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Jayk

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by Jayk

 

      The op was as simple as they come.  That's how I knew it would be an utter disaster.

      Hocan was his usual bubbly self about it, of course.  That son of a Cordak positively adored covert work.  I've always said it was downright indecent to team me up with the one cheerful Toa of Ice in the entire known universe.  But then, maybe the boss thought Hocan would be more like other Ice Toa, more like me: more...well, "cold" is the word Elarqa used; I prefer "reserved."  Regardless, I'm about as far from bubbly as a bottle of flat Bula brew, and something deep down in that bottle told me that an assignment like this was just begging for something to go wrong.

      The three of us were to raid a Dark Hunter safe house in Ros Artiba, nabbing a code book and leaving behind a few well-placed listening devices.  Minimum contact, minimum fuss.  Infiltrate, acquire, install, exit.  Simple.

      The problem with simple is that it makes you lazy.  No matter how good you are--and the three of us were even better--a routine plan will take the edge off even the most well-honed mind.  There's no forced creativity, no constant gears turning about all the complex little variables, all the things that can go haywire.  It's much too easy for the back of your mind to just fall right asleep.

      So as we suited up, I worried.  As we shipped out, I worried.  And as we settled quietly into position across the street from the safe house, I worried.

      But I didn't say anything.  As always.  Like I said, I'm reserved.  Hocan did all the jokes, Elarqa did all the laughter.  At a certain point in your team's relationship, even the banter is routine.  Maybe the lines are a bit different, but the rhythm, the timing--they're always consistent.  "I can't stand having to install these listening devices."  A pause.  "They really bug me."  Elarqa chortles.  "Hocan, that was barely amusing the first time you said it..."  "Oh really?  Then why'd you laugh?"  I've answered his question in my head before Elarqa even opens her mouth.  Reflex.  That's what happens.  It becomes part of your nature.  It's a default.

      Our timepieces hit zero.  We move in.  My Kanohi Shelek ensures that no one will hear the double locks release, victims of my magnetic manipulation.  Elarqa slips in, her Volitak a precaution against anything my own mask might let through.  Hocan stands guard, eyes alert behind his Arthron, stun bolter at the ready.  Fourteen seconds have elapsed.

      Forty-seven seconds later, Elarqa has pocketed the code book and installed two of the three bugs.  Hocan's head jerks upwards.  His fingers move quickly, signing that we have precisely seventeen seconds before the Matoran he's just detected comes strolling around the corner; his personality may not be icy, but his grasp of calculation is crystal clear.  I glance through the door in time to see Elarqa plant the last bug and turn to leave.

      Then all my worries come true, and all Karzahni breaks loose.

      Neither Elarqa nor I could remember afterwards whether it was my Shelek or her Volitak that had simply turned off, for however long.  It could have been both.  We could both of us have succumbed to the routine of the job.  Or it could have been neither, and it was just one of those things.  In any case, the result was the same.

      The Dark Hunter woke up.

      As he reaches for his Ghostblaster with admirably fast reflexes, I've already fired my railgun at him.  A bolt of magnetism hits him square in the chest and sends him heels-over-head into the wall.  Elarqa is out the door in a flash.  I follow, with Hocan taking the rear--a situation so easily reversed in my head now.  For as we dash down the alleyway to our transport, Hocan glances back.  The Matoran, an elderly stonecarver, turns the corner just as the Dark Hunter storms out of the safe house.  The Ghostblaster quickly acquires its target.  And Hocan, as quick on his feet as with his wit, turns on a dime and leaps back into the street, throwing up an ice shield he knows won't cover his chest in time.

      Toa get called heroes a lot; mainly by folks who would run from the slightest sign of trouble.  The thing is, we're not.  A hero is someone who goes above and beyond their responsibility--for a Toa, above and beyond is already our duty.  It's hardwired into us.  I could've killed that Dark Hunter when he woke up.  I didn't.  Maybe I could've if I tried, but I'll never know for certain.  All I know for certain is that when Hocan jumped in front of that Matoran, it wasn't because he was a hero.  It was because it was his job.  It was part of his nature.

      It was a default.

  • Upvote 4

15863836330_7c7ce4fb30.jpg


"And at the closing of the day              


                     She loosed the chain, and down she lay;              


                The broad stream bore her far away,              


           The Lady of Shalott."              


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I really enjoyed this one. It's short, but the story is well executed in my opinion. It could have been a bit more detailed like what their organization is, who gave them the operation, why the code book is important, etc, but the thing is it didn't have to be. I think it stands well as-is.

 

Nice work.

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Executive Vice President of Tomato Throwing

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I really enjoyed this one. It's short, but the story is well executed in my opinion. It could have been a bit more detailed like what their organization is, who gave them the operation, why the code book is important, etc, but the thing is it didn't have to be. I think it stands well as-is.

 

Nice work.

 

Thanks!  I rarely write stories at all, let alone Bionicle ones, so when I had the idea for this one I figured I might as well stick with it.

  • Upvote 1

15863836330_7c7ce4fb30.jpg


"And at the closing of the day              


                     She loosed the chain, and down she lay;              


                The broad stream bore her far away,              


           The Lady of Shalott."              


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This is a really neat story. I really like how it felt like I was reading a Bionicle-stlye heist story, with Toa pulling off the heist. I also thought that the Toa personalities were well done too, especially with how short this story is.

 

My only minor complaint I have is that you didn't bring up that a Dark Hunter was in the safe house with the Toa. Maybe it was suppose to be implied early on the story when it was revealed that the Toa were breaking into a Dark Hunter Safe House and it went over my head. If that's the case, my bad. :P But for me, I felt like his reveal was like 'Oh yeah, there is a Dark Hunter in here with you, and he just woke up.' He kind of came out of nowhere, though like I said, you could've implied that he was in there earlier and I just missed it.

 

But still, I thought this was a really cool story with a really good ending. 

Everyone is one choice away from being the bad guy in another person's story.


 


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