Cederak

To prevent anyone from thinking I want to meet some BZP members on my list more than others, all my choices are in alphabetical order. So yeah. Aderia, Ballom, bonesiii, EmperorWhenua, Ezorov, fishers64, Grant-Sud Rises, GSR, Hahli Historian, Hahligirl56, Peach 00, Sisen, Takatu, Takuta-Nui, TNTOS, Tolkien, Tyler Durden, Velox, Zarayna: The Quiet Light.

"Playing with fire, you know you're gonna hurt somebody tonight." -Brandon Flowers

Episode 07: Brightest Midnight

I leapt from our ship into the shallow water, no higher than my ankles. The sea was clear and icy, almost immune to the comfortable heat of the sun above. Elendra took the Toa of ice off the boat and onto the sand, pulling him along without a problem as Stalgrax and Trylac disembarked the craft.

"We'll find a ride home," Rovaius said to the captain, joining us on the sand as the Vortixx disappeared back to the controls.

"No rest for the wicked?" I asked with a laugh.

"You've rested plenty the last couple days," Rovaius replied, giving my shoulder a weak punch. "If Pridak doesn't have a mission for us, we're heading north for some money."

North. I knew the north of the Tren Krom Peninsula well by then. Matoran of all elements built their homes near the active volcanic ranges and jagged cliffs. I had watched Elendra drop a rather obnoxious Le-Matoran over an acidic waterfall once. Lucky little biomech; he was corroded to death before hitting the bottom. The north region of the peninsula was also the sight of Jelveci's death, though that was on the plains near Lake Renybr - a body of water that nearly separated Tren Krom from the Northern Continent.

We entered the forest, all spotting the fortress that could be seen poking out from within. Rovaius took the Toa of ice from Elendra, carrying him in his arms while Elendra held his Kanohi Faxon. She put the mask to her face, peering through the eyeholes at us. There was no way a Trelban was going to activate a Kanohi, but she might've just not been in the mood to carry it. Once I saw her cocking both her pistols though, her intentions were clear. If Mantax's soldiers were patrolling the forests this close to the water, she wanted both hands free to carry weapons.

I could tell we were basically wandering around the forest, hoping to find Pridak before any guards found us. It was easy to remain quiet among the greenery, but I was starting to wonder if Pridak was even outside at the time. For all we knew, he wasn't even on the peninsula yet. A few minutes passed in our careful search before Trylac suddenly halted and jerked his head to the left.

"Found him," Trylac muttered, lowering his rifle and rushing forward several bio. He crept through shrubbery and crawled around several trees just as I watched a white biomech come into sight. We followed Trylac's path, making our way straight to Barraki Pridak with the Toa of ice.

"Hello," Pridak said softly.

Rovaius dropped the Toa to the ground and gave the warlord a short nod. "Do the other Barraki know where you are?"

"I told them I had been overworking myself in Xia lately and I need some fresh air now and again. Kalmah and Takadox actually have yet to arrive." Pridak glanced down at the Toa. "I always expect heroes to be…grander."

"Yes, well, in any event," Rovaius started, clearing his throat, "will you need anything further from us?"

"We can talk about new assignments soon," Pridak replied, pulling the Toa up by his arm. "I will need your gunblade momentarily."

Rovaius handed over the weapon without a word, allowing Pridak to give it a cursory look-over. The Barraki then looked at Elendra. "Drop that Kanohi."

Elendra hurled the mask at Pridak's foot, watching him smash it beneath his heel. "A Faxon. Ironic considering that his kindred are now dead." Pridak took the Toa away with him into a secluded area of the forest, preferring to wrap things up in private. We waited in silence for his return, listening for any sounds at his location. The gunblade was shot once and we heard the Toa cry out in pain. There were a few more noises and the faint sound of Pridak speaking. The weapon was shot again and the Toa screamed. It was the scream of a dying, defeated hero. The Toa could be heard moaning in agony, but that stopped short after Pridak roared and the sound of crushing metal echoed through the trees.

Pridak walked back a few moments later, entirely composed as he handed the gunblade to its owner. "Thank you, Rovaius."

"My pleasure, Your Eminence. I trust you've prepared an explanation for the guards?"

Pridak grinned. "I want something to occupy me on my way back the fortress, Rovaius. Concocting a nice lie will be an excellent way to pass that time. Now that the matter of my rogue workers has been attended to though, we can begin discussing your next assignment."

Rovaius sighed, frustrated over not being able to head north so soon. "Where are we going?"

"Mantax's guards are presently preparing an airship to be used this evening. I was summoned here because Mantax wants nothing more than to showcase his newest project. It is a stronghold and a weapon, and you five will be sneaking aboard the airship and entering Brightest Midnight."

"I've never attended the grand opening of a fortress," Trylac muttered.

"This is no ordinary fortress," Pridak replied sharply. "This is a turning point in architectural innovation. As such, you will need to find the inner core of the facility. Mantax is manipulating gravity in there and if I could only learn what he did, Xia could be in the sky in the next decade. I would have to reinforce the underground levels of the city and leave behind the ports, not to mention that worthless mountain, but it all starts with learning the secret behind Brightest Midnight."

There was an understood insanity to what Pridak was saying, and yet, it wasn't beyond the scope of reality. Regardless of how well it would work, we had to explore the fortress. Beside all that, I really wanted to see what it looked like in there.

"I should return to Mantax and the others. Just be onboard the airship when we take off," Pridak said, walking back toward the fortress.

We decided against examining Pridak's work, confident that he did enough to the Toa. Skulking along the forest, Rovaius stopped us short of the clearing that led to Mantax's fortress. He pointed to an airship being looked over by a couple Matoran and also pointed near the fortress's towers. Armored guards were patrolling the area, while a few kept their eyes through the scopes on their sniper rifles. They were Steltians - the upper class species of Stelt that took the island's name as their own. Their weapons differed from Trylac's in that they produced a trail of thin, red light wherever they aimed. The light enhanced their precision, but I don't think Trylac would choose to risk giving himself away like that.

Getting by the guards and into the airship proved to be a much simpler task than we expected. Mantax's guards kept up a patrolling routine that took about half an hour to complete. After watching for an hour or so, we exploited the breaks in their paths and moved like shadows all the way to the airship. Not a single soldier was situated between us and the open door and I was beginning to feel suspicious. Was Mantax bating a trap? Was Pridak aware of it? It was a poor time to let paranoia overtake me—as are most of the times it seems to come along—but I had learned to combat it in the past few years. Shaking off my doubts, I followed Rovaius back to the cargo hold and sunk down beneath one of the tiny windows. A few crates reading "Le-Metru Freight" surrounded me in the relative darkness of the airship and I could hear my fellow piraka settling into place around me.

I had grown accustomed to complete silence among the group when it was necessary. No one made a sound for a couple hours, until we heard the airship's engines activating below us. I heard Elendra grumble, "Finally!" from her corner of the room as the craft roared to life.

It must not have taken the Barraki long to board, because I could feel the airship ascending after a moment or two. I turned around and peered out the window, staring in admiration as we quickly approached Mantax's new stronghold. Brightest Midnight was absolutely stunning. The structure was built atop a massive, silver disk that formed a thin dome shape beneath the fortress. Somewhere in the depths of that disk was the most powerful gravity drive in existence and we needed to find out how it functioned. As for the fortress itself, it was precisely as Pridak had described it. The "jewel of onyx and cobalt" resembled a highly-advanced city, illuminated by neon lights of green, blue, and white. There were no windows, however, at least that I could see from the airship.

The airship landed in one of the Midnight's multiple hangars after a brief flight. The Barraki were likely disembarking as soon as possible to get a glimpse at the inner workings of what their fellow warlord had envisioned.

"Follow me," Rovaius ordered, running off toward the front of the airship. I could hear the others moving around and I stumbled forward in an attempt to keep up with everyone. Rovaius led us out the airship's top hatch and we crawled onto the craft's hull - staying as low as possible. Far to our left, Mantax was leading the other Barraki down a large escalator to the floor below us. Beyond the platforms designed to hold airships, we had a perfect view of the lower floor and I watched as the warlords coolly examined the Midnight's interior.

"Where are your soldiers, Mantax?" Pridak questioned, giving the black-armored Barraki a disapproving stare. His voice echoed through the hangar, giving it a commanding boom.

"Brightest Midnight has minimum security right now, Pridak, but I assure you that it will be fully staffed within a couple weeks. I have been very careful about choosing the right candidates to be stationed on the greatest undertaking of my life. In their stead at the moment, I have temporarily hired a team of rangers to patrol the fortress for the week. They are highly-trained to ensure no unwanted guests will be roaming these halls."

"How thoughtful," Pridak responded uninterestedly.

"Rangers?" Stalgrax hissed to Rovaius.

Rovaius glared at him and began sliding backwards down the ship's hull. He landed silently against the metallic floor and I followed suit. We snuck along the walkway heading near the escalator, but Rovaius pointed down a dark hallway. He crept up to it, but immediately whirled back and motioned for us to halt. He then narrowed his eyes in the direction of the Barraki below us, listening to their conversation.

"They said something about Miserix," Rovaius muttered. "It must be a Brotherhood matter."

I crouched near the walkway's railing, poking out enough of my head to watch the Barraki chat with one another. I had never actually seen Takadox or Mantax before that, but Mantax was every bit the warlord I pictured him to be. He was clad in thick, obsidian armor with a set of gunmetal pauldrons. His eyes glowed like a pair of rubies, and his sharp claws constantly twitched. He was nervous—untrusting really—and he was surrounded by five of the most dishonest beings in the universe. Even if they were my allies, I'd probably be nervous too.

Each Barraki gave off a gallant aura, an energy that matched the royalty they had become. Each Barraki, that is, save Takadox. Slightly hunched over, his sapphire armor produced a faint glow to it while he rested against his large, serrated sword. As he sat there, occasionally licking his fanged teeth, I tried to look into his eyes for a moment. The experience left me feeling immediately dizzy and I had to break contact. No…that's an inaccurate description. I struggled to break contact. His fiery eyes were hypnotic, it seemed, and I didn't risk taking another look.

The others were as I remembered from earlier encounters. Kalmah was armored in crimson and jet black, a set of cool blue eyes never hinting at any feeling behind them. He was Pridak's wrath without any of the passion to support it - a cold, pitiless biomech that could handle his temper.

"What a joke," Kalmah said dryly. "The Brotherhood can't handle competence for a few days, let alone for the millennia we've been at it! Even their monster factory on Destral seldom manages to give me a beast that lasts very long. They are fools."

"Mine seem to stay alive just fine," Pridak replied, raising an eyebrow. "I feel like this is less of a Brotherhood error and more of a Kalmah one."

Kalmah opened his mouth to speak, but released a soft laugh instead. "Don't try to ignore your disdain for those Rahi-makers by pinning their faults on me. But of course, our latest initiative will soon put an end to all that, won't it?"

"This is not a matter to brag about," Pridak warned, taking a step towards Kalmah. He glanced at Mantax. "If anyone were to find out, everything would be compromised!"

"Calm yourself, Pridak. Aside from the rangers who know nothing of the initiative, there is no one else aboard Brightest Midnight right now. And I do not pay rangers to ask questions."

"See, Pridak? Everything is fine," Kalmah said, taunting the icy white Barraki with his laughing blue eyes. He spun his broadsword along the floor a few times before Mantax glared at him.

"Do I need to remind you that this facility is brand new?" Mantax growled.

"I don't care if Artakha himself built it this morning," Kalmah scoffed, picking up the sword and casually attaching it to a magnetic piece on his back, "let's just get this tour going."

"Yes, we didn't come all this way to drag our feet," Carapar agreed. He was the bulkiest of the Barraki and his amber and gray armor looked incredibly heavy. His dark red eyes were sunken in, nearly washed out by a light shade of gray.

Ehlek laughed, a distorted sound coming from his breathing apparatus. "Please, Carapar. How far would you go anywhere if you couldn't drag your feet?"

Carapar glanced at Ehlek and smirked. "Farther than you'd go right now if I rip that water machine off your face."

"Enough," Pridak said adamantly, stepping between Ehlek and Carapar. He turned to Mantax and calmly added, "Shall we begin?"

The Barraki went about their tour of the facility and we hurried off in the other direction. Finding an access route to the structure's core proved to be a real task as we searched the winding halls and countless chambers of the Midnight. I wanted to know if the fortress actually had windows on the upper levels, but we descended at every chance. There were no directions posted anywhere to give an indication of where we were, only the occasional number that designated the floor level. Every area we searched resembled every area before it, which was a clever design on Mantax's part. If the Midnight were ever invaded, his soldiers would be far more familiar with what seemed like the same halls than the foreign biomechs attempting to conquer the fortress. It was a defensive move that would eat away at the enemy's time, but we were not an invasion fleet and we had all the time in the world.

The sun had to have set by the time our journey brought us to the third sublevel, somewhere in the disk. More of the machinery was exposed down in the sublevels, almost as if the construction had been left incomplete. I knew otherwise. The hardest-working gears and components needed air to regulate through them and prevent overheating. This made the sublevels uncomfortably warm in the process. Rovaius followed what he believed would take us closer to the center of the disk and we found more and more of the machinery uncovered in the area. I could tell he was getting excited as his pace quickened and he was finally rewarded after rounding one of the many corners.

I followed him patiently, finding the hallway led out to a deck that appeared to wrap around the Midnight's entire length. I had apparently overlooked this from the airship. In the hall's other direction was a massive chamber, glowing with a bright violet like the intensity of Stalgrax's eyes. There in the center of the room, positioned over a colossal machine built like a pedestal was the gravity core processor. It was completely out in the open, orbited by smaller metallic parts that steadily shifted around the core. I could tell they were wirelessly connected to the computer below the pedestal, probably reading the core's energy outputs to ensure it was regulating properly.

"Wait here," Rovaius said, heading off toward the core. I drew my weapon and watched the others do the same. We hadn't encountered a single ranger in our search and that only made us feel more guarded now that we had stopped.

"It seems a little strange that none of the rangers spotted us, doesn't it?" I asked Elendra.

"I want to believe they're so spread out that the likelihood of running into a ranger on such a massive structure is fairly unlikely, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm wrong," Elendra replied, cocking her revolvers.

"For the first time in a while, you are wrong," Trylac said softly, pointing to the core.

"Small world, isn't it?" a familiar biomech said.

I whirled around to face the gravity core chamber and stared in disbelief. Trivolox was slowly walking out from the back of the pedestal as he smiled at Rovaius. It felt unreal. Rovaius took a moment to watch Trivolox enjoy his entrance, finally slamming his gunblade into the floor and lightly clapping a few times.

"I'm very impressed," Rovaius said, smirking at the Nohtalian. "Usually I'm the one setting the traps for my enemies, but you have to tell me how you orchestrated this so perfectly. I was suspicious about how simple this was, but I honestly had no idea it was your mind that put this together. Old habits"-

"Quiet," Trivolox snapped. "You never get tired of the sound of your own voice, but you always did love the sound of a good plan. I'll shut you up and give you an explanation, so we can both be satisfied for a moment. I heard that Mantax was looking for soldiers to patrol his new fortress during its first days of operation. I assumed the majesty of this place would draw you in for one reason or another, either to steal technology or simply sabotage it. Mantax wanted to impress the other Barraki with a well-trained team onboard the Midnight and I only agreed to work with him because I knew you would come. We both know his very existence disgraces Mata Nui's name now, like the rest of the monstrous warlords who ravaged our universe."

Rovaius withdrew his gunblade from the floor and held it at his side. Trivolox glared at him and sighed. "Do you have anything to say about all that? I'm sure you have some snarky comment ready for me. Let's hear it!"

"Well, for starters, I do get tired of the sound of my voice after a while. And second of all, while I'm sure your plan looked nice on tablets, you still have to kill us," Rovaius reminded him.

Trivolox grinned. "Oh, my rangers and I are more than ready to deal with you. We've been pursuing you through the fortress since you first left the airship."

I could hear several rifles charging in the darkness above us, each coming from a different position. I had no idea where to aim, but I was fairly certain that we were surrounded. Rovaius carefully examined the computer monitor for a moment and turned to Trivolox.

"He's keeping this thing up with solar power," Rovaius said, awestruck. "I didn't think we would ever perfect that kind of technology, but Mantax achieved it somehow. It also looks like he studied enough Kanohi Garai energy signatures to create an artificial gravity field. This computer is like a Toa whose mask power can be used by Mantax at any time. Brightest Midnight could be directed all the way through the Southern Islands if he wanted it to."

"And your point is…?" Trivolox laughed, motioning his rangers to descend into view. They landed in the hallway between Rovaius and me, half of them pointing their weapons in my direction and the other half aiming at Rovaius. Their forms were covered in armor and beyond the fact that they were bipedal, there was nothing discernible about what species they might be.

Rovaius smiled. "I just needed to know how it worked." He surrounded himself in a shadow sphere and fired a stream of darkness at the gravity core, causing it to fracture open immediately. Trivolox bolted into the hallway, plunging his gunblade into the side of the wall.

"Hold on to something!" Trivolox yelled to the rangers. It was already too late when he spoke. The gravity field went crazy and created an exploding sound right before it started pulling the rangers toward it. Trivolox held his position on the wall and Rovaius clutched onto the computer terminal. The rest of us retreated into the outer hallway, trying to see what was happening. I watched the rangers fly into the chamber and gazed in amazement as the gravity field smashed them into one another and pulled them apart all around the room. A second explosion followed and everyone went careening toward the deck outside. A number of the rangers went soaring over the ledge and Elendra nearly went with them, clutching the railing with her free hand. The stars were already out and if not for the glowing neon all around the fortress above, it would've been a dark night for us.

Trivolox fired his gunblade at the railing, causing Elendra to drop off the disk. Trylac put his sniper rifle on his back and leapt after her, extending his wings to make him more aerodynamic. They would be just fine, but we still had to deal with Trivolox.

"Do you have any idea how moronic that was!?" Trivolox screamed at Rovaius.

Brightest Midnight lurched slightly downward and there was no telling how long we had before it might crash.

Rovaius glanced my way and offered me his gunblade. "Stalgrax and I are going to try and get the airship back down here. You'll need to buy yourself some time until we return."

I put my rifle on my back and reluctantly accepted the gunblade. "Stalgrax can't stay to help me fight Trivolox?"

"Pridak can't risk defending our presence here and I'll need assistance if I run into the Barraki," Rovaius explained. "I'm sorry."

Rovaius and Stalgrax jumped up the side of the disk, using concentrated bursts of shadow to push them higher. I had trained with the gunblade before, but I had never used it for more than instruction. Trivolox lunged at me with his gunblade and I barely matched his swing. He then back flipped away from me and recharged his gunblade with shadow energy, swinging it around a few times as he slowly strafed my position. I kept an eye on him, lining up the gunblade with his chest as he went along.

"You have committed atrocities against Mata Nui!" Trivolox said harshly. "How can you live with yourself?"

"My actions are the will of Mata Nui," I said, firing a few shots at him.

Trivolox easily dove out of their way, discharging a burst of shadow at me. I sidestepped it and he shook his head in frustration. "You are blind to see what Mata Nui desires and you are in no position to say otherwise!"

"You've got it wrong," I replied, running at him with the gunblade ready to slash. "I am an agent of the Barraki!"

Our weapons clashed together and I fought to hold the Nohtalian back. Using a tactic that worked for Rovaius in the past, I kicked Trivolox in the chest and sent him sprawling to the floor. "The Barraki are entities appointed by the Great Spirit to govern the universe," I declared. "Those who would do me harm are enemies of the League, and thereby, Mata Nui." I had mused on the philosophy in the past, but that was the first time I voiced it.

"You choose to ignore me," Trivolox said coldly, getting to his feet as I backed away. "All biomechs have the opportunity to join my cause and you have rejected that path."

I couldn't believe his hypocrisy. "What about your brothers on Nohtal?" I spat. "You never gave them a chance to join your cause. They were innocent!"

Trivolox smiled at me, emanating his smugness. "Hasn't Rovaius told you? Everyone I seem to kill is innocent. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

I froze as the sound of the Midnight being ripped apart from the inside echoed out onto the deck. Parts of the rangers littering the deck and any other debris began to hover along with Trivolox and myself. Brightest Midnight tilted a bit more and we both knew it was just a matter of time before the gravity field lost all stability. When the field dropped us back on our feet, Trivolox put his gunblade away and casually walked back into the hallway, blanketing himself in darkness. "Ending your life is not worth losing mine."

I had to agree with him. The fortress was quickly losing power and only minutes separated me from joining the Midnight in its inevitable, watery grave. I returned to the hallway and ran in the opposite direction of Trivolox, hoping to find something to save my life with. I pictured the fortress from the airship and tried to remember anything that could get me to safety. I hadn't thought much about it at first, but there were a number of small domes along the lower portion of the disk. Waiting for Rovaius to return was too great a risk, even if the rings only turned out to be decorative. I had to find out if they were connected to something. From the deck near the gravity chamber, the domes were one floor below. I took the nearest elevator down there and (after a brief eternity of frantic impatience) found an answer within moments.

"Escape capsules," I said in relief.

It was a short-lived calm because I realized right after that—due to Brightest Midnight's current tilt—I would be escaping right into the sea. I would probably be smashed by the falling structure shortly after. My options were limited to attempting to survive the crash onboard the Midnight or making a getaway. I settled on the latter, motivated to at least buy myself a few extra moments of life. The capsule opened easily enough and I crawled into the tube, only slightly prepared for the dangerous ride ahead. I activated the pod and the entrance below me sealed shut. The capsule then fired out of the fortress and I could hear an engine propelling me at an incredible speed. This capsule was obviously designed to soar through the air and facilitate a safe landing. Instead, it's preprogrammed trajectory was going to launch me straight into the sea. The world was upside-down as I dropped, but in the seconds before I impacted with the waves, Brightest Midnight exhausted the last of its power. Of course, the gravity core may have also imploded. The cause didn't matter because for one reason or another, the world's largest fortress was headed right at me.

I was violently rattled around when I hit the sea, but the engine wasn't done yet. It held out for a little bit longer and I continued to descend into the dark water. Brightest Midnight followed shortly after, impacting my capsule and causing me enough trauma that I could feel my vision becoming hazy as I was shaken about. The capsule tumbled down through the water and I felt myself come to an immediate halt. A second later, my face smacked hard against the capsule's wall and I passed out.

I didn't sleep that night, but I wouldn't say I was awake either. My mind was free to think, to wonder what I could've done differently to escape the Midnight. Did Trylac save Elendra? How long did Rovaius wait with the airship? Did he even make it back in time? My mind screamed for my body to respond, waiting in the darkness. I began to think after a while that I would remain stuck between a state of activity and unconsciousness forever, left undisturbed beneath a metal tomb, but I was wrong. I managed to open my eyes and could see thin rays of light penetrating the water. Everything was clearer now, but it was also a mess. I was staring up at the wreckage of the Midnight - Mantax's crowning achievement brought down by a disrupted gravity drive.

"You really did it this time, Rovaius," I mumbled, glancing out the capsule's glass.

My capsule was pinned in the ruins and none of the activation buttons would respond. I wasn't the strongest swimmer, but I knew I could hold my breath for a while, like most biomechs. I leaned forward and heard something drop to the floor. It was pretty dark, but I felt around and scooped up what definitely felt like my laser rifle's bolt handle. I cursed and dropped it in with my laser shells, regretting the fact that I left my weapon on my back. I quickly remembered that there was also an important gunblade sitting off to my side and took it in my hands. I didn't have the room to point it outward, but even at an angle, I could shoot my way out of the capsule. I studied the glints of light that danced along the weapon, pondering how many battles it had seen. My duel with Trivolox was only one of its many clashes, even used to execute a Toa no more than a day before. A Mask of Psychometry would easily find a long history of violence in Rovaius' gunblade, seeing as how all of his stories suggested he owned it before becoming an outlaw on Nohtal. Trivolox defected from the original gang shortly after the League was formed, roughly fourteen millennia ago. The gunblade must've been ancient, yet in excellent condition. Rovaius certainly knew how to care for a weapon.

I tilted the gunblade into place and prepared for what would be coming next. I shot the weapon once and it put a nice hole in the glass. The water did the rest of the work, entering with enough force to shatter most of the capsule wall. The capsule rapidly filled up and I was rushed out into the frigid sea. With the gunblade in one hand, I used the other to reach through the water and desperately kicked my way up through the wreckage. My ability to swim wasn't great, though it wasn't nonexistent. Brightest Midnight was now a web of massive metal debris, but it had offered me an advantage that wasn't available after the Ephemeral Wonder crashed. Underwater, I was free to push myself up along the damaged platforms and jump higher. The water was unbelievably cold and my muscles were numb when I surfaced, but I made it. I pulled myself onto a floating chunk of the fortress and took in my surroundings. Like an iceberg, only a small amount of Brightest Midnight remained above the water, which was odd when I took into account how much of the fortress was made of metal. Brushing it off as the work of a gravity field that hadn't fully 'died' yet, I started traversing the floating platforms, climbing around large pieces and steadily making my way higher. It was a sunny and quiet morning, but that would change when Mantax's soldiers arrived to make an investigation of what went wrong. I needed to be on my way by the time that happened. I walked along a long metal plate, casually swinging the gunblade back and forth when I noticed four biomechs not far below my position. It was the gang, searching for me.

"Were you planning on going for a swim?" I asked, smirking as I leapt down to their level.

"This is surprising," Rovaius said quietly.

"Not really," Trylac replied. "I knew that escape pod I trailed down through the sky was Adrinor. Although I am curious as to how you survived having a fortress crash down on you."

"I was knocked around a bit, but I'm fine. I guess I'm just lucky," I said, smiling as I handed over the gunblade to Rovaius. I then revealed my laser rifle and sighed. "I can't say the same for my bolt handle though."

Rovaius nodded slowly, looking over the rifle. "We can get that fixed up soon. You made the right decision not to wait for my return. Stalgrax and I made it back to the hangar, but the Barraki had already left in the airship. We had to use controlled shadow bolts on the falling fortress to slow our descent last night. Trylac and Elendra landed on the beach and they joined us a few hours ago to begin searching for you."

I grinned. "I have to know, how long would you have searched for me?"

"A few days," Elendra replied, giving me a mischievous smile. "We know how long to hold out hope…and I know how long is excessive."

I laughed briefly, but a disturbing thought interrupted my optimism. "Hey Trylac, did you see any other capsules leave the Midnight?"

Trylac narrowed all four eyes on me. "He got away, didn't he?"

"As usual," Elendra groaned.

"That isn't our priority right now," Rovaius said. "Rather than head north through the Tren Krom Peninsula, I've decided to pay a visit to a friend. We're leaving for Stelt."

We all turned and stared at the peninsula, studying the parts of Mantax's smaller fortress that loomed over the forest. Adding insult to injury was our style, and if dropping Brightest Midnight out of the skies wasn't enough, I knew we'd be stealing something else from Mantax before the morning was over.

Review

Might as well start a trend then: Surrounded, Alone by Valixia. Assigned to Nuile.

Actually a quick question about that. Let's say I've done some of these things before the Ambage got started, like writing five CoT stories. Do I count that in? Or should I count only the CoT Stories I've written after the Ambage began? Same with reviews and such?

I got a story in for Challenge #2. My word was "Witness" and can be found in the link. =D I think I get like, two million points for that.

Thanks for the reviews and commentary everyone. This is inspiration enough to post another story here at some point, when the inspiration comes of course.

Happy Birthday Black Six.-Ced

I just reached 4,000 posts and, to celebrate the milestone, I am posting my first CoT story. Enjoy.

Surrounded, Alone

I am not a god, nor have I ever met one. And if I did, it was either very convincing of the contrary or I was not perceptive enough to realize. I was made a very long time ago, the product of some celestial event. I cannot say for certain where my genesis lies, only that I exist as part of the universe. During my existence, I have detected many sentient creatures throughout the void; I can attest to the fact that they are partial to naming their young at birth. I was not named, I was not raised. Perhaps I am some kind of orphan, an abandoned scion that was left to its own devices. Yes, perhaps. I can still recall the time of my youth, even without a memory of the very first moment I lived. The early days were quiet and hot. Not hot for me exactly, as I cannot feel heat or the absence of it, though I could see the effect it was having on celestial bodies around me. It was a lonely time, letting me reach out across nascent galaxies not with the refined skill of fingers, but like the curious exploration of so many tendrils. Mine was the company of solitude, so peaceful among the rocks and gases. The sentients often say that nothing is permanent, and this axiom translated perfectly into my existence. Of course, by the time this occurred, I was already present across much of the universe. In this respect, you might suspect me of godhood. There are those that believe in me and those that deny me, those that believe I possess incredible power and those that see me as nothing more than a part of the machine – another agent that serves the gestalt that is the whole of the universe. I would not say I am anyone or anything’s servant, but once more, I am not a god.

I have never suffered from boredom, but I have a penchant for staying occupied, for examining this frozen rock or analyzing that burgeoning star. In spite of being nearly everywhere at once, the universe is vast enough that there is always something transpiring. Given my proclivity for studying silent objects I, no doubt, overlooked the first sentient creatures. Organic life had sprouted up in many places in the cosmos, some of them remaining very, very tiny. Others developed into larger organisms, some walking on two legs, four, six, and some not walking at all! This was all long before the sentients, before I knew they would come to be.

A newborn cried out, squinting in the face of a blue-white sun very far from its planet. The creature’s cry didn’t reach far, cradled in the multiple arms of its mother as it breathed in a new world for the first time. Through me, the sound echoed across galaxy clusters and caught my full attention at once. It was the cry of life, a beautiful sound against the backdrop of a dead silent void. Such sounds cannot live in space, only on chunks of rock – for the sentients can only thrive there during the early stages. It always progresses along the same path. The micro-life is first, swimming about with basic ideas of survival and reproduction in mind. Culture doesn’t arise until there is language – the creatures need to communicate with one another after a time, be it through speech or mere gestures. Once language is established, there come stories.

For some reason, there is a prevalent theme on many worlds that there is an entity or entities responsible for their existence, and sometimes, the creatures will pray to these entities. I can’t say how the idea enters their minds, because from where I’m standing (standing being a terrible misnomer of a word in my case), nothing reached out to make the sentients successful, no one arrived to improve their way of life. They give themselves too little credit, devoting lifetimes and destroying lives all for the grace and glory of these invisible gods. I would like to meet a god one day, though I don’t expect to. It’s possible that they only hint at their existence to the sentients, doing so little here and there. But where are all the gods? Why are they as invisible and silent to me as I am to the sentients? It seems more likely that they do not exist. Yes, it seems exceedingly likely. Still, I remain with unanswered questions. Could it have been one of these gods that made me once? If that is so, why leave me in solitude? Why ignore one wondrous creation for so many smaller others? I have heard what the sentients think of gods, their ideas and visions of these illusive entities. Gods are strong and infallible, noble creatures that are undying in nature. To ignore any creation (let alone one that has done nothing harmful or malevolent) does not seem like behavior fitting of such a majestic existence.

After a time, talk of gods gave way to other ideas. Science rose to dominance in many galaxies and I cannot properly describe how thrilling it was to watch the sentients finally take to the stars. Spacefaring creatures are often shy when first traversing their star system, but it doesn’t take long before they start cruising along. It’s a shame that many have yet to achieve instant travel across massive distances of the universe, and the few with that technology have little chance of encountering the unfortunate groups. Even though the sentients with instant travel are in an immensely outnumbered minority, the colossal scope of the cosmos makes it terribly unlikely that they will stumble upon one of the many younger civilizations.

I am never bored, but that is not to say I do not become anxious or impatient. The sentients have given me an appreciation for music, for the arts, for their philosophies. I spent a great deal of time musing on the idea that I was a god that had yet to understand its power. When I heard a prayer, I took it as a personal message and logged it away to be handled later. I remember every prayer I’ve ever listened to – they are curious. I would warn the sentients to use their time more wisely, for they perish so soon. I am seemingly everlasting (so long as the universe remains alive) and it is of no consequence to me that I pray to something. Of the countless statues and structures built for gods, I am partial to none. The closest thing to a deity I have ever known is the universe itself. For the sentients to craft a monument to the universe would surely be underwhelming and disgraceful in my eyes (another misnomer).

Regarding the many aspects of the sentients I cannot understand fully, a notable one is emotion. In particular, love. I do not know love, but having never felt it, I do not feel any less complete because of that fact. There are ideas I am fond of and those I am not. I lack the proper parts to feel anything beyond that. I have seen what love does to the sentients. They will fight for it…die for it. And they have built for it, so much crafted and created in the name of a desire. They may bring the end of themselves in an effort to attain all that they long for, all for love.

Of those that have considered my existence, most find me too inconsequential to be bothered with. I am of no service to their aspirations, whatever they may be. They cannot realize that the universe is their prison, because they are too small to see it. For the sentients it is more of a playground. Perhaps I am the prisoner, sealed off from everything but forced to watch and hear it all play out. I am the first inmate and certainly the last. I cling to the hope that one of these sentients will make use of me one day, that my existence will play a greater role than it has for far too long. At best, I have only received vague names. Creatures have referred to me as “the cosmic phantom,” “ghost space,” “the negative universe,” “celestial shadows,” and many other phrases. The latest sentients to consider my existence are quite resourceful, but still far too young – the youngest to ever postulate that I am among them. I am not sure what to think of them yet, still so infantile in their little sector of the universe. They have named me “dark matter.”

I’m rather fond of the title.

There was a time, when the library was at the pinnacle of activity, that a wonderful idea came to fruition. After several ideas that never lived up to their full potential, the precursors led the way to the first Epic Critics Club. Considering the industrious state of the library, the ECC was overwhelmed with requests. Individual critics sometimes received two or three assignments weekly and this was normalcy. The library was flourishing and the critics had work. Moreover, they had a purpose that was called upon often by the forum they served, to make better writers and promote better work. The year was 2006.Multiple well-known factors contributed to the steady decline of the library since that time. In turn, I would venture to say that it damaged the percentage of high-quality works in the library as well. My ECC team has had an easy ride as critics by comparison to those that came before and I want to change that. I don't want to overwhelm them to the point of resignation as I once did long ago, but I want them to be active, to know that their positions are respected by the community they serve.Today begins the ECC's rise to action, serving a community of epic writers with a philanthropic sense of passion for what we do. For the first time in the library's history, a critic club is going above and beyond to incorporate charity services into our workload.Writers may be concerned with what this means for them, so I want to be very clear. ECC critics will be volunteering to review epics without being asked, however, if your epic is reviewed as a charity assignment and you have never requested a review for it, you can still make a request at a later date without having to write up an appeal. This initiative is designed in every way to assist epic writers and that is what we're going to do. We'll be staying busy in the background of the forum, and eventually, we'll probably give your work a charity review as well. So don't be surprised if you hear from our internal affairs department about what you thought of the charity review. Despite not being official requests, we want to emphasize our concern for quality critiques at all levels.Our initiative will commence next week, dear epic writers. Like all we do, this is another effort dedicated to you and your benefit. Thank you for your patronage and hard work. The ECC is proud to serve you.-Cederak (ECC Director)

$1,000, huh? Well if that doesn't make me regret selling off all my Lego sets, I don't know what will. Seriously though, I would probably try to enter this if I still had any LEGO Bricks left. -Ced

I think that one in Germany isn't too far from where a friend of mine is living. I don't think she's much into Lego stuff, but it's interesting all the same.-Ced

there is enough shown that we can infer, but we may never know what they looked like.

I'd have to say it's the Elda. Even though it serves the purpose of locating the Mask of Life, the narrow scope of its abilities just seems like a downside, especially in terms of combat.-Ced

Man, that thing is cool. The color scheme really reminds me of some sort of Skrall weapon - very monstrous and totally capable of rampant destruction in its features. The design is great, using that Manas body to really make an incredible MOC. Excellent job.-Ced

I'd have to say Ancient. He started the whole DH thing to begin with.-Ced

I'll dump each bag onto a separate part of the floor and start working at the build. Smaller sets, I just dump out all the pieces in a tiny pile.-Ced

Have to go with printing. Stickers tend to peel and fall off with time, not to mention how much quicker they seem to get worn out. I suppose stickers can be interchangeable, but I really don't have an issue with one design being stuck on a piece forever. I can deal with that.-Ced

I don't have any sets or MOCs on my shelves at the moment. It's been a couple years since anything Lego has graced my shelves actually. I should remedy that soon...-Ced

I don't expect BZP to be much of a website in 11 years. If it remains, there will probably be a smaller staff, fewer active members than there are presently, and very distant memories of Bionicle. Life has a way of growing us up and keeping us very busy. Nostalgia doesn't always outweigh the busyness of life, and in 11 years, there will be a new generation that completed missed Bionicle and what it offered us. That's not to say they won't stumble upon it and find all that we left behind across the internet, but I doubt that will be enough to maintain BZP even in the state it's in now by the time another 11 years pass. I would be impressed to see this site around in another 11 years though. I'd probably log in, for old times' sake.-Ced

My pick is the original warlords, the Barraki. It was the first year villains were no longer clones in different colors and they turned out awesome.-Ced

This was a nice present to give us for BZP's 11th b-day, and I'm really liking the overall look as opposed to how plain and straightforward the default skin was.-Ced

Toa Takanuva, 2008 version.-Ced

Congratulations, Hubert! I hope to join you up there some day, but...don't hold your breath. -Ced

2008, Takanuva. What a treat. -Ced

Happy Belated B-Day BZP. It's been a wonderful ride thus far (little issues in between notwithstanding). -Ced