Phaeton
The sunlight pouring into the window of the small home was bright and cheery, offering the six year old with markers, crayons, and no less than two no-no paints to work on her work for kindergarten eagerly, stretched on her belly in her grandmother's small home. She was a very young girl, indeed, one with light brown, near blonde waves, and cheery green eyes like her grandmother, however her blonde wasn't of spun gold, but the tell-tale sand indicating a future brunette; the stronger build of a rusdsian the only warning of the child's future height -- which her grandmother often remarked would have made many family jealous. Today she was in a sunny flower dress with happy sandals -- her parents left her for days at her Grandmother's, acompromise to avoid boarding her at school and, as Amber Cossack noticed, due in no small part to her diminutive grandmother's sheer presence and capability to argue her daughter in law down. No... Kalinka Cossack all but commanded respect of her daughter in law, and was often softer, yet still firm with Dimitri, whom seemed overeahger to impress and please and worry over his mother, but with Amber there was none of it, nothing but a soft heart, encouraging word, and stories. So many stories! All about robots, so many robots that Amber was absolutely taken every time, even ignoring the scoldings if she tried talking. Her grandmother even encouraged her to see the new kind, the reploids -- encouraging, and taking her to learn with stories every time.
So when the project to draw whatyou wanted to be when you grow up came in., Amber was lost. She liked robots, but she couldn't be one -- Grandma said so, because nobovy knew how. But maybe she could MAKE robots? Yes! The girl rubbed her nose, thick glasses sliding down her nose as she began careful work drawing herself as a grownup first. She was going to be pretty and fierce like Grandma Kalinka, or maybe fircer like a robot -- she wasn't sure, but she was going to do her best. So lost in focus drawing was she she didn't hear the elderly woman walk in, blinking the still-brilliant green eyes of her youth before she peered at her granddaughter curiously.
"Little Sparrow? Why do you have grandma's makeups?" She asked, tone ghently warning. Amber looked up, using her best Russian to reply.
"I am to draw what I want to be when I grow up and I wanted to look pretty as a grown up like you, Grandmother!" Amber responded. Kalinka blinked, and smiled, gently taking the nail polish and lipstick away.
"No, little Sparrow, you don't need these to be a pretty grownup in your picture. What do you want to be, however?" Kalinka kissed the top of the child's head, peering as Amber beamed.
"I wanna make robots like your stories when I grow up, to help people and make people happy!" She crowed proudly. "Gonna make them to help and stop the sad!"
Kalinka paused, taken aback by how her grandchild lit up atthe announcement.Amber hadn't known the Wily Wars, however -- nor met her great grandfather; in fact Kalinka was almost positive both of the child's great grandfather's from her side were all but celebrating the continuing of the family tradition. Kalinka might, had the law allowed, but Dimitri had lost his heart and appetite for it when his papa fell, and Kalinka knew he might oppose his daughter trying for whatever pain he felt. But Kalinka knew she was delighted and immediately decided to do everything to give her granddaughter the chance, mind trailing to the broken body of Blues carefully preserved in a weather controlled storage unit, waiting for her to repair him. Waiting to be with her. But his grandchild.... No.
No, Dimitri would never allow it, Amber needed her grandfather, even if her hands did the work, alone, in secret -- yes, Papa's old things, the old lab would do for her. A special secret just tohelp her dear grandchild who unkowingly chose a pathto walk with no hope of that horrible Tatiana supporting what she considered a pawn for power, nor with Dimitri so in pain to be blind to the mess he fell into, and Kalinka smiled warmly.
"Will you draw your first robot in the picture, little sparrow? Your teacher might like seeing one."
"Ooooh. Uhm, okay." And she paused, thinking seriously several minutes. Kalinka had to chuckle -- always a hard step -- and suddenly crayons flew as the girl drew, and drew, and drew a dark robot with white dots for stars and a big smile before showing her grandmother.
"It's a robot to help study spavce, so we can send people into space to see other planets like the tv!" Amber announced. Kalinka chuckld, picking her up to hug her to her tightly. So practical! With the combot reploids so many were enamored with around thanks to X, Kalinka worried it would be a soldier, but no, no her first thought proved who her family and mind lay with.
"That's a very good thought, little sparrow! And so helpful!" She praised her gently, pressing a kiss to her forhead. "ButIthink for now, you should put it in your pck and come to supper, alright?" Kalinka nuzzled, and put her down, amber nodding and running to put her picture in her bookbag for class.
---
Amber Cossack was working late in the library on homework again. Although she could go home any time, shop had assighned a robotics project for the end of tyerm, and Amber... Was still poring over adbvanced books in the library to work on blueprints. Other teens were building simplebots from pre-robot master works to Master-era mechaniloids, but Amber wanted to make something special. Unique. Better.
She had the basics for a Master, but she wanted one that served use, could live, to be someone special. She'd found an old drawing days ago, however, and decided to begin building a Master to turn in -- but the buster, not even a weapon, but a camera for taking photos of Exoplanets from an orbital station, was proving frustrating -- not to mention she couldn't find a place to fab the lenses. The teen scowled. She had a few weeks to go - three - to build this, and she was stuck on lenses. But she wanted this. She looked at the well-worn photo of her grandmother in her wallet silently, and sighed, shaking her head. She could look over the old Master in the things her grandma gave her when she passed, but she wanted to simply restore him, not steal parts. No, she wanted to retool him for a friend. A friend... She sighed.
She couldn't code such an AI in this Master in time. The teen frustratedly stored her schematics with duress, pulling open a file, and sadly began working on a mechaniloid. She couldn't make a Master, but mechaniloids outside looked easy, right? By the time she turned something in, it would be a highly useful rescue mechaniloid, then. A proper one useful now, though. Because if she saw one more primitive mechaniloid prasied in class, she'd shiv someone.
---
Nova stopped to stare at the pictu hanging on her laboratory wall. It was almost timeless now -- what she thought she'd look like grown up with her first robot at her side, smiling. Her friend. Her own work.
Except her first project was another Reploid duo, and she sighed, looking at the picture. It wasn't framed, but she considered it until noticing a dark spot, faint, but there, marring it, and she squinted, frowning, but blinking, flipping the paper over. Cryllic...? It only yook a moment to realize from the wordchoice and structure who it was from, though, and Nova paused, one hand covering her mouth.
It was from her grandmother.
Little Sparrow,
One day you will find this and I will be gone before you were ready. Do you remember this day? I remember how your eyes and face lit up and how you smiled, so full of hope. I know it will not -- no, must not be easy to follow this dream. Uoir mother is a deplorable human, taking robots from ou and your father's lives and I can not hope toguess how in pain your father must be now, but do not give in. I have a special secret justfor you. My papa was Dr. Sergeiyovitch Cossack and your Grandpa's was Dr. Thomas Light. Yes, Dr. Light, who made X! When Iwas a much younger girl theyhelped me and Blues have your papa, all so we could be a family, because even then people were not as good to robots as robots deserved. Your grandpa... Is a good man. It is who Ilefttoyou, becausweIknow you can help fix what was broken. You are smart, you are brave, you are kind, little sparrow, and I know he will adore you as I do. I do not think he was ever bad as those terrible books say, so when you help him, do not fear beingyourself, and everything will be as they should. You have all I could give you foryour dreams -- my papa's lab, his tools, everything for making robots he left to me when he disappeared. Iwant you to have your dreams little sparrow. It is in your blood, as is your eyes, or your smile. Never give up little sparrow! You are carrying the real familytraditions, and yourt grandmother could never be more proud!
Iwill always love you,
Grandma Kalinka.
Nova paused, hands shaking as she thought back over repairing and upgrading her gransdfather, looking over the words, looking around, before slowly snuffling, eyes tearing p wistfully before hugging the photo with uptmost gentleness.
She wished her grandma could see, or... Maybe she could, somwhere. See the progress she made, and the girl gently held the aging paper to her to shield it as she cried several minutes before soothing herself, and reaching for a frame. Finally, though, it was framed, placed next to a photo of a small, sandy haired little girl sitting on the lap of a stern elderly Russian woman in black and red, dressed stylishly for the Master era, and Nova pinned down a soft keen.
She would never admit she wasn't over her grandmother, but this...
The words on the paper led her hand to her chest, over her heart, and she smiled, turning, and loading an old Master schematic with pride.
"Okay, Phaeton." The girl murmured softly. "The world has waited for you long enough."
