They arrived in Polyhex the following morning.
It wasn't anywhere near as grand as Iacon, or glowing as the Crystal City, but it had its own appeal.
The younglings landed and emerged from an alley.
Ariel stretched. "Finally!"
"I agree. Now..." Orion said as he took out the tracker.
It showed a blinking red light where the tool should be, and the siblings led them in the projected direction.
The tracker led them through the city, straight to an Energon mine. There were many mechs and femmes around the mine entrance. There were also many carts being pushed out of the mine by said, mechs and femmes and they were filled with raw Energon crystals.
"Orion, where's the tool?" Ariel asked.
Orion looked down at the tracker.
"That can't be right." Orion muttered as he began to fiddle with the tracker controls.
"What's wrong?" Dion asked.
"There must be a glitch. The tracker is saying that we're standing right on top of the tool." Orion replied.
Chromia and Dion looked down at the ground.
"Is it a bug?" Chromia asked.
"Actually, the tracker could be right." Ariel spoke as she knelt down and put her servo on the ground. "There are thousands of miles of tunnel right beneath us. My bet is that the tool is buried somewhere underneath."
"Well that's great and all, but how're we supposed to get down there? Dig?" Chromia said.
Dion shook his helm as he looked back towards the mine entrance. "I bet those tunnels you're talking about are a part of the mines. I also bet that if we can get inside then we'll be able to reach the spot where the tool is!"
"Okay. If you say so." Orion spoke.
"What do you mean we can't go down?" Orion exclaimed.
The large mech in black armour standing by the entrance of the mine looked down at the younglings.
"I mean that you can't go down. The mines are dangerous for those who aren't trained and equipped. Deadly even. You can't go down and you're not going down." The mech concluded.
Orion huffed angrily as they turned and walked away.
"Great. Now what're we supposed to do?" Orion asked.
Dion smirked as an idea formed in his processor. "I got an idea."
No one noticed the four younglings diving into two mine carts. Chromia and Dion in one, Ariel and Orion in the other.
They closed the covers and waited for the carriers to push them into the mine.
Orion sat close to Ariel in the small space...a little too close.
"Well, this is cozy." She spoke softly.
Orion felt his faceplates warm as he squirmed in his uncomfortable position.
"So Orion, how're you liking Cybertron so far?" Ariel asked.
"Oh. From what I've seen so far it's nice." Orion replied.
Ariel fiddled with the camera on her head. "From what you've seen huh."
"Oh, Ariel, sorry I uh..." Orion stammered.
"It's okay Orion. Don't worry about it." Ariel said.
Orion smiled but it quickly disappeared when the cart they were in shook and Orion was thrown onto Ariel. Their faceplates came close together. Orion's optics widened when he realized how close he was to her. His faceplates became even warmer when he caught himself staring at her before shuffling his frame away from hers.
"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He said quickly.
Ariel groaned. "It's okay."
Orion pulled his knees close to his helm in embarrassment.
He two younglings sat there in the cart for another few moments before the top came off. It was Chromia and Dion.
"C'mon you two. The people who brought us in are gone I think." Dion whispered.
Orion and Ariel stood up while the siblings helped them jump out of the carts.
"Hurry Orion. Where too?" Chromia asked.
Orion took out the tracker and turned it on. He pointed towards a nearby tunnel.
"That way." Orion said.
They walked through the mine tunnels with only the dim lamplights hanging from the walls.
They passed by several miners who didn't give them second looks. They wore mine armour and helmets, and were equipped with state of the art mining tools.
However, when they climbed over a metal fence separating one section of the mines from the other, the sights became depressing.
The miners wore no protective armour, and the mining tools were sharper but rusted. The miners themselves performed slow, and sluggish movements. Their optics were dim and their faces showcased no emotion. Most of them didn't even seem to notice the younglings as they passed by.
"What is this?" Chromia asked. "I've always heard that the mines were good jobs. 'The conditions weren't ideal but the end result is worth it!'"
"I dunno. Are we almost there Orion?" Dion asked.
Orion nodded. "Almost."
Then they came to a dead end and the tracker beeped.
"This is it." Orion proclaimed.
"Great. Now what?" Chromia asked.
"We're gonna have to dig it out." Dion replied.
"Hey, you kids need something?" A mech asked from behind them.
The four younglings turned at the sound of his voice. The mech's frame was caked with dirt and dust, his optics were dim and he held a rusty axe.
"Er, no." Orion replied.
"Really? I thought I heard you say something about digging it out." He replied.
Before the younglings could think of a reply, the mech continued speaking.
"You're not miners. Your clean. And the way you walk is different. Who are you?" He said.
"Uh, nobodies. Listen, can we borrow your axe for a little bit? We'll get it back to you we promise." Orion replied.
The mech shook his helm and walked forward. "I'll dig for you."
"Seriously? Just like that?" Ariel asked.
"Yeah. Sure, I have nothing else to do today." He replied as he raised his axe and brought it down on the rock.
"What's your name?" Orion asked.
"Don't have one. Down here they assign us number designations." The mech replied.
"Okay. What's your designation then?"
"S-14."
"If you don't mind me asking...why are these mines like this? I thought the miners were supposed to have better conditions than this." Chromia spoke.
"Yeah. You'd think so huh." S-14 replied. "The upper mines are like that. They're the front of the businesses. However, down here where it's more unstable and dangerous is where the abundance of Energon lies. So they 'recruit' people off of the streets to be unpaid miners to come down here and work. Mostly younger types. Usually orphans from Kaon."
Chromia and Dion looked at each other worriedly at that information.
"Most of those kids don't know any better and end up growing up here. While other are unlucky enough to be born in the mines. They work their whole lives." S-14 continued. "I was abandoned on the streets and was taken here."
"You're slaves." Orion said. S-14 nodded.
"Doesn't anyone try to escape?" Dion asked.
"Oh yeah. Lots a times, but all of them failed...well, except that one time several years ago." S-14 replied. "These two young mechs managed to secretly tunnel their way out. Unfortunately I heard that the mine guard went after them. I haven't seen those two around since their escape so I can only assume that they're dead. Real shame, they called each other brother. One of them was no older than you little lady."
S-14 pointed to Ariel.
"That's terrible." Ariel muttered.
"Yeah...oh here. I think I hit something." S-14 said.
Orion stepped forward and brushed the rocks and dirt from the tool. It was box shaped and silver.
Orion sighed. "Two."
"Thanks for your help. Hey, you can come with us. We can get you outta here." Chromia offered.
S-14 shook his helm. "Nah, you kids go. I'd only slow you down."
"You sure?" Dion asked.
"Yeah. Sure sure. Get outta here and prove that it can be done. I'd like that. In fact, do it for those two boys. They were D's. Can't remember their numbers though." S-14 said.
The younglings thanked him and turned to leave the accursed mines.
"Hm. Kids! I remeber now! They were called D-4 and D-16."
...this chapter didn't turn out the way I had hoped.
Let me know what you think! Comment and review