Tales of the Intermezzo - Org Chart
                       A Transformers Universe Story
                     copyright 2007 by Dave Van Domelen
                     based on properties owned by Hasbro
===========================================================================

     "intermezzo - n. A brief entertainment between two acts of a play."
          - American Heritage Dictionary

[Cybertron, Before The Great War]

     It's all about the flow.  Everyone gets where they need to go, and
everywhere that needs someone gets them.
     "Is that everyone?" Signal Lancer asked.
     "Looks like," Behemoth nodded.  The towering Autobot civilian made most
others look small, and Lancer was already one of the tiniest on Cybertron.
In later years, after the war had been fought and won, they'd often be
mistaken for inhabitants of Gigantion, a giant and a Mini-Con.  "We got our
allotment of workers all here in this file," Behemoth gently tapped a screen
that was barely as large as his fingertip, "and you have all the jobs
already.  Just need to put 'em together."
     "And that's my specialty," Lancer nodded.  "Thanks, Beem, leave
everything to me!"

               *              *              *              *

     "Okay, these five need to be certified in vacuum welding before I can
put 'em to work.  No problem, they've got the experience in their chits, just
need to make sure they go get tested.  Hmm, this lot lives all the way over
near the Trench, how'd that happen?  Well, need to make sure they get on a
shift that allows for the commute.  So that knocks out that, that and that.
Okay, let's see what else.  Huh.  No one's qualified for the crystal analysis
position.  These three have kinda close backgrounds...shooting messages off
to their references should let me know if any of them can fill in while I put
in a request for a specialist from the next sector."
     Signal Lancer sat back for a moment.  Most quarters there were some
problems getting the new work crews settled, but this one was a particularly
bad batch.  And who'd decided that his sector needed fifteen highly trained
astronavigators?  There wasn't even a major spaceport here!
     "I can make it work, I always make it work," he muttered.

               *              *              *              *

     "No, I'm serious," Signal Lancer tried to keep the exasperation out of
his voice.  "I need people on that job next cycle at the latest.  I've talked
to Calamity, Hazard and Disastor, and despite their very unfortunate names,
I'm confident that they're up to the job.  I just need your office to run 'em
through the certs."
     The Autobot at the other end of the vidscreen shook his head.  "Look,
Sig, it's just a busy time for us here.  We can't jump your three ahead of
the pack, and we can't hurry things up either.  You want us to goof up and
let through someone who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a nucleonic
oscillator?"
     "Sigh...no, I guess not.  Just...get back to me as soon as you can,
okay?  I've got half a sector depending on me to get this operation running
as soon as possible, and I need those three to get it done."
     "Sure, I'll call as soon as I know."

               *              *              *              *

     There.  It was ugly, it was inelegant, but it covered all the jobs
Lancer needed to cover, and it made sure everyone who needed work had
something.  Maybe a few astronavs would have to work in their tertiary fields
for a while (fortunately, one of them had been certified in vacuum welding!),
and there were a couple guys with very conditional work permits who would
need to get themselves trained up *fast*, but it was all done.
     "Um, Lancer?" Behemoth's face peeked around the corner.  It was almost
comical, how the gigantic Transformer seemed to be fearful of the tiny Signal
Lancer.  
     "Yesssss...?" Lancer hissed, turning verrrrry slowly to face his friend
and coworker.
     "Um, well, ah..."
     "Spit it out."
     "It looks like Cruz and Flyte just got transfers to Iacon sector air
patrol."
     A deadly silence fell over the room.
     Signal Lancer looked at his organizational chart.
     Cruz was the only 'bot available who could cover the vital courier
position on the south rim.  Flyte was an honest-to-Primus crystal analyst.
Neither could be replaced by anyone currently available to Lancer...not
without opening up a dozen other holes and collapsing the entire org chart
like a tower with the central supports cut.
     "Lancer?  Um...I don't think glowing all red like that is healthy...."

               *              *              *              *

[Earth, After The Great War]

     "And THAT, Hightail, is why I DON'T want the Sudoku puzzle out of your
newspaper," Signal Lancer finished.

==============================================================================

Author's Note:

     Written in part for the AllSpark August Fic Challenge ("peacetime
stories"), and in part for catharsis.  Part of my job is making sure all the
incoming teaching assistants get jobs, and all of the teaching jobs get
teachers.  And, as I write this, I'm in the middle of one of the nastier
meltdowns I've had in that department.  It's not as bad as the Semester
Without Graders (State mandated hiring freeze combined with several departing
TAs), but it's definitely shaping up to be a whole lot of no fun this
semester.  If *I* were a living traffic signal, I'd certainly be on red.
     Signal Lancer is the Japanese name of the stoplight Transformer from TF:
Cybertron.  Hightail's online bonus info has him teamed up with Signal Lancer
to roam the world and map it out.  All other characters are civilians I made
up on the spot.  I figure Behemoth became one of those unnamed submarines
from early in the series.
     And in case you don't get the last "scene", I've likened the whole
"match the TA with the job" experience to a game of human Sudoku.  All the
numbers need to go in, all the holes must be filled, and a series of
arbitrary and sometimes maddening criteria must be met.