His audial receptors picked up the sounds of shuffling pedes. He wanted them to stop moving, just so he could have five more kliks of rest. Then he realized that his shift was starting. Onlining his optics, C-14 jerked up, hitting his helm on the berth above.

It was becoming a regular occurrence, as the cramped space of their shared quarters offered little room for comfort. The stacked berths two high barely left him with any space for him to sit up without banging into the one above. He winced, rubbing his helm with a low grunt, biting back the anger rising inside him. There was no point in dwelling on the pain—there was work to do and being late meant punishment.

C-14 swung his legs over the edge of the berth, landing lightly on the cold floor. His drill was within reach, as he had left it by his berth the previous night. He had managed to snag it yesterday, so that he wouldn't have to get the pickaxe, which was a lot harder to use. He grabbed it and stood up, glancing around the room.

About twelve of them shared the quarters, crammed into one space that was too small for this many bots. He noticed that one face was absent—CT-37, or more fondly known as Rusty. He had been a happy bot, bringing life to the dullest of solar cycles, even in the darkest areas of the mine. No matter how hard the work would get, he would always remain upbeat.

A sour feeling churned in the miner's spark, but he quickly squashed it. Don't get attached, a veteran miner had once told him when he had first been thrown into the mines, and he'd learned that lesson the hard way. Miners disappeared all the time. Some were crushed in cave-ins, others died of energon deprivation, some simply disappeared.

CT-37 could have perished in the tunnels, or worse—been dragged off by the Functionists for some unspeakable punishment. Either way, it wasn't C-14's problem now, even as he was loathing himself for his line of thoughts.

The gladiator followed the line of other miners out of the tunnel that led to their 'quarters,' focusing on a spot in front of him as he absentmindedly followed them through the winding tunnels. Unlike yesterday, they would get a different tunnel for the best results.

C-14 looked at their tunnel, noting that it was a smaller system, though still large enough to have a mech on either side and a clear path down the middle for a single enforcer to patrol. Without wasting another nano-klik, he knelt and activated his drill, pushed the tool against the rock, sparks flying as the drill bit into the metal-rich stone, sending dust into the air.

He grimaced when the dust covered his vents, sucking in the dirt, but did not stop working. If they were even caught stopping their work for even a klik, they would be punished, and it was rather painful. C-14 had been on the receiving end of the whip more times than he could count, and oh how it hurt.

The gladiator had been lucky that their lashings had not cut deeply enough to draw energon. If his plating was cracked or broken, he would have to wait until the end of the shift to get medical attention, and the medical care could not be qualified as professional, as the mech often left poorly slapped on welding that fell off all too quickly.

C-14 focused back on his task to the best of his ability, finding mindlessly drilling into the rocks for breems processor numbing. Often times, he found himself wondering if he would die of boredom before he would die in the arena.

His attention was brought back to reality when he saw a faint blue glow began to peek through the cracks in the rock he was drilling. Energon.

Carefully, he slowed his drill, using smaller, gentler bursts to drill into the rock around the energon to avoid damaging the energon. The glow grew brighter, and he soon he saw the energon crystal. He pulled his drill away, now using his servos to chip away at the remaining rock.

Finally, C-14 plucked the crystal from its stone prison. It was a large cluster of energon crystals, pulsing softly. It was an impressive find, considering he hadn't even been here a breem. Glancing around, he placed it into his metal crate next to him, optics scanning for any thieves that would attempt to grab his energon.

The miner turned back to his work, starting to drill again but keeping constantly watching his crate from his peripheral vision. He had been here long enough to know that the klik one turned their back on their hard work, someone would come and steal it.

He had made that mistake when he had first been thrown into the mine. All alone and freshly constructed, he was doing a poor job of mining and what little energon he had was stolen by other bots who threatened to rip out his voice box if he sold them out.

At the time, he was scared, and despite being the bigger bot, caved easily to the whims of others. This went on for a while until a veteran miner took pity on him and encouraged him to defend himself. Shortly after that, he was killed by an enforcer, which enraged him, and he took things into his own servos.

His thoughts were broken when he heard a clattering sound. C-14 subtly snuck a glance to his right and saw one of the newer miners picking up the drill they dropped. The taskmaster that passed him saw it too. They didn't need any excuse to beat the poor miner.

Within a nano-klik, the sound of the young mech crying out as he was lashed echoed through the tunnel. As much as C-14 wanted to help the mech, he wasn't going to risk his plating to save them. Helping would only mean drawing the taskmaster's ire, and that was a risk he would not take.

C-14's spark felt for the young mech, but he kept his optics forward. He knew what it was like to be in that miner's position. The new miner would learn to blend in, to keep their helm down and their servos busy, if they didn't die first.

The gladiator focused on his work once again. It went on like this for quite some time until their first break.

Simultaneously, all the miners in the tunnel stood up. A taskmaster stopped by each miner's crate, peering down into it and checking something off on the holographic list that projected from his arm, moving onto the next bot. Those who didn't meet the quota for the first half of the solar cycle were punished.

Once the taskmaster was finished, they all lined up and followed the overseer into a large, curved room that was the remains of a tunnel that had dried out long ago, repurposed into a space where they would be allowed a fifteen klik break.

At the entrance, there was a dispenser that gave them their rations for break one. Most of the cubes weren't even half filled. It was the same as always. They were barely fueled and overworked. The overseers didn't care how much they bled; they only cared about production.

C-14 sat down at the curve of the tunnel where he was partially obscured from the taskmaster's optics and the security cameras that were constantly watching them. He took a long sip of the bitter, low-grade energon, staring blankly at the wall, having all of the grooves and imperfections in the metal-rich wall memorized.

His processor wandered to the endless cycles of mining, then to Chainlink. He had been lucky that he was being punished that solar cycle when he had nearly killed DV-44. For defying the overlords of the mines, he had his rations cut for the next two solar cycles and an extra shift.

Taskmasters were lax when they had to just watch one bot.

The sharp crack of something hitting metal brought C-14 out of his thoughts.

He turned just in time to see a small, boxy, black-and-silver bot thrown into the break area. The mech hit the ground hard, tumbling to a stop with a groan. Standing over him was one of the enforcers. The miner knew if the taskmaster had a faceplate, he would be sneering.

In his servo, he gripped an electro whip.

Crack.

The whip lashed through the air, striking the bot on the back. The mech cried out, spasming from the electricity that surged through his systems. He tried to curl in on himself, as though it would shield him from the pain. That didn't stop the enforcer, who lashed again, and again, and again.

C-14 winced, forcing himself to look away, staring hard at the ground. Don't get involved. Don't get involved, he repeated to himself like a mantra. Other mines averted their optics, pretending not to hear. It was a familiar scene in the mines, and no bot dared to interfere with the enforcers unless they wanted a beating themselves.

"Pathetic scrap," the enforcer spat. "You think you can slack off down here? You think we're running a charity?" The whip snapped again, and the bot screamed so harshly his voice box gave out, forcing him to reset it, his frame twitching violently.

Just ignore it. Keep your helm down, he thought. The mines were brutal, and everyone had to survive in their own way.

Another strike. Another scream.

The black-and-silver bot pleaded weakly. "Please… I'm sorry… I—"

Crack.

The whip came down harder this time. C-14 looked at the bot who was curled into a small ball, his frame trembling violently, barely holding together. He could feel the familiar rage rising in his spark, threatening to drown out the part of him that had learned to keep his helm down and servos busy.

"Let this be a lesson to all you," he sneered, pocketing the whip in his subspace. "Work harder, or—heh, I'm sure you know what'll happen."

The enforcer stepped back, glancing over the rest of the miners in the room, none daring to challenge him, or even look at him. They never did. C-14 knew that look all too well. He had been on the receiving end of it not too long ago.

Satisfied, the enforcer walked out, leaving the small bot crumpled on the ground.

The miner tried to look away. It's not my problem, he reminded himself again, taking another swig of his energon ration. He told himself to stay out of it. It was just how things worked down here, they were brutal and unforgiving. Besides, he had enough trouble of his own.

But the longer he stared at the broken, trembling form on the ground, the more his resolve began to crack. C-14 had been in his place just mere solar cycles ago.

The whip hit against his back strut again, the sound echoing through the silent mine. Excruciating agony spread through his frame…

C-14 let out air through his vents. He didn't need to care.

He was left hanging there, humiliated and in pain…

But slag it all, he did. He wasn't like the rest of them.

The miner placed his nearly empty cube on the ground and pushed his weary frame to his pedes, striding over to the injured bot, ignoring the looks he was getting from the miners. He crouched down next to him. "Hey," he muttered, "you still functioning?"

The bot looked up at him and asked in a trembling, staticky voice, "Wh… why do you care?"

C-14 grimaced, scanning the miner's frame, noting that he was leaking. His nanites would take care of that, but the cracked plating was another matter. "I don't," he lied, reaching down to lift him. "But if you don't move, you'll rust to the floor, and then the enforcers'll have another excuse to tear you apart."

The smaller bot flinched as his servo wrapped around his arm, but he didn't resist. Slowly, he pulled the mech to his pedes, steadying him as he wobbled.

"Can you walk?"

The black-and-silver bot nodded. "Y-yeah, I… I think so."

C-14 grunted, satisfied, before returning to his place against the wall, settling into the worn spot he'd carved out over the vorns of breaks in the mines. He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable again, when he heard light pedes. Glancing to the side, he noticed the smaller mech, the one he'd just helped, carefully lowering himself to sit next to him.

The miner shot him a sidelong glance. "When did I pick up a stray?"

Without missing a beat, the bot shot back, "Since you helped me."

C-14 picked up his energon ration, tipping back the last few drops of his energon and swallowing it down. The cube clinked as he placed the empty container to the side, saving it for after their break. Their cubes had to be returned, or else they would lose their energon for their next break.

He turned to the smaller bot, who was fidgeting.

The bot was small—barely reaching to C-14's waist. He was boxy and mostly unremarkable, smaller than most mechs that were created for the mines. There was nothing notable about his features. He had a square helm, a visor and a mouthpiece. He lacked the scars and dents that most miners bore, with the exception of the fresh gashes from the whip.

He was shiny still, though that wouldn't last long. The gladiator couldn't help but think, newspark.

"What's your name?" C-14 asked, trying to sound as gruff as possible.

The bot shifted awkwardly, looking a little uncomfortable under his stare, but eventually, he answered, "Jinx."

"Hmph." He grunted, not offering much of a response to the name. "You're lucky that whip didn't take your helm off."

Jinx gave a weak chuckle, but it quickly turned into a wince as his frame protested the movement. "Yeah, well… luck's never been my strong suit."

C-14 huffed a laugh. "You don't say."

An awkward silence descended upon them. C-14, used to being alone, was still trying to figure out why he'd even bothered. Maybe it was the way Jinx reminded him of his earlier solar cycles in the mines. Or maybe it was just the sight of the enforcer and that electro whip.

"So, uh, what's your name, big guy?"

"C-14."

Jinx tilted his helm, studying him intently. "C-14," he repeated slowly. "Sounds like something out of a factory manual."

"It is," he replied flatly. "Just a number. Just like all the rest of us down here."

The newspark's optics dimmed.

The miner turned his attention away from the mech, checking his internal chronometer. He had seven kliks left of his break. Time enough, he thought. His optics drifted over the room, scanning the miners and taskmasters. The enforcers were standing idly, caught up in their boredom.

They rarely cared about what the miners did during their breaks, as long as they were back to work when their shift resumed. Where he sat, tucked away on the curve of the tunnel, he was partially blocked from the main entrance view and the security camera. It was why he had chosen the spot. And he wasn't too concerned about the other miners, feeling relatively safe from them.

C-14 reached into his subspace and pulled out the old datapad Chainlink had given him. It was dulled and worn from stellar cycles of repeated use, covered in scratches and dents. He turned on the datapad, watching as it flickered to life. A loading screen popped up and a title appeared with it. A Brief History of Cybertron.

Jinx's visor glowed brightly when he saw the datapad. "Where did you get that?"

He ignored him, staring down at the datapad. This book was something that could get a bot thrown in jail for a very long time, especially in this pit of a place. Owning it was illegal, and even possessing knowledge of it could mark someone as a rebel, a dissident, or worse.

Chainlink had made it clear enough when he handed it over.

A cycle ago, C-14 hadn't cared about the past. He hadn't cared about anything beyond survival and getting through another shift in the mines so he could fight another solar cycle to buy his freedom. The caste system had been his reality. The Functionists told him that the caste system was what kept Cybertron unified, strong and from falling apart. And for the longest time, he had believed them.

Why wouldn't he? He had no reason to doubt the world he had been built into.

But then Chainlink happened.

C-14 finally addressed the smaller mech next to him. "Do you know anything about Cybertron's past?"

Jinx shook his helm slowly, still staring at the datapad. "Only what they taught us before we were assigned to our caste," he admitted. "They say the caste system is what keeps the planet from falling apart." He looked up at him. "Is that not true?"

The mech didn't reply right away. His processor replayed the words that Chainlink had said to him not too long ago. He didn't know much and he certainly as the pit didn't have answers yet. "Don't believe everything they tell you."

"Why?"

C-14 wasn't sure how to explain it, so he settled with, "You wouldn't understand."

Jinx, clearly unsatisfied with the answer but hearing his tone, took the cue and went silent.

C-14 turned his attention back to reading, his optics scanning over the lines of text as the world around him faded into the background. The history that was being described was almost too good to be true. It was intoxicating, like an energon high, but a dangerous one. He knew he had to be careful. The Functionists wouldn't tolerate even a whisper of this kind of knowledge, let alone a book filled with it.

When the end of the break finally came, signaled by a loud buzz, C-14 found himself reluctant to stop. The need to keep reading gnawed at him, but he forced himself to turn off the datapad and tuck it back into his subspace. He couldn't afford to get caught, especially not with this kind of information in his possession.

Letting out air through his vents, he stood up, grabbing the empty energon cube and getting in line with the other miners. They moved in silence, the line of weary bots shuffling forward like drones, each one tossing their energon cubes into the metal crate at the front. C-14 did the same, barely glancing at the taskmaster who watched them with a sneer.

When he reached the front, a taskmaster barked at him, pointing down one of the mine tunnels. C-14 nodded once, not daring to speak, and headed down the barely lit tunnel with a handful of other miners. The walls started to widen as they walked through the winding tunnels to their assigned sector.

The taskmaster stopped at their new section, rudely ordering them to get to work immediately. C-14 didn't waste a nano-klik and the other miners didn't need to be told twice. He trudged over to one of the spots that had a drill from the last slaves that had been working here, and a metal crate next to it, drilled into the ground, and moved to his assigned spot.

As he knelt to start to mine, out of the corner of his optic, he noticed something—or rather, someone.

Jinx.

The little mech had been assigned to the same group as him.

The smaller mech shifted closer in his spot right next to him. Jinx looked at him and offered a small wave. C-14 raised an optical ridge. He had checked on the bot once, and now it seemed like he had picked up a shadow.

Jinx's drill nearly slipped out of his servos, and he fumbled to catch it. The younger bot managed to grab hold of it again, gripping it tightly with both servos as his visor glowed brightly—brighter than it should've been, signaling he could be embarrassed.

C-14 shook his helm. He was starting to regret checking on the mech back in the break area. "You're gonna get yourself beaten again if you keep messing around like that," he muttered lowly, only loud enough for the younger mech to hear.

Jinx, oblivious or maybe just stubborn, only laughed awkwardly. "I'll get the hang of it. I've got plenty of time, right?"

"Not if you keep getting beat up by the enforcers," C-14 grumbled, turning back to his own drill and powering it up as he set to work on the wall in front of him.

But even as he drilled into the metal-rich stone, his thoughts kept drifting back to the datapad in his subspace. To the words he had read. To the mere possibility of something more than this life. Something bigger. Something… free.

Jinx, beside him, was clearly struggling to keep up. He was too inexperienced. The miner thought that the bots at the forge would've at least programmed this knowledge into him. C-14 glanced at the mech, knowing that if he wasn't careful, he'd get himself killed before he even had a chance to learn what it meant to survive down here.

The younger mech needed someone to look out after him. Just like Chainlink had looked out for him in the mine just a cycle ago.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! There'll be another one in a few days.