Sweat and tears (ask for invite, mando)

[Arla Ordo]

In order to upgrade her armor she needed to obtain the precious metal beskar. She sought out to learn the process of how the ore was discovered, then mined, and then finally fashioned into the plates needed to create the armor that all mandalorians wore.

Arla was reading now about the history of the ore.

The ancient Taung progenitors of the Mandalorian culture were said to have been drawn to what became Mandalorian space by the lure of indestructible beskar ore, and discovered beskar sometime after their conquest of the planet Mandalore around 7000 BBY. The acquisition and use of Mandalorian iron was a contributing factor in the early expansion of the Mandalore sector. Mandalorian metalsmiths developed techniques and different methods for working the iron which they came to guard closely from outsiders, and passed down from one generation to the next. However, its incredible strength attracted the attention of many non-Mandalorians, and beskar quickly earned a reputation as one of the strongest metals known to science, and one of the most desirable elements in the galaxy: armies throughout the galaxy sought to obtain supplies of Mandalorian iron, and it became one of the most valuable metals on the galactic market. Attempts to purchase the knowledge of beskar iron-working from Mandalorian metalsmiths had all failed, and all endeavors to replicate finished beskar without Mandalorian aid had met with similarly poor results.

Arla paused in her reading, in her research on why the metal was so important to the mandalorian culture.

 

[Arla Ordo]

She was beginning to understand. Since she was raised without the benefit of parents of her culture she did not know history as easily as others. This told her why the metal was so important.

It was also precious but it was also what protected them. Her arm or would protect her the black suit beneath would conceal. She was thinking on what design. And stopped. First get the ore. Stop counting the number of pieces of uji cake she had before making cake. Arla went back to reading.

She wondered were there anymore taung?

 

[Arla Ordo]

After reading about the history of Beskar and following up with more reading on Taung Arla finally felt she was ready to go to the mine outside Keldabe.

Mining the ore that was so precious to them was no easy task, even with the addition of machines that could do much of the heavy labor there were moments when manual intervention was needed.

Arla made her way to the office of the Operations Manager. When she explained to him what she wanted to do, he did not even flinch he rose up waved a hand, "follow me". He said with a voice that told her she was not the first to come and make such a request.

She followed and much like the day she followed [member="Azrael"] through MandalMotors in awe of all she saw, she followed the Manager. The sounds seemed so alien, and the smell was more than that of earth and rock. There was the cold.

They made sure her armor was well suited for the temperatures she was about to enter into. "Now do what you're told stay out of the red zones, and you'll understand and see what mining is about" and then the Ops Manager turned her over to the Tunnel Master.

She nodded looking from her new guide to the tunnel. Into the darkness once more, what would [member="Naimes Ahn-Dross"] think of this? Had he ever done something like this? Probably every mandalorian did this as a child, she was just catching up.

The Tunnel Master, "Ok Vod let's take you on the grand tour"

Arla nodded, she was ready.

 

[Arla Ordo]

Into the mines they walked already she could feel a difference, cold, dark and that feeling of smallness. There was also this hint of fear what if they whole place caved in, she'd be trapped.

She looked at the bracers they had up it all looked very secure but the deeper they went in the more she wondered how much weight can they hold?

The Tunnel Master seemed to be reading her thoughts, "It's safe, the only thing that could really shake them loose would be an earthquake, and we've not experienced any tremors or indications that it could happen"

Arla was not comforted by this, her mind still kept saying yeah right, first time for everything.

"See there into the walls of the mine, the streaks of different colors, an indication of different minerals, metals." Arla looked over. She couldn't see real well the colors were distorted through her buy'ce, shaking her head she took it off and clipped it to her belt. The Tunnel Master handed her helmet of a different type.

She nodded without question putting it on. She looked now where he pointed she could see blue in the walls, "What is that?"

She looked back at him, "sapphire used to decorate jewelry and other things." Arla jewelry she bet [member="Anastasia Rade"] would like some of that. As they moved along they passed a large opening in the wall it wasn't very deep the edges seemed filled with crystals, when Arla peered in she could see the color of deep purple. "More gemstones?" She asked of her guide.

"It was a geode in the wall, and when we come through cutting out the walls it revealed the contents. Its amethyst, another as you say gem stone" It was beautiful art to Arla. So much to be seen in a mine.

"What does beskar look like?" It was after all the reason for her visit.

The Tunnel Master smiled, "right up ahead see if you can tell" As they moved Arla looked at the walls trying to see if she could spot it. As they moved she could see other colors within the walls, how beautiful.

And then the rock gradually changed color and deep dark veins of something else began to appear. She looked hard, "is that it?"

He nodded yes.

"Ohhh, well that doesn't look like a lot"

"It isn't Vod, and digging it out is hard work, you need to dig for what it will take to make your armor."

Arla knew her mouth was open, but she said nothing. "Ok. Show me how to do it, and I'll do it"

He shook his head in agreement, "It will take more than a few hours, and it may take you a few days"

Days? She swallowed hard. Days. "Ok. I can do it"

She would. She earned her right to wear the armor, now she needed to learn what it took to get the precious metal it would make her appreciate her armor that much more.

 

[Arla Ordo]

[SIZE=12pt]What had begun as fun adventure was now turning into hard work. They had given her a few different tools to try, so that she would understand how hard the work was.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The pick was heavy each swing she made into the rock produced little ore. She could not imagine a job that required them to work like this each and every day. The work was grueling and seemed almost a torture. So little ore, the rocks that she had managed to loosen from the veins fell to the ground, where she then had to lift them and place them in a small cart with wheels.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]For the next eight hours she worked taking breaks, laying down, and trying her best not to complain.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]That evening when they came to collect her, she had one small cart filled, the Tunnel Master smiled, “Makes you greatful to be on the front lines huh?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Arla had laughed, “Yes I’d rather face another flying woman with bird claws than another eight hours like this” Her hands were raw, her muscles so sore she could lift the pick any long. They took some pity on her and let her ride in the cart out.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“How much ore do you think is in there” She pointed to the summation of her eight hours.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Hmm” he looked at it, “once its all smelted down, maybe enough for a boot guard”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]THAT’S IT! She thought if she had to keep working like this she would never get enough ore.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Wow” was all her tired body could get out.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]When she got home that night she sat in the hot tub with a few bubbles and let her tired muscles rest. Tomorrow was another day.[/SIZE]

 

[Arla Ordo]

The next day they let her work the first half of the day with the pick axe by that time she was nearly exhausted already, the sweat had bathed her from top to bottom, her clothing was soaked and clung to her.

She was beginning to think this was a punishment. They had come down the shaft looking at her, "We've brought you a helper" Arla paused looking over at them, "helper?" Oh someone else was going to dig.

"this is a long wall machine it will help to dig out the ore you need, but you have to watch it, and you have to make sure it doesn't run out of oil, otherwise it will seize up and then we'll have a problem" The Tunnel master got off and gave her lessons on what to do for the machine, she had never been so greatful.

oh good a break, but still she would have to stay in the tunnel and watch the machinery. But at least she didn't have to use the pick axe anymore. Her hands already had blisters that would take a few weeks to heal, she hoped they didn't have to go to war before then. She'd have to sit it out if her hands didn't heal.

She watched the machine as it sliced chunks of rock laced with beskar fall into the hopper, did she have enough? It didn't look like enough, armor needed a lot of ore. She needed more patience.

 

[Arla Ordo]

Also after a day of roasting in her armor she came into work today in overalls, like the other miners. Her arms were still sore, and she had some bruises she wasn't quite sure how she got them.

Work with the new piece of equipment went smoothly with the exception of the first few hours, watching the ore fall in big chunks from the wall into a hopper that dumped into a cart, this was the way to do mining.

Some of the others laughed at her she seemed so excited each time she filled a hopper. Not that she was jumping up and down anytime it happened but anyone watching could definitely see her doing some kind of little dance.

She tried to forget how deep into Mandalore they were, she tried to forget that these braces were strong but not unbreakable. She still didn't understand how the miners came in every day and worked knowing all of this, they seemed unbothered by it.

At the rate she was going she would have all she needed in another day.

She came out at lunch time her face covered in smudged dirt, the only place that showed any part of her skin was her eyes and that was due to the goggles she wore to protect her eyes from flying shards.

The Tunnel Master came over, "Vod, you've done great with mining for your own armor, worked hard. They've already started melting down what you dug out to put into plates for you to take to the Smith. One more cart, and you will meet the requirement"

Arla nodded, "good, and you know you were right I learned a lot from this. Our armor not only a representation of who I am, but of the strength of our people. And for me it has shown me I can do almost anything. Thank you"

He only nodded and went back to his duties, so maybe by the end of today she would have what she needed, and then would wander over to see how the process of extracting the ore from the rock went.

Arla after eating her lunch headed back inside, excited. She had made Rally Master, she was going to be able to have her new armor made, Naimes had given her a talisman a few days earlier and some good advice about Tatooine. Everything was going her way.

 

[Arla Ordo]

She only had to work in the mine for four more hours, and who knows what she could find in four hours. She worked with the machinery, and could hear others talking. They talked about their families, the credits, hunting, what their kids were doing, and the rumors of war.

Arla was fortunate in that she had a clan that adopted her, there were very few who did not have clans. She had credits that kept her comfortable, she hunted when she needed to, and she knew about the rumors of war. But children, she had not thought about them really. Ever since her talk with [member="Naimes Ahn-Dross"] the other day she was thinking on it. Did she want children? Would she fail as a mandalorian if she decided not to have children?

That made her pause, Naimes said not everyone had the desire for children. She wasn't sure she did, all those years on Tattooine and the last thing she wanted to do was bring a child into a galaxy where that happened.

The machine was whining it brought her back to the task, the work she needed to do.

Then there was the thoughts of marriage. Marriage meant a partner for life, someone who shoulder burdens with you, someone who didn't mind that on Saturday you watched the children's channel cartoons. Who liked some of the things you did. Yes that she could see herself wanting. But children...she understood now what Naimes had meant.

Maybe Tatooine wasn't a good idea, maybe she should let it go, and just go hunting and focus on the future, and living life now.

Could she do that? the machine began to whine again, "Oh" Arla stopped it and walked over to see if one of the blades was stuck, or if a band was too tough to go through. Funny how working in a mine could help you to think.

 

[Arla Ordo]

The hours seemed to pass as Arla thought on many things, the mining of the Beskar and how it had gone, but now to see how it was smelted down out of the rocks, she wondered how they did it. Having no knowledge of mining operations everything so far had been learning.

She met the Tunnel Master outside the tunnel at the end of the four hours, "Come on let's show you the next part of the process"

The smeltng area, the smell touched her nose making her wrinkle it up it smelled of metal, and rock. A sour yet pungent smell that hit all your senses. Your eyes watered, you could taste it in your mouth, you could hear the roar of the machines, you could reach out and touch the rocks before they went down the conveyor, and the incredible smell that filled the air. She covered her mouth for a moment. The metal taste in her mouth left her wanting water to wash it down.

The walked along, she could see huge vats filled with rocks being heated. "They heat the rock until the metal liquifies and runs out, and that is sent down to be purified of anything that would make the metal weak"

Arla nodded, god it was hot in hear but she could see the rivers of molten beskar running. So this was it, she was nearly there.

"Seems like a lot" She thought and said outloud.

"Not as much as you would think, the metal is harder and harder to find. Makes getting your armor done harder and harder, be glad we still have the mine here to do this"

She was glad, extremely glad, she could have gone to one of the other worlds to get it but they recommended this ore, this mine.

She was melting again, only this time it was the heat of the metal melting not the physical work she had to do to get it.

 

[Arla Ordo]

She and the Tunnel Master walked the length watching the metal run till they go to the other end where the metal was put through higher heats to bring out the lesser metals, and be rid of them. The runners moved down into forms, plates.

She watched as ten plates were filled in with the metal, 12 x 12 plates, an inch thick.

"The smith's take the plates and remelt it shaping it into the your armor, if it weren't for the knowledge of the smiths, there'd be no armor. Only they know how to work the metal, its what helps to protect the secrets of the metal.

Arla looked on in fascination, she was glad to have learned the process and work on it herself. "Well this has been great"

He nodded at her, "Some of the others want to show you a few things you might have missed over in the mine, take what you've learned and remember that beskar doesn't just appear, its hard work getting it"