The Diego Diaries: Around (dd8 345)
=0=Around
It was a busy mid morning as the colony went about its business. It had been a while now since the attack and if you wanted evidence of it you had to go out of your way to find it. The business district of every city in the colony was going great guns as shoppers, workers and those who were just walking around enjoying the sights took in the now more relaxed atmosphere of the great landscape of metropolitan cities. The sun was bright overhead but it was cold. The breeze was light as traffic on the highways, side streets and long hauls to here and there buzzed along.
He walked toward the door of his new business, this mech who had steered a migration through terrible straits. He was former Autobot soldier, self taught engineer and full time employer of seventeen workers with the most unlikely of partners. They were a design firm, one of several on world but this one was for ships. They designed innovative structures, refined existing designs and trouble shot problems in electronic systems of all manner of ships. They even had three engineers that specialized in big frames and some of their more intricate electrical functions.
He and his partner had posed a contract with Autobot City Medical-Big Frame Medicine and had been scooped up to work on the Supremes, metrotitans and dreadnoughts. It would relieve a need for that kind of worker bee in the university system where the sheer complexity of the monster ships made it hard to recruit doctors and engineers.
Skimmer was a big mech and smart. He had always had dreams and going into the army helped him realize a few. The rest was hard knocks, reading and gathering around himself the right people who knew things. He had led a big migration across space heading toward Prime's signal about the time of the Functionalist problem. Another refugee group had merged with them on the route and was led by a former high caste mech named Fermi. That the two had made this business together after working out what they wanted to do was golden.
Low caste and high caste merged to support and grow together in a common dream. It was a 'thing' in the colony. It happened a lot. Both of them had been leaders in their migrations. Both of them had learned to forgive and live in the crucible of the Diaspora. Both of them were friends, good and solid friends.
It was just one of the miracles that happened everyday in the empire of Optimus Prime.
=0=Elsewhere at the Halls of Order
Edict walked in, paused by the small shrine near the door to give a prayer to the dead and those still missing. Then he walked onward to the set aside space where the mechs and femmes attached to the stores scattered around the colony and on Cybertron were working together to make the reopening of Full Circle when it was rebuilt and signed off a reality.
It had sent shock waves throughout their community when it'd been destroyed in the bombing and strafing of the attack. That an enemy shuttle had hit the road and skid into Sparkling Day School was bad enough. Everyone adored the schools. That a missile had fallen out of the shuttle, bounced a few times, then lodged itself into the front window of the store before detonating was shocking in a way that was hard to describe.
Full Circle was the first store of their sect since before the revolution. It was a place where you could get educational things for their academy programs, reading materials of all kinds, books on the sect, art, objects for your home that were made by members and you could dine there as well. It was a community center for the local neighborhoods with many elders coming in to sit in the three lounges to read, doze and chat.
The looms were a marvel. They were antique, determined to be made just after the Quintessans were driven off world. They were shiny with the touch of digits sliding shuttlecocks through the wires that were strung to make images. It would be impossible to tell how many different things were made by them, some of which took decades to weave because of their complexity and the process of making the different materials that were used in the work. They weren't frivolous projects, the things made on these looms and only the finest and most proficient of weavers were able to navigate the web presented by warp and weft of the strings.
Joon had learned to weave in the Diaspora as solace for her crushed spark. She'd been taught by the greatest living masters in the colony where they had settled. She had a knack for it and had bloomed into a master weaver and teacher in short order. Nothing was too hard or complex for her and her work was highly prized by those who understood the skill and patience it took to create such things.
When the building had been destroyed and the looms with them she'd become despondent for a period of time before three looms were located and brought by Circle mechs to the Halls. After an inspection, she chose one for herself and began to make a weaving that would tell the tale of the lost looms and the spark ache that their destruction represented to The People.
Edict entered the room where they were and walked to Joon to sit down beside her. "You added a few inches I see."
Joon glanced at Edict. "I feel the need."
Edict squeezed her shoulders. "So do I. Is there anything I need to tell the committee? We're planning out the inventory for when the first floor opens. The upper two stories are still being debated for use and design."
"Tell them that I'm glad that the looms will be lowered into a safe at night. I don't believe I can stand another disaster, Edict," Joon said.
Edict squeezed her shoulders, then stood to go. "I know, Joony. I'll see you for lunch?"
"I'll be there," Joon said as she watched Edict head for the door.
Edict paused in the doorjamb. "We should get the squad together and go out on the town."
Joon grinned for the first time since the attack. "That would be wonderful. Maybe after the basketball game First Friday."
Edict smiled. "I'll get with Ratchet and Prowl. Have a good morning, Joon."
Joon would.
=0=Elsewhere
She stood in line waiting for her turn. They were taking measurements and weighing infants. The Temple Primary School was affiliated with the school district and as such had the same opportunities and amenities as everyone else. Right now, the tech team from the School District Medical Center which supplied doctors and nurses to each school were taking the measure of the imps.
Halo had been dropped off by her old mech, watching him go with a bit of moody energy. Her bestie, Nippy had stood beside her holding her servo.
"You coming, Halo?" Nippy had asked.
"Goin' where?" Halo had asked sadly. It was like every orn was a new one for her until her old mech leaving filtered through her processor. It was hard to leave such a buddy every day even for a fun place like this.
"Doing this, then eating," Nippy had said. She tugged Halo's arm into line where they had their turn and were found to be 'amazing' and 'wonderful' by the nice techs.
When that was accomplished they walked down the corridor to the tiny lunchroom where things that smelled amazing were waiting for them. Most of the kids had some small breakfast items at home, a piece of 'bacon' or fruit, but most of them ate here to create community. They were fed handmade meals and juice, then allowed to go outside to their little playground for a bit of exercise.
The plethora of aides and teachers would go with them, watching the fun as their eight little charges played together.
Inside, Lady Sela would be organizing their orn, getting their different areas up to speed. She was the main teacher for now, the others supporting by assisting her or taking small groups to give skills the attention they deserved. It was a totally immersive experience with this pilot group being the guinea pigs and future mentors for the larger group that would be coming into the school by the end of February. Fourteen more kids would be added making the population twenty-two.
"Well, that looks nice," a room nana said to Sela as the reading nook bean bags were fluffed and set around the teacher's little chair. Everything was attempted to be delivered at their optic level. All of the teachers' stools were short.
"I think so, Nana Teo. I do love reading to them. I would like you to handle the sharing this morning. I think that might be wonderful. So many of them need that hands-on from ammas," Sela said to Teo's great delight.
The bell rang and the sound of tiny peds treading to the cloak closet, then the classroom could be heard. Eight tiny bots walked into the room, then were directed to their bean bag chairs.
Sela helped them, then grinned down at her charges. "Nana Teo is going to have you share with her today. I think its so fun to have ammas in our school. Don't you?"
It was unanimous. It was fun.
Amma 'Nana' Teo sat down on the short stool, then smiled at the little kids who smiled back. "Well, aren't you beautiful today. Who wants to tell me something fun?"
A little mech with mech wings that were white, simple and clean smiled at her. "Nana?"
"What, Marley?" Teo asked with an enchanted expression. She was the one who watched them when they took both of their naps given the length of their orn. She was the one who rocked them when they couldn't fall asleep and comforted them when they were hurt doing this and that. She was the one who helped them at lunch and dressed/undressed them when they came inside or went out.
Marley smiled at her. "I like fishes."
Teo grinned. "Do you? What kind of fishes, Marley?"
"The ones … you know?" Marley smiled at Nippy and that was all she wrote.
"What ones, Marley? Do you have fish?" Nana asked.
He smiled, glancing at the others who were smiling at him, then forgot the question. "I like to play with trucks? You see my trucks, Nana?" he asked as he struggled to get out of his beanbag. He would and he would show his trucks to Nana and everyone. No one would figure out the fish story.
Sela would chuckle about it for a long time. It was good to be teaching children this age again.
=0=Cybertron
Prime stared at the forest of towers that made up the new layout of Greater Iacon. The camps were still here but they were smaller. The rebuilding of Iacon stood at 67%. There were other areas with a larger percentage of repair but for the biggest cities on world, Iacon was leading the charge. Optimus was on a tour of the major cities to get a bead on their rebuilding. It had been several years now and the construction planned was well ahead of schedule.
Given that smaller towns, villages and industrial regions had been easier and faster to rebuild, it freed up labor and materials for the bigger, denser populated and more complex areas. Millions upon millions lived in real housing now which was of an incalculable measure of delight for those who gained one or were closing in on their own. Having a real house after the torment of ages had been all it took for many to lean into the reclamation and bloom.
The businesses were booming, commerce was taking off everywhere and the economy on world was growing every day. The cashless society that had been dubiously entered into at first was the one thing that many of them would die to defend. No one was locked out of prosperity and the dreams they never believed would happen in the old model.
There was still unrest by some. Old ideas die hard. But they were dying indeed and the rising of the people as a united force was making that swifter than some liked. It would be surprising the percentage of former high castes that would be arrested on any given weekend night along with the criminal element that still existed here.
Optimus walked to his shuttle to go to Polyhex. As he did he knew that Prowl was back on Mars pouring over the playbook that the Crater Comets had developed to lead them to the first basketball championship ever awarded on Mars or anywhere else. It amused Prime greatly to know that he was. The only thing more funny was speculating on what sort of 'cheer gear' that Ratchet would have for this, the first basketball game of the season on First Friday.
The shuttle disappeared into the night sky of Cybertron heading toward Polyhex and a city reaching the halfway mark of rebuild.
=0=TBC 1-16-2022
