Derecho was behind schedule. He was still on time for work, but he was ten minutes behind his usual timing. He only was on time because his Aunt made sure he didn’t lose any of the papers over the weekend. She kept him organized. She was his lifeline.

The whole family had helped him. Derecho had to do the work, but they helped him copy it. There were six board members and each needed a copy. He also needed a copy. Derecho lacked a terminal to work on, so it was all hoof written. Even if he had a terminal, no one in the family knew how to use one. So it was all by hoof. Derecho was able to use extra school supplies Sun Shower and the Twins didn’t need after their project was finished.

Derecho stepped into Featherlight’s office. Featherlight had no idea Derecho had a meeting and would be out for at least part of the morning. Derecho needed to tell him before he disappeared.

“Featherlight?” Derecho asked.

“Good morning Derecho,” Featherlight said not looking up from his terminal. “What can I do for you?”

The intercom system buzzed, stopping everypegasus in the building so they could hear. It was rare it went off, which meant it was important.

“Good morning everypegasus. This is Administrator Steel Feather with some important news before you all start your day. First off: Derecho in glass sorting, I am ready for that appointment at your earliest convenience.”

“Now the really important announcement and the real reason I am speaking to you all today. It is the end of the year. It has been a very successful year. You all have done a fabulous job with amazing numbers. I hope I do not have to remind you how important this job is to the survival of the Pegasus Race.”

“But one individual gets to rise to the very top. It wasn’t an easy day for me on Friday. I am happy to announce that on Friday, after speaking to the nominees, that I made a decision and the Board of Directors agreed to it. Unfortunately, most of you were gone by the time we were done, leaving that announcement to this morning.”

“The Employee of the Year, from the Glass Department, Derecho! He has show that he represents our philosophy perfectly. Not only is he highly skilled, he is actively working to be better, for not just himself, but for the Pegasus Race. He is a Line Head and makes sure that nothing moves past him that isn’t of the purest form or that will put extra stress upon the machinery further along. He knows the entire Glass Department backwards and forwards and I, we, on the Board are proud to have him as one of our sorters.”

“Derecho, come on up to meet the Board.”

Derecho looked at Featherlight. “I was going to say I have a meeting with Administrator Steel Feather. Now I have two meetings. I will be back as soon as possible.”

“Well congratulations,” Featherlight smiled at Derecho as he shook his hoof. “We will be able to handle things here just fine.”

Derecho stepped out of the officer to cheers of congratulations. Derecho just smiled and waved back at them for a moment before moving down the walkway to make his way to the offices.

“Candy Crush,” Derecho called.

“Yes?” Candy Crush replied from within the crowd. “The line is yours until I get back. It may be a while. I don’t have a specific time frame.”

“Understood!” Candy Crush replied.

Derecho entered the elevator and nervously took it up. He was about to do something he wanted to for several years and others had wanted to do for unknown decades. This wasn’t just about him, but this all revolved around him.

Derecho stepped off the elevator onto the pristine floor. He was in his work boots and coveralls. It was not the place for them, especially for going before the board. But he had a job to do first and foremost.

Derecho knocked on the open door to Administrator Steel Feather’s office to announce his arrival.

“Come in,” Steel Feather said. “Oh, you are in your work clothes.”

“Yes,” Derecho shrugged. “I will end up back at work. And I don’t want to go tramping through the facility in a suit.”

“I hope they take you seriously,” Steel Feather replied. “But onto happy things first! I want to make it clear that I made the employee of the year decision on Friday. Saturday had no weight in the choice. Although I felt better about it after.”

“Thank you,” Derecho said, blushing a bit. “It means a lot knowing that I get to be a the model for others to look to over the next year.”

“I sincerely hope it is more than just a model over the next year,” Steel Feather said. “Also, Employee of the Year comes with a very nice bonus of 12,000 bits. Kind of an extra 1,000 per moth.”

“Wow,” Derecho said with wide eyes. “I… That's. A lot.”

“And I want you to keep it for you,” Steel Feather said. “You bring enough in for your family. Treat yourself for all the hard work.”

“Treat myself?” Derecho said concerned. “Like buy what I want?”

“I know you won’t go crazy,” Steel Feather smiled. “I know you have a solid head on your shoulders. But lets go, the board is waiting. Are you ready for the proposal?”

“Yep!” Derecho smiled. “Its why my saddlebag is still on. Everything is inside.”

“Then follow me.”

Derecho stepped out of the room first. Steel Feather led Derecho through a few turns and into a corner room with a big table in the center. The walls were solid glass, allowing for plenty of light to come in. The board members were waiting for them.

Steel Feather gestured to Derecho to take a seat and opened up with introductions as he took his seat at the head of the table.“This is Derecho, a Line Head in the glass department and the Employee of the Year. Derecho, that is Crimson Fluff, she is our Chief Operating Officer. Balance Sheet, he is our Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Marking Officer is Analytics, and his brother, Modem, serves as our Chief Information Officer. Silver Pen is our Secretary.”

“It is a pleasure to have you with us,” Crimson Fluff smiled. “I always love meeting our employees. Especially the ones that make this company work, like you.”

“Yes, congratulations,” Balance Sheet added. “This is no small feat.”

“I am really happy I can be apart of what is done here,” Derecho replied. “I wish more pegasi understood how vital of a role we play.”

“Well,” Steel Feather smiled. “Your sister is give a good report today for the career week at their school.”

“Sister and our twin cousins,” Derecho corrected him. “Its their wow factor to stand out from all the other presentations. They are betting their grade on it. But I did give them more than enough to do that and do it well. They were also betting on me to give them what they needed to make it better than good.”

“It will be good to have the job represented in a school,” Crimson Fluff said.

“Analytics, do we still have recruiting material?” Steel Feather asked.

“We do,” Analytics nodded. “But we don’t need to recruit. Our jobs are full.”

“I agree,” Crimson Fluff said. “There are only a few job openings, all in the metal department.”

“You are not prepared for the future,” Derecho warned them. “About 10% of the jobs held here are singles like me. And most of that is second shift in metals because they are still students. 20% of workers have both kids in school. 40% have one out of school. 20% have no kids in school. The final 10% are on their way to retirement.”

“Within 15 years you won’t have any of your veteran sorters. And only a few will make Master Sorter status. Without your Master Sorters, things will go south. For instance, Line Heads have to be Master Sorters. Your upper management had to be Line Heads, or equivalent, at some point. It is true, that most Line Heads serve in one year blocks, rotating it out between other masters on the line. Its a stressful job on the sorting lines.”

“But you won’t have strong Master Sorters to teach up the new, young guys. They will lack good instruction and key role models. That will slow the entire operation down. And this facility can’t just continue to expand its warehouses. The output has to stay the same. You are going to need to bring in a new group.”

“That will cost us over a million bits each year,” Balance Sheet warned. “That isn’t exactly in the budget.”

“And I only really hit the sorters,” Derecho continued. “You have several other segments that need new blood training now to be where you want them to be in ten years.”

Everypegasus looked at Crimson Fluff. She took her time to think.

“I...” Crimson Fluff hesitated. “Would need to double check the personnel files. But you have a point. You are probably correct that we are top heavy. And top heavy in a bad way.”

“Most young employees hired here are on their second or third job attempt,” Derecho added. “It doesn’t mean they are bad, or do not love their job, but we do not pick up the first draft picks. Or the second. We need to entice fresh minds to come here and be challenged to make this job better by their efforts. That is how they move from journeyers to masters in their field. I’m rare. Most take a decade to get to master, if they even want to.”

“The glass sorters are 80% Master Sorters. But the Glass Department is laid back. That doesn’t diminish their skills at all, it just is less stressful to be that good. Metal is the hardest and most crucial department. The Glass Department has eight to twelve on a sorting line. The metal lines, where most of the sorters work, have twenty on a bad day. Per line. They also get hurt more than glass does because we have small pieces compared to some of their chunks. Glass workers get cut, metal gets gashed or crushed.”

“And shuffling a Master Sorter around is tough. Their skills are for that material. They can learn like any other employee how to sort that new material, but they will be half masters to start while they find that groove. Sorting experience in one area doesn’t transfer fully to any other.”

“This is what I do,” Derecho said confidently. “That floor is my floor. If I ever want to make it to Floor Director, I have to treat it as my own. I have to know it. All of it. Down to the tiniest screw. The Glass Department used 24 different ball bearings. Many of them are minutely different. But you can’t swap them with any other. I know how to ID all 24 and where they go.”

“And,” Derecho leaned back in his chair with a grin. “If I want to do my job properly, I need to know more than just the concept. I need to know how to sort all of the materials. Do any of you have experience on the floor?”

They all shook their heads no. Derecho grinned, ready to move into his proposal. But Steel Feather distracted him when he picked up the phone and dialed out.

“My name is Administer Steel Feather. I am looking for the Gale Academy Principle,” Steel Feather said. “Yes, I can wait.”

Gale Academy was where Derecho had gone to school. The district was around the Weather Factory, so the twenty three schools were named after weather patterns. It also was where Sun Shower, Golden Front and Winter Low were. And they very easily could be presenting at this time to their entire class. Derecho was confused, unsure what the school had to do with any of it.

Derecho saw that Steel Feather and Analytics were having a staring contest. Crimson Fluff was involved in some form. Balance Sheet and Modem were leaning back, waiting. Silver Pen was at her terminal, ready to type.

“Alright,” Analytics said caving. “We should. I do actually believe Derecho’s estimations.”

“As do I,” Crimson Fluff stated. “Which means we will need to look at that budget again.”

Balance Sheet nodded his head. “If we are bringing on new employees, we can manage. You know how they scrutinize every bit spent. This facility is running low overhead costs already. But we are going to need a solid plan on paper. Modem, you will need to get more business, somehow.”

“I will take a look at the industry,” Modem replied. “We probably can shift some of the budget from marketing and advertising to cover the cost of labor. Marketing has been doing very well. Pegasi are not forgetting to recycle.”

“Is that all you really do?” Derecho asked. “Make sure we are reminded to recycle?”

“Its a lot bigger of a job than it sounds,” Analytics said. “But if its not employment, its basically marketing for the cause of recycling materials. And what can be recycled. And how to separate your recyclables. There is a lot involved. It gets intricate fast.”

“I’m sure it does,” Derecho replied. “But I thought it would be more than that with the title of ‘marketing’.”

“Yes, I am here,” Steel Feather said into the phone. “I am Administer Steel Feather, the CEO of the Recycling Plant. I understand it is job week this week. And that employers often go to the school to directly discuss different opportunities awaiting the upcoming graduates.”

…

“Yes, tomorrow morning is more than fine. I will be sending our Employee of the Year, who happens to be a graduate of your school. A stallion named Derecho.”

…

“Yes, he is a smart one and hard working. It is why he is the Employee of the Year. He more than earned it.”

…

“I am fully aware that he graduated early and at the top of his class. And I know that he did it to take care of his younger sister after their parents tragic death. He has a bright future here. A very bright future.”

…

“Alright. Well he will be there tomorrow. And I will let him know to keep it quiet. I think he will have plenty to speak about tonight at the dinner table. He only found out a short while ago that he is Employee of the Year. And some other positive things have arisen from it as well.”

…

“You have a wonderful day too.”

Steel Feather hung up and looked at Derecho. “0700, the principles office. She is going to let the students know that a former student is coming in to speak to them in the morning about a job, but nothing more. She will hype them up about a student coming back, to speak with them. She is excited for both the Recycling Plant to come speak to the students and she is very excited to have you back. Apparently, the teachers loved you.”

Derecho chuckled. “Because I got all my homework done on time, early if I had enough heads up, and with some of the best marks. Although, without my Aunt’s and Uncle’s help, I never would have stayed organized. I would have done it and then lost it. There is a reason why nothing is in my locker. If I brought stuff in, my locker wouldn’t hold it all after a week of losing stuff in it.”

The board members laughed.

Steel Feather leaned in, onto the table. “That takes care of the Employee of the Year business. And getting somepegasus into a local school’s career week to present about the job we do. I am really glad Derecho is here to do it. You will see why in just a moment.”

“I am glad as well,” Crimson Fluff added. “I know it will raise labor costs, but the idea of a younger crowd running around working here is exciting. The more I think about it, the more we need it. We can’t avoid it, so we should be proactive in making sure that we are growing new Masters in their fields and ensure the skills are passed down to all of the future generations.”

“Well then,” Steel Feather said gathering his thoughts. “Derecho is also here to go over something that he sees as an…”

“Opportunity to redefine the operations of the plant and maximize how effective we are,” Derecho said, stepping in to take over.

Derecho put his saddlebag on the nice table. Not a wise choice from the looks of the others. But he was sure in what he was doing. Derecho pulled out a pink flower single pocket paper folder. It was well used and stuffed full of papers.

“Eh,” Derecho shrugged. “The folder is from my sister. I had to borrow it. I didn’t entirely have time to plan this out. And I don’t know how to use a terminal to do any of the work. My family worked hard to hoof copies these.”

Steel Feather came to the rescue. “We ended up running into each other here on Saturday. I was in to quietly check on something Derecho had said on Friday, he was in because it was the only place he could go to that was quiet enough to think.”

Derecho began to pass out the papers. “I will focus on Glass, because I know these figures by heart. I can show you the other stuff, but the big thing is that I will take you past the papers into the real workings to understand it. None of you ever worked on a floor before. I will be your guide.”

“So, this first sheet is about glass and it’s applications. Modem Sir, as CIO I get it is your job to acquire new places to sell the glass to for use. Is that correct?”

“Yes Derecho, it is. But you don’t need to call me Sir. To the question, there are only a few companies large enough to reshape glass on their own. Most of it gets sent to one of three companies that reshape them for use. But part of my job is making sure that we keep companies interested in using recycled materials, as well as balancing the costs and watching to make sure nopegasus is taking advantage of it, gouging prices.”

“Well, glass has a lot of uses. This is a list of uses just for it. Most pegasi are unaware glass is so diverse in its abilities. They think packing like jars and bottles, as well as tableware and windows. But they don’t realize that their terminal screens and TV screens are glass. As well as other components inside. And they don’t know that small jars can be made to carry cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. If its plastic, it can also be glass. Glass can replace wood for tables, shelves, and other interior pieces. Lighting is an obvious one.”

“I listed out a ton of specifics. We can get more companies on board to use glass, helping to allocate recycled wood and metal to better uses. Glass is a lot more sustainable for recycling than plastic. Plastic loses mass when its recycled.”

“You are saying we should be pushing glass more?” Modem asked.

“In certain areas, yes,” Derecho nodded. “But remember that I am just covering the Glass Department for now because I know it so well.”

“For instance, wind turbines can use glass composites for their blades. If we can get ourselves into that market, that would be phenomenal. Admittedly, the return on that is nothing, but its a very good option for the future of the Pegasus Race. And the Enclave runs this facility. It is a viable option for the future. I do not know how all the finances of it work though.”

“Now, about what we have in our facility for glass. The warehouse is 10% full, and within a week the glass will have been shipped out. A very good turn around. The bigger problem is the 6,500,000 Ton mountain of glass in the warehouse.”

“Million?” Crimson Fluff asked shocked. “How do you have those numbers?”

“I will show you in a bit,” Derecho grinned. “But to start, here is the papers on the cycle of glass in our facility. Four lines, moving at 75% of top speed, produces enough glass to cover our exports. Those exports are out of there within a week. Typical size is 12x12x6 inch blocks. You will get a chance to see those soon. I assume none of you have?”

“I am picking up a trend,” Crimson Fluff sighed. “I am, as the Chief Operating Officer, out of touch with the floors I am supposed to be managing.”

“That isn’t the point,” Derecho stated. “While it is appearing that way, none of you were appointed from within. I understand you all went to a secondary school that put you in administrative positions. We need that. And yes, you need to connect with the workers and the job they do. But this is about going past the papers into what we should be doing. I am using papers to set the scale and then I will take you out and show you.”

“As you read through this, you can see the top production the Glass Department can do in a day. Then a week, a month, and a year. But if you look at this page, you can see the amount of materials coming into the facility. In ten years, you will need a larger or second warehouse to keep it until we are ready to process it.”

“A warehouse costs money to build. And there is no smart way to expand the current warehouse. We do have room for the expansion, but we don’t want to. Expanding means we are behind.”

“Metals have expanded, but those expansions over the years was driven by an increase in the recycling process. I am unaware of any time where the glass storage warehouse was expanded or replaced from the original built before the war.”

“We began to need to recycle our metals carefully and at a maximum recovery. However, the metal department isn’t in as much trouble as I am concerned about for glass, plastic, paper and wood. Also rubber and fabric, but I know both are not at this facility and I believe each is a separate entity.”

“Each is separate,” Steel Feather confirmed. “The three of them make up the recycling facilities in the area. But fabric is shipped out to Twin Cities where it is recycled. Rubber stays here.”

Derecho nodded in response.

“We need to recycle wood faster than we can sell it,” Derecho stated. “Wood should be a non-negotiable product that we have on standby at all times. I know they operate like the Glass Department, a demand driven recycling pattern.”

“That is a problem. Because the Enclave requires us to survive. We should be ready before they need us. That is our job. That does not mean operating in the negative. A suitable reserve should always be there to pull from for specific orders. And more importantly, we do need something to pull from for our daily jobs.”

The Board Members chuckled uneasily. They found it funny, but they were not sure if it was a joke about the workers not doing their job or not. It was supposed to be a fun jab at needing to actually work.

“For glass, that is between 25,000 Tons and 500,000 Tons. Which currently puts us at over 6 times the size as we should be. And I already said, its growing at a substantially faster rate than we can recycle it.”

“6,500,000 Tons seems like a lot,” Modem said. “Glass doesn’t weight that much.”

Derecho’s grin came back. “Do you know why the standard blocks we produce in glass are only 12x12x6 inches?”

None of them had any idea. “I will show you shortly so you can feel and truly know. But that small block weights 84 pounds. Our workers have equipment to move them safely, but they still do a lot of the heavy lifting by their own hooves. Even pushing an 84 block of glass is a big exertion. Yes, we make bigger sizes for a few companies and orders, but they revolve around that standard block size.”

“So, when I say 6,500,000 Tons, I mean 6,500,000. And its growing.”

Derecho passed out the next set of papers and charts.

“Now we can stop that growth. And in a similar way, we can stop the unchecked growth in the Paper Department and Plastic Department. This will also work to deal with some similar issues with the Metal Department and Wood Department.”

“An increase in labor hours and shifts?” Balance Sheet asked to clarify.

“To start,” Derecho replied. “Temporary until we can get that reserve in control. There will be temporary expansions on all floors to deal with it. Yes, that means paying our current workers more. That means bringing in temporary workers as well. That means working weekends. All for a short period of time until this is brought back under control.”

“What do you mean by pay current workers more?” Balance Sheet asked wearily.

“I believe the most effective system would be to keep current operating hours solid. Add on four more hours and weekends, in those blocks on your charts. Our workers will have more strain on them. They will be working near 100% top speed. And they will be working with temporary hires, which means picking up for their mistakes. We can, pay them the same. Or we can reward the short period of boosted production with a bit extra in pay.”

“Yes, my fellow workers in the Glass Department want something done to, well we usually say ‘catch up’. So as much as they will jump at this opportunity to get what we all want done, helping them out monetarily will be a big incentive and make their day, every day. Because these extra hours would be taking them away from their families and the memories that can be made.”

“Now, you should be able to see that the extra hours are marked as extra, and not mandatory. Some days they may be able to work the extra shift, others they won’t. We can plan that in. But I project that it will take six weeks to get that pile down to 30,000 Tons. Assuming we set things up as I have designed.”

“You had this planned a while ago,” Crimson Fluff said as she looked at the finer details. “Even down to maximizing the floor design for the temporary expansion.”

“Yes,” Derecho grinned. “I have. Its simple to me. I saw the problem, so how would I solve it? And this is that answer. I have had several years to plan. I have talked with the others and heard their ideas. Being a Line Head opened up a lot to me that I didn’t know. But now I know it all and can effectively plan it.”

Analytics peered over the top of the papers at Derecho. “And you are certain that the current warehouse can hold all of these finished materials?”

“Yes, I am,” Derecho replied. “At times, the warehouse holds part of specialized orders of wood and metals. Its easier for them logistically to move them there and keep the order separate. If we can handle those large orders, we can handle this.”

“Plus, the warehouse is bigger than the current storage warehouse that holds the pile. It doesn’t take any math to figure out that we can take a disorganized mess, and organize it to fit better than it is when it’s one giant pile with a ton of open space inside bottles and containers.”

“I want to see this pile,” Analytics said. “I do not think it can be this bad.”

“Grab your duds then,” Derecho smiled as he stood up. “You will want them, not your unbooted hooves. Glass in the hoof isn’t fun and even harder to get out.”

“We don’t have anything to wear like you do,” Crimson Fluff stated. “Which I guess we should fix.”

“Your pegasus resources department does,” Derecho said. “Its where we get ours from. For now, you will just need boots. We have strip covers to wear over our boots and coveralls if we are dealing with finer materials that will be impossible to wash out. We will put those on before we enter.”

They left everything on the table and followed Derecho out. They went down a few floors to where the supplies office was. The paperwork was quickly signed to be taken care of later for their boots.

Outside of the Glass Department’s door was a small locker room where the administrators could change out of their clothes. It had the covers there. They looked ridiculous in business clothing with the fine cotton mesh over it, but it was the best option. Derecho had them put on the boot covers as well, rather than wait.

Before they stepped through, Derecho made sure they all were wearing the cheap, generic goggles provided for the workers, as well as the hard hats. None of the workers wore the goggles provided by the facility. They all bought their own as soon as the first paycheck came in.

“For now we shouldn’t need masks,” Derecho said. “But grab two and keep them in the pocket on the covers. I have some always on me, tucked into my inside pockets here. And my work belt has my good one in a nice case.”

Derecho put on his glasses, pulled them off for a quick wipe clean, and then got them through the door. They were on the upper walkway that was for observing. All that was visible was the sorting lines and the top of the crushing machines.

“Four lines,” Derecho immediately pointed out. “With 8 to 12 workers. I’m on line three, where they are down to seven right now. My plans call for the doubling of this. Eight lines with no more than 12 workers on it. The distance is short for the Glass Department, so we can't fit more than 12 on the lines.”

“But before we go there, the best way to understand how this department works, is by starting at the end. You have to know how it ends to grasp how we get it there. Otherwise its a quest to find out. We don’t want a quest, we want an understanding.”

They moved down the walkway and then down several flights of stairs to the bottom floor where the glass blocks were given their final shape and cooled.

“Good morning,” Derecho greeted the Area Manager, Counterweight.

“Good morning to you as well, and congratulations on Employee of the Year,” Counterweight said without looking. When he had finished moving the giant block of glass he looked at them. “And a good morning to all of you. I had no idea anypegasus was with Derecho.”

“Counterweight is the Area Manager of the Forming floor,” Derecho explained. “He is also the only Area Manager who works on his floor. The others have a lot to do on the paperwork side, and usually are taken up by it. But Counterweight stays on his floor, where he spreads the paperwork among his Masters so they can work more efficiently.”

“These blocks they are making right now are non standard sizes, for Shape Therapy, one of the reshaping facilities. This is the size that they require. Its 48x48x12 inches. 16 regular blocks fit on the top of this, and its two blocks thick. This is the biggest size we make.”

“You can see that the glass is pure, but its not crystal clear like we think of when we think windows. The other facilities take and do final work on the glass aligning it’s crystals, adding color, texture and other things to adjust the strength of the glass.”

Derecho looked at the glass block and took his goggles off to see without a filter.

“Counterweight?” Derecho called.

“I hate that tone,” Counterweight said.

Counterweight finished moving another block off the finishing line and trotted over. He looked at where Derecho’s hoof was set on the glass.

“Shit,” Counterweight swore as he took his goggles off.

Counterweight reached to the tool belt he wore. Derecho had the Board Members move back out of the way. Counterweight put a thick chisel onto the block and drove a mallet down on it, expertly cracking it in two pieces with a single hit.

He pried the object out and Derecho joined his side. Two other Masters came over as well.

“Is it from the molds?” One asked.

“No,” Counterweight said. “Its not the right materials. Plus, it was in too deep. It was a good catch by Derecho.”

“I know,” Derecho said taking it in his hoof. “Yeah, this is, feel the smooth side. Its got a slight curve. Its from one of the rollers. An edge piece.”

“Shut it down,” Counterweight ordered to a pegasus already by the kill switch, just in case the disturbance required the shut down.

The entire Glass Division had yellow warning lights go off, paired with warning buzzers. The line conveyor belts shut down and the trap door at the end of the chutes, before the crushing mechanisms, opened to dump the materials into bins. The holding bin in the pile warehouse sealed so that nothing else was put in or could come out.

The stuff in the crushers had to continue it’s journey. Featherlight was immediately down to their floor and by them as they changed molds to the regular size and let the rest melt down and be reformed for inspection.

“Fuck,” Counterweight groaned as the first piece came off the line with something in it. “Something broke! It was just inspected last week.”

“How could they miss that?” Featherlight asked annoyed. “It’s simple!”

“Derecho ran the check with them, right?” Counterweight asked.

Derecho sighed. He had forgotten about the Board Members. For now, they were peacefully watching it all play out, learning as they saw them handle the blocks as they came out.

“I warned them I thought roller two was going to need to be repaired soon,” Derecho said to Counterweight and Featherlight. “But their checks didn’t see what I saw.”

“Yeah,” Featherlight replied. “But you run off of intuition. You know what moves into the rollers.”

Several more pieces came off the line with small pieces of metal in them. Featherlight got their attention where it needed to be. “The Board Members are here.”

“Right,” Derecho said snapping back to his original reason for being here.

“Okay,” Derecho said as he rejoined them. “So what happened is that we have metal in our finished blocks. That is obviously not normal. And we do a good job screening them out. Somewhere, most likely inside the crushing system, is a broken piece. So we have to clean everything up. It has to be perfect. So clean that we would eat off of the equipment. The process has some more material that needs to finish it’s cycle. If we cut off the heat, it would harden and cause reheating problems and so it just has to finish the full cycle.”

“The crushers grind all of the glass into very similar sizes. The glass we get in, as you will see momentarily, is all different sizes. So we grind them into small bits so they all heat up and melt at the same time. It makes a purer product and it works faster. We do not have to worry about big chuckles not melting all the way. And that would damage the molds. Its just normal wear, but its why we do the inspections. Or well, having the inspections done by a team that doesn’t actually work here. That is outsources to a company that checks all types of equipment all over the city.”

“You saw the finished product, lets hop into the storage warehouse so you can see that we certainly do have ample space.”

They didn’t have to enter more than several yards. Derecho grabbed a regular block off of a nearby pallet and carried it over to them. One by one, they felt the dense 84 pounds of the standard block.

“Yeah, this warehouse is plenty big for these blocks,” Analytics said. “We can move on.”

“The shutdown is unfortunate,” Derecho said as he led them up to the second floor, the Purifying Floor. “And it only means the pile will grow. But, it has it’s advantages. We will be able to get further in to the final screening room and the ovens. It won’t be too hot.”

Derecho let one of the Masters explain what the Board Members were seeing. They could only go in one at a time. After that was done, Derecho took them up to the first floor, the Sorting Floor.

“We will skip the Sorting Floor for a moment, Derecho announced. “First, you need to understand what comes onto this floor.”

Derecho stopped at the top of the stairs and the door. He put his goggles back on and instructed them on how to put their masks on. They had simple disposable ones. Derecho was sporting an industrial one with replaceable filters that fully covered his snout and was designed for long term use.

Derecho opened the door, and directed them onto the walkway.

“This is the pit!” Derecho announced, with a bit of an echo. “This is 6,500,000 Tons of glass!” That is bottles, jars, panes and screens. This is why we have to crush everything into the same size. Because none of this is the same size. Either its broken, or its a bottle or jar that has seen it’s use and needs to come back to us so we can get it prepared to be made back into that bottle or jar.”

“And with this department shut down for repairs, its going to grow quickly. And when we get sick, like that feather flu string, it grows. That is why we need to bring it down to 30,000 tons. So when stuff happens, we stay in control, not this pile.”

“Now, we are wearing the masks so that no little tiny bits get into our mouths and noses. Bleeding out of the nose for a week isn’t fun. Eventually the blood flushes the particles out, but its not without a lot of pain. We are wearing the boot covers for the same reason. The boots protect us. But we want to keep all the small stuff out of the soles, or else we have to quickly replace them.”

“So, you may carefully step off of the walkway if you wish, but two important rules. No flying. It will kick up all the small shards and send them cutting through the air. The second is do not try and climb the pile. Its not worth it. Glass is dense and unforgiving. It hurts when your head hits it. And its also sharp since most of it is broken.”

They were examining the pile with a variety of styles, but they all reminded Derecho of fouls first discovering snow. Some were cautious, others like Modem were bold. Their enthusiasm brought a smile upon Derecho’s lips.

Derecho didn’t hear Featherlight enter until he called his name.

“Ah, yes?” Derecho asked.

“My, they are inquisitive,” Featherlight commented as he saw the Board Members.

“Modem! Off!” Derecho called. Modem stepped off the pile.

“What is their overall mood?” Featherlight asked.

“Lets step back in to talk,” Derecho said.

Derecho looked back at the Board Members. Most of them were out of sight on the other side. Analytics was hanging back, unsure.

“I will be right back,” Derecho yelled. “Off the pile Modem! One hoof is one too many hooves! And no flying!”

“… Right,” Modem said from behind the pile, out of sight.

Featherlight and Derecho stepped inside.

“What is it you are wanting?” Derecho asked Featherlight.

“Well, lets start with what you are working on.”

“A six week press with extra shifts to reduce that pile from 6,500,000 Tons to 30,000 tons. We will have to double the lines and we can fit a secondary half refiner in this area. I have shown them the papers on it, but they are here to know it.”

Derecho passed Featherlight the paper he had on which he had drawn out exactly what would be done. It was poor quality, but the best her could do. It was just enough detail.

“Okay, good,” Featherlight said. “How are they coping with the shut down?”

“I haven’t gotten a bad response,” Derecho replied. “Its kind of on a ‘that is how it is’ scale. Crimson Fluff is our Chief Operations Officer and she has never been here or physically checked on what we do. They are disconnected. So we can use it to our advantage as we connect them back in.”

“For instance, we are going to be hiring across all departments and floors, young members. Targeting them. I will be at a school tomorrow morning to talk to the students. Its their career week. I graduated from there, my sister and cousins are there. It should go well.”

“Good,” Featherlight smiled. “We are top heavy. And maybe they are in the right mood after all. We need a more permanent solution to this break down. I have a vision. It is similar to that. But lets get them inside. Especially before one of them hurts themselves.”

Derecho was the only one who entered the warehouse.

“Alright,” Derecho called. “Lets step back inside and talk about this.”

It took a few minutes for them to gather. They were spread out. Derecho led them inside and had them safely dispose of all of their covers. Boots, body and masks.

“We shouldn’t need them,” Derecho said. “You saw the bin that the loaders drop their scoops into. From inside, they slowly release it onto these belts, where we push anything that isn’t up to standards off, onto this lower shelf. We then can collect them and properly deal with them however we need to.”

“The belt speed has three control locations. At the front, by the Guide. Typically the guide is a Master. They control the speed by how they see it coming out of the bin. Then you have the center, which is basically there as a backup and to shut the line down for an emergency stop. And then the rear controls.”

“As you can see, the rear is a lot bigger than those simple box switches. It is the rear that the Line Heads use. Each Line Head has their preferred settings, which depends on their team. This is Line 1, I control Line 3. But you can see the marks used for easily finding those preferred settings.”

“You have no actual marks outside what you make?” Crimson Fluff asked. “Just that sliding arm?”

“Yeah,” Derecho replied. “I never thought about it. That is just what we have. And a Line Head has to pay attention to the chute. If you move too fast, the crushers get backed up. So you have to learn how the chute sings, and how backed up it is. And then adjust accordingly.”

“For this project, we would need to double these lines with temporary ones. It won’t be hard to add a sister line that is back to back by it that is sturdy, but removable. We have to keep these removable to a degree.”

“You can see how they are breaking down Lines 2, 3, and 4. They left Line 1 so I can show you what it is like and how they function. And on function, Featherlight, the Floor Director wants to speak with us in his office up there.”

Derecho lead them up to the office and gave the quick introductions.

“I am sorry I have never come down here,” Crimson Fluff said. “That will be changing. I am thinking of getting a special set of coveralls that will work for board meetings and being on the floors.”

“I do not know anything about fashion,” Featherlight stated. "But it sounds good. Having you pop in would be great. But Derecho gave me some quick insight into what is being talked about. Like bringing in a set of fresh, young blood to balance out being top heavy. When I took over three years ago, I wrote up a message in my terminal to send to you about it. But each time I go to send it… I chicken out.”

“That is my fault,” Crimson Fluff said. “I should have connected with you. Without that physical connection, you have no way of knowing how I will react. I need my management staff to be able to approach me. This is a different job than what I was taught. I have to actually go out to meet with the management staff where they are working side by side with their employees.”

“So, I know you have some ideas. What are they?”

“Well, we have to rip apart the whole operation here. In a few days this will be one giant single floor. The first and second floors will not exist, at least not fully. But one thing that to my knowledge that has never been done is a full replacement. There are large sections of frames and guides that have never been replaced. I would like that to happen.”

“And while Derecho has a good plan for a temporary expansion, I would like to see a permanent expansion. The design I am thinking of will allow that that happen in this department, without needing to expand it’s sizing. And if we don’t need to be using all of the lines, it is okay to shut some down. Right now, we can’t shut any down for anything outside of repairs. Growth must be designed into the new system. I think 8 permanent lines is possible, with a typical need for only four.”

“Tell me,” Balance Sheet said nervously chewing on the tip of his hoof. “Can we get that pile reduced to 30,000 Tons in six weeks?”

“Yes,” Featherlight definitively stated. “We can. I would say four, but six is the safe deadline. But now with this shut down, several thousand tons will be added from normal deliveries. What is often forgotten about is that we get regular deliveries from the outlying towns and such, who send their stuff to our center to be recycled. So a lot comes from outside of New Cloudsdale. We get a shipment in next week. I expect that to be 25,000 tons, at minimum. And in two weeks, Joint Base Mareland will be doing their biannual drop off. That will be massive. 100,000 Tons is probably a good estimate.”

“I forgot about that,” Derecho said.

Featherlight smiled proudly. “When it comes to tonnage, it is Derecho who began to get it’s mass calculated. I was never good with math in school. But that was on paper and in a textbook, and what is done here; well here it is applicable, which somehow makes it easier to understand. We need to hire more top students like Derecho was.”

“Noted,” Crimson Fluff said. “Balance, we will need to offer a better starting rate to those who have higher grades upon graduation. We must draw them in.”

“I have a plan in mind,” Balance Sheet replied. “And you have a plan in mind for your department?”

“Yes,” Featherlight said taking in a deep breath. “Regardless if we expand or not, we need to do a full replacement. But I do believe with the right engineer team coming in to work with the Masters, we can design a much more efficient system that maximized space and can output more in a shorter period of time. Purer too. Because this is an old design that should be the original one, prewar.”

“We will get a team on that,” Steel Feather assured Featherlight. “This is the time. We will work the finances so that we replace it all.”

“The older parts may be putting stress on the new ones, breaking itself,” Featherlight said. “We know are stress areas, and that idea has been floating around since before I was hired. That should be enough justification. If it is breaking itself, it needs to be replaced.”

“Indeed it is,” Balance Sheet replied. “And I will be noting that as a concern. At this point, the age is justification enough. But I will put it all down.”

“Would you two give us a moment?” Steel Feather asked.

Featherlight and Derecho gladly stepped out of Featherlight’s office and closed the door.

“Getting asked to leave is good, right?” Featherlight said.

“Very good,” Derecho said beaming. “This breakdown couldn't have come at a better time than it is now.”

“Sadly, it is true.”

The door was opened and they reentered.

“The board has made a decisions,” Steel Feather said. “We will be getting engineer teams in to look at this and talk with the Glass Masters. Together, you all will design a high functioning system to be immediately put in place.”

“Now, as soon as it is installed, we will begin testing Operation Clean Windows. Derecho, you will be heading up this operation. You will have six weeks to reduce that pile down to your suggested range. You will be working with Balance Sheet to stay in a budget that will be approved shortly. You will tailor your hiring how it needs to happen, head up training and make sure you are ready for it to all begin as soon as the redesigned department is opened. You can talk to us for help getting that all done.”

“Me sir?” Derecho said shocked.

“It is your design and your numbers,” Steel Feather stated. “It is your vision.”

“But I am not the only one who sees it,” Derecho rationalized. “I, Featherlight sees it too. We have all talked. Its not just one worker’s view.”

“But you see this specific one,” Crimson Fluff said with a smile. “And I think you can do it. We all do. We know your aspirations are to take that chair. This is one big step to showing us you can. I would rather place a younger individual who has proven himself than somepegasus who is older and less known. You could take this department places if you have the time to see it through. Featherlight still has time, but he is nearing retirement age. Prove you should be his replacement.”

“I would feel better knowing you are my replacement,” Featherlight said. “Assuming you pull this off. Because I do not think I could head up this project.”

“You have already called it your floor,” Steel Feather pointed out. “Is it?”

Derecho took a deep breath in. “It is. I know it. I just, I was not expecting to have to do the floor and training and budgeting and all that other stuff that Featherlight doesn’t have to do.”

“And who should when running a massive project?” Balance Sheet asked. “A pegasus who is outside, imposing himself through paper numbers like budgeting, or the pegasus leading the project and besides those workers, who also is working alongside the CFO to stay in budget?”

Derecho took a deep breath in and let it out. “Point taken. I will figure out how to find the strength to make my vision possible.”

“This is a test,” Modem said. “If you pass the testing phase, you will lead the next phases where we update the procedures in the other departments. We understand you have ideas on that already.”

“A rough idea,” Derecho replied. “I have only gotten to step over to them for brief moments. But I understand how they each function in their unique ways to deal with that material. I would need a week or so on their floors, learning hooves on. Shall we head out to see the other departments?”

“We can do that later this week,” Steel Feather said. “It is coming up on lunch. And you have a meeting. My friend who is in the military, or was, since he just retired a few months back. But he will be waiting for you at Bliss. I am covering both of your meals. You two can talk potential careers and he said he can get you inside one of the Cloudships. You can explore those options.”

“Oh,” Derecho said, unsure how else to reply to the shocking news. “I had forgotten about that talk. Today? After we just got this approved?”

“Today,” Steel Feather smiled. “You deserve a moment to have your own career day in replacement of the week of school you didn’t do. You had your career already chosen then by necessity, now you get to choose it again.”

“But I already have a great one here,” Derecho said confused and unsure. “I mean, heading up this project will take months.”

“What is the harm in looking? Plus, you don’t join and leave immediately,” Steel Feather replied. “And if you do choose, we will make sure Crimson Fluff or somepegasus else is ready to take on the project after the test is done. After all, by then we will have a really good idea of your vision. It is mainly execution.”

“Huh,” Was all Derecho could say.

Derecho opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. He finally decided what his words were. “Where is Bliss?”

“Bliss is on one of the top floors of the Virga Tower,” Steel Feather said. “Great views.”

“Alright,” Derecho said looking at the clock. “That is a flight. And I have to follow the streets. That will slow me down.”

Crimson Fluff chuckled. “Of course you have trouble following the regular traffic flow.”

“Yeah,” Derecho said slowly as his cheeks got red.

“I have trouble with it,” Crimson Fluff added. “Only a Pegasus with a larger view, that sees things from an unboxed position, could see the vision you have for this department. It is a blessing in many ways. But it is often frustrating.”

“I will have a sky cab pick you up,” Steel Feather said.

“NO!” Derecho exclaimed panicking. “No. No chariots. Never chariots.”

“Your parents had a chariot accident, didn’t they?” Steel Feather asked.

“Yeah,” Derecho replied, tense. “I wasn’t with them at the time. But it wasn’t a good circumstance on many levels.”

Derecho sighed. “I better grab my stuff from the board room and then head out.”

“Leave it,” Steel Feather said. “I will have it put in your locker. The same with tomorrow’s school materials. I know it will all fit.”

They all laughed, including Featherlight. Derecho’s hatred for his locker was a big joke in the department.

“Well,” Derecho shrugged. “I guess I am not missing out on work for this. Or for tomorrow morning.”

“Not until we hire an engineer team,” Featherlight said. “But I already have a contingency plan written up for where each worker can go to help the other departments.”

“Good,” Crimson Fluff said. “Because they do need to be doing stuff while that gets sorted out, or they are free to take time off. Which might be wise with Operation Clean Windows coming up. They will put a lot of time and effort in.”

“Why is it called Clean Windows?” Featherlight asked.

“Because,” Steel Feathers smiled. “We will clean the window and see the real state of things. And then we will be able to see what expectations are outdated and what are spot on, and do any necessary updates. Like the acceptable tonnage of glass waiting to be recycled.”

“Makes sense,” Featherlight said nodding his head. “But Derecho, you need to get going.”

“Right,” Derecho said dashing off.

Derecho stashed his glasses and work belt in the locker. He usually brought them home, but he wasn’t going to be going home just yet and he didn’t want to lose them. He had no need to take anything to Bliss with him. It was safer here. And he had to come back to grab his bag and the materials.

This was going to be an interesting afternoon. Steel Feather was right. He did deserve his own career day. Up until that was said, Derecho hadn’t viewed it as something he missed out on.

Next Chapter: Story 2 - Cloudship Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 12 Minutes