Nothing could have forced Roland's attentions away from the radio, even as the guy holding it eventually lets it go, sets it down on the nearest surface for Roland to watch for. Even as Inigo cradles the thing scrounging about their things. (Will Roland ever be reunited with his lunch box? Stay tuned.) His ears are more perked up than ever, getting used to the rhythms required of decoding morse after so long of not hearing dots and dashes, secret languages of Earth that were meant to transmit messages faster than horses could carry into the wind.
But why? Why now? On this planet? There was so much of this that doesn't make sense.
Until eventually, it does. Somehow. While he struggles to decode even just the first series of the radio's signals, the second half he knows almost instinctively. If you can only know a little bit of morse by memory, after all, surely you choose the signal that spells out -
"...Mayday."
It's not quite saying something back as Tidus instructs him to do - not like he could or had the ability to, when the radio wasn't meant to transmit things back - but there's no mistaking it. He even repeats it in his own, hushed monotone, timed perfectly to the radio beeping it out loud. He could pass off as a possessed robot with the blank look in his eye, the sounds coming out of his throat...But upon a closer inspection, Roland looks to be completely engrossed. Worried. Brows eventually meeting in the middle, sure as any about what follows.
He writes this down with more certainty, and shows it to the Twin Teens without missing a beat.
Mayday / Pilot / MIA.
Roland turns away, leaving them to read the page one more time if they want. He's already on his comms line, relaying what they know immediately. He makes it quick, ends the line fast, and turning back to the radio in case it has more to say....
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But why? Why now? On this planet? There was so much of this that doesn't make sense.
Until eventually, it does. Somehow. While he struggles to decode even just the first series of the radio's signals, the second half he knows almost instinctively. If you can only know a little bit of morse by memory, after all, surely you choose the signal that spells out -
"...Mayday."
It's not quite saying something back as Tidus instructs him to do - not like he could or had the ability to, when the radio wasn't meant to transmit things back - but there's no mistaking it. He even repeats it in his own, hushed monotone, timed perfectly to the radio beeping it out loud. He could pass off as a possessed robot with the blank look in his eye, the sounds coming out of his throat...But upon a closer inspection, Roland looks to be completely engrossed. Worried. Brows eventually meeting in the middle, sure as any about what follows.
He writes this down with more certainty, and shows it to the Twin Teens without missing a beat.
Mayday / Pilot / MIA.
Roland turns away, leaving them to read the page one more time if they want. He's already on his comms line, relaying what they know immediately. He makes it quick, ends the line fast, and turning back to the radio in case it has more to say....