Author's Note: I need help with OC character names. Because I have not played FF FX, I am not as familiar with the geography on a big scale, the architecture on a smaller scale, and character names. Some names, I've noticed are common English/American names (Monica, Dave, Jared, Cindy), others are not (all the chocobros, every glaive, Cid, Cor Leonis, all the villains, Aranea). I have winged my way through so far with characters we're not as likely to see again, but now that we're in Lestallum and sticking around, we're going to run into the same people more than once. So please PM or leave a review with some good FF-able character names. Lots of women (Darn it, if Iris didn't tell Noctis that all jobs in Lestallum are done by women, so all those civil servants are women.) but also some men. I figure the civil servants stayed indoors during any destructive event and pretty much survived. Whereas other professionals may have lost their lives and now are filled by refugees and other civilians. As for geography and the exact roads and buildings of Lestallum, you're probably just going to have to let me pass on those. I try to be vague where I can get away with it.

Momentis
Part II: Lestallum

The Other Shoe
by Philippe de la Matraque

One month passed and Aranea had not returned. Ignis left the dining hall and walked to the administration building. He relied on the mental images he'd built in the last month, his cane which warned him of debris, and counting his steps. The last was the hardest, actually. He liked to think when he walked. But he had managed to count while reading when he was younger. So he thought and tried to keep count as well.

His new assistant, Bina, met him at the door. "Right this way, Mr. Scientia." He'd met her yesterday. They went up two flights of stairs, turned right and then walked back toward the front of the building. "This is your office," Bina said. "There's a desk to your right. The chair is behind it. There are two chairs in front of your desk. To your left is a round table with four chairs. You'll be meeting the other staff one at a time. Each will present part of our findings from the inventory. It was really quite enlightening. Everyone will announce themselves before they speak until you can learn their voices."

Ignis moved behind the desk and turned his face back to where she was still standing. "I've learned yours," he offered, with a slight smile. "And please, call me Ignis."

He could hear a smile in her voice when she spoke. "We'll break at noon. First in is Dara, sir. She had Industrial skills."

Two knocks on the doorframe. "Dara, sir. Shall I come in?"

Ignis sat down. "Of course." And that's how the morning went. He met each of the civil servants in the office, they had really managed the human resources inventory well. They had gathered names, locations, ages, education, training, years of experience, and disabilities or limitations. Potential workers were grouped into industrial, agricultural/food services, educational, medical, construction, sanitization, and security skills. They also had unskilled and non-workers. Ignis took an interest in that last one. Some non-workers were children and young people who didn't have any specific training yet. Some were retirees, like George, who needed less strenuous work. Others were more or less disabled in some way. Ignis certainly didn't want to underestimate any of them. And finally, there were those whose education or training just didn't fit any other category.

In the afternoon, they'd all brainstormed together to decide which job subcategories or new categories were vitally important for the immediate survival of Lestallum, jobs that would be important once survival was more sure, and luxury jobs which they could hope for someday. Those might include actors, musicians and novelists, for example.

They identified the power plant workers easily, as well as hunters and fighters, farmers and food service worker and construction. Ignis added engineers and teachers. Finally, someone offered sanitization. They labelled these as Primary positions. Every possible worker would be slotted into one of these job categories.

Secondary positions included the sciences and history, universities and formal education. Mechanics came up but Ignis decided mechanics were needed now. Vehicles brought in needed supplies and travelled between other outposts. Vehicles were vital to survival and could break down. Mechanics was added to Primary.

The next day, was spent addressing the unskilled and non-workers. Ignis gave George as an example. He was a retired art historian. Now he was helping Ignis 'see' Lestallum. A person who'd lost a limb could still teach or do such things as dishwashing, other seated jobs. As for the unskilled youth, Ignis envisioned internships that led to apprenticeships. Children would go to school. As they aged they'd be introduced to the jobs they could eventually intern for.

On the third day, Ignis wanted to know about housing and architecture. At present, they were scrambling to find new place to place refugees. Ignis was in the older hotel. Smaller rooms. One or two people in each. The Leville was much bigger. Presently, there were as many as three families in some of the rooms. Other buildings were hastily filled with bunks, like the hunters' barracks. The reports, he hoped would find more room to spread people out a bit, and even more for new refugees. There some marginal buildings that with architects, engineers, and construction crews could be made worthy.

The group identified one school within the walls that was suitable for up to two classrooms. Most of the other schools were either outside the walls or too damaged in the early days before the walls were finished. Ignis suggested general supplies be stored in several locations for redundancy. If one storage unit caught fire, they wouldn't lose everything. He also suggested they could get some volunteers for internal security to watch supplies and other key areas. These volunteers could count on staying within the walls with their families.

The fourth day was the scary one. Ignis got his first glimpse (metaphorically speaking) at the scarcity of some supplies. The year's harvest had been smaller than it might have been. Plants produced less and smaller fruits and vegetables as the hours of sunlight decreased. Meat was an irregular resource brought in by hunters who ventured into the wilds. Water was, at least, not an issue, given the proximity of the river and the municipal water system that still existed. Ignis suggested they work to shunt off areas outside the walls, but in easily reversed methods for when they could, he hoped, expand. Electricity was abundant within the walls. Ignis hoped they could someday expand with the walls so more people could be saved.

The shake up happened the next week. Supervisors had been identified for each department and every able person was given a Primary position that fit their education and/or experience and training. Anyone was given the right to petition, after two weeks, for a transfer should their present assignment not work out. That squelched most of the grumbling.

The Construction department included architects as well as skilled carpenters, furniture makers, and people experienced in construction work. Plumbers and air conditioning technicians were also included. If it was work on a building or the furnishings of that building, it was part of the Construction department. Buildings would need modifications, repairs, and furniture if they were to house everyone in comfortable conditions with adequate sanitization.

The Education department included six elementary and secondary teachers, one librarian and four college professors. They were put in charge of one hundred forty-six children from ages four to seventeen. Older youths were given choices for internships within the various Primary professions. They were matched with individual workers whom they would shadow as they went about their work. They could graduate to apprentices, which meant they could do supervised solo work. Once their supervisors were satisfied, they would then be an official worker.

The Medical department was a tough case. While they had a hospital, they were lacking in doctors and nurses. Their supervisor was a family physician who hadn't done surgery for more than ten years. Until she'd had to with attacks in the early days. There was one ER doctor and a veterinarian. There were seven nurses. Ignis made a plea for youths to consider medicine for their internships. Thirty-eight signed up. They were going to get a crash course, Ignis was sure.

Engineers were a special case. They were to decide where best to use their skills and expertise. Structural engineers, for instance, would likely go to Construction. Others might choose Medical to help build and repair medical equipment. Electrical engineers could go to the Power department, which included anyone working with electricity, including lighting.

The Agriculture department included farms and anyone working with food. Ignis personally tasked them to get creative with their farming. They had to find ways to grow fruits and vegetables within the walls, with the lighting provided by the power plant. Only expansion of the walls would allow for large plots of land to be farmed. He suggested they look into hydroponics and vertical farming as well as other innovations they may think up. Several engineers volunteered to work with them in those endeavors. Hopefully, someone would find farm animals that could be brought within the walls as well. Ignis asked Construction to be open to helping the Agriculture department with space.

Most of the cooks were already in their positions. A few moved to jobs they were better trained for. Some had cooked in the military, some in the schools and hospitals. Others were stay-at-home parents who enjoyed cooking and grandparents who had loved baking. Some had worked at sidewalk stands, or in diners and restaurants.

The Sanitization department was lacking in members. There were several workers left from Lestallum proper. They assured the administration that they could keep the sewer systems working. There were no trained sanitization engineers. Several scientists volunteered to transfer from their present placings to help innovate as more and more refugees came in. They were tasked with working closely with Medical as proper sanitization was key to the overall health of the city.

Then there were the jobs less wanted, such as sweeping, cleaning the streets, trash removal, and dishwashing. Many of the present workers in these jobs were shifted to skilled jobs. Ignis suggested that new arrivals would first be placed into these positions until they could be evaluated for other jobs. Also some retirees or disabled could manage some of these jobs if they didn't have other skills. Dishes, for example, could be washed while sitting on a stool. Children would help with after-school chores keeping their streets and building common areas clean. And everyone had to take a shift, one day per month, working these jobs as well. Everyone except Ignis, who couldn't see if plates were clean or where he needed to sweep. He hoped Aranea was right and that someday he could spend his service day cooking with the others.

Most people were happy enough with the shift. Nearly everyone agreed that they should all work in some way for the survival of the city. Many were placed in a job they had the right education or skills for. Others did campaign that science and the arts were important, too. Ignis agreed, but made the case that those with those skills could be used in different ways for now. Later, when survival wasn't as precarious, they could flourish in their own right. For now, scientists were placed in Engineering and then, like the engineers, spread out to various relevant departments.

Many more people volunteered for Security, both internal and external. Only those not in key positions or jobs that were lacking were transferred for training. Cor, then, would be staying in Lestallum for the foreseeable future. Ignis had two hours with him, every other afternoon.

By the end of the next month, Ignis felt like things were starting to come together. People were getting used to their jobs. Seven transfers had been approved, four rejected. The children were going to school. Teachers were teaching a fairly basic curriculum at present. Scientists and farmers were figuring out the right lighting to grow certain vegetables. Soil had been trucked in and spread on several rooftops. Construction was renovating buildings and moving crowded residents into them. Chatter around the dining halls was generally positive.

And then three things happened. Aranea returned. Iris got hurt. And the sun stopped shining altogether.