh. Not in the time before the war, where I was from. You were either the top of the heap or lower than dirt, and nothing would change that. The bottom stayed at the bottom and the top... got everything.

Re: [video]

[primest]

Mm, I've heard that that seems to be the case in quite a few universes.

It was the same for us, as well. Or, well. The bigger problem was Megazarak and then Megatron trying to commit a genocide under the guise of 'equality.'

[siiigh] Kind of hard for everyone to be equal when one step out of line gets them executed.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

Well. If you want to get technical - and morbid - everyone is equal in death. No castes or oppression in the Well of All Sparks.

But no system is really equal. Someone's always at the top... and someone's always at the bottom. And it's usually not fair.

Re: [video]

[primest]

Considering none of us are offline, that's completely irrelevant. Unless you're planning on murdering everyone to enforce your equality obsession, in which case, don't.

Of course not, that's just the way things are. The better ones are at the top.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

I couldn't murder everyone even if I wanted to; I'm not the best at fighting. Besides, I like most of the people here too much to murder them.

Better according to what skills?

Re: [video]

[primest]

How humble of you.

Someone who is a skilled tactician is inherently worth more to society than someone who's skillset is focused on mining. Before you go off on a tirade about them not being given a chance, some bots just literally don't have the capacity for learning new skills.

[video]

[redshirtrobot]

It's. Not really humbleness. My training back home was legitimately terrible.

... Actually I was going to say that the value of tactical skill depends upon the office and what's going on at the time. Good for the military during war, but. Not so much for peacetime.
And if bots are built specifically without the capacity for learning new skills, that's awful.

[Bet you almost thought he wouldn't say anything about that didn't you.]