Deep in the mines of the infected lands, a mechanical sound was to be heard. The sound of rocks being crushed was heard after it, then the sound of drills blared through the lower part of the mines. Kami was drilling through the rock with her hands which had turned into drills. While drilling, holes in the drills sucked up the small pieces of rock and every time her inner container was full, two long metal parts folded out of her back and pushed inwards, crushing the rocks contained in her. Since she was the mining supervisor of the sector, her pay was more than enough for the standards of where she lived. A bell rang through the mines and work was over. She and her friend Mina walked out of the mines and went home. Compared to the humans, she and Mina as dieselborgs didnt need gasmasks and walked home to a large settlement. The settlement had a bar where she and Mina refilled with fuel, drinking the fuel as if it was a cocktail. She sat there with Mina hoping to see old and new faces come to the bar.

Kyle sat in the bar, his arms crossed and feet propped up onto the table. He was sleeping with his rifle propped up next to him and a half empty bottle of he didn't really care what sitting on the table before him. Every now and then, he twitched or his head moved. He'd taken off his black long coat, which was now draped over the seat next to him.
He was supposed to be finishing his map, not in this bar. He should be planning and working, not sleeping.

Jeph sat in his usual place when he and Mitch were traveling; on Mitch's shoulders, laying down. He pulled out a bankroll, flipping through the available funds and doing quick calculations in his head. "Alright, mi companero, we have enough for either you to get fuel, which you desperately need, or for me to get food, which I could use, but don't need as badly as you need fuel." Jeph spoke, counting out the necessary amount and hanging it in front of Mitch's 'head'. "Get food, fleshbag. I can scrounge some fuel from some wreck or something. You need nutrients; you're a twig, man!" Mitch fired back, shifting his head away from the bills. Jeph merely sat up and followed with the bills, smirking a little. Mitch was not as amused, and reached a tree-trunk of a metal arm up and plucked Jeph from his shoulders. "You know what's keeping me from throwing you into a rock right now, my organic compatriot? Nothing, nada, not a thing in this accursed earth besides my friendship with you. Now, you're gonna eat, and I'm gonna make sure you do, or I swear on my guns I will shove that food down your skinny little throat. Got it?" Mitch growled, dangling Jeph a few feet from the ground. "Alright, I'll eat. Cool yourself, rustbucket." Jeph replied grudgingly. He had become overly concerned with Mitch's well-being as of late, as he owed Mitch a debt for saving his skin on that fateful day. Mitch chuckled, and replaced Jeph on his perch, increasing his pace for the settlement ahead of them. "Mitch, where are we?" Jeph asked, leaning over and squinting to see the the sign declaring where in the blazes Mitch had taken him. "I believe this is Rubbledon, my overtly nosy passenger. I'm taking us to that bar over yonder. See it?" Mitch replied, pointing towards the establishment in question. "Well, hurry up, man. I don't pay you to taxi me this slowly." Jeph said jokingly, sitting up and putting his legs on either side of Mitch's head. "You don't pay me at all!" Mitch fired back, increasing his pace a tiny bit. "Why would I, if you move this slowly?" Jeph smirked, ducking slightly. Mitch ducked even further, approaching the door of the bar in question. He ducked, and squeezed his considerable bulk through the door, with Jeph hitting his head on the doorframe slightly. After they entered and found their seats, Jeph slid down Mitch's steel frame and into his seat. "What if I told you I had some emergency cash so you could get fuel and I could get a meal?" Jeph asked, producing another bankroll from his boot. "Jeph," Mitch intoned. "Yeah, my steel guardian?" Jeph replied, chuckling. "I hate you so much right now, fleshbag. You don't even know how much I hate you."

As Mitch's fuel and Jeph's food arrived, Mitch became slightly more jovial, and Jeph became more silent. Mainly because Jeph was stuffing his face with the most he'd eaten in a good two or three days.

A lone figure sat up a short distance from a wreck which was smoldering quietly. Kayle rubbed her head, trying to remember where she was before looking up at the sky, red, that was it, down on the surface. The details were fuzzy to her now, but she expected they'd come back in time. Some sort of an ambush while she'd been flying. Her balloon hadn't deployed properly, that should've kept her above the clouds while the plane went down, oh well. At the moment she was thankful for having remembered to seal her gas mask when she got into the plane.

The zeppelin commander checked to make sure she had the necessities with her. Knife, pistol, she ran through one of the basic forms she had learned in the military to loosen up. After she had made sure she had some of the money the surface dwellers used, she set toff towards a nearby town. Soon reaching a bar, seemed like a good place to ask around for information, Kayle needed to find a telegraph station if she wanted to get back above the clouds, besides, she could use a drink

Kami noticed the many new faces. She saw a dieselborg with a human and said to them: "Why dont you come over here? I can buy you two a drink." She smiled, looking at the two. She waved them over. "I am Kami and this is Mina. We are dieselborgs who work in the mines. We might be a bit richer than the average people down here but compared to those fat pigs who live in that floating city, we are still poor."

Kyle woke up to the sound of dieselborgs and other bar patrons. He took his feet off the table and finished his drink, whatever it was, and did his best not throw up. He collected his stuff and placed them in his patchwork bag. He looked around for a moment, then got out of his seat and walked over to the dieselborg that seemed to be inviting others over, checked his gas mask, and cleared his throat. "You. Work in the mines?" He needed information, and was willing to trade for. "I can trade, if you can help me out a bit." He was being payed to clear an abandoned mine out of raiders outside of town. A Mnechnir was using echolocation to map out the place, but it could only go so far. He needed an experienced undergrounder's opinion.

Mitch, hearing Kami introduce herself and her friend, downed the remaining fuel in his glass, rose from his seat, and slowly walked over to her table, hearing the man dressed in black ask about the mines. Pulling a chair over, Mitch sat at the table with the two other dieselborgs and gestured to Jeph for him to do likewise. Jeph, eating the last of his meal, noticed Mitch's new seat, and scrambled over to his companion, crawling onto his shoulders rather than sitting on a seat. Mitch, waiting politely for the man to finish asking his question, merely shifted slightly, allowing Jeph a safer perch on his shoulders, rather than doing as he normally would, picking him up and putting him in a chair. Jeph, not willing to speak either, merely retrieved his spanner from a compartment in Mitch's back, and began to fiddle with it, sitting with his legs crossed on the flat expanse of his dieselborg companion's shoulders. Normally, Mitch objected to Jeph sitting on his shoulders any other time than when they were traveling, but, not knowing their present company, Mitch preferred him up there, where he could protect him more easily. Mitch believed he owed Jeph, and vice-versa; Mitch kept Jeph safe, and Jeph kept Mitch's mechanical components in good shape in return. Mitch fidgeted slightly, waiting for a hole in conversation to open up to where he could introduce himself and Jeph, and Jeph just kept fiddling with his wrench, oblivious to the current situation.

A note on Jeph; Jeph was full of energy, and had a good sense of humor, but only if you knew him personally; otherwise, he was rather quiet, and had a hard time speaking to others. Mitch, in truth, was responsible for obtaining most of their work, and Jeph stuck around to help reason with the target, and repair Mitch. Thusly, whenever the two encountered a social situation, Jeph automatically became distant, and messed with his wrench, while Mitch took care of the communication. Once in a while, Jeph would become more vocal, but very rarely did this happen.

Kayle walked into the bar, glancing at the selection on the shelves, there wasn't anything that she would want, some nice quality fuel maybe but that wasn't really her thing. She looked around the bar, the was one table around which a group of dieselborgs and humans were gathered. They seemed to know the local area well, a few said something about being miners. Perhaps they would know somewhere where she could get a a message to the city or The Pride no, that would cause to many questions to be asked, despite her goals, Kayle's kind wasn't really looked kindly upon on the surface. Her best bet was to see if she could earn some money to repair her plane or find some way to get to an airport that flew planes to the city.

Kayle pulled up a chair and listened

"So." Kami started. "anyone feel like flying to the city and cause some chaos? Me and Mina can turn into fighter planes. And we can even fuse together to make a very fast and powerful fighter." She continued. She then notice a guy ask about the mines. "Well we can shred those raiders after we attack those rich snobs up there. That is more important. As soon as we have enough people to fight, I want to kill each and every one of those rich people in the floating city to make room for the lower and middle class people!"

Kayle shuddered, but soon suppressed it. So these were radicals, they could help here, maybe, it seemed to be a chance worth taking. She'd have to push hard for her particular strategy though.

"I used to fly a plane myself, taking passengers back and forth, it was the only job I really liked, till the city shot it down." Okay so that was a lie, but they seemed to have bought it, "I'd love more than anything to destroy that city." (more lies) "But its not like they're defenseless, sure you might kill a few fighter pilots or and maybe even a zeppelin but you'd barely even get within sight of the city."

And that was the truth, from her perspective at least, she was confident that her crew alone could knock down their entire party, even without her leadership.

"You need a stealthy approach, I met a few people who know their way in and out of the city, I might be able to get some info for you if you can get me a plane."

Jeph, upon hearing mention of a posssible rebellion, immediately placed the spanner back in the compartment. "She's right, you know. We can't just storm on in there, guns blazing; that's not just ineffective, it's suicidal. My friend here," Jeph interjected. "Was part of an experiment. An experiment to turn normal dieselborgs into calculating, merciless killing machines. Not only that, their military is top-notch. I know a guy, may he be forever immortalized as a war hero (Mitch chuckles, and Jeph rolls his eyes when he says this), whose made a big name for himself up there, and if you even so much as mention attacking the city, he has you slapped into stocks." Jeph continued, not looking at the table, instead watching the door. "My comrade has guns. Big guns. But, big guns and fancy flying jets ain't enough to take down that city, it's a fortress. We barely escaped with our lives, and we had to sneak out even then. A full frontal is out of the question, alright? That guy I know, he'd sniff it out. He has 'contacts' that go to these places." Jeph finished, still staring at the door. Mitch shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid bringing attention to himself from Jeph. It was rare for Jeph to even mention the day he and Mitch escaped, much less, though indirectly, his brother. Mitch, knowing that, kept silent, trying to stay inconspicious, but not succeeding as much as he'd like.

Kyle was suprised as the dieselborge seemed to be able to read minds because he, in fact, did not say what he needed the information out loud. The other thing that suprised him was how open the dieselborge was about attacking the land of pigs. "The've all got a poin." He said. "Front attack is suicide. Bad idea. But if its a team your trying to put together," He unslung his sniper rifle and held it in his hands, "then I'm in." Behind his gasmaks you couldn't tell if he was smiling or frowning. In the situation he couldn't decide which one would be more appropriat. "Just not the front row, alright?"

"You might think its suicidal but Mina and I like challenges. Attacking the floating city is already routine for us. My wings can slice through planes and small buildings or towers and Minas firepower can kill some who are in weak buildings or out on the street. We attacked last two days ago. Their defenses do not react fast enough for my maneuverablitly. So it shouldnt be a problem. While we distract the defenses and kill some, you guys could attack the bottom engines to make sure that they cant move anywhere." Kami said.

Oh, so that's why she had gone down. Kayle had thought the two deiselborgs had looked familiar, and now she knew why. If they really were who they claimed to be, then all of the City's defenses need to be on alert.

"Sound like a good plan" She said, smiling softly, "from what I've seen it would be easiest to sabotage the defenses from the inside, you only have to look upwards to see the floating mines and missile racks clustered around the engines, don't want many of us to die y'know. The hardest part will be landing on the city but if you are occupying the defenses then we shouldn't have to much trouble. We just need transport for the rest of us."

Transport with radios, so she could signal ahead of course.

Kyle crossed his arms and grunted. "Engines, bombs, none of those concern me. Drop me on the city, give me a target, and I'll help. Rocket launcher and over sized machine guns one, get in the way and two, hurt my ears in a way that I'd rather cut them off then listen to weapons fire. Sabatoge, yes. A front attack on the engines, as far as you say and boast your abilities, then that could work. But dropping someone off, descretley, then running like hell works too. I could destroy the engines and signal you people, er... beings to move up?"

Jeph, breaking his gaze with the door, clambered over Mitch's head, and sat on it. "Well, once you destroy the city, you need to get off quick. What you should do is destroy the turrets or whatever first, get to the edges with any vehice you can muster, and then take down the engines. We go in stealthy, go out with a bang. In, out, get off, and we all make our handbaskets, 'cause we're goin' to hell." Jeph said gravely. Mitch nodded somberly, and Jeph reached behind him for the wrench he deposited in its slot. "While we're in there, if a general Deprecor attacks you, tell him little Jephy is looking for him. It's time my little brother gets shown whose the superior in our family." Jeph added, smacking the spanner into his hand for emphasis. "Jeph, do you really want to do this? Your brother in the one who ordered your exile in the first place, man. He will not take kindly to your return." Mitch said concernedly, tilting his head up slightly. "I'm more sure about this than I was when we left. It's time the prodigal son returned home, my friend. My homecoming might just bring the city down to boot." Jeph replied, an evil grin forming on his face. "Besides, my family may have forgotten the face they hate so dearly." Jeph smacked the wrench again, and Mitch grew silent. Jeph spoke of his family very rarely, and only when he had vengance in his heart.

"Sound like a plan then, now, anyone know where we could get some planes?"

She smiled outwardly and giggled a bit, but within, she was on fire. This would take all her skill to pull off. If it worked, then she would be hailed as a hero, it might even give her the strength she needed to push for some real changes, if it didn't... Well, she wouldn't be around to see what happened

"I dont know how you will get planes but I can turn into one. I will tear anyone up who gets in my way with my razor wings and my 20mm cannon." Kami said. There was a guy in the bar. He seemed suspicious and got a radio out saying into it: "Boss. The dieselborgs are planning an attack." Kami heard the guy even though he was whispering. "SPY!!!" Kami said. Her lower jaw split apart and a gun barrel came out of her mouth. The guy tried to run away. Kami barely missed him. Then the guy ran into Mina, who picked him up by his jacket. "Dont worry Kami. I will get rid of him before he can tell the floating city anything." Mina said. Her chest opened up and she folded the guy into the compartment. Then her chest closed, her motor roared and two pipes came out of her back. A grinding sound was heard inside of her, then a red fog came out of the pipes. "There. All thats left of him is that red fog." Mina said and smiled. The people should know by now that Kami and Mina hated the floating city over everything and were ruthless bloodthirsty killers.

Kyle drew his pistol at the mention of a "spy", but saw that he was dealt with. He sighed, ultimately bored with this conversation and the way that no one really acknowledged his idea. "Stealth, yes.: