Giving a helping hand.

[Kylo Ren]

Casey really didn't get to do much sight seeing as he was forced through the gate and into this strange new city. Where ever this was it sure as hell wasn't New York, too clean. Even the air smelled wrong here! Another thing that bothered Casey was that there were a lot of these trooper guys everywhere. It was strange to him since the only time you saw a cop in NYC was when you passed a coffee shop, or where trying to do their job for them. The really didn't like it when you did their jobs better then they did, as Casey found out numerous times. There were a lot of people here too, and they all seemed to be going every which way like they all had something very important to do. People of every shape, size, and race. Wait, maybe even species?

What the hell was that?! I am pretty sure that wasn't a person. If the fact that everyone wasn't human wasn't enough to boggle his poor human mind then their clothing really did it for him. It was like a sci fi movie come to life! All the weirdness wasn't enough for him to not notice how pretty it was here, though. He got lost in the thought of walking these streets with April and Shadow in tow when a high pitch whine made him look up. What could only be described as a really small space ship was landing right in front of them.

As soon as it touched down he was shuffled off at a march into the thing, he could only guess that it was some sort of car, and then driven to god only knows where. The windows were dark and he could barely see out of it but what he saw had him in awe. The buildings were so tall, taller then anything in New York that is for sure! Was that a park they just passed? It was so green! They were probably in the air for maybe 15 minutes though so he didn't get that much of a look around. The car set down again on an out cropping of one of the skyscrapers and he was forced out and into the building. He was brought into an elevator, guard on each side, and then shuffled out again into a white, sterile looking hallway. After a few more minutes of walking he was brought into a room.

The first thing Casey noticed about the room was that it was pretty plain. It seemed to have no windows and a only a table with two chairs in the centre. The air in it was sterile though, it had almost no smell. It was almost as if it had been processed, re processed, and THEN pumped back into the room. Then a chair caught Casey's eye, it was welded to the floor apparently, and he only really noticed that because it also had arm and leg restraints. The rest of it was just smooth and shiny with little lines that seemed to be laser carved into the wall or something, again giving him that sci fi feel to it.

This was not going to be fun.

As expected this chair was meant for Casey. They sat him in it and secured the leg clamps before removing the cuffs and restraining his arms. Well one of them did while the other stood guard with a gun pointed straight at Casey. Apparently they didn't want him to fight back or even have the chance to escape.

Whoever these guys were, they were freaking smart.

After he was secured in his chair they just left, the door sliding closed behind them. Casey was still surprised by that, all these doors sliding without door handles, things floating and what not. With everything he saw on the ride here though he shouldn't really have been surprised. Hell, for all he knew they planned on beaming him to some asteroid or something next! That would suck.

He quickly pushed all these thoughts aside as the door slid open again and a man wearing all black with blue and red squares on his chest walked in holding something Casey just assumed was for taking notes.

”Name?” Wow, this guy was really talkitive! Plus his breath wasn't all that pleasant either. It wasn't bad, like make you vomit bad, but it sure as hell wasn't minty fresh. Don't they have tooth brushes in this future world? Casey noticed the man was standing there just staring at him, so he should probably answer.

“Casey. Casey Jones.” The man worked the device he was holding and then looked up at Casey.

”Do you know why you are here Mister Jones?” The man pushed something on the thing again and set it down on the table before crossing his arms waiting again for a response. At least the questions he was asking weren't tough ones.

“Because I was kidnapped from my family by some creepy grinning freakazoid and transported to a vast white nothingness where I was acting like an idiot and got my ass handed to me by two clowns in white and black costumes?”

The man in the uniform just stared at Casey for a bit then shook his head a bit, like you would at a small child, while tapping a finger against his arm.

“Assaulting a civilian, Assaulting an Imperial trooper, resisting arrest, I could even throw on disturbing the peace and various other chargers if I wanted to. We take these things very seriously on Coruscant.” Casey thought about this for a moment and then realized something. He wasn't actually in this Coruscant place when all that happened!


“Wait, didn't this all happen in the white place and not here? Also that punk was a damn thief! He had it comin' anyway! He will think twice before robbing someone else!” The man in the black uniform actually laughed at this, did he just wipe a tear from his eye? Casey wasn't finding this all that funny and just scowled at him.

”Technicalities. The fact remains what you did was a direct attack against the people of the Empire, so therefor an attack on the Empire itself. Do you know what this means Mister Jones?” The man had pointed a finger at him as if it was a gun. The look he was giving Casey also told him he should probably answer sooner rather then later.

“What? The death penalty? A good talking to?” Apparently the guy didn't find Casey that funny because he pulled a pistol from his side and marched over and pressed it tight against Caseys' forehead. Casey feel the barrel there, and while these things looked like plastic they sure as hell felt like metal.

”IF I kill you do you know what happens Jones? Nothing. Oh, you will die that is for sure but later on you will come back. You are lucky enough to be a Prime.” The man sighed and put the weapon back in his holster. Casey noticed that the man was now rubbing his forehead, like he was getting a headache or something”Not everyone is that lucky.”

After taking a few steps back the man gave Casey a hard stare, one that made him a bit uncomfortable, before his interrogators features seemed to soften a bit. He didn't know what this sudden change of attitude meant, but he was probably about to find out.

”Can I trust you as a man of honour Mister Jones? If I release you from your bonds?” Casey gave the man a hard glare before nodding his head curtly. Starting a fight here and now was not going to get him anywhere, plus where would he go? This place was probably swarming with those trooper guys. The man walked over and released the leg clamps and then the arm ones before taking a step back to watch Casey, hand next to the pistol.

Casey rubbed his wrists then stood up and stretched, slowly as to not make any sudden movements. It was good to get out of that damn chair. He did a few more stretches and felt a few cracks and pops as he did. Was he getting old? Nah, he just needed to exercise more.

“What now boss?” The man motioned for Casey to follow him over to a wall behind them and then touched something next to a large square in the wall that slid away to reveal a window. Casey took a step back out of reflex. This of course made his guard grin a bit before motioning him over to the window.

”Look down there. What do you see?” Casey walked forward and peered out the window.

“Other then everything looking weird as shit, people. A lot of people and other people like things.” Then man next to him nodded and then closed the window cover again before guiding Casey back to the table. Casey sat down in his chair but noted that this time the restraints weren't used. The man in black took the chair on the opposite side of the table and faced Casey, his hands balled up and placed on the table.

”Most of those people do not have the ability to come back from the dead as you do. Some, of course, but not all of them..."” The man let his voice trail off for Casey to fill in the dots.

“So, when they die then they” Casey paused and then realized what this meant. “They stay dead.”

Casey always knew this was an option, hell back home if you died you stayed dead. Lots of people he loved had died! But here? Here it was a joke. They could die but he would keep coming back. He didn't like this, and now he liked this Omni freak even less. This was the cruelest joke of all.

”That's right Casey, they would die and that would be all.” Casey noticed the man was no longer calling him Jones, or Mister Jones. Here was the part where he asked him for something. ”As a Prime though, you could help them. Help protect them!”

So they wanted him to help, but how exactly?

“So what, I'd be a cop or something?” Casey thought about this for a bit. “I mean, I love busting in the skulls of scum bags.”

”Just think about it Casey, help us! We are powerful here, but we can't be everywhere all the time! Plus if you help us then we might be able to help you even.” The man gave Casey a look that sort of reminded him of someone trying out a sales pitch. ”Maybe even help you get back to your family?”

Ouch, he really knew where to hit a man.

“What do you need me to do?” The man smiled at Casey and held up a hand that motioned for him to wait were he was. Getting up from the chair the man in black headed towards the door.

”Stay here,” he told Casey, “I will be back very shortly!”

[Kopaka]

Kopaka never really needed to sleep, per se. His organic components needed to be rested for extended intervals every ten or so hours, but this did not mean he had to deactivate his mechanical parts. As such, the Toa was not preoccupied with such trivialities such as comfort, or food. These things were not necessary to his operation. The biological components received their nutrients and vitality from chemicals synthesized from ambient atmospheric particles, so really, all Kopaka had to do to stay alive was breathe. Sure, that might be a drawback compared to most robotic entities who had no such need of the thing, but then again, Kopaka was no mere robot, a fact which certain Empire personnel had a hard time grasping at first. Despite this, they did try to offer Kopaka a place to rest during his dormant phase, which the Toa politely declined. He simply sat in the barracks lobby of the EPD recruitment offices and mused over his experiences thus far.

The Toa had noticed how mechanical entities in and around Coruscant, mostly referred to as 'droids', were often treated with dismissive attitudes and language. Kopaka wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this; these mechanical beings were indeed programmed to follow orders and act as servile beings in general...but people seemed to think that they did not have emotions, per se. This wasn't quite true. The sort of emotional response artificial intelligences felt was vastly different from an organic experience, but they were still capable of things such as confusion, frustration, and contentedness based on their ability to fulfill their operational parameters.

The authoritative nature with which the Empire governed had not gone unnoticed either. Kopaka listened to the sort of conversations that different conscripts and soldiers exchanged in hushed tones as they walked to and from their places of rest. The citizenry was kept in check mostly through fear and measures of punishment. While Kopaka did not inherently feel at peace with this fact, this was also not his world to judge. For all that he knew of the Omniverse, a heavy hand was the only thing managing to keep such a well organized society together. Hazy memories of his own universe and its laws remained beyond the grasp of the bionicle's mind, but Kopaka seemed to remember that severe measures also tended to be taken in order to maintain the functionality of the universe.

Kopaka blinked slowly as he brought his organic systems back online. That last though...no matter how many times he had it, always sounded confusing to him. How was it that Toa such as he and other denizens of the world managed to run and maintenance the universe itself? These sort of frustrating thoughts plagued Kopaka as he rose from the large chair in the corner of the room, which now was thoroughly caked with a layer of glimmering frost. Lieutenant Brath walked into the room as he did so with a tablet of some kind in his hand. The Toa was vaguely surprised to see the man out of his armor and in these now cloth-based coverings.

"Good morning, Kopaka. Ready to start your first day of EPD qualification?" Brath asked, giving Kopaka a toothy smile that the Toa knew to be forced. The biomech simply nodded. Brath nodded in kind, happy to drop the facade of saccharine enthusiasm and led Kopaka into a small room where another biological entity was waiting. He was muscular and wore only loose coverings over his epidermal sheathing. The two locked eyes for a moment, but the feelings of bewilderment that Casey's eyes held was not reciprocated by the unamused Toa.

"Casey, this is Kopaka. You two will be working together to qualify as agents of the EPD." Lieutenant Brath said, gesturing at each of the Primes in kind. Neither of them said anything, but for different reasons. After a long pause, Casey was the first to speak.

"Are...are you for real? A robot? You're having me work with a real life walking, talking..." he trailed off at the word talking. So far the bright white machine hadn't said a single word. "...well...walking robot?" he finished, looking back and forth between the other two's faces for answers. Brath shook his head slightly.

"Kopaka is not a robot, he is a...ahem...Tiki?" Brath said, casting an apologetic frown up at Kopaka's face. It was not in Kopaka's nature to take offense to the idiocy of others.

"Toa." he said softly. Casey's eyes widened even more...it did speak!

"Indeed. Toa. Anyway, to answer your question Casey, the answer is yes, you will be working together. I have the mission specifications, but first I must retrieve some relevant materials for your use. Please, have a chat while I am away for just a bit." Brath said. Kopaka noted the man's overly-diplomatic tone. It was different from the frank pragmatism that had intrigued the Toa from the night prior. Perhaps this...Casey individual was not entirely sure of his dedication to the work on behalf of the Empire. If such was the case, this might not go well. As such, Kopaka simply stood where he was and stared at Casey with an unblinking, robot eye. The heavy silence intensified...

[Kylo Ren]

This was getting awkward for Casey, like the first time he had to go down into the sewers awkward. Casey had seen all manners of freaks and mutants so you would think he wouldn't have been too shocked at this new development. Still here he was standing around like an ape.

“Soooooooo, not robot...” Casey started before his new partner interrupted him.

”Toa” it corrected him in that not quiet human voice of his.

“Right, yeah. That's what I said.” Casey walked over and extended his hand “Seems like we are going to be working together.”

The Toa stood there and looked at Casey and made no movement. Casey wasn't sure if it didn't want to shake his hand out of some custom, didn't know what it was, or just didn't like him. No matter which one it was the message was received. Casey crossed his arms and let the awkward silence just intensify.

Seconds ticked away into minutes, but for Casey it felt like it was taking fucking days. What the hell was so important that he could just leave them here to stew like this? Clenching his fist Casey felt some of his old anger come back, he really just wanted to punch so punk ass scumbag in the face about now. It didn't help that the not-robot robot just stood there looking at him without even blinking! Could it even blink? Did Casey even care to find out? Finally Casey couldn't stand the silence anymore and the words started to pour out of his mouth like they were never going to stop.

“Listen, this is dumb. We have to work together, so we can at least pretend to stand each other for a bit.” Casey had started to pace at this point. “I need to get through whatever Mister Fancy pants there says, because the alternatives don't sound so pretty.”

Casey saw the first sign of movement from the Toa since the awkward silence started, it had tilted his head to the side.

“Escape from incarceration is your motive? I question your dedication to our work” Was it insulting him? Casey had just about had enough. Marching over he got right in the things face and pointed at it with an accusing finger.

“Listen Shell head, I was ripped from my damn family and thrown into this mad house. These guys promised to help me get home to them. I will do anything to get back to them, anything. I also want to help these people if I can as well!” Casey waved over to the wall where the hidden window was. “Not the dudes in the fancy costumes, but the little guys. The people just trying to live their damn lives down on the street. If you got a problem you can get the fuck out of my way and let me do the damn job.”

Casey was about to say more when the door slid open and the man in black came back in. Casey backed off and stood there arms crossed.

”Already making friends Casey?” The man came forward and tossed a few things onto the table. They looked like the thing he had used to write up Caseys' file or whatever. Hopefully this meant he had something for them to do. ”Ok, both of you listen well because here is your current task.”

The man handed one of the file things to Casey and another to the not-robot. Casey just poked at his and hope something would happen. Nothing did so he looked over to the Toa and saw how he operated the think and just copied him. Soon words where scrolling up the screen and Casey started to read them over. As he did his new boss went over exactly he wanted them to do.

”You two are to patrol Coruscant and deal with any Primes that are currently causing trouble. How you deal with them will be graded by the EPD and if you have done well enough we will let you into our ranks.” The man looked at Casey and Kopaka in turn before going on. “In the files you will find multiple locations that have been troublesome as of late. They are listed in order of threat level, low to high. Are their any questions?”

Casey raised his arm and got a questioning look before he started to speak.

“How are we supposed to deal with them? Prison, slap on the wrists, what?” There was a long pause between when Casey asked the question and when the answer was given.

”That, Gentelmen, I will leave up to you. Just make sure it is dealt with. Now if there is nothing else I will be down on the main level preparing your identifications and all required file work. As soon as you two have talked it out and decided please come see me.” With that the man almost came to attention then swung around and basically marched out of the room.

Well this was it, the big show. Only thing to do now was get something out of this Toa or whatever.

“So shell head, what do you think?”

[Kopaka]

As usual, Kopaka did not immediately respond to Casey's question, instead choosing to read through each of the case files in detail. All of them appeared to be rather straightforward, but on in particular caught his gleaming blue eye.

MICHAEL VALENTINE SMITH
This Prime is currently living at an unknown location on Tier 4 of Coruscant. He is a known idealogical dissident and is currently the head of a 'pacifist' cult that is spreading anti-Empire doctrine. Do not let his outward demeanor and dogma fool you; he is extremely dangerous and has the ability to make inanimate objects disappear with a simple touch. Your mission, if chosen, is to hunt down Smith and incarcerate him with extreme prejudice. If he does not comply with forceful arrest, you are authorized to eliminate him.

This piqued Kopaka's interest, specifically because it was against the Code of the Toa to kill unless absolutely necessary. Primes, however, never actually died. This made dealing with them much easier than normal opponents from his own realm. Gali would likely have had a problem with this but...

Kopaka visibly flinched and shook his head slightly.

...who was Gali? The Great Beings be damned for letting him be caught up in all of this. No matter. Here was a task and here was a Toa. That was all Kopaka needed to know.

"I...suggest...we do this task." Kopaka said, turning his tablet to face Casey and pointing to the Smith case with a glistening black finger. Casey looked down at the mission then back to the Toa. Kopaka couldn't quite read the expression on the human's face, but it was not one of agreement.

"Uh...why?" Casey asked, reading it over once more to make sure he understood the premise.

"Because it is the most difficult. Therefore it is the task that requires our attention the most." Kopaka said in a controlled tone. Casey rose an eyebrow and offered a bemused smile to the Toa: Ol' shellhead may have been a prick, but at least he wasn't a big-ass wuss bag.

"Alright shell head. Let's do it." Casey said, pulling his hockey mask over his face. Kopaka looked at him oddly as he did this, the same kind of look one might give if they came across a dead rat on the sidewalk.

"What?" Casey asked.

"The mask...what does it do?"

"Uh...keeps my face pretty. Also scares the hell outta perps, usually." Casey said, slinging his sports bag over his shoulder and bouncing up onto his feet. Kopaka was about to inquire further, but the human brushed past the Toa, without another word...because honestly, it was getting kind of weird in there. Kopaka gently placed the tablet on the table and followed suit. Maintaining their mutual silence, the pair of Primes to the hover lift down to the ground level of the EPD recruitment center and met Lieutenant Brath, who was now dressed once more in his trooper armor. On a metal desk before him was a pair of holo-coms, two shoulder pads emblazoned with the EPD logo, and a pair of holo-tags that held all of their registered EPD information. Kopaka squinted at this last item; based on appearance it was to be worn around the neck, but Kopaka's chassis contained a litany of servos and gears. Having a small item bouncing and jostling in amongst them was asking for trouble.

"Yeesh, these shoulder pads are a little flimsy. Do you have anything beefier...like hockey pads or somethin?" Casey said with a mildly disappointed tone. Lieutenant Brath only offered a polite, dismissive laugh before walking over to the dispatch terminal.

"So, have you gentlemen-"

Now it was Casey's turn to snicker.

"-decided on a mission yet?"

"Yeah, we're going after this uhh...Smith guy." Casey said, briefly glancing down at his tablet before irreverently stuffing it into his bag. Kopaka, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how to equip his holotag without it getting caught in some joint or gear somewhere on his body. Eventually the Toa settled for looping it through one of the small gaps in the hilt of his Ice Sword. It would have to do. Lieutenant Brath nodded and sent the information into the EPD dispatch center, letting the operators know that two EPD recruits would be working on the aforementioned mission. Once both Primes had geared up, Brath showed them to the exit and gave them directions to the nearest Tier Lift.

"Hey uh, that's swell, but that's kinda far and I don't have bus fare, or anything." Casey said, half jokingly.

"Just use your holotags. They'll cover any transportation or menial charges you incur in the line of duty." Brath said, giving them one final wave before ducking back inside the monolithic building. Once more, the two Primes stood in silence, but this time, the ambience of Coruscant surrounded them. The muffled din of motors and voices was soothing to Casey's urbanized ears, and immediately returned his thoughts to home. All this footwork better pay off in a big way. Kopaka glanced over at Casey once before walking off in the direction of the nearest bus terminal. By this point, Casey had already adjusted to Kopaka's manner of nonverbal communication and quickly caught up to the biomech.

Silent as ever...whoopee...

[Kylo Ren]

Picking at the shoulder armour Casey was now muttering under his breath about how flimsy it was. He was really starting to think this stuff was just for show, it didn't feel anything close to what he would expect armour to feel like. It had almost no weight to it and there was about zero padding. He looked up at his new partner and the thing was just staring at him as usual. Casey couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on in the damn mind. This not robot thing was harder to read then Shredder, but then again shredhead was just a dude in some shiny face covering armour. Whatever this thing was it wasn't even close to human.

Speaking of, neither were half the occupants of this transport thing. We're not in New York anymore, Toto.

Making his way onto the transport Casey did what he was told and tapped his holo-tag thingy onto a counsel or something and a light flashed green. Guess that meant he was good to go! Kopaka followed suit and they found a free spot on the transport.

Well, the didn't really find it more as the people there seemed to clear out of their way and make one, Casey was beginning to wonder about these troopers he was now apparently a part of. The city was clean, there seemed to be little to no crime, but the people were kind of afraid of them. Then again people were always afraid of the cops, no matter where you went. Except for maybe Canada, but that didn't count. Those maple syrup eating freaks always seemed way to nice for Casey to trust them.

Whatever.

Casey turned to his partner in, well I guess it would be not crime? “Where we headed again, shell head?”

The Toa regarded Casey for a bit before speaking. ”Tier four. Read the file.” There was a brief pause before it spoke again. ”My name is Kopaka, not Shell head.”


“Right right, I got it Shell head.” Casey said without a second thought. Rummaging around through his golf bag Casey found the data pad or whatever he had stored there. “Let's see, four, four.... here it is! Greed, blah blah blah, organized crime, protection rackets, and neon lights. Man,it's starting to sound like home! NYC two point oh!”

Stuffing the device back where he got it from Casey looked out the window of the transport. It seemed that this place was layered, the further you went down the less Law and Ordery it got. The lower the tier, the more fun there was for Casey to have. No one could see it but under that hockey mask of his Casey was starting to grin. For the first time since he had started to settle down with his family he was feeling the rush of excitement again, the one that came from going into dangerous situations with only a handful of second hand equipment with only your own strength and wits to get you out of it.

The transport had made a few stops, the citizens on board shuffling past Kop and Casey without making eye contact as the left. Casey saw that when they got off they seemed to move away from the bus with a bit more speed then people normally would. Again, whatever.

Finally they had reached their stop and the two of them left the transport. Kopaka pointed out the lift to the lower tiers to Casey and the two of them headed off towards it. Luckily it was only a few minutes away, though before they got to it Casey pulled his partner aside.

“Listen, I am all for rushing in and busting heads, but we have to get a system down first man” Kopaka just stared at Casey, as he always did, making the former vigilante wonder exactly how this things thought process worked.

After a slight pause Casey got his reply. ”I am not sure what you mean. We go down, we find the target, and then we detain him.”

“Shell head, er, I mean Kop, if we just go down and start throwing shit about we are going to get no where. We need to good cop, bad cop this thing! Or maybe in our case bad cop and badder cop?” Casey scratched the top of his head and then shrugged. “One of us busts heads, the other is the voice of reason. That shit works all the time on tv!”

Casey was really going off limited information here, but to him it sounded like a good plan. The whole reason he had started doing what he did was because of all those procedural cop shows and shit, though Casey had taken it a step further and added in a bit more violence. It worked back in NYC, why couldn't it work here?

Expecting an answer all Casey got was silence as Kopaka turned back towards the lift and started walking again, causing Casey to jog after him to catch up. “Whatever man. You'll see.”

As they got closer to the gate Casey saw two troopers standing next to it and waved to them as they got closer. One of them brought up and waved them over. The trooper took a step towards them and checked their id tags and all that stuff.

”So new recruits to fight the good fight. You chose wisely. So, what are you....” the words trailed off as the trooper noticed Kopaka wasn't exactly human.”Er, you two doing?”

”We require access to tier four to apprehend the fugitive known as Michael Smith.” Casey just nodded and then pointed to Kopaka with a thumb.

“What he said.”

”First day and diving in head first, huh? Good luck with that, things have been pretty rough in the lower tiers lately.” Casey just nodded and headed towards the lift. They waited for a few moments for the door to open and then the two of them stepped in and turned around to face the door as it closed. As soon as they were sealed inside and the lift started moving Casey turned to Kopaka again.

“I'm telling ya man, Good cop and bad cop,” Casey wasn't sure exactly what the sound his partner had just made was but he was guessing it was a sigh or something.

”Exactly which of these cops would you be?” Casey just shrugged his shoulders.

“Good cop of course.” He pointed at Kopaka and poked his chest. “You aren't exactly what we call a people person.”

Kopaka just turned away from Casey and let the matter drop, the rest of the elevator ride went on in that awkward silence thing these two had going on. Finally when the doors opened Casey was hit with some familiar sights and smells. Yelling, busy street traffic, and of course pollution. He took a step out of the lift and breathed deep letting the air fill his lungs.

Yep, just like home. Casey was going to fit in here just fine.

Casey could feel the eyes of the people that passed by watching him, though it him it seemed like they were being fixed on the badge on the shoulder things. He had seen those looks back in New York too, when a cop was somewhere he might not want to be. Casey just let it slide and pulled out the data pad, tossing it to Kopaka.

“Check this thing over Kop, maybe there is something else we can use in the file.” Casey tried to think of the stuff they usually looked for in all those cop shows. “Last know address, known associates, some shit like that?”

[Kopaka]

Kopaka obligingly plucked the information table out of Casey's hands and began to pick through the information available. The Toa did not enjoy being the subject of delegation, but pride has no place in the line of Duty. As the two stood amidst the riff-raff of Tier 4, Kopaka pondered on the nature of the case. Intellectual dissidence was not usually something so harshly punished in his native universe, but then again...there was a difference between political differences and abject rebellion.

Kopaka's head tilted to the right slightly as his optic indicator squeezed shut. Memories began to reassemble themselves inside his jumbled mind.

Rebellion. Dissidence. Pride.

Many long years had the Makuta served Mata Nui to their fullest. They maintained the order of the universe and saw to the governance of the Tohunga and Turaga. Toa served as their hands and eyes, seeking out those who would disrupt the perfect order of Mata Nui. They also tended to the creation of the myriad Rahi; the beasts that nourished and balanced the land.

Miserix, their leader, has always been seen as a trustworthy, if not somewhat enigmatic, proponent of the tenets of Mata Nui and the Great Beings. Not all Makuta were so beholden to the whims of the divine, however. Many Makuta, especially Makuta Teridax, were jealous of the renown and reverence with which the Toa of the universe were venerated. The Makuta were seen as mysterious figures, at best. Shamans and Wizards whose agenda could never match the heroic valiance of Mata Nui's chosen Elemental Warriors.

In time, Makuta Teridax gained sufficient following so as to banish Makuta Miserix from the known lands of the universe, taking the ancient being's seat as chief of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Slowly, over the course of untold years, Teridax and his thralls brought to fruition a plan that would depose the natural hierarchy of Mata Nui, making them ascend to their self-proclaimed spot as rightful leaders of the universe. Wars were raged. Bionicles died in droves, and when all seemed to be hopeless, the...

...the...

Kopaka shook himself free of the phantom images of fire and hatred that had been coursing through his psyche. Everything would be pieced together in time. Right now he had to maintain his focus on the mission at hand.

"Yo Kop...you uh...you okay man?"

Kopaka looked down at Casey with his icy gaze, level as ever. He simply nodded before relaying the information he had attained.

"Smith has no official address, but has been known to spend time within houses and..." Kopaka trailed off, as he was unfamiliar of this word he now encountered, "ap...art...ments...of his friends and followers, many of which are laid bare within this manifest. The nearest is a female human named Lilian Peters. She resides four blocks to the North." Kopaka said gesturing in the same direction with his free hand. Casey refrained from making any Hooked-On-Phonics jabs at the Toa for the moment.

"Alright then. Guess we'd better get to hoofing it."

...

Two hours later, the pair of Primes arrived at the mega-structure that housed Smith's compatriot. Kopaka was rather nonplussed by having to walk such a large distance; traveling by foot was largely the only means of getting places on Mata Nui. Casey, however, was slightly frazzled.

At first he had assumed that Kopaka had meant 'forty' blocks, but as they travelled, it was simply appearent that Coruscant did not measure distances in their city the same way Manhattan did. Still, the length of their journey gave the Primes a chance to review the legal policies of interrogating suspects and inspecting private property. Both were slightly surprised to find that, for the EPD, there were essentially no limitations. Casey was even more surprised when Kopaka actually expressed his approval at this.

"So...it's cool to you that we can just do whatever the fuck to get the job done."

"Yes."

"...Huh."

Honestly Casey hadn't figured Shell Head for a 'ends justify the means' kind of guy. So far it just seemed like Kopaka had a great love of rules and procedure.

"Isn't that kinda...chaotic though? Not that I'm tryin' ta get all philosophical up in here, but..."

"It's only chaotic if the people with the power wield it with carelessness."

"Okay sure, but you can't always be sure how other people-"

"I am only ever sure of myself. The integrity of others is not my concern."

"Yeah, but, like, what if-"

"We're here."

Casey and Kopaka stood outside of the meager doorway of that smacked heavily of 'low-income housing.' Really, even though the building they were in was almost ten times larger than the average housing project, it was all the same stuff Casey was used to. Kopaka, however, was feeling slightly uncomfortable with the environment; the Toa was used to the verdant and wild landscapes of Mata Nui. This smog ridden and cramped city-scape made him feel more cut off from his natural element even more than a usual. A volcano would have more ambient ice elemental power than this...fabricated domain. Still, if this was where the people lived, then Kopaka would protect it. The biomech didn't trust himself to be able to handle any potential exchange with the Lilian Peters human appropriately, so he kept his distance from the door.

"Alright uh...here goes." Casey said, walking up to the door with the kind of bravado he always saw those TV cops stepping around with. He knocked loudly three times on the door and did his best to sound official and stuff.

"Lilian Peters! EPD! Open up!"

Silence. Casey knocked again.

"Ms. Peters! We just need to have a word with ya! Open the door!"

More silence. Casey looked back at Kopaka with a wry expression on his face.

"What'cha think Kop?"

"One moment."

Gathering his will, Kopaka called upon the powers of the Akaku upon his face and gazed deep through the decrepit dry wall into the apartment beyond...

[Kylo Ren]

Casey waited as the thing stared at the door and walls really hard, apparently he had to change his face to do this but whatever. Casey was about to say something to him when his partner spoke.

”She is attempting to pack a bag and flee. I suggest you cover the side entrance” Casey looked up and was about to ask how he knew this, but if it was true then asking questions would waste time. In fact he was wasting time now just thinking about it!

Casey darted off towards the side of the building, after getting directions from Kop as to which side it was actually on, and ran up to the door. Normally he would have stopped but seeing that this was an emergency and ran right into it with a loud thud, only to notice nothing had happened to the door itself and his shoulder was now hurting like a bitch. Casey swore and looked at the door, it was that same plasticy metal stuff, had no handle, and had some sort of scanner pad or something next to it. How the hell was he supposed to open this? He didn't even have time to figure it out as the door opened up with a loud woosh and he was face to face with a person he could only guess was their target.

“Wow princess you are either deaf, in such a hurry you didn't hear me hit this door, or your place is really sound proof.” Casey looked her over, she was pretty cute after all, and was about to inform her she was under arrest when she hit him with the case she was carrying. It had hit him hard and knocked him over, causing his mask to fall off and hit the ground just before he did. This had given his target the distraction and time she needed to make a break for the front of the building, the back of the building cut off by a wall. She had to have known there would be someone else waiting in front, but you know what they say about desperate times and measures.

“KOP!” he yelled from his place on the ground. “HEADS UP!”

The Lillian chick, or whatever he name was, looked back as he yelled and then ran straight into his not-robot partner. Casey winced at the sound it made when she connected into the towering form of metal and gears, that had to hurt! It must have because the lady crumpled to the ground right after she had run into Kop. She layed there for a moment before pushing her self up to a sitting position.

Well, that certainly was ONE way to end a police chase.

Casey Picked up his mask and looked it over with a sigh, there was another chip on it now. He really should have gotten something sturdier but this thing had sentimental value. Every crack, chip, or scuff told a story! Bringing up these memories was making Casey start to feel homesick though, and that would not do! He had a job here now, and he was going to finish it. Putting the mask back on he tried to force all the feelings about and need to be home aside, he was here now! This was important! They said they were going to help him get home! Just do it!

Turning to his partner he looked down at the lady and then pointed at the still open side door. “Pick her up and bring her inside, we can question her there.”

The not-robot looked at Casey for a bit and then made that sound again, the one that could almost be a sigh, before picking the woman up to her feet and marching her inside. Casey followed a few paces behind, and once they were inside he looked down at the panel beside the door and just stared at it. It took him a moment, and searching his memory to realize that it was some sort of touch pad control. He had seen the guys in the tower do it on the way out. Pressing his finger against the pad the door slid shut and sealed them off from the outside world.

Turning around Casey went and stood in front of Lillian and crossed his arms. “You know you are in serious trouble? Attempted escape, assaulting an officer of the law. Sheesh, you could get locked away for a long while sweet heart.” Casey just shook his head and made a tisk sound, wagging a finger at her like he was scolding a child. “Now, if you help us out we MIGHT be able to get some of that taken care of for you.”

The prisoner just started to bark at Casey in a language he didn't really understand, was that Spanish, or maybe even Chinese? He just stared at her through his mask, arms still crossed.

“What?” He knew he shouldn't have asked because all he got in response was the same gibberish over again. “Listen lady, English. Speak it.”

”I may be of assistance here.” Kop chimed in as he did that thing where he changes his face again, like taking off a mask and putting on a new one. Well he was a sort of robot after all, so whatever. If it could help them fine with Casey, though it was a little bit creepy still.

As soon as the new face was in place his partner started to speak to Lillian in the same language that she had spoken to them. The look on the womans' face was priceless! She was shocked, her mouth moving like a fish gasping for air! Casey guessed she didn't expect these two to know whatever the hell she was speaking. Casey was going to have to ask Kop how he knew that stuff, but that was something for later.

“As you see we are not as dumb as you think we are, so I will ask again. Can you speak English?” The woman nodded but didn't really say anything else, it was a sort of progress at least! “Good, now we are looking for your pal, this Michael Smith guy, know where he is?”

The woman sat there and looked at Casey, then at Kopaka, then back to Casey but said nothing. Casey could almost see her trying to steel herself against them, he saw it in her eyes. The will to resist, the need to protect your friends.

This was NOT going to be easy.

“Listen toots, I am trying to be nice here. Help us out and we can help you!” Casey looked at her and then pointed at Kop with his thumb. “My friend here? Not really what we would call a people person, doesn't really bother with things like nice.”

Casey lifted his mask up and got in real close, looking the woman in the eye. “So you can either deal with me, or you can deal with him. Which one is it?”

Casey got his reply almost immediately, sadly it came in the form of a slap to the face. He recoiled at the sharp stinging pain and took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. It was either that or he was going to punch this broad. Reaching up he replaced the mask over his face in a vain attempt to hide his anger.

“Well, that settles that. Your turn Shell head.”

[Kopaka]

As Casey took a step back, Kopaka inched forwards to occupy the entirety of the Lilian female's view. She looked down at the olive green, stained carpet with a hint of fear in her posture. Shrinking in to herself. Somewhere within his cold heart, Kopaka felt vaguely sorry for her. Helping friends was always noble, but when they were wanted by the proper authorities, it was time to question such dedication. Still, he had a job to do. With a frigid grasp, Kopaka hoisted the woman on to her feet, eliciting a small shriek, and staring into her watery brown eyes. Kopaka was not familiar with biological makeups, but the sagging around her ocular organs suggested a long-standing fatigue. Years of skipping just out of the reach of destitution, on and off substance abuse...the faces of these humans told stories that the solid, unmoving Masks of the Bionicle did not. More importantly, their ability to so blatantly display outwards emotion caught Kopaka off guard. He steeled himself and spoke slowly, the Kanohi Rau shimmering softly in the gloom of the apartment.

"Vizehn to en'kar k'useso bah ch'ah vah ran'zituso btin'v nip!" Lilian shouted, trying to wriggle out of Kopaka's solid grasp.

"Your resistance will not aid you. I respect your sense of Unity, but I have the cause of Justice on my side and will not waver in my pursuit of the Michael Valentine Smith human." Kopaka said, gradually letting the elemental power of ice flow from his body. Goosebumps cascaded across the woman's skin and her teeth started to chatter. Even Casey, standing a few feet away, backed up even further to avoid the bitter chill.

"Veo? Veo seo butur? Veo ch'urci vah seo ch'itocet tut'ut?" she said in a resentful tone, gritting her teeth in anger. Kopaka said nothing in response to whatever the woman had said, but Casey did notice the Toa's free hand next to his hip clench into a tight fist. Lilian continued to speak, even through her chattering teeth. "Michael cart ch'a bun vuhn. Vah tuzir nah rcisah rob. Vah cart bten'b ch'at to cseah bah ch'acah."

At this Kopaka released the woman and reigned in the chill he was exuding. The Toa appeared to take a deep breath.

"You doin' okay Kop?" Casey asked. He hadn't expected Kopaka to go all soft all of a sudden; that was totally not how good cop-bad cop was supposed to work! Kopaka glanced back at the human male and squinted his eye. It seemed as though the Toa was about to say something, but at that moment, the door to the room slid open on its rusty track, and another human loomed in the doorway. He was about as tall as Casey and was dressed in strange regalia that Kopaka couldn't quite identify. Casey just thought he looked like a big old thug. These suspicions were verified when the man pulled out a blaster pistol and pointed it at Kopaka (sideways). He couldn't see Casey around the corner, however...

"Yo you muthafuckas BEST be gettin' out ma gurl's face! Lily, get ova here." he said, pointing next to him. Lilian sprung up from the chair she had been sitting in and tried to dash over to where this newcomer stood, but Kopaka held out a hand and blocked her path. The human male adopted a wide-eyed look of surprise on his face and gestured his blaster angrily at Kopaka.

"Did yo ass NOT just hear me? I will WASTE you mothafu-gaaww!" the human said, getting cut off as a hockey stick swatted him in the face from arouns the corner of the door. He fell to the ground, holding his now profusely bleeding mouth. Casey stepped out into the hall and planted a foot on his chest, looming over the punk.

"You have no idea how long I been waiting for an excuse to do that." Casey said, grinning from behind the perpetual scowl of his hockey mask. The thug boyfriend's laser gun or whatever had gone skittering across the concrete floor of the hallway, but as the chain bedecked human lunged for it, there came a sudden brilliant flash of blue.

"YYYYYEEEE-OOOHH SSHHHIT. WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" he screeched. Casey turned around with a 'not bad' frown on his face and gave a thumbs up to Kopaka. Ol' Shell Head had used his popsicle mojo to freeze this punk's legs to the ground. Solid. The girlfriend was, of course, hysterical by this point, but a firm grip from Kopaka's metallic hand prevented her from fleeing. Casey turned back to the now panting thug, trying to free his legs from the icey snare.

"Hahh...Hsssst...fuckin...what are you pigs here fo' anyway?" he groaned. Casey knew an opportunity when he saw one.

"Oh, your girl here 'sbeen shacking up with some slick by the name of Mike Smith. You wouldn't know anything about that would ya?" Casey said, at least having enough mercy to remove his foot from the guy's sternum. The man made a furious, puckered face, but instead of screaming at either Kopaka or Casey, he was shouting at Lilian.

"WOMAN, WHAT I TELL YOU 'BOUT LETTING THAT HIPPY SHITBAG INNA YO DAMN HOUSE? LOOK! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TA ME!" he screamed gesturing violently at his entombed legs. She choked a few of her space words between heavy sobs.

"Gabriel...t-ttis'ah... ttis'ah, Ch'ah morco ch'epasahn ch'at v-vatt'ah-"

"Oh HELL no. Don't gimme dat new age bantha shit. I told you. I muthafuckin' told you he was trouble!"

Casey felt the need to interject at this point.

"So uh...Gabriel. You sayin' there's sumthin' else we should know about?"

The thug glared up at Casey and let out another grimmace as he tugged at his rapidly numbing legs.

"Look, I tell you 'bout this Mike slaemo and you'll just leave? Yeah?"

Casey glanced back at Kopaka who gave only a curt nod.

"Yeah, sure." Casey said with a grin. Lilian had another outburst upon hearing that Michael's information would be given out by her erstwhile lover, but Kop kept her in check as usual. Damn. This Toa dude seriously was cold. Gabriel gestured down at his legs and shot a glance at Kopaka. A moment passed, and the Toa released the man, the ice evaporating into a cool mist. Casey did, of course, grab Gabriel's piece as his legs gradually came back to life.

"Fuuuhck...me..." he muttered, getting to his feet with shakey motions.

"Anyway, yeah. Mikey Smith, the Martian. I dunno where he crib is b-"

"Then how are you of use to us?" Kopaka said with a sharp tone.

"Easy there Fridge Face, lemme say ma shit. Any-fuckin'-way, Mikie and his crew tend to roll around down in the Rat Holes, or as I like to call it Bum City. It's a broke-ass old ventilation system fulla deadbeats between this Tier and five. They roll around there given dese scrubs...Iunno...hugs and food and shit. Mikie ain't always there, but summa his water-bros might be." Gabriel said, rubbing his legs to try and warm them up. Casey arched a skeptical eyebrow.

"Water Bro?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Yeh. Dem's Mikie's homies who just...drank from the same glass of water as him, no homo. But it just means dey tight fo' life. Follow?"

Casey nodded slowly. It wasn't what they'd come for, but it was definitely another link in the chain.

"When do they venture there?" Kopaka asked in his cool voice. Lilian was no longer struggling, just holding her face in her hands and sobbing in intervals. Damn. Casey was kinda feeling bad for this girl.

"Git the fuck out ma house right now and you can probably go catch em." Gabriel said, violently nodding towards the door to the apartment supercomplex. Kopaka released Lilian and brushed past the two male humans. There was no time to waste.

"Oookay then. Guess we're bouncing. Stay outta trouble dawg." Casey said, pointing two fingers from his masked eyes to Gabriel's face. He jogged to catch up to Kopaka, who was walking in a manner that might be described as 'storming'. Casey looked up at the Toa, wondering what, exactly had caused him to soften up on that girl all of a sudden.

"Yo Kop. What'd that chick say back there?"

Kopaka just kept silent and maintained his brisk pace. Casey sighed. Of course. In Kopaka's mind, however, thoughts were racing. Why had he been so quick to use pain as a means to an end? Was that just? Was she deserving? It didn't feel right...but at the same time...Kopaka had wanted to do it. What had he become in this Omniverse?

[Kopaka]

As the Toa and Casey neared the so-called Rat Holes, the crowds on the street became more and more dense, though the citizens of Coruscant still gave the pair of EPD hopefuls a wide berth. The dingy sky scrapers loomed up high in to the smog-filled sky until they seemed to collide directly with the false sky that was built overhead. It gave Kopaka an odd sense of claustrophobia, and the Toa would be glad to be rid of this Tier, at least for a time, once the suspect had been apprehended. Finding the Rat Holes themselves proved to be a more complicated task; the locals were rather uncooperative, and one even went so far as to expectorate on Kopaka's gleaming white chassis. It was offensive to say the least, but these minor provocations would not suffice to break his cool demeanor. Ultimately, however, the pair found what they were looking for. As they rounded the corder of another apartment super block, there stood a massive ventilation pipe that had stretched up and down, straight through the upper and lower levels of Tier 4. There were intermittent, slowly spinning fans that had to be at least forty feet in diameter protruding from the corroded and lopsided structure like cysts. Honestly, the state of the shaft's metal reminded Kopaka of an infected mask. It was really quite disconcerting.

"I suppose we should find an entrance." Kopaka murmured softly, turning back to try and locate Casey. When the Prime did so, the human was no where to be found. Kopaka's bright blue eye narrowed as he activated the Akaku, searching through the crowd (quite literally) for his partner. Nothing. Had Casey abandoned the mission? No...despite his informal nature, that didn't seem likely, based on Casey's disposition. Kopaka tapped the communicator on his wrist and spoke into it.

"Dispatch. I have lost sight of my partner, Casey. Can you locate him?"

"One moment."

There was a long pause.

"We are having trouble locating Casey. Maintain your current course of action, Kopaka. We'll try to find out more." said the female voice from the other end. Kopaka grimaced between the stolid features of his mask. It was against his own nature to abandon a teammate...but then again, it was also possible Casey had abandoned him. Again...it was unlikely, but this was a new world and Kopaka could not be sure what its people were capable of. Shaking his head, Kopaka turned back towards the immense metal pipe that was his current objective. Surely there was some secret entrance that the locals were aware of, but the Toa did not currently have the patience to draw this information out from the local populace. With a soft grunt, Kopaka once again beseeched the powers of Ice to obey his will, and cast a brilliant beam of freezing energy towards the brittle metal of the Rat Way. A great blue sheet of ice coated the exterior, which Kopaka proceeded to kick with all of his might.

WHAM.

WHAM.

WHAKRAAASH.

Kopaka sauntered into his personal entrance, the telescopic lenses of the Akaku whizzing and buzzing softly as he refocused his optics to the low lit environment. Immediately he was beset by a pack of three beggars, shouting random obscenities for breaching their home. The first was sent flying into the wall with an adroit smack from Kopaka's shield, while the next came at Kopaka with a pitiable excuse for knife. When the blade failed to penetrate the Toa's metallic skin, Kopaka grabbed the man by the scruff of his raggedy jacket and forcefully slammed him into the ground. The man immediately vomited from the force of the impact. The third squatter, seeing the fate of his erstwhile roommates, scampered off down a makeshift hallway of cardboard and sheet metal. Unabashed, Kopaka strode deeper into the vertical domicile and looked up at a flimsy ladder. Though he was nervous about whether or not the structure would support his biomechanical weight, such a pittance of fear was nothing to hold Kopaka back. With careful movements, Kopaka traversed the vertical length of the Rat Way using his Akaku to peer through the thin, dangerously poorly constructed platforms for anyone who looked like they did not fit in with the normal malnourished riffraff.

The Toa glimpsed many kinds of citizens during his long ascent...females with smaller organic that shared similar visual markers, a multitude of biological life forms who had poisoned themselves with intoxicating substances, and an even larger abundance of individuals who were sick or dying. It was truly wretched. Kopaka remembered little of his former life, but he did seem to recall that living conditions never reached this level of squalor in his native universe. The biomech would have to make sure that these people were given adequate housing once he had the influence within the Empire to do so.

Just when the Toa was sure that the Gabriel human had been lying, something caught the Toa's eyes. A group of people in purple robes a few levels higher up. They seemed to be laden with a great deal of food and medicine, at least so far as Kopaka could tell. Upon clambering up into the dimly lit level of the Rat Way. The two squatters that occupied this tier, along with the three enrobed figures all whirled around as the light from Kopaka's blazing blue eye cast a cold sheen on the entire meeting. Before the Water Brothers could even flinch, the Toa drew the Ice Sword and extended his arm so that the dual tip of the gleaming blade was but an inch from the nearest Brother's nose.

"Don't." Kopaka growled. The Water Brother looked confused, and then glimpsed the Imperial emblem on Kopaka's shoulder. His shoulders sagged in resignation, but Kopaka maintained his stern stance. The squatters made no movements.

"How can I help you, brother?" the human said softly. Kopaka narrowed his eye.

"I seek the location of Michael Valentine Smith. You will divulge this information." Kopaka said softly, quickly glancing at the other two Water Brothers. The imperiled Brother sighed.

"I am sorry...I cannot betray the trust of Michael. None of us can. Do you not see the good that we are doing he-" Kopaka rushed forwards with a snarl and held the Brother up against the corroded metal wall with a single arm. The Ice Sword maintained its close proximity to the Brother's face.

"Would Michael prefer you dead?" Kopaka said, his voice but a dangerous whisper. This genuinely seemed to catch the human off guard. He looked to his two compatriots with a pleading look. Kopaka couldn't see their nonverbal communications, but in the end, it got him the result he wanted.

"Michael is...not in Coruscant. He went away to the Pale Moors to help with the recovery from the Blight. We...we don't know where he is...but..."

The man whimpered as Kopaka tightened his grip and pressed the man harder into the pipe.

"B-b-but we know he will return in a week's time! He will return-agh...return th-through the Endless Dunes gate as part of a refugee convoy...disguised as a moisture farmer. Please! Please. You must trust me. No one needs to be harmed." the Brother said, raising his hands in resignation. Kopaka stared hard at the organic for some time longer before releasing the human from his frigid grasp. The man sank to the floor with a heavy, shuddering sigh. Kopaka turned on his heel and moved to descend the barely intact ladder.

"W-wait!" the Brother said. Kopaka turned his head back just slightly.

"No one needs to be harmed in this matter. Michael only wants peace. Please...please don't hurt anyone."

Kopaka paused for a long time, conflicting memories and ethics swirling in and around his biomechanical brain.

"That is not my decision."

The human let out a small sigh of turmoil.

"But...I will convey the extent of your cooperation. Perhaps it will help you." Kopaka said, beginning the long climb down.

"Wait! Protect just me or...?"

But it was too late. The Toa was gone.

...

Later, back in the EPD headquarters, Kopaka sat in the debriefing room as Lieutenant Brath paced back and forth, making notes on a digital pad.

"The Endless Dunes gate, you say? Interesting...I wonder if a majority of our illicit traffic passes through there. It certainly is one of our less popular gates."

Brath turned and smiled at Kopaka.

"Good work, recruit. I guess all we can do now is wait."

Kopaka tilted his head ever so slightly.

"What should I do in the mean time, sir?" he asked in his quiet voice. Brath chuckled slightly and pushed his Datapad across the slick metal desk that sat between them. Kopaka picked it up slowly and read over what was displayed on the screen.

"A Tournament? Sir, is this a good idea?" Kopaka asked, looking at the human with distinct curiosity. Brath tilted his head back and held his cap onto his bushy black hair, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Ohh no Kopaka, it is really very much a bad idea...but it might have a very large pay off for the Empire if you should win."

"The odds of that seems low." Kopaka responded folding his arms over his chest. Brath regained his composure and nodded sullenly.

"Yes...yes they are. However, you are Prime. The actual risk to you is quite low...but if you require an incentive..." Brath said, motioning to the mirrored glass behind them. Kopaka knew there was another room behind the large pane; nothing could hide from the Akaku, but the Toa decided to a lot the Lieutenant his precious mystique. What was carried into the room, however, was quite startling.

"These are..." Kopaka said, standing up and walking over, picking up the objects with reverence.

"We found them along with that exhibit you were interested in at the museum. For now you would only be borrowing them but...once you are in proper EPD employ, they and the other artifact will be yours to keep." Brath said. Kopaka looked into the human's eyes with the deepest of gratitude, a rare showing, before taking the Kanohi from the droid that had delivered them...more specifically the Kanohi Hau and the Kanohi Matatu. Such a gift was beyond extravagant. Once the Toa had absorbed the new masks, he turned to Brath and offered a crisp Imperial salute.

"I will depart at once."

[Kopaka]

Officially resuming EPD quest.

Don't look at them.

That was what Kopaka had to keep telling himself as he strode back into the bustling hallways of the EPD. He didn't have to use his Kanohi Akaku to know that their faces were sneering. He didn't need to adjust the gain on his audio receptors to know that they were whispering behind his back. Kopaka just couldn't look at them, and therefore did not need to acknowledge their spurn. They didn't know what it was like, to be pitted against one's peers. To suffer through filth and blades. He wasn't a coward. There just hadn't been any point. It served no purpose for Duty, Unity, or Destiny. Well...

Kopaka couldn't be entirely sure about that last one. Perhaps he had shrank away from his Destiny when he had forfeited that fight in the Colosseum. Perhaps he had been reluctant to try and test his true mettle. No. No that wasn't it. The tournament had just been senseless violence to appease a slavering populace of dullards and bigots. It was not worthy of his blade. The storm troopers and dispatchers who even now jeered at him from all directions were the fools. They were the cowards. They were the weak ones. All Kopaka had to do was to slay this pitiable excuse for a Prime, Michael Valentine Smith, and he would know his superiority.

As the Toa turned the corner into Lieutenant Brath's office, the Imperial officer was tapping away at one of his dataverse interfaces. More busywork. More red tape. Kopaka was ready for action. Brath sensed this, even before the Toa spoke.

"Ready to get back on the job Kopaka?" Brath said in a voice that offered both challenge and encouragement. Kopaka cocked his head the side slightly; it was odd that Brath would be so genuine with him after almost every other EPD officer considered him a laughingstock. It was suspicious.

"You do not mock me?" Kopaka said with a notable dose of venom in his synthesized voice. Brath shook his head and chuckled.

"Kopaka. Your participation in the tournament was hardly official EPD business, and completely voluntary to boot. If you felt you had no business there after winning a fight or two, it was entirely your prerogative to leave. A missed opportunity for PsyOps, perhaps, but it's nothing I'm going to hold against you. Strictly business in my office." Brath said, gesturing around at the distinct lack of recreational or personal affects in the room. There wasn't even a single plastic plant. Obviously this was a cultural reference that went over Kopaka's head, but the sentiment was not lost on the Toa.

"Strictly business then." Kopaka responded. It was really very refreshing. "Are we going to apprehend Smith at the gate?"

"I'm glad you asked." Brath said, turning around in his swiveling chair. He gestured at the window behind him, which abruptly went dark. A network of rigid lines and points of light began to scrawl across the tinted pane. It was a map of the transit district around the Endless Dunes gate. "That was our original plan, but then we determined that if we can trace Smith back to his hideout, we can take out the entire cult in a single raid. Therefore, it will be your job to tag Smith and follow him. The man is no fool; I'm sure he'll recognize another Prime following him, but I trust that you'll be able tail him just fine." Brath said. Michael Valentine Smith's face and personal details expanded on the right side of the window screen, and Kopaka took a moment to save the image of the target's face.

"If your intelligence is good, Smith will be due at the gate tomorrow. I would advise heading over there now so you can set up an adequate stake out position." Brath said, swiping the map and data off of the computerized window with a wave of his gloved hand. Kopaka nodded to himself, and began to exit the room, when Brath called out to him.

"Kopaka."

Brath's voice was suddenly quite serious. The Toa turned slowly to regard the Lieutenant's stoney features.

"No mistakes." Brath said in a low voice. Kopaka was momentarily taken aback by the sudden understated ferocity. Perhaps his display at the Colosseum had made more of an impression on the Lieutenant than the EPD supervisor was willing to admit. Frost began to creep across the door frame where the Toa clutched it with his metallic hand. The two maintained a cold stare with one another before Kopaka simply nodded and strode out of the room...

[Kopaka]

Resuming EPD Quest...Again.

Though it technically had not been very long since Kopaka was last in Coruscant, it had certainly been a long time since he had last been here with the express intent of hunting down and eliminating Michael Valentine Smith, the Prime dissident that the Toa had originally been tasked with capturing so very long ago. Between months spent languishing in the darkest alleyways of Nippur, to weeks spent traveling the wastes of some hellish pocket verse and then Nebula space, Kopaka had certainly lost Valentine's scent, to say the least.

Still, Kopaka retained all the wits and savvy that he had originally used to get a read on the man's whereabouts, which was now coupled with a savage and predatory need to cause Michael Smith great pain, as well as to everyone around him. Thankfully, another visit to the now ice-choked rathole of Gabriel and Lilian Peters had produced a great boon of information that now saw Kopaka perched atop the exhaust pipe of a Tier Five slum stack. The couple's blood-soaked screams as they had begged him for mercy still sent pleasurable tickles up and down his spine. He remembered how he had been so lawful and patient with them the first time, and as a result, had barely gotten enough information to take him to a second-hand source.

Of course, the threat of slowly suffocating in a tomb of ice while slowly having one's extremities hacked off was more than enough to coerce any secondary who possessed an iota of self-preservation. The fact that the humans hadn't even bothered to move to a new location after their first encounter with the Toa was proof of their unimportance; the world had no need of the stupid, and even worms had enough sense to run and hide if a bird plucked at them. Now Kopaka stared down at more worms as the optics on the Akaku clicked into a magnified position. A small cluster of figures was entering the tall, boxy building of living quarters that Kopaka currently loomed on top of. They wore heavy cloaks, much like Kopaka himself, but the Kanohi of Sight allowed the biomech to stare through their shrouded faces and identify each cultist. There, in the middle of them, stood Michael Valentine Smith. After a split second, the target Prime seemed to glance up at Kopaka's position amongst the high shadows, and make direct eye contact with him. Smith's profile had mentioned that he had many forms of psychic prescience that would make a clandestine approach difficult.

The profile had also mentioned that Michael Smith was a pacifist. Kopaka drew his sword.

---

Two hours later, Lieutenant Brath of the Empire Peace Division was just sitting down to his morning coffee. It had been a fairly uneventful week, with just a few brawls on Tier One to occupy his time. It was good that Primes were beginning to grow wise to the idiocy of challenging empire authority, but the Lieutenant also knew that it was nice to have someone to make an example of, at times. Ah well. Perhaps Omni would summon up some new blood that would try to pull some stunts in the Empire's capital city and he could deploy a kill squad, along with plenty of camera drones.

Brath was about to take a bite of his scone when the transparasteel window to his office buckled and shattered from an immense impact. The EPD leader of the Tier One office was so startled, he just about choked on his coffee as he fell out of his chair. Klaxons immediately began to sound throughout the building as the Lieutenant scrambled to his feet and fumbled for the blaster pistol at his side. Sure, he had been hoping to make an example of someone, but this was a little bit too close to home for his liking. It wasn't until he was almost out the door that he glanced at the large, heavy object that had shattered his window.

It was a body. Particularly, it was the frozen body of a placidly smiling young man dressed in a colorful robe. It took Brath a second to recall the perp, but eventually the name Michael Valentine Smith drifted across his mind. As if on cue, the Lieutenant whirled around just as a frigid blast of air whooshed into his office. There, on the threshold of his window, stood Kopaka Mata, dressed in a dramatically flowing robe and glaring down at the human office with hateful, pale optics.

"Mission complete." Kopaka droned in a dark, heavy tone.

Brath blinked.

"I will require new EPD identification materials." Kopaka said in a tone that Brath noted to be more than a little smug...

Gonna call this complete.

[Kopaka]

Ten minutes later, Kopaka was chained to a chair inside the second-floor interrogation room of the EPD's Tier One precinct headquarters. Lieutenant Brath sat across from the silently glowering Toa, and shifted uncomfortably. This was not the cool, collected, cooperative Prime that he had been willing to work with a few months ago. Something had come over Kopaka in his time outside of Coruscant, and now the icy biomech simply came across as dangerous. Even still, dangerous people could have their uses, though more so outside the boundaries of the futuristic verse. Kopaka did earnestly seem as though he was still willing to enroll in the EPD, so until Brath could label the troublesome Prime as an unmanageable free-radical, he would have to do his best to bring the Toa of Ice under Empire jurisdiction.

"I don't understand the problem." Kopaka said in an appropriately chilly tone. "You asked Michael Valentine Smith to be delivered to you, and here you have him. What more do you require?"

Brath cleared his throat slightly.

"We need a full debriefing of how you went about apprehending the target. It helps us understand how you might best serve Imperial interests." Brath said. Before he had finished his sentence, Kopaka started speaking again.

"This seems unnecessarily complicated, but if it will satisfy your feeble bureaucracy, then so be it."

---

Kopaka had been perched outside the Tier Five slum stack for several hours, waiting for this moment. As he dropped from the summit of the ramshackle housing arrangement, however, he felt his body suddenly lighten and then get held aloft as Michael Valentine Smith held a steady gaze on the Toa. Kopaka twisted and clawed at the air for a moment before becoming still and focused on the man's boyish features, peeping placidly at him out from under the ragged hood.

"Behold, my brothers. It seems the Empire has finally come to pay us a visit. Won't you please come inside and join us for dinner, Mister Kopaka, is it?" Smith said in a tone that was infuriatingly calm. The Toa of Ice snarled as he switched his mask to the Kanohi Matatu, imbuing him with his own Telepathic prowess. Instead of the gentle embrace of the enemy psychic's mind, however, Kopaka unleashed a blast of hateful, mental power straight down at the insurgent telepath. The downward strike did not knock Valentine Smith off of his feet, but the momentary staggering of his mental grasp allowed Kopaka to drop to the ground.

The icy warrior hurled himself towards Michael, sword and shield in hand. Smith rose his own hands to meet the weapons at the merge, and the two implements of war vanished into thin air. Kopaka stumbled from half shock, his yellowed eyes searching the chiaroscuro alleyway for where they might have gone. The sound of a splashing puddle alerted Kopaka that he was being flanked, and a frozen, metal claw snagged the throat of one of Valentine Smith's sneaking cultists. The hooded scum squirmed in the frigid grasp for a moment before becoming still and placing a warm hand on the Toa's metal arm.

"Peace....Brother..." he managed to wheeze. Another hand placed itself on Kopaka's back. The other cult member whispered.

"Peace. Grok with us."

Kopaka snarled, a terrible, raking noise as he whirled around to strike the cultist in the throat, but was confronted again with the damnably serene face of Michael Valentine Smith.

"Peace. Share water." Smith cooed, placing a hand directly on the Toa's rusted mask. A funny, buzzing feeling emanated from the pacifist Prime's palm. Kopaka's vision swirled, and the world seemed to tumble end over end before everything went black...

[Kopaka]

When Kopaka next awoke, he found himself comfortably nested in a cushy, purple colored bedroom of some sort. His frigid fuselage had been deposited on a pile of soft, velvet pillows which had, by this point, become stiff and frosty. By this fact, Kopaka gauged that he had been in this location for a little under an hour before regaining his senses. As far as holding cells went, the Toa found it to be entirely lacking, primarily by dint of the fact that he could simply walk out of the small nave into a larger conservatory. Song birds twittered peacefully in hydroponic gardens, and a large pool trickled playfully in the center of this common area. Kopaka had to double check his navigation software to confirm that he was, indeed, still in the depths of Coruscant's Tier Five. There was nobody around at the moment, which did not put biomech any more at ease. He also noted that he was without sword or shield. If these pacifist lemmings thought that made him less dangerous, they were sorely mistaken.

After some more wandering around the serene hideout of the Brotherhood of Water, Kopaka heard the muffled sound of light conversation coming from a room across the living area. He called upon the Kanohi Akaku and peered through the walls to see a little over a dozen Brotherhood members seated at a dining table, sample various food and drink. If Kopaka had been human, he may have been slightly surprised by the fact that they were all stark naked, but his relatively low knowledge of human domestic behavior simply inferred that this was, perhaps normal. Michael Valentine Smith was seated at the head of the table, and seemed to perk up slightly when Kopaka's x-ray vision landed on his Vitruvian features. The target Prime's eyes flickered to meet Kopaka's gaze, even through the solid wall. Smith spoke in a hushed tone to his cultists before excusing himself and entering the atrium of trees, birds and water.

"Glad to see that you're awake! Would you please join us for dinner? There is plenty left, and–"

Under normal circumstances, Kopaka's ferocious curiosity would have tempted to find out more about this situation and the cult that seemed intent on welcoming their earstwhile assassin into their home with open arms. As it stood, the Darkness was hungry, and Kopaka wasted no time in dashing towards the Smith human, summoning a whorl of elemental power into his right hand. A sharp lance of ice shrieked towards Smith's face, which the human man effortlessly sidestepped with a resigned expression on his face.

"Please Kopaka. Many have tried before, and all have failed. They are part of the Brotherhood now, for they saw the beauty of Grokking and our Truth. If you would please just–" Smith tried before sidestepping another scything wave of ice from the Toa. Kopaka uttered a half-feral snarl, skidded on one foot and sprinted back towards the squirrely Prime. An attempted left hook saw Smith leaping straight up into the trees, scattering a small flock of twittering garden birds. A blast of ice struck the tree trunk, and Kopaka drove his foot into the inflicted bark, snapping the entire trunk in to and sending the young tree creaking and snapping into the trickling pool.

The fight went on like this for some time, with Valentine Smith effortlessly evading every single attack from Kopaka, no matter how cunning or brutal. Rage set in, then, frenzy, and finally fatigue. By the time Kopaka had nearly depleted his elemental reserves, the entire atrium was caked in layers of ice and dusty snow. Kopaka panted heavily at the far end of the room from Smith, leering at him with infected, yellow eyes.

"Please...Kopaka. Your anger and pain hurt me as well. Let us grok together and find healing. If you would just..."

Kopaka stopped listening to the pacifist heresy almost immediately, and tried to center his breathing, regaining focus and awareness. Smith was a canny opponent, that much was certain. Despite the fact that finding him had been easy, Kopaka could see why his indirect tactics made him nearly impossible to capture. He wielded his pacifism as a weapon, allowing the enemy to wear themselves down to bone weariness, to the point they had no choice but to be brainwashed by his cheerful and placid words. But pacifism, like any weapon, could be turned against its wielder. There was a quick crackle of light and static as Kopaka switched to the Kanohi Matatu. The Mask of Telekinesis flared to life instantly as Kopaka stretched his hand out towards the kitchen where the rest of the mess hall had been watching. A young girl shrieked abruptly as she was yanked through the air into the Toa's frigid grasp. Kopaka held her by the calf, letting her dangle upside down over the pool of water as he glanced up at Michael Valentine Smith. For the first time, the biomech could detect a hint of concern on Smith's face.

"You will come with me, quietly, or I will destroy this sanctuary and every living thing within it." the Toa said in a hoarse whisper, allowing the woman's black, flaxen hair to swirl about in the pool water. Michael looked down at the girl, who swallowed hard and summoned her disgusting courage.

"No Michael. Do not let him take you. You must spread the word of God. All must share water. I...I am ready to die for the Brotherhood."

"I do not think you are." Kopaka said with a sadistic glee. He abruptly dunked the woman's upper body under the surface of the pool and shot a flicker of elemental energy into the water, encasing her head, arms and shoulders in a heavy chunk of ice. The Toa unceremoniously flung her to the frosted ground, and let her naked, floundering body flop in the agony of asphyxiation as she struggled in vain to free herself from the entombing rime. Before she had even finished her final, sickening twitches, Kopaka stretched out his hand again towards the assembled cultists. This time an older man tried to run slightly before he too was dragged towards the towering biomech, his hands finding no purchase on he slick, icy ground.

"What about this one Smith? Do you think he will be so willing to martyr himself to your half-rate nudist colony?" Kopaka chided. He swiftly grabbed the man's neck and held him aloft, turning around so that Michael Smith could see the pained face as the senior wheezed for breath. Kopaka smiled inwardly. There was just something so satisfying about grabbing a human neck and just squeezing until the blood flowed. By the time the older man's mustached head was falling of its vertebrae, the cultists were all audibly looking at Michael Smith to do something, anything. Their fear was intoxicating. Valentine Smith sighed.

"I am sorry, Brother. I grokked wrongly. You must be removed." Smith said in an apologetic tone. With all the swiftness of Apollo, the target Prime dashed across the surface of the water straight towards Kopaka, an incapacitating hand stretched out. This time, however, the Toa was ready for him. The Kanohi Hau flashed upon his pitted and rusted face, just as the telepathically sedative hand made contact with the biomech's face. It was too late, however. A thin veil of blue energy protected the Toa from the direct attack, however nonlethal it may have been. It was clear to see that Michael Smith, despite being a preeminent telepath and manipulator, was not a warrior. Kopaka grabbed the pale hand on his face and immediately snapped it with the twist of his own metallic arm. The cultists collectively gasped in horror as the Toa proceeded to drive a hard protosteel knee into the boy's gut, sending him staggering to the floor. Another swift kick sent the target Prime sliding across the slush into a far wall. Kopaka absentmindedly sent a final blast of ice at the crumpled heap of a Prime, coating him in a thick, heavy blanket of blue ice. The crushing weight of the entombing rime made it hard for Smith to breath, and the boy rapidly lost consciousness.

Small sobs escaped the remaining eleven cultists, who all huddled together in shock, as if suddenly aware of their own nudity and vulnerability. The moment Smith's eyes rolled back, Kopaka felt a familiar weight settle onto his back. The Toa drew his sword and shield and examined them closely, making sure they were unharmed by whatever trick Smith had pulled.

"Well, so there!" one of the cultists choked out, clutching a younger female Twi'lek close to him. "You got the man you came for. Just go. Please." he stuttered, eyes wide with panic. Kopaka ran the edge of his ice sword along the rim of the shield, creating a chilling ring throughout the now cold and dead atrium.

"It is true that this was the bargain I offered. Unfortunately..." Kopaka said, turning on his heel and beginning to march towards the huddling group that now began to shift and nudge around like a nervous flock of sheep.

"That bargain was never officially accepted."

As the biomech dashed towards the suddenly scattering herd of screaming cultists, he idly wondered how many of the clustered secondaries he could cut through in a single stroke.

The answer was three and a half.

---

"So...after acquiring the target and disposing of the remaining dissidents, I returned to EPD headquarters." Kopaka said flatly.

"And...that's...when you decided to throw Smith through my window." Brath retorted.

"Yes." Kopaka said in a tone that dared the bureaucratic officer to pursue this line of inquiry. Brath did not. He had noticed that the room had slowly been becoming almost unbearably cold; no doubt caused intentionally by the Prime sitting across from him. Everything about Kopaka's story and entrance back into the EPD indicated that he was making power plays. The Empire had to be careful with this sort of Prime in their employ, but there was no denying the Toa's sheer brutality. If nothing else, he would be an excellent disposable goon that could easily spread fear where the Empire needed it most. Brath tapped a few buttons on his datapad then nodded at the glowering Toa.

"Alright Kopaka. Give me a few minutes to review your application with the other officers on station, and we'll let you know." Brath said, scooting out of the chair and half-jogging out of the refrigerated holding cell. He could feel the biomech's eyes on him, even after he left the gray, steel cell...

[Kopaka]

After what Kopaka gauged to be a standard Imperial hour, Lieutenant Brath returned to the now quite-frozen interrogation room. His slick dress boots slipped awkwardly on the smooth concrete floor, and he stumbled slightly as he moved to sit down. He had a hard time raising his eyes to meet the unflinching gaze of the Toa. He cleared his throat slightly, producing a puff of steam before speaking in a frank tone.

"Kopaka. We of the Empire Peace Division applaud your efforts in subduing, capturing the dangerous telepath Michael Valentine Smith. We also recognize your determination to complete this task, despite multiple setbacks and diversions that temporarily pulled you away from your mission." Brath said, folding his hands together on the bitingly chilled tabletop.

"However, in light of your nomadic disposition and apparent zeal for...ah...uncompromising methods of violence, the EPD and King Bradley feel that you would best serve Imperial interests outside of Coruscant. Is that amenable to you?" Brath asked, spreading his arms out slightly. Kopaka did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Of course. If such is my assignment, I will see to it Dutifully." the Toa responded in a tone of utter, obsessive sincerity. Brath was taken aback for a moment, since most Primes who signed on to the EPD were hoping to score an easy set of living quarters on the upper Tiers. Only now did it start to dawn on the Lieutenant that this Toa, this Prime of Ice, was simultaneously insane and humble. Passionate, yet aesthetic. As if to verify his own suspicion, Brath continued in a hesitant voice.

"We can arrange for your dormitory and livings stipend within–" the officer began before Kopaka cut him off.

"That will not be necessary. I require neither habitation nor sustenance. It is my mission that sustains my existence." the Toa said somberly. Brath cleared his throat again.

"Ahem, yes, well. If ever you do find yourself even in need of a place to store personal belongings, let me know. In the mean time, I will have to discuss the nature of your first assignment with my fellow officials. Report to the front desk for your dispatch communicator and EID tags. After that, feel free to do as you will until we contact you, and of course, intervene in any breach of the peace. Welcome to the EPD, Kopaka." Brath said, hesitantly extending a gloved hand. Kopaka would have smirked, if his face was capable of it, and grabbed the proferred limb forcefully. Despite his newfound zeal for sadism, the Toa of Ice released Brath abruptly and swept briskly out of the room, his dark cloak trailing behind him.

"I will post myself in the Nexus until contacted. If I am to be a field agent, it would more expedient to be at the crossroads, no?" Kopaka said. Brath wasn't entirely sure this was ideal, but the Toa had already stomped down the hallway and around the corner...