TakunuvaC01

"... mission was further complicated by an Agent, presumably sent to investigate the cause of Toa Artakha's subspace distress signal."The voice of top reporter Hanashi floated from the Gadget's speakers and into the other room of Makan's hut. The Po-Matoran was sitting at his table across from where the empty stand for his Kanoka of Blue Energy was.Even as the latest story from Team Cipher unfolded through the Toa of Lightning's professional tones, Makan's attention was largely focused on that empty space.To think that the Star Portal could actually reach all the way here and take my Kanoka...A knock at his hut door made him start. He answered it without hesitation, knowing who would be standing on his porch.Toa Zuruk greeted him with a smile and offered something in his hands. It was the Kanoka of Blue Energy.Makan forgot about any courtesy and snatched it, then quickly looked it over with his eyes and fingers to check for any damage. There was none."Yes, it's the same one. Made well enough to withstand a drop from that high," the Po-Matoran said in satisfaction.He had missed the actual spectacle of numerous objects, some having spent days or centuries in the Star Portal, tumbling down to Wiki-Nui. But he was somehow glad he hadn't seen it. He preferred knowing his precious collectible as the smooth disk that rested so easily in his hands, rather than a massive destructive Olmak Anomaly."We thought we might have to keep it," Zuruk said, "but we realized we wouldn't be able to get any answers from it alone. Of course, I hope that if one day we need it again... you might be willing to consider lending it out? We would happily pay a rental fee or such."Makan shook his head. "No, if you ever need it again, just call. Anything to help you find..."He stopped and looked up at the Toa of Ice. This Zuruk, Makan realized, actually cared about the missing member of Team Cipher. Last time they'd met, the Po-Matoran had gotten the impression that Zuruk was in it just as a path to riches - after all, he'd taken the opportunity to sell his Cleanbots while investigating.Perhaps that wasn't so fair. One could balance profit with compassion. The ways of Promathus were a bit strange to Makan.He looked back at the stand that awaited its Kanoka."No," he said suddenly with certainty. "If you do end up needing it again, it might be to save the life of your friend. Keep it. It's now the property of Team Cipher."Makan handed the Kanoka of Blue Energy back to Zuruk.The Toa of Ice smiled sadly. Team Cipher sat in a circle in the floating headquarters. Out of respect - though was it respect for temporary or permanent absence, nobody wanted to answer yet - one seat was left empty."So here we are again," Hanashi began. Her forced professionalism brought everyone to attention. Khiri seemed the most affected, though, since she continued to hang her head.Hanashi took a little breath before continuing. "I think we can all agree the most important issue here is finding Bajnok. However, as various detectors and an already widening search have procured no results, it appears to me wise to move our focus to another pressing issue. Does anybody want to say anything?"Nobody spoke. They all were thinking the same thing.Bajnok, even if he was found, could hardly be expected to be in any good shape. Being ghosted was bad enough, but even if he somehow survived that 'Bluespace explosion' as it was being termed, he might no longer be a viable member of Team Cipher.Zuruk nodded slightly when Hanashi looked at him. She took the cue to address him."Zuruk, do you mind refreshing us on what you believe the Agent said?""I need to emphasize again that I had just been thrown against a wall and just seen a Makuta be defeated single-handedly by an Agent. So my memory may not be entirely reliable," the deputy leader cautioned."But here's what I heard. The Agent, known as Brute, stopped in front of me and said three words. 'Not responsible. Guild.' And that's it."Everybody took a few moments to consider the possibilities. The first inference was the most obvious - Izumal was claiming it had nothing to do with the theft of the Olmak Totem.That, in turn, implied Izumal had not been aiding the Underground syndicate on Alarist, and perhaps they had not been involved with the sudden and well-equipped attacks coming from Ko-Clysmax.It was the most optimistic scenario. Much easier to face Izumal by itself, rather than have to worry about two other groups lumped into the mix."We cannot count out the possibility that Izumal is attempting to mislead us," Artakha cautioned. "They are not averse to deception by a long shot.""That is true," Kyn spoke, "but then why would they attract attention to it at all? Isn't it more effective to leave us in the greater doubt we were in before?""Ultimately, we can't know the truth. We never can," Karzahni added. "To arrive closer to this truth, however, would it not make sense to investigate the other half of what the Agent said?""'Guild,'" M'konglii repeated.There were many Guilds for various things, of course. But the only one that the Agent could possibly mean, the only one that everybody knew about, was The Guild.It was the more revolutionary of the two main Union organizations on Promathus. Led by a self-reputed Makuta of Light, Anaana, The Guild had not appeared suspicious at all to Team Cipher before its mention by an Agent."Could be a false trail," Artakha remarked."Still, I was on my way to start negotiations with the companies and unions when all this happened," Zuruk pointed out. "Is that coincidence? If Anaana, or someone else in The Guild, didn't want negotiations to start yet for whatever reason - probably too much risk of losing profit - this would have been a very effective way to sidetrack everybody.""I think," Khiri said slowly and so quietly that she almost went unheard, "that we should investigate The Guild while starting negotiations like normal."The Water Agori raised her head. Everybody was startled at the fierce intensity in her normally gentle eyes."We, and those security guards that were with Artakha and Zuruk, along with Levitaas, are the only ones who know what the Agent said. Levitaas and the guards have already sworn secrecy.'We have the advantage. We must pursue this and expose the truth. I believe that by doing this, we will be able to find Bajnok." The biting wind tore through his body like dozens of tiny daggers. He cried out and tried to cover himself with his arms - but the wind just blew through his arms as well.He shivered violently and tried to stand up. Instead, his legs slid further into the ground and he collapsed again, barely staying afloat above the snow.A surge of willpower made him look up.There was nothing but darkness several dozen meters away. The world, as obscured as it was by the blizzard, rapidly faded into void.Yet, something stuck out of the darkness. A far away peak. It looked like a mountain. Perhaps it was an illusion.The broken warrior sighed and slipped into unconsciousness.

OOC: And to prove that I actually am back, here's another post before PeabodySam shows up to start all the explosions.IC:Somewhere Highly Classified:Magma and Zed headed through the corridors of the facility. Zed was briefing him on the current state of the Iron Hammer, but he was lost in thought.He remembered when he had first been reassigned to Dino Attack from Alpha Team. He, along with his friends Shark and Sting, after conducting a few minor operations, had heard rumors of Ogel being up to something related to the Mutant Dinos. The rumors had been completely wrong, of course- Ogel would later become their ally against Dr. Rex and XERRD and their Mutant Dino horde. But at the time, they had seemed like they might not be, and so Magma mounted an investigation.They had discovered Ogel constructing an airship at his island fortress, an airship that was clearly intended to take the fight to the Mutant Dinos. It made sense, Magma supposed, as a mobile attack ship, capable of unloading Drone troops and vehicles and orbs and other standard Ogel equipment, would be most useful in combating the Mutant Dinos, who were spread out across the entire world. Especially since Ogel's armies were much smaller than they had once been, thanks to their 2008 battle.And so, he had stolen it. It was still being finished, and so the ship was not under as much security as it should have been, and besides Magma had had years of experience infiltrating Ogel's bases.He had stolen it, dubbed it the Iron Hammer after an amalgation of DA vehicle names, and brought it back to DA HQ. There, Shadow had assigned a handful of agents to crew it and keep it running.Those were the days... when it seemed like every ex-Alpha Team agent turned Mutant Dino killer had a giant airship and secret army of their own... reflected Magma. Of course, Kotua's Voltage had been a bit of a wildcard.And when the situation with Kotua had gone even more critical than usual, and the Voltage was apparently rogue, Magma had ordered the Iron Hammer to engage it. It was the only thing Dino Attack had that could have stood up to Kotua's ship for more than a few seconds- though that was all it lasted, as he had been outgunned, outmatched, and outflown by the much more powerful Voltage.He had thought the ship unsalvegable, and so abandoned the ruins.Alpha Team, however, had apparently not.They had sent a team to collect the ruined airship and bring it to Antarctica. And for the next six months, they had worked on it in secret."We haven't finished repairing most of the landing bays or troop transport systems, I'm afraid," Zed said. "You'll have to leave your Blizzard Blaster behind. Fortunately, we have converted one of the bays to an aerial hangar, so it can launch a small wing of Blue Eagles or similar fightercraft. But that, and the considerable weapons capacity of the ship itself, are all you've got."Magma nodded. "That's unfortunate, but I can live with it. It's true that the strength of this ship mostly came from it's troop transport capabilities, but as you say Ogel, and then DA, put some nice firepower into this thing.""And we've upgraded that as well," said Zed with the hint of a smile. "I don't know what the current status of goo-resilient Mutant Dinos are, but for those that aren't there are some powerful Reptile-grade Goo Launchers in here. Along with a broad range of conventional weapons."They entered the hangar, and Magma smiled again at the ship. "This brings back the memories..." he said softly as he walked forward."It does, doesn't it?" a familiar voice said. He whirled to see Cee Dee, Shark, and Sting standing near the ship."And with Alpha Team's best pilot, heavy weapons expert, and Mark V6 Android, we have no chance of losing the day," Magma said, his smile threatening to become a grin. He felt happier than he'd been in years.The old friends spent a few moments reminiscing, before Zed coughed meaningfully. Magma looked at his superior and nodded. Zed turned to leave as the four entered the ship."Sting, get the flight crew in order. You know where we're going- get us there as fast as you can. Shark, make sure the Blue Eagles are ready to go, and check that all weapons systems are ready. Cee Dee, I want you to monitor the power systems and be ready to throw everything to weapons and shields as soon as we get there."Magma pressed an intercom button. "This is Special Agent Magma. All Alpha Team agents who have been assigned to this ship, listen up! We're going to Dino Attack HQ. There, the Dino Attack Team is about to be attacked by enough Mutant Dinos to conquer a planet. And we are going to be there to lend a hand. I want everyone onboard in the briefing room in ten minutes. The push has come to shove, understood? Magma out."He wasn't honestly sure that even this ship would make too much of a difference. Now if they had Kotua, and the Voltage... but no one knew what had happened to Kotua. So it was just them.But he was determined to try.Dino Attack HQ, T-1 Typhoon Hangar Bay:Reptile, Tail, and Coral stood in front of the T-1 that the system said belonged to him.He wondered when he had last set foot in the thing.Probably the mission to Adventure Island. There, Reptile had been in command of a wing of T-1 Typhoons that were taken down by a Mutant Pterosaur swarm of considerable strength. So he had ended up leading a team of agents on the ground in an attempt to locate the Maelstrom.After that, Reptile's memories were foggy. Though from what he had learned a month ago, it seemed that the Skr-Ok Clan, a group of rogue, rebellious Vikings who had been associated with some questionable scientists, former and current members of XERRD, had launched a sneak attack and kidnapped him sometime in the middle of the mission. They had then brought him to their command postThe operation on Adventure Island had ultimately been successful, but no thanks to him. After S-71's Drone commandos rescued him, they took him to one of Ogel's bases. From there, he had gained passage back to DA HQ, and had been transferred from active duty to research for the last several weeks.And now that it was time for them to fight again, and he was needed on the front lines. And so he had decided to claim a new T-1 Typhoon."Well, do you still remember how to fly one of these things?" Reptile asked Coral, the Alpha Team agent turned pirate turned pilot."We'll have to see, I suppose. If we crash, you'll know I've forgotten!" Coral retorted, climbing into the cockpit. Tail entered the gunnery cockpit, as was his usual position, which left Reptile to operate the considerable amount of equipment in the back.He had ordered a few modifications made to the usual array of gadgets a T-1 Typhoon carried, and he had a few more he wanted to complete before the attack began. And so he grabbed a toolbox and began to work at a frantic pace.

A Mars Mission RPG would be great! It's one of the ones that ages ago I had ideas for, but nothing ever came of (and even if I had actually gotten around to starting it, I imagine it wouldn't have gone anywhere anyway).To answer the question: it depends.For instance, PeabodySam set the Dino Attack RPG on the "LEGO Planet", which is inhabited by the "minifig" species. The main nation is called LEGOLAND, capital LEGO City, the currency is the stud, etc. But what that actually means is open to interpretation- the RPG's wiki describes minifigs as being more set-like, but I, at least, usually write posts as if minifigs are humans with a different name.So it's up to you, really.

OOC: And, after a few months, a Cipher Chronicles episode, some personal drama, a Steam summer sale, and lots of books and games later, I'm here at last, for the end.EDIT: I realized after the fact that the Alpha Team scene might crimp on other people's plans for stuff with AT, so to clear something up: they're simply not commiting as many agents as they could be- the ones they are are player characters / NPCs, etc.IC:A few months ago:"Get the laser, I'll take them!" shouted Magma. He dropped into a defensive crouch.The three warriors seemed a bit shocked that this unarmed man was about to fight them headon, and so their pace faltered a bit. This was unfortunate, as it bode enough time for Reptile to grab the laser and fire it three times."Right. Now, grab a weapon, and grab some armor. We're going to see what's going on out there," Magma ordered. Reptile obeyed unthinkingly- he was out of his league in this situation. After a minute or two, Magma and Reptile were both armed with swords and wearing the armor of their captors.Some time passed as the two moved through this facility. Magma wasn't sure where they were, but from countless infiltration missions he could make a few guesses. It looked like a Castle Cove style base. If they had been captured, presumably, it was by some Knightly faction opposed to Dino Attack Team and allied with Dr. Rex. But who?Suddenly, they rounded a corner, and found Shadow Knights fighting more of the"Well!" exclaimed Reptile. "I guess the cavalry- or, rather, the infantry- has arrived." Magma nodded. He was uneasy about their alliance with Vladek- almost as much as he was as uneasy about their alliance with Ogel. If "uneasy" was the right word for allying with someone who he had sworn to capture or kill, who had escaped his grasp far too many times in the past.Reptile and Magma quickly charged forward and joined the fight, with laser and sword. Magma cut down two of the enemies while Reptile got in a couple of shots from range.The lead Shadow Knight turned to Magma and nodded. Frowning, Magma slowly nodded back. As if this was a signal, the Shadow Knights then charged off deeper into the fortress."Well, that was underwhelming," Magma said, frowning. "I wonder what's going on?"The two agents followed them through some small corridors into a massive chamber. And there they found a terrible battle before them.Dozens of Shadow Knights and a handful of Ogel's elite Space Drones were locked in combat with some of the native warriors. One of the Space Drones turned, and saluted the duo."Super Space Drone S-71 at your service, Reptile! It's been a while. And Special Agent Magma.. good to see you," the drone said. Reptile nodded."What's been going on here? Actually, scratch that- where are we?" Reptile asked."You're in the last stronghold of the Skr-Ok Clan. They allied with some band of knights who were hostile to Vladek and thus an ally of XERRD. Since our resources are a bit stretched thin, our masters sent in a joint strike team. We've been most successful so far, though your assistance would be welcomed."Magma snorted. "The Skr-Ok Clan! Those incompetent, boring, Vikings who were so little a threat we didn't care enough to keep them from regrouping... I've fought aliens, insane masterminds, evil maniacs, zombie drones- no offense- and countless random little threatening factions, but the Skr-Ok clan has got to be the most boring waste of my time I've ever dealt with...! Ahem. Point me in their direction and we'll finish them off soon enough!"Reptile's mouth quirked, amused. He had never seen Magma completely lose it before, though according to hearsay when it happened there were thermonuclear results.The Space Drone appeared amused as well, though with a Drone it was hard to tell. "Well, then, their command post seems to be through that corridor. We've got a handful of my commandos in place for an assault, and we'd be honored to have a man of your reputation lead us into battle."Magma appeared to smile. He headed off in that direction and addressed the Space Drones.As Reptile reflected later, the sight that day was one that probably no one in the room- Reptile, the Space Drones, or Magma himself- would have ever expected to see.Special Agent Magma, who had sworn to fight Ogel with his dying breath, gleefully leading Space Drone commandos into the fray, cutting down human after human.Now:Reptile sighed as he exited the conference room and headed towards his office in the technical development wing of the HQ.The Mutant Dinos were coming for them, tomorrow.He had spent so much work, so much energy, developing ways to defeat them. He was a scientist, not a killer. But he had become an engineer, become a technician, become an Elite Agent of Dino Attack.And all that work was for naught if they did not win tomorrow.And would they? He would do his bit, of course. He had already done it, to a large extent. Goo based weaponry would be used where it could be. He had spent the day conferring with other scientists and preparing emergency countermeasures. Some surprises for Dr. Rex that hopefully the enemy would not anticipate.The enemy. Reptile remembered, when he had first joined the team as a replacement for Magma as a technical officer, that they had been unaware of the existance of this XERRD. The Mutant Dinos were a menance, a threat, but... not an enemy. He had read logs of Rex and others trying to tame them, trying toAnd now it was time for him to put his brilliance, his science, his inventions, his engineering- all of it- to use, for killing.Is this how Magma felt? It was common knowledge that Magma had been an extremely skilled engineer in the 2005 Mission Deep Freeze against Ogel. And that after Deep Freeze ended, Magma had decided to go into Special Operations and become one of Alpha Team's most effective trained... well, killers.Reptile sat down in his office chair and sighed. However, he then noticed Agent Tail at the door- Tail, his comrade for almost all of this nasty mess- Tail, who had shot and killed one of his friends and comrades when that agent had gone insane so long ago.He wondered if he would ever become like Tail, or Magma.He hoped not. But he knew he would be responsible for the deaths of more Mutant Dinos tomorrow than ever before... and so he wondered.Elsewhere:Magma glared at his superiors."Sirs- Zed, Dash. We have to do something. They're going to get slaughtered. You've read all the reports...""We have," Dash said."Then you know. They think they have a chance... they have no idea. We've helped them evacuate, and a dozen of our agent have volunteered to join the defense. Why won't you let me bring in everything we've got? I can have dozens of vehicles and men who are currently sitting on guard duty down here doing absolutely nothing-""They are not doing nothing, Magma. They're needed, as a reserve," Zed said reluctantly."So... we've written them off, have we?" Magma said. "Our grand plan, that we argued for before the LEGOLAND government. We would build an agency to save the world, and we did. And so far they've been successful. They've allied with almost everyone but these XERRD enemies- who we never saw coming, it seems- and now we've written them off."Zed and Dash looked at each other. Dash shrugged."No, Magma, we haven't. But you weren't cleared for this, I couldn't tell you," Zed said. "But forget that for now. We have a plan, and- although Dash has issues with your leadership style- we've decided to put you in charge of it's execution.""I wasn't cleared? But I- wait, what- what is this plan?""Do you remember the Iron Hammer?" Dash said simply.Magma's eyes widened, and slowly, he smiled.

Silver Shard, Ag-ClysmaxMember Name: TakunuvaC01Description: The region of Clysmax that would become the Silver Shard began as a large protosilver mine between Onu-Clysmax and Po-Clysmax. The deposits were originally discovered by Toa of Earth prospecting in the caves of Onu-Clysmax, but soon Matoran and Toa of Silver established a nearby mining town in Year 16. For the next seven years, the silver they exported brought in a great deal of wealth.When the Shattering struck, the mining town was badly damaged. The Shattering tore it in two, parts ending up on Onu-Clysmax and parts ending up on Ag-Clysmax. The survivors were temporarily evacuated to Onu-Clysmax, intending to return and reestablish the silver mining operation as soon as they had the resources.Ag-Clysmax was resettled by year 35. What had once been a very large silver vein had become a cone-shaped chunk of silver and rock. For all intents and purposes, Ag-Clysmax could have been a shard cut straight out of Izumal rather than Clysmax.The history of Ag-Clysmax was without much controversy for the next few hundred years. The community of Ag-Matoran, Toa of Silver, Troak of Psiocage, and other silver-associated beings continued to grow. Over time, however, the community slowly became more interested in studying the power-channeling properties of silver than in mining and exporting it. The silver trade slowly died down, and the community became rather isolated by year 400.Then, about sixty years ago, the culture of Ag-Clysmax changed seemingly overnight. Visitors to the Silver Shard discovered Toa of Silver hard at work at sculpting a much scaled down version of the City of Izumal. This prompted curiosity, and it was discovered that the residents of Ag-Clysmax were attempting to emulate the culture of Enlightened.This prompted considerable concern and alarmed investigation. No one could report any Agent sighting near Ag-Clysmax for quite some time, and it was quite clear that the people of the Shard had no access to any Izumal technology. So while cultural observers from Alarist were brought in, and remain to this day, it was eventually concluded that the whole thing was not an immediate threat.The "Cult of Enlightened", as the people of Ag-Clysmax are now derogatorily referred to, are some of the only people in Aethion who believe that the Izumali are in fact Enlightened. They seem to believe that by emulating their way of life, they will eventually become Enlightened as well- as if by pretending to be members of the City they will become members of the City. Whether they think that Agents will swoop down and fly them off to Izumal, or whether they have a more mystical attitude towards the whole thing, is uncertain.It is also uncertain whether Izumal was actually responsible for this cultural evolution. Conspiracy theories suggesting that Po-Clysmax government representatives (supposedly, according to who you listen to, acting on behalf of Izumal) somehow contaminated the Shard, have generally been discarded.Of potential interest, however, is the fact that in the last sixty years not a single Agent has been seen around Ag-Clysmax. Of course, just because the many observers can't find them doesn't mean that they aren't there, as the conspiracy theorists enjoy pointing out.

Before the development of nanites in year 150, was the City still built in the protosilver style it is today? In other words, did it look anything like the picture in the guide, or was it more like a giant hacker camp of macrochips, except much more stylishly organized?On a related note, the guide says that the reason we know so much about Izumal is that a hacker escaped from it about a hundred years ago. What was known before then? (Or, put another way, what would the guide have looked like if written in year 399?)

"I'm about to go, Zuruk," Bajnok said. "Is there anything else you think I need to know?"Zuruk shrugged. "You read over everything we have on the Star Portal?""Of course," growled the Skakdi. "I did that while I was lying around uselessly in a laboratory on Alarist. I know what to expect - you don't have to worry about me.""Then no, we have nothing else. Good luck," Zuruk said, and signed off.Bajnok turned to the Olmak Totem. He had never been worried about walking into one of these things before; he had always been fairly certain about where he would end up.To his surprise, he was indeed feeling nervous. He honestly didn't know what to expect in such an alien environment, despite his bluster with Zuruk.But he had a job to do.He stepped forward and touched the Totem.Hours seemed to go by before he realized where he was. It was not like a normal transit; the blue flash had appeared around him, but it didn't appear to go away. Bajnok was aware of losing himself, as if his ghostly essence was detaching from itself and dissipating among the energies around him. It was only with a great deal of effort he was preventing himself from splitting apart completely.Bajnok grunted and mustered the willpower he needed to do this. He extended his mind beyond the energy clouds into the outside world. A series of mental images flashed before him - scenes of the outside world. He focused in on the one containing the research blimp.In a series of invents that he knew would be impossible to describe later, he pushed and prodded the right places in the image with his mind until he was seeing a view of the observation bay.Bajnok looked at the prisoners, lying or leaning against the wall, suspended by a wall of shadow energy.Step one accomplished... now to see if I can get them out.He pushed them with his mind. He felt the Star Portal try to relocate him there, but with a superb effort of will he managed to stay where he was.What I need, he decided, is to bring the Star Portal to them. How would I do that?Instead of "pushing," Bajnok tried something that could only be described as "pulling." "Yes!" Zuruk shouted.On the video feeds, purple and black clouds were beginning to form around the prisoners."Artakha! Shake the ship, let's confuse them a little," Zuruk ordered.The Izumali hacker began typing very fast on the keyboard. He pressed a button, and the ship began to shake as power was applied to different thrusters and then abruptly cut.The sudden shaking caused the Makuta's shadow field to flicker out. The criminals stared in astonishment at the cloud of Star Portal energy that had quickly enveloped their former hostages.And behind Zuruk, several people were appearing.The first, he recognized as Aikla, the project leader. Others were security guards who had been assigned to the project."What's going on here?" demanded the Vortixx.It was Artakha who answered. "Well, your second-in-command turned out to be a bit of a traitor. He took me hostage at presumably the same time that Makuta and his henchmen took all of you hostage. But, with the aid of Zuruk and Levitaas, I was rescued. Then we set out to free you.""You've worked out how to use the Star Portal to teleport things!" she exclaimed."Well, Bajnok has," Zuruk said, "who is in the Star Portal right now. However, we have far more important matters to attend to. Artakha, knock those guys out, will you?"Artakha pressed some more keys. All the monitor screens turned white as toxic gases were emptied into the chamber.He waited a couple of seconds, and then pressed another key, draining the chamber."Alright, that should have done it for them. Let's go round them up!" exclaimed one of the security guards."No, look," Levitaas said, pointing. "Their leader will not go down so easily."The Makuta was standing in the middle of the fading gas cloud, apparently unperturbed, even though his henchmen were collapsed around him."We'll need to deal with him ourselves, I think, if we have any hope of taking him alive," Zuruk added."Let's go!" Levitaas shouted. He charged out of the room."Wait!" Zuruk shouted, and then ran after him, followed by Artakha and the security guards. Bajnok almost flew apart in his exertion, but somehow he was able to maintain his coherence. Once he was sure he was going to stay together for a while longer, he mentally ran through what he had just done. It had felt like the prisoners had been teleported to where Zuruk and the others were... he couldn't be sure, but he was sure enough.He was about to teleport himself there as well when he remembered the Totem.Artakha had been able to feel objects around him...The Skakdi tried to open his mind to the possibility of there being objects around him - and they appeared in his consciousness. He couldn't see any of them clearly, but when he tried to focus on one, it resolved into a Mask of Speed. He retreated from it, not too worried at the moment about how that had ended up here.The Totem has properties similar to the Star Portal... they both can teleport and they both seem to be connected to the Olmak Effect. But how am I supposed to find Bluespace within Bluespace?Then he remembered that the Star Portal would be absorbing the Bluespace emitted by the Totem. That was why its orbiting wings had begun spinning faster, leading Artakha to figure out the truth.The Totem was also made of wood. That would be simpler. He summoned to mind the properties of wood - natural, rough and soft, even its smell - and several objects came to the foreground of his consciousness.One was a basic shield, which made Bajnok wonder if the Star Portal hadn't been used once to teleport away an opponent's weapons and their mask. Another was an actual tree, seemingly still alive. Then the third -That's it.It sent rays of blue into his mind. Definitely the Totem.Bajnok was relieved to have found it so quickly. His form was already getting very shaky. Time to teleport.He tried to draw the Totem toward him first.In his hurry, he hadn't noticed a non-wooden object floating in the way of the Totem. Thinking of the Totem so intently had blinded him to anything else nearby.The Totem shot toward Bajnok and struck the object.Team Cipher would later find out that it was Makan's Kanoka of Blue Energy.The velocity the Totem hit it with was just enough to activate its power.Star Portal. Olmak Totem. Kanoka of Blue Energy.What happened next would have made Bajnok scream if he had the breath for it. Zuruk ran into the observation bay on Levitaas's heels. His fists were already ready to fire ice that he hoped would impede the Makuta's movements. All he could think about was the multitude of ways they could die right now - laser or heat vision, chain lightning, even simple teleportation and a swift blow.The Makuta was already raising his staff and Zuruk was already aiming above Levitaas's head and the Matoran was already zigzagging toward his target.Then half of the world fell away in a roar of crackling electricity.Zuruk felt a jolt surge through him and cried out. His ice beams shot just over the Makuta. As the Toa flew to the right, his vision registered a wall of blue to the left.Levitaas was sent sprawling as well, and even the Makuta lost his footing.Zuruk crashed into the opposite wall of the bay. The impact brought his body alongside it, so he was able to see what had caused the explosion.Only, it hadn't been an explosion. It was a vast wall of swirling Bluespace that had eaten away half of the observation bay. The door through which they had ran hung just on the edge, and electricity ran along its metal frame. Zuruk thought he saw the edge of Artakha's body in the doorway, but he wasn't sure. He hoped the Toa and the security guards hadn't been sucked in.The blue wall retreated until Zuruk could see it was part of a massive Olmak Anomaly. Not unlike the one that had caused the Shattering, he supposed, since it appeared to have sucked in and destroyed part of the blimp. Already the entire floor was tilting as the ship felt the loss of half of its thrusters.The sphere continued contracting until it was about the size of a normal one, and then Zuruk could see that at its heart was the Star Portal. The mysterious artifact appeared unaffected despite its furiously spinning wings. It was trying to get rid of the errant Bluespace, Zuruk realized, but for some reason it wasn't working.Was it just a random Olmak Effect that had managed to reach the Star Portal, and then reacted and swelled up?Somehow, Zuruk was sure that wasn't the explanation.Then he remembered Bajnok and the Totem.Oh no.He didn't have time to figure out what might have happened because a silver blur shot into the remains of the observation bay.Levitaas was just getting up, as was the Makuta, when the Agent struck the Matoran and sent him sprawling once again.The Agent landed on the deck just a few meters away from Zuruk, crouched, and launched toward the Makuta.The shadowy titan raised a hand and fired a massive blast of plasma while bending himself out of the way using elasticity. But even the powers of a Makuta could not stand up to Izumal.Brute slammed straight into his chest and drove him against the other wall. At the same time, a silver lump welled up on Brute's shoulder and formed into a gun of some kind. It fired a thin and precise laser, cutting through the Makuta's shoulder armour and creating a hole. Green gas immediately began seeping out.The Makuta roared so loudly that the dangerously tilted deck shook. In the next instant, he had vanished. Teleportation.Brute turned and flew toward Zuruk, who flinched. But no laser came - instead, the Agent stood steadily in front of the bewildered Toa and said three words clearly."Not responsible. Guild."Then he was a silver blur again, already receding past the Star Portal and the Olmak Anomaly.Zuruk stood stock-still for a few seconds before Artakha's voice cut through his stupefied state."The Star Portal! It's shrinking!"He looked outside, past the Toa's pointing finger, and saw that the silver wings of the Star Portal had stopped spinning. The purple sphere underneath had frozen into a darker, more solid state.Then it began emitting a shrill sound. The noise made everyone wince, but nobody missed the sudden cascade of random objects that poured out of the bottom of the sphere. There was even a whole tree in the mix."It must have ejected everything that was being stored in it," Artakha realized out loud. "That means the Totem is somewhere in there - and it's falling with everything else!""The Totems aren't unbreakable, are they?" Zuruk asked quickly. But they both knew the answer - nobody knew. No one had ever dared try to break a Totem.Being so high up, they had perhaps a minute before the mass of objects hit the roof of the Museum. Zuruk barely had time to think before grabbing the Gadget by Artakha's feet and dialing Dataguard Alpha's number.Torturous seconds ticked by as the connection was established, accepted, and the Dataguard's image resolved on the Gadget screen. Even as he rapidly gave instructions, Zuruk noticed a broken wall behind him and several people being kept watch over by the Museum guards.A few more seconds had passed between the beginning and end of Zuruk's message, and the Dataguard saved time by dropping the Gadget immediately. Dataguard Alpha dropped the Gadget and bounded over to the nearest elevator. It pressed the up button, entered, and swiftly pressed a combination of floor numbers. This secret combination put the elevator into turbo mode, used only in emergencies.The librarian braced his pneumatic legs as the elevator shot up, passing scores of floors in seconds.Then it was at the roof, and Dataguard ran out and looked up. A loose cloud of debris was indeed falling toward the roof. Even higher above was a clearly damaged and sinking airship. The Star Portal was barely visible, but clearly had returned to its normal state with silver wings rotating slowly.Dataguard Alpha walked over to a nearby rooftop generator and opened a panel. Inside were several thick cables. It neatly unscrewed one from its port and plugged it into a port on its elbow.Then it bent over backwards so that its chest was pointing toward the sky and the incoming debris.The extra power allowed it to create an airfield projection tens of metres wide and several thick.It keenly scanned the tumbling objects and let them fall into his airfield projector, not bothering to save any from either smashing on the floor or bouncing away, being either too heavy or too light.Dataguard hadn't needed to consult a database because he already knew the average weight of a Totem.When the brown wooden block distinguished itself from all the surrounding chaos by bouncing gently in the airfield, Dataguard relaxed.It let the rest of the objects fall, jumping slightly at an entire tree crashing down, before tapering down the intensity of the airfield until the Totem came to rest on the ground.Dataguard picked it up and tapped a button on his Gadget to call the most recent number.

Heh, If I remember correctly, that may have been my goal in writing that scene. I didn't really think about this when writing the epic, but I guess he was well prepared. It's mentioned that the traitor had access to a handful of other weaponry as well, so perhaps he had things designed to counter other attacks as well.After all, Artakha's warning to Zuruk in this chapter suggests that the traitor may have had a weapon capable of doing the same thing to an Ice Toa as well. Or maybe the blade works on any element. Or, of course, maybe he didn't but Artakha was just being cautious. Glad you like it!There's a new discussion topic in S&T, with some links to places on the old forum, but unfortunately there's not a reference topic up yet.There is a list of all the other C&C episodes at the top of this one, but they link to the old forum.

Zuruk waited impatiently as their transport flew through the Alarist sky. For all he knew, the Alarist Underground had beaten them there.Then his Gadget beeped. It was a short text message from Karzahni. Zuruk frowned as he read it, and then explained to Levitaas what had happened."The Alarist Underground evidently had an inside man inside the Star Portal research project. Their agent has overpowered Artakha - but he was able to send us an emergency signal telling this. The problem is... the signal was sent in such a way that risks imminent Agent attack."Levitaas nodded, seemingly not disturbed by this, but instead considering the tactical implications."So what are our orders?" he asked."We're to proceed to the Star Portal research ship and dock - we're the first wave. Hanashi and Karzahni will coordinate both a potential defense against Agent attack and further operations from our floating HQ if necessary."Levitaas nodded, and increased their craft's speed.Some time passed. Then, Zuruk's Gadget beeped again. It was another text message from Karzahni. Zuruk gulped as he read it, and then summarized the contents to Levitaas with alarm."Not only has an Agent just been spotted only a little south of the Museum, but security systems report unauthorized access to the rear of the Museum. The criminals have arrived too."Zuruk was impressed with Levitaas's lack of emotional reaction to this news."Have our orders changed?" the Matoran asked calmly."No. We're still going to make a run for the research blimp while Hanashi provides cover for us," Zuruk replied. Then he glanced at the speedometer and said, "Go at top speed. We'll apologize to the traffic monitors later."Levitaas reached over and increased the speed until a warning beep sounded. The craft shook as its thrusters fired at maximum. Everything now relied on them reaching the blimp. Dataguard Alpha was excited.It knew that according to the many histories of many worlds, civilians were rarely excited at the prospect of having to fight. However, it was not an ordinary civilian.It had extended itself to a very large size, hoping that this might help frighten off the enemy. It had also prepared some of its more obscure modifications for a test run.It had then accompanied the guards to the area of the security breach. When they protested that this was no place for a librarian, it had irritably explained that a: it was quite capable of fighting, b: that it could stream video from its eyes straight to the main AAG servers, thus providing a real-time camera feed, c: the goal of the Dataguards was to defend as well as to preserve, and most importantly d: it was in charge, and they couldn't order it around, ergo, it could go wherever it wanted.Other Dataguards were gathered at points of interest in the Museum - in the main hall, by major exhibits that might get attacked by thieves, by the major databases, and so on. Only this one was on the front lines.Without warning, the wall in front of it exploded. Irritated, it turned and watched as a Glatorian charged through."That really wasn't necessary, was it?" it asked peevishly as a Toa guard intercepted the criminal and the two began fighting with their swords. "I mean, that was a priceless wall, practically a historical artifact by itself..."Other members of the Alarist Underground had poured through the breach in the wall and were now engaging the guards. It noticed that one, an Agori, was moving very stealthily and quickly enough to avoid the guards.Dataguard Alpha decided to stop the Agori, and extended his airfield projector.This device, often ridiculed as being useless, was in fact extremely sophisticated. While it could just project normal, breathable air, the "hardness" of the airfield could be toggled by Dataguard Alpha.It fired an airfield forward into the Agori's path, who ran straight into it and rebounded as if he had hit a brick wall.Dataguard smiled. "And they said an airfield projector was useless," it said as it continued to help fight off the enemy. "I've shown them!" An alarm went off on Karzahni's control panel. He glanced at it and shuddered."Agent inbound!" he shouted, alarmed. "We've picked up an incoming blip at supersonic speeds from the southeast.""Are you sure it's an Agent?" Hanashi asked."I don't see what else it could be, and the AAG seems to agree. They're sending reinforcements; though what they'll be able to do against an Agent, I have no idea," replied Karzahni, sinking gloomily into his chair.Hanashi watched the blip grow closer on the screen."Where's Zuruk and Levitaas?" she asked.Karzahni pointed to another blip, rapidly approaching the research vessel. "There they are. They should be docking with the blimp in a couple of minutes." Levitaas frowned. "Picking up a general alert signal to all AAG security forces in the area. An Agent has been spotted on approach."Zuruk groaned. "It'll be here shortly, so we need to dock now."After what seemed to be an eternity but was really only a few minutes, the air vessel came up alongside the much larger research ship. A hangar opened and they entered.Just in time, too, for suddenly Levitaas warned, "Something's just come up behind us... it's firing!"The 'something' was an Agent; specifically it was Brute. A high-powered cyclone tore through the air and slammed against the open hangar.While the large research ship bore up fairly well, their small transport craft was hurtled forward by the force of the blast.Zuruk and Levitaas both scrambled for the door controls. Zuruk's groping hands found a control switch that felt like the door control: figuring it couldn't make matters worse, he pressed it.Fortunately, it was the correct button. The Matoran and the Toa rolled out of their vehicle and lay exhausted on the floor of the hangar.When they got up, Levitaas frowned and looked around."Where is everyone?" he asked. "There should be someone here, if only a maintenance technician, on duty in the hangar - especially if there's an Agent flying around outside."Zuruk frowned as well. "You're right. Could... something have happened? Could the Syndicate already be onboard?""I suspect so," replied Levitaas grimly. "We should find Artakha; then it will be three against however many they are. Do you know where he was?""In one of the labs, according to Karzahni. On the starboard side of the craft - towards the rear," Zuruk replied. "We'll have to search the area."Levitaas nodded. "Then let's go! We've got little time to lose."The Matoran rushed off, moving like a streak of lightning. Artakha felt the terrible magnetic pressure on his armor begin to subside. He couldn't yet move a limb, but he could speak.About the only thing he could say at this point, however, was something along the lines of "Why are you doing this?" to his captor. Which, Artakha reasoned, was obvious: for fiscal reward.It would also reveal to the Skakdi (who was still working on his Hagah Plasma Cannon) that the effect was beginning to wear off. Performing this typical behavior, therefore, would actually be a strategic blunder.Artakha kept silent: until he heard movement outside. His mind raced: either it was a scientist onboard walking by, a member of Team Cipher who had received his distress signal, or a member of the Crime Syndicate, or maybe even an Agent.If it was a member of the syndicate, calling out would be a bad idea: but the odds were that it was not."Help! Help!" shouted Artakha, before Yhamkut turned around angrily."What'd you have to go do that for?" shouted the Skakdi. But there was no time for punitive measures, as the doors burst open.Zuruk and a Matoran of Lightning whom Artakha had never seen before burst in. Zuruk had a blast of ice ready to go - Artakha could see faint ripples in the air as cold energies built around Zuruk's swords.Yhamkut raised his specialized dagger."Don't hit him with elemental blasts!" shouted Artakha. "He's got a weapon which redirects them against you and locks you up!"Zuruk lowered his swords, and instead allowed the ice energy to filter out into the room. It cooled the place down a bit, but that was all it did.The Matoran was not deterred by this warning. Nor was he deterred by the Skakdi's bulk or imposing stature.Instead, Levitaas charged Yhamkut, again blurring like a streak of lightning. Suddenly he was on top of the larger Skakdi, who could barely bring up the now-useless dagger he was left holding. Levitaas's sword, charged with electrical energy, struck Yhamkut's body numerous times before the Skakdi even started reacting.The Skakdi reeled back under the temerity and pressure of this assault. The final jolt finished him: he fell backwards into unconsciousness.Artakha was impressed. Like Kyn, Levitaas's fighting style was high adrenaline. But Levitaas put no effort at all into protecting himself. He focused everything at the enemy: Artakha suspected that the Matoran had some deep-seated psychological resentment of his status as a Matoran and not as a more powerful Toa, and was trying to make up for it with his skill in combat.Zuruk had crossed the room and was now looking at Artakha."What did he do to you?" Zuruk asked."Some kind of anti-elemental device. It pushed my magnetic field back onto myself and greatly increased its intensity. I'm still having a little trouble moving: my armor was locked together."Zuruk nodded. "Do you know what's happened to everyone else?"Artakha frowned. "Something's happened? No; the last time I saw anyone other than this Skakdi was when I was talking to Aikla. Everything seemed fine. What's going on?""Well, the Underground is making an attempt to storm the Museum. AAG security forces are pushing them back. Our assumption was they were going to try and fight their way up into this airship. But when we boarded the ship, we didn't see anyone in the hangar, or in the hallways when we were tracking you down."Artakha shrugged. "They could all be occupied with a research project," he suggested, but not in an optimistic manner."They could be; except an Agent just appeared and is attacking an AAG task force gathered outside," replied Zuruk. "The airship should be at battle stations - not that they'd be able to do much against the Agent, but I'd expect to see some security personnel around.""That is true," admitted Artakha. "I would surmise then, based on all the information, that the attack below is a diversion. More powerful Underground operatives have infiltrated the airship - and I don't just mean our friend here."Levitaas had finished tying up the Skakdi and crossed over to them. "That would make sense. If I was the commander of the enemy force, I would send a mob of weaker soldiers to attack the Museum and put together a strike force of my most powerful men to take the priority target.""So what should we do?" Artakha asked. "I can hack into the system's onboard computers and scan for life; then what? Go in weapons blazing and try to retake the ship?"Zuruk nodded slowly. "We'll try to do this a bit more intelligently than a suicide charge, but I don't see that we have any other option. We need to get the Bulwark back on line, which means we'll need this ship to get the Olmak Totem out of the Star Portal - and we can't use the ship if it's infested with enemy agents."Artakha sat down at one of the computer terminals in the lab. He entered some commands and frowned. It took a few more commands to remove the frown; then he smiled as a map of the vehicle came up.He tapped a key and a clump of red blips came up in the main observation bay."So - there are a lot of heat signatures here," Artakha said, pointing, "Specifically, in the main bay looking at the Star Portal. Apart from the four of us here," he pointed to a much smaller group of blips in a laboratory on the other side of the ship, "there's nothing else.""Okay," Zuruk said. "What are our options?""Could we flood that room with some toxic gas?" asked Levitaas."Well, yes," Artakha said. "I have root access to the entire system right now. But it would kill the prisoners as well.""Not if we applied it in non-lethal levels. We could send in just enough to knock out but not to kill," argued Levitaas."The research team aren't all members of one species. You couldn't be exact," responded Artakha."Can we at least get a live feed of what's going on?" Zuruk asked."Sure," Artakha said, and typed out a few more commands. The screen changed to show four different camera views of the observation bay.One seemed to be focused on the prisoners. They were alive and apparently awake, but Zuruk quickly noticed something odd; they weren't chained up. He wondered why.He looked at the second view. It showed several armed beings on patrol. Zuruk identified one as a Crushslow Troak and another as a Toa of Kinetics - the two Crime Syndicate members who had stolen the Olmak Totem in the first place. That confirmed without doubt the Syndicate was truly involved.The third view was of the Star Portal observation windows.The fourth showed a tall hulking figure holding a staff and glaring in the direction of the prisoners. Zuruk sagged.It was clearly a Makuta. While Makuta could take on any and all shapes and forms, the hulking giant with a staff seemed to be one of the more traditional, even for Makuta who weren't evil. Many theories had been produced to try and explain phenomena like this, but none had yet been demonstrated to actually work.But the presence of the Makuta explained why restraints were not needed. The Makuta was simply using his power of Stasis to restrain the prisoners, likely while the other members of the Crime Syndicate team made more permanent arrangements.However, the fact that the prisoners weren't restrained gave Zuruk an idea. Maybe they could find a way to use the Star Portal to evacuate the prisoners."We can control the engines, correct?" he asked Artakha. Artakha nodded."Are there any hatches in the observation room that we could open?"Artakha frowned. "Not really. That is to say, there are some, but they're scattered around the place and pretty small. The windows aren't meant to open - they're about as reinforced as possible.""Oh," Zuruk said, sighing. "Never mind that idea, then." Then his eyes brightened. "What about this: can the Star Portal be used to teleport other people?"Artakha frowned again. "Maybe. The research team never has done that, but they haven't really done a lot of work inside the Star Portal so far. They don't seem to like spending too much time in there.""Okay. Well, this is what I'm thinking: we can't fight the criminals because they have hostages. At least, I assume that's why the researchers are still alive. So if we can remove the hostages using the Star Portal, we'll then have a much better chance of being able to take them. Anyone else have a specific idea on how to do that?"Neither Artakha or Levitaas spoke up. "Then I think we have to try the Star Portal.""How are we going to get inside it without the criminals noticing, though?" Levitaas asked.Zuruk's eyes brightened again. "It won't be necessary. Let me make a few calls." Okotenga stared. "You want me to what?" he said disbelievingly."Send one of your employees through the Central Totem. They should come out inside of the Star Portal, and be able to exert some control over the Star Portal," Zuruk replied."First of all, what's the chance that they'll be vaporized when they emerge? How do you know that they will be absorbed into the Star Portal just like a normal entrance?" asked Okotenga.Zuruk hesitated. "To be honest, we don't. But we need to do something!"Okotenga shook his head. "I'm sorry, Zuruk. But I won't let any of my people take that chance."Zuruk hesitated again. "All right. Then let me suggest an alternative. Bajnok will travel from Alarist to Promathus via Atohune and go through. In his current state, he should be uniquely suited to surviving the experience. Agreed?""Alright. We'll allow him through once he gets here from Atohune. I'll make sure the UPW doesn't give him any trouble there, either."Okotenga disconnected, and Zuruk sighed in relief. "What exactly do you want me to do?" Bajnok asked, slightly confused."It's perfectly simple," responded Zuruk. "Travel to Atohune. M'konglii can guide you to the Olmak Totem leading to Promathus. Then Okotenga, my boss, will have men waiting for you to bring you to his headquarters. From there you will use the Totem that should link to Central, find yourself in the Star Portal, and assume control of it. Once you've done that, teleport all the hostages inside the research blimp somewhere else.""'Perfectly simple' indeed," snorted Bajnok. "It's complex and convoluted. But... it just might work. I see why you want me to do it."Zuruk nodded. He had considered Ekinodus as an alternative, because the Nurops would have quickly worked out how to control the Star Portal, but his slightly unstable mental state had worsened after Kyn slew Avsa-Ka."Alright," Bajnok said after a pause. "I'll do it."Zuruk smiled. "Good. Call me from Promathus before you go through."

Glad you're enjoying the mystery! To me that was what was most rewarding about this whole experience- finding out about one or two Aethion mysteries but then crafting them into an epic where I could put my own spin on things. Bonesiii already spoke to this, but yeah, this is something that should have been done.. I can't remember why I didn't think of it. Maybe a paragraph or so can be edited in later in M'konglii's report. Along with Sorek (who I'll get to in a minute), I inferred a fair bit from his character description in the contest. I'm not completely sure how to describe his character myself, either, but I'm glad that I created a strong character for him. It's telling that the last time I read through the whole epic even I couldn't tell. Somewhere in the middle of Chapter 9, I believe. I guess what I was hoping to do is make the alternate universe interesting enough that a reader would want to learn more about it- like that one you describe in Strength in Numbers where the Bluespace has consumed most of the planets and there's now almost nothing left. It was interesting, it was a place I'd like to read about more or perhaps even write about more.But you're right that attempting to show the alternate world too much would just weaken the story. So I guess I'm happy with how this turned out too. I may have mentioned this before, but I was fairly certain that whoever submitted Sorek to the contest had imagined him as an Aethion version of the Doctor (from Doctor Who). I could be completely wrong, of course, but in any case I liked that idea and tried to characterize him as such. Uh, I'm not sure. I think I put it there because there's a slight time-warp in which Zuruk explains a bunch of stuff the reader already knows: "Zuruk first briefly explained what he had been up to". It didn't seem to flow properly without it, but that could just be me. Haha, that is the exact same thing that happened to me with Endless Blue and Sticks and Stones, so I can completely sympathize. Hope you enjoy the rest of the epic!

Elsewhere, Sorek was currently struggling to breathe.This was probably because one of the Syndicate's senior ringleaders had him by the throat up against a wall.After several agonizing seconds that seemed to go on for eternity, the leader threw Sorek to the ground. The impact hurt, but not nearly as much as being strangled."You told them about the Star Portal? And you dared to come back here?" roared the irate Makuta."I didn't have much of a choice!" shouted Sorek. "I was being interrogated by Zuruk... I didn't want to accidentally let slip... it, you know. And if I didn't make a deal of some sort, I'd have been thrown into a secret AAG prison and interrogated... eventually everything would come out about it."The criminal kingpin stopped dead. "Zuruk?""Well, yes," Sorek replied as he got up. "You did know that he's a member of Team Cipher and has been placed in charge of the investigation, correct?"Few would dare take that tone with a senior member of the Alarist Underground, but Sorek was one of the rare exceptions. While he might occasionally suffer physical punishment, his knowledge and experiences made him too valuable to be killed.And he knew it."Yes," the leader said. "I did... did he give any sign that he remembered?""I don't think so," Sorek replied. "I could be wrong, of course - he might be a very good actor. But I doubt it."The Makuta frowned, making his glowing red eyes sink even further into his already furrowed Mask of Calculation. "If they know about the Star Portal, then we only have one course of action left: seize it." He turned to a watching henchman. "Assemble a strike squad. I'll be leading them personally. Also, prepare a diversion in BZ-Koro to cover up our movements, and signal our inside operative to begin taking steps."After the henchmen left, the ringleader went on, apparently to himself, "And with Zuruk out of the way, we can continue to scale up our operations."Sorek frowned. He didn't particularly like this leader of the Syndicate, and he certainly didn't like the idea of the Syndicate taking criminal activity to another new level. If only he could go out there and warn Zuruk and his allies what was about to happen......yet I am relegated to the position of observer, powerless, as I have been for years.He sighed, shook his head, and headed to find out what he was to do next. Zuruk terminated the channel and headed to find Levitaas. This was not hard - the Matoran of Lightning was arguing with someone right outside the command center.Zuruk waited patiently until Levitaas terminated the gadget call, and walked up to him."We have a plan. We think that the Underground has hidden the Olmak Totem inside the Star Portal. However, we've also learned that there may be a traitor among the Star Portal research team. As a result, I'm going to fly over to the Wiki-Nui Museum - and I'd like you to accompany me there with your team."Levitaas frowned. "We've just located what we believe to be a meeting place for the Underground. I've been setting up a stakeout operation there. This could be a chance to crush their operations in BZ-Koro!"Zuruk frowned as well, and thought about Levitaas's character. "Then I'll go alone. You can remain here to direct operations in BZ-Koro. The Star Portal could be very dangerous, and I can't allow Matoran to place themselves at risk there."Levitaas's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you don't think I'm qualified to defend the Star Portal because I'm a Matoran? You think I should stay here and command from behind a bunker?""Well, I just think it's smart to take precautions, you know-" Zuruk began, but the outraged Matoran cut him off."Well, you think wrong! I'm as qualified as any Toa! Forget this useless stakeout - I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!" he snapped."If you insist," Zuruk said shrugging, but when Levitaas turned away to his Gadget to make a request for air support to pick the two of them up and bring them to the Star Portal, the Toa of Ice could not resist a satisfied smirk. Artakha sighed as he logged off the Team Cipher network.He was still disturbed by the concept that one of the scientists whom he had been working with was a traitor. He had hoped that the scientists would be above wealth and mere physical rewards and focused on the joys of discovery.But apparently there was one member of the scientific team who did not feel that way.Artakha was not at all certain who it could be. For all he knew, it might be Aikla herself, or her second-in-command, Yhamkut.After a moment's thought, he decided it was unlikely it was Aikla. Based on what he knew from his occasional surveillance of Alarist for his true master, Revolution, he'd conclude that the leader of a research team would have to go through lots of security checks before being granted that post.That fit with what he knew of Toa Hanashi as well.He thought briefly about Yhamkut. The Skakdi was rather distant, but as far as Artakha knew, totally committed to unravelling the mysteries of the Star Portal. Yhamkut was the second-in-command, yes, but Artakha wondered if a second-in-command would be vetted nearly as much as the first-in-command.He decided his only option was to talk to Aikla.He passed Yhamkut on the way there. The Skakdi glanced at him with a curious expression, but then turned and headed for one of the laboratories. Artakha was busy deciding what he would say to Aikla and thought no more of it.Fortunately, when he got there, Aikla was alone.She looked up as he entered. "Any new discoveries to report?""In a sense," he replied. "Is this office secure?"Aikla nodded, seeming surprised. "Yes. I have to take secure transmissions from the AAG in here. It has to be."Artakha nodded, but nevertheless pulled out his Izumal scanner and looked around the room. There didn't appear to be any bugs."Okay. What I'm about to tell you I only just found out about from a Team Cipher briefing. You have a traitor in your midst. A member of the Alarist Underground, undercover as a scientist.""What?" exclaimed Aikla. "We've vetted everyone's records - I don't see how-""The people who put the traitor here are no doubt quite capable of falsifying records. They're the same people who just stole an Olmak Totem this morning. They're professionals."Aikla nodded unhappily. "Okay... and you want to know who I suspect?""Yes. I realize you trust your team implicitly, but surely someone must have been showing suspicious behavior," Artakha replied."Well, I... I wouldn't want to convict anyone simply because they like to work on their own, or..."Artakha cut her off. "Okay, let's do this in a more direct way. Yhamkut? Do you trust him?""Of course," Aikla said, even more surprised. "He's my second in command. He helped me vet the records of the others. In fact, he might be more likely to know who the traitor is."Artakha frowned, irritated. This was proving rather unproductive. While Aikla was clearly a competent scientist and capable of leading a research team, she didn't appear to be a very good judge of character.Then again, most scientists weren't.After questioning her on several other of the senior scientists, Artakha realized this was an exercise in futility. He left, and decided to seek out Yhamkut. Either Yhamkut was the traitor, and Artakha would be able to confront him and hopefully arrest him, or Yhamkut might have some clue as to who was the traitor.Artakha, entering one of the laboratories, nearly tripped over a piece of equipment strewn on the ground. This ended up saving his life, as an energy blast flew over his head.Artakha whirled around to see Yhamkut holding a Hagah Plasma Cannon.He didn't waste time talking - obviously Yhamkut was the traitor. Before the Skakdi could fire again, Artakha summoned his magnetism powers and attacked the traitor's weapon.A localized magnetic field formed around the cannon. The metals warped as parts began to attract or repel other parts randomly. Artakha maintained the field for just long enough to render the weapon useless.However, that did not seem to stop the Skakdi, who threw the cannon away and pressed a switch on the wall. A small locker was revealed, containing a pretty large collection of weaponry.Yhamkut selected a short sword made of a glistening black material and charged Artakha. He almost laughed, and summoned magnetism powers again. Instead of a field, he opted for a pulse - a lightning bolt of magnetism - aimed straight at the blade. That should have snapped the sword from the hands of its wielder.Instead, Artakha felt his magnetism powers reflected back on him. His metal armor locked together, constricting his movement, and his feet glued themselves to the floor.Yhamkut lowered the sword and grinned."A very well-designed alloy, with mixes of Element Resistant Glass and anti-elements, fresh from the factories of Promathus. It repels and amplifies the force of an elemental attack- as you've no doubt guessed," Yhamkut said smugly.Artakha didn't reply. He instead focused on breaking the magnetic bonds all around him, but he couldn't quite manage to gather the energy to do that."Your magnetic powers have been turned on you. The effect will wear off eventually, yes - about the time it will take me to repair the Hagah Plasma Cannon. In the mean time, you'll serve as an excellent hostage should Team Cipher arrive earlier than we've anticipated."Yhamkut pressed another switch, sealing the doors of the laboratory, and began working on the weapon Artakha had disabled.Artakha gave up on trying to break the magnetic fields himself, and instead activated his Kanohi Matatu. He then took a moment to consider what he could do.After a moment's thought, he decided that since he'd be unable to escape for some time, and since Yhamkut no doubt had reinforcements on the way, his priority should be to alert Team Cipher of the situation without letting Yhamkut know what he had done.But how can I do this?Artakha's equipment bag had fallen to the ground when he had dodged the plasma cannon blast. It had also opened, and Artakha could just see the contents.He was very familiar with the devices which he carried, and could run most of them blindfolded. The only thing in there that was of Izumal origin was his scanner, and one of the things the scanner could do was send a subspace distress signal.While Karzahni would almost certainly be able to pick it up, so would the City - and they might send an Agent or two to investigate.So be it.Artakha telekinetically reached into the bag and activated the distress. Karzahni glanced up from the controls of Team Cipher's flying Headquarters. He was feeling uneasy, and couldn't quite determine why.It was probably just the fact that they were entering an area no longer protected by a Totem Bulwark Machine. They were sitting ducks should the Agents choose to attack here.Hoping to assuage his fears, he ran a quick scan for subspace activity.And he saw the distress signal from Artakha. It was an automated signal, no doubt sent out by one of Artakha's gadgets.No! The Agents would be able to pick that up."We're in trouble," he muttered.Toa Hanashi turned to look at him. "What?" she asked."Artakha just sent out a subspace distress signal from the research ship," Karzahni reported. "And I'll bet Izumal will pick that up.""Oh no," said Hanashi. "Does he say what happened?""No, it was an automated signal," Karzahni replied. "I would surmise that he's uncovered the identity of the traitor and is either subdued or locked in battle- and this is the only way he can let us know he is in trouble without alerting the traitor."Hanashi sighed. "So we need to rescue Artakha before more members of the Underground arrive, and we need to prepare ourselves for a potential Agent incursion in response to this signal. Is that likely?""I don't know," Karzahni said, irritated. "But they may take advantage of the hole in our defenses anyway."Hanashi sighed again. "Send a message to Zuruk, letting him know of what we've learned. Also, tell him that should we be attacked by Agents, I want him and Levitaas to carry on to the Star Portal while we do our best to hold them off. Maybe we can lure them near one of the other Bulwark Machines."Karzahni knew the chances of that were slim, but he couldn't see a better option.

Zuruk's mind reeled with the information he had just learned from Sorek. After a few moments, he remembered the deal."Well, as promised, you may have your teleport beacon back. But you said that your handlers would know if you betrayed them by talking about my past. Won't they know what just transpired as well?"Sorek shrugged. "It's a matter of importance. As best as I can tell, this plan is only being backed by one of the major syndicate leaders - whereas all of them agree that your origins must be kept secret. Now - device, please?"Zuruk stared. That meant that his origin was more important than the theft of the Promathus Totem?Sorek prompted him again, "I'd like to get out of here, you know."Zuruk frowned. He was suddenly unwilling to let the Matoran go so easily... but... a principle sacred to Promathans was the deal. Zuruk had made one: and there were no loopholes for him to exploit."Fine," he said, and handed the strange Matoran his device. Almost instantly, he began to fade in a column of purple light. Soon, there was no sign that Sorek had ever been there.Zuruk wondered where he was off to, and wondered what he was going to do now.After a few minutes of thought, he decided that there was no good solution - at least, no solution that he could come up with on his own.So he decided to make this somebody else's problem."Call Hanashi, please," he said to his Gadget. Contact was quickly established.It took considerably longer for Zuruk to explain the current situation. Before he could fully explain all the details, Hanashi raised a hand."I think it would be better if we talked about this as a group, and you explained the situation to everyone at once," she said.Zuruk frowned. "I thought this subspace Gadget channel only allowed for one-way communications?" he asked.Hanashi nodded. "Well, that's true, but Karzahni has been working on fixing that. He's almost finished setting up a subspace network protocol that we can use to communicate as a group. There are still some problems to be worked out, though.""So, what do I need to do to connect to this network?" Zuruk asked."Nothing," Hanashi replied. "Close this call, and wait until you get a Gadget message inviting you into the network. Then accept it."Zuruk nodded, and did as instructed.A few minutes later, his Gadget beeped. Sure enough, on the screen was an invite to a secure Team Cipher Network.Group communication through Gadget was possible but slow, especially when it was routed through Cargo Star Internet. In this case, however, Karzahni was running a subspace network on Team Cipher's mobile headquarters.Zuruk suspected such a network was more vulnerable to being detected and intercepted by the Agents. But it was the best they could do.He accepted the invitation, and six windows popped up on the Gadget's screen. Hanashi's face the first one (and Zuruk guessed that Karzahni was there as well, but off-camera). The second was Kyn's - in the background, Zuruk saw a damaged building, and wondered what had happened on Clysmax since Kyn's last message. The third was Artakha, who looked to be on an airship of some sort.The fourth was Khiri, the fifth was the ghostly form of Bajnok, and the sixth was M'konglii.Hanashi began. "I'm glad to see that the network is working." Everyone nodded or made some small comment in response to demonstrate that their connection was functioning."Now, our main crisis is the theft of the Promathus Totem from BZ-Koro. Before we get to that, however, I'd like to invite other members of the team the opportunity to make reports on their current missions. Mik, you can start."The Jungle Glatorian nodded. "As ordered, I've begun trying to negotiate passage with the various tribes of Atohune, in order to allow people from Alarist, Promathus, and Clysmax to use the Totems here, as a backup in case an incident like this happens again in the future. It's been slow going, unfortunately. The tribe that holds the Clysmax Totem is currently at war with many of the other tribes around them. Both sides are willing to allow people from other worlds through- as long as they don't go to the territories of their enemies.""Do you think you can make them come to an agreement?" asked Hanashi."I'm afraid it looks unlikely," M'konglii said. "I think our best bet is to wait until the Totem has been moved to another, more peaceful tribe."Hanashi sighed. "Alright. Kyn? You look like you have something to say."Kyn nodded gravely. "A few hours ago, the forces of the Ice Fragment launched a raid on the Fire Fragment. Their target was my home. Fortunately, they were fought off by our defense force, assisted by my robots."Curious as to why they were targeting me, I consulted with the leaders of the Fire Fragment. Their intelligence suggested that the raid on my Hut Mansion would be followed with an attempt to seize the Totem leading from Ga-Clysmax to Promathus. I set off to the Ga-Clysmax ITH at once, accompanied by soldiers from the Fire Fragment."The Totem was indeed attacked, though we were able to fight the Ice Fragment off. What worries me, though, is the timing of all this. Several days ago, the Clysmax to Alarist Totem is stolen. This morning, the Alarist to Promathus Totem is stolen. And now... there was an attempt to steal the Clysmax to Promathus Totem. As if someone is trying to cut the three allied worlds off from each other.""What about Barrawahi or Atohune?" Bajnok asked. His ghostly form did not diminish the volume of his voice. "Half of the Barrawahi clans, and almost all of the Atohune tribes, are on our side. Why not steal their Totems too?"Kyn shrugged. "Those Totems could be next, for all we know."Zuruk spoke up. "Some of the inhabitants of BZ-Koro have come to the same conclusion. The most common theories are either that the crime ring has allied with the Ice Fragment, and is supplying Ice with money in exchange for weapons or soldiers or... something, or that the Agents are manipulating both groups."Karzahni's face appeared in the background of Hanashi's screen. "While normally, I'd say it's unlikely that Izumal would go to such lengths, I thought the same about the recruitment of Toa Merx as an Agent. Izumal has done things I'd have never expect them to do recently. Manipulating a crime syndicate and an evil kingdom is mundane in comparison.""So you think Izumal is behind this?" Zuruk asked.Karzahni shrugged. "Maybe. It's possible, but it's just as likely that the two groups have formed an alliance of necessity.""Whether these conspiracy theories are true or not, all the worlds must beef up security on all our remaining Totems," Kyn warned. "Detachments of Ta-Clysmax soldiers have already been dispatched to guard the remaining Totems."Hanashi nodded. "The AAG is doing the same as we speak," she said."On Barrawahi, of course, the clans controlling a Totem would fight to the death to defend it. You do not have to worry about the security of our totems." Bajnok said."The same is true on Promathus," Zuruk added. "It is a matter of business to the companies and unions controlling a Totem - they will also be well guarded. But, once this matter is cleared up and I am able to reach Promathus, I intend to bring this up in the negotiations."Khiri sighed. "On Tanuuk, I wish the Totems were less well defended. Either way, the crime syndicate and Ice are more likely to be allies with King Taa then enemies."M'konglii frowned. "That leaves Atohune... where the Totems are the least secure. It is true that if anyone made an attempt to steal one, the tribe holding the Totem would sacrifice their lives to defend it. But it would probably be much easier to defeat them than it would be to defeat, say, an army of Ta-Clysmax soldiers or AAG enforcers." Zuruk wondered if it pained the Glatorian to admit this weakness in the people of his homeworld."That is one of the reasons your negotiations must succeed, Mik," Hanashi said, nodding. "Anyway, I think we've covered that pretty thoroughly. Artakha, you had a report?"The Toa of Magnetism nodded. "Indeed. I haven't been able to discover much about the Star Portal-" Zuruk's eyes widened- "But I do have some disturbing news to report."The Portal has undergone several curious changes. The ball of purple and black energy has increased in size. The wings have begun to spin faster. Both of these changes began this morning, and baffled the research team."At exactly the same time as these changes occurred, the Totem Bulwark Machine in the Museum began to suffer from a Bluespace drain. The drain intensified, until it stopped working completely not long ago. Because none of the other Totem Machines suffered a similar drain, I can only conclude that the Star Portal is causing the drain. Two theories came to mind: either the Star Portal is using the Bluespace as a power source, causing the increased size and faster wing motion; or the Star Portal serves to dampen Blue Energy and Bluespace when under certain conditions."Fortunately, there was a Toa of Blue Energy serving on the research team. I had him attempt to summon Blue Energy on the research vessel orbiting the Star Portal. He was unable to do so. Then, we boarded an Aerospace Jet R-10 and flew away from the Star Portal. Once outside a certain distance - a couple hundred kio - he was able to.""As a result, I believe I have uncovered a, if not the, purpose of the Star Portal - to normalize Bluespace. You may have heard about the recent discovery that all space in Aethion is technically Bluespace, but when there is no air or gravity it becomes "bumpy" Bluespace? Well, I believe that the Star Portal was built to smooth out the bumps when activated. I still don't know what activates it, however."Khiri's eyes widened. "So you're saying this device is a... "spaceformer"? Meant to get rid of Bluespace in our universe?""It could very well be," replied Artakha."Then - why is there still Bluespace out there?" she asked. "If this works - which obviously it does - why not use it and get rid of the Bluespace?"Artakha shrugged. "I suspect it's because of power. We still don't know why it does what it does, and can't even begin to guess at how. It's been turned on somehow, and the radius of its effect is only about a hundred kio. Hardly enough to 'spaceform' a universe.""Or," offered Bajnok, "this could not be its intended function at all. It may be intended for travel of some kind, or possibly combat. It would not be unusual to find an advanced device and put it to an unintended purpose." Zuruk wondered if Bajnok was speaking from experience - he wondered what Bajnok's staff, with its Izumal power source, really could do.But Bajnok's comment about travel made Hanashi perk up. "Travel? Could this be used as, I don't know, a ship of some kind? To travel through the Bluespace wall to other planets? If it could maintain a bubble of normal space around itself..."Artakha raised his hands. "Quite possibly. But I think it's more important that we find out why it's doing this."Zuruk decided it was as good a time as any to speak up. "I'm afraid I may have an idea as to what's behind this power. I think now would be a good time to explain the intelligence I've gathered, for reasons you will soon understand..." Zuruk first briefly explained what he had been up to - the sale of the Cleanbots, the arrival of Levitaas's team, the attack on the command center, and the unexpected appearance of Sorek."I agreed to let him go free, and to let him have his strange device back, if he told me everything he knew. And he did.""Recently, members of the Crime Syndicate learned that the Star Portal could be used to store objects, and that objects could be teleported into the Star Portal from range. I'm not totally clear on how they learned all this - Sorek said that they had a scientist working on the Star Portal research team, but added that most of what they knew came from analysis of two rather strange devices, artifacts from a dig on Atohune they had obtained.""These artifacts were actually discovered around fifty years ago. After some experimentation, the syndicate realized what they were - a teleportation system of unknown origin. One was a controller, and the other was a beacon. Whoever held the controller could teleport whoever held the beacon wherever the controller wanted them to go. And they could go anywhere - through the Bluespace wall, to other universes - anywhere.""At the time, the syndicate had no idea how they worked. But they realized what an advantage they could be. With them, they could deploy an operative absolutely anywhere, and be able to bring him back.""So is this how the Underground stole the Alarist Totem? Using these devices?" interrupted Bajnok.Zuruk shook his head. "Not quite. You see, Sorek said that the ringleaders of the syndicate decided that the device would be most useful as a way of gathering information. Sorek was already working for them as one of many spies - watching events on Alarist and passing them on to his handlers. They decided he could become a 'dimensional chronicler' of sorts - watching events on the other worlds and in other universes - all to gather information that might benefit the syndicate somehow.""Sorek claimed that while his orders were to merely observe events, he often intervened on the side of good, because he is not actually an evil person. I'm not sure I believe him," Zuruk added hastily, to forestall another interruption by Bajnok, "But it doesn't matter. Let's move on.""When the Star Portal was unearthed ten years ago, the Underground's scientists who had studied their teleportation devices recognized some similarities. They concluded that all three artifacts - the Star Portal, the controller, and the beacon - were made by the same people. So, one of them was sent to infiltrate the Star Portal research team."Zuruk noticed Artakha's eyes widen when he mentioned this, and remembered that Artakha was currently with the Star Portal research team- or at least nearby them.He continued. "Recently, the Crime Syndicate came into possession of another teleportation device. This one was made for them by a group on Promathus. It used the Cargo Star network."Kyn frowned. "If they had a much more advanced teleporter, why did they need a less-advanced one that couldn't penetrate the Bluespace wall?""Good question. The problem with using Sorek's device to actually commit crimes was that it required Sorek's physical presence. Someone had to hold onto the beacon, appear, and then carry out the crime. I'll bet that the syndicate wanted something that could be used to teleport objects remotely, with no trace of the perpetrator."Zuruk was about to add something like, 'That's what I'd want to be able to do if I was them"- then wondered where that thought had come from. He wasn't a criminal."Anyway. Then, one of their ringleaders had an idea. He wondered if they could use the teleporter to beam an object into the Star Portal. It would be an ultimate hiding spot. Who would think to look there? And even if someone did - the reports from the research team suggest that while there may be objects in the Star Portal, they are indistinguishable."Hanashi figured out where he was going. "So they used the Star Portal to teleport explosives into the ITH - to make it look like an attack was going on- then teleport out the Olmak Totem... into the Star Portal!""Of course!" Artakha exclaimed. "The Star Portal must use the Olmak Totem as its energy source!"M'konglii then asked, "How can we know that this Sorek was telling the truth? He's a self-admitted criminal."Zuruk nodded. 'That's true. As I said, I made a bargain with him. He could have his teleportation beacon back if he told me everything he knew. And it's possible he's lying, but why would he?""His superiors would punish him gravely if they found out he had told you everything. Better to lie and escape than to tell the truth and escape," Bajnok said.Hanashi nodded. "It's possible he is lying. But we must consider the possibility he is not. If the Star Portal does contain the Olmak Totem, then we must find a way to get it out at once. If he is lying, and the Star Portal is irrelevant to the Olmak Totem, then all we will have done is eliminated a possible answer and solved a very interesting scientific mystery. There is no downside to following up on this."

Sorry for the delay, I've been deviating from my "post on Sunday" schedule a bit but I'm still trying to get one out every week.

The Matoran named Sorek was presently running for his life.When he had arrived on Promathus a few weeks ago, it didn’t take him long to hear the big news- that Experimental Industries and Phantoka Motors were working together on a new line of spacecraft to better compete with Lake Aerospace.The rumors were that advanced, top-secret EI inventions were being combined with standard Phantoka Motors designs in a secret, reinforced factory jointly owned by both big corporations.While even in his Aethion, other Industrial companies commonly contracted EI to do research and prototype testing for them, an alliance of this magnitude was unprecedented.But this was not his Aethion. This was one of many parallel worlds, similar yet different in a handful of ways, either smaller or larger. And investigating such parallel worlds was Sorek’s duty.The organization he worked for had sent him here for the same reason he had been sent anywhere else - to observe, to learn. To gather intelligence that they could better use in their nefarious schemes, to study technology that might be of use to them.Sorek had been given an extremely advanced piece of technology that was reputedly of Izumal origin - a dimensional beacon in the shape of a pen. As long as it was in his possession, Sorek’s handlers could lock onto his signal and move him from dimension to dimension. From alternate versions of Aethion to breathtakingly alien worlds, from cities of silver to fields of darkness, from variations on the Bionicle Core Dimension to realms where nothing seemed to make sense at all- he had seen all of these.Unfortunately, he spent less time in the truly exotic worlds than he would like, because generally they were of little interest to his handlers. He wanted to explore, while his handlers merely wanted to gain any edge over any competition. So, they had neglected to allow Sorek to control his own travel.He went where he was sent. Which was a problem when he entered dangerous situations and needed to escape.Like right now, when he was running for his life from three Rahkshi enforcers of The Guild. After he had been caught trying to access the secret research factory, Makuta Anaana had ordered his termination and sent her minions to hunt him down.Sorek’s thoughts returned to the present as a blast of energy zoomed over his shoulder and struck a nearby warehouse. It exploded.He grabbed the beacon from his backpack and shook it furiously. He knew that this probably wouldn't do anything, but he was desperate.More blasts of energy were fired, narrowly missing the running Matoran. But it seemed as though the blasts were growing less frequent - could the guards be tiring out?Then, from nowhere, a Teleportation Rahkshi faded into existence. Sorek ran straight into it.It grabbed him and restrained him as the other guards approached with their staffs raised. They hissed something at him in unison.Sorek furiously kicked at the Teleportation Rahkshi, but he wasn't strong enough to break free.Then he felt a tingling sensation. He looked down, and sure enough the beacon was glowing."Ha!" shouted Sorek. "I'm afraid I'll be on my way now. Thanks for your hospitality, but I've got my own dimension to get back to," he said with an arrogant smirk. The Rahkshi looked at each other in confusion.Then the leader shrugged, and fired.The blast, however, did not strike Sorek. Instead, it struck the pillar of purple light where Sorek had been. Zuruk sighed as he watched Levitaas pace around the ITH security room they were using as a command center.Finally, the Matoran stood up, exasperated."In the absence of any alternative, I'm going to order my security team to perform a sweep of the Islands of Life. If the Underground has a teleporter, I highly doubt it is a very powerful one. They must be operating somewhere on this island!""So... you're going to deploy your entire detachment of eight Matoran to search the entire area? That doesn't seem like it would be very effective, does it?" Zuruk retorted."I don't suppose you have any better ideas, do you, Toa?" fired back Levitaas, who was using the word Toa not for respect but almost as an insult.Zuruk had to admit he did not."But you could at least call in for reinforcements from the AAG if you plan to search the entire region," added the Toa of Sonics. Levitaas nodded."I think I will do that," he said, and activated his own Gadget. Levitaas barked orders at it for a minute or so while Zuruk watched and tried to think of something better than sweeping the inner islands.Levitaas returned, looking smug. "We'll have two additional teams in within the next half hour. We don't need to cover the entire region- just establish a presence to deal with any criminal activity. If it's as common as the Matoran here claim, it shouldn't be difficult."Zuruk nodded. He was less optimistic. If the Alarist Underground was using a teleporter, it wouldn't matter how many troops Levitaas had stationed.Then, a column of purple light began to appear in the room. The two of them moved cautiously away from it."What is it?" shouted Levitaas, alarmed."How should I know?" asked Zuruk. "But it looks like... a teleportation field of some sort..."As the column grew more distinct, an awful thought struck Zuruk.Kyn had reported in saying that the criminals had definitely used a teleporter of some sort to beam explosives into the ITH.Hanashi had publicly named him as the leader of this investigation, and he had just performed a rather public display. The crime ring could probably see through his sale."Get out!" shouted Zuruk. "They're teleporting in a bomb!"Levitaas, who was closer to the door, decided not to argue and rushed out.Zuruk jumped, diving through the door just as the light began to dissipate.A massive explosion erupted behind Zuruk as he hit the pavement. Just as he struck the ground, it lifted him off his feet and flung him back through the air.While in midair, Zuruk concentrated, channeling his ice power as best he could. Walls of ice began to form behind Zuruk, right in the path of the explosion.The part of the ITH that they had been using as a command center shattered, but Zuruk was able to stop debris and rubble from hitting the gathered security team or any civilians still in the area.He struck the ground a second time, and then got up.Before anyone could do anything - Levitaas looked like he was about to give his team an order - another column of purple light began to appear. Zuruk raised his two swords to channel his ice and freeze it, but stopping the first explosion had taken too much out of him.Fortunately, this was not another explosion. Instead, the teleportation beam resolved into a Matoran wearing a cloak and apparently unarmed.Levitaas barked an order, and the members of his team with projectile weapons aimed them.The Matoran looked around, sighed, and raised his hands. It had not taken long for them to set up yet another makeshift command center, this one some distance away from the Promathus Forum. Their Matoran prisoner was now sitting across a table from Levitaas and Sorek while a member of Levitaas's team searched the Matoran's pack."Nothing much in here... except for this," said the security officer, placing a strange cylindrical pen-shaped device on the table. It was made of silver machinery, and glowed with a blue light."What is this?" asked Levitaas. The Matoran smiled, amused."I'm impressed - your sort always asks for names first. It's a keepsake of mine, a little utilitarian gadget that I'd quite like back," he replied. "Oh, and since you haven't asked, my name is Sorek. Sorek the Observer."Levitaas snorted in disdain. "Well, Sorek, if you want this back, there's no way I'm going to let you have it right now." The Matoran of Lightning grabbed the strange device and put it aside.Zuruk, however, was deep in thought."Sorek? That name sounds familiar," he said. "Have we met before somewhere? On Promathus, possibly?"Sorek frowned. "Promathus? Promathus... haven't been there recently. Well, okay- technically I was just there, but you weren’t, and that doesn’t count anyway. Wait... what did you say your name was?"Levitaas was about to interrupt, but Zuruk waved him off, curious about this strange Matoran. Could he know something of my past?"I didn't, as a matter of fact. But my name is Zuruk. I'm a Toa of Ice, serving as second-in-command of Team Cipher. I've also been an employee of Miscellaneous Enterprises on Promathus, for a century, and I'm currently launching the Enigma Line for them."Sorek frowned again. "But I seem to remember seeing you somewhere else... your voice sounds familiar... Alarist? Couple hundred years ago?""I'm afraid I don't remember anything of my past life before the year 400- at that point, I appeared on Promathus in an Olmak Effect with no memories," Zuruk replied, excited. "You say I was on Alarist two hundred years ago?"Sorek nodded slowly. "I think so... but... wait a minute... that can't be right. I should be on the other side of the table if I'm right. Unless... oh dear... I see..." Sorek trailed off."What is it?" demanded Zuruk. "What do you know of my past life?"Sorek shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I'm allowed to tell you. They control my teleportation, you see, so if I do something to annoy them, well... if I wasn't valuable, I'd probably look like your ITH over there," the Matoran said with a wave of his hand."So you do work for the Alarist Underground!" thundered Levitaas. "You are a self-admitted criminal, and probably a thief and killer! You are responsible for the thefts that could only have been committed by a teleporter! Admit it!"Sorek rose angrily. "I am not a killer! I am sworn never to interfere - only to watch! My job is to learn, to gather information!""For a gang of criminals?" retorted Levitaas. "What were you doing here, then?""They sent me to observe events!" Sorek shouted. "I wasn't here to kill anyone! Just to report back what I see, like always!"Zuruk took over again. "So the crime ring decided my investigation could become a problem, and so used their teleportation system to beam in a bomb, and then you to make sure it worked?"Sorek nodded cautiously. "That's the basics of it, yes.""Then tell us the rest of it, and I'll recommend the AAG treat you with leniency," Zuruk responded.Sorek shook his head. "I'll tell you what I know, but under one condition - you give me back my device. It's... it's a teleportation beacon that interfaces with the crime ring's equipment to beam me around Aethion.""Out of the question," said Levitaas coolly, turning to Zuruk. "He is a prisoner and an admitted criminal - we cannot let him go free.""For hundreds of years I've done my best to help people!" Sorek said angrily. "I was ordered to stay out of events, but I always did my best to make things better for the people of the worlds! Criminal? By association, yes. But I've never actually done anything wrong!""You have gathered intelligence that the crime ring has used to enact schemes, I'm sure," Levitaas returned. "We could charge you with aiding and abetting criminal activity."Zuruk sighed, weary of the argument between Levitaas and Sorek. "I'll accept your deal," he said. "You can have your device back, but you're going to tell us everything we want to know first."Sorek nodded. "Agreed." Levitaas glared at Zuruk and headed out of the room to organize his sweep of the island. Kyn waited anxiously at the Ga-Clysmax ITH.He had spoken to high-ranking Ta-Clysmax intelligence officials. While the Allied Fragments weren't certain, there was evidence to suggest that Ko-Clysmax was working with the Alarist Underground.For instance, two weeks ago in BZ-Koro, an AAG warehouse containing a new prototype engine for government vehicles had been raided. It was not a Phantoka Motors product - instead, it had been produced by a small tech company on Alarist.Two days later, Ice Fragment fighters had been observed to have improved engine designs.Kyn wasn't sure about how the two parties were transferring materials back and forth. He concluded they must have some sort of teleporter, or possibly a hack into a Cargo Star.In any event, Ta-Clysmax intelligence had concluded that if the two parties were working together, all the evidence suggested there would be an attack on one of the Totems linking Clysmax to Promathus.Kyn, accompanied by Ta-Clysmax soldiers, had quickly flown to Ga-Clysmax to bolster the defenses of the ITH.He sighed. "Any sign of Ko-Clysmax attackers?" Kyn asked the commander, a Toa of Fire.The Toa studied a monitor. "Nothing that we can see.""Then we have to consider the possibility that the attack will occur on Promathus. All the ITHs have been reinforced since Ko-Clysmax's surprise attack on the Onu-Clysmax ITH, so perhaps they'd take their chances with Phantoka Motors." Kyn responded."Possibly," began the Toa of Fire, "but I think-"What the Toa of Fire thought went unstated as alarms began to ring. The two of them looked up and saw a fleet of DarkFly fighters and Eclipse frigates on approach."Where did they come from? How could we not detect them?" shouted Kyn, over the alarms."They must have been upgraded with improved stealth technology," the Toa of Fire replied. He did not say anything else, but instead ran for the Totem room. Kyn followed him.It did not take them too long to reach the Totem room. Civilians waiting in line for the Totem had scattered and sought shelter from the attack.Kyn looked around the room. Ta-Clysmax soldiers were there, with their weapons ready.Conspicuously, ITH Security was absent. Kyn wondered why.He had no time to ask, however, as a Glatorian, consulting a Gadget display, shouted, "Brace yourselves!"The entire building shook. Kyn guessed that an Eclipse frigate was overhead dropping bombs. That worried him.The Ga-Clysmax ITH was on an island in the lake- it was not underwater. For ease of access from the depths, however, portions of the structure were underground. The Totem Room was not - but this meant that there was nothing above the Totem Room.The roof exploded, and two Toa of Ice, followed by two Ice Glatorian, dropped through. Kyn remembered they had used this tactic before to steal the Onu-Clysmax Totem."Get them!" shouted the Toa of Fire. Elemental blasts and the fire of projectile weapons erupted throughout the chamber."I'll guard the Totem!" shouted Kyn.The first of the intruders to make a move for the Totem was one of the Ice Glatorian. He charged Kyn with his sword and a sneer on his face - not expecting a mere Matoran to put up much resistance.He didn't know that this mere Matoran had once been Arrik Xell, champion of the Titanheart Clan on Barrawahi.Kyn jumped aside, and fired his Fireworks Revolver as he did so. The Ice Glatorian had not been expecting much of a fight, and certainly wasn't expecting to take fireworks at close range. Stunned, he fell backwards.Kyn glanced around. The other three commandos were being dealt with by the Ta-Clysmax soldiers. He decided a prisoner could prove useful - and so kept a watch on the knocked out Ice Glatorian.The other three were soon dealt with - they fled back to their ship, seeing that the battle was lost - and through the remains of the roof, Kyn saw Fire Fragment ships driving off the Ice attackers."Sir?" he said, "I've captured one of them."

Fair enough. I can promise that everything will come together in the end, even if it doesn't seem like it yet. Glad that all these differing perspectives worked out well. I think the reason I made him an Iron Agori was because I wanted to show/confirm that Iron Agori still existed in Aethion despite the disease that effected them in the Core Dimension.But I'm glad it ended up producing such a nice metaphor. That's an interesting reaction I didn't foresee, but I wanna explain why I didn't have a problem with it. Basically, Kyn has been really affected by what he had to do at the end of that, and it's his nature not to shy away from a cynical observation. Let's face it, if you tended towards that mindset anyways, and had already (as he did in Safety in Numbers) concluded Zuruk was a fraud, you might have that reaction when Zuruk's supposed to be doing one thing but it appears he's instead doing his own project for personal profit.Also, what I intended to convey at the very end of S&S, dunno if I did it well enough, was that even though Kyn had argued against being leader at the beginning, by the end he had started to want it, but he got NO votes at all. Zuruk and Hanashi did. Well, Kyn has always looked up to Hanashi so I don't think he resents her at all for that and agrees she's a far better leader than he could be, but it does make sense to me that he might resent Zuruk a little for taking the number two spot.I dunno if TC01 had thought of all that, and I hadn't till just now in response to you, but it does make sense to me. And personally I would not edit this one much if at all because I don't think Kyn would be consciously thinking any of this.Also, I do think that despite Kyn's little cynical mental jibe, when he does speak with Zuruk his newfound respect is implied.This is basically what I was thinking. Kyn may respect Zuruk, because he did prove himself under fire in Sticks and Stones, but trust? He may trust him more, but Zuruk is supposed to be conducting an investigation and as far as Kyn can tell it appears Zuruk is just trying to make money and maybe not taking the investigation as seriously as he should. Add to the fact that while everyone now knows Kyn's secret, no one knows Zuruk's yet. But they do know that Zuruk still has a secret. See above for why I kinda agree with this, but just to clarify, Kyn definately had enough knowledge after living on Shattered for so long as to how to direct his robots to win that battle. He simply had a lot of robots, and he has been watching the defense tactics of Fire and Allied forces against Ko-Clysmax, often nearby, for a long time. Being a former Champion I don't see how he would ignore their tactics; I think he would definately study them and think about the possibility he might need to use them if Ice's attacks ever threatened him.So I felt it made sense, but I do agree that even with all that, his lack of direct experience would have more of an impact than was made clear, so some editing might help. The robot battle.. I'll admit that I'm not completely happy with it either. I'm sort of rethinking the whole idea of having him use his robots in combat again- what I was thinking when I wrote it is much like what bonesiii said, he's tired of running and hiding, and he's not going to back down when he has a chance to fight. So he orders his robots to basically divebomb and swarm the fighters, destroying a lot of the robots but also taking out many fighters.My concern is that I'm making the robots into a sort of deus ex machina- they were already used to win battles in Sticks and Stones and now I abuse them again for the same purpose.. so this is definitely something I might edit. I think TC may have planned to minorly edit that though so yeah.Yep, my bad on this. Forgot to copy the edited version back into my saved copy of the epic.. the version above is correct, and fixed it in the actual epic.

Zuruk grinned as he watched the BZ-Koro inhabitants begin to gather.It was time to begin the show.He walked forward, holding his hands behind his back. The Forum Moderator of the Promathus Forum wasn't totally happy that Zuruk was taking up so large an area of the forum for this, but had yielded when Zuruk explained how he was using this to gather intelligence."People of BZ-Koro! Welcome to the first public launch of the Cleanbot, second product of the Enigma Line!" he shouted. "As you probably know, the Enigma Line is technology inspired by my own journey to the eighth planet - Enigma! The first product, the Sonic Welder, was a massive success, and I am proud to introduce the second."He stepped aside, and pressed a button on the remote control behind his back. A Cleanbot hovered forward."This is a Cleanbot. It is equipped with a set of auto-adjusting grasping clamps for manipulating objects, and complex programming by the very best software developers of Miscellaneous Enterprises. It is very easy to get it to run at a specified time each day, and to give it a limited area of operation.'And it's highly customizable! In addition to a built-in control system, if you are a software developer you can write your own additions to its cleaning routines. But enough of that jargon," Zuruk said with a grin - and he did get a laugh - "now we'll demonstrate it in action."He pressed another button on the remote control. The Cleanbot hovered forward.At Zuruk's instructions, the plaza where he was standing had been cluttered with lots of junk (mostly debris from the Promathus ITH - Zuruk couldn't help but mentally applaud his sheer practicality). The Cleanbot began to pick it up, categorize it, and sort it into separate containers.The Toa of Ice continued his sales pitch. "But that's not all! We're also making available an exclusive, limited-edition Gadget upgrade model! We only have a few of those upgrades available today, I'm afraid, but you can always order one on our Cargo Star website."He pressed another button on his control, and this time a Gadget emerged - with the same cleaning graspers as the Cleanbot. It joined its standalone brother and began to continue cleaning up the ruins."Now," Zuruk said to the impressed audience, "this is how this is going to work. We only have one hundred models, which means that only the first one hundred people will get them! Please form a line. When I'm ready, I'll signal the next person to come forward. We'll talk briefly and then I'll arrange your purchase. Oh - one thing... I will require proof of BZ-Koro citizenship. This is a BZK Exclusive only!"There were a few groans from the crowd, and Zuruk couldn't help but chuckle at that. The people in the crowd did as well, as they began to form a queue.Zuruk sighed contentedly as he prepared to deal with the first customer in line. Time to make a lot of money... he thought. Makan was amazed he had made it into the first one hundred customers, let alone the first fifty or so. But he supposed he wouldn't have been averse to elbowing someone out of the way if it meant getting face-to-face time with Zuruk.And now he was at the front of the queue, watching the Toa of Ice talk with a Turaga of Crystal named Khaza, who was one of Makan's neighbors."And how are you doing today, Turaga?" asked Zuruk in a respectful tone."My name is Khaza, and very well, thank you," the elder answered. "How much is it for a stand-alone Cleanbot?""Before I tell you that - do you have proof of BZK citizenship?""I've lived on the Island of Time for nearly two hundred years. What proof am I supposed to have?" she asked, annoyed. Makan stepped forward before an argument started. Khaza was a skilled debater who could easily match Zuruk's salesmanship. A time-wasting deadlock was the last thing Makan wanted."Er, excuse me," he said. "But I can vouch for Turaga Khaza. She's one of my neighbors." A few other people in the line seconded Makan's statement.Zuruk looked at them briefly, and nodded."Very well. A Cleanbot will cost you 30 Gems. Why is it that you want a Cleanbot? Too much clutter?" Zuruk asked politely. But Makan sensed something else behind that question - as if this entire exchange was designed so that it could be asked."Yes, I'm afraid," Khaza said sighing. "And if I can at least keep my stuff organized, I'll know if something's been stolen or if it's just gone missing.""Oh?" asked Zuruk, feigning confusion. "Is crime very bad around here, then?""It has been lately, I'm afraid. I think some things have been taken, because you hear stories, you see - whereas it could just be lost in clutter. Still, coming home and seeing my alternate mask, a Mask of Speed, gone from its usual place on the table... that's why I want one of these machines."Zuruk nodded, and gave his Gadget a command. "Then if you just tell the Gadget your name, your account number, or that you'll be paying me directly, I'll set one up and order it to follow you back home!" he said with a smile.The Turaga paid, and then Zuruk opened a Cleanbot package, set Khaza as its owner, and then ordered it to follow its owner. Khaza walked off cheerily with the robot hovering along.Makan was up next. The Po-Matoran stepped forward at Zuruk's gesture."Right. Your name, please?" Zuruk asked."Makan," he answered. "And here is proof of my BZ-Koro citizenship." Makan had been foresighted enough to expect that Zuruk might ask for identification in order to protect himself as a member of Team Cipher.Though I hadn't quite expected it to happen like this..."Then hello, Makan. Why is it that you want a Cleanbot?" Zuruk asked.Makan hesitated. "Well, because I'm a Kanoka Disk collector and a merchant, and I'd like to be able to keep my collection clean. But... I'm here because I wanted to talk to you - about your investigation."Zuruk studied him curiously. "Oh? Do you know something about the crime ring, then?" There was a sharp tone to his voice that had not been there before."No, not that. What I mean is, well... I don't know if you know how bad crime is in BZ-Koro right now. It's at an all-time high."Zuruk nodded. "I'm beginning to see that," he responded. "Turaga Khaza was certainly not the first person who mentioned it today. If that's all you wanted...""No! I mean, the thieves stole... a valuable item from me. A Kanoka Disk of Blue Energy - the pride of my collection! And I have no idea how they got it! My security wasn't broken into or anything... it's like it just vanished. I thought that might be useful for you to know."Zuruk stared at him again. "This might have just paid off... and not just financially," he muttered under his breath."What?" asked Makan, curiously."Nothing," the Toa of Ice said dismissively. "Now, do you have anything else I need to know? Or shall I set you up with a Cleanbot now?"Makan shrugged. "I don't think there's anything else - wait, there was one thing. I talked to an Iron Agori a little while ago, and he expressed concern that this theft is involved in a larger plot to separate Clysmax, Promathus, and Alarist.""How so?" asked Zuruk."Well, recently the Onu-Clysmax Totem, linking Alarist and Clysmax, was stolen. Now, the Islands of Life Totem linking Alarist and Promathus was stolen. There's no easy way to get from Alarist to Clysmax or from Alarist to Promathus anymore - doesn't that seem like it would be an unlikely coincidence?"Zuruk's eyes went wide. "And you didn't get the name of this Iron Agori? I would have liked to talk to him." Makan shook his head. "Oh well. I'll definitely bear that in mind... and now, if you would give your information to this Gadget, I'll get you a Cleanbot."Makan proceeded to go through the rest of the checkout process, and then walked away from the Promathus Forum, feeling uncertain.At least he had gotten his concerns to Zuruk, and the Toa of Ice had seemed strangely affected by Makan's theft, as if there were more to this.I think I'll stick around for a while, Makan decided, and maybe debate that Iron Agori's ideas in the rest of the forum. With a Cleanbot at his back, the Po-Matoran headed to find someone he could argue with. The rest of the customers passed through without much incident. Zuruk was still bothered by what Makan had said - it was preventing him from experiencing the joy of making money.So, we've basically established that the Alarist Underground has some kind of teleporter. They've used it at least three times: to steal Makan's Kanoka disk, to beam explosives into the ITH, and to beam out the Olmak Totem itself.That last bit still bothered Zuruk. He hadn't gotten a response from Dataguard Alpha yet, so he still wasn't sure if an Olmak Totem even could be teleported. Yet all the evidence suggested that it had been.And could there really be a link between the Alarist Underground and the Ice Fragment?That had already occurred to Zuruk, but to hear someone else propose it worried him even more. Either the Ice Fragment was sponsoring crime on Alarist, which (assuming the Totems were found) would likely lead to war between Alarist and Ice, or a third party was organizing both groups.Like Izumal?It was easy to blame that world for everything. But who else would it be?He was interrupted in his reverie by the roar of a Aerospace Plane R-10 overhead. It circled the Promathus Forum and landed.Out of it emerged a small group of well-armed Matoran. Their leader was a yellow and light-blue colored Matoran with heavy armor, carrying a large sword that would seemingly have been far too heavy for him to carry.The others were carrying a variety of weapons. One green Matoran was carrying an Eccentric Rock and Zuruk guessed there were more in his backpack. Another held a Lightstone Rifle - Zuruk wasn't quite sure why, unless that Matoran expected the Alarist Underground to consist primarily of Shadow beings.They approached him."My name is Levitaas, Matoran of Lightning and commander of AAG Elite Security Squad 5T. We've been sent to assist you in your investigation," the leader said. Zuruk nodded."To that extent, I require that you provide me with everything you have learned thus far, and what your plan of action is for the future," continued Levitaas.Zuruk found himself disliking this Matoran. It wasn't that Levitaas was arrogant, it was just that... he seemed too cold. Too focused on completing his mission. Zuruk guessed this was one of those Matoran who wanted so desperately to become a Toa they would sacrifice everything else in pursuit of that goal.He quickly filled the Matoran commander in on everything he had learned. Levitaas frowned."But do we have any way to figure out where this teleporter is?" the Matoran asked."Not that I know of," Zuruk said with a sigh. "I was going to report in to Toa Hanashi, unless something else came up, to see if any other Team Cipher members had any suggestions. I might as well do that now."He called for his Gadget. Artakha felt around this new environment. He realized "look" was probably not the best way to think of what he was doing.At first, all he was conscious of was pulsing, purple energy all around him. He seemed to be moving, but he wasn't sure if that was just an illusion.Then, he felt like there were objects all around him, but he couldn't identify what they were. He tried "feeling" them, but wasn't sure what his feelings meant.Curious, he thought. This was not what he was expecting.Artakha concentrated, and felt for the "edges" of this space. At the touch of his mind - or whatever sense he was using in here - there was a reaction. Suddenly he could "see" the outside world beyond the Star Portal.There was Bluespace and... seemingly nothing else. Frowning, Artakha tried again, and now could see the eight planets, partially obscured by Bluespace. He concentrated a third time, and now beheld the Wiki-Nui Museum.It was evident to him that this was a form of interface for transit in and out of the Star Portal, and he was zooming in on his current location.Now he saw the airship. This time, Artakha thought of a person - Aikla, the lead scientist.Artakha saw her, talking with a Skakdi associate. He couldn't hear them, however.Time to test teleportation. Artakha pushed with his mind... Aikla looked up from her conversation with her second-in-command, as a column of purple light appeared in front of her.She hesitated for a second, then grabbed an Impact Crystal Launcher - you never quite knew what would come back from the Star Portal.However, she casually threw it aside when she saw the features of Artakha begin to take form."Welcome back," she said. "This is Yhamkut, my second-in-command on this research team. What did you observe?"Artakha shrugged. "A strange environment. It felt like at first my mind had been transformed into pure energy and sucked into an alternate dimension that went on forever. Then, I could feel other objects in there with me- lots of them floating around. And then I could feel the outside world, and I quickly deduced how to use that 'feeling' to escape."Aikla frowned. "Most of that is normal to observers... but you say you felt lots of other objects in there?" Artakha nodded. "That is unusual. In the past, there have only been a handful of other objects."Artakha nodded again. "So could the change in volume of the Star Portal have resulted from it absorbing some non-organic objects?""Possibly," replied the female Vortixx, "But I don't think there's ever been an opportunity for that to happen.""Well, in any case, I do have some ideas as to how it works, and if I'm right, it should be possible to modify your scanning equipment to see inside the Star Portal and obtain a detailed scan of its contents."Aikla noticed that Yhamkut was looking very excited when Artakha said that. Then again, so was she."How?" asked the Skakdi researcher.Artakha was about to reply when his Gadget beeped. He apologized and answered it.It was Hanashi. "Artakha! I'm sorry to interrupt your work, but we've just got reports that the Totem Machine in the Museum has stopped working. It doesn't seem to be generating any Blue Energy anymore."Artakha's eyes widened. "When did that happen?""Apparently there was a noticeable energy drain since this morning - about six hours ago, according to ITH Security- it only totally failed now. But, you need to fix it now, before the Agents show up."Artakha's mind was racing. Six hours ago, the wings of the Star Portal had begun beating faster. Six hours ago, Blue Energy had begun to drain from his Olmak Totem Machine, just in the Museum below.There was a connection, Artakha was sure of it."I believe that getting to the bottom of the Star Portal may solve the Totem Machine's problem, Hanashi. The two began behaving oddly at around the same time. I believe if I can identify why the Star Portal is behaving differently, and reverse it, the Totem Machine will begin working again.""How long do you expect that to take?" Hanashi asked. Artakha sighed."I don't know. But I doubt I could fix the Totem Machine anyway, if my theories are correct, without working on the Star Portal first.'Hanashi paused. "Alright. I'll give you six hours to work on the Star Portal. If you can't fix it after six hours... we need to do something about the Totem Machine. Good luck."She closed the line. Artakha turned back to the scientists, determined to get to the bottom of this.

Artakha had been led into the main research lab, which served as the hub of onboard operations. He was then introduced to the project leader, Aikla, a Vortixx."It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "Do you have any initial thoughts about the Star Portal? I'd welcome your opinion as an inhabitant of technologically-advanced Izumal.""Well, I do not think it is Izumal technology. It's possible it could be some extremely divergent Izumal tech that doesn't use traditional Izumal power sources or nanites, but I find that unlikely," Artakha replied."As did we," she said. "But before we talk any more about that, we really should show it to you up close," Aikla added with a smile."Up close? How close?" asked Artakha."As close as this vessel can get without fear of interfering in the Star Portal's systems - only about a kio or so away. When we need to get closer, we use a travel pod.""I see," replied Artakha. "Then let's go take a look at it."They exited the office. It was a quick walk to the observation bay.Artakha was impressed. Not at the masses of equipment scattered around this adapted cargo-bay, not at the cluster of scientists prodding devices and manipulating controls - but at the Star Portal, which was visible through several wide but narrow windows that ran along one of the bay's walls.He had read of it. He had seen it from a distance... but the research vessel was very close. He stared into the depths of the Star Portal. At its center was a rippling ball of black and purple energy that reminded Artakha a bit of a Ghost Bubble and a bit of a dimensional vortex. It seemed as if any second it would begin to absorb the world around it- and yet it did not.As he watched, a bolt of lightning lanced out from the inner depths of the energy sphere and struck the side of the research vessel. Artakha braced himself, but nothing else happened that he could detect. They must have already installed absorbers or deflectors.Above it two silvery structures spun at a rate of about one rotation per second. They seemed angelic in nature, even though they looked like the wings of a Kanohi Dragon. Artakha remembered reading that they stabilized the Star Portal against gravity - but they were clearly designed to impress watchers as well.Below the Star Portal, a long spiral began; wide at the top, tapering down to a single point below. The construct served no known purpose and would have been dismissed as decorative if not for the fact that it curved upwards in a perfect Fibonacci sequence.The entire structure... all of it defied imagination, and seemed to defy reality as well.Aikla watched him, amused. "It can be like that the first time," she said.Artakha nodded, speechless. A thought occurred to him."Before we begin - tell me, what exactly has changed? I'm no expert, but it seems exactly as described," he asked."Well, first, the wings have begun spinning faster on average. Plus, they seem to fluctuate at intervals as if to keep the Star Portal in the air. Second, the orb of energy has increased slightly in diameter.""When did this first happen?" asked Artakha."We only noticed the wings this morning, a little less than six hours ago, " Aikla replied. "But the size change happened before that, a few days ago."Artakha nodded. "Next - I would like to go inside the Star Portal. Has anyone tried since the change?""No. You would be the first- no one really likes being in there, and especially not now that things have changed. Are you sure you want to be the stone rat?"Artakha laughed quietly. "I've done far more dangerous things than this in my time on Izumal. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it."Aikla shrugged. "Okay. Well, you'll need to take a travel pod. We launch them from the flight bay, which is one deck above. There's a ladder over there," she said, pointing. "They're pre-programmed to approach the Star Portal and stop right before they hit the surface area of the energy sphere. Then, open the doors and reach out and touch it.""Has the programming been modified to account for the increase in diameter?""Yes, it has. The only danger would be if the diameter continues rapid fluctuations - that could cause the pod to be enveloped by the Star Portal Energy. The chances of that are very small... which is probably a good thing.""Oh? What would happen?""Well, as best we can tell, the Star Portal will dematerialize the non-living construct - that is, the pod – into its energy sphere. What we don't know is what would happen to a living organism inside. We're not too eager to find out either."Artakha frowned at that, but he wanted to see what the Star Portal was like from the inside anyway. He had come this far and it was a reasonable risk. Most likely the Star Portal, being so advanced, would recognize Artakha as living and separate him from the travel pod.He walked over to and climbed up the ladder, where he was greeted by a Toa of Iron wearing a Mask of Forcefield Control. The two Toa and the travel pods stood next to a circular opening in the wall that also showed the Star Portal. Artakha saw a ripple of air and surmised it was a forcefield instead of a window."Take the first pod," advised the Toa of Iron. "It's probably in the best shape - I just finished repairing it.""Okay... how do I control this vehicle?" asked Artakha.The Toa of Iron frowned. "You don't. You step inside, press the green button, and then it seals and I use my Kanohi to open a hole in the forcefield barrier. It calculates a course and flies there. Then you press the red button and the doors open. Got it?""Yes," the Toa of Magnetism responded. He stepped into the first pod and pressed the green button. The doors slid shut and the pod rose into the air.The Toa of Iron raised his hand and concentrated. The Mask of Forcefield Control activated, and a hole appeared in the forcefield at the end of the flight deck.The pod gathered up speed as it flew through the hole. It soon reached the Star Portal - Artakha could see this through the windows in the door.He pressed the red button. The doors opened.Artakha wasn't sure what to expect. Would the energy of the vortex tear him out of the craft, or would he have to jump forward?As it turns out, neither was the case. All he had to do was raise an arm and touch the swirling energies.He vanished. Kyn finished watching the recording Zuruk sent him. He sat and stared at his Gadget.To an outside observer, he might have seemed unfocused, but he was considering what he had just seen very carefully before leaping to any conclusions.Zuruk seems to be right. The first explosion almost comes from the Totem, as if someone sent the explosives from Promathus directly to Alarist via the Totem?Kyn found that unlikely - although he could check with the activity logs at Miscellaneous Enterprises' ITH on Promathus.Who would be crazy enough to detonate explosives near an Olmak Totem? Who knows what would happen?Personally, Kyn had no idea what would happen. He had never experimented with it. But he doubted Olmak Totems were explosive-proof, especially not to the yields used in these (which had been fairly easy to calculate).His conclusion, therefore, was that Zuruk was right - someone had teleported out the Olmak Totem and teleported in some explosives to replace it."Gadget, call Zuruk," Kyn ordered. Instead of the familiar loading screen, a message appeared on the screen reading "caller busy."Kyn frowned. What's he busy with?"Cancel call, hop on table and display active Alarist newsfeeds." The Gadget obeyed, and Kyn immediately saw why in the first item: "ENIGMA LINE LAUNCHED IN BZ-KORO".He read the article. Zuruk was organizing a public sale of the Cleanbot in BZ-Koro's Promathus Forum; the next product in his so-called Enigma Line. It was going to take place within the hour.This only seemed to confirm Kyn's suspicions that Zuruk was a fraud. He's taking time away from a serious investigation to make money for himself!Kyn shrugged, and instructed the Gadget to record a message for Zuruk and send as soon as Zuruk became available.What can I do now? His limited role in the investigation seemed to be over.That was when the attack siren went off.Ko-Clysmax is attacking!They hadn't launched an attack on the other shards since their theft of the Onu-Clysmax Olmak Totem (and the revelation of the Shattering's origin). Things had been quiet for a while... that was changing now.Kyn's Hut Mansion was fortified enough to protect it against accidental explosions (as he did store some explosives here), so he wasn't too concerned about heeding the siren.He quickly ran through the building to reach a part of the structure with reinforced windows pointing in the directoin of Ko-Clysmax.He watched as the attackers flew along, bombing and firing. There were three main groups. The first, Kyn could identify as a DarkFly leading five Eclipse frigates - the other two groups Kyn couldn't make out. He watched as Ta-Clysmax defenders were launched and swerved to intercept the Ko-Clysmax forces.Then he noticed with alarm that the lead group was heading straight towards his Hut Mansion, with the other two providing cover fire.Kyn quickly mulled over possible options. He could retreat - but his Hut Mansion would still take some damage, and he might also be killed while trying to leave it. He could do nothing and hope the defenders would intercept the DarkFly and the Eclipses first.Neither option appealed to him. Fortunately, there was a third.His Gadget beeped. It was a Fire Fragment defense force leader."Kyn! The attackers are heading straight for your Hut Mansion!" shouted the Toa of Fire. "Either get out or find some kind of shelter in there!"Kyn shook his head. "I have an idea - something I've been waiting to try since returning from Barrawahi! I'm not running or hiding!" he shouted.Then, he sent out an activator signal for his robots.Dozens emerged from the Hut Mansion's bomb range and rushed forward at the approaching fighters, which fired on them. Some robots were hit, but they were moving at such speeds that many were not, and survived to latch on to the ships.The lead DarkFly went down under a swarm of five robots, which began tearing into the metal hull and pulling out sparking parts. An Eclipse frigate launched two of its missiles towards the building, but two robots flew underneath, grabbed them, and dropped them onto the frigate from overhead. Even Ko-Clysmax fighters had to use a heat source of some kind for power, and the freezing technology did an excellent job of rendering that source inert. The frigate, now devoid of power, spiralled out of control and smashed into the ground.Another Eclipse opened fire on the robots, destroying most of them, but another group of robots swiftly intercepted it.When the pilots of the ships attempted to eject, robots grabbed them and flew them to the Fire Fragment HQ, where they would be imprisoned and interrogated.It was a messy battle. Robot and fighter parts were falling to the ground rapidly, and Kyn was wondering if the sacrifice in this battle - the destruction of so many of his robots - was worth it.But they're just machines, and can be replaced - unlike me.Kyn only kept up the robot attack until three Ta-Clysmax fighters arrived, and shot down the remaining attackers.He sighed in relief when the attackers were all defeated. But he felt uneasy.Why attack my Hut so specifically? I wasn't involved in the revelation of the Shattering - though I am a Team Cipher member...Kyn supposed it was possible that the Ice King wanted to wipe out all of Team Cipher for that. But he didn't think that was a likely reason - so what exactly was going on here?At least now I have something to do... It took about three hours instead of the usual two for Makan to arrive at the Promathus forum.He had chosen to walk through the various forums devoted to discussing the Bionicle Core Dimension, in case any new interesting thing was being discussed. Like most Matoran who lived on the Island of Time, Makan was intrigued by alternate universes- especially the Core Dimension.That's because if we're not, we move, either to the other islands or to Wiki-Nui, reflected Makan, because we can't stand some of those who are.There were some Matoran who seemed to live in the Core Dimension discussion forums...He smiled as he thought about the debate he had heard going on in the Core Dimension Storyline & Theories Forum - on the nature of elements in the Core Dimension.Apparently, unlike Aethion, in the Core Dimension there were only a handful of elements. Makan wasn't entirely sure why, but he thought it was something to do with the creativity of the Great Beings and how Matoran there weren't originally intended to be sentient. He found it bizarre.The argument was about Acid - lots of arguments were about Acid, it seemed. What was it? Merely a power? A derivative of The Green? Or an element of its own? Researchers in Wiki-Nui weren't completely certain, and so it had taken up days and days of discussion.Of course, here, it's just another element. There were a few Hy-Matoran around on BZ-Koro, even though the turquoise-colored element was usually evil.Makan's reflections stopped as he realized he had no idea where he was going - he had wandered off the path while lost in thought.He looked around in surprise and then accosted a nearby Iron Agori."Excuse me, but I appear to have gotten lost - which way to the Promathus Forum?""Ah, you're interested in buying a Cleanbot then? You'd better hurry - it's that way!" said the Iron Agori, pointing.Makan blinked, confused. "What? A Cleanbot from where? Promathus? Has the Totem been found?"The Iron Agori smiled."Ah, so you haven't heard the news? Toa Zuruk is holding a special sale in a few minutes to launch the Cleanbot, the next product in his Enigma Line. 'Never clean again!' the posters said. It's in the Promathus Forum, near the ITH - but he only has a limited number!"Makan nodded. Makes sense that Zuruk would do it there, since he's also supposed to be searching for the Totem.But the Iron Agori still hadn't answered his other question."So has the Totem been found, then?"The Iron Agori shook his head. "Nope. It's still missing. I guess he ordered them via Cargo Star. But- doesn't this seem a little suspicious? Not long ago the totem pointing here from Clysmax was stolen. Then, just now, the totem pointing to Promathus from here was stolen.""So?" asked Makan."Well," exclaimed the Iron Agori, who couldn't believe Makan hadn't gotten it, "That means there's no good way to get to Promathus from Alarist! Or Alarist to Clysmax! It's like someone is trying to cut off our allied worlds! Like Izumal!"Makan's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. He remembered watching the broadcast that the Onu-Clysmax Totem had been stolen, but in the same breath Hanashi announced the secret of the Shattering.But I thought that was by the Ice Fragment. And this was by the Crime Syndicate... could the Agents - or someone else - be involved with both groups?Makan shook his head, unsettled. "You should bring that up at the Promathus Forum - or at the Clysmax Forum - or at the Izumal Forum," he said. "Lots of options, I guess. If you're not sure, somebody might help move your topic.""I have," responded the Iron Agori. "I just proposed it up at the Promathus Forum, and I'm on my way to Wiki-Nui now. Good luck at the sale!"With that, the Iron Agori headed away.Still bothered by those ideas, Makan headed in the direction the Agori had indicated.

That is a theme of the EM that I think could be developed somewhere quite well- does morality from the Core Dimension have anything at all to do with morality in Aethion? Now I'm imagining another story I could write. But I'm glad you think I got the characterizations properly- that's definitely something I worried about as a guest writer.

Rather than walk or take a ground transport to the Museum and then use some air transport to travel to the research airship, Artakha had decided to take an Aerospace Jet R-10 directly - a small silver solar-powered craft manufactured by Lake Aerospace and used for short-distance trips.That way, he would get to see the Star Portal and have an opportunity to take some scans of it before he even reached the research ship.He had picked up the technique from Karzahni. His partner insisted that appearing to be in control of the situation was what the inhabitants of the other worlds expected from Izumali, Agents and hackers alike. And that if you didn't show it, other people would try to take advantage of you.While Artakha was sometimes uncertain of his partner's morals, he was surprised to admit that this advice had proven true so far.Anyway, he was eager to learn more about this strange artifact. There was no one else on the vehicle - it was transporting equipment to the research ship - and so no one to get in the way of his observations and research using the R-10's built-in computer system.The Star Portal had started out as a silver orb, Artakha read on the crystalline screen, that had transformed when it was exposed to Bluespace energy into its current shape.The silvery color, along with the transformation, suggested it might be an Izumal device - possibly even a nanite-based one. But I can't detect Izumal power sources.The energy source was completely unknown - although it was powerful enough to conceivably be Izumal tech."We're approaching the research vessel," called out the pilot. Artakha began packing up his equipment and told his Gadget to follow him from now on.The massive floating airship came into view. Team Star Portal (which, as the name suggested, was responsible for Star Portal research) had somehow managed to convince the AAG to pay an enormous amount for a custom-made airship from Phantoka Motors, bristling with sensors and containing many research labs and other equipment.I suppose the planet-wide earthquake when the Star Portal transformed couldn't have hurt. Most likely the AAG decided they couldn't risk letting this device remain a mystery after that, mused Artakha.The ship was based on the Wanvergerg Steam-Powered Floating Machine commonly seen in Promathus' skies. One could imagine that vehicle's size multiplied several times and they would be visualizing Team Star Portal's ship pretty well. It had some modifications, like a docking port for R- 10s, as well as one for unmanned supply craft and much smaller transport pods used for travelling from the Museum. Being so self-sustainable, this craft rarely landed.Artakha's R-10 docked flawlessly and the hatch opened to reveal a smallish room with several scientist assistants waiting to receive the cargo. Artakha grabbed the bag with his equipment, slung it over his shoulders, and began to help the pilot unload.As he handed the first box to an assistant, he spied something through a hairline seam in the floor that connected the two ships. A closer look showed it to be a part of the Wiki-Nui Museum far beneath, sprawling over the land of Wiki-Nui.Right, the Star Portal ended up floating high above the Museum for some reason. That must have alarmed more than a few.The cargo was all transferred in a few minutes and the assistants began wheeling them out of the room. Artakha followed.Time to get officially started, the Toa of Magnetism thought. Zuruk had a few Gadget calls to make.The first was to Kyn. Unlike many of his comrades, Zuruk had no problems with Kyn keeping his identity as Arrik Xell of Barrawahi secret. After all, Zuruk was keeping secrets too- about Enigma.And then there was his previous life. Zuruk was convinced that he was hundreds of years old, even though he had only appeared on Promathus 100 years ago - in an Olmak Anomaly, with no memory of this past life.He couldn't really keep that a secret because he didn't know anything about it, of course. But if I did something terrible in my past life too, I could be in the same boat as Kyn...As far as Zuruk was concerned, what mattered was who Kyn was now, and how he could best help the Olmak Merging Plan. Then Zuruk could retire to his Atohune hideout in peace, rich from the success of the Enigma Line."Call Kyn," Zuruk ordered his Gadget. He was currently in one of the less-damaged rooms of Totem Security at the ITH. Most of the areas furthest away from the Totem Room were intact.The Gadget beeped, and then Kyn's Kanohi Sanok appeared on the screen. He looked tired and sad, as if the events surrounding Avsa-Ka's death were still affecting him."Kyn, have you been following the situation here?" Zuruk asked. Kyn nodded."I watched Hanashi's report. And then I got a message from her detailing what she couldn't reveal publicly," Kyn said. "I can't believe the crime ring really thinks the AAG would give them the money-stamping secret..."Zuruk nodded. "I can't believe that either. Anyway, I could use your expertise here. Security at the ITH captured footage of the attack leading up to two explosions. Some things here... don't add up, and I wondered if you could look over the recordings and tell me what you think.""What are you looking for?" asked Kyn, intrigued.Zuruk hesitated. He wasn't actually sure. He just knew something was off. "Well, the commander of security, Ultarius, has the theory that the criminals had one person on the inside who smuggled explosives through security, detonated them near the Totem, and then rushed in and grabbed them. But I'm wondering if the Totem was teleported out- and the explosives were teleported in to replace it.""I'll look over it for you, sure - but wouldn't it be better to give it to an analysis team on Wiki Nui?" asked Kyn.Zuruk shook his head. "Yes, but they aren't Aethion's expert on explosives. You are. I'm hoping you can give me information they might not." What Zuruk didn't say, and he was sure Kyn knew, was that there was another reason.Zuruk didn't care what Kyn had done in his past. But what he did care about was how productive Kyn was in the future. And Zuruk felt, as second-in-command of Team Cipher, that it couldn't hurt to give the Av-Matoran something to do and take his mind off of Avsa-Ka."Anyway, if you'll do it, I'll just send the feed to you after closing this call. Okay?" Zuruk asked.Kyn nodded."End call," said Zuruk, wishing that Karzahni would hurry up and add multiple channels to his subspace communications network. Then he said, "Send Totem security footage to Kyn."Now, for call number two - to find out about teleporting Totems.Admittedly, Zuruk wasn't sure who the best person to contact about this would be. If he was on Promathus, he would call up an Experimental Industries representative and negotiate a contract for them to do some research.But the way the negotiations with the companies and unions are going right now, I doubt EI would be willing to help. Especially since it's their union - The Guild - holding things up.So he decided to contact someone at the Library, in the Wiki-Nui Museum, where they could look things up and find out if there were any recorded instances of Totem teleportation before.After explaining who he was and what he wanted to the Library's communications office, he was promptly routed to Dataguard Alpha of the Museum's main Library, who Team Cipher had worked with before during the Avsa-Ka incident."Of course, it's an honor, quite an honor, to work with Team Cipher again. What was it you needed?" asked the robot."I needed to know about the feasibility of teleporting an Olmak Totem. Is it possible? Has it ever been done?" Zuruk responded. The robot blinked. Its size appeared to grow and shrink for a few moments, an effect of the Dataguard's telescoping limbs. It was a sure sign that Zuruk's question had surprised it, which made his hopes sink slightly."Well, I - I don't believe I've ever heard of such an incident... though it's entirely possible it might be in the records somewhere. It will take some time to search them all though, and then to contact some scientists, and then to-"Zuruk interrupted. "I appreciate the work involved, and I figured that your organization would be the best to work on such a task."The robot nodded. "Well, certainly. We'll do the best we can and contact you again once we have results. Goodbye." The connection was closed.And now for the call Zuruk was most uncertain about. Just as he thought it unlikely that Experimental Industries would be willing to help out Team Cipher, he was also not sure that his next contact would be.Still, I do work for him."Call Okotenga," he told his Gadget. Seconds later, the Onu-Matoran's Mask of Conjuring appeared on the display."You're late," the CEO of Miscellaneous Enterprises said to him. "We were expecting you almost an hour ago at the latest.""I'm a bit busy here because of the Totem that goes to our planet - and to our company - being stolen," Zuruk replied, a little annoyed. "Surely you saw the broadcast by Hanashi? It's my job to get it back!"Okotenga nodded. "I can understand that, and of course I'd like matters to be resolved on Alarist involving our Totem. Did you need anything from me?"Zuruk smiled. "Actually, I did. When are you launching the Cleanbot?"The question was unexpected, and it took a few moments for his boss to reply. "Tomorrow, although we're going to release preordered versions later today. Why?"Zuruk was grinning now. "I wondered if you could ship me a hundred packaged Cleanbots via Cargo Star to me now, in BZ-Koro, so I can sell them here?""I suppose..." Okotenga said cautiously. "As long any profits you gain from this are subject to our standard sales rep policies," he hastily added. "But why do you want them?""Well... apparently, the Olmak Totem being stolen might just be the symptom of a growing problem. I don't intend to go around interviewing people door-to-door... so I wanted another way of getting in touch with them," Zuruk replied.Secretly, Zuruk wasn't trying to get just a random bunch of tech enthusiasts together to listen for clues. The initial Cleanbot launch would attract more affluent citizens. Those citizens were more likely to have other valuable possessions, and thus more likely to have been victims of recent thefts.He didn't feel like explaining this to Okotenga, though. Fortunately, from the looks of it, he wouldn't have to do further convincing.Okotenga was nodding slowly. "It's an unusual idea, but you're full of unusual ideas, Zuruk. And the other companies can't object, because officially, this has nothing to do with Team Cipher." Okotenga was now smiling. "I'll deliver them to - where on BZ-Koro?""Totem Security at the Promathus ITH, on the central island. That's where I'm based at the moment," Zuruk responded. He would set up a makeshift stage for the grand revelation."Right. And good luck with your plan," Okotenga added, and then closed the channel.Zuruk grinned. Not only is this a great way to get in touch with ordinary people who've been stolen from and aren't in a position to do anything about it - but it's also a chance for me to make a lot of money...

It's a fair point- the feel of starting in the middle of things was sort of intentional, but if I were to rewrite the prologue today I might at least make it a little longer.I usually feel that dialogue is one of my weaker areas as a writer, so I'm glad you find it realistic. Thanks! Yep, it is. Like previous Cipher Chronicles episodes, I'll post a chapter once a week (every Sunday for this one).

The first order of business was to interview Ultarius, since the commander of Totem security probably knew what was going on."Well," said the Skrall, "I was in my office at the time, from which I can see the Totem room, and of course I have access to the security camera system - though I wasn't watching it, you see, because I was-"Zuruk sighed. "Get back to the attack, please." The security chief was evidently afraid that the attack reflected poorly on him, and he was trying to provide excuses."Right, sorry. Anyway, traffic seemed normal, no one had given security any problems at the checkpoints - and then suddenly, there was an explosion," Ultarius said."Where was it from?" asked Zuruk. His Gadget was recording this - he intended to send this part to Kyn to see if there were any incongruities. While Zuruk (and almost everyone else on Promathus) knew a bit about demolitions from constantly having to demolish glomosulfur buildings, the Matoran who had made his fortune off of it knew far more."It seemed to come from a room close to the Totem - past the security checkpoints but not in the room itself," replied Ultarius. "But - I could be wrong - I swore I saw the Totem vanish as the explosion went off. After that explosion, a second went off much closer by and shattered the protoglass windows in my office. That's when I ran out to control the situation."That surprised Zuruk. "Are you saying the crime syndicate teleported the Olmak Totem away?" he asked, appalled.Who in their right mind would try to teleport an Olmak Totem? Only a maddened criminal would risk it - even some of the crazier scientists working for Experimental Industries wouldn't dare it."I think so, but this was at the same time the windows blew out, so maybe I imagined it," answered the chief of security.Zuruk nodded, understanding. "Did you actually see any criminals?""Two, a Crushslow Troak and a Toa of Kinetics. Didn't have time to ID them, mainly because we were pushed and held down by the Crushslow power. They appeared, did some damage, and then in the confusion of the explosions escaped. I assumed they grabbed the Totem in the process... then I remembered the vanishing."Zuruk was tempted to discard the "vanishing", especially if the security chief had to "remember" it. But he needed to make sure. "This morning, the Alarist Underground crime syndicate launched an attack on the Promathus ITH, on the central island of BZ-Koro. In what has been their most daring theft yet, they stole the Olmak Totem that connects Alarist to Promathus. There were three deaths among security personnel and six injuries. Eleven civilians were also injured in the explosion.'Toa Zuruk of Team Cipher will be involved in the investigation, and the AAG has announced that he will be joined by a top security team. If you have any information that may be useful in their investigation, please contact him.'In the mean time, should you wish to travel to Promathus, the only route I can recommend is for you to teleport to Atohune and try to find the Promathus Totem there. Normally, I'd suggest you should teleport to the Onu-Clysmax ITH and take a spacetrain to Ga-Clysmax and then use the Promathus Totem there, but the Onu-Clysmax Totem was recently stolen by Ice Fragment forces and remains missing."Makan sighed, and turned off the Gadget display, silencing the reporterette Hanashi before she moved on to the next news item for today.The Po-Matoran had been feeling depressed ever since his Kanoka of Blue Energy was stolen.He was a merchant, and also a collector of what he liked to call "rare artifacts". He was well aware that far rarer items could be found on Atohune, which seemed littered with legends and mysteries everywhere. But Makan was content to work in BZ-Koro and collect valuable items. In fact, he had never been off-planet.The Kanoka of Blue Energy had been his latest possession. Toa, and other beings who could use Kanohi might think masks were better, but many other races preferred the Kanoka disks, as they could use their powers.Makan liked disks, especially disk collecting. His collection of rare Kanoka was valuable, and obtaining the Kanoka of Blue Energy a few weeks ago had been his crowning achievement.A Mask of Blue Energy could draw energy from nearby Bluespace, and use it for basic purposes. For instance, a user could fire a lightning bolt of Bluespace energy, or recharge their own energies or their technology, or even materialize Blue Energy directly into Blue Grime.A Kanoka of Blue Energy had similar functions.Ninety percent of the time, it was just a normal, blue-colored disk. But when fired in the presence of an Olmak Effect or other Bluespace, it would absorb a portion of Blue Energy. Then when it struck a target, that Blue Energy would be released, causing an explosion.Makan had bought it from a Vortixx merchant visiting from Promathus. He had never used it, and doubted he ever would. It had cost several Orbs; he had spend quite a lot of time getting that money.And now it's gone... stolen, while I was out debating matters in the Collecting and Collection Marketplace Forum. Makan loved to visit that forum. However, it was on the eastern shore of the northern island, known as the Island of Time. He lived on the western shore. That meant whenever he went, he was away for the entire day.All day, a quiet anxiety would flutter in his stomach despite being engrossed in discussions. It would intensify as soon as he began the journey back home, and it would get worse and worse the closer Makan got. He would practically knock down his door in his rush to check everything and make sure nothing had gone wrong. As soon as he was reassured, the anxiety would slip away like a cloud allowing the sun to shine on his mask once again.Today, the cloud had remained, and was becoming black and swollen.I doubt this Zuruk knows how bad things have gotten. My disk was under pretty tight security- how could it have been taken? Makan was not a fool. He had a security camera. He had bought the best Element-Resistant Glass from a Clysmax-based company.But nothing was broken. The glass was in one piece. No other disks were missing. The recorded footage from the camera showed a bright blue flash that Makan almost attributed to an Olmak Effect, except nothing else that had been touched by the chaotic Bluespace was broken.And what of the theft of an Olmak Totem? No - as Hanashi had said, the second theft of an Olmak Totem, both of which linked to the same planet?Makan was concerned about the Olmak Effect, yes. He was glad Team Cipher was out there, yes. But he hadn't really wanted to become involved.However, he decided, This mystery I want to get to the bottom of. I'm going to go find Toa Zuruk, and then I'm going to find my Kanoka.The Po-Matoran headed out the door of his hut. Artakha sighed as he studied his equipment. He pressed a few buttons and looked at the readout.Nothing.So far, all attempts to figure out what exactly Izumal had done to Bajnok and Ekinodus had completely failed.Artakha had never heard of anyone being "ghosted" before on Izumal. The worst thing that could happen to a hacker was life imprisonment. He supposed the prison technology and this ghosting technology could be similar, but couldn't work out how.And that was why, days after Avsa-Ka's death at the hands of Kyn, Bajnok and Ekinodus were still in the center of an array of machinery that the Alarist scientists had set up on Karzahni's instructions. The scientists had run their own tests and come up blank too, so far.The doors to the lab opened. Hanashi walked in."Any luck?" she asked. Artakha shook his head gloomily."Well, there's something else for you to do now, at least. Do you know what the Star Portal is?" she asked him. Artakha frowned for a second, and then he remembered."Yes, I do - an artifact found on Atohune, wasn't it? Ten years ago?" he replied. Artakha recalled that the information had come from intercepted Cargo Star radio transmissions, though he couldn't remember all of the details."Yes, that's right," replied Hanashi. "If you touch it, you are absorbed into it and are capable of teleporting anywhere - the Star Portal temporarily splits apart everything between you and your destination."Artakha nodded. Oh, that's what it was... he thought.Hanashi continued. "Well, the research team studying it has requested we send a member of Team Cipher, whenever one is available, to help work on it. Apparently, lately its behavior has changed. And I'm sure they would value your perspective on it as a former inhabitant of Izumal."Artakha nodded. "I'll be glad to help. What of Bajnok and Ekinodus, however?""For the moment," Hanashi said, "nothing. Some Experimental Industries scientists were interested in investigating the matter too - but now that the Promathus Totem has been stolen, they have to go the Atohune route- and that's gotten pretty crowded."Bajnok spoke up. "While I would very much like to be cured of this 'condition'"- he spat the word, as if the very description offended him -"I do not wish to sit around and be poked and prodded at by every scientist who wants to have a go. I would rather do something!"Hanashi nodded. "I can understand that. Maybe you can assist with Zuruk's investigation if he needs help, or maybe something else will come up that suits you... in this condition. But for now, I'm afraid, there's nothing."Bajnok nodded. Ekinodus said nothing - he had been speaking less and less since Avsa-Ka's death.Artakha grabbed a bag containing his field equipment. Maybe a new mystery will take my mind off my failure to figure out this ghosting, he hoped.

For reference purposes, this was it.

| [Episode 1] [Episode 2] [Episode 3] [Episode 4] | | [Review Topic with Mini-Guide] [EM Discussion Topic] | bonesiii and Swert present An Aethion Expanded Multiverse Story Series Cipher Chronicles Episode 5 Current Events Guest written by TakunuvaC01 Finished and edited by Takuta-Nui Toa Zuruk was walking through the streets of the Promathus Forum when he noticed the smoke rising from up ahead.On industrialized Promathus, it would not have been too unusual; but here, in peaceful BZ-Koro, it was an odd sight.He quickly realized the smoke was coming from his destination. Alarmed, the white-and-sand-blue Toa of Ice broke into a run.Zuruk had been carrying on negotiations with the representatives of leaders of major Industrial companies via Gadget for a few days. They supported the Olmak Merging Plan, but were unwilling to officially endorse it at this time. Things had been going well, however, until the representative of The Guild requested his personal presence.And so he was going back to the planet he represented; to the Industrial Totem on the central island of BZ-Koro. It was located in the Promathus Forum, near the Hapori Tohu statue on the central island. All matters related to the planet Promathus were discussed in that forum.Unfortunately, in BZ-Koro there was limited ground transportation, so he had to suffice with walking. He couldn't wait to get to Industrial, where at least he could enjoy the comfort of a taxi.But it was from the Interplanetary Teleportation Hub holding that Totem where smoke was rising.Zuruk quickly reached the ITH. The building had been ripped open by high-yield explosives. A team of emergency response robots was putting out fires and clearing away debris.Before he could look around any further, he was greeted by an anxious Skrall named Ultarius, who was the commander of security at the ITH."Toa Zuruk! The Olmak Totem has been stolen!" Ultarius shouted.Zuruk sighed. I was afraid of that. Why else would anyone attack an ITH?Before he could say anything in response to Ultarius, Zuruk's Gadget beeped. He raised a hand apologetically and activated it.It was Toa Hanashi. She looked tired."Zuruk - we just received a report that the Promathus Totem has been stolen. Have you reached the ITH yet?" she asked."I have," Zuruk said. "Gadget, perform a slow spin." With that command, the Gadget began a slow rotation, allowing Hanashi to see the devastation of the ITH.When the panoramic display was complete, Hanashi frowned."The Alarist Ambassadorial Government has received a voice-only message from someone claiming to represent the Alarist Underground, claiming responsibility for this attack," she said."The local crime syndicate? Do they have the resources to pull this off?" questioned Zuruk."They do," Hanashi said. "In the last few months, there have been more and more thefts in BZ-Koro. I did a story on it when it started."Zuruk nodded. "I was on Enigma at that time, of course. But why would they want the Olmak Totem? Do they have an agenda, or are they just trying to cause trouble?" He had never thought much about the crime ring before. He remembered that Okotenga, CEO of Miscellaneous Enterprises and his boss, had once complained they were losing profits due to thefts by the crime ring on Alarist, but it hadn't been his job to worry about that.It wasn't my job to worry about anything back then, other than Gadget updates. How glad I am things have changed..."We don't know their agenda - the identity and goals of their mysterious leader are totally unknown. But in this case, they told us what they wanted," Hanashi responded.Zuruk was confused. "And? What is it?"Hanashi hesitated. "They want the AAG's money stamping secret," she responded.Zuruk's eyes widened. "They have to know the AAG would never give it up. Not even for an Olmak Totem." If he was the AAG, he would have licensed the secret out to high-paying parties long ago to maximize profit. That's what Experimental Industries had done with the Cargo Stars. And how simpler would this be if it was Promathus that had invented the secret... we would give it to them and get back the totem, problem solved.Hanashi nodded. "You're right - they won't negotiate. So, here's your first mission as second-in-command of Team Cipher. Get to the bottom of this. The AAG won't negotiate. The crime syndicate claims to have hidden the Olmak Totem where we will never find it - never even think to look. Your job is to try and prove them wrong. We need to find the Totem."Zuruk nodded. "I'll do my best," he promised. "Any other news?""Nothing really new," Hanashi responded. "Artakha and Karzahni have had no luck curing the ghosting of Bajnok and Ekinodus, and neither have any of the other scientists who've studied it. They say it is probably completely impossible, unless they can figure out what powers were used. Barrawahi is still on the brink of a civil war. Negotiations are beginning between the AAG and Tanuuk over the release of the Royal Steward and Lady Sulmiris. No new Agent sightings."Zuruk nodded again, and Hanashi closed the channel.The Toa of Ice sighed, turned and stared at the devastated ITH. How to begin...

Welcome to the review topic for Current Events, the fifth episode in the Cipher Chronicles.While I wrote most of the episode, the last chapter, conclusion, and much editing were done by Takuta-Nui when he was one of the leaders of the Multiverse Project. Huge thanks to him for helping to get this episode finished!Support BannerMini-GuideTo help readers recall information from past episodes and to summarize any new info in this one, here is a quick guide. General information relevant to this story is included first, and then as new chapters are posted, chapter-specific information will be added. Aethion Expanded Multiverse, Olmak Totems, & Olmak EffectA unique Bionicle realm of eight unique planets, separated by blue unstable spacetime called the Bluespace Ceilings. It was spawned when a Kanohi Olmak, a Mask of Dimensional Gates, left by Takanuva floating in the empty space between dimensions, came into contact with a mysterious energy source and split apart. The fragments of the mask were placed in wooden Totems, which now allow teleportation between seven of the planets.But all of Aethion is being slowly destroyed by the Olmak Effect. Random Bluespace anomalies appear throughout the eight worlds, some causing teleportation, others shredding matter, all crackling with a strange kind of electricity called Blue Energy. Throughout Aethion's 500 years of history, it has slowly gotten worse and worse.Team CipherThe group tasked with solving the major mysteries of Aethion in order to save the Multiverse from the Olmak Effect. Formed in Cipher Chronicles Episode 1. Consists of people who received the Mindtouch, a light telepathic idea sent by the mysterious Presence. The plan formed as a result is to merge the pieces of the Kanohi Olmak back into its original mask in the hopes of stopping the Olmak Effect.PlanetsThese are the eight planets featured or mentioned in this epic:Alarist -- AH-lah-RHIST (Central planet where Team Cipher is based, with BZ-Koro and Wiki-Nui)Promathus -- Proh-mah-thus (polluted Industrial planet) Clysmax -- CLIZ-macks (Shattered planet; six Fragments; Ko-Clysmax opposes the Merging)Izumal -- IH-zoo-MAHL (mysterious, super-advanced Enlightened planet, seen as evil, opposes Merging)Atohune -- AH-toh-HOON-eh (jungle Tribal planet) Barrawahi -- BAR-ruh-WAH-hee (barren Warzone planet)Tanuuk -- Tah-NOO-uhk (volcanic Tyrant planet, ruled by evil titans)Enigma (the Eighth Planet; everything about it is unknown, but Toa Zuruk of Team Cipher claims to have gone there and come back) Olmak Merging PlanThe plan to reforge the original Kanohi Olmak that spawned Aethion, from the shards now stored in Olmak Totems, now stands like this in terms of what Totem owners are for, unsure, or against it:MERGING PLAN SUPPORTERS -- # TOTEMSAlarist -- 6 (1 or more to be stolen in this episode)Clysmax -- 4 (Ta, Ga, Le, Po)Barrawahi -- 3 (Hand of Faith, Red Skull, Shadow Honor)MERGING PLAN UNDECIDEDS -- # TOTEMSAtohune -- 6Promathus -- 6 (in talks)MERGING PLAN OPPONENTS -- # TOTEMSIzumal -- 6Tyrant -- 6 (but willing to talk)Barrawahi -- 3 (Rockfoot, Brethren, Iron Hawk)Clysmax -- 2 (Ko, stolen Onu) Team Cipher Characters: Zuruk -- ZOO-rook (as in place with animals, and the chess piece)Toa of Ice, Promathus employee of Miscellaneous Enterprises, primary mask Elda, has many other masks. An anomaly apparently teleported him to Promathus and wiped his memories of his past life. Claims to have recently visited Enigma, the Eighth Planet, and returned -- then created the Enigma Line of products. White mask and armor, sand blue secondary color, blue eyes. 2-mask Suva pack, Element Key of Sonics, and two swords. Has now been voted second-in-command of Team Cipher.Artakha -- ahr-TAH-kuhCodename of an Izumal hacker, member of Regno di Baraonda, Toa of Magnetism. Mask Matatu (without Nuju's addon). Friend of Karzahni. Fights Izumal for moral reasons. Dark gray body, silver mask and armor, yellow eyes. No Toa tool, but he and Karzahni have several projectile weapons and a nanite Hoverplatform vehicle. Primary designer of the Totem Bulwark Machines.Kyn -- KINAv-Matoran demolitions expert from Clysmax works primarily on Promathus. Mask shape Sanok. Once lived somewhere else, as someone else, but fled that life for secret reasons. Very rich. Black mask and feet, orange body, red eyes. Fleet of hovering "demobots", owns a bomb range on Le-Clysmax, Hut Mansion on Ta-Clysmax. Team Cipher primarily funded by him. Was forced to kill an old enemy, Avsa-Ka, recently and reveal his old secret identity as Arrik Xell, a champion of Barrawahi and enemy of Bajnok.Bajnok -- BAHJ-noahk (as in British-accent "badge", and "oah" here is a single sound midway between oh and ah)Earth Skakdi from Barrawahi, Red Skull Clan champion, bi-bladed silver staff apparently vaporizes on touch. Black armor, face, and spines, brown secondary color, red eyes. Recently was 'ghosted' by Izumal, the first known use of such a power, so is unable to physically interact with the world, unknown if temporary or permanent. Hanashi -- HAH-nah-SHEEFemale Toa of Lightning, Alarist reporterette, famous and trusted Multiverse-wide. Mask Iden. Red mask and body, silver armor, yellow eyes. Toa Tool is a Vortixx Rhotuka Battle Axe, with the Rhotuka power of electricity. Many guards work for her. Has now been voted leader of Team Cipher.Karzahni -- kahr-ZAH-neeCodename of Artahka's friend, also member of R.d.B., Toa of Plasma. Mask Jutlin. Morally questionable, sympathizes with Artahka's struggle against Izumal but mainly is looking out for himself. Rust and "keetorange" yellow-orange; mask keetorange, rust secondary color, and armor bi-colored; red eyes. Is currently managing Team Cipher's mobile headquarters and other tech.Khiri -- KHEE-ree (kh as in German Bach, or you could just say KEE-ree)Female Water Agori on Tanuuk, escaped slave, member of secret fugitive network. Has made many failed escape attempts from the planet, recently succeeded. Blue armor, light blue skin and eyes. M'konglii -- MM-kahng-GLEEEE (the M is pronounced without vowel, last part is like a lengthened "glee")Jungle Glatorian from Atohune, Tribe Echostone, expert farmer and food trader, knows many secrets. Turqoise and dark green armor, white eyes and light gray face skin. Scimitars with green-painted leaf shapes on the out-curving side. Objects:Olmak TotemSmall wooden interplanetary teleportation objects about the size of a milk gallon, each containing one of 42 fragments of the original Kanohi Olmak that was split apart in Aethion's origins. Each of the seven main worlds has six Totems, one for each of the other six planets. Some planets have public Interplanetary Teleportation Hubs (ITHs), which are similar to airports. It is the fragments inside the Totems that Team Cipher wants to fuse together, reforming the Olmak, in the hopes of saving Aethion from the increasing Olmak Effect anomalies, and thus both the supporters and opponents of the plan are focused on the Totems.Bulwark Machine A device that uses some of the unique Bluespace-related physics of Aethion and an amplified Mask of Suppression to protect the Olmak Totems owned by supporters of the Merging. Especially against Izumal Agents; the nanites do not work within a radius around the functioning Bulwarks. Only normal physics, especially mechanics and biology, and the Totems themselves work in this radius.GadgetsCommunications devices primarily, these small robots are shaped like little domes with eight legs, and various compartments out of which come arms with tools of all kinds attached. The communication videoscreen is a circle, and also serves as the robot's eye camera.Gadgets can walk to follow their owners and obey simple voice commands. Many different models exist with a ton of variety in their side functions and tools, but Gadgets in general are so universal even Turaga of Atohune tribes and Tanuuk slaves often have them. Not used at all on Enlightened.Cargo StarArtificial suns and interplanetary cargo teleporters. Since the eight planets and the Bluespace Walls between them are all that exist in Aethion, there is no natural sun. The six main planets thus use these satellites for daylight. The planets spin, while the Cargo Stars stay fixed, so they appear to rise and set.The Bluespace Walls destroy any matter that tries to pass through, so the only safe way to travel from planet to planet is Olmak Totem, but these satellites also use a Star-Trek-style teleportation system. It's only used for cargo due to the risk of degradation, which is about five percent.CleanbotsOne of the products in Toa Zuruk's Enigma Line, made by Miscellaneous Industries of Promathus. They are hovering robots that are carefully programmed to organize and clean automatically, plus their programming is easily customizeable by a simple programming language. There is also an alternate Gadget model that performs the same function but does not hover. Zuruk claims that they are inspired by similar robots used by the inhabitants of planet Enigma.Gemsand, Gems, and OrbsThe currency for most of the planets, these are translucent red and orange/yellow-specked gems of varying sizes. The smallest is the size of sand particles (hence the name Gemsand), and equates to about ten American cents. Golfball-sized Gems equate to ten dollars, and softball-sized Orbs equate to a thousand dollars. Being round, they all must be carried in bags or boxes. Normal people carry Gemsand pouches tied close, sometimes carrying a few Gems in them. Only the rich normally own Orbs. They are all given a identifying “stamp” on the inside via a secret method by the AAG, to prevent the possibility of counterfeiting them, and devices to scan authenticity are common, especially in Gadgets.Other Characters, Organizations, and Locations: BZ-Koro Islands and ForumsAlthough it is called a village (Koro), BZ-Koro is actually a fairly large region comprising five islands, forming the shape of Bionicle's Three Virtues symbol. Each of the islands is devoted to a different theme, and has its own name such as the Island of Time. This is one of the two large “swirl” islands; the other is the Island of Creation, and the three circular ones are called the Islands of Life. Those three are individually the Islands of Unity, Duty, and Destiny. Forums are stone plazas similar to Roman Forums, where inhabitants and visitors can meet to discuss and debate, or to show or sell things they have made. The forums on the Island of Time, for example, are focused on the Bionicle Core Dimension (what we know as the main Bionicle canon dimension) and some talk of other dimensions, time itself, etc. On the central Island of Duty, where the Promathus Totem is located, there is a Forum of Promathus.Interplanetary Teleportation Hub (ITH)The Olmak Totem equivalent of airports -- public complexes with guards for those Totems that are frequently used. Hanashi NewsToa Hanashi's news organization. Broadcasts videoscreen footage to Gadgets or other screens over the Cargo Star communication network to anywhere on the six main planets. Alarist UndergroundA secretive crime organization with a major presence on both BZ-Koro and Wiki-Nui. Known organization structure of a single never-seen leader, a ring of other important leaders who make most decisions, and various lesser leaders. What extremes they plan to go to and the methods they might resort to are unknown, but they often arrange thefts.Promathus Companies and UnionsThere are four major companies, including the one Toa Zuruk works for, Miscellaneous Industries, and two major Unions. One Union, the United Promathus Workers (UPW) represents employees of two of the major companies, including MI, and the other, the Guild, is for employees of the other two companies, including Experimental Industries.Okotenga -- OH-koh-TEHNG-guhOnu-Matoran, CEO of Miscellaneous Enterprises on Promathus. Mask shape of Conjuring.Anaana -- ah-NAH-ah-nuhA female Makuta of Light, leader of the Guild union on Promathus.Izumal AgentsThe main enemies of Team Cipher. Encased in their powerful silver nanite suits, Agents are feared by all opponents of the Enlightened City across Aethion. They act as police for the City, hunt hackers among the Izumal exile camps, and sometimes interfere with other planets. There are two clear rules; they never kill, and they are apparently unstoppable. Yet, prior to Team Cipher's formation, their attacks seemed both nonsensically pointless.Since then, however, Izumal has delivered one clear message that they oppose the Merging Plan, and later has done various things to oppose Team Cipher, including a direct attack that ghosted Bajnok and Ekinodus, and nearly ghosted Kyn and others too.Known Agents include Brute, a heavyset humanoid who had been attacking offworld for a long time, Visor, a new offworld Agent that has focused on Team Cipher, and two offworlders who have just been recruited as Agents, including Toa Merx, who formerly worked for the rulers of Tanuuk. Besides those newest two, the real names of Agents are unknown; the nicknames used were given to them by Hanashi for convenience.Alarist Ambassadorial GovernmentConsisting of representatives of both BZ-Koro and Wiki-Nui who meet on the central island in Alarist's ocean, this group is responsible for managing Alarist's Offworld trade and relations. They oversee and partially fund Team Cipher. Avsa-Ka -- AHV-suh KAH The serial killer mutant Matoran that Kyn was recently forced to kill. Prologue Information:Ultarius – ool-TAH-ree-uhsA BZ-Koro Skrall, in charge of security at the Promathus ITH on the Island of Duty.Nurops Species -- NOO-rahpsEyebrain species. Shaped like metal versions of Koosh balls (521 thin arms) with a single large biological eye. Extremely talented at making predictions and calculations based on what they see. Rare. Color: Metallics only, but eyes come in any color. Ekinodus – EH-kih-NOH-duhsA Nurops related to a friend of Kyn's, but also once the mentor of Avsa-Ka before he became a murderer. Is furious that Kyn killed him, refuses to believe Avsa-Ka was too far gone. Also was subjected to the Izumal ghosting, like Bajnok, and a cure has not been found.Demolition Inc.Kyn's demolition business, run entirely by him and a fleet of demobots. Mostly demolishes buildings on Promathus which wear down fast due to the intense pollution.Royal Steward & Lady Sulmiris – Sool-MEE-rihsTwo high-ranking Tyrants of Tanuuk who were both involved in plots on Barrawahi in opposition to Team Cipher, though the Merging was not their motivations. They were teleported to Alarist and arrested. The AAG is currently in talks with Tanuuk about whether or not to let them return there.Chapter 1 InformationGlomosulfurA pervasive substance on Promathus's continent, which most buildings are made of due to being so inexpensive, but these buildings slowly corrode and must be demolished and replaced often. Most of Kyn's business is thus on Promathus.ElementsThere are many more elements of Matoran and Toa in the Multiverse than in the Core Dimension. Some extra elements involved or mentioned in this story include Blue Energy (related to Bluespace), Kinetics, Acid, and Crystal.Troak Species -- TROH-ahkBulky, Toa-height beings with spiky decorations on the shoulders and legs, all have minor elemental powers, but ones with big OOMPH, like Cyclone. Wear and use masks. Troak come in all main canon and EM elements. They're most common on Izumal but live in various places. The Troak mentioned in Chapter 1 is of the Ba (Gravity) association, with the power of Crushslow, which produces intense gravity and slows time down slightly except for the user.Makan – mah-kahnA Po-Matoran of BZ-Koro's Island of Time. A merchant, and collector of rare Kanoka disks, including a Kanoka of Blue Energy.Blue GrimeBlack clumpy gel-like substance that glows blue in patches. Is materialized Bluespace energy. Has very little friction, slowly converts to electricity if a wire circuit is attached, and explodes violently if overloaded by a huge amount of outside electricity. Thus triples as engine/industrial lubricant, power source, and explosives. Element-Resistant GlassSelf-explanatory, with emphasis on resistant. Hard to melt or break especially.Star PortalA winning entry in the Vehicles contest, it is a strange teleportation artifact that hovers in the sky far above Wiki-Nui's Museum. Its most important feature is a sphere of black and purple energy that occasionally sends out lightning. Above this are a pair of silver wings that seem like a mix between the skeleton of dragon wings and angel wings. Below this is a long tapering silver spiral, in a Fibonacci sequence (a mathematical proportion in which each right-angle curve in the spiral fills a square that is a part of a rectangle, and in the remainder of the rectangle, a smaller square with a curve in it is placed inside a smaller rectangle, and so forth).It was originally discovered as a mere silver sphere on Atohune, one example among many of strange and highly mysterious artifacts discovered on that jungle world. It was brought to Alarist by Cargo Star for study, but as soon as it materialized it began transforming with various strange effects including a massive earthquake, until it ended up in its current position and form.Its method of travel is accomplished by physically touching the purple and black energy (by using some kind of hovering device to reach it). You disappear and exist in some kind of energy form inside it, and you are able to pick any place on the same planet that does not have Bluespace between you and it, and be teleported there safely.Chapter 2 InformationAerospace Jet R-10A winning entry in the Vehicles contest. Lightly armored, highly maneuverable air/space craft made by Lake Aerospace. Comes in a simple and upgraded form (latter shown above). Very common across the planets, as they're cheap, but have limited carrying capacity and can't stay in space for long. Solar powered.Lake AerospacePopular vehicle company based on Ga-Clysmax. While building a group of new vehicles, especially new designs, they keep their spherical, glass-covered headquarters submerged in a massive lake, only surfacing when the latest group is finished. Wiki-Nui MuseumWiki-Nui is shaped just like the canon Metru Nui, and the Museum is shaped like the canon Coliseum in the city's center. Among many other purposes, this is where Toa Swert rules the city, and public computer libraries can be found throughout it, tapping into reference information stored across the whole island. Like all buildings in WN, it is colored blue.The Star Portal hovers far in the air directly above the Museum.Wanvergerg Steam-Powered Floating MachineA blimp who propulsion system is powered by steam, and has a turret that fires explosive projectiles for defense. Common on Promathus. The team studying the Star Portal on Alarist has a modified, larger version of one.Team Star PortalAs the name implies, this is the research group that studies the Star Portal. Phantoka MotorsThe Promathus company that makes vehicles of all kinds. Although various smaller companies also make vehicles, they are only rivaled in popularity by Lake Aerospace. They made Team Star Portal's custom airship.Dataguard AlphaA winning Denizens contest entry, he is the leader of the Dataguards, a group of robots that manage and protect Wiki-Nui's reference archives. Humanoid, can shorten body parts like pistons, down to the size of an Agori, face looks like a mask of Sensory Aptitude, with a small projector/camera/videophone mounted on the side of the head at the level of the robot's eyes. Colored in various shades of blue, with yellow eyes. Its build resembles that of Ackar's armor. Chapter 3 InformationAiklaA female Vortixx, in charge of Team Star Portal.Ghost BubbleA dangerous phenonenon of the planet Izumal; invisible bubbles of spacetime that can pull in particulate, liquids, and objects, even people. Mask of Forcefield ControlGenerates mostly-wall-like forcefields in whatever shapes the user imagines. The fields are not as solid as shields generated with a Kanohi Hau and higher-powered projectiles can go through them. Travel PodsSpecial small craft designed specifically to transport one passenger to the Star Portal, so they can enter it to teleport somewhere else on Alarist. Used mainly by Team Star Portal for research.Hut MansionA type of Clysmax building for rich inhabitants like Kyn. Most buildings on Clysmax are technologically advanced versions of huts. Hut Mansions are essentially many hut domes connected, often stacked in pyramid-like formations. Kyn's Mansion Hut has many floors and domes for various machines and other things he has collected.DarkflySpace vehicles used by Ko-Clysmax. Hoverengines and blasters, room for three. Many models, but the most common one looks like it has two forward-pointing wings on either sides, with hover-engines that also propel, and a belly that can open up like a cargo plane. Eclipse FrigateThe Eclipse is a multi function frigate used extensively by the Ice Clysmax forces as a large intimidation and extermination machine. The Eclipse class frigate is able to bombard small settlements with its complement of missiles, many of which are outfitted with cryo technology, which when used, can freeze masses of buildings, land, or even beings. DemobotsKyn's fleet of demolition robots. They have fairly advanced programming for the analyzing of structures and placing explosives, but beyond this Kyn can control them directly with a Biomechanics power he has added into his Gadget.Ice KingThe current imperialistic leader of Ko-Clysmax. (His name is not yet established.) He was responsible for the theft of Onu-Clysmax's recent Totem.Chapter 4 InformationSonic WelderThe first product in Zuruk's Enigma Line, it uses focused sound waves (and silencing fields beyond the beam) to weld metal without using dangerous heat. Welding is common across many worlds and so this product was immensely popular, even on poorer worlds. Cargo Star InternetSimilar to the real-world internet, this computer network connects Gadgets and other devices to the Cargo Star satellites orbiting the six main worlds. Websites are made available from server devices, especially in Wiki-Nui, Clysmax, and Promathus, which can be accessed anywhere wirelessly.KhazaA female Turaga of Crystal who lives on the Island of Time in BZ-Koro. One of Makan's neighbors.Eccentric RockA winning Weapons contest entry (also made canon). It normally appears as a small rock, but when thrown so that it shatters against a target, a sticky substance inside forms a cage that entraps the target. So-named due to the odd shapes the cages usually form.Lightstone RifleA winning Weapons entry. It fires lightstones charged up with electrical energy, which shatter on impact, zapping a target and releasing a flash of light. A common stunning weapon, also effective against beings of shadow.LevitaasA winning Denizens contest entry; he is a Matoran of Lightning, formerly a Ta-Matoran, that is part of a small team of order-keeping on Alarist. He never spoke of his past, mostly because he doesn't want to do it. Brave and heroic, he'll do anything to accomplish his missions, but he is considered a bit too serious, being very cold and antisocial for a Ta-Matoran. Because of this he has a hard time at working in a team. He is a great swordsman, and is very skilled for a Matoran. He desires to become a Toa one day, and wants to do more than he can right now.He wields a big sword, but made of light Protodermis so he can handle it easily, that also produces weak electric energy. He wears a Rode, because it is a symbol of truth and justice. AAG Elite Security Squad 5TLevitaas's team. As the name implies, the team is focused on protecting the people of Alarist, and he answers to the chain of command in the Alarist Ambassadorial Government. They are often deployed in emergencies involving the Alarist Underground crime syndicate.Yhamkut – YHAHM-kootSecond-in-command of Team Star Portal, a Skakdi.Chapter 5 InformationSorek the Observer A Denizens contest winning entry; a Matoran of unknown origins, who is sent to various places by the Alarist Underground to observe events. He is not supposed to get involved, merely watch and record, until they activate a teleportation beacon that is believed to be from Izumal, opening a dimensional portal that sends him to the next place. But he is not content with that, so he often disobeys and intervenes to try to do some good. Because the device is a dimensional transporter, it can even be used to send him into alternate Aethion dimensions, often to observe how things might have gone had things been different. Unfortunately it can only be used if the remote control device owned by the AU commands it to activate, and they completely control where he appears next.Experimental IndustriesOne of the main Promathus companies, whose employees belong to the Guild. It was they who invented the Cargo Stars, among many other things.Fireworks RevolverA Weapons contest winning entry. It fires a multi-stage fireworks shell as a projectile. Since each shell launches a short-range group of smaller explosive in a sphere around the first impact, one short can do the damage of a multitude of shots by a normal weapon. A Fireworks Revolver was Kyn's standard weapons in his former life as a Barrawahi Champion, and he has recently recovered it.Chapter 6 InformationTeam Cipher NetworkA collective-call Gadget network exclusive to Team Cipher, designed by Karzahni. As many members of the team as needed can see each other on splitscreen videophone calls for virtual meetings.Atohune Totem TowersOn the Tribal world, the totems are atop wooden towers that are carried from place to place by the primitive denizens. The widespread myth is that the Olmak Effect becoming more common in an area means that spirits inside the Totems are bored, and so the people try hard to prevent the possibility of boredom. Thus even rival tribes will work together to move the towers from one territory to the next occasionally.Blue EnergyA Toa and Matoran element exclusive to Aethion; it is similar to electricity but comes from Bluespace, including the Olmak Anomalies that randomly appear on the planets. It can also be materialized into Blue Grime, a useful substance in the EM, or have various anomaly-related effects, though its most important use is as a power source for various devices, some of which cannot be powered by normal electricity, especially those that create transformative effects or teleportation.“Bumpy space”This refers to the fairly recent discovery by Aethion scientists that all the spacetime (the invisible fabric of reality that matter inhabits) in Aethion is the unstable type that Bluespace is. The Bluespace in the Ceilings between the planets is “bumpy space” that matter cannot long survive in, but the space nearer to the planets is “flattened” by the presence of air and other materials.Thus, a device like the Bulwark machines' inner workings that pushes all air out of a place can cause the space there to become bumpy, and produce a high amount of Blue Energy. Toa Artakha was the first to realize that the Star Portal could smooth Bluespace even from anomalies, so its potential for Team Cipher's plans to solve the Olmak Effect may be huge, including safe travel through the Ceilings.Chapter 7 InformationMask of CalculationAllows the wearer to make complex mathematical calculations in moments. A suggestion accepted from the (archived) EM discussion topic.Hagah Plasma Cannon A weapons contest winner (also canonized); dual-mode shoulder-mounted plasma blaster with an attachable ground-mount base for Turret Cannon mode. Fires bolts of plasma along a wavelength-harmonized laser path to the target. Blaster mode is generally too heavy for Matoran sized beings, who usually use it in Turret mode. Anti-ElementsStrange types of elements that are, as the name implies, opposite versions of normal elements. Typically they react negatively to the normal element they are opposite of, and can have a wide range of weird physics effects. They are a fairly new frontier in Aethion science that are not well understood.SubspaceA physics aspect of Aethion that can enable instantaneous communication over any distance, used by Izumal technology widely. Signals can vary over a range of frequencies much like radio waves, and must be encrypted to avoid eavesdropping as they can be detected anywhere with the right technology. Subspace distress signals must also send a position locator, and are typically not encrypted, so that the chances of help coming are higher. Also, given enough time Izumal can usually decrypt any signal.Team Cipher's Mobile HQA cube of Macrochips – pre-nanite Enlightened large computers used by Izumal hackers as both computers and as walls and ceilings for their buildings – with airfields, invisibility cloaking power, and motion power. Normally it is randomly moving as a submarine in Alarist's ocean to avoid detection by Agents, but it can hover in the air as well.

IC:Alpha Team Special Agent Magma awoke to the sound of a terrible series of explosions.He looked around, and surveyed his surroundings. Unfortunately, there was not much to survey, other than the dark, grungy interior of a prison cell.He frowned. How had he come to be here?The last thing he could remember... hmm. What was the last thing he could remember?Interesting. Memory loss.He decided it was time to make a Tactical Decision: namely, that whatever he couldn't remember about why he was here was not an important priority. An important priority was getting out of here, especially since the sounds of explosions were getting much more terrible and, more importantly, closer to his location.Magma studied the door mechanism. It seemed, on close inspection, to be rather shoddily built. Well, that rules out Ogel. Say what you like about that maniac, but his doors were serious stuff.Whoever had thrown him down here had not bothered to confiscate his hidden laser, and so it was the work of a moment to fry the door mechanism and to smash it down.He stepped outside into an equally grungy hallway. Whoever owned this prison seemed to not be very good at populating it, as there were only a few other cells, and almost all of them were empty.The one exception turned out, to Magma's surprise, to contain Dino Attack Elite Agent Reptile.“Reptile? “ shouted Magma through the door. He fired the laser and blasted down the door.“Magma! What are you doing here?” asked Reptile, as he stepped out.“I don't know. Where is here?” Magma said, frowning again. “Do you remember anything about how you came to be in this place?”“No... I take it you don't either?” Reptile asked. Magma nodded, but his response was silenced by another massive explosion.The scientist and engineer in Reptile was dying to find out what was going on, and where they were, but he decided he would defer to Magma's superior tactical expertise, and ask questions later. And so, Reptile silently followed Magma to the door.This door was significantly superior to the rather pathetic sheets of stone and wood that Magma had been able to shoot down. Some advanced technology had clearly been built into the construction.Magma frowned at it for a few minutes.“I don't suppose you have any tools on you?” asked Magma. “I have a few things, myself.”“They did leave me a few things.. here,” replied Reptile, taking out a couple of pieces of equipment and putting them on the ground between the two men.“Doesn't look useful... but we are both trained as engineers, after all. Let's see what we can do.”*****About fifteen minutes later, the Reptile-Magma Door Remover Prototype (Mark 1) had been assembled, out of Magma's hand laser, three of Magma's other gadgets that their unknown kidnappers had also left them, and a handful of common engineering tools and standard Dino Attack equipment.“Alright, here goes nothing,” said Magma, attaching one of the cables to the door frame. “Set laser initial power to 50%”“Laser power active.. attach the second cable!” shouted Reptile, over the methodical humming of their device.“Second cable attached... full power to the device, please,” Magma returned, holding both cables against the door.The door began to hum as well. Seconds later, it simply shattered inwards, collapsing out of it's frame.Magma and Reptile stared at it, then at each other.“Wow,” said Reptile. “That actually worked!”Magma nodded, amused. “And it didn't even fry my weapon, which is fortunate. Because we're about to need it.”For in the passageway revealed by the explosion were three heavily armored figures. They stared in surprise at Magma and Reptile, but soon regained their composure, drew swords, and charged.OOC: Yes, I'm back (ish)!Thought I'd start off with something unrelated to the current plot and work my way back into it. So for now, assume that Reptile (after transferring command of one of the Adventure Island squads) mysteriously vanished from the mission. Since no one has mentioned him so far in this RPG, that works out. (Same with Magma, though he wasn't actually involved in the Adventure Island mission, as I recall).I have actually come up with some details as to where Magma and Reptile are (I'm not completely making it all up as I go along!), and yes, it's related to the main plot. Hopefully in a few posts I'll be able to end this little sideplot and get them back into the main story, but I'm not sure how long that will take. So bear with me.