Audio; Transmission from: Nexian Quadrant

[gtfostalker]

[If anyone has been wondering where Strelok has been, they will be getting the answer to that question presently. Strelok is on top of a ladder, tying together what looks to be a couple pieces of corrugated steel with some kind of flexible metal.

That finished, Strelok slides down the ladder, adjusting the camera back, to show the World's Lamest Shack. The walls and roof are all the corrugated steel, tied with the same wire. Sitting outside is that freakish energon-eating plant he picked up ages ago... which has a bunch of Christmas lights on it and doesn't seem too happy about. His pseudodog Fang is in a much better mood, though, tail thumping on the ground as it wags.

Strelok grins a little. Proud of yourself much, dude?]

Not too bad, for a hand-made home, yes? Nexus Prime, you know I like you, but I cannot loiter in your temple anymore.

And I have heard it is also near Christmas? Well, then we celebrate like stalkers! Isaac, I will find beer; we will have a party in the medbay. Who knows, maybe I will even be able to find some food that is better than normal. If anyone else wants to come, you are welcome. Though you Cybertronians will have to bring your own... energon, is it?

Comments

[gtfostalker]

Stories? Always. Especially the true ones, they can be stranger than the fiction.

Ah, you know Isaac! I am the one that put him in the hospital.

[Wait, that came out wrong.]

He was a little crazy at the time, I had to stop him before he hurt someone or got hurt himself.

[skidaddle]

That might be a bit of a problem, seeing as I can only remember about half of my lifetime. I do have one about this time that I saved a psychiatrist from a soul-eating robot however.

Ah.

Wait.

Psychotherapist.

[Its important.]

If you put him in the hospital and he's still willing to drink with you, then it can't be that bad! I didn't think he was that crazy, though...

[gtfostalker]

Amnesia? Ah, I have been there; I hope you find out what you need to. Though I would be very interested in that story in the meantime. I have not heard one about soul-eaters in some time.

[The fact that he says that so casually should probably be a problem, really.]

He thought I was a monster at the time. Which I am pretty sure I am not, at least not lately.

[skidaddle]

You...you have?

How did you get over it?

[He could really use some pointers right now.]

The way things go around here, I'm starting to think we need 'I'm not a monster today' tests.

Or are you telling me you wouldn't always pass them?

[gtfostalker]

I have. The last time I managed to accidentally blow myself up with one of my old crew's traps and that seemed to help. This time nothing has really helped.

[He's kind of twiddling his thumbs and hoping something eventually works.]

Those would be a very good idea. But there are so many monsters that how could we make a comprehensive one?

And passing them would depend on the whim of this place, I think. Though I cannot remember ever having been a monster; just human.

[skidaddle]

I suppose there's no way to tell what jars one's circuits back until they're jarred, is there?

[He wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of experimental self-explosions, either.]

Maybe there is some trend...

Although even my mind hasn't been able to tackle what it is beyond 'the lambda or the Firstforged screw up, we suffer.'

[gtfostalker]

Nope. Though I cannot recommend blowing yourself up. It was not very fun.

[Also Doctor basically called him an idiot after that.]

Perhaps there is a trend besides that. Is there not some kind of... evil entity doing most of the terrible things that happen to us?

Otherwise, my only explanation is "Such is life in the Zone."

[Because the universe is weird and stupid like that.]

[skidaddle]

I'm going to take that advice.

[Not blowing himself up should be easy enough.]

Unicron?

Yeah, I've heard about him. There's enough evidence to support the theory that he exists, but that evidence could be attributed to other phenomenon...

[He gets his theorizing on for a moment, before he shakes his head.]

...or 'such is life' works, too. Whether or not its because of this Unicron or because of fate, we still can't do much to change it.

[gtfostalker]

I had hoped so. But hey. If someone else blows you up and it helps, at least a good thing happened, yes?

[And it's not you experimentally doing it to yourself.]

Ah, I have never been big about "fate". The idea that such foolishness happens for a reason is difficult to believe.