Ash 75, 4621¤
The mines were hard work. Harder still refining the metal pulled from the depths. Inside the factory everyone except the least fortunate wore reflective goggles to shield their eyes from the molten hot foundry. That's where Miki was. She was tasked with tempering the metal into flat sheets and honing it into something usable to be sold. Most of the parts coming out of here were used in repairs to housing or other things in Shitport. But what Miki worked on was explicitly for use in the chariots Badlander's rode.
More hot metal poured from the tube in front of her. She let it cool before getting to work. Sparks flew around her each time the hammer rung out as the metal was honed into a usable sheet. Steam blew around her as the mechanism took the piece down the short line and dropped it off with a clang into the pile. Someone would be by to grab it for shipment to Shitport soon enough. The mines worked like a huge Artificed factory, but parts sometimes still needed hands to run the components. No, the Artificer's here weren't good enough for that yet. This was a common destination for Miki and a home away from home, as much as she hated working. The heat, the energy, the pace, she was good at what she did. It wouldn't be long if she kept it up before she got some well deserved recognition and was allowed to start making decisions for herself. She had been there for a long time but had never really made a name for herself, preferring to clock in and clock out. Now the idea was different, if she could get some of the Pyrerazers sweet on her maybe she would be able to more easily infiltrate their ranks.
Those damn Bloodbreakers. Worse than royalty, exploiting people for menial wages and sitting like fat cats in Shitport. That was her right and she would be sure to see her plans to the end. Wiping the sweat from her brow, leaving a black stain there instead, the short woman got back to work, as the line wasn't stopping anytime soon. She would be there for twelve hours doing labor until someone came to relieve her. There was a latrine beside her and some stale bread with a cup of dirty water tuboot-- she would be fine for the next few hours until her shift was done.
~~~
Later around the watering hole Miki overheard a conversation.
"Times are changin'."
An old woman prophesized. She looked much too old to be working here but still she was strong and covered in soot. It was a sad thing to think of someone so old as she working manual labor, though Miki was no spring chicken herself. When she was in power things would be different, more fair.
"They are."
Came the reply from a young woman, Miki was many years her senior.
"What are you gonna do about the two babes now that Dad has, well, lost his arm?"
The young woman was plain looking but not ugly. She looked tired.
"He's going to have to get a replacement. He's trying to join the Iron Moons for some extra money. Eventually he'll have a machine arm and can keep working. Until then, I bring Chandler to work with me and we have to endure it together. He's at home with our littlest. I don't want to but I have to, I am pregnant with our third..."
Miki's stomach lurched. How vile. Even after being here for so long the enhancements of those who lived here grossed her out completely. Their conversation continued on.
"You would think the mine would provide compensation for getting hurt on the job. "
Came the old woman, which made the younger laugh.
"Oh please. What do you think this is? Genteven? Grandma, listen. The Pyrerazers just want their money. We are fodder for the flame, that's all. Everyone just wants their money."
Miki was tired of this talk, it was making her angry. In general about her plans she felt no real self righteousness, the broader scope of helping people just appealed to the base love of the underdog. The Shithole was named that for a reason, in reality there would be little good she could do for people as whole. Those who lived in the Badlands were made for crime, it was a pastime and a lifestyle here. There would be no more fine dining with her in charge than any other person, but she liked to become indignant for the health of others at times despite the cruel reality. Cleaning up the Badlands wasn't here M.O. but helping those who already lived here as a life would benefit her in allegiance greatly. Keeping the common people's bellies full and their hands full keeps their minds full, why not provide what they need so they willingly fight with patriotism rather than rely on simple fear at the expense of their only home? No one with a peaceful soul could rest while their underlings suffered, she could be a panacea.
There was a bunk there for laborers and that is where Miki slept that night.
~~~
The dream that night was one of her homeworld and the stars. She dreamed about the final moments on her world and stepping onto the shuttle to leave. She woke in a cold sweat, disoriented and thinking she was on the shuttle.
Now back on the line this time she was pressing bullet shells. Bullets were better than currency here, controlling this ensured that the Pyerazers had a massive foothold in the gang world. These pissants and their stupid families lived well within Traphole living an easy life while Miki toiled and strained to make their money for them. It was almost laughable how poorly workers here were treated, but it was the clientele. Poor people needed money, poor people were also sick, but there were always more bodies to replace the ones who went down. It was sad to see those in poverty snap and break but it was a fact of life. Supply, demand. Survival of the fittest. It wasn't her fault that they couldn't keep up with the herd, she would do what she could later when she had a say.
This day she was working with the young woman from before. She had with her a small child around the age of 5. For the most part the scrubby looking wispy blonde child entertained himself, but throughout the day Miki watched the kid grow impatient with his mother until finally he was sitting there, crying, hungry, and bored. Miki stopped her line and came to help the pair, giving the bab her sweetbread and some milk she had kept for a snack later on. The foreman though was having none of it and insisted angrily that Miki get back on the line and stop fucking around. Miki obliged, ignoring the cries of the child while she finished off her day. It was hard listening to the bab cry while she worked but there was nothing for her to do, at this time she wasn't in charge and wanted nothing more than to finish off her shift. She promised herself she would make life better for these current kids, who would be alive during her reign.
Later on while Miki was leaving she saw the child and his mother being yelled at by the foreman. There was nothing Miki could do, she wouldn't risk her reputation helping another and doubted her charisma in this situation heavily. It would cost her possibly her life to stop the verbal assault, it would benefit them all should she just stay away. Besides, one act of kindness was already given by Miki for the day, she was at her wits end with this hot, horrible place. In the lot and finally outside of Trapehole Miki got on her bike and rode home, to Shithole, the hideout.
~~~
Izul was there reading a book, tiny spectacles perched on her face like she knew something Miki didn't. Miki ignored her stare and laid down in her bunk, letting out a huge sigh. What could she have done differently today? She was once a mother herself, imagining herself in the young woman's shoes where she had to bring her baby to work in those conditions with her... it made Miki sick. What was it about exploiting the weak and poor? How could those in power turn a blind eye? Nothing real would be done at once, it would take years if not a lifetime to even be in the Bloodbreaker's boss good graces-- yet she knew it was her destiny. As sure as she was with her knowledge of the stars. This intuition was in her bones.
