The Diego Diaries: (Hear)ing (Me) (dd7 25)
=0=The big conference room in the Temple, Autobot City
The room was quiet and very tense as the families, their representatives and a number of interested parties gathered to hear a petition from 15 kids about their activities and their parental objections.
Ratchet glanced around and noted that Sil's grand genitors, Buros and Nugget were here along with Nugget's genitors, Silo and Macha. They looked calmer than the rest, something that gave Ratchet hope to forge an allegiance. Nugget and Buros had been with the fleet when they took out Pulsar and they seemed to be 'good eggs' as the humans might say.
Hardie had finished the introductions not only of himself as the ranking member of the group but also of Ratchet and Micro. The families had introduced their representatives and they included Bullet and Sixtus as well as someone that was identified as a child legal expert named Filo.
Hardie sat back. "I received a petition from children who were concerned that their much cherished activities and efforts to become useful members of society were being curtailed for possibly less than honorable reasons. Because this has an element of the System of Exception about it, I therefore took the petition and called this meeting.
"As you know, the System allows for a hierarchy of decision making that places my own caste grouping at the top. Even the Primes of Cybertron did not outrank anyone of us including my great grandson, Ironhide. Therefore, it falls to me to hear your objections, weigh them against the well being and happiness of the children and make a decision that is mine alone. That is, I will do that unless you concede before everyone and take a Primal oath that the System is dead and has no power here."
It was leaden in the room as the cat fell out of the bag and landed with a thud on the floor. If they did that, they would have to contend with Social Services and their child advocate system rather than this. There would be no passes nor would there be any options to bypass inconvenient rules and regulations. One way or the other, they had no power to finesse the outcome and one of the paths forward meant a public admission that their cherished sense of themselves was not only over but an abomination.
No one was up for that.
Hardie leaned his elbows on the table, then looked at everyone of them sitting around the room. "You are the families of these children. It's your responsibility to care for and raise them to be happy and fulfilled. It was made clear to me that when you came here these children were neither and their conduct was offensive and counter productive to what we all work for and have achieved.
"Somehow, Coros was curious enough to want to find out about how things worked, what the mechs and femmes did when they protected the colony and from there grew a program created by these children where kids could be mentored by experts to learn not only about how security works around here but to grow as individuals under their tutelage. Not every classroom is in a school.
"We've seen these children around the colony working hard at their tasks to help others. They were assistants during the Christmas Surprise gifting to shut-ins, housebound individuals due to a number of physical and psychological reasons and children who attend other programs geared to religious viewpoints. They attend sporting events and show the colony their quality by their efforts there. They handle themselves with great honor.
"This wasn't an easy thing for them to do. If you think that this is some kind of affront to you as genitors or that they don't love you deeply and well, you would be wrong. They do. But they're honorable enough to stand up for what they love and hope to continue doing.
"I will hear this case and I expect your objections to be valid and well reasoned. None of the children are placed in harms way and the mechs and femmes that mentor them are the best of the best. They love the children and the children love them. Therefore, your arguments need to be solid for me to give them any weight here."
He sat back, then looked at Ratchet. "You have the right to speak on their behalf."
Ratchet stared at him, then the others. "I'm from Iacon and we had simpler methods to settle disputes. This caste stuff is something else," he said as the room stared back at him with brittle affects. "I know you're mad. I know that you feel that treachery or some kind of mind control is in affect. But I assure you that's not so.
"These kids have found themselves. I remember them when they came. They were spoiled, entitled and had poor manners. They were very upfront about their disdain for the lower castes. When they went to school they found out that they were behind and that was the first chink in their armor. They had to work hard in make-up school before they could hold their own with the others in the first mixed school they appear to have attended.
"It's to their credit that they did. It's also to their credit that they have vastly improved with their participation in these programs. All of them have increased their marks in school dramatically and they work hard when they come to the Medical Center for their CNA program. The certified nurse's aide program is a technical course with lots of hands on training. All of them are doing extremely well. All of them volunteered to learn this thereby creating this program as well because they want to be able to help anyone they encounter who might be sick or injured.
"They work hard, have beautiful manners and feel like giants because they're helping the colony and all the people. I don't know if you've heard them talk about what they do and how much they love to be useful and needed. They love the mechs and femmes and the mechs and femmes love the kids. We have them aligned with the best in both fields and the kids are a great role model for others. The program is expanding shortly and these 15 kids are going to be helpful to the new ones getting them along the way. What colony and family wouldn't be proud of that?
"I'm here to speak for them," Ratchet said. "These are a very fine group of youngling kids and I'm proud of them."
"You assume that we aren't as well with your statement," Bullet said curtly. "It's not about our pride or love for them."
"You may present your position, Bullet. I'm assuming that you speak for the majority? Who else is representing a family?" Hardie asked.
"I'm assisting Bullet for the families," Sixtus said. "Filo is here as a child welfare expert."
"My bond and I along with my genitors are here for the children," Nugget said drawing frowns from everyone in their group. He grinned. "I have spoken."
"And so have I," Silo said as his bond, Macha nodded beside him.
"Very well," Hardie said. "Begin, Bullet and Sixtus."
Bullet stood. "General, none of the families here want anything but the greatest good for our children. We understand that they find this interesting and exciting. What we believe they don't understand is how dangerous this is and how we want to ensure that the individuals they spend time with are the best kinds of examples for what we all hope they become.
"Being in the policing forces is not on the list. We appreciate and hold in high regard those who step up to defend us but this isn't the life we seek for our children. We don't want them in harms way. We understand how that must sound to you but its our position.
"These are our children and we have the responsibility to raise them the way we feel is best. There are groups all over the colony and Empire that do just that, raising their children to follow the dictates and values of their group and their families. To single out our children to be an exception to that is in our minds discriminatory. We want our children back.
"We understand their interest and we will promote opportunities for them to become something wonderful and fulfilling. We are not behind these activities and we feel that we're being held to a different standard than others who enforce and raise their children according to their own guidelines, beliefs and rules."
Hardie glanced at Ratchet. "Ambassador?"
Ratchet considered Bullet and Sixtus. "Your arguments are reasonable. But you say you want to support your kids but if they do what you desire and not what they want. You want to ignore that which is the most important to them, the thing that changed their behavior to something more appropriate, that encourages them to do better in school and to care about others.
"These kids care about the people. They talk about their hopes to help those who need it, to be a useful part of the colony and to be a resource for everyone. They work hard. They're genuinely delightful to be around. I can't fault them at all at the Medical Center. You talk about what you want but you discount what they want.
"This isn't some fad they're going through. They're serious and motivated. They even suggested their tattoo to show everyone who might be in trouble that they can help because they've had training and they care. This isn't something they can put aside without incredible disappointment and hurt. You talk about them without these things in your arguments. You think they can be taken away from this and all will be well. It won't be. Not at all," Ratchet said.
"You have children. Stand in our place and tell me you wouldn't feel the same way," Bullet said.
"I have a lot of kids. Most of them are in dangerous professions. They're adult. They fight in the army and they work for the Watch. Some of them are special ops and some do other things, most of them classified. I already know what its like to have my kids in harms way. But I support them. They want to do what they do and I'm not going to rain on their parade. They can make their own decisions as adults.
"As for the younger ones … none of them will be soldiers," Ratchet said. "Ironhide and I already decided that."
"Then you understand us completely," Sixtus said as some of the others nodded.
"No. What I said is no soldiers. If they want to be Watch, more power to them. I will also say if they want to be soldiers enough to do it anyway, I'll be there showing them how to be one so they survive. I'm not going to step on their sparks by holding them hostage. The Home Guard will be open to them and they can be soldiers. I won't like it but I'm not going to prevent it if they really want to do it. Their sparks matter to me," Ratchet continued.
"We feel the same way but we have the right to make the decisions that we feel are in their best interests," Bullet persisted.
"You do in a regular court of law," Hardie said quietly. "This isn't that."
It was silent in the room.
Sixtus glanced at the others, then Hardie. "General, we came here because we honor the past. We have agreed to this because we want to end this honorably. We would like to find a way forward that ends this without undo difficulty and hard feeling."
"The children want to continue their activities, none of which is anything less than the thing you seek … honorable. I would like to have Commanders Drift and Springer come inside." Hardie sat back as No-A walked to the door, leaned out, then walked back to sit beside Lady Sela again.
The door opened and two grim faced mechs of warrior class build and stature walked in. They paused by the door. "You rang?" Springer asked.
Hardie allowed a tiny grin. "Yes. I did," he replied.
=0=TBC 6-27-19
Note replies tomorrow. :D
By the way, its going to be in the 80's over the weekend, over 20-30 degrees hotter than the average for here this time of year.