Before Dove, stood a wall about forty feet away. Or at least in a technical sense, a wall. Scratch that, that was still too generous. The corrugated steel plates leaned up against light rebar frames, or on parked trucks, to make the appearance of a solid barrier around a base.

"Do you have a megaphone setting?"

"Do I have a megaphone setting?" Echoed Penny. "I am not sure. Do I? You have had this scroll for far longer than I have."

"You're the one in it."

"I am software. I cannot make changes to the hardware." Gaped Penny. "Therefore, what do you think? Do I have a megaphone setting?"

"I'm going to go with no."

"I do not." Penny sighed. "Just be sure to use your diaphragm. They will not take you seriously if your voice cracks while making demands."

"Yeah, yeah. Will do." Dove took a deep breath in, released it, and bellowed. "Good day to you! I come with the offer of a deal!"

On the other side of the eight-foot-tall excuse of a wall, Dove could hear the blokes on sentry duty scrambling to attention. A voice called back, "Did you come alone?"

Dove looked at the four very conspicuous robed figures squatting in the snow around him. Supposedly they were his security detail, and yet he was the only one who could even try blending into the snow. "Yeah, I got company!" One of the robes turned and put their finger up to their hood and hissed. Dove looked over at him, mask betraying no emotions, and snarked, "You do know they literally can see you, right? No point in lying to them."

"You're giving us away!" Hissed back the robe.

Dove wanted nothing more than to commit murder. He knew it was wrong, but maybe the silence was preferable to this. Noticing this, Penny came to his rescue. "Just take a sip and get ready for what they say." Dove uncapped a canteen he was carrying and consumed a quarter of it with a belch. "I meant to take a sip of water."

"I know." Dove wiped his chin. "I just value my sanity."

"May I have some then?"

Dove thought long and hard, and then he remembered: she can't drink. "No."

"At least I tried."

"That you did." A steaming glass bottle flew up and over the wall and landed a good eight feet in front of him. "What's this?"

"It's what we think of you and your traitorous buddies!" Jeered a sentry.

"It is urine." Helpfully supplied Penny.

"Ah. Glad I didn't grab the bottle now." Dove kicked snow onto the bottle. "You do know the bottle didn't break, right?"

"What!"

"I said, the bottle didn't break!"

"You're going to need to speak louder!" Screamed back the sentry.

"I! Said!" Dove bit his tongue as a sodden paper wrapped item flopped over the wall and landed to his right. "Did you just throw your turd at me? What are you, a monkey?"

"Ironic, seeing who's talking!"

Dove opened the canteen and took another swig. "Why do people think that life is inherently valuable? Cause I'm having a bit of difficulty not un-life-ing him."

"Can you make life artificially?" Offered Penny.

"Apparently, someone could."

"I can see how that was a bad vantage point to attack this from." She sighed. "Another way to look at it would be, would you like someone to kill you because you may be annoying?"

"Well, about that." Began Dove.

"Dove. Please. Not now. I do not particularly appreciate that."

"Jeez, fine, what a kill joy." A second bottle flew over, mostly empty. "Are you serious!"

"Go away!" Hollered back the sentry.

"What'll get you to talk to me!"

"You slitting your damn wrists, you dirty animal!"

One of the robes looked over at him. "Can we kill them?"

Dove massaged his face plate. "As much as I'd like to, I've been asked to hesitate on that front."

"Alright." The robe shifted in place. "Hesitation over. May I kill him."

"Just you?"

"Please." The figure sounded like he was on the edge of something. "Sir."

"No." Dove turned back towards the wall, as the robe appeared to buckle over and begin frothing at the mouth. "I'm heading towards the wall now, okay?"

"Any closer and this will be interpreted as a sign of aggression!" Screeched back the sentry.

"So, you're not open to negotiations?"

"Of course not! We don't deal with terrorists!"

"Okay."


"So, that's how that went," gestured Dove as he kicked up his boots onto the table. "Sorry about that Go, but it doesn't look like it's happening."

The seated figure stared back at him. "You didn't really try, did you?"

Dove took another sip. "No, not really."

"How come?"

"Seem like the kind of people to respond to action, rather than words."

Go took a sip of their cup. "I can tell you're going to ask something. What do you want?"

Dove leaned forward. "Do you have a truck?"

"You want to drive a truck through their barricade."

"I want to drive a truck through their barricade."

Go shook their head in disbelief. "I'll see what I can do. Until then, keep doing what you can."

"And if they increase their pitching accuracy?"

"Take a shower."