11-11-2015, 10:41 PM
He had run.
Right on the verge of victory, as the Courier had sat there on the platform, frozen to the spot, Kopaka had simply walked away. To what end? This was an introspective conundrum that the biomech had not yet resolved. First and foremost, a Toa's Duty was to serve and protect the weak. Fighting to the bloody death in a colosseum achieved neither of these things. Kopaka had only done this to serve the whims of the EPD. To have, against all odds, a chance at displaying the supremacy of the Empire. It was not a Toa's place to do such things; it was the people's job to demonstrate their own greatness. Self-made glory and the pursuit of fame led to jealousy, and in turn, Darkness.
In all honesty, Kopaka should have felt proud of his decision to walk away from the senseless slaughter, but now, as he slowly traveled through the crowded streets of the Colosseum district, the looks on people's faces managed to get under his protosteel. They were expressions of derision, disdain, and disgust. For a Prime such as he to simply walk away from a fight and deny them their amusement? Such a heinous violation of common decency could not stand!
...at least, that's what Kopaka assumed their thoughts were. He hated them, with their smug sneers and arrogant whispers. They had no respect for what he was; the purpose he truly served. In that moment, Kopaka felt a strange sensation on the surface of his Kanohi Akaku. An irritating tingle of sorts that refused to go away in just one small patch of protosteel.
As he slowly stalked through the shop-stuff road, the Toa created a small sheef of ice to reflect his visage back at him. There, towards the bottom left of the Kanohi's chin, there was a small scab of grey, rough corrosion. The Toa squinted at it with a curious gaze and tried to scratch it away with a finger, but the blemish lingered. Had the noxious fluids of the arena damaged his mask? Such a thing did not seem possible, at least to Kopaka's recollection. Uttering a small, synthesized sigh, the bionicle discarded his makeshift mirror and resumed his harangued exit from Camelot.
It had only been two nights or so since he had ventured away from Coruscant. The Smith Prime was not due to return from the Endless Dunes for several more days. Still, returning to the structured, lawful lifestyle of the Empire might do the biomech some good, though the idea of confronting any EPD officers who were aware of his true role at the Colosseum was tedious even in thought.
As Kopaka rounded a corner, he stopped in his tracks as the gently smiling face of Lorn assaulted his sour ruminations. Her sqaushed features and artistic robes were bright and eager; a disposition to which the biomech had a hard time relating. They stared at each other for a long moment before, to the surprise of them both, Kopaka spoke first.
"The next match is starting. You're going to miss it." he said, folding his frosty arms over his still battle-damaged chest. The Asuran scholar shook her head slowly with a wan smile.
"Eh, no big deal now that you're out. Did you get my note?"
This was likely a rhetorical question, but Kopaka decided to humor her.
"Yes."
Her irritating perkiness increased in magnitude.
"Outstanding! So do you have time to talk about your culture or...?"
Kopaka maintained a stolid, unamused expression, though it was unlikely that the diminutive biological could tell.
"No. I need to get back to my Duty."
The Asura's expression darkened slightly, but she did her best to retain her optimism. This irked the biomech.
"Oh! Well. Maybe some other time?" she beamed.
Kopaka felt a knot growing in his biomechanical chest. His integrity demanded that he fufill the tacit agreement between the two of them, and talking about his home universe did sound like it might be nice. At the same time, the Toa didn't like the idea of being passively strongarmed, and for some reason, he simply just felt like trying to shatter this creature's adoration of him.
"No."
Lorn's oversized ears sank, and her expression became watery.
"Oh...uh..." she said in a small voice. Kopaka's only response was to slowly walk past her as tears began to well in her big, subterranean-adapted eyes. The next moment, Kopaka was gone, lost in the ever shifting crowd, leaving Lorn to wonder where she had gone wrong...
Right on the verge of victory, as the Courier had sat there on the platform, frozen to the spot, Kopaka had simply walked away. To what end? This was an introspective conundrum that the biomech had not yet resolved. First and foremost, a Toa's Duty was to serve and protect the weak. Fighting to the bloody death in a colosseum achieved neither of these things. Kopaka had only done this to serve the whims of the EPD. To have, against all odds, a chance at displaying the supremacy of the Empire. It was not a Toa's place to do such things; it was the people's job to demonstrate their own greatness. Self-made glory and the pursuit of fame led to jealousy, and in turn, Darkness.
In all honesty, Kopaka should have felt proud of his decision to walk away from the senseless slaughter, but now, as he slowly traveled through the crowded streets of the Colosseum district, the looks on people's faces managed to get under his protosteel. They were expressions of derision, disdain, and disgust. For a Prime such as he to simply walk away from a fight and deny them their amusement? Such a heinous violation of common decency could not stand!
...at least, that's what Kopaka assumed their thoughts were. He hated them, with their smug sneers and arrogant whispers. They had no respect for what he was; the purpose he truly served. In that moment, Kopaka felt a strange sensation on the surface of his Kanohi Akaku. An irritating tingle of sorts that refused to go away in just one small patch of protosteel.
As he slowly stalked through the shop-stuff road, the Toa created a small sheef of ice to reflect his visage back at him. There, towards the bottom left of the Kanohi's chin, there was a small scab of grey, rough corrosion. The Toa squinted at it with a curious gaze and tried to scratch it away with a finger, but the blemish lingered. Had the noxious fluids of the arena damaged his mask? Such a thing did not seem possible, at least to Kopaka's recollection. Uttering a small, synthesized sigh, the bionicle discarded his makeshift mirror and resumed his harangued exit from Camelot.
It had only been two nights or so since he had ventured away from Coruscant. The Smith Prime was not due to return from the Endless Dunes for several more days. Still, returning to the structured, lawful lifestyle of the Empire might do the biomech some good, though the idea of confronting any EPD officers who were aware of his true role at the Colosseum was tedious even in thought.
As Kopaka rounded a corner, he stopped in his tracks as the gently smiling face of Lorn assaulted his sour ruminations. Her sqaushed features and artistic robes were bright and eager; a disposition to which the biomech had a hard time relating. They stared at each other for a long moment before, to the surprise of them both, Kopaka spoke first.
"The next match is starting. You're going to miss it." he said, folding his frosty arms over his still battle-damaged chest. The Asuran scholar shook her head slowly with a wan smile.
"Eh, no big deal now that you're out. Did you get my note?"
This was likely a rhetorical question, but Kopaka decided to humor her.
"Yes."
Her irritating perkiness increased in magnitude.
"Outstanding! So do you have time to talk about your culture or...?"
Kopaka maintained a stolid, unamused expression, though it was unlikely that the diminutive biological could tell.
"No. I need to get back to my Duty."
The Asura's expression darkened slightly, but she did her best to retain her optimism. This irked the biomech.
"Oh! Well. Maybe some other time?" she beamed.
Kopaka felt a knot growing in his biomechanical chest. His integrity demanded that he fufill the tacit agreement between the two of them, and talking about his home universe did sound like it might be nice. At the same time, the Toa didn't like the idea of being passively strongarmed, and for some reason, he simply just felt like trying to shatter this creature's adoration of him.
"No."
Lorn's oversized ears sank, and her expression became watery.
"Oh...uh..." she said in a small voice. Kopaka's only response was to slowly walk past her as tears began to well in her big, subterranean-adapted eyes. The next moment, Kopaka was gone, lost in the ever shifting crowd, leaving Lorn to wonder where she had gone wrong...
C O L D