The Diego Diaries: The Next Morning (dd7 36)
=0=Earth2
The mercenaries sat together at a table near the window as all around them the habitat went about its business. There was a large new greenhouse extended outward for a great distance suspended on pylons as well, connected to the main facility by a transparent steel walkway that made one think that they were outside standing in mid air without any protection or support. It was a sensation on Earth as well as here. All along its long expanse, sitting on the transparent floor and along the transparent sides with the transparent ceiling shining light along its entire length were seats, couches, chairs and small tables where one could sit and talk, eat or work.
Most of the inmates utilized it as a place to sit and marvel. A thin but astronomically strong barrier of transparent steel no less kept death at bay. It took a few of the locals a bit of intestinal fortitude to step out of the open hatch doors to walk through it to the marvelous greenhouse area beyond. That space was nearly the footprint of the top floor of the facility itself.
The greenhouse or Little Farm as the locals called it was a huge completely transparent dome of transparent steel. It began at the floor and ended in the ceiling 200 feet overhead. The equipment that ran the facility, kept the temperature optimal, the condensation at immeasurable levels and the whole place protected from radiation and light rays from outside was a mystery that many there would have loved to explore. As it was, they didn't even ask.
When one left the bridge and entered the building itself, the expansion of land before them seemed to stretch farther than the eye could see. There were huge massive plots of land bordered with walls filled soils nurtured and prepared by Larc and her people. They were irrigated within, though there was a sprinkler system that could be placed wherever they wanted it.
There were small planted areas of trees and shrubs, bushes, flowering plants like roses and other greenery here and there that would not only add to the aesthetics of the place with their great familiar beauty, they would help recycle the atmosphere as well.
There was pasture land for the little herd of livestock that had lived at Earth2 since the beginning and would now have room to wander. The only thing it didn't have was a water system of creeks and lakes.
It was a dazzling work and wonder.
Owen Harris stood at the start of the roadway that cut through the middle of the facility with news crews from Earth that had asked to come and film it when it went online. They would take a tour now, see the staff working to get the furrows ready for planting any number of foodstuffs and test plantings, then have a lunch of locally grown food inside.
He grinned at them. "Follow me. This is going to take a bit of time." He then stepped out and the gaggle followed him with their questions, cameras and awestruck wonderment.
=0=Earth 1
Brandon Clark glance up as his wife leaned into the office. "I'm going to class. Remember, you have to be at Earth2 for lunch. Try not to show too much habitat envy."
Brandon laughed. "Does it show?"
Susie Clark grinned. "Maybe," she said. "Pick up Timmy if I don't get back in time. Olivia and I are going to hang out at the Halls."
"On it," Brandon said as he put a timer on his watch for the luncheon. It wouldn't do to be late to luncheon thrown by the second biggest land baron in the colony. Excluding Optimus Prime himself, that title still belonged to Carly. He grinned then got back to work.
=0=Elsewhere about the same time doing the mundane …
"And I'm thinking, Jack, now that Resolve is more aware of his surroundings and situations, we should have him take lessons at the Temple so that events like this have a deeper meaning for him. When I was his age, my atar took me to the Shrine in Crystal City for lessons on the meanings and membership of the Pantheon. It was quite instructive and gave me great comfort during my trials that I wasn't alone and unloved."
Wheeljack who had paused his research to watch Perceptor work out the mathematics of something he devising while discussing their son's extracurricular activities grinned faintly. Percy was hilarious when he was deeply serious. "What sort of lessons do they have for babies this young?"
"Lady Sela has a number of groups that come once a decaorn to have instruction. They play games, read books together and listen to stories. Its a nice way to introduce complexity into their lives. One cannot learn about The Powers too soon," Perceptor said as he glanced at Wheeljack. "I'm assuming that we are of one processor regarding Resolve's education and religious training. Right?"
Wheeljack grinned. "We are," he said as he glanced at the clock nearby. "Who's going to get him? You or me?"
"I will. I was told that they would have a school bus run out this way after Festival. Then he can come from school directly here when we're working. Its an elegant solution to the problem." Perceptor turned to his screen to take a message.
Wheeljack grinned. / … elegant indeed, Percy … elegant indeed .../
They would.
Agree, that is.
Lady Sela would have another student.
A tiny microscope with magnificent finials.
=0=At the little school at the Monastery of the Clavis Aurea, Resort Road, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire, Postal District #5-B
The children were having a break. The little playground was a busy place. It would be expanded outside the monastery on the side that faced the mountains to the west of the vast colony. The view was breathtaking and the placement appropriate. If they didn't put it there the tourists at the Resort nearby would have a field day watching them with telescopes and binoculars.
That wouldn't do. No, not at all.
They played on the swings, ran around chasing each other and dug in a sandbox that was suggested to Cyclonus by the experts. He'd investigated the ones at the various Sparkling schools satisfying himself that such a thing would be advantageous to the children's development. He'd stood by watching its installation in a corner of the outside platform that was surrounded by an environmental envelope that allowed their playground to be utilized without protective gear.
He'd surveyed it with his silent gaze, then walked to it to kneel and stare at the white silken sand that filled it. Sifting it through his digits, he picked up a tiny spoon that was there with a number of others. There were buckets, forms to make shapes to construct sand castles and other toys as well. He dug in the sand with it, watched the grains fall from the spoon, then stood. He nodded to the workers who were watching, all of them volunteers who were Guiding Hand. "This will do well," he said, then walked from the room to his office to work on his scrolls.
The workers watched him go, then grinned at each other. That was high praise from the Master.
The sun shown brightly through the habitat barrier as the children played. A few stood to one side watching but a good two thirds were playing. It was a slow process all together and they were lucky to have Cyclonus in charge of their care. He would never, ever, ever give up.
=0=Others
They walked in line to the lunch room, all of the bits from Groups A through G. Following their aides, they entered the big room with rows of little tables and benches. Following their aide, Praxus and Orion who were Group D slowed to stand in line.
Lunch was their favorite break time in the entire orn and today was no difference. All of it was favorite Cybertronian finger food with the appropriate dips, sizes and a sparkling drink to chase it all down.
Taking a tray, they followed those ahead of them as they entered the serving space to have their tiny trays filled. They placed them on the counter behind which the servers manned their stations and watched as they were filled up. No one went hungry here. If they wanted more they got it. When their tray was filled, an aide handed it to the baby and they walked out to the table, following those ahead of them.
A tiny chair waited, utensils were given and their drink as well by those who worked here to ensure that chaos was minimal. Most of the workers were appas and ammas, those who were 'retired' but wanted to do something wonderful and helpful. Room grannies and gampies were encouraged and some of them helped here, in the libraries, various craft rooms and in the nursery. Some worked in data, some helped deliver things and escorted trips as chaperons.
It was glorious.
One didn't waste the elders here. One utilized their wisdom and abilities. Everyone benefited all around.
The happy chat buzzed in the room as they began to eat. When they were all seated, a teacher would read to them from several children's books and they would listen quietly. It would be fun time in the lunch room before they went back to class, geared up and ran outside to play. They would today. It would only be -22 below zero.
=9-At the grocery store at Iacon-Kaon
He wheeled in a cart load of 'soft drinks' heading for the shelves in the store that needed replenishing. He was a youngster who had come with the continuous migration, saved from an isolated life in a far flung colony. When the Knights arrived he was stunned that any other Cybertronians knew where they were.
Dai Atlas himself came to tell them of their soon-to-be journey to a world where they would live free of want and worry. It wasn't a hard sell for anyone. They were packing up to go as he held the meeting to inform them.
He'd walked to Omega Camp through a space bridge, something that he'd only thought existed in fanciful tales. They had rested there, gotten medical treatment, found two more family members and a close friend, then all of them, the entire family walked through another bridge to Mars.
It was almost catastrophic to see the colony after growing up in a dusty settlement on the edge of nowhere. They'd gone through, been grouped as a family unit in the Crater City designated #3 and found apartments near each other that were almost magical in their design and elegance. He had his own room here and didn't have to share with his two brothers.
His ammas and appas, aunts and uncles, their families and some friends who had become a family during the Diaspora along with the other found relatives had wandered the colony together, spotted Optimus Prime once across the highway going into The Fortress, paid their respects at the Temple, then waited at the Processor Hospital while two of their ammas had check ups from emotional collapse.
It had taken a while to figure out that this was real, that they were here and they would be safe forever. That Cybertron had been retaken and Megatron was gone, that the Decepticons had capitulated and energon was everywhere here, that had been profound. It had taken a stay at the hospital center for his ammas to get back on their peds but now they didn't look back.
He'd chosen a job at The Grocery In Iacon. He was starting from the ground up, learning about retail as he did. His ammas and appas were not going to work. A meeting of the family took care of that. Every morning before going to jobs they picked themselves, before dropping the younger kids off at their bus stops, they ate in a real diner, discussed the orn ahead, then took care of their family members who were in school.
That was when they'd walk their elders to their local senior center, then go to work themselves. It was a prideful thing that they could. He worked in a grocery store. His ada and aunts were employed in businesses doing data work as they learned about commerce.
His atar and uncles, the friends and several grown cousins worked in construction and the electrical side of things for building communications systems in towers. They were working against a future when they owned their own business together.
He paused the cart before the shelves, read his manifest data pad, located where everything should be, then began. He was young, strong and ambitious. It had almost capsized him that he could have a dream and pursue it here. They were going to own their own business. They would have their own store and customers would come. He would work hard to build their reputation.
His adas and aunties were learning the paperwork side of business. He was learning about stores, inventory and management. His atar and uncles, his cousins and his friends were working at the trade they wanted to start for themselves.
All of them would learn what they needed, then work out their application for a business of their own. They would get it. They would have a construction company in Crater City 4 that would specialize in buildings that were needed for special purposes such as storage of perishable items or irreplaceable relics. Given how much was coming from Cybertron or from migrations, the need for proper safe places to put them was paramount.
Stacking boxes of soft drinks on the shelves of the store, he listened to the buzz of voices around him. They were happy, planning their lives, asking about this and that and going about their business with a feeling of great safety. That Festival was in four orns was also a great thing. He'd be here for the first official festival of his life. He was glad. He had a lot to be thankful for.
That and the fact that basketball would be held the following orn. That was great, too.
=0=TBC 7-12-19