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[Yuri_Prime]

A Soviet convoy rolls through the uninhabited regions of Proper, the ground shaking beneath the mighty wheels of the heavy vehicles as they forge a trail through. Local animals run, terrified, from the loud sounds and the tremble in the earth as the industrial machines roll onward. There are no plumes of smoke, no choking exhaust, just the faint hint of ozone as the convoy pushes forward, and once it comes to its destination, the trucks all line up.

A massive open area, that looks like a whirlpool of the earth occurred then stopped, and stayed in that 'dollop' shape. Another series of rumbles shook the area as an industrial vehicle the size of a large building rolled up on its eight pairs of tank treads. Large enough to sport graffiti, which simply read "Mobile Industrial Revolution" with a pair of hastily spraypainted crossed assault rifles. The drivers disembarked, and all moved to one person: The one wearing the hat.

"Comrade foreman!" "Is this the site?" "What word from Moscow?" the questions poured in, and stopped as he raised his hands up, "Comrades, comrades! This... this is the dig site!" he motioned to the site behind him. "Word from Moscow says this will be unlike any dig we've ever done, which means Moscow wanted the best! They wanted the best, and who did they call??"

"US!" the crowd answers, a rather ruly mob at this point.

"They. Called. US!" he motioned to their equipment behind them, "We're the best equipped for any job. Mountainsides, hillsides, streetsides, even the god damned MOON! We can dig anywhere, and the Premier himself told me that he picked us because we get... the Job.. DONE!"

Another chorus of cheers from the mob. "Here is where we dig, comrades." the foreman's hand radio started to beep, and he held a hand up for silence as he made the call, "Dah, Signus Mining? ... Dah, we are in position. ... He did? ... Dah, we will never fail! Das Vidania, comrade." and he looked to the mob, "I have been informed by the financial oversight officer that our initial budget for this dig... has been changed." and the sound of disappointment ran through the crowd.

Just what the foreman wanted, "It... has been DOUBLED!" and the crowd's first reaction was shock, then cheers! "One... Million... Rubles! Extra finances means new construction options! Engineering... Open her up!!" and the crowd turned to look to the largest vehicle among them. Loudspeakers on the behemoth crackled to life, "Stand clear... MCV deploying." and it began. The front set of tracks distended, then rolled forward on their own, bringing a band of metal from around the frame with them. Once free from the vehicle, the top of the band was shown to house a simple crane, and there was a spot on the side for a driver.

The other sets of tracks withdrew inside the vehicle, while the vehicle itself split along its wider axis, rolling apart before opening along hidden points. The front half opened to form simple iron walls and a ceiling, with the engine and other machine parts moving to form new connection points. Inside, the tank tracks had formed belts to the various mineral separation and smithing stations, while the remaining tank track was mounted on the center front of first ore miner, set to run in reverse to use the track sections as scoops rather then locomotion. The entire inside was then lit with the glow of the internal pair of Tesla reactors, and the machinery hummed to life.

The rear half of the MCV housed far less machinery, and quickly unfolded into a rudimentary storage facility and warehouse, with the treads that carried her there soon respecialized to forklifts to haul boxes too and from the sites. The entire process was automated, and took fifteen minutes from start to completion. "MCV deployment confirmed, comrade foreman. We are ready to receive your construction queue."

"Okay boys, do us proud... GO!" and the miners returned to their vehicles and drove towards the site, starting up their own digging and drilling. An operation without smoke, or the stink of lesser industry. Just the glow of controlled electricity, the grind of metal against the earth, and the occasional scream of a workplace accident. In American industry, a worker's scream would stop the belts, halt all production, and waste time. In Soviet Russia, though, these belts stopped for no one. Within hours, fences were erected around the entire site, with extra men called in to patrol those fences. Within hours, there would be seven ore refineries set up, processing tons and tons of earth and stone, and what looked on the surface like any conventional operation, soon showed its uglier side.

This was strip mining.

[Fox McCloud]

An Arwing (or the Arwing) soars at a high altitude and turns towards the mining party and descends from a near low Proper Orbit and descends to around 1000 feet above the surface in a matter of seconds quickly leveling off and rapidly slowing to circle the miners. 

It continues to observe them from a low speed and low altitude.

[Yuri_Prime]

An Arwing (or the Arwing) soars at a high altitude and turns towards the mining party and descends from a near low Proper Orbit and descends to around 1000 feet above the surface in a matter of seconds quickly leveling off and rapidly slowing to circle the miners. 

It continues to observe them from a low speed and low altitude.

The miners will take a moment to look up at the strange flying craft. Not recognizing it as one of their's they are initially worried, but since it doesn't match any Allied silouette, they return to work. Fox will notice that there are enough miners here now for the operation to run constantly: Miners sleeping and eating and working all in shifts, the machine of industry never stopping for a moment. Reserve ore miners are ready to run at a moment's notice, though it seems more care and consideration is paid to the machines then to the men that operate them.

The great beast of industry never sleeps.

[Fox McCloud]

The craft makes a few more passes till it slows and descends landing gear lowers and the roar of vertical thrusters come on as it whips dust and debris into the air as it touches down a few hundred feet from wherever there is an entrance.  A side compartment opens setting his Areo-Space armor down.  He steps into the armor and it quickly folds around him before he turns and hits a button on his wrist and the Arwing lifts off and without any fancy maneuvers autopilots itself upwards into the sky and out of sight.  He begins walking towards the gate blaster rifle in a low ready position.

[Yuri_Prime]

The fence surrounding the perimeter is simple, but a sufficient deterrent to most. There are signs indicating that this is a patrolled area, and that trespassing is frowned upon. There is a guard by the gate, and while he is armed his weapon is in a more neutral posture, similar to Fox's. He is calm, and from his posture does not want there to be trouble, but he feels he is ready to handle anything that is thrown his way.

A large sign over the gate reads Signus Mining and Drilling, with a slogan underneath it about digging up the riches of yesterday, today... or something to that effect. Around the work camp there are numerous posters telling the workforce that the very spine of the Soviet Union is the very spine of her workers, and that Mother Russia needs every drop of sweat to survive. The imagery is very compelling, with generic workers hefting up hammers and sickles, and even one of a mob of workers holding up an industrial complex, with a catchy phrase about how the workers unite to build the future, or something to that effect.

The guard by the gate holds up a hand to halt Fox's advance, after giving the odd... creature before him a curious once over. Perhaps this was one of the Premier's newest additions to the Soviet army? "I'm sorry, comrade, but this is a dangerous site. I cannot let you enter without clearance." 

[Fox McCloud]

Fox takes a less aggressive stance as he moves closer and he isn't being shot at.  He stops when asked looking around.  His voice distorted slightly by the voice amp "Comrade?  That answers my first question.....So...What is it that you are looking for?"

[Yuri_Prime]

"They don't tell me these things. I just guard the site." the guard says, relaxing only after Fox does so. "I'll radio the foreman, but I'll need to see your papers before I can let you in." he says, in the tone of voice that seems to imply it's nothing personal. Just proceedure.

[Fox McCloud]

"Oh I am only a concerned Avatar who stumbled on a group with some impressive machines in the middle of proper....I don't have any of the papers your asking for unfortunately."

[Yuri_Prime]

The guard gave a nod, "Dah, they are some of the best equipped." then there was a change in the air, a feeling not unlike how static would feel, though it lasted only for a moment. The guard's full attention then shifted to Fox, "Though, if you are concerned, perhaps I should call over the Foreman to answer some questions. Concern can easily lead to panic, after all."

[Fox McCloud]

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble.  I could just ask your....Premier is the term you use later."

[Yuri_Prime]

"Dah, Comrade." and the guard called over his shoulder, "Comrade Foreman! Inspector here to see you!"

Never in the recorded history of the world did a man with a hardhat arrive at the gate sooner. He had a rolled up piece of paper, some sketches, and was putting away a drinking flask.

"Spring water, from Ural mountains. Do not want to get dehydrated on site, dah?" the foreman covered as he approached Fox. "I guess you are curious about timetable, dah? Well, we are well, well ahead of schedule. The Premier was right to choose us."

The Foreman stooped down, and unrolled the roll of paper on the ground, showing an aerial view of the site, and a few seismic reports. "Our preliminary mining and surveys show the areas here... here... and here to be richest in the target mineral, Element One Fifty." the areas pointed too looked pretty deep.

"Though, there are surface deposits, which we've been finding on our way down. Very rich concentrations. In seventy tons of loose soil and rock, so far, have found four pounds of the target material. Very good indeed!"

To those knowledgable in such things, it was a terrible ratio. Though, as far as strip mining went, it actually was par for the course.

"We expect to hit the first node sometime in a week. After that, its three weeks to the next node, then another ten days to the next. We have quarry offsite for loose dirt dumping, as the Premier says he wants to do something with the hole when we're done." the foreman shrugged. It wasn't his place to question the Premier.

[Fox McCloud]

Fox nods as he looks over the plans nodding at the appropriate times and looking back to the foreman.  "It won't be a problem for me to have a quick tour of the facilities will it?"

[Yuri_Prime]

"Not at all, comrade. Though, you must promise to not reveal the techniques we use." the foreman said, with an air of mystery about him. "The Americans... they would love to learn our secrets."

The foreman waited for anything that remotely sounded like Fox promising not to tell, then smiled, "Great, now, the tour..."

The foreman lead Fox through the operation piece by piece, describing the machinery and equipment with the same pride a father would have over his Nobel Prize winning six year old. One thing Fox would notice is that most of the 'mining' equipment looked more like 'repurposed military equipment' since there was almost no reason for a ore miner to have a turret machine gun on it. In fact, some of the miners even sported military squad tattoos, some even perhaps from the same squad. The actual facility itself, once the massive MCV, now churned out crates of materials and excess dirt for repackaging. At the moment, the only things being produced in the factories were more ore miners, which the Foreman explained were for spare parts in case one or two broke, and AK-47's, which the Foreman explained were for the guards. There were barracks for the miners to sleep in, a mess hall for the three meals promised to them in their work papers, a single 14" television (which got all 13 channels!) for entertainment, though at the moment the only things that were on were reports from the front lines of the war, and reruns of The Great Citizen.

After a tour of the facility, the Foreman took Fox to the dig itself, and what started as:

http://www.arikiart.com/john-corney/Landscape_Photography/images/Mountain_meadow_milford.jpg

... had been transformed into this:

http://naturescrusaders.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/arz_strip_mine.jpg

The Foreman only smiled, "Is it not beautiful, comrade? We're sooooo close to the motherlode, I can almost taste it."

[Fox McCloud]

Fox scans the now mined out landscape.  "You guys are really tearing it up."  He nods, "Good.  How much Element one fifty have you mined up so far.  I would like to inspect what you have."

[Yuri_Prime]

"Dah, this way." The Foreman gave a nod, then lead Fox through the industrial center and into the warehouse. There, in the middle of the warehouse, there was a single aluminum case guarded by two soldiers.

"How much we have, comrade, you ask?" the Foreman smiled with glee as he pointed to the box, "A grand amount, for such a rare Element. An entire. Four. Pounds." He said, with pride unmistakable in his voice. In the distance, a worker's scream tells the tale of another worksite accident. The foreman's smile and pride did not diminish one ounce.