Deke was shuffling through a dozen more new hire papers. It had taken ten weeks, but the Plastic Department had been done. Phase One of Operation Resize was done. And it was bringing attention. Others from the recycling plants in Las Pegasus and Twin Clouds had come and watched.

They were poking their noses into everything. They were smart enough to not poke it into Deke’s job directly. Deke wanted them to take this time and learn, to make their operations better, but not disturb him unless it was a planned meeting. So far, the Board was able to take those meetings for him.

Deke’s phone ringed. He picked it up.

“Yes?”

“Derecho, it’s Starry Mural. I have three hires that require your expertise to see if they fit.”

“I’ll be right there,” Deke replied.

Starry Mural still hated Deke. They had not gotten along. Her hiring tactics clashed with Deke’s projects and time frames. He was as civil as possible, but there had been some heated discussions. It was why she called him Derecho, while everypegasus else had switched to Deke.

Starry Mural was outside her office. “They are all yours. You make the call.”

Deke silently nodded, and braced for a tough interview. He opened the door and walked around to Starry Mural’s chair. He tactfully avoided looking at them until he was seated. And then he understood.

“Really?” Deke asked Sun Shower and the Twins.

“Why not?” Winter Low fired back. “Why not work here? It was more than good enough for you and all of us have top grades. I’m ranked 5^th, Sun Shower is ranked 17^th and somehow, Golden Front has spot 22. All of us are in the top 5% of our class. Or is this place not good enough for you?”

Deke narrowed his eyes at his cousin, annoyed at his final remark.

“I never thought about you guys working here, that is all. And I need to make sure you want to work here because you want to, not because you want to follow after me.”

“And if following after you is what we are doing?” Winter Low pressed. For the quiet one, he was coming on strong. “Is it bad that we want to? You are a good role model. You are a great worker. And you have show us the real value of a job. Its not what you do, but how you do it. Or do we not have what it takes to be that?”

Golden Front jumped in. “Or do we threaten you!”

Both Deke and Winter Low were annoyed at Golden Front’s interruption. He just didn’t have it to make it in this argument.

Deke looked back at Winter Low. “Let me make this very clear. I took this job not because I wanted it, but because I needed something to help the family. And I knew that I could get hired here. Yes, I fell in love with the others here and the job as a whole, but I didn’t come seeking after this job.”

“You presented in our school,” Winter Low fired back. “You pushed us to come seek out here for our job. You may not have started out that way, but we are given a clear opportunity to. Do you really think we will have a problem here?”

Deke leaned back in the chair. It was worn from years of use. He would have to fix that. He knew it was about time for students to come and inquire. He just had never expected his family to come. But he should have thought of it.

“And what do you want to do?” Deke asked them.

Golden Front took the opportunity to answer first. “You need workers to check the melting and remove impurities in metal. That is what I want to do. Science was my strong point, especially chemistry. That has to be worth something. Plus, I have wanted that job for several years now.”

“I’d rather work in wood or paper,” Winter Low said. “Probably starting in sorting. Maybe final shaping.”

“Paper or wood,” Sun Shower said. “Sorting.”

“Have you guys been cheating?” Deke asked. “Because those are where I am trying to hire right now.”

“You don’t bring work home anymore,” Sun Shower replied.

Deke narrowed his eyes at her. After a minute he got up and walked to the door before he opened it he stopped. He didn’t look at them.

“Are you sure this is what you want in life? I’m your older brother slash cousin. I don’t want you to follow blindly after me. Especially all three of you. Even if its a good job, I don’t want to be the reason you choose this job.”

“So, we get the job?” Winter Low asked.

“I’ll leave that to Starry Mural, but I say yes. I have no problem with it.”

Deke stepped out and closed the door. Starry Mural was looking at him.

“They shot straight with me,” Deke said. “They want it for the right reasons and I have no problem with them being hired. They would make excellent employees and are exactly what we are looking for. Top grades, top references and able to start right as we kick off Phase 2 with the Paper Department. Graduation is days away. But I am assuming you know that and that more from the school are coming here to be hired.”

Starry Mural gave a nod. “We have hired 20 from the school already. Not including them. I expected that you would say yes, but I knew you needed the chance to talk it out with them. They said they were already looking to hear for a few years.”

“I believe it,” Deke smiled. “Although we never spoke about it before today, that is what was said before. I’m just glad none want metal sorting.”

“Unfortunately you will need to place new hires there. But the last injury is concerning.”

Deke nodded and headed back to his office. He was happy that his seat was so nice. It was easy for him to purchase a new one for Starry Mural. And it was easy to gift it, blocking who bought it. She deserved it. At least the opportunity to have a new one. Somepegasi liked the worn chairs, where their body had optimized the arrangement. But hers was more than just perfected.

Deke picked up the new hires papers and sighed. He set them down and left his office. Plastic had taken more time than he had planned. Deke was wondering if he could run wood and paper at the same time. He had two beneath his belt. And with all the new blood coming in, they had more than enough to split and cover it.

Deke didn’t care that after this, he would go back to the lines and his pay rate would drop. It wasn’t about pay. It wasn’t about power. It was about making things function to the best of their ability. And that meant getting things back on track as quickly as possible. Metal would be a nightmare to evaluate.

Deke pulled out his key to the roof and headed up there to think. He never had time to visit the roof. But his chair was still there and in great shape. It was plastic. There was nothing on the skyline that caught his eye. At least nothing overlooking the weather factory.

Deke flipped things around and went to the other side. This side faced the hospital. It was nearby because the low fly zone made it easier for emergency chariots to come and go without worrying about pegasi.

It had a big landing area on the very top. It was designed that large so that the emergency teams could land without having to be precise. Speed was the name of the game. A rooftop down had the launch area where the chariots were stored out of the way. Six were parked, ready to respond.

Of course, the proximity was nice. Both the Weather Factory and The Recycling Plants had semi-regular accidents. They both did all they could for safety. It was the number one priority, but both were big production points with a lot happening fast.

For the Recycling Plant, most injuries were minor. Cuts and bruises. But they still required a trip to the hospital for official evaluation and the safety of the individual.

Deke decided he would go for it. That he could double down. But to be safe, he would start wood two weeks after the paper was started. Metal would be a fight. They already were trying to make changes. It wasn’t going well. There had been two more injuries. One was related to moving too fast.

Deke set his mind to the task. He would be able to handle both at once. If he couldn’t, then there was something wrong in the department.

---

Deke stepped into the Board Room. He wasn’t sure why he was called. Things were going flawlessly, and there was a meeting scheduled for the morning. Paper was almost done and wood was halfway to it’s target. Both were a week ahead of where Deke had projected it would take.

The table was filled except for the seat he always used. Deke sat down. He had seen most of them at one time or another, but he had no idea who most of them where. Except for General White Blade, but he was a staple around the factory now.

“Deke, you have been doing phenomenal,” Steel Feather said.

It was not how they opened meetings. Something was certainly off. Deke didn’t know what to say.

“Your sister is now graduated and on the lines, correct?”

“Yes Sir,” Deke nodded. “Both of my cousins are as well.”

“Family is always a bond, but you no longer are bound to protecting and caring for her in the same way.”

“No,” Deke said confused. “I am not.”

Crimson Fluff spoke up. “You have sparked interest in many production facilities. You could go almost anywhere. You have a real future here, to rise above the floors and to be in administrative roles. It is a very rare chance you have.”

“I’m following you,” Deke said slowly. “But I am not sure where you are going.”

“Deke,” General White Blade said. “You have taken this year and given it your all. More than we have seen in most individuals across the Enclave. Your focus, rightly, has been on your job as Director of Operations. And just that.”

“I have an offer for you. One that I am honored to be chosen to present to you. This rarely happens, and when it does, it is already to established families.”

General White Blade set a large envelope on the table and slid it to Deke. Deke popped the seal and pulled the unfolded paper out. It was all fancy and gilded.

Derecho: Director of Operations at the New Cloudsdale Recycling Plant

The Grand Pegasus Enclave is proud to offer you a commission and appointment to a Cloudship to pursue the honor of being an officer on that ship, and a future Captain of a Cloudship.

The leadership displayed by you is impressive. The balance between financial, personnel, logistics and more displayed is exactly what an Enclave Officer needs to be effective. The Enclave is extending the commission on the basis of what has been done and what we know you can do.

Multiple signatures were at the bottom. Almost two dozen. None of the names meant anything to Deke.

Deke looked up at General White Blade, confused. “But, I didn’t even see a recruiter.”

“You didn’t have to,” White Blade smiled. “You made a splash, and you had looked into service. So they looked into you. They rarely ever extend a commission offer, even to the mares and stallions in the greatest military lineages. You drew their eye, and they recognize your potential. So they extended it to you without your inquiry.”

“Everypegasus wants you, including the military. And they want you bad enough to give you a commission. It takes a lot to be an outstanding officer, especially a Cloudship Officer.”

Deke gave a silent nod.

“Everypegasus at the table, whether you know them or not, has given backings to your appointment. That will overcome any lack of blood that you might face. Top administrators in New Cloudsdale and other places have said that you deserve it.”

“The question comes down to you. Whether you want to take it or not.”

“This will get me on a Cloudship?” Deke asked.

“A guarantee,” White Blade smiled. “And as an officer. You will still have to go to the respective schools, but assuming you don’t fail, its yours.”

“I don’t know how to fail,” Deke stated. “But… I don’t know.”

“And that’s fine,” White Blade replied. “You have two weeks to make your choice. After that, you can go through a recruiter, and many of us will still sign letters of recommendation, but it won’t be a guarantee past getting into officer school. This says you will go to a Cloudship. And they won’t mess around and send you to something small. It will be a place to develop you into a leader above the rest. Captain, Admiral, whatever.”

“You are already doing more than most colonels in the army do. And Admirals control more than one ships. You are leading two projects at once. And they are different. Not much is different than leading two ships at the same time.”

Deke leaned back in his chair, thinking. He spoke what was on his mind on the surface as he thought deeper. “I haven’t gone after metal yet because I am unsure how to proceed. They need a strong evaluation at the very least, but it is drastically different because of the sheer size and sorting that has to happen.”

“I figured that is why you didn’t have anything on my desk about metal,” Steel Feather said. “Take the day and think. Hell, take tomorrow and think. We are not useless. We can cover things. You have this down to a precise plan that even accounts for stopping and injuries.”

Deke smiled to himself. “I’ve avoided them so far in any phase. We had that one injury in Operation Clean Windows, but the others have gone off without a hitch. Metal has hurt themselves several times when they shouldn’t have. They always were hot headed and stupid.”

Crimson Fluff was confused. “Doesn’t Golden Front work in metal.”

“Yeah,” Deke said, still focusing on processing everything. “And he has always been hot headed and gotten Winter Low into trouble. He would also drag Sun Shower into things as well. It was never anything bad, and he still had top grades. That was a surprise. We didn’t realize his grades were as good as they were. We knew good, but not that good.”

Deke stood up. “Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Your confidence in me is appreciated beyond words. The fact that I was even give the opportunity, and even the time to ask in the first place; to get to try this is amazing. Beyond something I can express. I am in debt to you for it, and I know that it became the best thing over all, but still, I shouldn’t have been given the opportunities you gave me. Thank you.”

“This decision is mine to make, but it affects more than just me. My family must be involved. I will go and make dinner reservations were we can talk. It is a special time.”

“That is a good idea,” Steel Feather said. “Your family is very important in this decisions.”

Deke paused at the door. “Thank you again for all believing in me. If I take this, I will make sure the Metal Department is squared away first. I won’t leave this operation half done. And without giving it my all. Even if I have to postpone initial training.”

“The next training is in the start winter,” White Blade said. “You have time to do it. Plenty of time.”

“Good,” Deke chuckled confidently.

Deke got to his office and picked up the phone. He knew where he should take the family.

“This is The Capital Grille. How may I help you?”

“I need a table for six tonight,” Deke said.

“I’m sorry, but we are all full for the evening.”

“All full?” Deke asked.

“Yes Sir, all full.”

“I know you keep a table or two in reserve,” Deke said. “And I hate the idea of throwing titles around. It’s for a very important family dinner focused on me and job opportunities. I am Deke, or Derecho, the Director of Operations of the Recycling Plans.”

“Hold please.”

Deke sighed. When he had been informed of his temporary title of Director of Operations, he learned it came with power. Not for power’s sake. But because sometimes he might need something rushed for the job and they needed to know that. For higher end stuff, they had lists of those who held appointments like Director of Operations. It didn’t matter if it was temporary or permanent, he had a title.

“Sir?”

“Yes, I am here.”

“I can get you in at an early 5 O’clock reservation. But outside of that, there is a lot of big stuff happening tonight.”

“That will be perfect,” Deke cheerfully replied. “Thank you.”

Deke set the phone down to reset it so he could make a call out. He called his Uncle so that he could meet them at 5. It would normally be tight for him to make that time, but knowing it was important about the family and Deke’s future gave priority over everything else.

Aunt Rainbow Jade was working half days, in the morning, so she would be available. Deke reached her at her work and she would be ready. It was tough to not say too much.

Deke headed down to the floors. He stepped beside Sun Shower and began to pull grommets off a binder. They worked in silence for a while.

“Sun, I need you get off at 4.”

“I’m scheduled to work the full twelve,” Sun Shower replied.

“I know, but we have a dinner reservation at 5. Whole family. I was presented with a… special opportunity.”

Sun Shower took a deep breath in. “Alright. I will get off at 4. By your order, not my own will. I am not letting them down.”

“Don’t worry about it,” The Master Sorter beside Sun Shower said. “Its not a big deal. We are ahead of pace today. And seriously, if you are needed, you are needed. You are not just trying to skirt work. We all know your work ethic.”

“Thanks,” Sun Shower said, flashing him a smile.

Deke stayed for a little while longer before moving on to tell Winter Low and then get to Golden Front. Golden Front was happy Deke had come. He needed backup. Golden Front was probably doing the job more efficiently, but Deke didn’t need him arguing with the Masters or trying to fix anything. His words were heard and that was all. Golden Front wasn’t scheduled to work an extra shift. There were no extra shifts in the Metal Department outside of sorting.

Deke went home after that. He showered to try and clear his head. It didn’t work. He got dressed in appropriate attire for The Capital Grille. It had been a while since he had put on a dress shirt and tie.

Deke had been protesting at each meeting by wearing his work clothes. Especially the days that all he had were meetings and there was no way for him to work on the lines. He was not going to get lost in that job. He was going to stay grounded. He was going to stay a worker. It was what he needed to do in order to get the job done. And he was on the lines quite often, or just off them, where he needed work clothes.

Deke headed out to Virga Tower. He payed to go to the observation lounge. He had time, so he did something he never did. Deke sat in a nice cushioned cloud chair, and had a drink. Bourbon, neat. He enjoyed looking over the clouds, enjoying the view of the weather. It was nothing special, some scattered clouds, but it was important for him to be doing it.

Deke was the first at dinner and seated before the others. He had the commission offer and the letters of backing. He was nursing another bourbon when the others arrived. Uncle Arching Gale joined him with the bourbon.

They ate and talked before Deke addressed what he was distracted with.

“So, today I was called into an impromptu meeting. And it was more than just the Board. I’m not all sure who was there. But what happened, is that I was given this. An offer for a commission. To be a Cloudship officer. That is guaranteed to get me to be an officer and on a Cloudship.”

“I never asked. I had mostly forgotten about that idea. I was doing my job. They surprised me. I have two weeks to decide. But this goes beyond just me. It affects all of you. I know, I am supposed to be leaving the house. And that is being slowly worked on. Its good. But this isn’t just leaving. Its going beyond anything I know, and into a service that has full control over me. I can’t say when I will be back. I know nothing.”

Sun Shower was ready first. “A full guarantee?”

Deke passed her the paper. “Full. I will get on a Cloudship, as an officer, assuming I pass training. I have to pass training. But that is standard.”

“They don’t do this often,” Winter Low stated. “That is obvious. I am only a cousin, but you are really like an older bother to me. I support you fully in becoming a Cloudship officer. I know that, from what I have seen, you are going to be amazing at it.”

“I’ll have to start at the bottom,” Deke warned. “I’ll have to work my way up. I was a Master starting this Director position. I won’t be when I start.”

“But you can prove you deserve it,” Sun Shower confidently stated. “I know you can. If you want it, it’s yours. You know how to do that.”

Deke smiled at Sun Shower.

“Do it,” Sun Shower smiled back. “If you want it, we can survive. You have given your all to us, now, if you want it, get it.”

“Captain Deke sounds amazing,” Deke chuckled. “Yes, I want to master the skies like that. Being on the most powerful Cloudships we have ever made, and controlling it, that is beyond a dream.”

“Can you do it?” Uncle Arching Gale asked. “Can you make your plan and achieve it?”

Deke smiled his legendary smile. “Yeah. I can. I don’t know enough to put a plan in place yet, but I can go learn it all in Basic Training and then learn it all in the school for officers. Once on the bridge, it will be mine. I can learn it all, and be it all. And that will make me a Captain, when the time comes. I can earn it.”

“The earn it!” Uncle Arching Gale declared. “Earn it. You want it, get it. We support you. It will be odd not having you around, but we raised you to get what you want. To step out and be sure of yourself. We raised you all to become the most you can be. And if that is your goal, if that is what you see is the most you can be, go get it.”

Deke smiled at them all. “Then I guess that is my next move. I have time to finish the project. Its not until the winter for the next training. And you all know I won’t coast. I will make my word good and prove even more, those backings are deserved.”

“What is the importance of them?” Aunt Rainbow Jade asked.

Deke began to explain military blood and lineage. And just what those backings meant.

Deke was going to become a Cloudship captain. He was going to fly his own storm and shoot lighting.

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