The Jazzman: So today we're going to try something new!

Ratchet: Oh, joy.

The Jazzman: we're going to test the range of the messaging system :)

Prowl: How do you propose we do this, Jazz?

The Jazzman: it's easy! meet me in front of the base in ten.

Optimus Prime: I'm indisposed at this time, Jazz. Could you find a replacement for me?

The Jazzman: Sure thing, Prime! I need eight Autobots anyway. I'll just go round up four others and four datapads!

The Jazzman has disconnected from the chatroom.

Ratchet: Optimus, you certainly don't think these things are a viable alternative to comm units, do you?

Optimus Prime: Ratchet, I suspect Jazz is merely bored, and the last thing we want on our hands is a bored Jazz. He seems rather... content to occupy himself with this 'chatroom', and I will not be the one to take his new toy away from him. Better he pester us with random messages, than he terrorize the other Autobots.

Ratchet: ...You may have a point. Well, this causes less work for me than the alternative. I'll play along with his little scheme.

Ironhide: Of course he has a point. He's Prime.

Ratchet: I'd noticed, Ironhide.

Sidestreaker has connected to the chatroom.

Sunswipe has connected to the chatroom.

The Jazzman has connected to the chatroom.

Ratchet: You brought the twins.

Wheeljack has connected to the chatroom.

Baby Blue has connected to the chatroom.

The Jazzman: I have conjured our strike force :D

Ironhide: Strike force? I like the sound of this

Ratchet: YOU SAID NOTHING ABOUT A STRIKE FORCE, JAZZ

Sunswipe: I get the feeling we aren't welcome here, sunny

Sidestreaker: Don't call me that.

The Jazzman: All of you, calm down! It was a joke, Ratch. Nah, we aren't striking anything and it's not a strike force. We're just going to go outside and walk in eight different directions and see how far we can get without losing communication with one another through the chatroom.

Wheeljack: Hopefully this won't take too long. I've got a project to get back to.

Ratchet: With Wheeljack joining us, I don't doubt that the datapads will explode. Don't let him tinker with them.

Wheeljack: That's just mean, Ratchet. The dinobots didn't explode.

Ratchet: You had my help building them, Wheeljack. Of course they didn't explode. Everything else, however...

The Jazzman: easy ratch, he won't be tinkering with any datapads.

Ratchet: Good, you're smarter than you act. I won't have to bring the wrench out.

The Jazzman: just... leave the wrench inside and come to the front of the ark, okay ratch?

"Th' goal is just ta walk as far as ya can without losin' contact with th' rest of us," Jazz explained. "If we end up gettin' too far out, Ah'll send a message ta turn us all around an' bring us back ta the Ark. Any questions?"

There were none, unless Ratchet's rhetorical grumbles about Jazz being insane counted. The medic wasn't protesting as much as he could have, which probably meant he had something up his arm plating, but Jazz would work that out later. In the meantime, he had more plotting to do.

Baby Blue: How is this supposed to work? Do we just type and send? Do we get notifications when others get the messages? Ohh, can we change our screen names? Why are our screen names what they are? And why are we doing this, anyway? It seems fun, but it also seems like it could get tiring. Do fingers get tired? My finger has never gotten tired on sniper duty. But maybe my fingers could get tired from this? Do you think that's possible?

Ratchet: Primus, he even types like that.

The Jazzman: It's a little experiment, Blue. As for the screen names, each of them reflects the name you entered on your datapad. You chose Baby Blue, I chose The Jazzman, so on so forth.

Baby Blue: Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess! So the twins chose to be Sidestreaker and Sunswipe? Wow, that's confusing. Couldn't they just call themselves Sunny and Sides or something? I don't really understand why they mixed their names together like humans do online. Why do humans mix names together online, does anyone know? I've always wondered about that. Well, maybe not always, but ever since I discovered they did it I've been wondering about it.

The Jazzman: If you're referring to what I think you are, Blue, the humans refer to this as a 'ship'.

Baby Blue: A ship? Like the Ark? Or another kind of ship? Like a boat on the ocean? Or do they mean something else? They could mean something else. The humans do use words in odd manners at times. For instance, lemons and limes, which I've seen used to tag a written work about two humans interfacing. Why do humans write about interfacing, anyway? I mean, it doesn't make sense. Why would you write about it when you can just grab a friend and interface? No, wait, Earth doesn't work like that. Humans are so weird about interfacing!

Ironhide: Primus help us all, Jazz, you had to give the kid a datapad and a chatroom.